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Automatic Selections of Layers

Posted: Sat Oct 02, 2021 3:46 pm
by teotoon
Hello friends,

I am working on a cutout animation. Is it possible to select layers (individual parts of the figure) automatically on canvas when using layer transformation tool? Or can it be scriptable?

Thanks in advance,

Cheers,

LG

Re: Automatic Selections of Layers

Posted: Sat Oct 02, 2021 3:58 pm
by Lukas
Have you tried Alt + RightClicking to select any layer in the viewport? You don’t even have to deselect your current tool.

Re: Automatic Selections of Layers

Posted: Sat Oct 02, 2021 4:19 pm
by teotoon
Thank you Lukas, I was thinking there had been an easy way to do it; I should read the manual carefully, silly me...

Thanks again,

Happy animating,

LG

Re: Automatic Selections of Layers

Posted: Sat Oct 02, 2021 9:27 pm
by Lukas
Happy animating! 🥳

Re: Automatic Selections of Layers

Posted: Sat Oct 02, 2021 9:29 pm
by Greenlaw
Just some additional related tips...

As Lukas explained, Alt-Right Click will select a layer, but if you Shift Alt-Right Click, you will select the layer's Group layer. This is useful when you want to transform all the contents at once or, if the clicked-on layer is inside a Switch Layer, then it will select the Switch layer.

Another option is to use Synthsin75's Layer Shortcuts, which lets you create 'buttons' in the viewport for selecting layers and groups, or Stan's Layer Selection Buttons, which does something similar but has its buttons in the tool options area. This nice thing about these button-based methods are that the layer selector is specific and built into your rig.

Hope this helps.

Re: Automatic Selections of Layers

Posted: Sun Oct 03, 2021 11:38 am
by davoodice2
Greenlaw wrote: Sat Oct 02, 2021 9:29 pm Just some additional related tips...

Shift Alt-Right Click
nice tip

Re: Automatic Selections of Layers

Posted: Mon Oct 04, 2021 8:53 am
by Daxel
Yes I love selecting layers with those shortcuts, its so much faster specially with a lot of nested layers and more with tablets. I think Moho could add just a few more options to make all layers selectable and that would be amazing to work with. If we had a "select closest parent bone layer" shortcut and all these three shortcuts could be repeated again to go further, we wouldn't need to touch the layer panel. For example:

Alt-right click: select clicked visible layer (as is) but if you press again alt-right click, Moho will repeat the process but ignoring the last selected layer, so it will select the layer underneath. Super usefull when you have references on top of the layer you want to select, when you have masks etc, very often. Also if you click on a bone it will select that bone layer.

Shift-Alt-Right click: select group of clicked visible layer (as is) but if you press it again Moho selects the parent of that group. Useful very often, when you have complex characters, when you have a switch with groups inside because you need them to make different masks for their drawings etc so the direct parent group is not enought.

Ctrl-Alt-Right click (unused right now): it could select the closest parent bone layer. If you do it again, it will ignore latest bone layer and will select the next parent bone layer. Probably the most needed feature because Moho animators and riggers need to go to the bone layer super frecuently and if we have many layers it forces you to have a huge layer panel and even then you have to scroll sometimes if you were working on a bottom layer or a nested layer.

I will post this as a proposal.

Re: Automatic Selections of Layers

Posted: Mon Oct 04, 2021 4:45 pm
by davoodice2
Daxel wrote: Mon Oct 04, 2021 8:53 am If we had a "select closest parent bone layer" shortcut and all these three shortcuts could be repeated again to go further, we wouldn't need to touch the layer panel. For example:
you can use my script named select parent bone layer.
viewtopic.php?f=12&t=34399&p=199253#p199253

you can set short key and quickly swith to bone layer.

for select another character in scene just select a layer of that with alt+right click and press short key of tool. it select one layer and collapse groups.

Re: Automatic Selections of Layers

Posted: Mon Oct 04, 2021 9:40 pm
by Daxel
davoodice2 wrote: Mon Oct 04, 2021 4:45 pm
you can use my script named select parent bone layer.
viewtopic.php?f=12&t=34399&p=199253#p199253

you can set short key and quickly swith to bone layer.

for select another character in scene just select a layer of that with alt+right click and press short key of tool. it select one layer and collapse groups.
I know! Reading about your script made me start thinking about how convenient a feature like that could be. I guess scripts can't use the Ctrl+Alt+RightClick shortcut without previously selecting their tool right? But right now your script is the best solution availible for selecting parent bone layers.