What object properties does the GFUI look at in determining which things to group together, i.e. which things appear in each of the icons down the left side?
It doesn’t seem to be JUST common colors, since I frequently end up with same color segments in different GFUI “objects.”
Grouping objects in the design program doesn’t seem to guarantee they will be grouped in the GFUI.
I don’t think GFUI pays any attention to what layer an object is on in the artwork.
I do think combining paths helps keep some things together, but I’m not sure it’s a complete solution as it hasn’t always worked for me. That may be due to some other newbie mistake I’m making, though (two unconnected nodes at the same point in a path, maybe?)
Before I take time off from making things to figure this out, is there a definitive answer on what properties the GFUI uses to decide on its object groupings?
Anything completely enclosed inside of a closed path is grouped together for the purposes of moving things around on the artboard, be it raster, vector, animal, vegetable or mineral. (You can’t select a single item inside of a group and delete it for instance.)
Operations are determined by color used, whether the object has a vector fill, a vector stroke, and/or whether it is a raster image. Two strokes of different colors will net you two different cut operations set up in the interface. Four vector engraves of four different fill colors will be four operations. And individual raster images are always treated separately, so having a bunch of small raster engraves in a batch process means that each will have to be set individually. (That’s the one where pre-set proofgrade settings are a life-saver.)
So you’re correct, creating operations is not just limited to color. Also correct that the layer order does not make any difference to the GFUI with one exception… layer stack order seems to impact the order that operations appear in the thumbnail column. It used to be that the bottom most layer showed up at the top of the thumbnail column, with engraves happening first and cuts happening lower in the column. BUT…I recently noticed that doesn’t necessarily stand any more, and with the software undergoing metamorphosis all the time, I don’t want to give outdated information. (Anyway, haven’t had the time or inclination to fully test it out since the latest changes.)
And since things are in a continuing state of flux, take anything I tell you as temporary.
Thanks for the help @Jules! @geek2nurse I’m going to close this thread. If you need anything else, please create a new post or write in to support@glowforge.com.
(You can’t select a single item inside of a group and delete it for instance.)