Move direct to specified layer

[Bug Importer]

Hey, I discovered the great abilities from Inkscape. Also still have some
problems.

One of the missing features belongs to working with layers. I could not
found a way to move selected elements directly to a specified layer.

What I wish is a way to get a list (maybe context menu or key shortcut) to
move selected elements to a layer which could be chosen from a list of
existing layers.

In addition there could be the opportunity to move to a new layer which
could be immediately created and named.

[Martin Andersen (msandersen)]

The most intuitive way is drag-and-drop of selected items in the Layers palette, much like in Illustrator. Good layers management is one of the many features that makes Illustrator a Pro tool, and Inkscape a toy, for now at least.
You could still have a submenu of the Layers palette with a "Move to..." option, with the option of "New Layer" from its dialog box.

[Martin Andersen (msandersen)]

Is this a duplicate of bug#170536 or bug#170849 ? The former mentions a context menu but is vague, the latter using the Layers menu.

[Alexandre Prokoudine (alexandre-prokoudine)]

Two more ideas from #inkscape people

1. Add "Paste selection to this layer" menu item/action to Layers context menu

2. Add "Convert selection to a new layer" command. The new layer would be put to the top of the stack, if the current layer is a 1st level layer, or top of a 2nd level layers group, if the current layer is in the 2nd level (and so on for 3rd, 4th etc levels)

[Milo van der Linden (mlinden)]

If you do CTRL+X,
Select the specified layer
and then CTRL+ALT+V

The object will be pasted on the same place.

[Halley (ed-halley)]

Milo van der Lindon's suggestion is good, but will not work if the desired new layer is currently hidden. (See https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/341995 for more on that.) If you have fifty layers, Shift+PgUp, Shift+PgDn may be a little cumbersome, but otherwise it's pretty quick and useful.

[ianp5a (ianp)]

"Move to specific layer" command has to be the number 1 Layer requirement.

[David Merrick (miscellaneous)]

i second all this too!
My preference would be to make a selection, right-click a destination Layer, and choose "Move Selection to this Layer"
d

[John Smith (john-smithi)]

Patch to add "Move to layer ..." to the main Layers menu and context menu.
It shows a dialog so user can pick a layer to move to.

The other suggestions are not so easy to do right now

> drag-and-drop of selected items in the Layers palette,
Drag and drop to dialogs is not currently supported, since the objects are moved on canvas with drag.

> make a selection, right-click a destination Layer, and choose "Move Selection to this Layer"
Right click changes the selection to the new layer, so you loose the previous selected items.

[jazzynico (jazzynico)]

Tested successfully on Ubuntu 11.04, Inkscape trunk revision 11683.
Thanks John!

[su_v (suv-lp)]

Patch tested with Inkscape 0.48+devel r11683 on OS X 10.7.4:
Only works for top-level layers - existing sub-layers are not consistently available as targets (not included in the layer selector list).

Exceptions:
- if current layer is a sub-layer, this sub-layer is listed in the layer selector (redundant since source = target).
- if the first of the selected objects (of a selection with multiple objects from different layers) is on a sub-layer, this sub-layer is listed in the layer selector too.
- if the layer of the first of the selected objects (of a selection with multiple objects from different layers) has one or more sub-layers, these sub-layers are listed in the layer selector too.

[jazzynico (jazzynico)]

<offtopic>
I should definitely not do too many things simultaneously...
</offtopic>

[John Smith (john-smithi)]

@~suv, yes have reused the layers list from the bottom status bar.
I guess you would prefer to see all sub-layers in the list ?
Would that also apply to the bottom status bar layers list as well ?

[su_v (suv-lp)]

> I guess you would prefer to see all sub-layers in the list ?

In a selector for the target layer this would be useful IMHO.

> Would that also apply to the bottom status bar layers list as well ?

I never really missed it in the status bar personally - based on my own workflows, I mostly use the layer widget in the status bar as 'indicator of the current drawing level' and its relation a) to the parent layers and b) to possibly nested entered group levels (very useful or even essential when working frequently within different groups), and less often for changing the current layer. Selecting a different layer as current layer is way faster done in the list in the 'Layers…' dialog (which one usually has open in the dock if working with many (sub-)layers), or with keyboard shortcuts.
With the current widget used in the status bar I'd also be concerned about letting it expand its width too much: depending on how deeply nested sub-layers (and how long the names) are, this can cause the notification area to shrink to a tiny, barely useful length (yes, mostly an issue with small screens only), even if only nearby sub-layers are included in the list.

BTW - despite my initial reservations, I'm still in awe of the selector you wrote for the path effects (replacing the old dropdown list selector with a neat window which allows faster access to the available effects, even if the list is long when experimental LPEs are enabled).

Maybe selecting a target layer (from all available targets) should be a different GUI element than the existing layer/current drawing level indicator/selector in the status bar?

[John Smith (john-smithi)]

Patch v2 attached, with all the layers (and sublayers) in a tree view - same as the Layers dialog.

[su_v (suv-lp)]

> Patch v2 attached, with all the layers (and sublayers) in a tree view

Would it be possible (and/or considered useful by others) if a double-click on a (sub-)layer would trigger the move (like clicking on the 'Move' button)?

[John Smith (john-smithi)]

Sure, both double click and <Enter> key now trigger the move action.
Committed to trunk as r11695.