[AD] Rules on where new layers will be placed in the stack?

[Friksel]

Hi, sorry for this newby question, I see myself struggling on where layers get inserted when adding new layers and it looks like to me it's placing on counter-intuitive places meaning I can't seem to get used to working with this after a long time using this software. So I want to invest some time in really knowing when a layer will be placed at what position on the 'layer-stack'.

Does anybody here knows if there is a place where I can find some (hopefully official) info on this so I can print how this works in my head and finally get used to this? (my problem, I know, I should have done this way earlier).

Thanks!

[Gabe]

Hi @Friksel,

A new layer will always be placed on top of the current layer selected. If there is no layer selected, it will be placed on the very top of the layer stack. 

Thanks,

Gabe. 

[Friksel]

Hi @GabrielM. Thanks for your quick response.

It seems like when adding a new layer with a grouplayer selected Designer always inserts the new layer on top of the layer stack. So I have these questions now:

1) How can we add a new layer on top of a grouplayer (so have the same behaviour as insert a layer on top of another 'normal' layer) without dragging layers?

2) How can we add new layers inside other layers without dragging?

3) How can we add new layers inside layergroups without dragging?

4) Does every rule to add a new layer also works exactly the same when pasting a layer?

5) Are there shortcut keys we can hold to do things like insert a layer after or inside another layer?

Thanks
 

[Gabe]

Just to clarify. When you say layer, do you mean Layer > New Layer , Layer > New Pixel Layer or Shapes?

If you mean "Layer > new Layer" or the "Layer" button, it would be expected as Layers are higher up in the hierarchy. So will always be on the top. Unless you select an already present Layer. This will create a new layer on top of the layer selected. 

 

Now back to your questions:

1. You cannot do it without dragging it. You can paste inside but that will put it at the top hierarchy within that layer. 
2. You cannot do it without dragging it. You can paste inside but that will put it at the top hierarchy within that layer. 
3. You cannot do it without dragging it. You can paste inside but that will put it at the top hierarchy within that layer. 
4. It depends:
   1. If you don't have anything selected, it will place it on the top of the hierarchy. 
   2. If you have a (layer) selected, it will place it at the top hierarchy, inside that layer
   3. If you have a non-(layer) selected, it will place it just above that layer. 
5. Yes. Control/command+Alt+V 

[R C-R]

1 hour ago, GabrielM said:

If you mean "Layer > new Layer" or the "Layer" button, it would be expected as Layers are higher up in the hierarchy.

One of the more confusing things about this is "layer" is a generic term that can refer to any kind of layer -- basically any item on the Layers panel -- while "Layer" with a capital L is a specific kind of parent container layer, somewhat like an Artboard or Group layer.

The built-in help topics do not make this obvious. For example, in Affinity Designer, the About layers help topic does not even mention capital L Layers in the Types of layer section, & the Create layers topic says that to create a new layer (no capital L), from the Layers panel, click Add Layer:

The Selecting and editing layers help topic tells us

Quote

 Layers can also be renamed for easy identification or given a unique color to differentiate objects that belong to different layers.

But while any kind of layer can be given a name, only capital L Layers have a color property of their own.

Don't get me wrong. I think capital L Layers are very useful for organizing complex, multilayer documents. It is just that naming them this way was perhaps not the best choice. It is a bit late to change that, but something else would have been better -- even a different generic term like "Container" would be less confusing.

[v_kyr]

Some layer usages can also be influenced (how to be added for certain operations/tasks) via Assistant Manager settings.