[FEATURE REQUEST] Automatically undo image flattening

[theyakuzi]

After you save in image there is a required process of flattening the image, which merges all the layers automatically and then you have to undo this process manually ,

However i always go back asking myself why is this not just done automatically by default?

I already work with thousands of images and I always find myself having to undo this process after saving an image, creates a lot of unnecessary steps I have to do

 

My idea would be to just simply automatically undo layer merging after the image is saved 

And also an option that users can tick to not show the message ever again, (why do i need to see that message every single time)

This would save so much headache 

Example : https://imgur.com/a/eiQVQxA

 

Edited October 1 by theyakuzi

[Tactilis]

Welcome to the forum @theyakuzi

 

12 minutes ago, theyakuzi said:

After you save in image there is a required process of flattening the image, which merges all the layers automatically and then you have to undo this process manually.

 

However i always go back asking myself why is this not just done automatically by default?

 

This feature has been asked for several times previously, the latest being https://forums.getpaint.net/topic/124416-feature-request-export-png-without-having-to-flatten-layers/.  Please search the forum before posting, as required by the Forum Rules. See #1.

 

There's a simple workaround given in the above thread and you could easily automate the keystrokes using AutoHotkey.

 

 

18 minutes ago, theyakuzi said:

And also an option that users can tick to not show the message ever again, (why do i need to see that message every single time)

This would save so much headache 

It's not much of a headache. All you need do is hit Enter and that will select Flatten, which is the default action.

[theyakuzi]

2 hours ago, Tactilis said:

Welcome to the forum @theyakuzi

 

 

This feature has been asked for several times previously, the latest being

 

There's a simple workaround given in the above thread and you could easily automate the keystrokes using AutoHotkey.

 

 

It's not much of a headache. All you need do is hit Enter and that will select Flatten, which is the default action.

 

This feature has been requested multiple times because it should be a native part of the software. I shouldn't have to create a macro for something so simple, as it's clunky and I don’t want to install another program.

 

You've missed the point of the original post. Yes, I can press Enter, but if I'm doing that, I might as well just move my mouse. The whole point is to reduce repetitive actions in the software.

 

It shouldn’t be difficult to implement this. I find it odd that you would suggest workarounds instead of actually solving the problem. How do you expect anyone to use your software effectively on a higher level when small issues like this make it so frustrating?

 

Edited October 2 by theyakuzi

[Ego Eram Reputo]

As @Tactilis mentioned above, this has been asked for any times.

 

4 hours ago, theyakuzi said:

After you save in image there is a required process of flattening the image, which merges all the layers automatically and then you have to undo this process manually ,

 

You're doing it long-hand (which is the hard way). Try this:

 

1. Press Ctrl + Shift + C (copy merged layers into a single layer and put it in the clipboard)
2. Ctrl + Alt + V (paste clipboard image into a new image)
3. Ctrl + S (Save the new image)

 

^ What this does is creates a single-layer copy of your image and tosses it into a new image. Which you save (& can delete afterwards). The original image is not affected - so there is no requirement to undo flattening. Eight keys in three chords. Easy peasy (and not a macro either)

 

 

[Ego Eram Reputo]

1 hour ago, theyakuzi said:

It shouldn’t be difficult to implement this.

 

You have no idea. PDN's code runs to over a million lines. Do not assume.

[Tactilis]

12 hours ago, theyakuzi said:

You've missed the point of the original post.

 

No, I understood your point.

 

But the point I made is that the request has been made several times before as would have been discovered by searching first as required by the Forum Rules.

 

The previously made requests have been seen by @Rick Brewster, who is the author/developer of paint.net. He has decided that users should be informed of the action that paint.net needs to take and that they should choose explicitly whether to flatten the image before saving in a format that does not support layers.

 

This approach is in keeping with one of the design principles of paint.net, which is to minimise the potential for inadvertent loss of work. This is why, for example, a multi-layer image defaults to saving to .pdn format and there is no option to set the save format to always be .jpg or .png - the user has to make an explicit choice.

 

 

12 hours ago, theyakuzi said:

How do you expect anyone to use your software effectively on a higher level when small issues like this make it so frustrating?

 

1. It's not my software; it's Rick's.

2. He provides it for you to use for free.

3. He has continued to develop it year after year it to make it ever faster and significantly more capable so that it can be used "effectively on a higher level" by millions of users.

 

If pressing Enter (or Space) to accept the default option of Flatten, or moving and clicking the mouse on Flatten is "so frustrating" or "so much headache", then maybe paint.net is not currently the best choice for you.

 

In future, it is possible that Rick will add an ExportAs… feature, which is distinct from Save/Save As. The exported file would contain the merged image, like the workaround given above produces, and it would not risk losing work because it would not modify the existing image History or change the existing file name.

 

 

12 hours ago, theyakuzi said:

I shouldn't have to create a macro for something so simple, as it's clunky and I don’t want to install another program.

 

That's your choice. But if I were to "work with thousands of images" as you do then I'd want to do whatever I could to streamline the process.

 

@Ego Eram Reputo has repeated above the simple 3-chord steps given in the previous thread to effectively do an Export As without the need to Flatten and remember to Undo afterwards. If required, these steps could be streamlined to a single keypress using AutoHotkey.