Create a stroke around a group (of objects)?

[Jose Alvarez]

Hi!

I wish to apply a stroke to the contour of a group (formed by some objects). There's a way to do it without creating a merging object with all the grouped objects and moving it back (indeed, that's the way I'm doing now...)

[debraspicher]

23 minutes ago, Jose Alvarez said:

Hi!

I wish to apply a stroke to the contour of a group (formed by some objects). There's a way to do it without creating a merging object with all the grouped objects and moving it back (indeed, that's the way I'm doing now...)

If there are enough paths available to create the fill you need, you could merge a duplicate group to create the shape needed to apply a stroke. There wouldn't be a group then, just the final curve and then you can turn off the fill. If you don't have the paths, you may have to create them by duplicating those objects & use "Convert to Curves" option.

https://affinity.help/designer/en-US.lproj/index.html?page=pages/ObjectControl/join.html?title=Joining objects

[Aammppaa]

You might get away with an Outline effect applied to the group.

https://affinity.help/designer2/English.lproj/pages/LayerFX/layerFX_outline.html

1. Group the objects that you want to outline.
2. Add Outline effect to the group, via the Layer Effects button in the Layers Panel.

[Jose Alvarez]

2 hours ago, debraspicher said:

If there are enough paths available to create the fill you need, you could merge a duplicate group to create the shape needed to apply a stroke. There wouldn't be a group then, just the final curve and then you can turn off the fill. If you don't have the paths, you may have to create them by duplicating those objects & use "Convert to Curves" option.

https://affinity.help/designer/en-US.lproj/index.html?page=pages/ObjectControl/join.html?title=Joining objects

Thanks, Debra, but this is the solution that I'm using right now and the one I want to avoid ;).

[Jose Alvarez]

20 minutes ago, Aammppaa said:

You might get away with an Outline effect applied to the group.

https://affinity.help/designer2/English.lproj/pages/LayerFX/layerFX_outline.html

1. Group the objects that you want to outline.
2. Add Outline effect to the group, via the Layer Effects button in the Layers Panel.

Thanks Aammppaa, that's just I was looking for!

[loukash]

1 hour ago, Jose Alvarez said:

that's just I was looking for!

Just be aware that the outline will be a bitmap effect, not a vector stroke.

[loukash]

For a non-destructive and editable outline , I'd go this route:

 

[loukash]

The above vector workflow can be made completely interactive by using Symbols:

1. create your vector objects and select them
2. Layer > Create Compound (don't worry about temporarily losing any individual object attributes, they are not lost)
3. create your outline stroke on the Compound layer (remove the fill if you don't need any)
4. create a symbol of the Compound layer (i.e. click the Create button in the Symbols panel)
5. duplicate the new Symbol layer
6. in the Symbols panel, disable the Sync button
7. select the Compound layer inside the cloned Symbol layer
8. Layer > Release Compound (there, all your original attributes of individual objects should be back
9. select the parent Symbol layer of the released objects
10. enable the Sync button again
11. group both Symbol layer instances to keep them aligned

It's important to create a Symbol from the compound first and then release the duplicate compound unsynced to get your fill attributes back. The other way around the symbol sync wouldn't work.

Now when you select the nested objects inside either Symbol instance, they will move or change shape in sync. Only their fill and stroke attributes are detached via the Compound layer as marked by the vertical dashed line in the Layers panel.

 

[Jose Alvarez]

12 hours ago, loukash said:

The above vector workflow can be made completely interactive by using Symbols:

1. create your vector objects and select them
2. Layer > Create Compound (don't worry about temporarily losing any individual object attributes, they are not lost)
3. create your outline stroke on the Compound layer (remove the fill if you don't need any)
4. create a symbol of the Compound layer (i.e. click the Create button in the Symbols panel)
5. duplicate the new Symbol layer
6. in the Symbols panel, disable the Sync button
7. select the Compound layer inside the cloned Symbol layer
8. Layer > Release Compound (there, all your original attributes of individual objects should be back
9. select the parent Symbol layer of the released objects
10. enable the Sync button again
11. group both Symbol layer instances to keep them aligned

It's important to create a Symbol from the compound first and then release the duplicate compound unsynced to get your fill attributes back. The other way around the symbol sync wouldn't work.

Now when you select the nested objects inside either Symbol instance, they will move or change shape in sync. Only their fill and stroke attributes are detached via the Compound layer as marked by the vertical dashed line in the Layers panel.

 

Nice solution, Loukash, I take note! Thanks.

[loukash]

2 hours ago, Jose Alvarez said:

Nice solution, Loukash

Thanks. But frankly, it's still more of a "complex workaround" rather than an easily applicable workflow.
It could be made easier if Affinity had an option for groups, whether to apply certain attributes on a group layer to each of its children individually (current method), or as a kind of overlay, i.e. by creating a hidden compound object "on the fly" (which is more or less what layer effects do, only that those are bitmap, not vector).
Either that, or a new category called Vector Layer Effects would be handy.

[Jose Alvarez]

I agree with all you say.

My first option was the Appearance menu, but there you can't do nothing with groups. Maybe some day

[EricP]

wow, very clever. I had not realised you could unlink some attributes from symbols by unlinking, editing and relinking them.

Thanks for the tip

[loukash]

28 minutes ago, EricP said:

I had not realised you could unlink some attributes from symbols by unlinking, editing and relinking them.

If you have Photo, you can also quickly switch overthere to make use of its Links panel. The underlying technology for links and symbols is obviously the same.

[EricP]

yes, I need to invest some time in these. I can see the potential, but it requires some planning. Need to get more familiar