Please remove annoying behavior of adjustment layers

[JeffreyWalther]

If you add an adjustment layer and make your changes, 
and then want to add the same adjustment layer again (while the 1st layer is still selected),

you overwrite the all changes on the selected adjustment layer with the default settings. 
You are literally resetting everything on the 1st adjustment layer. No 2nd layer will be added.

You have to select another layer first (not the same type of filter).
This is really annoying

 

[carl123]

Not happening here

Is it possible you can upload a video of what you are seeing?

[Move Along People]

-

[loukash]

20 hours ago, JeffreyWalther said:

If you add an adjustment layer and make your changes, 
and then want to add the same adjustment layer again (while the 1st layer is still selected),

you overwrite the all changes on the selected adjustment layer with the default settings. 
You are literally resetting everything on the 1st adjustment layer. No 2nd layer will be added.

Can't replicate that.
AP 1.8.6, MacOS El Capitan

[Jowday]

20 hours ago, JeffreyWalther said:

If you add an adjustment layer and make your changes, 
and then want to add the same adjustment layer again (while the 1st layer is still selected),

you overwrite the all changes on the selected adjustment layer with the default settings. 
You are literally resetting everything on the 1st adjustment layer. No 2nd layer will be added.

You have to select another layer first (not the same type of filter).
This is really annoying

It is hard to tell what is happening - it certainly isn't the default behavior.

Perhaps - if we are lucky - your installation has reached a bad state, some configuration is corrupted, whatever. That can be resolved.

• Try starting Photo holding CTRL - and select 'Reset adjustments' as well. See if that helps.
• I am not sure you should delete the other settings that are not selected by default - shouldn't affect layers
• A more desperate move - but interesting nonetheless - would be to repair the installation. Just run the setup program again if you are not sure how to access that feature in Windows and you will be prompted.

Try that and report back 🙂

[JeffreyWalther]

You all can reproduce the issue:

1. Open Affinity Photo and create a new document. Size does not matter.
    
2. Open tab "Adjustment".
   
    
3. Select any of the items, let's say "White Balance". The panel appears.
   
    
4. Do some changes.
   
   
    
5. Close the panel via "X".
    
6. Skip to tab "Layer". You see the just created adjustment layer and that it is selected.
   
    
7. Skip back to tab "Adjustment". Now try to add another "WhiteBalance" by just double-clicking it.
   Again, the panel opens with default settings.
   
    
8. At this time, there was no 2nd adjustment layer added (as expected), but the 1st one overwritten. 
   Skipt back to "Layers" to see. No 2nd layer, 1st layer just reset.
   

[loukash]

6 minutes ago, JeffreyWalther said:

Open tab "Adjustment"

Alright, that's not what I've been doing at all. I've been adding Adjustment layers directly from the Layers panel by clicking the small button at the bottom. Much faster.
To me, the Adjustment panel only appears to be useful if I need to apply a preset.

8 minutes ago, JeffreyWalther said:

At this time, there is no 2nd adjustment layer was added, but the 1st one overwritten.

Yep, I can replicate that now.

The question now is:
Is that a bug or is that a "feature"?
With Serif, you'll never know until they confirm either way…

[PaulEC]

I'm not sure why you would want to add two of the same adjustments to the same layer, can't you just adjust the settings? I suppose if you really want to, you could merge the first adjustment and then add another?

[loukash]

26 minutes ago, PaulEC said:

I'm not sure why you would want to add two of the same adjustments to the same layer

Um, why not? Been there done that, too, and I had my reasons to do it that way.

[Jowday]

Ah, a steps to reproduce is always great. Now I see it.

This is a bug plus an overlooked usability scenario where Photo will silently overwrite/reset adjustments already made.

And in this case thus an obvious bug nonetheless. The same kind of operation when working with adjustment layers works as expected. A new layer is created.

Creating several layers of the same type is perfectly normal in a professional - and I assume also amatuer - scenario. For example when you paint with light via curve adjustment layers with different curves and apply them to various areas of the image using layer masks. And what not.

Photo has TONS of these usability issues. Tons.

[loukash]

18 minutes ago, Jowday said:

This is a bug

Actually I suspect this is meant to be "by design".

To understand the idea, you may want place the Adjustments panel separately, with the Layers panel side by side and observe what happens. To me, the Adjustments panel is really just the "interface" (poor implementation notwithstanding) to apply presets:

• If you select an adjustment layer in the Layers panel and then click the corresponding line in the Adjustments panel, then the Default preset is applied to your selection.

There's logic in what it does.
Especially since I actually do have my custom presets stored in there, and I would expect them to be applied to the very adjustment layer I've selected, not to create a new layer of the same again and again.

Count me to the "It's a feature!" camp now!

[loukash]

39 minutes ago, Jowday said:

an obvious bug

9 minutes ago, loukash said:

the Adjustments panel is really just the "interface" (poor implementation notwithstanding) to apply presets

The "bug" is that the Adjustments panel acts as "buttons" while hiding your presets.
To see your presets at all, you can't but click each adjustment, thus either creating a new layer, or applying "Default" to your selected adjustment layer, overwriting your previous setting.
Bad UI concept to begin with.

[carl123]

The help file says...

"You can replace an applied adjustment of the same type by selecting a new preset or custom adjustment from the bottom of the Layers panel. This maintains the adjustment layer's position in the layer stack."

 

It's messing with my head

[Jowday]

It is a badly implemented feature. The "inspiration" for adjustments - like most of Photo - came from Adobe Photoshop - just not the user interface and usability. Much more intuitive to use in Photoshop:

[JeffreyWalther]

On 1/25/2021 at 4:57 PM, loukash said:

Actually I suspect this is meant to be "by design".

It is obviously a bug, just because it resets your settings you made before, without any warning.

So the behaviour should be: 2nd layer is added. And also a 3rd one, and a 4th one,.... as long I click on the Adjustment item.

[RNKLN]

Next entry in this forum: why keeps Affinity adding layers when I click on an adjustment? 😀