How to duplicate object with live displacement

[CM0]

Is there no way to duplicate an object with live displacement so that it looks the same?

It seems that the displacement is not anchored to the object you attach it to?

In this video, you see the duplicate looks different.  The behavior is as if the displacement is not associated to the group, but to the Artboard.

 

[GarryP]

I’m pretty sure that the displacement is ‘anchored’ to the top-left of the page/artboard, so, if you want to have multiple similar things displaced in exactly the same way, you need to rasterise the original before copying/moving.

[CM0]

Unfortunately that defeats the whole purpose of "live" displacement.

[GarryP]

I don’t know if the Live Displace functionality was designed to work the way it does for a specific reason but, from what I have read in the forums, it doesn’t seem to work they way some people expect it to.

There have been various change requests for Live Displace since it was introduced.

You could have a look to see if any of them mention the issue you have and ‘add your voice’ to one of those.

It’s worth noting that some people may have become used to it working the way it does and may depend upon it, and therefore might not like it changing.

[CM0]

That could be easily solvable with a checkbox toggle for 'anchor to object' or something.

[GarryP]

Maybe, but anchor to which part of the layer? Top-left, Bottom-right, centre, etc.?
And what if someone wants it anchored differently?

The Live Ripple functionality lets the user specify a centre-point for the ripple but the ripple ‘stays with’ the layer as the layer is moved.
Maybe a similar thing could be added to Live Displace.

[CM0]

Yes, being able to point and click to set an anchor point anywhere relative to the parent would be most flexible with some reasonable default, maybe center.

Having them all work like Ripple probably makes sense, in that it would be consistent behavior.

[carl123]

It can be done but a lot of fluffing around

Use an image the same size of the text layer
Placed it under the text
Select Load map from Layers beneath for the Displace Layer & Adjust effect
Group the above

Duplicate Group
Drag down to new position
Delete this one's Displace layer
Readd the Display layer with same settings as before

You can now hide (switch off) both image layers

If you need to move any of the groups again, you need to delete and readd the Displace filter

There may be other easier ways to do this but who knows

AfPhoto file attached

 

displace-V2.afphoto

[JimmyJack]

In this case Live is a little bit of a Live.
It's not quite live, but it's not dead either. It just needs to be updated after the move... (you don't need to trash/replace the whole filter).

After moving the copied group (assuming the displacing layers inside aren't locked and can move) you need to re-hit the "Load Map from Layers Beneath" button in the Live 😉 Displace panel.
And, I believe the layer(s) supplying the displacement need to be visible for the the values to be logged into the filter, so you might need to unhide, update, re-hide.
Certainly it's all more of a PITA than just moving the displaced layer 😒.

(this is only true when using the "layers below" method. Load Map from File is..., without getting into it..., different. Prob should have some kinda lock option. But then, I think, the whole thing, in both cases, would need to work differently.... and actually be live.)

Caveat: ... if things are the same as in V1 (I don't have V2)

[CM0]

There really is no workaround that isn't such a PITA that it essentially nullifies the whole advantage of doing it live.  Especially for any work that is rather complex.  Imagine having multiple objects within the same artboard that have different displacement layers.  Then they all break when you duplicate the art board.

Seems like just allowing the user to somehow set an anchor point could be an easy fix for a bunch of the live filters.

[JimmyJack]

49 minutes ago, CM0 said:

There really is no workaround that isn't such a PITA that it essentially nullifies the whole advantage of doing it live.  Especially for any work that is rather complex.  Imagine having multiple objects within the same artboard that have different displacement layers.  Then they all break when you duplicate the art board.

Seems like just allowing the user to somehow set an anchor point could be an easy fix for a bunch of the live filters.

To be fair it's "broken" before the duplication (of artboard, group, or whatever). The displacement values get logged into the filter and that's it.
Even if you move the original group (with all the layers in it) the effect won't move with it. The target will move over top of the logged in info. You'll still have to re-hit the From Layers Below button to recalculate the displacement after the move.