Keep settings "sticky" from one use to the next

[CaroleA]

I have not tested every single tool and command, but I notice that whenever a tool is activated, most of the settings are reset to "default", and that default is not necessarily what the user would need. In order to save time to the user, I would suggest that tools remember the last settings/values used.

Each user would have different usages for the different tools and commands, and are more likely than not to use and reuse the same ones.

For example, I worked on 7 different scrapbook pages for an album. I would use the same font for each of them, in the same size, the same alignment. Yet, 7 times, I had to change the font, and change the text size.

Whether it is for different projects or the same one, resetting the tool to "default" adds work to the users, in most instances.

*IF* there is a use for resetting everything to default, every time, maybe it would require that to be an OPTION, possibly in the Edit > Settings > Tools.

That is my suggestion which I am sure would save time in anyone's workflow.

[MikeTO]

Hi Carole. When you create a text frame, it is created with the document's current defaults for that tool. If you create 7 frames while Arial 12 is the default, they'll all be set to Arial 12, even if you later change one of the frames to Times 14. Knowing this, you could:

• Create one frame, set its attributes the way you want it, and then create the other frames - this will work because when you change the formatting in the first frame, you're also changing the document's defaults
• Or create one frame on a master page and set its attributes the way you want it, and then all the frames on all the pages would be correct
• Or if you did create all the frames already, copy one character or word from the first frame and pasting that into the next frames to give you the right formatting to start with
• Or use the Style Picker tool to copy formatting from the first frame to the other frames
• Or use text styles to ensure consistent formatting regardless of the frames's default formatting

Some apps work in a different way - for example, in some apps you can click in some Times 14 text to "pick up" the formatting and then click in an empty frame and type in Times 14. But Affinity's frames are never entirely blank - they have their own default attributes that were assigned at the time the frame was created.

Good luck

[CaroleA]

Thank you @MikeTO, however, in my current example, I was not using the Frame Text tool, but just the Artistic Text tool, and the font is not kept from one project to the next.

Using Text style might be great if one is working on many projects, but it almost seems like an overkill if I have 6 scrapbook pages to do.

I also noticed that some settings ARE sticky in the Brush tool for example, or the New... command. They keep the last used settings/values, so it would be nice if the behavior was consistent for all the tools.  

[PaulEC]

12 hours ago, CaroleA said:

Each user would have different usages for the different tools and commands, and are more likely than not to use and reuse the same ones.

Maybe I'm a bit odd, but I have to agree that, as a general principal, I prefer settings to be "sticky", as I choose to set them, rather reverting to how the developers prefer them to be set!

[CaroleA]

3 minutes ago, PaulEC said:

Maybe I'm a bit odd, but I have to agree that, as a general principal, I prefer settings to be "sticky", as I choose to set them, rather reverting to how the developers prefer them to be set!

I don't think it is odd. Every user will have a different workflow, and different needs. That is why, making the settings sticky will allow each one to use it however they want. 

[PaulEC]

I really wish that someone from Serif would explain why they think that users want settings they have chosen themselves to keep reverting to different settings! Why shouldn't I be able to decide what default settings I want for myself?

[MikeTO]

3 hours ago, CaroleA said:

Thank you @MikeTO, however, in my current example, I was not using the Frame Text tool, but just the Artistic Text tool, and the font is not kept from one project to the next.

Using Text style might be great if one is working on many projects, but it almost seems like an overkill if I have 6 scrapbook pages to do.

I also noticed that some settings ARE sticky in the Brush tool for example, or the New... command. They keep the last used settings/values, so it would be nice if the behavior was consistent for all the tools.  

Everything I wrote applies to art text, too, but there is one big gotcha which is a source of much confusion. Affinity has two sets of text defaults, one for text frames (standard text frames, shape text frames, and tables) and one for text objects (art text and path text).

It's a somewhat confusing system but it is very powerful. You might want to read the section titled "Setting default text formatting" in my free Publisher manual (link below). While the manual is just for Publisher, this topic and really all of the text chapter applies to all three of the applications.

Cheers

Edited December 20, 2024 by MikeTO
Fixed typo