shut off the selection of layers on the canvas

[globso]

how on earth do i shut off the function that enables selection of layers on the canvas? this is the number one worst function of this software, al least how it works now. 
 as an example: im trying to put in some text on a document, instead of putting down the text marker and create a new text layer -the layer that is under the text tool icon is chosen. 
 the same thing happens almost all the time whith different tools, the wrong layer is chosen and something bad is happening. sometimes i realize it right away, but sometimes you realize that you have been drawing/fixing stuff on the wrong layer for 15 minutes and have to cmd-z into insanity. 
 is there a way to shut this off? so i only can change layers in the layers panel. and i dont mean to "lock" a layer as a solution. a locked layer can still be chosen and is still irritating if it is chosen without me wanting it to be. 
Affinity photo
mac os

Edited July 20, 2022 by globso
added information

[GarryP]

As far as I know there is no way to limit selection of layers to only via the Layers Panel.

Would you be able to share a video which shows what’s happening?

If you can’t share a video, can you give us a detailed step-by-step method to reproduce the problem?

[thomaso]

21 minutes ago, globso said:

im trying to put in some text on a document, instead of putting down the text marker and create a new text layer -the layer that is under the text tool icon is chosen. 

Do you click only by "putting down the text marker"?  – If yes, it is more comfortable: Instead of just clicking with the cursor of the Text Tool, you also have to drag to create a new text frame / a new layer. This way you already set e.g. the font size (Art Text Tool) or the width / height for the new paragraph (Frame Text Tool).

[Old Bruce]

You are most likely using the Art Text text tool. If you tap a second time then the size will be used from the most recent use of the tool. If you click and drag the size will be set according to how you drag.

It is an annoyance for you for sure, but to be perfectly honest I never noticed this before your post. That is over six years of use.

[globso]

11 minutes ago, thomaso said:

Do you click only by "putting down the text marker"?  – If yes, it is more comfortable: Instead of just clicking with the cursor of the Text Tool, you also have to drag to create a new text frame / a new layer. This way you already set e.g. the font size (Art Text Tool) or the width / height for the new paragraph (Frame Text Tool).

yes i am clicking to se the cursor exactly where i want it to be( like you do in right about every other software in excistence) , i dont want to click and drag and resize it, just to resize it back to the preset that i had from the beginning? i have tested it now, and sure, its easier to get the text to be, and not just selecting an other layer. but i still have to resize it afterwards. sure not a big deal if you are just writing one phrase, but i have a bunch of texts that has to be in different layers and the same size. 
 but your tip worked for sure, i guess i just have to live with that i have to resize and correct everything afterwards.

[Old Bruce]

1 minute ago, globso said:

 ... i guess i just have to live with that i have to resize and correct everything afterwards.

I guess I wasn't clear in my explanation earlier. If you tap a second time the size will be from the previous instance of the tool's use. The size that is set in the context toolbar. Just tap a second time, don't drag.

[globso]

20 minutes ago, Old Bruce said:

You are most likely using the Art Text text tool. If you tap a second time then the size will be used from the most recent use of the tool. If you click and drag the size will be set according to how you drag.

It is an annoyance for you for sure, but to be perfectly honest I never noticed this before your post. That is over six years of use.

but if i click once, the text will place itself just above whatever layer happened to be under the text in the layer order. if, as i have it now, i have abunch of letters spread out the whole canvas, this will make an utter mess of the layer order. i want all the letters in a row in the layers panel. i can (as i also do now) off course readjust the layer order, but it feels like such an unnesesary extra process. 

[globso]

2 minutes ago, Old Bruce said:

I guess I wasn't clear in my explanation earlier. If you tap a second time the size will be from the previous instance of the tool's use. The size that is set in the context toolbar. Just tap a second time, don't drag.

but that text layer will still place itself just above whatever random layer is beneeth wherever you put the text cursor on. 

[Old Bruce]

Okay, so now with this new information about a new restriction.... try placing a rectangle layer on top of the artwork. fill it with a colour and set its opacity to a couple of percent so you will be able to see your artwork. Now whenever you click anywhere you will be clicking on the rectangle and that is on top so all your text will be above that.

A second way of avoiding this new problem is to temporarily or permanently group all the layers. All your text will be above the group. Be careful you don't double click because then you will be selecting a layer inside the group.

[iconoclast]

And what if you click somewhere where no layer is under the position you click? You can easily drag and resize the Art Text Layer to where and to the size you want with the mouse. Shouldn't be a bigger problem, I think.

[globso]

On 7/20/2022 at 4:58 PM, iconoclast said:

And what if you click somewhere where no layer is under the position you click? You can easily drag and resize the Art Text Layer to where and to the size you want with the mouse. Shouldn't be a bigger problem, I think.

well, its not only with the text-tool this happens. its basicly every tool. when i click with anything on to the canvas it changes to that layer. the simpelest of tools works most of the time, like the brush tool. but i realized that it just happened with that tool aswell. i can see how it sometimes can be neat to just click on the canvas to get to that layer, but make it bloody work then... or like the fx-panel, make it work or just take it away, or the "canvas rotation" feature, or the text writing-tool over all. everything just seems so unfinnished. i read something about a new version of affinity, is it comming anytime soon? im just having a bad day here, just reebooted affinity bacause some feature stopped working as usual. 

[iconoclast]

36 minutes ago, globso said:

well, its not only with the text-tool this happens. its basicly every tool. when i click with anything on to the canvas it changes to that layer. the simpelest of tools works most of the time, like the brush tool. but i realized that it just happened with that tool aswell. i can see how it sometimes can be neat to just click on the canvas to get to that layer, but make it bloody work then... or like the fx-panel, make it work or just take it away, or the "canvas rotation" feature, or the text writing-tool over all. everything just seems so unfinnished. i read something about a new version of affinity, is it comming anytime soon? im just having a bad day here, just reebooted affinity bacause some feature stopped working as usual. 

What shall I say? I tested out many graphic apps during the last about fifteen years, beginning with Photoshop, Freehand and Quark XPress (during my apprenticeship), later CorelDraw, Illustrator, InDesign and Photo Plus, and also Open-Source-Software like GIMP, Krita, Inkscape and Scribus, and some Free- and Shareware too. About one and a half years ago I discovered the Affinity Apps. All those mentioned Apps are somehow similar, but also somehow different from each other. I don't think that they should all be the same. Of course I had to get used to all of those apps. But I'm really fine with Affinity at the moment.

If you want to select something in your document, you can possibly better do that in the Layers Panel. As Affinity Apps are very layer oriented, this should work better. And instead of Ctrl+Z, you can use the History panel. It is very convenient, if you ask me. And as I recently found out, the History of Affinity Photo also remembers undone steps - even if you made some new steps in the meantime. In that case a different symbol appears on the right side of the step you went back to. Instead of the camera symbol. if you click on that symbol, you will get the lost steps back. And you can save the history with the Affinity-File in every Affinity App. Those are things you will not find in Adobe Apps. So you see, Affinity is different, but it also has its advantages.

I don't know if there will be new versions in the next time.