Cannot rename individual layers or grouped layers

[dkistner]

1. What Application are you using? Designer for MacOS
2. Are you using the latest release version? Reportedly upon update.
3. Can you reproduce it? Always doesn’t work. Never has worked in V2. Doesn’t work on Legacy imports or new documents.
4. Problem: Double-clicking or click into/right-clicking on any layer name field does not allow renaming the layer, as it did in V1.

•    What is your operating system and version Ventura 13.5.2
•    Is hardware acceleration (in Preferences > Performance) ON or OFF ? (and have you tried the other setting?) Tried both ways. No difference. No love.
•    What happened for you (and what you expected to happen) Nothing happens. The name field is highlighted as if selected but does not allow changing the name. It is named whatever it originally was named (Rectangle, Ellipse, Group, etc.).
•    Provide a recipe for creating the problem (step-by-step what you did). Hover over name, click, and right-click, OR double-click name field. Nothing happens.
•    Screenshots (very handy) or a screen capture/video.
•    Any unusual hardware (like tablets or external monitors or drives that may affect things) or relevant other applications like font managers or display managers. Mac Mini M1 with Samsung smart monitor.
•    Did this same thing used to work and if so have you changed anything recently? (software or hardware) This always worked in Designer V1. The only change has been the upgrade to V2. This is so infuriating that I'm not using V2.

[MikeTO]

Hi, I can't replicate this problem and haven't heard of others with it. I can still double click to rename any layer. In fact, one of the neat new features of v2 is that when you rename one layer, you can press Tab to rename the next layer without pressing Return and having to double-click the next layer. Also there's a new keyboard shortcut to rename a layer in a dialog, it's Cmd+Shift+R but if you upgraded you might have to add the shortcut manually - you'll find the command near the end of the Layers menu if you need to add the shortcut yourself.

Could you share a screen recording with the keyboard viewer open so we can see the issue?

Record your screen: https://support.apple.com/en-ca/HT208721

Show keyboard viewer: https://support.apple.com/en-ca/guide/mac-help/mchlp1015/mac

Good luck

[dkistner]

Hi. Thanks so much for your quick reply. I tried that Cmd+Shift+R and it popped up the dialog to rename the layer, but after I renamed it, the entire layers panel disappeared completely and I couldn't get it back. Just some very weird behavior. I think before I do anything else, I'm going to uninstall and reinstall to be sure the installation didn't somehow get corrupted. Do I need to remove V1? I didn't before...maybe there's some conflict?

[MikeTO]

11 minutes ago, dkistner said:

Hi. Thanks so much for your quick reply. I tried that Cmd+Shift+R and it popped up the dialog to rename the layer, but after I renamed it, the entire layers panel disappeared completely and I couldn't get it back. Just some very weird behavior. I think before I do anything else, I'm going to uninstall and reinstall to be sure the installation didn't somehow get corrupted. Do I need to remove V1? I didn't before...maybe there's some conflict?

There are no connections between v1 and v2, you don't need to worry about v1.

Before you uninstall try restarting Affinity Designer v2 while holding down Ctrl. Click the icon and then immediately press the Ctrl key. A window to clear your user data will come up. Just click the Clear button in that window.

Good luck.

[dkistner]

Clearing my user data seems to have fixed the problem. I still cannot double-click to rename a layer, but that may be an issue with my trackball mouse. As long as I can use the shortcut to rename, I'm good to go! Thanks so much, Mike, for your help!

 

[Anon Anon Yeah]

I have the same problem not being able to rename layers/groups by clicking on them, Cmd+Shift+R does work for me, clearing user data as described seems not to make a difference. Using 2.2.1 on Mac but this hasn't worked in V2. 

[dkistner]

It would be nice if they could fix this. That was a habitual action for me, and it's jarring when it doesn't work and I have to remember the shortcut.

 

[Dan C]

Hi @Anon Anon Yeah & @dkistner,

Sorry to hear you're having trouble!

As Mike has mentioned above, I'm unable to replicate this currently across 2 different macs and we're not seeing reports from other users at this time.

Can you please confirm for me, what device are you using for input? Is this a Magic Mouse, a different brand of mouse or a Tablet Stylus etc?

Can you please provide a screen recording, as requested above, showing this issue?

If you're unsure how to take a screen recording, please check out our FAQ linked below - 

Many thanks in advance

[Anon Anon Yeah]

Still having this issue - but some discoveries maybe useful:

- In UI settings (attached) I selected 'Ask for name when creating new layer/group' - this works when I'm in Layers panel and I right click to create layer. But it doesn't work when I create a layer from selecting the new layer icon at the bottom of the layers panel (this just creates a new layer which I can't click on to rename). 

Also attached are my performance settings in case useful to do with memory - weirdly when I opened Designer today I immediately double clicked on a Group or Layer and for a few seconds it worked - I could rename the layer name, but then a few seconds later it wouldn't let me do this. I was using a MacBook Air M1 trackpad but I also tried with my mouse. 

I can record my screen if it would help but it would just show a cursor on a layer name in the layers panel unable to edit it. I do see 'Create Layer' when I right click while hovering over other layers in layers panel. 

[walt.farrell]

40 minutes ago, Anon Anon Yeah said:

In UI settings (attached) I selected 'Ask for name when creating new layer/group' - this works when I'm in Layers panel and I right click to create layer. But it doesn't work when I create a layer from selecting the new layer icon at the bottom of the layers panel (this just creates a new layer which I can't click on to rename)

For me, on Windows, using the icon also prompts for a Layer name. 

You say you can't click on the layer to rename it. Is there a possibility that the rename dialog is being displayed, but on a monitor you don't currently have attached or powered on?

[Dan C]

Apologies for the delay here @Anon Anon Yeah & thanks for the further information provided!

On 1/12/2024 at 9:04 PM, Anon Anon Yeah said:

- In UI settings (attached) I selected 'Ask for name when creating new layer/group' - this works when I'm in Layers panel and I right click to create layer. But it doesn't work when I create a layer from selecting the new layer icon at the bottom of the layers panel (this just creates a new layer which I can't click on to rename). 

I've tested this in Designer 2.3.1 on macOS and the Layer name prompt correctly shows for me when using either option. Can you please confirm for me:

• What version of Affinity Designer are you currently using?
• What version of macOS is installed?
• Is this happening with your Trackpad, mouse, or both input devices?

On 1/12/2024 at 9:04 PM, Anon Anon Yeah said:

weirdly when I opened Designer today I immediately double clicked on a Group or Layer and for a few seconds it worked - I could rename the layer name, but then a few seconds later it wouldn't let me do this. I was using a MacBook Air M1 trackpad but I also tried with my mouse. 

Renaming a layer on macOS requires a double-click action on the current layer name - though some users have noted this needs to be a definitive double-click action and can sometimes be missed if clicked too quickly. (This is logged with our dev team for further investigation).

If you make a very definitive double-click with a slight pause between each click, does the rename dialog show as expected for you?

Equally, does using Layer > Rename Layer... (Shift + CMD + R) correctly show this dialog?

 

As Walt has mentioned above, these dialogs are all 'pop-up' from the main application, meaning they might be found on a second monitor, depending on which screen the app was originally opened on. Do you have multiple monitors connected to your mac when this occurs?

Many thanks once again