Designer, new background layer to fit document size

[mikeill]

Hi, all, and happy holidays. The days are getting lighter.

Is there a handy way to create a new layer in Affinity Designer, that is the size of the document?

[thomaso]

As far I understand a pure layer is a type which has no dimensions by itself but gets determined by the objects placed on/in it. A selected layer size gets displayed in the layout window by the bounding box respectively the w & h in the transform panel: no objects = no bounding box & no w/h.

[dominik]

8 hours ago, mikeill said:

Is there a handy way to create a new layer in Affinity Designer, that is the size of the document?

Hello @mikeill,

I think @thomaso points it out very well. There is no background layer in AD without an object ... but if you have Affinity Photo you can switch over there and create a fill layer (from the Layers menu) that automatically has the size of your document.

d.

[Eddy-2]

Would using Artboards be any use?

[Eddy-2]

4 minutes ago, N.P.M. said:

Or just a rectangle with the size of the document/page/artboard(with bleed)

I'd overlooked the 'background' bit of the question. A rectangle would probably be the best solution (on its own layer if needs be).

[Pšenda]

12 hours ago, mikeill said:

new background layer to fit document size

Edit in Photo..., New Fill Layer. 

[Pšenda]

2 minutes ago, N.P.M. said:

Try a suggestion without going out of designer.

Why shouldn't I going out of designer if it doesn't offer the functionality I need? Sorry, but I'm not a fool to bother with something I can do more easily in APhoto.

[Pšenda]

5 hours ago, N.P.M. said:

Why confused

Yes, confused. The fact that you don't understand the meaning and benefit of the "Edit in" commands, which can be used to easily and quickly extend the functionality of applications (by the way, that's why Serif implemented them in applications), doesn't mean that they can't be useful for the OP. Since he did not specify what exactly he needs, he can choose the optimal one from the proposed procedures.

[mikeill]

Thank you all for the feedback and input. Fun.

I do have Affinity Photo as well, but would prefer to achieve this simple task within a single application.

I find that I frequently want to add a background to a Designer document.

I was hoping for an "add fill layer" option, but from the above comments, it appears that the AD-only approach is:

1. Open Document Setup
2. Make note of the document dimensions
3. Add new layer
4. Add a Rectangle
5. In the transform panel, set x and y to zero, width and height to match document dimensions

Is that accurate?

 

 

[Eddy-2]

To mikeill.

As N.P.M. says, just draw a rectangle on top of your document, drag it to the bottom of the Layers panel (or Layer menu > Arrange > Move to back) and use that as your background.

One suggestion is to lock the Background.

[dominik]

12 hours ago, mikeill said:

it appears that the AD-only approach is:

1. Open Document Setup
2. Make note of the document dimensions
3. Add new layer
4. Add a Rectangle
5. In the transform panel, set x and y to zero, width and height to match document dimensions

Is that accurate?

Yes, this is the way on how to do in in AD.

You could save a document with a coloured rectangle as a template file and start from there.

A nice addition would be if we could not only choose 'transparent' as a background option in 'Document setup' but also any colour.

d.

[Pšenda]

14 hours ago, mikeill said:

I find that I frequently want to add a background to a Designer document.

Personally, I also need it very often - I have several Fill Layers added, with which I then test the appearance of the logo on various predefined backgrounds. And I know from experience that Edit in Photo... , New Fill Layer, Edit in Designer... is so far the fastest and least problematic way to change the background of the entire document (perhaps Serif adds a New Fill Layer to ADe as well). After that, I quite often adjust the size of the document, so I would have to constantly correct the filling rectangles (otherwise they wouldn't cover the entire background, or they could be bigger and cause problems during export). I'm done with the Fill Layer.

 

2 hours ago, dominik said:

You could save a document with a coloured rectangle as a template file and start from there.

Personally, I would prepare a template with a Fill Layer - then you only need to adjust the size of the document.

[Eddy-2]

I'm new to Fill Layers.

For those who don't have Photo but only Designer, will the Designer template  below work?

fill layer.aftemplate

[Pšenda]

15 hours ago, N.P.M. said:

I use publisher as main program and don't need to edit in , I have personas.

I also mostly use APublisher and switch using Personas, but since the OP asks for it in ADesigner (maybe because he needs Export Persona), that's why Edit In….

15 hours ago, N.P.M. said:

I dont use fill layers at all, I think it's a overrated object/function.

That is your choice and decision. For me, they are absolutely indispensable, and therefore I have to supplement them using Edit In.

15 hours ago, N.P.M. said:

a mistake you made by simply bypassing the fact that the op asked for something in designer

What "mistake" are you talking about? From the beginning, it is perhaps quite obvious that this is a replacement of a function missing in ADesigner with functions from APhoto. So using Edit In Photo... is completely intentional, not a mistake.

[Eddy-2]

To N.P.M.

Basically, it's horses for courses.

I use backgrounds which usually have some content and so a fill layer wouldn't be much use to me. Also, I've no particular use for multiple documents of different sizes.

At least mikeill now has a few options to choose from.

[dominik]

3 hours ago, Pšenda said:

Personally, I would prepare a template with a Fill Layer - then you only need to adjust the size of the document.

This, of course, is the more clever way of doing it 😉 Thanks.

d.

[thomaso]

14 minutes ago, dominik said:

more clever

Reminds me to Assets – that wouldn't need a specific (template) document on disk. But it appears strange:

In APub I can add a Fill Layer to an Asset panel subset via menu (not via drag/drop), it appears in the Asset panel as red square (as e.g. Adjustments do, too) and gets auto-named as "Fill". – But if drag it to a page it occurs in the Layers panel as "(Fill)" layer but with a pure transparent thumbnail without colour, and no colour setting affects this Fill Layer.

Is this a V1 issue only … or in V2, too?

[Pšenda]

1 hour ago, thomaso said:

or in V2, too?

I've tried this before but it didn't work for me - the Asset gets created but has no effect.
It looks like this in the Asset panel, that is exactly how it works - it is not visible 🙂

[loukash]

3 hours ago, N.P.M. said:

I like to mention the culprits of using fill layers.

And never attempt to align a fill layer.
Because then the fill will align to… singularity!  

1 hour ago, thomaso said:

But if drag it to a page it occurs in the Layers panel as "(Fill)" layer but with a pure transparent thumbnail without colour, and no colour setting affects this Fill Layer.

Yep, singularity again.
Where's Stephen Hawking when you need him… 

[thomaso]

20 hours ago, loukash said:

Yep, singularity again.

Not sure if you mean "Yep" or "singularity" as a joke. I don't see a reason why an object should get modified at all once it becomes an Asset. Here in V1 an example with an empty Group, which first appears with a black, non-transparent layer thumbnail in the Layers panel + a red one in the Asset panel … then influences added child layers in a non-singular, rather buggy way … and ends with a transparent layer thumbnail:

Regardless of the sense of an empty Group as Asset it illustrates what you call "singularity". This tread shows that a coloured Fill layer could be useful … but it behaves with a same strange result of invisibility. It appears relevant what hidden code is working if an object gets added to the Asset panel.

[loukash]

1 minute ago, thomaso said:

Not sure if you mean "Yep" or "singularity" as a joke.

An object without dimensions – or rather infinite dimensions like the Fill layer – is a singularity in the astronomical sense. de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singularität_(Astronomie)
And since I was also referencing Hawking in that context: yes, it was meant in a joke-ish way.  

7 minutes ago, thomaso said:

Here in V1 an example with an empty Group, which first appears with a black, non-transparent layer thumbnail in the Layers panel + a red one in the Asset panel … then influences added child layers in a non-singular, rather buggy way … and ends with a transparent layer thumbnail:

The same "singularity bug".
Yep, it's a bug, not a feature. You may definitely want to post it in the Bugs section.

[thomaso]

Just now, loukash said:

You may definitely want to post it in the Bugs section.

Since bugs in V1 will not get fixed any more someone with V2 should report this.

Your singularity comparison doesn't really work here because this effect does not occur if such a non-dimensional empty Group or uncoloured Fill layer was not taken from the Asset panel but just used in a document's Layers panel: then both this layer types may get filled & refilled repeatedly without issues.

[loukash]

Just now, thomaso said:

someone with V2 should report this

I haven't checked with v2 yet. I'd have to reboot the Mac to Catalina which is not what I intend to do at this time.

2 minutes ago, thomaso said:

Your singularity comparison doesn't really work here

Yes, I see that my astrophysical jokes are likely lost here. My bad, sorry…  

[Pšenda]

32 minutes ago, loukash said:

An object without dimensions – or rather infinite dimensions like the Fill layer – is a singularity in the astronomical sense

Personally, I think that the comparison of the Fill Layer, i.e. something infinitely large and without boundaries, with the Singularity is not correct. Singularity refers to the cores of black holes and the beginning of the universe, i.e. something infinitely massive but concentrated in a relatively small space, i.e. the opposite of Fill Layer.

[loukash]

Ach jo… 
Připadám si jak Cimrman, když vymýšlel anekdoty pro chemiky.