Suggestion: Collapsible Layer Effects dialog

[Bit Disappointed]

I use this dialog constantly, day in and out - it can float above my illustrations and updates to show FX for the currently selected element which is awesome. Unfortunately it takes up quite a bit of screen estate so I often close it only to reactiveate it minutes later.

Can it be modified to function as a collapsible element that can be reduced to just the title bar and folded in and out as needed? Just like panels.

This may be what you've tried to achieve with Quick FX, but the settings I need are always hidden, so it's not so quick to use.

No good:

[Pšenda]

19 hours ago, Bit Arts said:

This may be what you've tried to achieve with Quick FX, but the settings I need are always hidden

Try click to Gear icon in Quick FX.

[Bit Disappointed]

6 hours ago, Pšenda said:

Try click to Gear icon in Quick FX.

Yes and then the SAME dialog appears. I just need that dialog available one click away floating around. 🙂 

[walt.farrell]

12 minutes ago, Bit Arts said:

I just need that dialog available one click away floating around.

It is available 1 click away, though not floating around, if you keep the Layers panel visible

Other than that, you may be right that they tried to do something like that with Quick FX. You could of course drag Quick FX free from the Studio, so it floats, and it would be collapsible. But if you need the settings hidden behind the cog icon, then I agree that doesn't help much.

[Bit Disappointed]

I strongly prefer my suggestion to the current implementation.

[Pšenda]

1 hour ago, Bit Arts said:

and then the SAME dialog appears.

Yes, the SAME/Full Settings dialog will open, which I assumed was desirable and the point of your request. A big advantage over just expanding the dialog is that it shows directly the fx function you clicked on in Quick FX, making finding and selecting the appropriate parameter section much faster.

1 hour ago, Bit Arts said:

I just need that dialog available one click away floating around.

Yes, the dialog will appear on one click, and it will always appear where it was placed before it was closed/hidden, so you can place it where you need it.

[Bit Disappointed]

I strongly prefer my suggestion to the current implementation.

[Old Bruce]

On 11/4/2023 at 5:35 AM, Bit Arts said:

I use this dialog constantly, day in and out - it can float above my illustrations and updates to show FX for the currently selected element which is awesome. Unfortunately it takes up quite a bit of screen estate so I often close it only to reactiveate it minutes later.

Can it be modified to function as a collapsible element that can be reduced to just the title bar and folded in and out as needed? Just like panels.

You are on Mac so you can use the little Amber dot to minimize the window to the dock and then if you have set up a Keyboard Shortcut for this Layer Effects window (Layer > Layer Effects) you can expand it with that keyboard shortcut.

[Bit Disappointed]

3 minutes ago, Old Bruce said:

You are on Mac so you can use the little Amber dot to minimize the window to the dock and then if you have set up a Keyboard Shortcut for this Layer Effects window (Layer > Layer Effects) you can expand it with that keyboard shortcut.

Thanks - not what I am looking for but appreciate the idea 🙂

That is actually what I am doing today - I just select close or hit ESC. Same result as using the amber dot. I have a keyboard combo for Layer FX (Option + X) but what I am looking for is something as quick as I posted originally because I need it to be mouse only and lightning fast to reach and use and readily available at all times. I use FX constantly and all the time so every additional click an operation requires will be performed thousands and thousands of times so it is just "not one extra click".

In fact the Quick FX panel could be re-designed and renamed and offer both a minimal view (the current one) and a standard view (like the Layers Effects window today) - both collapsible. Problem solved.

[Bit Disappointed]

This suggestion would be even better in full screen mode.

[Meliora spero]

Would be useful +1

[fde101]

On 11/5/2023 at 12:43 PM, Bit Disappointed said:

the Quick FX panel could be re-designed and renamed and offer both a minimal view (the current one) and a standard view (like the Layers Effects window today)

This is almost the solution.  Ideally, convert the Layer Effects window to a studio panel (as is currently being done with the Typography panel in the 2.5 beta) and most likely eliminate Quick FX as it becomes redundant.

[Meliora spero]

On 5/7/2024 at 2:47 PM, fde101 said:

This is almost the solution.  Ideally, convert the Layer Effects window to a studio panel (as is currently being done with the Typography panel in the 2.5 beta) and most likely eliminate Quick FX as it becomes redundant.

Agreed! Think big, think mass usage of a feature. A problem in many programs is that the addition of attributes isn't considered in the 'I need to use this all the time and quickly' scenarios. I just tried Vectorstyler, where the interface is designed as if you're rarely adding an effect. Therefore, it's impossible to use Vectorstyler for projects with many effects that are continuously applied.

So yes, and then it's a great opportunity to streamline the interface and give customers an easy interface for FX that, in combination with vector objects, can be used to create unique illustrations in Designer and is probably the biggest advantage in Designer that could be marketed with great fanfare. Especially after the FX interface is streamlined as you describe!

[fde101]

15 hours ago, Aldus said:

I just tried Vectorstyler, where the interface is designed as if you're rarely adding an effect.

Not sure where you are getting that from?

Most of the effects in VectorStyler can be found quickly as a pair of icons along the bottom of the Layers panel, and some of them are available as tools.  There are also dedicated Shape Effects and Image Effects panels, and an Effects pull-down menu you can add them from directly, plus you can assign keyboard shortcuts to your favorites.

VectorStyler provides WAY too many ways to do the same thing so I get that it can be a bit daunting for new users in particular, but don't dismiss it too quickly if you are serious about using a quality tool.

The Affinity apps provide fewer ways to do something and are much less customizable, so for some workflows it is much harder to bend them to your will, but that lack of options generally makes them a bit more approachable for users trying to wrap their heads around where to find things.

Each approach has its pros and cons.  VectorStyler definitely has a more professional interface than the Affinity apps do, both in the sense that it can be tailored and customized to maximize the efficiency of uncommon or unusual workflows, and in the sense that it requires more time and dedication to master (but can more effectively speed things up once you reach that threshold).

The Affinity apps also have the benefit of their integration, offering superior raster image handling, plus the page layout capabilities of Publisher.

All of them are good tools for different situations, users, use cases and workflows.

That said, each of them definitely has room for improvement as well.

[Meliora spero]

9 hours ago, fde101 said:

Not sure where you are getting that from?

From trying to do exactly the same work in Vectorstyler as in AD (I tried to complete actual AD projects from start to finish in VS). It's just significantly slower to apply FX in VS than in AD when you have to do it on a really large number of objects in a row.

That's exactly why I'd like to have FX floating around in a panel-like fashion in AD, with the option to fold it up, because FX is already quite fast to access and use all the time in AD.

All companies behind graphic programs should consider how the work would go if the palette were behind the canvas, a bit far away, or in a box with a lid, if they were painting on canvas. 🙂