Feature Request: New layers should get a unique name

[jweitzel]

Hello out there!

When I klick the icon "new pixel layer" in the layers panel of AFPhoto, I get a new layer with the name "(Pixel)". When I click a second time and so on, I always get further layers with exact the same name "(Pixel") – and from that on I'm lost in confusion.

My feature request is therefore: Please give any new layer a unique name, e.g. "(Pixel-001)" or the like, so that the user can identify which new layer she has generated in that moment.

I hope this aspect isn't discussed already elsewhere. I did a search. Otherwise delete that Topic.

 

Best wishes

Johannes

 

 

[GarryP]

The ‘name’ in parentheses is not the layer ‘name’, it’s the type of layer.
So, when you create two pixel layers, both with the ‘name’ of “(Pixel)” you are seeing two pixel layers, neither of which has a name.
If you don’t give any layers a name yourself then most layers (except image layers and some others) will have no name.

The layer you have just created should be the one which is selected in the Layers Panel – sometimes you need to have “Select new object” checked in the Context Toolbar (if that option exists for the type of layer).

[jweitzel]

3 hours ago, GarryP said:

The ‘name’ in parentheses is not the layer ‘name’, it’s the type of layer.
So, when you create two pixel layers, both with the ‘name’ of “(Pixel)” you are seeing two pixel layers, neither of which has a name.
If you don’t give any layers a name yourself then most layers (except image layers and some others) will have no name.

I am very sorry, but this seems to me not really a satisfying answer for the daily use of that software. "If you create 1000 pictures a day, and you do not name *each separately by hand* – you will have at the end of the day 1000 files, which are named 'picture' ". Well Bravo!
I think it will not be a great wambo-dambo to implement into Affinity Photo to simply count up each new layer (like in Photoshop 😛 ) n+1. This would be very useful for everyone, who has not the time to type any name into every layer he creates with shift+cmd+N ...

Johannes

[Old Bruce]

There are many other areas that I want/need auto naming. Wait until you start making Spare Channels or colour Swatch Palettes... the list is incredibly long.

As it is now if we do name a layer and duplicate that layer we have two layers with the exact same name. Not good.

[GarryP]

15 hours ago, jweitzel said:

I am very sorry, but this seems to me not really a satisfying answer for the daily use of that software.

My response was simply to point out that the ‘name’ you mentioned was not a ‘name’, and to give a simple way to see which layer had been created last (which is what I thought you wanted to know).

Having said that, I have no problem with your suggestion being an option for users to switch on, if they so wish, as I would just not switch it on as I don’t want all of my layers to have names; I prefer to only name the layers which are important as that makes them easier to find. (There will be plenty of potential problems with automatic naming but if the developers can get around them then that's fine, as long as I don't have to use them.)

Have you considered what would happen if, when layers are given names automatically, the type of layer changes?
For instance, say you have created ten Rectangle layers – named, for example, Rectangle-001, Rectangle-002… Rectangle-010 – and you then rasterise one or more of those layers. You will now have some Rectangle Layers called “Rectangle-xxx” and some Pixel Layers called “Rectangle-xxx”. Wouldn’t this be confusing?

[fde101]

On 9/5/2022 at 3:29 AM, GarryP said:

Have you considered what would happen if, when layers are given names automatically, the type of layer changes?

This is easily worked around by not including the type of layer in the name.  They could just be called "Thing 1", "Thing 2", etc.

 

On 9/5/2022 at 3:29 AM, GarryP said:

I have no problem with your suggestion being an option for users to switch on, if they so wish, as I would just not switch it on as I don’t want all of my layers to have names

Agreed, same here.