MJWHM

Just received an email with the following tutorial which may be handy. No time to deal with it myself now, but if others have missed it... https://affinityspotlight.com/article/take-control-of-footnotes-sidenotes-and-endnotes-in-affinity-publisher-2/?utm_source=SpotlightEmail&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=SpotlightNewsletter

Took the plunge ad bought the suite (can't resist bargains), and have played with the Publisher brefly. It is giving footnotes, and they do migrate as text changes, so that is good. Not exactly intuitive interface, but then Aff never has been for me: e.g. clicking and dragging an element doesn't move it as with other programs - you have to click an arrow and then do it. But I may be where I have been wanting to be, so a tentatice 'well-done' to the firm, thanks.

Excellent response. Good to have disagreements without vituperation.

I had PagePlus from a very early iteration, and it usually did what I wanted. But there is a significant difference - the facilities that existed in the most recent version of PP had gone through development by Serif and therefore one might reasonably hope that the ideas and methods might make it easier to adopt them in any new software. The actual programming may be different, but the logic for a particular feature must be the same, surely? If we know that the way to do a particular job is t adjust x or y then it should be transferable skill. I think the problem has been or is that the company may think that the only significant form of publication is either magazine-style or e-publication. I hope I am wrong, but in truth I have lost a lot of my faith in them and I have backed them since before 2008 (as far back as my emails go).

You aren't alone, but I am still bothered.

Or as we say here, 'all fur coat and no underwear' (we actually name a specific item of underwear, but it is possible that naming it might upset some group or other). Flash video, promising 'something we know you've been waiting for' (only one thing?), which is likely to make every group clamouring for improvements in their particular area hopeit is 'their thing'. I am wondering if the big thing is the total integratio of the products into a single one since the entire ethos of the company currently seems to be focussed on seamless integration. I prefer other programs for some of the things done by Affinity but nothing I have tried yet has come near to matching the quality, effectiveness and ease of PagePlus.

That may do the job. Thanks.

So even this feature is not available? I have used it extensively for my books in PagePlus. It surely can't be too much to expect similar functionality with the program that has replaced it?

Thank you, Ralph. Struggling with a cold at present and one is a typo but tother isn't. I actually did mean 'form' but I was trying to bring it back to the central issue, as you inferred. At my age I really do not see why there has to be techiness in these forums when we are all essentially seeking the same thing. Our differences are mainly in the comlexity which the footnotes/endnotes need to exhibit. Life is too short.

I hate to split hairs (well, perhaps not) but the use of 'users' does not mean all users, any more than saying that 'humans eat meat' means that all humans do so. The ambivalence of the form is at once its strength and its weakness. But this really does not forward the please for AP to implement the features they originally provided in Serif PagePlus X9. I am becoming convinced that the management are not interested in publications other than magazines and flyers, which is seriously disappointing if true. I still use X9, and it works. I think that of it ever is unusable because of a Windows update, I will retain a computer solely for using it.

Thanks for this alternative view to mine. How hard did you find it to feel confident with AP, please? What are the advatages that you have identified?

I think the worrying thing is that we have been told that the programmers are the same as those who programmed PagePlus. That is almost faultless in the way that is deals with endnotes and footnotes, as well as in other things. That being so, what, I ask myself, is so very different about Publisher that the same concepts cannot be applied? I incline to the belief that the fundamental logic of the Affinity suite is the problem. You don't need notes in Designer or Photo, and the whole ethos of the suite seems to be that something that works in one program will work in the others, regardless of whether it is needed. I have been cheerfully editing my images for publications in other programs and using the publishing program (PagePlus, of course) to create books, booklets, posters and other material. As for the issue of 'when', the situation does not seem to progress. Patrick thinks next year (2022, I imagine) but he is not sure, and that is still vague. Surely there is a work-flow diagram which places this feature in a sequence and has a timescale? While PagePlus functions, Affinity is an over-complicated and inadequate alternative for me. There is little to encourage me to struggle with its interface which I find is not intuitive. Maybe others are not in the same position, but that is where I am. But this is getting to be a little too close to one of those calls we all make, when the automat reply is 'We are experiencing unusually high call numbers. Please stay on the line; your call is important to us.' At least with some of those we know which position we are in the queue.

I hesitate to say this, lest things go wrong for me, but I have published two large books, filled with images and notes, using PagePlus X9. I used Book Plus, and it seems to work well for me. But youa re right about importing PDFs, and also the need that has not changed in two years.

The truly astonishing thing here is that Serif has not monetized its excellent PagePlus product by continuing to provide it as a kegacy product since Affinity crept onto the scene. I cannot see what possible readon they have to lose that opportunity, expecially given the length of time it seems to be taking to achieve even some of the old program's functions. I don't like Affinity, I admit. It is not user-friendly; it is not intuitive, and it does not seem to understand how my mind works. I have bought all the programs and still do not enjoy using them, preferring others almost all the time. I am truly, truly, disappointed.

Thank you for a simple, cogent and powerful post. I continue to avoid using AP because of this, especially since the ancient fore-runner was capable of doing it a decade ago. PagePlus still remains my go-to program for all sorts of functions, including PDF editing.