JDW

Where is the Set White Point in Affinity Photo (AP)? Please note that I've been using the AP beta and recently I purchased the app via MAS. I am trying to transition from Photoshop but I am faced with a learning curve. In Photoshop, I hit CMD-M to bring up the Curves dialog and then click the rightmost dropper icon ("Sample in image to set white point") and click on the light parts of my image. That adjusts the white balance and the white point beautifully. I use this all the time on the white parts of scanned images to make sure white is 100% white. I want to do the same thing in AP, but no such feature exists in the AP Curves dialog that I can see. And when I type "Set White Point" or even "white point" in the Help menu Search field, nothing relevant appears. How do I accomplish this in AP? Again, I want a drop tool (or similar) that allows me to click on light areas of the image and set those parts to pure white. If there is such a feature in AP, please note that Photoshop allows me to press the Option key after I click the White Point dropper to see areas that are still dark. That is very convenient to allow me to see where else I should click the dropper to make sure all the white areas are pure white, not leaving any light gray patches anywhere. Does AP have this? Thanks.

Well, after I copy in Illustrator, switch to Affinity then Paste, I can zoom in on the pasted content in Affinity and it never gets jagged. (Zooming in on a raster will show jagged pixels at some point.) It looks "vector" to my eyes while displayed in Affinity. Yet after Exporting with Affinity, I see a screen resolution bitmap. That is confusing to me. Again, it looks like a vector in Affinity, so if it is indeed vector, how then can I Export it as a vector rather than a 96dpi bitmap? Again, this seems to be a Copy/Paste issue because I don't have the same "vector to raster" problem when I open an Illustrator generated SVG in Affinity and then Export to SVG from Affinity. I don't want my SVGs to rasterize at all. That would defeat the entire purpose of using an SVG on my websites. I want vector data, not a rasterized bitmap.

Matt, please note that I usually can shrink Illustrator's SVGs down in size further by using this: http://petercollingridge.appspot.com/svg-editor/ Maybe that site will give you some ideas as to the fat which can be cut to maximize optimization.

I am finding Affinity-exported SVGs to be screen resolution bitmaps when created by COPYING & PASTING Illustrator vector data: 1. Select and then COPY your vector content in Illustrator CC 2014. 2. Switch to Affinity Designer 1.1.2. 3. File > New > (Type = Web, Set Page Height/Width dimensions) 4. PASTE. (Transparency and object structure should appear identical to Illustrator.) 5. File > Export > SVG > Export for Viewing > Export (button click) 6. View your Affinity-exported SVG in a browser or in Illustrator and note how it is a screen resolution bitmap! I've created an Affinity Designer 1.1.2 document and included the exported "bitmapped" SVG in the following ZIP archive: http://cl.ly/0s161t2V002V

If I open an SVG in Illustrator CC and in Affinity Designer and then export the SVG from both apps (using the smallest file size settings in Illustrator), the Illustrator saved SVG is slightly smaller than the Affinity exported SVG. And that remains true even though I select "Export for Viewing" in Affinity. It would be nice to have file sizes the same or smaller than what Illustrator generates. I am specifically thinking about WEB use.

I mentioned this in a recent post in another thread, but perhaps it bears repeating in a more appropriately titled thread like this one... I use SVGs with SoftPress Freeway (web design app) and find that Illustrator-generated SVGs lack HEIGHT and WIDTH attributes which make the SVGs have problems in Freeway (when used with Freeway's "SVG Image" action). The Illustrator SVGs display in-browser, but the problem is that Freeway auto-creates a fallback image (JPG/GIF/PNG -- your choice) for SVGs and that fallback image isn't generated if the SVGs HEIGHT & WIDTH tags are missing. So I either have to use a text editor to hack in those two tags or bring the SVG into Affinity Designer and then export it (which nicely exports the Height & Width tags). The only problem with using Affinity Designer to do this is that Affinity exports slightly larger SVGs than Illustrator does (yes, I am choosing "Export for Viewing"). Another issue is that I sometimes open an SVG and see whitespace surrounding the vector content. I know I can click the Document setup button in Affinity to shrink the artwork/artboard area to the dimensions of the artwork, but it's fiddly. It would be wonder to have a one-click means of shrinking the artboard to the artwork size. Thanks.

Actually, I use SVGs with SoftPress Freeway (web design app) and find that Illustrator-generated SVGs lack HEIGHT and WIDTH attributes which make the SVGs have problems in Freeway (when used with Freeway's "SVG Image" action). The Illustrator SVGs display in-browser, but the problem is that Freeway auto-creates a fallback image (JPG/GIF/PNG -- your choice) for SVGs and that fallback image isn't generated if the SVGs HEIGHT & WIDTH tags are missing. So I either have to use a text editor to hack in those two tags or bring the SVG into Affinity Designer and then export it (which nicely exports the Height & Width tags). The only problem with using Affinity Designer to do this is that Affinity exports slightly larger SVGs than Illustrator does (yes, I am choosing "Export for Viewing"). Another issue is that I sometimes open an SVG and see whitespace surrounding the vector content. I know I can click the Document setup button in Affinity to shrink the artwork/artboard area to the dimensions of the artwork, but it's fiddly. It would be wonder to have a one-click means of shrinking the artboard to the artwork size. Thanks.

To avoid complete and utter confusion on my part, I prefer to view this Raster-vs-Vector talk in terms of what I can draw and how that drawn object will look "at any size, regardless of printer resolution." And in that way of thinking, any object (effects or no) which I draw in AD which prints perfectly smooth all the time, regardless of printer, and regardless of how big I resize it, is in my mind "essentially a Vector." (If you act like a Vector, stink like a Vector, eat like a Vector, you must be a Vector, even if that label may technically be incorrect.) But you seem to be saying that once I draw a rectangle in AD and then apply a Stroke EFFECT (which everyone is calling "Raster"), even though AndyS said it would print perfect even at 10kdpi (which is amazing), you are saying, "Well, it only will print beautifully at 10kDPI if your AD document was set to 10kdpi." Is that right? In that case, we would have to set our AD documents to 10kdpi ("DPI" field in the "Dimensions" section in the New Document dialog)? Saying it yet another way, if I draw a rectangle and apply a Stroke Effect to it, then export that as, say, an SVG, that Stroke Effect's resolution would be fixed to whatever the DPI setting is of the AD document? Or would the Stroke Effect be stripped away when exported as an SVG because SVG is a Vector format? With Illustrator, I don't have this confusion, even in cases where I apply a Drop Shadow EFFECT to a Vector because I know how the Document Raster Effects Settings work in Illustrator. But since I am new to AD, and hope AD can ultimately be a replacement for Illustrator, I am still trying to get my head around this talk of Lines vs Strokes (Effect Rasters vs Vectors). Again, your kind patience, understanding, and hand-holding is appreciated.

It doesn't matter so much to me anymore as per AndyS's info: In other words, "Rasters" in AD aren't really Rasters at all insofar as they (as per AndyS, anyway) print like Vectors. In my book of definitions, a classic RASTER is a FIXED-DPI BITMAP. As such, AndyS's explanation describes a VECTOR more than it does a Raster. As a result, if one wishes to call one Vector "ABC" and another Vector "XYZ," who cares? Now if someone wishes to argue that AD "Effects" are indeed NOT Vectors, then one would need to argue against what AndyS said previously.

Thank you both for the detailed explanations.

How is there NOT prejudice in the output? By definition vector art will be outputted at the maximum resolution of the printing device, but raster art will only render as well as its fixed resolution allows. Output a vector and a 300ppi raster in a 1200 ppi printer and the vector will get printed at 1200ppi while the raster will be printed at 300ppi and the raster will be comparatively be more jagged when the hard copy is scrutinized. If you still don't follow what I mean, or if I am still misunderstanding you, then allow me to be clarity to the both of us with this one question: What is Illustrator doing inferior to AD in terms of how Illustrator displays rasters? (You seem to prefer AD over Illustrator in this regard, but can you please explain why?) Thanks.

Do we not still use Mice? Do we not still use Icons and Windows? My Mac 128k had these in 1984, yet I still use those "old concepts" today. "If it ain't broke..." One must also consider that the more similar AD is to Illustrator (without crossing into their intellectual property, of course) the more likely Illustrator Pros like myself will be drawn like flies to AD. And with a wider user base comes a better app down the line. There are already many similarities to Illlutrator even now. For example I was pleasantly surprised to see just how many keyboard shortcuts are identical to Illutrator. Had we followed the "let's ditch old concepts" path, those shortcuts very well might be totally different, introducing an unecessary learning curve for veteran Illustrator users. With that said, thank you for the tip about View > View Mode > Pixels. That mimics Illustrator. However, when set to Vector, the Raster effects are perfectly smooth, which means you need to remember which View Mode you're in so you never lose sight of what is truly vector and what is raster. I am not trying to say anything negative against AD if left as it is. If I thought AD wasn't good enough to buy, I would not have bought it. I am just "talking out loud" as an Iilustrator veteran and AD newbie. I have much to learn and explore in AD. Thanks in advance for your patience with me.

That is impossible to intuitively determine from your existing UI. Try this: 1. New document set to 300dpi. 2. Sketch a rectangle. 3. Give it a Stroke. 4. Thicken the stroke until you can see it. 5. Zoom in to 1000%. The rounded corners of that stroke appear perfectly smooth like a vector. If a fixed bitmap (raster), you would expect it to get blocky / jagged after you zoomed close to the 300dpi resolution. Now repeat the above for the Outer Shadow "Raster" effect. When you zoom in, the shadow never looks blocky. To compare, open Illustrator, sketch a box and do Effect > Drop Shadow. Zoom in and it becomes blocky in accordance with your Document Raster Effects settings. It's very intuitive. You are never confused about what is a Vector and what is a Raster. No need for the user to read a manual or "just remember that Effects are Rasters." If AD is targeted at becoming a full Adobe Illustrator replacement app someday (and I for one see it as the only app out there for the Mac which has that potential), then adding a more intuitive display of what is Raster vs. Vector is an important consideration. Thanks.

I'm a veteran Illustrator user who recently purchased AD. I am now comparing "Stroke" features between the two apps. Here are my questions: 1) Sketch a rectangle and give it an opaque color, then sketch a second rectangle above it and give your second rectangle X% Opacity. Now tick / Enable "Stroke" in the Effects. Slowly move the Radius to the right and you will then suddenly see your X% Opacity become complete Opaque. Why? 2) In Illustrator I can put a Stroke on a rectangle and then make that stroke to be Centered or Inside or Outside. But AD is very different. When I sketch a rectangle in AD and then when I add a "Line" to it, I am presented with a large number of options, but the ability to move that Line to the Outside or Inside is mysteriously absent. So I was thinking to myself, well, maybe the developers of AD want me to use the "Stroke" Effect instead. And truly, when I apply a Stroke, I have the 3 options available (Center, Inside, Outside). But the disadvantage to using Stroke is that the corners are always curved. Why is that? 3) Stroke does not seem to be a replacement for Line. Try this. Sketch a rectangle but set Fill and Line to NONE. Now tick/Enable Stroke and expand the Radius. Nothing appears on screen at all! But as soon as I give it a fill color, then the Stroke magically appears. It seems a bit strange. If Line would give me the option to have Center or Inside or Outside, this wouldn't matter as I could then use Line instead. 4) Illustrator empowers me to add multiple strokes to the same object, and when I set those strokes behind the fill, I can then do some pretty interesting things. I cannot seem to find a way to do this in AD. 5) It seems that AD only allows me to add a gradient to a Stroke but not to a Line. This is unfortunate because I cannot seem to create a Stroke WITHOUT rounded corners. 6) Illustrator CC has some powerful new Corner features for Strokes. For example, I can sketch a rectangle and then give it a 5pt stroke and then I can grab any one of the 4 round tabs and drag inward to give all 4 corners the same roundness. Furthermore, I can use Illustrator's Direct Selection tool to draw a selection rec around only on of the corners, which will enable me to round that one corner independently of the others. How can I accomplish the same in AD? 7) Dashed lines and Arrowheads are very common in my work but such features appear to be absent in the current version of AD? 8) In Illustrator, I can sketch a line or Stroke a box and then have "Width Profile" that I can choose in the Stroke panel. This can be very useful at times. For example, in Illustrator, if I sketch a line that is 26pt thickness and then give it Width Profile 4, the 26pt thickness decreases linearly to zero, giving it the shape of a spike. Can such be done in AD? 9) Another tool I always use in Illustrator when dealing with Strokes and Objects is the CUT tool. I can't seem to find it in AD. How do I sketch a rectangle and then cut pieces out of it? Sorry for all the questions, but Strokes and Corners and Cutting are the biggest part of what I do in Illustrator, and such is what I intend to do in AD as well. Thanks.