Affinity Suite: Toggle UI

[Pyanepsion]

Hello everyone,

1. The keyboard shortcut in the user interface display has a usability problem. It is the tab key, but this key can only work if the Move tool [V] is active. This is very confusing when you are new to the software suite and often makes you think there is a bug if you hit the tab key by mistake and then are no longer on the Move menu.

2. The text in the ‘Toggle UI’ menu does not describe the reality. A user interface is not limited to the display only. This menu only shows or hides the display of the interface. Fortunately, the interface itself is not switched, only its display.

3. A check mark on the menu would also be welcome, as for the other ‘Show’ menu, a more appropriate term here than ‘Toogle’.

🔍 The text of the ‘Toggle UI’ menu is particularly badly translated into French as ‘Activer/désactiver UI’ (Activate/deactivate UI). The word UI doesn’t mean anything in French, and the acronym means ‘International Unit’, which leads to a lot of confusion.

A better translation would be ‘Afficher l’interface utilisateur’ (Show the user interface).

[walt.farrell]

6 hours ago, Pyanepsion said:

It is the tab key, but this key can only work if the Move tool [V] is active.  This is very confusing when you are new to the software suite and often makes you think there is a bug if you hit the tab key by mistake and then are no longer on the Move menu.

The Tab key works with any of the Tools active. It does not require the Move Tool.

Where it cannot work is if you are actively typing text with the Artistic Text Tool or the Frame Text Tool.

6 hours ago, Pyanepsion said:

This is very confusing when you are new to the software suite and often makes you think there is a bug if you hit the tab key by mistake and then are no longer on the Move menu.

Sorry; I don't understand that comment. Pressing Tab does not change the active tool.

 

[Pyanepsion]

1 hour ago, walt.farrell said:

Sorry; I don't understand that comment. Pressing Tab does not change the active tool.

This is how I explain it, but it is only a guess. When you don’t know the software, you can be very surprised when you press the tab key by mistake and everything disappear.

If you were working mainly in the text, and you go back into the text, well, you’re lost.

I remember having this problem at the very beginning of my acquisition of the software. I then read the documentation more carefully, and found the answer. It seems to be a regular problem if I am to believe some of the posts elsewhere.

[Pšenda]

"Affinity Suite: Toggle UI" - isn't this forum more appropriate?
https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/forum/56-feedback-for-the-affinity-suite-of-products/

[devendra]

I would like to specify the problem as it was just the question I asked myself. 

When I select a layer in the layer palette and press the TAB key instead of toggling the UI the layer name is selected. 

If I was just working on my layer and want the toggle option to be available, I had to click somewhere on the canvas and then press TAB.

This is really very unhandy and frustrating as I find myself drawing something random just to be able hide my tools and then have to undo my last move. 

[Catshill]

On 10/26/2021 at 9:50 PM, devendra said:

I would like to specify the problem as it was just the question I asked myself. 

When I select a layer in the layer palette and press the TAB key instead of toggling the UI the layer name is selected. 

If I was just working on my layer and want the toggle option to be available, I had to click somewhere on the canvas and then press TAB.

This is really very unhandy and frustrating as I find myself drawing something random just to be able hide my tools and then have to undo my last move. 

Does this help?

 

[devendra]

Thanks for sharing the thread!

Actually it describes the same "workaround" for the problem. Deselecting, clicking somewhere else. Depending on what tool you previously selected, you have to i.e. draw somewhere or have even one more extra step and choose the selection tool.

Edit:

I just tested it and the issue seems to be fixed in the latest version of Affinity Designer 2 👍 I can now select layers and press tab without editing the layers which is great!