Remember Settings in Context Toolbar

[ChristiduToit]

It would be incredibly beneficial to one's workflow if any and all tool settings were remembered when switching tools, or restarting the apps. 
All tools with customisable settings should retain their specified settings.

If, for instance, I'm working on a document and I'm using the Flood Fill Tool set up at 99% tolerance, the Freehand Selection Tool with the "Add" setting with Anti-Aliasing unchecked, and the Floor Selection tool at 1px tolerance and I close the app to work on some other client tasks like replying to emails, etc, when I reopen the app to carry on working, everything has been reverted to the default settings. Then I need to go through each tool I'm using to customise the settings all over again, and I can't always remember the exact settings I used. 

I think the Brush Tool already remembers the last used settings, but why not the rest? I think that having the ability to customise the settings in the Context Toolbar is awesome, but they should always remember those custom settings when switching documents, switching tools (like the Freehand Selection Tool resets to default "New" every time you switch to another tool and back), and when closing and reopening the app. 

Having those settings be remembered by the app will really give the user the opportunity to customise the apps for their way of working, and then keep it that way until THEY decide to change them. 

I feel like this would be a very easy, but incredibly useful feature to implement. 

[_fluffy]

Yeah, this keeps on bothering me as well - also the fact that my tools keep on getting completely reset (brushes, colors, pressure, etc.) whenever I open a new document. I have "synchronize tools between documents" set which, according to the documentation, should keep my tools settings persistent.

[ChristiduToit]

@_fluffy Agreed. I think most people have a set way of working, so they customise their tools accordingly (at least, a lot of people I know, including myself, do that). I don't see the point in resetting the tools to default for any reason other than when you do it yourself manually. It's almost like if every time you got into your car you had to readjust the seat, the rear view mirror, the music volume, airconitioning, etc, instead of it just being the way that you left it. 

[Steps]

Sticky settings have been asked nomerous times for years now.

I believe devs decided not to support that.

But keep asking if you want.

[ChristiduToit]

10 hours ago, Steps said:

Sticky settings have been asked nomerous times for years now.

I believe devs decided not to support that.

@Steps I really hope they reconsider that. Not having those 'sticky settings' is absolutely detrimental to a streamlined workflow.

Having to customise those settings every time you open the app feels almost like if you had to reset all the clocks and watches in your house every time you wake up, rewrite an entire recipe every time you want to make a meal, or recreate an email account from scratch every time you want to send an email. I know those analogies seem weird, but it honestly feels like it's that unnecessary. It's as easy as adding an option in the app preferences that says "Remember Settings" with a toggle box, and give the user the ability to choose what they prefer. So far I've noticed that a lot more people are drawn to sticky settings than not, so I don't understand why they wouldn't consider it.

[Steps]

2 hours ago, ChristiduToit said:

Having to customise those settings every time you open the app feels almost like if you had to reset all the clocks and watches in your house every time you wake up, rewrite an entire recipe every time you want to make a meal, or recreate an email account from scratch every time you want to send an email. I know those analogies seem weird, but it honestly feels like it's that unnecessary. 

It is. You nailed it.

[_fluffy]

Yeah, and I kinda hate to say it, but every time I try using Affinity Serif software I keep on getting just enough little UI papercuts that keep me going back to Adobe products. I really want to love Affinity Photo but I just can't handle all of the little issues that keep on cropping up, and it's especially annoying to post about these to try to see about workarounds or other ways of doing what I'm trying to do only to see people on this forum being all, "That's how this software is, deal with it."

Like I mean, I get that this is a different piece of software and the developers' focus isn't necessarily going to be on the same things that I'm expecting out of it, but I still want to use tools to get stuff done. I am totally willing to learn a different way of doing things, but everything that isn't Photoshop seems to require you to take a dozen extra steps to do a thing that was just 1-2 clicks in Photoshop, and those 1-2 click things are what I've built my entire art workflow around.

If there were alternate approaches that weren't so cumbersome I'd just learn those alternate approaches, but as far as I can tell, Affinity (and many of the other would-be Photoshop competitors like Acorn and Pixelmator) just plain don't see those things as priorities.

I feel silly for having spent money on this software without thoroughly trying to see if I could do things in it. I figured that buying it would show my support for it and do my small part to finance its improvement, but when I try to give my feelings on how it could become the amazing piece of software that it has the potential to be, it's met with snark and attitude from other users and a deafening silence from the developers. How am I supposed to just keep on holding out hope that it will improve for my needs, given that?

Anyway. I'm sorry to rant. I'm just getting frustrated with having to pay $$$ every year to keep Photoshop working, when it's not like I'm even using any of the new features they keep adding (but good luck getting the final non-subscription version installed/working/etc. on a current-gen Mac...)

[Steps]

On 10/15/2019 at 9:48 AM, _fluffy said:

Yeah, and I kinda hate to say it, but every time I try using Affinity Serif software I keep on getting just enough little UI papercuts that keep me going back to Adobe products.

This is pretty normal. If you search the forum you will find a lot of people that say "If XY would be possible, I could finally cancel my Adobe subscription".

I see two categories here: People who demand tools that are just right not there like a DAM ("Lightroom replacement") and people that basicly have all they want and just struggle with minor missing convenience functions. For me the latter is the case.

On 10/15/2019 at 9:48 AM, _fluffy said:

"That's how this software is, deal with it."

Indeed. First it's annoying that nobody really seems to really want improvements anymore, but after two years I can see where this comes from: It's really kind of giving it up and dealing with it. I reported many many problems for Publisher two years ago and none got solved. And sometimes I find really old ones that still are not handeled, because an iPad version has priority.

On 10/15/2019 at 9:48 AM, _fluffy said:

I'm just getting frustrated with having to pay $$$ every year to keep Photoshop working, when it's not like I'm even using any of the new features they keep adding (but good luck getting the final non-subscription version installed/working/etc. on a current-gen Mac...)

"You get what you pay for." - The price point is really a very big factor here.

I would in no way accept all the problems Affinity still has for Adobes pricing. But this here is another story.

You should really see if the tools offer enough that justifies the money for you and base your decision on that. I bought the whole Affinity suite at the last sale, because I tested Publisher intensively in the Beta and found it suitable for my needs - even if there are many bugs and general UX problems.

But I don't get or feel that excitement that some writers of blog posts have. Affinity is really hyped. Personally I don't feel that this is justified.
To me it's good software at a price point where I can accept all the problems and see my investment justified. But I don't feel that I paid too less.

 

[Martin_1]

I only just bought Affinity Photo and Designer and turned my back on Adobe and now I find this out. How can this not be standard! Ones workflow is constantly being interupted by doing all the settings over and over again!

I just noticed it with the crop tool. I need to crop a lot of photos to different dimensions constantly and keep redoing the settings everytime. I know I can create a preset. But seeing as the size changes so often that would mean dozens and dozens of presets.

Now I learn that this issue is with a lot of tools! My time is precious and this is not helping. I really don't want to go back to Adobe, but this is something I cannot do without because it just takes to much time to go through the settings for each adjustment.

Is this even in the roadmap for Affinity?

Edited March 26, 2020 by Martin_1

[ChristiduToit]

Just wanted to try and bump this topic, especially with 1.9 creeping closer and closer!

Having the freehand selection, flood select, flood fill, etc tools retain their settings, even after you quit the apps, in the same way that the brush and eraser tools do, would make a world of difference!
I think it's a massive help in getting your most used tools set up and ready to go in the way that you like to use them.
Having the tools' settings revert back to defaults makes no sense, and it's a drag having to set them up every single time you open the apps.

As an example, I almost always have the colour picker set to "Source: Current Layer", the freehand selection tool set to "polygonal, mode: add, antialiasing: unchecked", flood fill set to "tolerance: 99%", flood selection tool set to "add" etc etc, and I have to set these up every time I restart the apps, or even just open a new document. 

I've heard this same comment/concern echoed from many other Affinity users (both seasoned and potential), so I really really (really!) hope that it's considered for the next update. 🤞