GFS

The real thing for me JoJu, was Aperture. Unfortunately it is still the best, even years after Apple, for some crazy reason, killed it off. It’s hard to write software that good and Adobe have certainly not managed with Lr, although it is adequate for many people and everyone of course, must pick one of the tools that are available. One day someone will write something as good as Aperture and I will switch with much relief ... but in the mean time, until the workarounds become worse than the alternatives, I’ll stick with them and Aperture.

That’s a good point Fixx and it certainly facilitates the task. As you say Adobe’s converter should do a good job and Aperture has DNG support. But DNG is quite a complex format and I’m not certain that Aperture’s support for it will be up-to-date with what Adobe’s converter outputs. Either way, for me personally it’s not an option, since Adobe’s converter cannot convert my principle format anyway.

You might want to take a look at MediaPro SE, which PhaseOne bought from Microsoft, who bought it from iView Multimedia (a UK based company) and which goes all the way back to the mid-90s as a Mac app. It is a Finder replacement for handling media files, not just images. I don't think it has really been developed since MS bought it ... but I'm sure it still works, because Phase would have had to update it for current OS's prior to putting it on sale. As for Aperture ... it is still working fine in High-Sierra, with a couple of hiccups ... e.g. new RAW formats are not supported. However, what I use it for is cataloguing. It also works as a Finder replacement in the same way that iView Media does, if you choose to use it that way. So you can either have images as Managed or Referenced. You can very easily move your images between the two options and if you are working with Referenced, you can use Aperture to move them around in the Finder too. If your Aperture Library is behaving oddly, try making a new empty library and then Importing your old library into it. This will build a completely new database and I have found that it fixes problems that are not fixed by repairing the existing library. If that doesn't work, then try exporting Projects as new Libraries and importing them into a new clean Library from there. I think you'll find that this will fix pretty much everything except the unsupported RAW formats. For the problem with unsupported RAW formats, I work around this in two ways. I shoot jpeg to one card and raw to the other (my cameras have 2 slots) and I use other RAW developers for the actual RAW conversion, e.g. RAW Power (written by an ex project-lead of Aperture). So I import the jpegs into the Aperture library as Managed and I import the RAWs into a Finder folder. I do all the necessary image selection and perhaps experimenting with Adjustments on the JPEGs, then when I have made an image choice, I use the Show in Finder ... menu item, to open the enclosing Folder of the corresponding RAW file, then open it directly in another RAW processing software, from where I save to Tiff and work on it in whatever software I want from there. To be honest, although it would be better in many ways to be able to convert the RAW in Aperture, I have found over the years, that *utterly horrible* as ALL proprietary RAW processing software is, e.g., Nikon's Capture NX-D ... when push comes to shove, they are the best RAW processors when it comes to their own proprietary format. So having pixel peeped on many of these over the years and reached this conclusion, it is ironic that although Aperture's inability to process recent RAW formats ... for all the images that are work related 'picks' I'd probably not be using it for them anyway! So, although I've tried AFPhoto's RAW processing, mostly I've spent that time comparing it to others and to the manufacturer's and end up using the manufacturer's. So the Develop Persona in AFPhoto is of no interest to me at all really, except that it's sometimes useful to have those tools available for Pixel Layers. So, conclusion for me, is that as long as Aperture keeps working as a cataloguing tool, I'll keep using it ... because it does it so beautifully and is such a pleasure to use. NB ... I use it extensively in this sense, for all 'finished' files, which I import as Tiffs, e.g. after completing work in AFPhoto. I suppose I could just import JPEGs for this purpose, but, hey, what's wrong with having 'just one more' backup file? FWIW.

Ha! Correct Roger C!!

Ha! Well done toltec. Top marks. Maybe there should be a sub-forum for ‘cryptic half posts ... guess the answer’ with points awarded for best answer ... and of course, what would points mean?

Found the answer ... I suppose I should be asking how to delete a post now ...

Hi MEB, thanks very much for the converted file. Regarding the problem ... why doesn't AFD ask me what profile I want to assign when I'm opening a document with no profile? Instead it is deciding that the document is greyscale ... which it is not. Seems like an obvious thing to do ... offer the choice when opening.

I have this same question. There seems to be inconsistency with the Sources Panel. Sometimes I can close the file and upon re-opening, it's empty. Other times it re-opens showing the Sources. Is there an answer to why this happens?

Hi MEB, file is uploaded. Headers say it is Illustrator 16

So, is the answer to this, that there is no answer? Do I need to request a native Illustrator file instead?

Thanks v_Kyr, That is exactly the problem! However having read the various threads, I'm none the wiser about how to open the file in colour Is there something that the client needs to do when exporting? (I'm a photographer and I have no experience of Illustrator ... nor much of AFD)

A client has sent me an EPS from PS and it's opening in greyscale. The Finder preview is fine. Anyone know how to open/import into either Designer or Photo and retain the correct colours?

Thanks Lee. It would be good to have this option, or if not, to be able to duplicate brushes ... or both.

Is there a way on the iPad version, to reset the Basic Brushes after they have been edited via the Brushes Studio? (Other than de-install / re-install the app).

People 'get used' to driving an old Ford rafikiphoto. It doesn't mean that they wouldn't prefer a Porsche if they were offered the choice!

I watched (sic) the video and to be honest, it is like going back in time to some awful Windows software ... which is probably what it is. The difference between it and Aperture is vast. Please Serif, whatever you do, don't do it like IMatch. For those of us, that spend our days working with DAM software this would be like a cruel, brutal torture, or ... like using camera manufacturer's own raw software. Sort of as awful as Olympus Viewer 3 or Nikon's thing, or Pentax's thing. Uuuughh. (Sorry rafikiphoto ... not sure how to say this without being contrary).

MattP, I note that the beta is for AFDesigner. I get this behaviour on AFPhoto. Will your fix be applied to that as well?

That's great news MattP. I can confirm that using an old mouse-mat has seriously reduced the problem for me. However, I'm very happy to have it fixed your way, because for Wacom users like me, a mouse-mat means having it out to the side and as I know to my pain, RSI can wreck your shoulder tendons if you're holding a mouse out to the side for extended periods/hours/days/weeks/months/years.

Interesting about the matt. I have mine on my Wacom, which is old and shiny. I wonder if dust in the mouse could accentuate too? Hmmm.

Good points Yamanote.

Aha! Indeed, I didn't have it at 100% tolerance. Thanks. (If only all these tools' various controls, weren't spread out across a large monitor. Sigh ...)

That was the first thing I tried, but it doesn't behave as you would hope, when the mask has been brushed in/out. Instead, it fills areas, but seems to be kind of blocked by the areas that have been brushed. It may well be bug, as I can't see why it would be intended behaviour.

Thanks for the suggestion owenr. It's not bad and I've assigned shift-F5 to a Wacom button ... but it would be much better if I could skip the dialog ... which always open at the bottom of the screen?!? Who's idea was that???

Hi MEB, thanks for the reply. Shame this can't be customised. So much of the UI can be, but I keep having to go back and forth across the screen to the top/left corner. (If I could have the ideal ... it would be to have them accessible via the Wacom Radial menu, or something similar. That said though, I realise that Serif haven't shown much love to the Wacom, which is kind of ironic, since they've thrown themselves at the iPad Pro and its stylus. )

Is there any way to move, customise, or otherwise reposition the Width/Opacity/Flow/Hardness controls in the UI? I have found that I can move the Studio panels to the left, but I'm having problems re-learning that layers are on the left. What I have otherwise and up till now ... is an endless back and forth from the layers panel on the right, to the Width/Opacity/Flow/Hardness controls on the Top Left. Seems pointless/unnecessary.