Layer order when Timeline is in **Tagged** mode

Harmony Harmony General Discussion
1

Hello all :slight_smile:

I’m currently trying to fathom the automatic layer sorting when the timeline is displaying only tagged layers.

While it’s lovely to trim down the timeline panel and only view the items you’re currently working on, I’m a little thrown by the odd sorting decisions.
For example, if you use the default naming convention for Pegs (name-P) it gets sorted BELOW the parent layer, but curves and offsets get sorted ABOVE the parent.

So if you have a drawing with a peg and a curve deformer, you end up in this nightmare situation;

→ drawing
→ drawing-P
→ drawing_Curve_1
→ drawing_Offset_1

URGH

Since I have started using the tagged view a lot more, I decided to get to the bottom of this…

After some experimenting, this is the sorting logic I have noticed…

  1. Blank
  2. Hyphens ( - )
  3. Numbers
  4. Upper Case Text
  5. Underscore ( _ )
  6. Lower Case Text

So, based on this madness ^, I’m using the following naming convention (an adjustment of ToonBoom’s suggestions here:
http://docs.toonboom.com/help/harmony-12/premium/Content/_CORE/_Workflow/006_Organization_File_Structure/007_H1_Naming_Convention.html)

                              • TRY THIS NAMING CONVENTION INSTEAD

Drawing layer: lower case name, with a trailing underscore (this will keep it UNDERNEATH any parent pegs, curves, offsets etc)
“drawing_”

Pegs: The standard. Layer name plus “-P”
“drawing-P”

Offsets, Curves and other deformers: Hyphens instead of dashes, lower case descriptor.
“drawing-curve” instead of “drawing_Curve”

TL:DR - The default naming conventions in Harmony cause the layer sorting to go crazy in TAGGED mode. If this is causing you grief, give my naming suggestions a try ^

2

You’re over-thinking this :slight_smile:

Timeline Tag sorts your layers in alphabetical order. This is because you could technically be tagging elements that are not even remotely connected to each other for whatever purpose you might need at that moment. You could tag a foot from one character and the hand from another character, and the timeline will put it in alphabetical order. Hope that helps!

3

THANK YOU! the sorting method was driving me crazy

4

I’m also not really happy with the timeline’s automatic layer sorting in the “View Tagged Layers” mode.

I’d prefere it displaying the layers in the real hierarchical order, just like as if all other untagged layers above and underneath were hidden.

5

I definitively would find it helpful if the hierarchical order could be kept in “Selection Only Mode” and “View Tagged Layers”.

Currently:

  • when working with drawings named in a way like “ARM_F” and “ARM_B”, “ARM_B” is listed above “ARM_F”
  • pegs named in a way like “ARM_F-P” are shown underneath the child drawing named “ARM_F-P”
7

I remarked an error in my last post.

Instead of:

  • pegs named in a way like “ARM_F-P” are shown underneath the child drawing named “ARM_F-P”

I wanted to say:

  • pegs named in a way like “ARM_F-P” are shown underneath the child drawing named “ARM_F”
9

And I would like to link to the following threads as they are closely related to this topic: