Few more tweaks

[PabloNeirotti]

Hey guys! Once again I am here with a few thoughts on UI and workflow :) Hopefully some of them can make it into the app. 1.2 saves me so much more time.

 

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Focus Character window when editing a field in it

So sometimes I need to open up the Character window. This window starts up as without a focus.

Usually what happens is that I select the contents on a field like Tracking, start typing the number I need, to realize that clicking the field did not activate the focus on the window, therefore I am instead changing the Opacity of the layer as opposed of this field's value.

I need to then undo, click the window, then actually type the value. I make this mistake all the time.

 

The way to replicate this, would be to:

1. Edit a text layer
2. Open the Character window
3. Click, drag (to select) and release on a field, like Tracking.
4. The field will be selected, but not the window.

Window will be selected if you click on the field though.

 

 

Save as... Relative to document

I think it would make sense that Save as... starting directory is the same as the current directory? I usually need to duplicate documents and Save as... takes me to some random other directory I once was. Maybe this behavior could be a setting?

 

 

cmd + enter to submit window

Whenever I create a new document, I set the dimensions, then I try to press Enter multiple times, cmd + Enter, other combinations to find out if there is a way to submit the Window and get started. It'd be nice if windows like these, or the Export window sheet, would take cmd + Enter as a "Submit" or "Accept" or whatever the "move forward" button is :P

 

 

New from clipboard

You guys actually have this feature on Affinity Photo! Often I have a group I'd like to take to a new document. It'd be nice if Affinity could detect if it's a picture, or an Affinity object, and prepare a new document for it so I can more easily export it or continue working on it.

One of the ways I use this is whenever I need to shrink a document down to the dimensions of some objects.

 

 

Commit field if I submit a window

In example, when you change the dimensions of the PNG you are exporting using the File > Export... menu, if you forget to press enter and simply go straight to the Export button, your changes will not commit. I realized this after exporting some files with super high resolutions and couldn't figure out why on the very beginning.

 

 

If Matte is White, then make it White

Once you have a slice ready, and say you change the export format of that slice from PNG (default) to JPEG, the Matte will automatically change from transparent to White. However, in reality, this actually doesn't occur. You need to manually open the Matte menu and set it to white. Otherwise you will have whatever used to be transparent, in color black. This really confused me for weeks when trying to use the export tool.

So I think it's great that it defaults to white when transparency isn't supported by the file type, but make sure once it is exporting, to use white, not black! :P (which I guess it's the "unset" color, internally).

 

 

 

I guess that's all the suggestions I got for now. Keep up the good work!

[MattP]

Thanks Pablo :)  I haven't forgotten about your older suggestions either - we're still trying to get a lot of stuff sorted! I just wanted to let you know that New from Clipboard and the issue with Matte not working correctly in Export Persona are both available already in the current Affinity Designer Beta version :)

 

Thanks again,

Matt