Selecting text

[Prrrr]

Hello!

I sure like using Affinity, but one aspect is giving me fits. When I have a group of text characters behind another text box, is it possible to grab the group behind? When I try to double-click the group behind -- whether I have the Text tool, the Artistic Text tool or the Move tool selected -- it refuses to select the back group but instead just highlights where I'm clicking on the front group.

So I move the front text, adjust the back group, move the front text back into place and repeat until the back group is where I want it. It's painful.

I know I can grab the back group from the layers window, but there are a lot of items in there and I just want to be able to click easily on the back group and move it where I want it without this maddening trial-and-error.

Can anyone help me?

Thank you!

[MEB]

Hi Prrrr,

Welcome to Affinity Forums

Press and hold ⌥ (option/alt) and click the object on top to cycle through all objects below.

[Prrrr]

Hi -- thank you!

This doesn't work for me -- no matter which tool I'm on, it won't cycle to the back bounding box. I'm allowed to highlight the text group behind, but it refuses to grab it to let me move it.


 

[MEB]

Hi Prrrr,

You must have the Move Tool selected.

[Prrrr]

It doesn't matter what tool I select. I still can't grab what's behind. Double-click, triple-click . . . nothing works. It only grabs the top box. It appears to "see" the text in the group behind -- it highlights it -- but I cannot get it to select a bounding box for the back group so that I can move it.

[MEB]

Hi Prrrr,

Can you please attach the file here (you can delete all unrelated objects if you want) so i can take a look?

There may be other things interfering or a bug.

 

[Prrrr]

I noticed that the item in back, a fraction, is part of a larger group of all fractions on the page (mostly created by duplication). Using the alt key selects that entire group. Is there any way to select an individual fraction from that group? It seems to work sometime and not others.

 

[MEB]

Hi Prrrr,
In that case with the Move Tool selected try to press and hold both ⌥ (option/alt) and ⌃(ctrl). ⌥ (option/alt) cycles through the objects and ⌃(ctrl) force-selects the object no matter it's position in the layer's hierarchy. That's all i can suggest without seeing the file.

[Prrrr]

We're getting there.

But that grabs only one element of a grouped item in the underlying group, instead of the entire grouped item in the underlying group.

[Prrrr]

I was able to make it work finally by moving the group in back to the top of the layers list -- now I can reach individual members. I never could figure out how to reach members of the back group instead of a single element of a group in the back group. But this will work.

Thank you!

[Polygonius]

Well, the method is working, but sometimes hard to get what you want. 

So again my quest: Please make an option that a layer keeps selected (if hit this option)- does not matter where i click in the canvas, this layer keeps selected (without blue line). First if i "unlock" this option in the side-panel, the selection turns back to normal behavior!