Using CMD key to bring up "Move" tool

[Jim Monson]

After much more editing in AD and with the help of all of your comments, I have shed my Illustrator habits and become better adjusted to how to do what I want to do in AD.

 

1. In AD changing the position of a text box while editing within its text (including moving it to a totally new position) is simply done by revealing the needed hidden "tool," which becomes visible via a cursor move.

 

2. Actually changing from the Frame Text tool to the Move tool can be done either by pushing ESC a couple times and then choosing the desired shortcut key for a new tool, OR simply by clicking once (outside of the text box---which does not change the Frame Text tool icon on the screen but which allows one to choose the desired shortcut key for a different tool.

 

My former problem was that I had not noticed that I was in the Artistic Text tool (which does not work this way) rather than in the Frame Text tool. I wish that one could use the "click outside the text" method with the Artistic Text tool as is possible with the Frame Text tool.

 

Thanks for your patience!

[R C-R]

Hmmm. For me, the two text tools seem to work the same regarding moving via the bounding box or using escape to exit text entry mode. Can you explain a bit more about what you see that is different about the Artistic Text tool?

[Dave Harris]

I wish that one could use the "click outside the text" method with the Artistic Text tool as is possible with the Frame Text tool.

The code for that is written, and will be included in a beta soon. Then it will only create new Art text if there isn't existing text selected.

[Jim Monson]

Great! I'm enjoy AD more everyday. BTW, the text on path works so beautifully, adjusting the text and path so well. To answer Members, unlike the Frame text tool, one has to double click on ESC to exit a text when the Art text tool is chosen and then a key stroke take one to a different tool. I do not know about your situation, but if I click outside a text when using the Art text tool, AD creates a new Art text. The fact that this is being remedied in a new beta (and that Dave communicates this to us!) is very helpful.

[R C-R]

To answer Members, unlike the Frame text tool, one has to double click on ESC to exit a text when the Art text tool is chosen and then a key stroke take one to a different tool. I do not know about your situation, but if I click outside a text when using the Art text tool, AD creates a new Art text.

I checked this with both AD & AP but for me it just takes a single tap of the ESC key followed by tapping another tool shortcut key to change to that other tool.

 

When I click outside a text when using the Art text tool, I do get the Art text cursor but tapping ESC just once & then another tool's key immediately changes to that tool & does not create a new Art text.

 

BTW, I am "R C-R" not "Members." There is just one of me, something the world probably should be thankful for.  :lol:

[Jim Monson]

I tried it, and it worked, but it still two steps rather than one. It does help me. Thanks.

[Jim Monson]

Great! I just downloaded AD 1.4.2 beta and when editing an artistic text box I now simply click outside the text box and use my shortcut (s) to get the move tool. Thanks much, AD, for this big improvement. It really speeds things up, at least for me. I really like my shortcuts, all with my left hand on the keyboard (s for move tool, d for node tool, c for pen tool, etc.) and of course a toggle back and forth, thanks to the forethought of the AD designers. Many thanks!

[Clayton King]

On 2/6/2016 at 3:29 PM, Asha said:

Madame, the OP is referring to an Illustrator keyboard toggle that will change the cursor to the move tool while that key is depressed, and return directly to the text tool when released (this is done instead of switching between tools). The need for a keyboard toggle is irrelevant, as explained by crabtrem, because the cursor only needs to be moved to the bounding box in order to change to the move tool, and after repositioning, the cursor will go back to text when moved inside the text box.

Correct. However, I cannot tell you how often I end up inserting "v" one or more times trying to deal with this. Of all the idiosyncrasies in Affinity, this is easily at the top of my list. Making sure you press Esc Esc V every time I want to quickly move something is a bit maddening. The reference to Adobe is that the cursor temporarily changes with the CMD key. 

[Jim Monson]

On 2/14/2016 at 5:23 PM, R C-R said:

I use an Apple Extended Keyboard with 19 function keys, but even most of them are already dedicated to some function that I can't change or don't want to give up, & besides that they are the farthest from the home position, making them less than ideal for frequent use. (I'm still looking for a good replacement for the awkward shift F6 feathering shortcut for that reason.)

You probably know that you can reprogram the F Keys in System Prefs.

[Jim Monson]

After wasting much time editing complex map docs brought over from Illustrator (AI), I dare bring up this topic again. Here is my problem. 

1. My hundreds of map elevations created in AI were within a text box, meters in the top line and feet in the second line. When brought into Affinity Publisher/Designer (AP) via AI's IDML option, these elevations (and many other texts) remained within a text frame. Unless the text frame was exactly the right length, the elevations were messed up.

2. Rather than adjust the frame text box I want to change these frame texts to art text in AP so that I will not encounter this problem again. This means that I must select each elevation individually, copy it, use AP's Art Text tool and paste in the elevation, edit it to make it appear exactly like the original. And here is the problem.

3. Since the above elevation in Art Text is not aligned exactly over my original frame text elevation, I must move it. Clicking on the edge of the Art Text elevation does *not* allow me to reposition this Art Text. Yes, other Move Tool options become available, but *not* what I need, i.e., simply to move the Art Text elevation into the correct position. If I am mistaken, please tell me. See example below = my corrected art text at the top left needs to be repositioned to appear exactly where the 308 m (in a frame text) appears on the bottom right.

4. I am requesting that when the Art Test elevation needs to be repositioned, why can AP not allow a modifier key such as CMD (on a Mac) for a moment, allowing the user to move the elevation by bringing up the actual Move Tool? Releasing the CMD key would then return me to my previous tool. This is how it worked in AI, and this AI option is one of the few AI options I miss. It is a great help and speeds up my work flow. 

[R C-R]

56 minutes ago, Jim Monson said:

Clicking on the edge of the Art Text elevation does *not* allow me to reposition this Art Text.

Are you saying that with a text tool active & you have a text cursor showing in the Art Text, if you move the pointer over an edge of the Art Text bounding box, it does not turn into a four-way arrow so you cannot click & drag the Art Text layer to a new position?

I ask because for me it does, & I can. There is no need for me to change tools or use a modifier key. I just have to avoid positioning the pointer over or near a bounding box control handle, since clicking & dragging on one of them would transform the text, like by shearing, rotating, stretching, changing the point size, etc.

[Jim Monson]

Again, R C-R, you have pointed out the obvious to a former Illustrator user. In my attempt to reposition an elevation I did not realize that the four-pointed icon (that appears when touching the side of the elevation box) actually allows the same user action as the Move Tool. I was fixated on seeing the Move Tool icon rather than the four-pointed icon. Dhaa....

Thanks for taking the time to open my eyes to another way Affinity has thought through what we users need.

[Clayton King]

I think the point is that while one can hover over the edge of a text frame (artistic or paragraph) to move it with the 4-headed arrow, it would often be helpful if one could hold down the CMD or CTRL key to temporarily change from a text cursor to a move tool (like in Photoshop) so that one could simply drag the object, rather than having to find the edge, orient, hover, use the arrow, reorient, etc. It's simply a faster process.

 

[Seadog]

Clayton put the problem so neatly.  'It would be helpful if one could hold down the CMD or CTRL key to toggle-change from a text cursor to a move tool and back again at an instant'

This is the one big frustration I have with Affinity Pub and AffD, and the only place where Adobe scores, hands down. Really!

I'm really surprised that Affinity hasn't solved this after several years of development (NB this thread and request was started in 2016).

PLEASE Affinity!  I'll send you a nice bottle of gin (or wine if you prefer) if you'll just do this little thing. 🙏   Here's hoping!

[CB1978]

Agree here.  A ONE KEY shortcut to the move tool would be extremely useful....  I do the ESC x2  and V, and while it works, it just isn't the most efficient, and I often times insert a V into my text...

[loukash]

Perhaps it's just me, but most of the tools I've tried right now in v1.10.5 on Mac, cmd-click – often also a simple click – selects any object I click on, and by hovering over its bounding box I can move it anywhere I want.

So what would be the point of removing the cmd modifier from other valuable extra functions we now have, only to have a duplicate modifier for the majority of tools?

5 hours ago, CB1978 said:

I often times insert a V into my text...

Fair enough, happens to me as well.
And don't let me even start about how many times it's happened in all my years with InDesign, in spite of its press-cmd-to-move-things…