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How many kind of layers there are in Affinity Designer?


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Hello all:

I would like to know how many type of layers there are in Affinity Designer. I have counted 11 type of layers:

imagen.png.d11db6b29b4a5f8de43b9c6870a5c1cb.png

To everybody understand the image, now I write in english the type of each layer:

1. Mesa de trabajo 1: artboard.

2. Capa 1: vector layer.

3. Pixel: pixel layer.

4. Máscara: mask layer.

5. Ajuste niveles: adjustment layer.

6. Curva: curve layer.

7. Elipse: shape layer.

8. Rectángulo: vector crop layer.

9. Texto artístico: artistic text layer.

10. Marco de texto: frame text layer.

11. Panel stock.PNG: image layer.

 

Thank you everybody.

Cheers.

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12. Group Layer

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It would help if you set your application to English for this exercise :)

However,

13. Layer layer.

14. Fill layer (though usually not present in a Designer document.

-- Walt
Designer, Photo, and Publisher V1 and V2 at latest retail and beta releases
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4 minutes ago, walt.farrell said:

14. Fill layer (though usually not present in a Designer document.)

In that case I'll trump your Fill Layer with a ...

15. Live Filter Layer (also usually not present in a Designer document)

To save time I am currently using an automated AI to reply to some posts on this forum. If any of "my" posts are wrong or appear to be total b*ll*cks they are the ones generated by the AI. If correct they were probably mine. I apologise for any mistakes made by my AI - I'm sure it will improve with time.

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Also (from memory):

Shape Text layer 

Path Text layer

Curve Text layer

 

 

-- Walt
Designer, Photo, and Publisher V1 and V2 at latest retail and beta releases
PC:
    Desktop:  Windows 11 Pro, version 23H2, 64GB memory, AMD Ryzen 9 5900 12-Core @ 3.00 GHz, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 

    Laptop:  Windows 11 Pro, version 23H2, 32GB memory, Intel Core i7-10750H @ 2.60GHz, Intel UHD Graphics Comet Lake GT2 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Laptop GPU.
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Compound Layer
Master Page Layer (also usually not present in a Designer document)

To save time I am currently using an automated AI to reply to some posts on this forum. If any of "my" posts are wrong or appear to be total b*ll*cks they are the ones generated by the AI. If correct they were probably mine. I apologise for any mistakes made by my AI - I'm sure it will improve with time.

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To my way of thinking there are only four types of layers in the Affinity Suite. 

Vector, Raster, Containers, Modifier.

Each has categories and sub categories. Think in terms of what the layer isn't as much as what it is.

Masks are Modifiers.

Text is Vector.

...

I could well be wrong because honestly I don't think that much about taxonomy and such. 

Mac Pro (Late 2013) Mac OS 12.7.4 
Affinity Designer 2.4.0 | Affinity Photo 2.4.0 | Affinity Publisher 2.4.0 | Beta versions as they appear.

I have never mastered color management, period, so I cannot help with that.

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Thank you everybody for the help.

Indeed I hadn´t thought on so many types of layers...Now, I see I missed many of them...

So, resuming (without layers from Photo and Publisher, because I´m only interested on Designer layers):

1. Mesa de trabajo 1: artboard.

2. Capa 1: vector layer.

3. Pixel: pixel layer.

4. Máscara: mask layer.

5. Ajuste niveles: adjustment layer.

6. Curva: curve layer.

6a. Curves layer.

7. Elipse: shape layer.

8. Rectángulo: vector crop layer.

9. Texto artístico: artistic text layer.

10. Marco de texto: frame text layer.

11. Panel stock.PNG: image layer.

12. Group layer.

13. Shape Text layer.

14. Path Text layer. I don´t exactly know what is this. I guess this is the same as curve text layer.

15. Curve Text layer.

16. Compound Layer.
 

 

Layers from the other programs or unknown layers:

1. Layer layer. I don´t know what is this, haha.

2. Fill layer (though usually not present in a Designer document). From Photo, I guess.

3. Live Filter Layer (also usually not present in a Designer document). From Photo.

4. Master Page Layer (also usually not present in a Designer document). From Publisher.

 

I suppose there will be another layer or layers we don´t remember or we don´t even know.

 

Old Bruce, thank you for the 4 types of layers. That will also be usefull for what I have to do.

 

Thank you everybody for the help again and regards.

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8 minutes ago, spsorrel said:

4. Máscara: mask layer.

Don’t forget that there are two types of mask: pixel and vector.

8 minutes ago, spsorrel said:

14. Path Text layer. I don´t exactly know what is this. I guess this is the same as curve text layer.

Yes, those are just two different names for the same thing.

8 minutes ago, spsorrel said:

1. Layer layer. I don´t know what is this, haha.

This is a (Designer only) organizational layer; i.e. a container for other layers.

Alfred spacer.png
Affinity Designer/Photo/Publisher 2 for Windows • Windows 10 Home/Pro
Affinity Designer/Photo/Publisher 2 for iPad • iPadOS 17.4.1 (iPad 7th gen)

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Hello Alfred:

15 minutes ago, Alfred said:

Don’t forget that there are two types of mask: pixel and vector.

Yeah:

4. Mask layer and

8.  Vector crop layer

 

17 minutes ago, Alfred said:

14. Path Text layer. I don´t exactly know what is this. I guess this is the same as curve text layer.

Ok.

 

17 minutes ago, Alfred said:

This is a (Designer only) organizational layer; i.e. a container for other layers.

I keep not to know what that means, :D

Prehaps a regular layer that contains sublayers?

 

Thanks.

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29 minutes ago, spsorrel said:

Yeah:

4. Mask layer and

8.  Vector crop layer

Oops, my mistake! I overlooked that (obviously).

50 minutes ago, Alfred said:

This is a (Designer only) organizational layer; i.e. a container for other layers.

 

31 minutes ago, spsorrel said:

I keep not to know what that means, :D

Prehaps a regular layer that contains sublayers?

Yes, that sounds like a reasonable description. :)

Alfred spacer.png
Affinity Designer/Photo/Publisher 2 for Windows • Windows 10 Home/Pro
Affinity Designer/Photo/Publisher 2 for iPad • iPadOS 17.4.1 (iPad 7th gen)

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Hello all:

15 hours ago, Alfred said:

Yes, that sounds like a reasonable description.

The thing is that a layer layer I think is only a regular layer. So I prefer not to include it in the list.

 

I erase path text layer because we have shape text layer and curve text layer.

 

Thank you Telemax for the new one.

 

Resuming:

1. Mesa de trabajo 1: artboard.

2. Capa 1: vector layer.

3. Pixel: pixel layer.

4. Máscara: mask layer.

5. Ajuste niveles: adjustment layer.

6. Curva: curve layer.

6a. Curves layer.

7. Elipse: shape layer.

8. Rectángulo: vector crop layer.

9. Texto artístico: artistic text layer.

10. Marco de texto: frame text layer.

11. Panel stock.PNG: image layer.

12. Group layer.

13. Shape Text layer.

14. Curve Text layer.

15. Compound Layer.

16. Symbol layer.

 

Cheers!

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1 hour ago, spsorrel said:

The thing is that a layer layer I think is only a regular layer.

But it is the only kind of layer in Affinity that is a regular layer, except for Vector and Pixel. All others are kinds of objects, or containers. So if you leave it out you leave out the only real layer :)

(And that should be Layer layer with a capital L, as it is a specific kind of layer.)

-- Walt
Designer, Photo, and Publisher V1 and V2 at latest retail and beta releases
PC:
    Desktop:  Windows 11 Pro, version 23H2, 64GB memory, AMD Ryzen 9 5900 12-Core @ 3.00 GHz, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 

    Laptop:  Windows 11 Pro, version 23H2, 32GB memory, Intel Core i7-10750H @ 2.60GHz, Intel UHD Graphics Comet Lake GT2 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Laptop GPU.
iPad:  iPad Pro M1, 12.9": iPadOS 17.4.1, Apple Pencil 2, Magic Keyboard 
Mac:  2023 M2 MacBook Air 15", 16GB memory, macOS Sonoma 14.4.1

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1 hour ago, walt.farrell said:

All others are kinds of objects, or containers.

What is a Layer layer, if not a kind of container? :/

Alfred spacer.png
Affinity Designer/Photo/Publisher 2 for Windows • Windows 10 Home/Pro
Affinity Designer/Photo/Publisher 2 for iPad • iPadOS 17.4.1 (iPad 7th gen)

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3 hours ago, spsorrel said:

The thing is that a layer layer I think is only a regular layer. So I prefer not to include it in the list.

Do not underestimate Layer, with it you can use the mystery button and more 😎

There you can find out a few details:
 

 

 

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This list needs some enhancements.

  • The selection is a bit arbitrary. (Stacks / Fill / pattern layer missing, frame text missing)
  • Curves / vectors used ad mask are still the same layer type
  • the hierarchy is missing
    • container
      • stacks
      • artboards
      • pages
      • layers
      • groups
      • compounds
      • image / placed file
    • pixel
      • pixel (multiple channels)
        • Frequency separated pairs (handled specially)
        • Live perspective mode active/inactive
      • masks (alpha channel only)
    • curve / vector
      • shapes (tectangular, ellipse, …)
      • text (frame, art, path, …)
      • fill / pattern
      • Regular curve without special properties
    • Adjustments (share some properties of vector layers)
      • modify pixels independent from other pixels
      • alpha-enabled adjustments (curves, layers, channels, procedural texture)
      • alpha-passive adjustments (all others)
    • filters
      • Modify pixels based on other pixel data

Depending on position (parent / child / mask), layers can act specifically. This mainly affects how color channels and alpha channels are used (or ignored) with respect other layers (lower, parent)

Edited by NotMyFault

Mac mini M1 A2348 | Windows 10 - AMD Ryzen 9 5900x - 32 GB RAM - Nvidia GTX 1080

LG34WK950U-W, calibrated to DCI-P3 with LG Calibration Studio / Spider 5

iPad Air Gen 5 (2022) A2589

Special interest into procedural texture filter, edit alpha channel, RGB/16 and RGB/32 color formats, stacking, finding root causes for misbehaving files, finding creative solutions for unsolvable tasks, finding bugs in Apps.

 

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Then just add layer stack, this is really missing 😅

Mac mini M1 A2348 | Windows 10 - AMD Ryzen 9 5900x - 32 GB RAM - Nvidia GTX 1080

LG34WK950U-W, calibrated to DCI-P3 with LG Calibration Studio / Spider 5

iPad Air Gen 5 (2022) A2589

Special interest into procedural texture filter, edit alpha channel, RGB/16 and RGB/32 color formats, stacking, finding root causes for misbehaving files, finding creative solutions for unsolvable tasks, finding bugs in Apps.

 

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  • Staff

Hi @spsorrel,
In Affinity Designer you may also deal with embedded documents and linked documents (depending on the Image Placement Policy you select in the new document dialog in the Layout section on the right). These appear when you place a document composed by multiple layers/objects (like SVG, PSD etc or other native affinity document) in your document using the Place Image Tool, the File > Place command or simply by dragging these file formats from Finder/Windows explorer to the canvas of your document in Affinity Designer.

Screen Shot 2021-09-22 at 18.11.28.jpg

 

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Hello all:

2 hours ago, NotMyFault said:

Then just add layer stack, this is really missing 😅

But, what is a Stack layer?

 

Thank you MEB for the new 2 type of layers.

 

Then, resuming, before the Stack layer answer is:

1. Mesa de trabajo 1: artboard.

2. Capa 1: vector layer or layer layer.

3. Pixel: pixel layer.

4. Máscara: mask layer.

5. Ajuste niveles: adjustment layer.

6. Curva: curve layer.

6a. Curves layer.

7. Elipse: shape layer.

8. Rectángulo: vector crop layer.

9. Texto artístico: artistic text layer.

10. Marco de texto: frame text layer.

11. Panel stock.PNG: image layer.

12. Group layer.

13. Shape Text layer.

14. Curve Text layer.

15. Compound Layer.

16. Symbol layer.

17. Linked document layer.

18. Embedded document layer.

 

There are many kind layers...MEB, could there be any other layer in Designer?

Thank you everybody.

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You're missing at least one kind of text layer:

image.png.045548c28bd6c6bf3a5c18e11a3d7824.png

-- Walt
Designer, Photo, and Publisher V1 and V2 at latest retail and beta releases
PC:
    Desktop:  Windows 11 Pro, version 23H2, 64GB memory, AMD Ryzen 9 5900 12-Core @ 3.00 GHz, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 

    Laptop:  Windows 11 Pro, version 23H2, 32GB memory, Intel Core i7-10750H @ 2.60GHz, Intel UHD Graphics Comet Lake GT2 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Laptop GPU.
iPad:  iPad Pro M1, 12.9": iPadOS 17.4.1, Apple Pencil 2, Magic Keyboard 
Mac:  2023 M2 MacBook Air 15", 16GB memory, macOS Sonoma 14.4.1

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11 hours ago, walt.farrell said:

You're missing at least one kind of text layer:

image.png.045548c28bd6c6bf3a5c18e11a3d7824.png

I have been testing and you are right, but you miss one more layer 😅

imagen.png.3ecaa525b38aa0ad24e33d9ba43ddab2.png

Texto curvado: curve text.

Dar forma al texto: shape text.

Curvar texto de trazado: curve path text.

Dar forma al texto de trazado: shape path text.

 

Then, resuming, before the Stack layer answer is:

1. Mesa de trabajo 1: artboard.

2. Capa 1: vector layer or layer layer.

3. Pixel: pixel layer.

4. Máscara: mask layer.

5. Ajuste niveles: adjustment layer.

6. Curva: curve layer.

6a. Curves layer.

7. Elipse: shape layer.

8. Rectángulo: vector crop layer.

9. Texto artístico: artistic text layer.

10. Marco de texto: frame text layer.

11. Panel stock.PNG: image layer.

12. Group layer.

13. Texto curvado: curve text layer.

14. Dar forma al texto: shape text layer.

15. Curvar texto de trazado: curve path text layer.

16. Dar forma al texto de trazado: shape path text layer.

17. Compound Layer.

18. Symbol layer.

19. Linked document layer.

20. Embedded document layer.

 

Ufff, this is endless 🤣.

 

Thank you.

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