Let us flag a layer as non-printing

[Stokestack]

When using templates, you often don't want the template to print. I can find no way to mark a layer as non-printing in Designer. I would expect to see this in the layer list.

Thanks!

[fde101]

 

[Stokestack]

And those are only two of them.

How many times does this common feature have to be requested? It can't be that hard to implement, given that invisible layers already don't print. It's an extra boolean. If that's hard to add to your object model and serialization, this product is dead already, Serif.

Can't figure out how to add the control to the layer list? Fine: For now, just put it in the context menu, at least. And one day aspire to enhance that with a "no-print" icon in the layer-list cell.

And someday, when the technology becomes available, put a button in there with a little printer icon. But of course, that means the unlabeled, nondescript checkbox that's there today will need some love. Hey, how about making that look like an eye!

[aizome]

I had to come to the forums to verify that hidden layers do not print. PLEASE let us specify layers as 'non-printing'!  

Or at least add the fact that hidden layers DO NOT PRINT to the Help file.

 

Edited September 8, 2021 by aizome
to add a further suggestion

[Stokestack]

Just got a bunch of labels and an Avery template to lay them out. Of course, you have to make the template visible to see where the label boundaries are.

Then you make a test print with some text on a couple of labels... and ruin the entire sheet because the template is printed too.

Dumbware.

[WillBellJr]

^I'm literally here for the SAME reason - the wifey is printing out a business card design in Publisher v2 and I was looking in the layer list for a way to just "non-printable" the Avery layer and welp, here I am typing...

Now if this is fixed for v2, I haven't found it yet...

...And if it isn't fixed in V2 what the heck is going on? Reallly??

 

-Will

 

[loukash]

2 hours ago, WillBellJr said:

in Publisher

In Publisher you can add a Preflight comment – e.g. "don't print me!" – to any object(s) you don't want to print. Then, with the "Default" preflight profile active, whenever you try to print or export, you will be prompted to check out the Preflight panel for warnings or errors. Then just hide anything you don't want to print

In Designer, Photo or via Designer/Photo persona in Publisher, you can use Snapshots to save states with non-printing objects hidden.

In Photo 2 or via Photo persona in Publisher 2, you can use the new States feature/panel, see the help documentation.

In all three apps, you can name each object in the Layers panel with a corresponding name, e.g. "Don't print me!". To disable all nonprinting objects, select one of them, then click Select > Select Same > Name, then click the Hide button to hide them all.

That all said…

I would like to have a direct non-printing object attribute as well.

[Stokestack]

I declined to buy v.2 of all of these applications because of defects and omissions like this.

The blurring of layers in Photo is so unforgivable that I can't see ever updating that one unless it's fixed. But if even a couple of other defects in Designer had been fixed, I would have coughed up the dough. But as far as I can tell, Serif hasn't fixed any of the glaring problems that cripple this (and their other) applications.

[Dave57000]

As Ioukash but put all the guide lines in one group mark it "don't print" and toggle visibility off on that group before printing.
attached is a template I made for printing 11oz mugs so you can have a look, drop on pick, line it up toggle of "dont print" and print.

template mug 11oz.aftemplate

[Clayton King]

How does this work with artboards? Since the artboard is, itself a group, it makes it inequitable.

[Clayton King]

On 7/20/2020 at 5:13 AM, fde101 said:

 

This is also the case with CorelDRAW (which I prefer over Illustrator). I've been trying to stop using both Corel and Adobe products, but there are a number of significant features in the Affinity suite (including v2) that still cause me grief.

[Stokestack]

I really like Corel Draw, which I agree is far superior to Illustrator. What's your beef with it? Did Corel go to a software-rental scam too?

I don't use Draw anymore because I don't use Windows anymore. There have been a couple of disastrous attempts at Mac versions of Draw, which were quickly abandoned.

[Clayton King]

On 2/6/2023 at 4:43 PM, Stokestack said:

I really like Corel Draw, which I agree is far superior to Illustrator. What's your beef with it? Did Corel go to a software-rental scam too?

I don't use Draw anymore because I don't use Windows anymore. There have been a couple of disastrous attempts at Mac versions of Draw, which were quickly abandoned.

Just saw your reply... Yes, they're doing annual subscriptions as well. I've been using CorelDRAW since version 1 of Windows when it came out, and later became a beta tester for it. I even won an honorable mention in the old Corel International Design Contest. I'm quite fond of the program because it's incredibly intuitive and easy to use. Having worked in hightech for over 25 years, I'm familiar with the notion of piling on with complaints about software development, but I also know that if you're competing again an "industry standard," and having to achieve market share over proven products, you really have to listen to your users. A good start would be to make tools behave the same across all Affinity products since one of their banner achievements is making them to interoperable. But again, things like nonprinting layers, muti-page spreads in publisher, easy masking, temporary tool choice, simply made keylines, etc., would go a long way toward that.