firebelly

Thanks, all, and Serif for reading. Good pointers @R C-R. I'll take advantage of them (I hadn't realized the status bar was dynamic, too.).

First, super helpful comments -- thank you, @R C-R and @thomaso! I'm genuinely appreciating that Serif didn't try recreating Photoshop, but reinvented from the ground up, leap-frogging to a smarter way of working with photos and designs. You both are right, of course -- And now, my mea culpa! I didn't understand the "hovering" reference above -- I've been going right to the online Help, Googling and/or searching the Forum as defaults for seeking answers. So, yep, sorry to be ' that person' (ie. user error!). I missed the indicators that pop up when using Help > Search within the app. Genuinely humbled and grateful to you all for your patience with this newbie! (though some breadcrumbs with the online Help wouldn't be a total waste of time ;)

I forgot -- @GeoffH did point me to Studio > Adjustment, which pops the "Brightness and Contrast" adjustment option in its panel. Thanks, Geoff!

Appreciate the responses so far. I would like to re-emphasize what I'm asking about, though... My question isn't about _how_ to do something, but _where_ to go to access the panels and tools being referenced. So, @walt.farrell , speaking to the example, no where on that Help page am I shown _where_ that Brightness and Contrast panel can be found. I'm told what they do -- which I already know -- but, unfortunately, that's all that Help page is offering. @R C-R I agree, reviewing menu options prior to jumping into a new UI is good practice. I also agree watching videos can be helpful. But, again, I was asking about something specific, ie., is there a resource out there that provides a quick reference for navigating the UI. Most people don't have eidetic memories that allow them to fully capture a UI upon initial review. And even with doing a review, there are often incidents where a capability or practice is residing under a different name or different tool -- or just plain handled differently than what past experiences may lead a person to assume. People generally learn best by doing -- and it's at that point where my Q comes into play... within a workflow. I, as a user, am in the middle of working on a photo or design, and want to do something specific, whatever that may be. I hit walls when I can't quickly discern where to go to do that one thing. Many application developers provide 'quick reference' UI resources (_not_ referring to videos here) that communicate to users where to go to do X or Y or Z. I can't seem to find that resource for Affinity apps, and without that, it's a headache and time suck having to spend 20 minutes reading through forum posts and even more so to have to watch videos to figure it out. I imagine I'm not alone with this challenge, and, really, all Serif needs to do is provide what's referred to as a breadcrumb when the item is accessible from the menu, or a screenshot or two highlighting where that capability resides within the UI window. Providing such information in its Help section is highly intuitive, and IMO, would improve people's ability to learn as they go. Orienting takes time, and reducing the friction a user encounters in figuring out where to go to do X or Y would go a long way to reducing what can be a steep learning curve. As I originally posted, if such a resource already exists, I would love to know! -- along with where is that darn Contrast panel is located - joanne

Hi all, TIA for help, and really appreciate the product and this community... I'm a new user trying to make a smoother transition from Adobe to Affinity. The biggest hurdle I keep running in to is understanding WHERE to find things. I know there are keyboard shortcuts (as well as the tips on the bottom of the Navigator), but that's not what I'm looking for. I know there are a ton of video tutorials, but I don't have time to sit through them with eyes plastered so as not to miss the one cursor movement I need. What I can't find is a simple way to see how to interact with the UI to access features, even those discussed in the HELP document. Let me provide an example. I have a photo, and want to adjust the Contrast in Affinity Photo. I look up Contrast in HELP, and I find a section addressing it -- but that section doesn't explain, or show me, where it is, how do I get to it? (Yes, I did try command-L, as a Photoshop habit, but that's not where Contrast resides). So I inevitably spend a TON of time looking everywhere, googling, etc. to just try to figure out where Contrast is buried in the user interface. I still don't know. This happens to me over and over again, and is incredibly frustrating when trying to retrain to a new UI, especially so when all that is needed is a "breadcrumb" or some kind of visual that shows a person where to find that feature (or command or what not). If I'm missing a resource that lays bare the UI in such a way, please let me know. Otherwise, Serif, can you please add breadcrumbs (eg. File > Edit > ) to the HELP section ASAP? That oversight is without a doubt the most disorienting yet easy-to-fix hurdle I have with all Affinity's apps. Thanks, again. - joanne