Nesting layers

[Tony Cotterill]

I find layers VERY useful for design, but I don't quite understand how they work in Affinity, yet. I come from an InDesign/Scribus viewpoint.
Each article on the pasteboard seems to have its own layer - which is new - but in order to keep them in some kind of order they need to be grouped, it seems.
However when moved such that they nest inside other layers the nested layers become invisible, even though the visible tick is still showing. What am I going wrong?

Also... is there any plan to have a global layer option? I see why they are currently page specific, but sometimes it's useful to be able to amend the layers document-wide.

[Aammppaa]

Hello @Tony Cotterill and welcome to the forums,

1) In Affinity every object is considered as its own layer (with a small 'l')

If you drag one layer inside another layer then you are creating a parent / child relationship, where the child will be clipped to the shape of the parent. This is very useful, but not what you are trying to do!

You can also create a Layer (with a big 'L') which acts as a folder and can contain any number of other layers.

To do so: click the Add Layer button, bottom right of the Layers Panel.

2) Global Layers have been discussed on the forum a lot recently as many users feel that they would be useful, especially in Publisher, which is just around the corner.

Serif have acknowledged this, and said that they will come in a future version.

[Tony Cotterill]

Thanks. That's useful to have the parent/child explained.
I tried creating a layer but then everything I put in it had a white background added. I don't know why. Not so useful when I have transparent objects.

[Aammppaa]

Layers shouldn't have any sort of background.

Can you show a screenshot of your layers panel expanded, or better yet upload a simple file?

[Tony Cotterill]

Sure. Here is a screenshot of my file without any actual created layers.

Now, if I create a new layer and put the mine symbol inside it, for instance....

There is now an unwanted white background to the mine image. Why?

[walt.farrell]

One comment: You're working in Publisher, which is still a beta product, not a retail product. At this point all questions about Publisher should be in this Publisher forum. That helps avoid confusion among the community, and helps ensure that the appropriate Serif staff notice the discussions.

Note that I don't expect that it should change the answer to your question, unless there's a bug in Publisher (which there could be). I'm just commenting about keeping the forums better organized, and getting answers that are more related to the program you're actually using

[Tony Cotterill]

Ok. Thanks. I didn't spot the dedicated forum.

Maybe I'll wait until it's no longer Beta, then.

I just assumed it was something I was doing wrong - because it usually is.

Cheers.

Edited May 29, 2019 by Tony Cotterill

[walt.farrell]

It may still be something you're doing

Can you give us a copy of that mining tool image, or an .afpub file that demonstrates the problem? That may help us see more about what's going on.

[Aammppaa]

I just recreated your situation in Publisher (as best as I could) and I did not get the unwanted white background.

• I notice that the icon for your folder looks different from mine: yours has a circle inside a square inside it, mine has not.
• And as soon as I put something inside the folder the icon is replaced by a preview thumbnail of the contents.

Could you confirm which OS you are using (Mac or PC)?

Are you using the latest version of the beta (v1.7.0.337)?

 

[Tony Cotterill]

I'm on PC and I updated to the latest Beta today, so 1.7, yes.

[Tony Cotterill]

It even happens with a straight text box. If I put a text box layer into a created layer the same thing happens - white background and text goes black.
It's as though it strips it back down to a basic black and white image, although the font is not lost.

[Aammppaa]

Ahha! Figured it out…

When you drag into the Layer (folder) do not drag onto the icon/thumbnail, but rather onto the "Layer" label to the right of the icon.

Dragging onto the icon creates a mask.

Dragging onto the label creates a parent / child relationship.

For completeness: dragging to the left of the icon takes a child out of a parent.

[Tony Cotterill]

Well done! Good spot.
It's not at all intuitive that this would make a difference.
Hopefully, there will eventually be some sort of manual or full tutorial for picking up these tiny features.