Auto Hide Affinity Application Panels

[Michael Lloyd]

Ok Serif / Affinity guys... This is driving me crazy!

Previously I have submitted this suggestion, though I don't believe I was heard.

 

IMO Affinity products desperately need the ability to auto-hide panels. See [https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/31218-multi-uiux-suggestion-auto-hide-panels/]

 

I am using a very large notebook computer with a 17" screen. Large screen for a notebook, though smaller screen size for graphic design work. With this monitor using the panel controls in Affinity products is frustrating. There simply isn't enough room!

 

I group panels needing more vertical space (layers, effects, history, brushes, etc.) together. Panels needing less vertical space are also grouped. Regardless how it is organized I do not have enough vertical space to effectively use the panels. Some of the panels require large vertical space, some medium, some smaller. With 3 stacked sets of panels the larger panels are way too cramped. Even if I group the medium and smaller panels together (which puts way too many panels in the smaller panel group), there still isn't enough vertical space for the larger panels. With smaller monitors, having panels on both sides of the screen (without auto-hide) is obviously impractical. Working with cramped panels is extremely clumsy and frustrating.

 

Affinity UI panel design is not elegant for smaller monitors!!!

 

If I could auto-hide panels (as was implemented in Serif *Plus applications), I could put panels on both sides of my monitor and have all the panels I find useful easily accessible. Current implementation forces users with 'smaller' monitors to make significant concessions in their use of panels.

 

Regardless of screen size, the ability to auto-hide panel groups would be useful for all/most users, as this would allow users to better organize their application interface, and enable users to have more panels immediately accessible. This would make the use of panels in Affinity applications significantly more elegant.

 

PLEASE consider implementing an auto-hide feature in panel groups in Affinity applications.

[Hokusai]

Michael Lloyd,

 

The request that you posted in your link was originally made in December 2016, that was right around 2 months ago. Two months isn't that long ago. There have been many suggestions made and I'm sure it takes time for the developers to go through them all and then decide which ones to implement and which ones to forget about. As well, they can't add them all at once so they have to prioritize the list so don't think that your suggestion wasn't heard just because it hasn't been added yet. 

 

While I feel your pain in regards to having a limited amount of screen space, as TEcHNOpls pointed out in your other thread you can use the Tab key to hide all the tools and studios. Sure it isn't "auto" but at least you have a way to do it for now (although it is manual). Currently you can position palettes (or panels or studios if you prefer) on both sides and that coupled with using the Tab key should help you to save some screen real estate. 

 

Best regards,

Hokusai

[Stephen_H]

Well, in Michaels' defense... it's not wonderful.

 

When you hit the TAB key, it's not docking or minimizing the panels, it's hiding absolutely everything. It's not really a work space, but more of a preview mode since you even lose your tools (docked and floating tools). I have to bring back my panels just to change tools or alter a font size. It's too much of a "scorched earth" policy to be part of a workflow.

 

The better option is "Command + Shift + H" as it just hides your studios, and leave your tools and the properties bar visible. (The only short coming of this is that it doesn't just hide your two side studios, but it also hides your floating panels. I think I'm going to request this as a feature. This way you could keep one useful panel (like Layers) open while hiding/revealing all your docked panels)

 

As another work around, you can try working in the old 1990's way of floating your panels (Window/Separated Mode). This way, when you minimize a panel, it does actually take up less space on the screen, not just less space in one of the side studios. It even continues to work in full screen mode which is a nice compromise.

[Phil_rose]

Plus one on all this stuff! I would love to have each column of panels individually hideable (such as the one topped with Color in my screengrab) 

Of course, what I really want is savable layouts like all the old Serif programs had. Ah, how I want that? I often take my laptop out of the house and need one layout on a single screen but when I'm at home, I plug in a second monitor and would love to be up to have a saved workspace with pallets all over the laptop screen while workspace is on my second monitor. I really hope this is in their roadmap for the future.

[Stephen_H]

3 hours ago, Phil_rose said:

Plus one on all this stuff! I would love to have each column of panels individually hideable (such as the one topped with Color in my screengrab) 

Of course, what I really want is savable layouts like all the old Serif programs had. Ah, how I want that? I often take my laptop out of the house and need one layout on a single screen but when I'm at home, I plug in a second monitor and would love to be up to have a saved workspace with pallets all over the laptop screen while workspace is on my second monitor. I really hope this is in their roadmap for the future.

Whoah dude!!!!! How are on earth you getting 2 columns in the right studio??????????

(I'm almost exclusively working in separated mode to achieve this kind of layout) Phil_rose

[Alfred]

18 minutes ago, Stephen_H said:

Whoah dude!!!!! How are on earth you getting 2 columns in the right studio??????????

 (I'm almost exclusively working in separated mode to achieve this kind of layout)

Separated mode is only available on Macs. Phil is using Windows, so the options are different.

[Phil_rose]

Hmm, separated mode? What's that? Sounds intriguing!

[Mithferion]

2 hours ago, Phil_rose said:

Hmm, separated mode? What's that? Sounds intriguing!

It's when every section of the Interface is there as a floating Panel:

Best regards!

[Stephen_H]

3 hours ago, Phil_rose said:

Hmm, separated mode? What's that? Sounds intriguing!

 

44 minutes ago, Mithferion said:

It's when every section of the Interface is there as a floating Panel:

Best regards!

Very old school for longtime Mac users. This is how all graphics programs worked 15 years ago. 

[Mithferion]

And I remember people demanding that The GIMP had the Single Window Mode... people are strange.

Best regards!

[Kuttyjoe]

I’ve been a Mac user since 1993, and I remember some applications having this exploded layout and still do, but frankly none of the programs I’ve used were like this.  Adobe had this mode as an option, but always alllowed to have a background.  That would have driven me crazy if I had to work with programs while looking at my desktop and folders, windows, etc in the background.

[MisterFulanito]

I really, really love the way to collapse those windows like Photoshop do, I do think it's OK taking some good UX features from other softwares in order to improve our design flow.

[USARVET85]

As I was reading through all of the comments, what I didn't hear was how to get rid of it (the assets panel.) I don't know how to make it so that I can collapse it. Does anybody have a way to do this? I am not using a Mac I am on Windows 10. I just want to have more of a workspace for my graphics. Thank you in advance for any help you can offer.

[Old Bruce]

2 hours ago, USARVET85 said:

As I was reading through all of the comments, what I didn't hear was how to get rid of it (the assets panel.) I don't know how to make it so that I can collapse it. Does anybody have a way to do this? I am not using a Mac I am on Windows 10. I just want to have more of a workspace for my graphics. Thank you in advance for any help you can offer.

Double click on the word Assets does it for me. If you want to get rid of it totally then uncheck the View > Studio > Assets.