Grouping of elements has stopped working?????

[caroline daniell]

Today I wanted to create a new design but found that my grouping of elements facility is no working.  It's not allowing me to group anything! Please Help!!!!

[carl123]

If you select (highlight) 2 layers in the Layers Panel and do Arrange > Group in APhoto

...what happens?

Or Layer > Group in Designer

[caroline daniell]

Thanks for your help - I've been using Affinity Designer for several years now and have never experienced this problem. I tried the layering panel a couple of times but to no avail.  It indicates that the elements are grouped but when I go back to the actual group on the canvas, each element is separate. I really don't know what's happening. Thanks anyway

[carl123]

12 minutes ago, caroline daniell said:

  It indicates that the elements are grouped but when I go back to the actual group on the canvas, each element is separate.

This may be due to a new option in V2

With the Move Tool selected you should see an option in the context toolbar call Auto Select if you change the dropdown next to that to Groups, does selecting an item on the canvas then select the group for you

If not we may need you to upload a full-size screenshot of what you are seeing with the Layers panel in view and the Move Tool selected

[caroline daniell]

I cant see my last post in answer to you, so am sending again.

I don't to have an auto select option in my context toolbar so cannot carry out your suggestion above.

I've tried selecting all elements and grouping to see if that works to no avail.

Like I say I have been using the move tool to group elements for years - yesterday morning when I started to work on my canvas & wanted to group a set of elements it was no longer working.

As well as this, the layers panel itself seems to be playing up.  it doesn't appear to be working in the same way it has been up until yesterday morning.  Perhaps I need a new download of this software program.

I don't think I can capture the problem on camera.

Hope this reaches you and you can help

thanks

[R C-R]

30 minutes ago, caroline daniell said:

I don't to have an auto select option in my context toolbar so cannot carry out your suggestion above.

In V2 when the Move Tool is selected & you click on an object to select it, that should appear in the context toolbar, along with the popup menu for Default, Objects, or Groups. It looks like this:

[caroline daniell]

thanks - I have tried this suggestion but there's no auto-select option coming up in the context bar when I have elements selected with the Move Tool. I've looked at every option given in the context bar but can't find anything saying auto select.  I don't know what's going on!

[R C-R]

2 minutes ago, caroline daniell said:

thanks - I have tried this suggestion but there's no auto-select option coming up in the context bar when I have elements selected with the Move Tool. I've looked at every option given in the context bar but can't find anything saying auto select.  I don't know what's going on!

Left to right, what do you see on the context toolbar?

[caroline daniell]

On the lower bar:

Elipse, fill, stroke, none, convert to donut, convert to pie, enable transform origin, hide selection while dragging, show alignment handles, transform objects separately, convert to curves, allow selection..., align left centre right top middle bottom

On upper bar:

Designer Persona, pixel persona, export persona, synchronise defaults from selection, revert defaults, pixel view mode & 2 other options, move options x 4, flip options x 4, alignment, force pixel alignment, snapping, add, divide

And the usual drop down menus at the top - file, edit, text, layer, select, view, window, help

[R C-R]

27 minutes ago, caroline daniell said:

Elipse, fill, stroke, none, convert to donut, convert to pie, enable transform origin, hide selection while dragging, show alignment handles, transform objects separately, convert to curves, allow selection..., align left centre right top middle bottom

That sounds like you have the Ellipse or another of the 'quick shape' tools selected, not the Move Tool.

[caroline daniell]

It says elipse if i select a circle with the move tool, rectangle if i select a rectangle shape etc.  so I do definitely have the move tool selected.  Like I say I've been using this program for the last few years & use grouping all the time!  So it's not like I don't know what the move tool + grouping should do - the group option comes up at the top in the context bar when I select elements, I go to it & click on it (which usually works) but, when I return to what I hoped I had grouped, the elements are all separate!  

[Old Bruce]

18 minutes ago, caroline daniell said:

It says elipse if i select a circle with the move tool, rectangle if i select a rectangle shape etc. ...

Have nothing selected, just the move tool and nothing in the layers panel selected. Nothing at all.

[caroline daniell]

with nothing selected I click on No Selection in context bar and auto-select or default options do not come up/show - nothing comes up.  I can see the other 2 headings - document set up & Preferences.  That's it!

[Old Bruce]

1 minute ago, caroline daniell said:

with nothing selected I click on No Selection in context bar and auto-select or default options do not come up/show - nothing comes up.  I can see the other 2 headings - document set up & Preferences.  That's it!

Are you using Designer 2 2.2.1 ?

[caroline daniell]

yes 2.0.4

[NotMyFault]

Any chance you can update to the current version? 
And screenshots or even better a screen recording would really help to see what is going on.

[caroline daniell]

Ok I've updated the current version and tried grouping - but it's still not working.  I've also started having some other weird things happen when I'm trying to group elements in a vertical stripe! Like they move into a  cluster block!

I'll try and do screenshots tomorrow. I doubt I  can get a recording but will give it a go.

thanks for your help

[thomaso]

1 hour ago, caroline daniell said:

group elements in a vertical stripe! Like they move into a  cluster block!

stripe? cluster block? – How are grouped elements arranged in the Layers Panel? Are they for instance nested as child layers within/below a parent layer? If yes, what happens to the visibility of the elements if you select to hide their parent layer in the Layers panel?

If you are in macOS, a screencast video can get created by pressing Command-Shift-5. https://support.apple.com/HT208721

[carl123]

2 hours ago, caroline daniell said:

I doubt I  can get a recording but will give it a go

If all else fails you can use your mobile phone to record your screen and upload that footage. Sometimes that actually works better because you can also narrate what you doing and seeing, if it's not obvious in a screen recording

[R C-R]

3 hours ago, caroline daniell said:

Ok I've updated the current version and tried grouping - but it's still not working.

How specifically are you trying to select one or more items to put into a group? Also, do you now have the Auto-select item on the Move Tool context toolbar, & if so is it enabled?

3 hours ago, caroline daniell said:

I've also started having some other weird things happen when I'm trying to group elements in a vertical stripe! Like they move into a  cluster block!

Are you talking about using any of the align options on selected items? If so, what does that have to do with putting items into groups?

[caroline daniell]

Grouping is working again!  Don't know what the problem was, but all fixed.  Let's hope it stays that way.  Thanks All for your help.  Much appreciated