Problem with moving layers

I’m new to Pencil2d but I really like it overall so far. It works really well with my drawing monitor and I had a lot of trouble with that using Adobe products so it’s nice to see it finally work the way it’s supposed to. I also like the customizable short cut keys. I’m going to be building myself a custom keypad for my drawing shortcuts and those customizable shortcuts will make it so much easier. I look forward to using this a lot in the future.

One issue that’s been perplexing me though is the way layers work. When I try to move a layer, I want to insert it between two other layers but instead it swaps with one of them. I can’t seem to insert layers in between like I’m used to doing in other programs with layers. I feel like I’m missing something, but I can’t seem to find anything in the FAQ, tutorial, manual, or the forum. I have the latest 64bit Windows build from the front page link, dated 5-20-2017.

As an example I have this layer setup:

1
2
3
4

I want to add layer 2.5 and put it between 2 and 3 so I highlight layer 2, expecting it make a new layer after 2 it but it appears at the top of the list. Not a huge deal, but I have this now:

2.5
1
2
3
4

So I try to move it in between 2 and 3 and I get this:

3
1
2
2.5
4

I can’t get it to just move one layer, it always swaps with one of the two layers I’m trying to get it in between. I have to rearrange things like it’s one of those sliding tile puzzles and it’s more than a little frustrating once I get a few layers and I’m in the habit of working with a decent amount of layers. I’ve also tried to move layers using all the usual Ctrl, Shift, Alt with the same results. Any tips?

Also, is there a way to lock layers? Or something like layer folders? Am I using layers very differently than other people using this program do? If so, any tips? Thanks!

Jade

Hi Jade

I haven’t played much around with moving layers, but looking into it now I can definitely see this being annoying. I will post this on our todo board but I can’t say when it’ll get implemented.

As for locking layers, you cannot lock a layer without hiding it too. The circle next to the layer name and image can be used to hide it.

The circle is considered to be the “eye” of what you’re used to from flash, photoshop etc. It has three modes: black, grey and clear mode. Black being where all layers are shown fully opaque. Grey is where only the selected layer is fully opaque and the rest shown at slightly transparent. Selected mode is where you can only see the selected layer and the others will be hidden.

We don’t have any way of organising layers. My advice for now is to use a minimal amount of layers if you don’t want to turn it into a quest to organize them :wink:

@ajnoyce Hi Jade. I’m afraid this is an unwanted behaviour that still needs to be resolved. Pencil2D devs are aware of it, however there hasn’t been time or manpower to fix it.

Right now it does indeed kind of work as if it was a puzzle, so sadly my only suggestion as a workaround is to switch the layer one by one, like you’ve been doing so far. That means switch layer 2.5 with 1, then 2.5 with 2, and you’ll get it. I know it’s a lot of work if you have many layers but this is only while until this gets patched.

Regarding locking layers or folders, this another feature that has been proposed but for this to happen the timeline has to be redesigned (we have a great proposal by CandyFace) and then rewritten (this is being done by another collaborator).

There are some advances to make all of it possible but I can only say that it might take some time for it to happen since people are volunteering for Pencil2D to happen, so if you know someone who can code on C++, and maybe they’d like to help out, let them know Pencil2d is always in need of assistance to make the software better :slight_smile:

Thank you for the replies and the tips! At least I know I’m not missing something obvious now and it’s easy enough to work around when I know what to expect. I rocked those slider puzzles as a kid :wink:

I don’t happen to know anyone who programs in C++ sorry, mostly C#. I’ll keep my eyes open though.