Moving objects between layers in XXP5

[davelash]

I have been using v5 for a few weeks now. I'm still struggling with the loss of the Move button in the Layer Gallery for moving objects between layers. What methods are others using to move objects?

The Help section for Layers & Object Gallery offers:

There are several ways to move objects between layers. First select the object or objects you want to move, then;

Cut the object (Ctrl+X). Ensure the target layer is the current layer (shown with , click the layer if it's not) and then Paste or Paste in Place. You can do this the other way around. Ensure you have the correct target layer selected as the current layer, and then just Cut the object (which can be on any layer) and immediately Paste again (which will always paste to the current layer)
Use the Arrange menu items Move to layer in front / Move to layer behind to shift the selected objects one layer up or down.
Ensure the target layer is selected as current, then find the selected item in the Object Gallery (click the Find button) and right click on it and select Move to Current Layer.

None of these methods is as easy to use as the Move button in my opinion. I hate to Cut an object to move it, but that's the method that I'm using so far.

(Also, how do you insert a blockquote in a Talkgraphics post?)

[slavelle]

Same opinion here. I'm not sure why they got rid of the move button there. I find myself having to click then reclick and reclick to get things set right to "move to current layer". cut and paste in place is way better for me, and honestly, it's pretty much what I usually used before, but the move button is a handy way to get there, whereas the replacement offers no immediate benefit and just extra clicks and obscurity.

[cursor]

The Move button was perfect ... simple and effective. I find the new method employed in Xtreme 5 to be annoying.

[slavelle]

Though I just looked at my own object gallery video and remembered that you can just drag and drop things from one layer to another as well. Not a solution for every circumstance, but as obvious as it seems, it's easy to forget.

[davelash]

Though I just looked at my own object gallery video and remembered that you can just drag and drop things from one layer to another as well. Not a solution for every circumstance, but as obvious as it seems, it's easy to forget.

Yes, I have used that method but it has shortcomings as a quick solution. Finding the object you want to move in the Object Gallery is an extra step. And if you have many layers, it can be tricky to find the layer you want to drop on. Having said that, once my attention is turned to the Gallery, this is an okay method for reorganizing objects. (Although the Move button was still better IMO.)

The situation I find the most cumbersome is when I've been drawing awhile and have lots of objects on the screen. I'd like to be able to Shft-click on a bunch of them and move them to a layer of choice. I used to use the Move button to do this all the time. Now, I guess I have to re-train myself to use Cut and Paste in Place. Any other options?

[handrawn]

just for clarity:

'paste in place' does not paste into the current layer if the selected objects are themselves on more than one layer - then you have little option but to use the gallery right click 'move to current layer'

this is a common situation for me

it has been suggested that 'paste in place' needs to have two key shortcuts one to keep layers as now, and one to paste all to current layer

[davelash]

just for clarity:

'paste in place' does not paste into the current layer if the selected objects are themselves on more than one layer - then you have little option but to use the gallery right click 'move to current layer'

Wow, that's a nasty piece of news! I typically do not know what layers a bunch of objects are on when I want to move them. However, given your clarification, here's the technique I plan to use (it works):

1. Shft+click (or other selection method) to select the objects to be moved.

2. Ctrl+G to group those objects.

3. Ctrl+X to cut them.

4. In the Object Gallery, click on a layer to make it "current."

5. Click on the Edit > Paste in Place (Shft+Ctrl+V) to move the objects.

6. Ctrl+U to ungroup.

Personally, I'd favor a right click "Move to current layer" option, or restoration of the Move button.

[amoore]

Now, I guess I have to re-train myself to use Cut and Paste in Place. Any other options?

As long as you're only talking about moving objects to a new layer, that should work. There are also the shortcut keys for moving to the next open layer in front or behind, although they don't help much if the desired layer is farther away.

And, davelash, you do have a rightclick Move to Current Layer option in the OG, although not in the regular workspace.

Where I have a big problem with all this is not with moving objects, but with copying multiple objects to another layer.

[handrawn]

XXPro5:

see attached - the selected objects are highlighted in the 2 layers - rightclick on one of the highlights in the gallery and select 'move to current layer' - all will move

I do not know if this works in standard xtreme 5

[davelash]

Where I have a big problem with all this is not with moving objects, but with copying multiple objects to another layer.

Agreed! Copying multiple objects (and having them land on multiple layers) is often how I get mixed up in the first place. I do not get the logic of selecting a current layer, and then having XX paste into the multiple original layers. (When I select multiple objects that are on one layer, they copy to a different current layer if I so select.) Perhaps there's an application where these rules make sense -- but not in my world.