Slices with arbitrary layer configurations

[vitaprimo]

Let's pretend for a sec I need these four exports of a finished design, the first is the finished design:

There are four layers on the design: the gray frame is the top layer or fourth layer from the bottom up, the black layer is the background/bottom layer, red and grid are middle layers; in other words, no matter what the export will include, it must be made over the fourth layer (the frame)…

i.e;

The design was a quick something just to illustrate this, I didn't think it through, sorry. For all intents and purposes though, just assume the layers can't be reordered, as they'd be here.

…but to take the slices, I think, then I'd had to either take the slices at stages or something along those lines, or I'd had to duplicate the artboard to uncheck the layers for the slice, also I'd probably need to make every object a symbol so they're kept in sync.

Is this correct? Can slices have arbitrary layers in them without affecting other slices in-line where the objects' presence differs?

Thanks.

 

 

 

 

[firstdefence]

As far as I am aware slices cannot have their own layer configurations within a single image. Layers can be turned off or on but that will affect all slices based on that image. You could create several Artboards and set the layers configuration to suit the slices over that artboard.

[firstdefence]

Tip: during post creation and adding images, if you double click on the image added to the post you can resize them, I generally use 500px in the first box with aspect ratio checked, viewers can see larger versions of the image by clicking on them.

[Paul Mc]

This issue has been mentioned several times over the years. I do a lot of packaging design and often have to provide clients with artwork with various style changes as options plus a preview with a cutter overlay and eventually a print-ready version. Often backgrounds and some peripheral elements remain the same through each option set. I really wish slices could contain cherry picked layers and groups from the design and reuse some layers in multiple slices (perhaps then they wouldn't be considered as slices though). My workflow now involves creating Symbols for each major element and then creating new layers for each combination. It's more work than I think I should need to do but at least all my edits stay in-sync.

[thomaso]

FWIW, you can use artboards versus nested artboards versus no artboards … while the different layer hierarchies influence the slice content [+ (auto)slice creation] differently, apart from the layer visibility options. For instance:

[Paul Mc]

Thanks @thomaso, I might give this a try. I can see this getting out of hand though with some of my previous projects. Ideally what I think is needed is a list of Export Objects each of which has a complete set of layers/groups visible, each of those can then be included or excluded from the export with specific file settings just like now. The slice idea is nice for simple projects but when you start doing client work where options, variations and revisions can run riot then it is not so useful (IMHO).

[firstdefence]

The problem is, you cannot have a layer both on and off in a single canvas/artboard, welcome to Affinity Schrödinger. You would need some sort of duplication within the export panel where an artwork is nested in a slice, it would be the reverse of using multiple artboards.

Blue sky thinking: The only other way I can think of would be to have some sort of masking attached to a slice and that mask could be designated to a layer or layers/groups, so in a second slice a mask would be a child of the slice and that mask would have an option to mask only layer 3. 

[vitaprimo]

Thanks to everyone for answering,

I'm sorry, like I said, I didn't think it through, I went back in history to take the flat screenshots because I was already in isometric mode, so I was kind of relying on what I had on the clipboard during that time. I didn't had to be that big but my default artboard is 2048pxx2048px@400dpi. I corrected it though.

That's too bad. At least I still have the symbols backup plan. I'm thinking, if I do some sort of mega symbols group it wouldn't be so much work …soft of, this app is more like an addictive hobby.

The nested artboard thing though is low key genius. Often I'd mistakenly draw an artboard within an other, ⌘Z, maybe wonder why would it let me do that. Even if it doesn't solves the issue, I will definitely try to see if I can incorporate it somewhere.

I've been doing rackmount server designs (→) for this random project, that can be disassembled by unchecking groups of layers, it's the example I was going to use actually but it has to have close a 1000 layers and I struggled with 4 layers in isometric as it is... I'd still be writing the original question. Maybe artboarding it is easier, with their own constraints, I assume, and everything.

Affinity Schrödinger… 😂

Thanks guys!