Slicing tools somewhat confusing (at least to me)

[A_B_C]

Hi there,

 

 

I have been thinking about the Export Persona recently, and I felt some inconsistencies in the user interaction and the tool set.

 

Suppose you have created a slice with the Slice Tool. Suppose further you want to change the size or the position of the slice afterwards. How would you do that in the most natural way?

 

Without reading the documentation I had some trouble to figure out how to change a created slice. My first idea was to use the arrow tool (which is called Layer Select Tool in Export Persona and Move Tool in Draw Persona), select the the slice and manipulate it. It took some time to find out that the Slice Tool is not only used for creating new slices but also for changing created slices.

 

But that behavior seems to be at odds with the behavior of the standard tools of the Draw Persona. Do you use the Rectangle Tool not just for creating rectangles but also to manipulate existing ones? Perhaps it would be more consistent to change the behavior of the tools in Export Persona.

 

Just an idea,

Alex

[savagecorp]

I believe what you want to do is create a slice, and then later manipulate the slide, either by position or size, right? 

 

I don't think this is necessarily a problem but a pattern inherent in Affinity. 

 

• First you create the slice. 

• Then in order to manipulate it, you need to select the slice from the layers panel. 

• Finally manipulate selected slice. 

 

This isn't necessarily bad, but it is a bit time consuming. If you look at fireworks you can select slices after creation just by clicking on them with the arrow tool, then decide to scale / move.

 

I think that if you could click the slice the manipulate it, that would solve a bunch of issues / time. Also a shortcut to toggle slicing on and off would be awesome (maybe there is one, but I don't know what it is).  

[A_B_C]

Hi savagecorp,

 

 

your comment shows exactly what I mean. Have you noticed that you can directly change a once created slice by using the Slice Tool? There is no need to follow the complicated procedure you have outlined. Have a look at my video.

 

My concern was to show that it is somewhat inconsistent to have the user select the Slice Tool and not the Arrow Tool to manipulate an existing slice.

 

The reason why that tool behavior has been chosen seems to be that we need separate tools to select objects and slices in the Export Persona.

 

Hope my hints were helpful and will save you some time ...  ;)

 

Bye, Alex

 

EDIT Deleted screen cast due to upload limits.

[Ben]

The only thing I am going to concede here is that the Layer Select Tool should possibly have a different icon.

 

The tools are this way for very good reasons.

 

The Layer Select Tool allows you to select a layer/object on the page, rather than using the Layers panel. It is complementary for making a selection of a layer in your document.  It is not intended to allow you to edit that layer/object, as with the Move tool in the other personas.  It's only purpose is for making a selection of a layer.  Once you have selected a layer, you can use the "Create Slice" button on the Layers panel. This forms a slice that is linked to your layer.  A linked slice, when exporting, only draws that layer and its children - it doesn't draw anything behind that layer.  This is useful for separating UI components from the background image, without needing to toggle visibility before exporting.  A linked slice also follows the position and size of the layer it is linked to (unless you manually edit the slice rectangle, which I'll explain in a moment). If I resize or move my layer, the Slice rectangle will track it.

 

A non-linked slice will draw everything in the slice rectangle when exporting.

 

The slice tool is used for creating non-linked slices, and for editing all slices (linked and non-linked).  If you edit the rectangle of a linked slice, the slice still only exports that layer, but it allows the user to define exactly the rectangle that gets exported. This might include more or less of the actual layer. However, when the user manually sets the rectangle of a linked Slice, it will no longer track the size and position of the layer - it's then up to the user to decide whether to revert to auto-assigned rectangle or manually fix the rectangle.

 

Slices are displayed on top of the document. So - it is necessary that the Layer Select Tool only selects layer and doesn't edit Slices. For the user to be able to edit a slice, you select it by clicking on it using the Slice Tool and can then edit it you want.  It would be difficult to decide whether the user is trying to select a layer or edit a slice if the tool can perform both functions, since Slices can obscure Layers in the view.

[A_B_C]

Hi Ben,
 
 
thanks a lot for your detailed answer! I’m beginning to feel a bit guilty about wasting your time.  :) First let me say I would not have come back to the point if there had been no replies to my initial post. But your comments are very welcome as they help me to understand the reasons guiding your decisions. I know that it is necessary that the Layer Select Tool only selects layers or objects and does not edit slices. (By the way, the possibility to create linked slices is a really beautiful feature). But as you said, perhaps it would be a good idea to shape the icon of the Layer Select Tool somewhat different.

 

Thanks again for your comments and for your wonderful app,

 

all the best,

Alex

[A_B_C]

Couldn’t resist to think about a different icon for the Layer Select Tool ...  ;)

... not quite perfect, but something like that might work ...

[Ben]

Thanks.  Fixing the icon was on my to-do list.  Your suggestion is welcomed.

[A_B_C]

Thank you! Have a nice day ...  :)

[loukash]

A linked slice also follows the position and size of the layer it is linked to (unless you manually edit the slice rectangle, which I'll explain in a moment). If I resize or move my layer, the Slice rectangle will track it.

 

[…]

 

For the user to be able to edit a slice, you select it by clicking on it using the Slice Tool and can then edit it you want. 

 

Well, not always.

 

Probably a bug:

 

1) I have created several artboards in Designer, then in Photo I added various pixel layers, created linked slices and exported.

 

2) A couple of weeks later, I added another artboard in Designer while rearranging the older artboards. Again added more pixel layers in Photo. In the Export Persona though, the slices remained at their original absolute positions, either on different artboards or completely outside. When I select them in the Slices palette, they are not editable. I can only create new ones.

 

Or am I missing something?

[loukash]

Or am I missing something?

 

D'oh, I am, obviously:

The Export Selected check box in the palette must be enabled to edit an existing slice.

Not very intuitive, but the "non-editable" problem solved as it seems…

 

Still, linked slices not being automatically moved with artboards smells like a bug to me anyway.