Close expanded layers but the one currently expanded

[datorhaexa]

Hi forum,

I tried to do my first larger project with AD. It's a bit hard when one is used to Fireworks (and occasionally PS) or even Inkscape, but I do my best. There are few things that slowed me, like having a difficulty positioning a layer/object/group in the correct place in the layer stack and the fact I can't drag a layer over the New Layer icon to duplicate (dragging over the Garbage bin deletes a layer, though so the analogy could be implemented), but one thing gets really annoying when working with many layers and stuff inside them: expanded layers stay this way and if I want to go to another layer, the only way to do this fast is to click on any object that belongs to it in the work space. This still keeps the layer stack endlessly long as all them expanded layers are expanded. Question: am I missing something? Is there a way to close all expanded layers but the one where one currently is?

[toltec]

On a PC, Ctrl (Mac is Cmd)

 

You can duplicate any layer by pressing Ctrl + J or right clicking on it in the layers panel and choosing Duplicate

 

I would suggest modifying your procedure slightly.

 

Select all the layers and Groups in the panel. Click on one then Ctrl + A to select them all, right click and choose Collapse Selection to collapse everything. Then click on your object, that should expand just the layer group that contains that object. There is a setting for this behaviour somewhere but I think that is the default.

 

You could also do what you want, select all the layers with Ctrl + A. Then Ctrl + Click on the group you want to keep, to deselect it (you must click on the layer name), then right click on one of the selected layer groups and choose Collapse selection. That will collapse everything but the group you want.

 

There might be better options but I can't think of any at the moment. I hope it helps a bit.

 

[datorhaexa]

Hi Toltec,

yes, I use the drop-down when duplicating but the drag-and-drop on the icon has become an automatic movement throughout various applications and many years, and is hard to stop trying to use it here too. :-/

Thanks for the collapse ideas. I shall try those moves.

[Bri-Toon]

Dragging a layer on the New Layer icon duplicates it fine for me.

 

When you say you're having difficulty positioning the layers, objects, and groups in the layer stack, make sure you keep an eye on the blue when dragging. If it's the same length as the other layers, you are just changing the order. If it's indented under a layer, you are nesting it inside.

 

Worth mentioning, there was an update in Designer 1.6 in which clicking on an object will automatically nest the layer it's in. If you prefer not to have this happen, then go into the Preferences, and under User Interface, uncheck the option near the bottom that says "Auto-scroll to show selection in Layers panel." I think it might be named differently in Windows.

 

And if you want to select an object's stack order on the canvas, just hold Alt and keep clicking. You can select objects behind others.

 

Let me know if you have any other troubles or questions.

[R C-R]

1 hour ago, Bri-Toon said:

Worth mentioning, there was an update in Designer 1.6 in which clicking on an object will automatically nest the layer it's in. If you prefer not to have this happen, then go into the Preferences, and under User Interface, uncheck the option near the bottom that says "Auto-scroll to show selection in Layers panel." I think it might be named differently in Windows.

Unless I have misunderstood what you meant, that is not what that feature does. All it does is to automatically scroll the Layers panel to whatever layer you select on the canvas. If that layer is a child of another layer, the parent layer will be expanded so the selected child layer is visible in the Layers panel.

 

One of the features added to Designer 1.6 & Photo 1.6.6 for the Mac is to add a 'hamburger' menu to the Layers Panel. Currently it has only one item, "Auto-scroll," which apparently is functionally identical to the UI preference:

At least on my system, the menu "Auto-scroll' option overrides the preference one, in that I can check or uncheck the preference without it affecting (or being changed by) enabling or disabling the menu option.

 

This new 'hamburger' menu may not be available yet on the Windows versions but I am unsure about that.

[Bri-Toon]

Hi R C-R,

Thanks for your response. It seems we are indeed talking about the same thing, but I may have worded what I said a little silly. I meant layers will automatically expand showing where the selected objects are nested in. When I was using the beta of 1.6, the auto-scroll option through the preferences is what I was told to avoid the issue of having layers expand when I click on an object. I didn't know it was also available in the hamburger menu, but they both appear to do the same thing.