Layer link

[Michail]

Restoring a disconnected layer link does not seem to work.

[Gabe]

Hi @Michail,

Sorry for the delayed reply. 

Have you got some steps / video of this? 

[Michail]

28 minutes ago, Gabe said:

Have you got some steps / video of this? 

After I had created a layer link ("Duplicate Linked"), I cut one of the links again (Panel Link).
It should be possible to restore the link by dragging the layer onto the cut entry. But this does not work.

[MEB]

You have to drag the layer over the small black "squares" on the left of the labels to relink it.

[Michail]

19 minutes ago, MEB said:

You have to drag the layer over the small black "squares" on the left of the labels to relink it.

I know, but it doesn't work. It doesn't matter where I drag the layer. It doesn't work anywhere.

[MEB]

Hi Michail,
My apologies. Should have checked first. I see what you mean. I'm logging this to be looked at. 
 

[PaulG]

1 hour ago, MEB said:

You have to drag the layer over the small black "squares" on the left of the labels to relink it.

Hi Meb,

Is there a reason it was chosen to have the drop zone a "small" black square?

Would it be more convenient for the user to have it the entire row the square belongs to as the drop zone (a bigger target is easier to hit rather than a small one)?

[Chris B]

16 hours ago, Michail said:

I know, but it doesn't work. It doesn't matter where I drag the layer. It doesn't work anywhere.

This is working fine for me. It can be a bit tricky to get your head around but once you do, it makes sense (at least it does to me). See my recording :

 

[carl123]

16 hours ago, Michail said:

I know, but it doesn't work. It doesn't matter where I drag the layer. It doesn't work anywhere.

It's a bit unintuitive as you have to drag the link icon from the layer which is NOT selected in the Layers Panel

Normally to perform an operation on/with a Layer you would have that Layer selected in the Layers Panel

 

[Michail]

18 minutes ago, carl123 said:

It's a bit unintuitive as you have to drag the link icon from the layer which is NOT selected in the Layers Panel
Normally to perform an operation on/with a Layer you would have that Layer selected in the Layers Panel

1. You don't have to drag the link icon. You can touch the layer anywhere.
2. The video shows that it only works with a non-selected layer. That's why it didn't work for me. The question to Serif is: why?
3. You have to hit the black square exactly. That is not a big problem. But the question to Serif is also here: why?

[Chris B]

51 minutes ago, Michail said:

• The video shows that it only works with a non-selected layer. That's why it didn't work for me. The question to Serif is: why?

You can't drag the properties from a layer to itself in the Links Panel because that isn't telling the app you want both layers to talk to each other. You need to have a layer selected that has the unlinked property and then drag from the other layer to tell it you want them to be linked. I hope that makes sense. I see why there's some confusion and it took me a bit of time to work it out when I first saw the feature.

53 minutes ago, Michail said:

1. You have to hit the black square exactly. That is not a big problem. But the question to Serif is also here: why?

I have no idea on this one—might be one for dev to answer. It isn't an issue for me though. I guess we just want to strive for accuracy without messing up the layer by dropping it anywhere we'd like but that's a guess from me.

[carl123]

1 hour ago, Michail said:

3. You have to hit the black square exactly. That is not a big problem. But the question to Serif is also here: why?

Maybe they have plans for more target areas that do something else in V 2.0

 

[Michail]

29 minutes ago, Chris B said:

You can't drag the properties from a layer to itself in the Links Panel because that isn't telling the app you want both layers to talk to each other. You need to have a layer selected that has the unlinked property and then drag from the other layer to tell it you want them to be linked. I hope that makes sense. I see why there's some confusion and it took me a bit of time to work it out when I first saw the feature.

I have no idea on this one—might be one for dev to answer. It isn't an issue for me though. I guess we just want to strive for accuracy without messing up the layer by dropping it anywhere we'd like but that's a guess from me.

Thanks for the explanations Chris!

The handling is not a problem if you know how to use it. As @carl123 already noted, it could be a bit more intuitive. But it works.

I think there is some redundancy in the link panel: the black squares on the left encourage you to click on them. But they are only the destination point. The link icon on the right can be clicked, and it has the function of restoring the link. So there are two geographically far apart sensitive points that serve the link.
One should unite the two elements. For example, a link symbol in a square. The link symbol should have two states.

[Michail]

15 minutes ago, carl123 said:

Maybe they have plans for more target areas that do something else in V 2.0

That could be an explanation. It might also explain the redundancy I mentioned in my previous post.