Stitches

Downloaded but not tested yet. Looks like you put a lot of effort into this macro and I really appreciate you sharing it. Many thanks!

@Komatös Howdy again. "Save thumbnails with documents" is checked. I used Revo uninstaller to uninstall all 3 v1 programs. Revo uses the program's (Affinity's) uninstaller first and then locates residual left over folders which one then has the option to delete. Something failed in that process with AD and the three items that I placed in the trash were left over and may be causing some problems. I'm thinking I might re-install AD v1 and then run the regular uninstaller and see what happens. Thanks for the reply!

Hello @Komatös Thanks for the reply. Hopefully my post wasn't too confusing. What I'm trying to retrieve is the thumbnails (image of work in progress) that are saved with an AD v2 or v1 file. They are not showing up in explorer. I'm happy with AD v2 and just want AD v1 off my machine but what I don't understand is why when I dump the AD v1 .exe file why do I lose the Affinity icons for AD v2 files and where are the thumbnails saved with the files? I would try your approach for the AD v2 files but they are hidden or sandboxed aren't they?

OK. So I installed the entire V2 suite and uninstalled the entire V1 suite (or so I thought) on a Windows 10 machine in that order. I noticed if I double clicked on any V1 Designer file to open it would still open in AD V1. Right clicking a file to open I would see what's in this image. AD V1 is still showing up as a drop down menu option however it's not in my start menu nor does it show up in Programs and Features in the Control Panel. I thought it was gone initially. Also please note that thumbnails are not showing up in saved AD files in explorer only the Affinity icon. My AP files are saving thumbnails fine and I can see them in explorer. I did some hunting and found these files which I placed in the recycle bin originally found in C:/Program Files. These are AD V1 files that did not get uninstalled. AD V1 no longer comes up as an option while these files are in the trash when I right click a file to open it however now the thumbnails and Affinity icon both are gone. If I restore the files the icons return and so does AD V1 but only in the right click dropdown menu. What I'd like to achieve is to get AD V1 off my machine and get my thumbnails back. I have looked at the threads here concerning thumbnail issues and have tried everything suggested. Deleting thumbnail cache, uncheck icons only, etc. One Drive is not on this machine and I have never used it to my knowledge. I've run dism and sfc/scannow also. Prior to installing the V2 suite I upgraded from Windows 8.1 to Win 10. I also uninstalled and reinstalled AD V2 today to see if that would fix things. It didn't. This is what I'm running: Edition Windows 10 Home Version 21H2 Installed on ‎8/‎28/‎2022 OS build 19044.2486 Experience Windows Feature Experience Pack 120.2212.4190.0 Am I missing something? Why do my AD thumbnails and icons go generic when I dump the AD V1.exe? If I restore the files I trashed the Affinity icons return but I'm still missing the the thumbnails in explorer. Why does my computer think AD V1 is gone yet it's still here? Thanks!

I like the built-in blur and see these brushes could be useful right off the bat. I'd be interested to see how you are using them. I did a quick little test with just some shapes. Very nice. Thanks.

Well done!

Thanks for posting this. It led me to your YT channel. Lots of good info there.

Thanks Stuart!

I for one would like the erase blending option in the appearance panel to function as it does in the layers panel. "Serif replied that the erasing happening only within the context of the object while the other blend modes are not restricted in that way, is "by design" rather than a bug." This is BS and a cop out if you ask me. In the appearance panel selecting the erase function for a stroke only erases the stroke. I can select no stroke if I want to do that in the swatches panel. Either pull the erase option from the menu in the appearance panel to eliminate confusion or make it function correctly. There are so many instances where I have had to duplicate an object, set it to stroke only, set it to erase and place it above the object I created it from that I can't count them. It would save lots of time if this function worked correctly. Regardless of whether it's a bug or not IT WOULD BE A GREAT FEATURE if it actually functioned.

@markw So interesting turn of events. I opened your file the other day and had a look. Again Thanks. Today while working on a project I had used my styles panel and all was normal....normal gear icon. I closed the file, had my dinner and reopened the file I was working on to find your cat from the file you sent had somehow injected itself into my styles panel as the styles icon. Any thoughts on how this m ay of happened? I'm mystified. You wouldn't happen to know how how to switch it back would you?

@markw Thanks for putting the file together. It's doing what I want it do now so problem solved. I had it somewhat correct. The image I'm using to erase still wants to be in a group with what it's erasing to isolate that from lower layers but it doesn't want to be in a group or layer of it's own within that group. Confusing bit of clarity there. Thanks for your help.

Thanks for the reply. I could have sworn I've pulled this off before by grouping. I guess I'll have to burn a png to get a layer of color behind this. Sorta sucks the spontaneity out of this as I'm experimenting at the moment. Thanks for clearing up the folder icon. Beyond me at times to put 2 and 2 together. Re: blend modes. I tried putting a white color overlay on the png and setting blend mode to multiply both within the effect module and at the layer level and the overlay gives me an undesired white background. Sorta kinda worked. Will play with this a bit more. Never knew exactly how screen and multiply worked btw. Going up on my wall on a post-it alongside 100 other tips I always forget to look at. Off topic: Looking at your avatar.... Are you in the Illuminati and if so what are your plans for humanity? Do you know Katy Perry-I heard she's a member?

Hi all, How does one isolate layers below a layer set to erase blend mode? In this example Layer 5 has a png set to erase and it is burning through Layers 1-4. Layers 1-5 are grouped. Layer 0 is not grouped residing below the rest with a rectangle in it that I would like to try other contrasting colors in. Also...what is that symbol in La yer 5 mean? Can someone enlighten me please?

@haakoo Thanks for dropping the file. @v_kyr I just ran across this this morning. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1bkRKI2xxc Easy enough workaround for now.

Agreed. At least I know what the heck is going on now. AD has been a little buggy for me from time to time here recently so I know not to chalk it up to that at least. Thx.

@v_kyr Thanks for the reality check. I was sure I had done this in the past but apparently I'm mistaken.

Hi all, In my appearance panel add stroke is disabled for text. I should be able to add multiple stroke to text correct? Am I missing something? It's usually something on my end sadly. Thx.......

@StuartRc Thanks for the generous contribution!

@grargemeister These are available at Designcuts. https://www.designcuts.com/product/grid-builder-layout-composer/ and https://www.designcuts.com/product/letter-builder/. I received both of them in a bundle a while back for much less than they are asking now fyi. Anyway, not sure if this is what you are looking for but they are out there to check out.

Thanks for sharing these!

Thanks @smadell. Looking forward to taking this for a spin.

Hi everyone. What I wound up doing was uninstalling and reinstalling my brushes in order. This still doesn't let me group sets of brushes in say a category for nature or illustration. Thanks @Callum for the response. I agree with @Hilltop and @R C-R about having the ability to organize brushes down the proverbial road.

Cool! Maybe I'll download a trial when I have time to explore.

No worries and thanks for the reply regardless. Good to know should purchase Publisher in the future.

Thanks Walt. Couldn't be any simpler than that! Another mystery solved. I'm actually not seeing that option in the Designer view dropdown menu. Interesting.