Usability: smoother workflow (layers panel, selection)



  • This is how it works in VS today

    • create a bunch of objects, select one, delete it.
    • nothing is selected
    • select something

    Affinity Designer

    • create a bunch of objects, select one, delete it.
    • previous object is now selected
    • delete it and you can now also delete another object just hitting del or pressing the trashcan icon

    This is much more intuitive and smooth because first of all your layers panel still points at where you are/probably still want to be working (group or even layer) and of course it is also easy to delete previous objects.

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    But in VS nothing is selected or indicated.

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    I feel like I'm falling off the layers panel, which I have to get back into anyway. Besides that I often want the previous object selected.


  • administrators

    @Ingolf I think this is easy to add. I have to check what are the implications.



  • I remember this feature from the times I worked in affinity designer and in some ways it was really helpful, especially when you needed to delete several things that were spread across the screen and not all able to easily make one selection and delete all at once.

    I wonder how it would affect things if you wanted to switch away to using a different tool, would you need to learn to click off to the side to release the last auto selection or not. Would that tool direction be affected by the styles of the last direction being still active?
    I might try this out in affinity some and see what it does. I also know affinity lacks some of these tools such as there path brush so it's like comparing apples to oranges right now.


  • administrators

    @Ingolf Use the Preferences -> Changing Options -> Select After Delete option, in the new build 1.1.062