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johntronn
johntronn
Known Participant
August 25, 2017
Answered

Erasing Selected Layer Erases on All Other Layers Too

  • August 25, 2017
  • 3 replies
  • 10193 views

Hello,

This is an issue I have researched here on the forums and the only other relevant thread I found was created back in Feb. 2010 and it is still labelled as "unsolved".. Here is a link to that if anyone needs the proof: Re: Eraser tool erase stuff on all layers.... 

To start, I am using Adobe Animate CC and my issue is with the eraser tool. I am working on 5 different, overlapping layers for a character that I am drawing out. While working on one of the layers, I decide to use the eraser tool to erase part of a mistake I made. However, upon attempting to erase just the elements on that specific layer (which is also the only one I have selected, the eraser tool ends up erasing everything from all other layers in addition to the one I have selected.

This forces me to have to lock all other layers before erasing the target layer and then unlocking those layers again afterwards to then be able to work on them again. In the long run, this will suck up a lot of my time (locking and unlocking) and will only get worse as the character I am drawing gains more layers of detail. I have experimented with the 5 other Eraser Mode options, yet each of them serve their own unique purpose and don't really solve my issue. A good example of what I am looking for in my eraser tool is similar to the eraser tool in Pohotshop. There I can erase, edit, add adjustment layers, overlay shading,/colours etc. etc. to a single layer that I have selected and have it not affect any of my other layers whether on top or beneath the target layer I am working on.

Perhaps there is a simple way of fixing this in the Adobe Animate settings, although I am unsure of where to look and what settings to adjust. If there are no such settings, I would like to ask how people cope with an eraser tool that erases everything on all layers it touches?

Thanks for the help.

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer RandomlyFish

I created a command script that unlocks any layer that you have selected and locks the rest.

Download: Lock Other Layers.jsfl - Google Drive

You just need to add that file to the Commands folder and then you can add a keyboard shortcut for it. You can find the commands folder if you open the start menu and search for: %localappdata%. Then open Adobe > Animate CC (year) > (language) > Configuration > Commands.

To add keyboard shortcuts, in Animate CC go to Edit > Keyboard Shortcuts... To edit them you first need to click the button next to the dropdown at the top to save a new preset. Then you can find the command under the Commands tab or you can search for it.

3 replies

Sufferincats
Sufferincats
Known Participant
July 2, 2020

Alt - click on the lock for the layer you want to erase, and all the other layers but that one will lock.

arvindsinghtanwar
arvindsinghtanwar
Participating Frequently
July 7, 2020

We have added an option to  Erase on active layer in the eraser tool PI.

 

Thanks!

Arvind 

R
RandomlyFishCorrect answer
Inspiring
August 26, 2017

I created a command script that unlocks any layer that you have selected and locks the rest.

Download: Lock Other Layers.jsfl - Google Drive

You just need to add that file to the Commands folder and then you can add a keyboard shortcut for it. You can find the commands folder if you open the start menu and search for: %localappdata%. Then open Adobe > Animate CC (year) > (language) > Configuration > Commands.

To add keyboard shortcuts, in Animate CC go to Edit > Keyboard Shortcuts... To edit them you first need to click the button next to the dropdown at the top to save a new preset. Then you can find the command under the Commands tab or you can search for it.

    johntronn
    johntronnAuthor
    Known Participant
    August 28, 2017

    RandomlyFish

    Thank you so much for taking the time to create this script!

    It seems those who know how to create scripts like these are the ones who can truly solve any obstacle found on this software. I should really start looking into script coding myself.. I will install your script and test it out.

    Thanks again for all the help.

    Regards.

    R
    RandomlyFish
    Inspiring
    August 28, 2017

    You're welcome!

    I added comments for the lines of code so that you can learn what each part of the code does. You can also learn some basic jsfl through the program itself, just by opening the History panel. By default it will show you simple texts for each action you did, but if click at the top right of the panel and changing the view to Javascript, you can see lines of code for certain actions. You can also save selected steps by clicking the button at the bottom right of the panel. Lastly, if you google for "extending flash cs6", you'll find this PDF: http://help.adobe.com/en_US/flash/cs/extend/flash_extending_reference.pdf where you can look up how to use the various different methods and properties that are available.

      Colin Holgate
      Colin Holgate
      Inspiring
      August 25, 2017

      I think that the way you see it working is how it always worked. You can see that in the Photoshop world they have the opposite feature request:

      Erase multiple layers option for the Eraser Tool

      Often you're using different layers for different body parts, and if it's to be animated the parts will be in symbols, so you wouldn't hit the problem. If there's another use case you could select a layer and Group it. That way you can still move that layer's items around, and the eraser won't erase it. You can ungroup later if need be.

      I'm curious what Mike Milo would say about the situation. I've watched him draw for many hours, and can't remember seeing him troubled by the way things work. He has a Twitch session on Saturdays, noon west coast time, if you want to drop in:

      Twitch

      johntronn
      johntronnAuthor
      Known Participant
      August 26, 2017

      Thanks for the reply Colin,

      I will see if I can check out Mike's stream at some point.

      I can definitely consider turning my drawn components on my layers into symbols, or via group method you mentioned, yet it all becomes an extra step for me to add to my workflow, and of course in the long run it will only consume more time. It's interesting that the Photoshop forums request for the opposite, I guess there are users on either platform that demand to have both erasing methods as an available option to them for when they need it.

      Well thanks for confirming some alternatives to this, now that I realize there is no such setting I can simply change, I will experiment with symbols some more on my project and see how to efficiently incorporate it into my workflow.

      Thanks again.

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