Rename... added to layers menu & tab behaviour

[Ash]

Apps: Publisher
Platforms: Windows and macOS

Rename layer has been added to the Layer menu. This has been primarily added from customer requests that it be made possible for a shortcut to be assigned to this function.

In the case of an artboard, you can also now open the rename dialog by double clicking / tapping the artboard name on document.

In addition, for V2 we added the function that if you rename a layer in the Layers panel hitting tab would commit that name and immediately give focus to the next layer's name in the stack to edit (shift-tab to go to the previous layer). Well, as it turned out this was something which only ended up in the Windows version, so in 2.1 this tab functionality in the layers panel is now available in the Mac version too.

[Patrick Connor]

Known Issues

• AFB-7315 - Rename Layer shortcut is used even if no layer is selected on Mac
• PD-382 - Tab/Shift+Tab to cycle through renaming Layers fails to work in Export Persona

Further known issues will be added to this list as they are reported to us by customers in this thread

[MikeTO]

Pressing tab to commit the layer name being edited and start renaming the next layer works great, it's so fast to rename layers now. Thanks!

[Intuos5]

Please make this one context sensitive (or add a context sensitive version), so that I can also use it just for the layers panel. I usually have to pick the layer to rename first, so I won't mind losing out on this functionality when working in the canvas. These sort of configurations are often possible in other software, where the layers panel is seen as a different context than the main workspace. There, I also use F2 for outline mode (wireframe) and F2 for rename in the layers panel. This allows you to re-use certain accessible hotkeys.

To be clear, in the video, when the mouse is over the layer panel, I would like to rename, rather than toggle the outline view mode.

 

[Frozen Death Knight]

I have a slight issue with using Tab since I use it to open the Studio Presets Manager and shift+Tab to open the Grid and Snapping Axis window, among other things. Is there an option to change the key to something else as to not have it override one another? Great feature btw!

[Intuos5]

8 minutes ago, Frozen Death Knight said:

I have a slight issue with using Tab since I use it to open the Studio Presets Manager and shift+Tab to open the Grid and Snapping Axis window, among other things. Is there an option to change the key to something else as to not have it override one another? Great feature btw!

I think it's the same as what I asked in the post above: make it context sensitive should solve this issue for you.

E: If menu items are added just so it is possible to add shortcuts, I would suggest making this a Miscellaneous flyout, so the menus won't expand further in the future for things you likely won't be accessing from the menu anyways. 

[debraspicher]

This saves so much time.

On 2/7/2023 at 9:20 PM, Ash said:

Rename layer has been added to the Layer menu. This has been primarily added from customer requests that it be made possible for a shortcut to be assigned to this function.

🎉🎉

[Jon P]

On Windows, if you don't have a Layer selected, then F2 (for example) can be assigned to something else and it should work for whatever you assign it to, then go back to renaming a layer when a layer is selected.

On Mac this doesn't seem to be the case so I can get that logged

[Intuos5]

23 minutes ago, Jon P said:

On Windows, if you don't have a Layer selected, then F2 (for example) can be assigned to something else and it should work for whatever you assign it to, then go back to renaming a layer when a layer is selected.

On Mac this doesn't seem to be the case so I can get that logged

This doesn't seem to work for me then, I removed the F2 assignment from the Rename Layer function and left it for the outline view mode. In this case, if I select a layer and hit F2, it does nothing.

Windows 10.0.19045.2486 (22H2) Affinity Designer 2.1.0.1706.

 

[Rudantu]

Love it!

I think the Export Persona slices should follow the same logic for renaming if possible. Slices are mentally so similar to layers that I want to rename them with the same methods.

Please may the Export Persona:
• Have same Slice Rename menu command/shortcut as Designer Persona
• Have same 'Press Tab to rename next slice' functionality as Designer Persona
 

[R C-R]

4 hours ago, Jon P said:

On Mac this doesn't seem to be the case so I can get that logged

Is that maybe related to the AFB-7315 bug on Macs?

[JhonatanS]

On 2/15/2023 at 1:54 PM, Rudantu said:

Love it!

I think the Export Persona slices should follow the same logic for renaming if possible. Slices are mentally so similar to layers that I want to rename them with the same methods.

Please may the Export Persona:
• Have same Slice Rename menu command/shortcut as Designer Persona
• Have same 'Press Tab to rename next slice' functionality as Designer Persona
 

+1 about this,

I work with Several UI elements and sometimes it kind of pain to rename the layers during the export, mainly when you work with something about 150+ layers.

@Ash I believe you guys could consider adding a Batch Rename,
by selecting the layers and edit them at once.

Thanks anyway

[Intuos5]

33 minutes ago, JhonatanS said:

@Ash I believe you guys could consider adding a Batch Rename,
by selecting the layers and edit them at once.

Thanks anyway

That and find/ replace for names, as well as options to modify prefixes and suffixes.

[debraspicher]

1 hour ago, JhonatanS said:

 I believe you guys could consider adding a Batch Rename,
by selecting the layers and edit them at once.

Thanks anyway

Batch Rename: Ctrl + Shift[Hold] and then click to select each layer for rename while holding... then start typing... (Basically multi-caret)

Could also change Layer Rename to Ctrl + Shift for one-clicking to rename. As it is, sometimes it's easy to trigger Layer rename unintentionally by a single click.

[JhonatanS]

6 minutes ago, debraspicher said:

Batch Rename, Ctrl + Shift[Hold] and then click to select each layer for rename while holding... then start typing... (Basically multi-caret)

Could also change Layer Rename to Ctrl + Shift for one-clicking to rename. Instead as it is sometimes it's easy to trigger Layer rename unintentionally by a single click.

here using Windows Ctrl+ Shift while using it just select, doesn't seem to batch rename

[debraspicher]

1 minute ago, JhonatanS said:

here using Windows Ctrl+ Shift while using it just select, doesn't seem to batch rename

Oh no. I meant these are potential combos to go with your suggestion

[Ash]

On 2/15/2023 at 3:28 PM, Frozen Death Knight said:

I have a slight issue with using Tab since I use it to open the Studio Presets Manager and shift+Tab to open the Grid and Snapping Axis window, among other things. Is there an option to change the key to something else as to not have it override one another?

Erm if a text box has focus in any panel in the app then tab should have tab functionality - i.e. standard tab functions take president at that point over any shortcut you may have assigned. e.g. default shortcut for tab is hide UI, so it still does that unless a text box has focus.

 

2 hours ago, JhonatanS said:

I believe you guys could consider adding a Batch Rename

1 hour ago, Intuos5 said:

That and find/ replace for names, as well as options to modify prefixes and suffixes.

Ok so doing find / replace and things such as that will be out of scope for this update, but we can potentially come back to that another time if there is enough demand for it. 
In terms of batch rename - do you just want that if you have multiple layers selected that the Rename Layer function renames all selected layers with the name you have given?

 

On 2/15/2023 at 4:54 PM, Rudantu said:

I think the Export Persona slices

ok yeah we'll take a look at that.

[JhonatanS]

14 minutes ago, Ash said:

o doing find / replace and things such as that will be out of scope for this update, but we can potentially come back to that another time if there is enough demand for it. 
In terms of batch rename - do you just want that if you have multiple layers selected that the Rename Layer function renames all selected layers with the name you have given?

Yes,

Let's say, I want to Rename the Layers by selecting 50 layers at once
then I type "Asset"
it would apply like:
Asset_1
Asset_2
Asset_3... so on

or have a suffix that helps to order this, like ( # _ - @)
LayerName-1, 2, 3
LayerName#1, 2, 3
LayerName_1,2,3
LayerName@1,2,3

well something like that because of course the Number is what will keep the names ordered, mainly during the export

And the number could be considered by the hierarchy of layers, From bottom:
starting in 1 to Top until the last layer selected.

Let me know if this doesn't sound too crazy 😅

[Intuos5]

I agree with @JhonatanS that the batch renaming should give you unique layer names as result (from bottom to top) with a suffix like _001 up to _999 (the underscore is a convention in the 3d world, such as in 3ds Max or Blender). The more likely case is that you'll be renaming design iteration, where you replace Apples with Bananas. Or simply add a suffix (e.g. _Ban) or prefix (e.g. Ban_) to denote a certain design proposal in each of the nested items of the main parent layer (e.g. 'Banana design'). Or to add a date for a revision in the layers.

But, you could also use this for renaming the standard 'layer' with something more prescriptive once you have more or less got the job done (fix file management at the end, rather than let it break the creative flow).

Hope this gives you some idea of possible usecases.

[Old Bruce]

Auto naming of Layers/layers is something that could be handled by a script.

I would love to be able to name all the layers in a group with the name of the group, then what sort of layer it is. A bunch of layers in a group called Left would result in  Left_Pixel_1, Left_Pixel_2, Left_Image_1, Left_Curves_1 etc. With a script we could check and if the layer has a name already then it is kept otherwise it is named.

[Intuos5]

Just now, Old Bruce said:

Auto naming of Layers/layers is something that could be handled by a script.

Some sort of dynamic naming scheme? Could see its use - but also very much a poweruser feature.

[MikeTO]

Batch rename might be a good candidate for a script

[debraspicher]

Can the Tab to Rename functionality be extended to the Swatches panel perchance?

[Ash]

Just to point out we have also now made it that double clicking (or on iPad tapping) an artboard name on document should bring up a dialog to rename the artboard in the latest build (1736). Would be great if you could confirm that is behaving as expected!

[Frozen Death Knight]

Works great. Thanks, @Ash and Co.!