t.linn

The experience is exactly the same when accessing the directly from the Files app. This makes sense because Affinity Photo for iPad relies on the Files app for file selection. The same is true for Lightroom Mobile. And Files still cannot open compressed RAF files. This reliance on Files for file browsing explains the lack of thumbnails, despite the fact that both Affinity Photo for iPad and Lightroom Mobile can open compressed RAF files. The delay in even displaying a list of the files contained in a folder seems unrelated to file format. The Files app just seems to choke on a directory containing nearly 5000 images—and it appears that Files has no cache or indexing functionality that would make opening the same folder any faster the second time than the first. This is disappointing. FWIW, a folder of around 240 image files displays its contents almost immediately, whether they are compressed RAF or CR2. The takeaway for Fuji shooters seems to be that Affinity Photo's new compatibility with compressed RAF files in v1.9 is less useful than it might seem. That said, there is a work around: Gnarbox. Gnarbox offers its own file browser which offers not just thumbnails but also large previews to aid in selecting the right image file. You still have to note the name of the image file and then open it using Open From Files in Affinity Photo but it is a far better solution than blindly opening image files without thumbnails until you find the one you want. The downside is that a Gnarbox, essentially a pocket-sized computer, can cost as much as an iPad.

I'm new to Affinity Photo for iPad. I'm using a 512GB 11" iPad Pro (2018) with a Samsung T5 (1TB) SSD attached. I'm using the Open From Cloud option to navigate to my attached Samsung T5 SSD drive to select a file to open. This seems like basic functionality but I'm having problems. I'm hoping it is operator error. When I select the directory on my SSD containing the file I want to open, it takes 75 seconds (!) before anything appears. The first time this happened I assumed Affinity Photo was creating thumbnails...until 4900 or so generic icons appeared. No thumbnails at all. If I navigate away from the directory and go back, it will take another 75 seconds to show me the same list or grid (it makes no difference) of generic icons. Is this right? Because I don't see how it is reasonable to expect me to locate the file I want to open without seeing a thumbnail. The file name is meaningless. Nor can I copy the files onto my iPad Pro. There isn't room. Is there a setting I'm missing? FWIW, the files in this directory are compressed RAF files. They do open fine when I click on them. What I really want—and it doesn't look like Affinity Photo is it—is a photo editing solution that allows me to work directly off of an SSD connected to my iPad Pro when I'm traveling to areas of the country/world where there is no internet access. I want to be able to review my files (at 100% when necessary) without having to shuttle them on and off of the iPad itself. Even the cheapest laptop can accomplish this. But it seems like software developers can't figure out how to make this work with an iPad.