Re-naming Layers in Affinity Photo …

[Dr_No]

Hello all … back once again with a new Dumb Question of the Month (are prizes given for that? just asking …) Anyhow: Affinity Photo (1.9.2) had been working perfectly well and allowed me to click on a “pixel” layer, highlight the “pixel” designator word, and replace it with a more descriptive title indicating that layer's function. Not so anymore. The last two images I've edited in AP have steadfastly rebuffed all attempts to re-name a layer. Whether it's an pixel layer, an adjustment layer, a group of layers I'd like to rename … doesn't matter. Can't do it. Won't let me. Also of interest (in a masochistic sort of way) is the inability to separate the ‘child’ layer mask and bring it above the layer it's attached to (I assume this is doable since I've done it before.) The same inseparability applies to other forms of layer pairs - they will not permit any detachment or movement from the layer they're linked with. The most puzzling aspect is that, until today, renaming and moving layers or masks was not problematic. Moving a ‘child’ layer from beneath its parent layer to berth it alongside was uneventful and quite easily done. Not so now. Any and all thoughts regarding (a) possible causes and (b) potential solutions are welcome. Have any other users experienced this behavior with 1.9.2? Thanks to all for input …

[RNKLN]

No problemo on my side. Could be a macOS 'Sierra' thing.

[John Rostron]

No problem with my Windows 10 PC box.

John

[Dr_No]

Hello again and thanks to all who responded.

Update: The mysterious yet somehow inexplicable ‘brain freeze’ (similar to what we get when we drink something cold too fast) experienced in Affinity Photo appears to have been resolved with a close and restart. Layers are once more able to be named, ‘child’ layers can be moved away from the ‘parent,’ dodge & burn layers are once again creatable, and birds are, apparently, singing (somewhere). 

One last Dumb Question du Jour: Short of uninstalling and reinstalling Affinity Photo, is there a quick, cheap, and easy way to restore it to its pristine out-of-the-box factory goodness (a/k/a ‘universal application re-set’) … ? If so, please advise where directions may be located; if not, thanks for reading and, hopefully, enjoying a laugh or two at this Ongoing Yet Semi-Soluble Drama-in-Search-of-Depth …

[h_d]

On a Mac, if you start it up with the  ^ control key held down you'll get this dialog:

You can reset as much or as little as you like, but you should be aware it will remove any custom brushes/macros/whatevs that you may have previously installed.

There's also a more limited reset dialog available in Preferences - Miscellaneous:

Cheers,

H

[Dr_No]

Well, be still, mah hawt … ! This is exactly what I was hoping to access. I (quite accidentally) found the set of resets in your second screencap, but I was unaware of the availability of the first set thru the addition of the Control key at startup. It appears that ‘Reset Studio’ may be the only one of the options needed should the problem recur. I agree that, when doing this, Mies van der Rohe’s “Less is more” philosophy applies.  Thanks so much for the tip about accessing and activating these resets.

[Old Bruce]

16 hours ago, Dr_No said:

I agree that, when doing this, Mies van der Rohe’s “Less is more” philosophy applies.  

Someone once asked  "If less is more, how much more would more be?"

[Dr_No]

We could probably speculate that ‘more’ would be whatever the prevailing market for ‘more’ determined its value (which is entirely separate from ‘worth’) to be … or, as ‘The Wizard’ told us at the end of Ahnoldt’s first ‘Conan’ movie, “That is another story for another time … ”