Tool names

[ianrb]

Getting a bit frustrated at how hard it is find basic 'fix it' info for Affinity photo.
The tool name does not show when the cursor is over the tool icon -- I'm sure it used too!!  
Obviously; I have turned it off somehow --- can you explain the "how" bit please?
Thank you

[ianrb]

I may have the  answer -- I have replaced some stacked tools with individual tools. The tool names seem to only show when there are tools stacked under one icon --- the arrow needs to be clicked to show the tools . 
Anyway of adding/showing names on single or individual tools in the panel? 
I have spent several hours searching for that !!! 
Maybe something for future updates (??)

 
 

[stokerg]

Hi ianrb,

You should get a tooltip appear when you hover the mouse over any of the tools down the left hand side.  You can fully customise  the toolbar, so anything thats stack can have a single icon on the Tools panel and you'd be able to hover directly over it with the mouse and get the tooltip.  Just click View>Customise Tools and you can drag the icons onto the bar.

We can't enable names on the tools and that would make for a good Feature Request.  I can only guess it's not an option at the moment because of the Tooltips and it presents a slightly cleaner UI, however i can also see the benefit of being able to enable the names for people getting used to Affinity and photo editing in general.

Hope thats of some help  

[R C-R]

On 8/31/2018 at 11:37 PM, ianrb said:

The tool name does not show when the cursor is over the tool icon -- I'm sure it used too!! 

If you mean the tooltips that pop up after a delay, it may be that in Preferences > User Interface, you have moved the slider that sets the delay too far to the right. Move it back to the notch near the left end of the slider, restart, & see if that helps.

[ianrb]

Thanks for the reply Stokerg. I have done some customising as I get to understand the program more and the tools I will favor the most.
You seem to hit the correct button R C-R. I don't remember moving the slider but these things happen when wandering around new programs like a blind emu in an Aussie dust storm
Cheers for the help  fellas

[eudorawelty]

Where can I find a listing of tool names for beginners and others that are printed?

It would be very helpful to have a description of how each tool works.

I found the tools in the help section, however, it's very difficult for a senior citizens

to see and read. 

Thanks for your time and consideration,

"Affinity 1.8"

Eudorawelty

[R C-R]

28 minutes ago, eudorawelty said:

It would be very helpful to have a description of how each tool works.

The built-in help is likely to be the best available source for this, but it probably will take considerable time to study & digest everything it provides. This is mostly because many of the tools have quite a few modes or options of their own, plus there are a number of app level options that change how they work in different situations.

There are also a growing number of video tutorials, some designed for beginners, that you can watch. You can go to https://affinity.serif.com/learn/ where you will find links to them for each of the Affinity apps. The Designer & Photo Workbooks are also available for purchase but they are intended primarily as "learn by doing" projects which require some knowledge of the basics to get much out of.

[walt.farrell]

1 hour ago, eudorawelty said:

I found the tools in the help section, however, it's very difficult for a senior citizens

to see and read. 

If you're viewing the built-in Help, it's a form of web browser, and you can use Ctrl and + to zoom in, or Ctrl and - to zoom out, which will make it easier to see.

Also, there's the online version of the Help for all 3 applications, which you can find at https://affinity.help and then click on the application you want.

[ianrb]

This image may help those not sure which tools to have available for editing photo -- everyone will have different ideas 
Also; I have this screenshot to help put the tools back as they were before a program crash ---  or ; I do something dumb . Yep; there needs to be a way to save our preferred window; even if that replaces the APPs default  settings
For those new to editing ; keep it simple folks to save time looking for that tool you used once a month ago ---- you may notice I have very few multi choice tools . Keeps it simple for my older brain 🤣
If I notice I have not used a tool for sometime  I often remove it 
One column would be better ; however I like having the colour icons available  --- not sure why the colours cannot be in a single column (??) 

 

[R C-R]

28 minutes ago, ianrb said:

One column would be better ; however I like having the colour icons available  --- not sure why the colours cannot be in a single column (??) 

They can.

[walt.farrell]

39 minutes ago, ianrb said:

One column would be better ; however I like having the colour icons available  --- not sure why the colours cannot be in a single column (??) 

They can be. But you will lose the foreground/background color wells at the bottom if you switch to a single column for the tools.

[ianrb]

On 3/27/2020 at 9:55 AM, walt.farrell said:

They can be. But you will lose the foreground/background color wells at the bottom if you switch to a single column for the tools.

True; but I like the two colours walt --- would be better to have a couple more colours on hand without opening another panel