Limit all actions within a layer/group

[ZhangX]

Hello there,

I'm hoping to perform a series of actions on multiple elements within a layer/group.
I can do that now, but only after repeatedly getting inside then (involuntarily) outside then inside a layer/group.
Is it possible to limit all actions within a layer/group until I explicitly exit with a command?
(For example, in Illustrator, one must double-click an empty area to exit editing a group.)

Thanks

 

[v_kyr]

You probably mean ADe (?), what sort of actions within a layer/group?

[ZhangX]

4 hours ago, v_kyr said:

You probably mean ADe (?), what sort of actions within a layer/group?

Yes, Affinity designer. These actions often involve per-element transformations, text formatting, changing colors and strokes, and so on. Thanks.

[v_kyr]

19 hours ago, ZhangX said:

Is it possible to limit all actions within a layer/group until I explicitly exit with a command?

AFAIK no! - You can select a group/layer and apply common actions like setting the color for all, or changing the whole group elements stroke, size etc. Or you select several elements/objects inside the group/layer and apply some actions to those. - But there is no keep me in that "group mode" until I explicitely leave that group mode function or the like.

See also:

• Keyboard shortcuts
• Layers
  • About layers
  • Create layers
  • Selecting and editing layers
  • Arrange/manage layers
  • Layer opacity
  • Layer blending
  • Layer blend ranges
  • Image layers
  • Layer clipping
  • Layer masking
  • Using adjustment layers
  • Tagging layers
  • Layer colours
• Object control
  • Selecting objects
  • Grouping objects
  • Duplicating objects
  • Aligning objects
  • Joining objects
  • Creating compounds
  • Distributing and spacing objects
  • Ordering objects
  • Targeting objects
  • Isolating objects
  • Finding objects
  • Transforming objects
  • Rotating and shearing objects
  • Rasterising
  • Convert objects to curves
  • Styles
  • Copying and pasting objects
  • Using assets
  • Symbols
  • Object defaults

[thomaso]

3 hours ago, v_kyr said:

Is it possible to limit all actions within a layer/group until I explicitly exit with a command?

Assuming you mean to limit object selection in the layout window: A workaround could be to select all objects (parent layers) + activate the lock for all, then select the group layer which should get edited and unlock this layer.

[ZhangX]

51 minutes ago, thomaso said:

Assuming you mean to limit object selection in the layout window: A workaround could be to select all objects (parent layers) + activate the lock for all, then select the group layer which should get edited and unlock this layer.

Yes, that's precisely the effect I was going for. I only wish starting and stopping were easier.  😏

[v_kyr]

1 hour ago, ZhangX said:

Yes, that's precisely the effect I was going for. I only wish starting and stopping were easier.  😏

Well if that was meant ...

... the still bad here is, that performing a Ctrl-/Cmd-a (select all) in the layers panel won't select really all layers, meaning that in other groups intern layer contents (layers inside other groups) will not be too selected here all together. Thus performaing an Ctrl-/Cmd-a (select all) + Ctrl-/Cmd-L (lock) in the layers panel won't always really lock everything here then!

Though, if in the layers panel no layer tag colors are applied to any layers, a right click menu "Select Same Tag Color" will really select all layers here then!

[thomaso]

52 minutes ago, v_kyr said:

Thus performaing an Ctrl-/Cmd-a (select all) + Ctrl-/Cmd-L (lock) in the layers panel won't always really lock everything here then!

Are you talking about the lock icon in the layers panel for every nested layer – or about the requested inability to get selected in the layout view?

I tried with a group inside a group while only the top layer was locked. Then none of the child objects in one of the two groups could get selected in the layout view – although the layers panel does not show the child layers as being locked (< no lock icon).

[v_kyr]

1 hour ago, thomaso said:

Are you talking about ...

 

 

[thomaso]

Okay, but I think for this topic it is not relevant. It concerns layer selection – whereas the layer Lock would affect all layers if you choose CMD-A + click the Lock Icon for the few which get selected this way.

Locking a parent layer (e.g. group) seems to lock its children, too, – regardless whether its child layers display a lock.

[v_kyr]

7 minutes ago, thomaso said:

Locking a parent layer (e.g. group) seems to lock its children, too, – regardless whether its child layers display a lock.

Nope, even the group is locked, it's childs are not locked, thus when you click on child on screen you can resize/move it (the child) around etc. So that group lock is just affecting the group layer itself, but does not lock every of it's child layers too.

[thomaso]

4 minutes ago, v_kyr said:

Nope, even the group is locked, it's childs are not locked, thus when you click on child on screen you can resize/move it (the child) around etc. So that group lock is just affecting the group layer itself, but does not lock every of it's child layers too.

Strange, I experience it different. In the setup below (only 1 layer is locked) I can select in the layout view only green objects, none of the red ones.

Maybe the point is here "in the layout view" – different to the Layers Panel, where I still can select each single of them and also select the one which is locked and edit certain properties, e.g. colour – even if each of the nested objects would have their locks activated.

 

[v_kyr]

27 minutes ago, thomaso said:

Maybe the point is here "in the layout view" – different to the Layers Panel, where I still can select each single of them and also select the one which is locked and edit certain properties, e.g. colour – even if each of the nested objects would have their locks activated.

That's probably the difference here, view vs layers panel behavior. It might be intentionally that way, even it's a little bit strange (at least for me). - Also not sure about what sense it does make in the layers panel, if a Cmd-a only selects first level layers and not the second level nested child layers too here then. There should maybe at least be a working option to set the affected level structure then ...

Quote

Edit All Layers and Select All

The behaviour of the Select All command depends on the Edit All Layers setting on the Layers panel:

• When enabled, the command will select all objects across all layers and sub-layers.
• If this option is off, only objects on the current layer are selected. Objects within sub-layers are not selected.

Edit All Layers is enabled by default but can be disabled at any time.

... since the above from the help referenced doesn't work for me for "Select all" or via Cmd-a under El Capitan (as can be seen in my above screencast where the option is enabled)! - So looks to be buggy !!!

[ZhangX]

9 hours ago, v_kyr said:

Well if that was meant ...

... the still bad here is, that performing a Ctrl-/Cmd-a (select all) in the layers panel won't select really all layers, meaning that in other groups intern layer contents (layers inside other groups) will not be too selected here all together. Thus performaing an Ctrl-/Cmd-a (select all) + Ctrl-/Cmd-L (lock) in the layers panel won't always really lock everything here then!

Though, if in the layers panel no layer tag colors are applied to any layers, a right click menu "Select Same Tag Color" will really select all layers here then!

Eh, a workaround for a workaround, which has recently been the norm in my Affinity experience. It is, nevertheless, a convenient workaround, so thank you.