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Selection—converts the shape into a selection.

Your with the pen tool draw curve shape will be converted into a selection, when pressing that selection-button for the pen tool. So the layer will be removed and the curve which is converted into a selection persists.

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Well, that would be annoying if that is what happened. Why delete the path, curve you might want to keep it?

Anyway what was happening for me is that the layer would delete and no selection was made. 

I can "hack" it to do what I need another way but I don't like hacks :)

I really want to love this software and I will still keep trying but some things just don't make any sense to me, like the above.

Or is there away to simply make a selection and keep the curve?

Thanks for your help.

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3 hours ago, Jacknumpty said:

Hi, I have a curves layer, I click the select button and my layer disappears? What am I doing wrong?

The short version: do not click the "Selection" button with the Pen Tool active.

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Affinity Photo does not strore Paths, per se, as Photoshop does. To save a “path,” create the curve, duplicate it and hide it (via the Layers panel), and turn the first curve into a selection (with the Pen tool active, of course).

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Another way to solve the problem: create the curve (just once), with the Pen tool active turn the curve into a selection (yes, the curve disappeared). Go over to the Channels panel, right click on the line labelled Pixel Selection, and create a Spare Channel with the active selection. Now, you can recreate the selection by right clicking the Spare Channel and choosing Load to Pixel Selection.

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4 hours ago, Jacknumpty said:

Am I the only one that likes to save a path (curve)? :)

No, of course you aren't. That's why you do not need to do anything special to 'save' one after you create it. It is just that in Affinity Photo you can also use the Pen Tool to convert a curve into a "marching ants" pixel selection or a layer mask by clicking on one of those buttons in the context toolbar.

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52 minutes ago, Jacknumpty said:

You do have to do something to save the curve as it is automatically deleted.

See smadell's duplication advice above.

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@Jacknumpty If you cmd click on the curve's thumbnail you will get a marching ants selection without losing your shape. (if in Designer, ya have to be in pixel persona)

The only caveat is that the selection will have the same opacity as the fill. (also, fyi, you won't see the ants if the opacity is less than 50%. Same in PS)
I.e. you will (most likely) have to get your shape right without a fill ....in order to see what your doing.... give it a fill, and then do the cmd thing.
Still a bit fiddly if u ask me....

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Also, regarding this.....

18 hours ago, Jacknumpty said:

Anyway what was happening for me is that the layer would delete and no selection was made. 

That's a bit weird. Could it be that "Show Pixel Selection" was hidden/unchecked? (under view dropdown)

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If you cmd click on the curve's thumbnail you will get a marching ants selection without losing your shape.

Hey Jimmy, that's great! Thank you.

Quote

Anyway what was happening for me is that the layer would delete and no selection was made. 

Yeah not sure what was happening there, it was a group of curves. It works fine on a single curve.

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3 hours ago, Jacknumpty said:

You do have to do something to save the curve as it is automatically deleted.

Curves are not automatically deleted. However, if you click the "Selection" or "Mask" button, they are converted to one of those items. There is noting automatic about this -- it only happens if you click one of those buttons.

What can happen if a curve has no stroke & no fill is it will appear to be deleted, but it is still there, just invisible because it has no visible properties.

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Hi RC-R, if I click "Selection" the curve is automatically deleted, the layer is not there anymore. You can say its converted, yes this is true too. Invisible? I don't agree, the layer has been delete, converted if you want but it has gone.

Anyway Jimmy Jack gave me a solution that works for me, I can make a selection and the path remains, hopefully it will work for others too.

Thanks for your help.

 

 

 

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14 minutes ago, Jacknumpty said:

Hi RC-R, if I click "Selection" the curve is automatically deleted, the layer is not there anymore. You can say its converted, yes this is true too. Invisible? I don't agree, the layer has been delete, converted if you want but it has gone.

I am saying that an unconverted curve can be invisible if it has no stroke and no fill, & that a curve converted to a selection is never done "automatically." That only happens if you do that intentionally by clicking the button that performs that function.

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Am I missing something here?

  1. Make a curve to encompass the area/s you wish to select
  2. Fill curve
  3. Go to Select > Selection from layer (Marching Ants appear)
  4. Curve layer still in existence
  5. Create a new pixel layer and add whatever colour or effects you want.
  6. Turn curve layer off to see the effect of new pixel layer or effect.
  7. Curve layer still in existence
  8. Go make a cuppa
  9. Continue editing image
  10. Curve layer still in existence

lol!

 

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3 hours ago, Jacknumpty said:

Okay I think we can agree on that.

I don't think I have ever said that it just disappears. I said 

Quote

I click the select button and my layer disappears

 

Note that the button name is "Selection,." not "Select." If you click it, your curve object is converted to a "marching ants" selection. "Convert" means to cause to change in form, character, or function, & that is exactly what that button does.

Marching ants selections define an area of the canvas independently of any of its objects or layers. Among other things, they are useful for defining areas of Pixel layers so they can be erased or painted on with pixel brushes. They have no effect on Curve layers because Curve layers are vectors, which are defined geometrically, not by pixel areas.

So my question is why do you want to convert a vector curve object into a selection in the first place?

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On 5/28/2020 at 4:42 AM, R C-R said:

The short version: do not click the "Selection" button with the Pen Tool active.

I believe it would be beneficial if this feature got an Alt modifier, upon clicking, it would behave the same, upon Alt+clicking, it could keep the path intact (just hide its layer perhaps). Similar to alt-clicking the booleans which results in compound path. It would also be non-destructive as the rest of the app.

This may make Illustrator switchers happy while keeping the original workflow intact for those who like this default behaviour.

Just my 5 cents.

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2 minutes ago, CLC said:

I believe it would be beneficial if this feature got an Alt modifier, upon clicking, it would behave the same, upon Alt+clicking, it could keep the path intact (just hide it perhaps).

Why complicate things by adding that feature when there is already a way to add a "marching ants" selection to any layer (as @JimmyJack said, by CMD-clicking on it in the Layers panel)?

There is already a non-destructive way to alter the fill or stroke property of Curve layers, if that is what is desired, as well as ways to fill it with pixels, for example by creating a pixel layer as its child & painting on that, or by adding a bitmap fill or stroke to it.

The Affinity Photo Pen Tool has three functions:

  • The conventional one of creating Curve layers of any shape
  • Converting a Curve layer into a "marching ants" selection that can be used with Pixel layers
  • Converting a Curve layer into a re-shapable Mask layer that can be applied to other layer types, including Pixel, Curve, & Text layers

Is there really a need for yet another function?

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42 minutes ago, R C-R said:

Why complicate things by adding that feature when there is already a way to add a "marching ants" selection to any layer (as @JimmyJack said, by CMD-clicking on it in the Layers panel)?

There is already a non-destructive way to alter the fill or stroke property of Curve layers, if that is what is desired, as well as ways to fill it with pixels, for example by creating a pixel layer as its child & painting on that, or by adding a bitmap fill or stroke to it.

The Affinity Photo Pen Tool has three functions:

  • The conventional one of creating Curve layers of any shape
  • Converting a Curve layer into a "marching ants" selection that can be used with Pixel layers
  • Converting a Curve layer into a re-shapable Mask layer that can be applied to other layer types, including Pixel, Curve, & Text layers

Is there really a need for yet another function?

That's not up to me, but the affinity devs. And I don't want to hijack this thread fyi.
I would certainly be happy if it would be possible, and many Illustrator switchers as well. It would certainly help the ux there. Currently, people who are used to do it this way (used to Illustrator's path system need to duplicate the layer, hide the duplicate, then select  the original that will disappear, and that's a bit tedious process).

I have renewed my CC subscription and use Affinity just for fun once upon a time now, since it's enormously buggy and featureless. I will be happy to get back to AD once basic features like Select by attribute, Offset path, Envelope and mesh vector distortions and vector blending are added since I need those features on a daily basis.
Even the bugs I've reported nearly a year ago were stil not fixed. I'm not mad and understand that there are other priorities, but I'm encountering  such bugs nearly everytime I use the apps and can't waste my time anymore. Fingers crossed I'm looking forward to some maintenance update that will address all the annoying stuff and allow for a reasonable workflow.

Best regards.

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