Gregory-CJ Posted July 20, 2020 Share Posted July 20, 2020 Normally the Layer>Merge Down function works very quickly with new documents but I find that it slows down when working with a document that has had a lot of work done to it including adding layers, digital painting, adjustment filters, File> placement of images, etc. I generally work in this resolution of 16" x20" @300 dpi. In my workflow, I add new layers to the project as I develop the image. I can get up to 20+ layers before AP gets bogged down and doesn't respond as quickly as I would like. At this point the Layer>Merge Down function takes about ~15 seconds to complete its task . So, I collapse all the layers to one layer using the Layers panel>merge visible function. At this point I have two choices: I can delete all the existing layers except the newly created merged visible layer , save it out as a new file new and continue working with a smaller, more AP friendly file size. or copy this newly created merged visible layer to the clip board and transfer it to a new document. In both cases, I now have only one newly merged layer to work with . In both cases, I add a second layer and digitally paint on the second layer. In both cases, the Layer>Merge Down function takes at least 15 seconds to collapse a layer, which goes against logic. In an attempt to remedy the situation I have tried the following: 1. Applied every available option in the preferences> display options... ie.. metal , openGL etc. 2 Restarted AP several times holding down the control key and clearing user defaults., reset studio etc. But it still takes ~15 seconds for the Layer>Merge Down function to work with both newly created documents even having only two layers! It's like some memory from the initial 20+ layer document is being transferred and showing up in these newly created documents. When I create a completely new 16" x20" @ 300 Dpi file and add 10+ layers each having digital paint applied the Layer>Merge Down function works very fast and the way it was intended to perform. Thanks in advance for your help in this. I am running AP 1.8.3 on a 2019 iMac with lots of ram. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregory-CJ Posted July 24, 2020 Author Share Posted July 24, 2020 (edited) Looks like no tech support is going to touch this one. Well I am getting the same delay in Layer> Merge Down with a completely new file. Same thing, I am in the process of creating this new image and have added 20 layers over time and now attempting to Layer>Merge Down function and AP freezes completely... have to kill the app. So I reduced the layer count to ~ five layers and still the Layer>Merge Down function takes forever to complete itself It's obvious to me that I am reaching the upper limits of AP's layering /filters capacity.... too bad.... Any Comments from Serif Tech support would be nice. Edited July 24, 2020 by Gregory-CJ uploading image Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staff MEB Posted July 28, 2020 Staff Share Posted July 28, 2020 Hi Gregory-CJ, I'm sorry for the delay getting back to you. Do you mind uploading a typical afphoto file where the merge down command is taking too much time to process please? Here's the upload link to send it directly to us. Thank you. Quote A Guide to Learning Affinity Software | Affinity Quick Reference Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregory-CJ Posted July 28, 2020 Author Share Posted July 28, 2020 Hi Meb, I have uploaded the afphoto file to you via the dropbox link. This file went through the transformations that I outlined at the top of this thread. After deleting all the layers except two... and applying the Layer>Merge Down function, it still takes at least 15-30 seconds to merge. Try this with the file I uploaded to you, ....select the top layer and move it around and then the Layer>Merge Down function. For me this merge function still takes too much time. Thanks for your help on this matter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staff MEB Posted August 3, 2020 Staff Share Posted August 3, 2020 Hi Gregory-CJ, Although the visible elements (layers) are relatively small, they seem to be coming/copied from a much larger image - if you select one of the layers, go to the channels panel and fill the respective layer alpha channel or alternatively create a greyscale layer from it, you will see how large the original image was (30412x38435 px). When you merge these layers down, the whole original image resolution is being processed as such it takes a while until it outputs the result of the Merge Down operation. If you right-click each layer and select Rasterise & Trim (to trim the alpha to the canvas size) the Merge Down process will be considerably faster. Quote A Guide to Learning Affinity Software | Affinity Quick Reference Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregory-CJ Posted August 3, 2020 Author Share Posted August 3, 2020 Brilliant !!!!!! Thanks Meb for your knowledge . The rasterize & trim function works wonderfully and the Layer>Merge Down works quickly. Question, though. With the file in question and selecting a layer and in the channels panel > either filling the alpha channel or creating a greyscale layer, where would I find the original file size indicated? (30412x38435 px) I noticed in the context tool bar with the move tool selected that the existing layer > 397 x 425 dpi and when rasterized & trim > 300 dpi. Is that it or is there another location for this original file size? Don't understand what the 397 x 425 dpi tells me... can you explain? Thanks Again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staff MEB Posted August 4, 2020 Staff Share Posted August 4, 2020 Hi Gregory-CJ, After filling the layer, if you have the Move Tool selected you should see the layer bounding box expanded on canvas (zoom out if you can't see it), go to the Transform panel and it will show the layer's dimensions. After creating the Greyscale layer, go to the Layers panel, select it and check the dimensions in the Transform panel. If there's two dpi values (X, Y resolution) it means the image was stretched either horizontally, vertically or both without keeping the ratio as such they are no longer the same. Quote A Guide to Learning Affinity Software | Affinity Quick Reference Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregory-CJ Posted August 4, 2020 Author Share Posted August 4, 2020 Got it, wow such a monstrous file size! Thanks Meb! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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