Moving base content without moving background (which is also a "shape")

[MedBooster]

Moving base content without moving background (which is also a "shape")

The background is already in the back. Is there an easy way to move all background shapes to another layer, of multiple pages simultaneously?

What would be the best way to NOT choose the background (without deleting it) in cases like this:

Adding it to a different layer?

You see, when I drag and try and choose all the text bubbles (base content) it also chooses the background and moves it with it

In this case it isn't a big deal, but if the background is colored, then it is...

Exported from XMind btw.

Trying to select the group of shapes (floating topics) like this:

(For educational purposes only)

[Stefan - PDF-XChange]

Hello MedBooster,

There is no way to automate that for multiple pages I am afraid. however maybe the quickest way that comes to mind is if you do your drag selection, then hold down the shift key and click on the background to deselect it leaving only the items that you actually want moved in your selection.

Kind regards,
Stefan

[MedBooster]

Or selecting all and then unselecting the background with Ctrl+Left-click, but this would only work if there is a single background layer, and often there are many (not only for XMind, but also PowerPoint files for example.

What about layering? Or is layers only for comments, not base content?

Reference:
viewtopic.php?t=44306&hilit=content

[rakunavi]

Hello MedBooster,

Similar to the method described in a previous post here, it may be possible to use an RPA tool such as autohotkey to move the background object to a new layer. In the video, the shortcut keys Ctrl+F1 and Ctrl+F2 are assigned to the following commands, and then the script is executed.

• Ctrl+F1
  "Move to New Layer" command (ID: cmd.moveToNewLayer)
• Ctrl+F2
  "Collapse All" command (ID: cmd.collapseAll)

As reported in this topic, shortcut keys do not currently work in the "Current Layer" menu. Therefore, in the verification below, I have assigned the shortcut key to the "Move to New Layer" command in advance, and then run the autohotkey (v1) script to create a new layer for each page using the shortcut key to move the background object. Note that this means that after the script is finished, the layers that exist for the number of pages must be merged.

Code: Select all

SendMode Event
Loop, 5
{
	Loop, % A_Index
		Send {Down}
	Send {Right 4}^{F1}
	WinWait, Add New Layer,, 2
	Send {Enter}
	WinWaitClose, Add New Layer,, 2
	Send ^{F2}
}
return

• 

  This is a GIF animation. Click to play.

• SampleFiles.zip

  (82.77 KiB) Downloaded 39 times

Best regards,
rakunavi

[Daniel - PDF-XChange]

Hello, rakunavi

The only potential issue I see with this is that there is no guarantee that the "background" object is the first/second/47th" item on any given page. Other than that, it does seem to be an excellent use of such scripting. I hope it helps the others.

Kind regards,

[MedBooster]

Is there a way to maybe "lock" the background in a way that makes it NOT be selected when you try and select base content?

Here is a PDF you can try with if you'd like.

medbooster sample xmind pdfxchange colored background shape.pdf

(73 KiB) Downloaded 7 times

In cases like these I'd prefer not to delete or move the background anywhere... and moving the background shape to "back" doesn't stop it from being selected

[Daniel - PDF-XChange]

Hello, MedBooster

Well to start, nothing in this file is identified as a background object, so that on its own will complicate things:

If these were proper background objects, there may be something we could offer, but as far as the software can see, there is not difference between and of the 4 "page sized" objects present here, and something like the individual lines leading to each "section" of your map here.

I will raise this with the Dev team to see if there is any way we can identify "page sized" shapes and images, and offer some method or option to avoid selecting them in "group" selection actions. At the very least, I would expect that this can be done with real "background" objects, but I cannot make any promises on what may change.

In the meantime, you will likely need to use a "shift+Drag" selection to grab the content group, then reposition it with the arrow keys, and finally, select the problematic background item, and move it back to its original place afterwards.
Alternatively, you could select each of the 4 background items, and move them to a new layer, naming it "background":

image(1).png (9.07 KiB) Viewed 408 times

and then hiding the background layer, to prevent selection of these items. After you are done with and page content movement, you can toggle the layer back on, and the background images you have used will still be in their original locations.

Kind regards,

[MedBooster]

Hmm, OK maybe I could report that to XMind support, that their software doesn't generate PDFs with the background as a "background" object. I reckon it's something not many softwares that offer PDF export think about.

PS:
Thanks for the advise on workarounds

[Daniel - PDF-XChange]

Hello, MedBooster

It is a surprisingly underused feature. In any case, at the moment we don't have a system for ignoring background objects even if they are present here with the appropriate flags. However, if there is any chance of us offering a way to do so, it would need to piggyback on that system, and those "background object" flags, so would not work with documents lacking them.

Kind regards,