Auto select artboard when clicking into it

[HHK]

Perhaps I'm missing something here but I'm always having to click on the artboard name to select and paste items into it and I hate that. Is there a way to fix this? Is this a preference/setting I'm missing? Or is this a bug? Thanks!

[walt.farrell]

What is your setting for the Move Tool's Auto-Select option in the Context Toolbar?

If it's Default the Artboard will be selected (either fully, or at least enough to Paste into it) when you click within it. If it's Objects or Groups, you'll need to click the Name or use the Layers panel.

[R C-R]

1 hour ago, walt.farrell said:

If it's Default the Artboard will be selected (either fully, or at least enough to Paste into it) when you click within it.

When I try the default with an artboard that already has one or more child objects in it, it does not select the artboard or anything else unless I click on one of its children, which as expected selects that object.

What you suggest above works for me only if the artboard is empty. I don't think that special case is what the OP is asking about.

[walt.farrell]

14 minutes ago, R C-R said:

What you suggest above works for me only if the artboard is empty. I don't think that special case is what the OP is asking about.

It works for me with non-empty Artboards, on Windows. If I click in an empty area of the Artboard, with Auto-select set to Default, I see that:

1. The Artboard is not showing as Selected in the Workspace (no Bounding Box) but
2. It is showing as Selected in the Layers panel and
3. If I Paste it goes onto/into that Artboard.

[R C-R]

54 minutes ago, walt.farrell said:

It works for me with non-empty Artboards, on Windows. If I click in an empty area of the Artboard, with Auto-select set to Default, I see that:

1. The Artboard is not showing as Selected in the Workspace (no Bounding Box) but
2. It is showing as Selected in the Layers panel and
3. If I Paste it goes onto/into that Artboard.

OK, that works for me as well, but it seems buggy that it does not show as having a selection bounding box like it would if I click on the artboard name either on the canvas or in the Layers panel. Yet other bug is that the Context menu literally says "No Selection"!!!!!!!!!

Besides, with the extremely low contrast between selected & unselected layers in the Layers panel that makes it very hard to tell which if any layer is selected, it is very easy to overlook that it is selected. Plus, in the Layers panel when it is selected without a bounding box, the Opacity & blend mode items do not light up, making it even less obvious that it is selected.

Edited January 13, 2024 by R C-R

[stokerg]

Hi @HHK,

How many artboards do you have setup in your document?  Ideally, to select an Artboard you'd be using the Artboard Tool and that allows you to click anywhere on the artboard to select that artboard, which is covered in the help file here.  The Move tool will only select an artboard if there are no objects on it, otherwise you'd need to click on the artboard name with the Move Tool and then it will be selected.

On 1/13/2024 at 9:11 PM, R C-R said:

OK, that works for me as well, but it seems buggy that it does not show as having a selection bounding box like it would if I click on the artboard name either on the canvas or in the Layers panel. Yet other bug is that the Context menu literally says "No Selection"!!!!!!!!!

But you've not selected anything at this stage.  If you use the Artboard Tool and click on the Artboard or the Move Tool and click on the Artboard name (which is the correct way to select an artboard with the Move Tool), do you still see no Selection?

[R C-R]

4 hours ago, stokerg said:

But you've not selected anything at this stage. 

OK, you are right about that. But that means I cannot duplicate what @walt.farrell said works when the artboard has an object in it & I have the Move Tool's auto-select option set to Default. In that case, when I click on an empty spot within the artboard, nothing is showing as selected on either the Layers panel or the workspace.

OTOH, if the artboard is empty, with the same Move Tool option, I can click anywhere inside it to select it.

[walt.farrell]

20 hours ago, R C-R said:

But that means I cannot duplicate what @walt.farrell said works when the artboard has an object in it & I have the Move Tool's auto-select option set to Default. In that case, when I click on an empty spot within the artboard, nothing is showing as selected on either the Layers panel or the workspace.

I cannot get that to work today, either. Sorry; not sure what's happening.

[Dan the Designer]

Just found this thread as I'm having the same issue.
Have multiple logo variations that need to be in artboards for export and I also have to select the artboard first before selecting its contents.

I'm on MacOS running Affinity Designer version 2.6.0

[walt.farrell]

20 hours ago, Dan the Designer said:

Just found this thread as I'm having the same issue.
Have multiple logo variations that need to be in artboards for export and I also have to select the artboard first before selecting its contents.

I'm on MacOS running Affinity Designer version 2.6.0

Welcome to the Affinity forums.

Please include the complete application window in your screenshot, and make sure the Layers panel is visible and showing the relevant Artboard(s). Thanks.