Stephen_H

Umm… "Tab Stops" is a generic feature request. There are plenty of broad feature request discussions out there. Please can you point to an open source application that implements tab stops in the way you like? Examples: Show tab stops in the page's rulers like in Scribus, or... Show tab stops at the top of the paragraph text box like in PhotoLine This way, recommendations and feature requests can be a bit more constructive. Thanks all. ;)

Now, now… let's not get greedy. (If we ask for that, we might as well just ask for a full working demo… hmm, on that point, I wonder if the release date they keep mentioning is for the beta for testing, or the full app for purchasing???)

I've started a new discussion from your idea here: https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/13394-looking-to-opensource-apps-for-feature-ideas-rather-than-adobe/ Please can you contribute a few more PhotoLine features that might be handy – I don't know the application at all, but it's feature list on its website looks pretty good.

Herbert123 posted a recommendation of text rulers on all paragraph text boxes from PhotoLine here: https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/2311-tabs-for-text/ A great solution in an opensource app rather than the disaster that Illustrator provides.

Maybe we should all be looking to PhotoLine, Gimp, Scribus and InkScape for feature inspiration rather than Adobe, Corel and Xara. At least we'd know that the features are possible and available for implementation rather than blocked by a murder of laywers looking for a creative way to crush the little upstart. Any thoughts on this?

Yes… just like that! Always there, simple to use. So few people use tabs and indents properly for good layout, and I think it's because it's usually a bit awkward or just hidden. It's a pity so many people are constantly asking for Illustrator features to be worked into Designer, when FreeHand has better features that also match Designer a bit better. I'm enjoying Designer because it feels more like a modern version of FreeHand rather than an Illustrator-knockoff. I see you working in PhotoLine. I dabbled in it a few years back and was impressed since it was one of the few image editors around that had CMYK support. If it's free, then I wonder if it's based on opensource code that might allow for easy/legal feature integration. (no patents to have to work around). Here's a thought: Maybe we should all be looking to PhotoLine, Gimp, Scribus and InkScape for feature inspiration rather than Adobe, Corel and Xara. At least we'd know the features are available and possible, rather than blocked by lawyers. :D (Maybe this needs its own discussion thread)

Just a screenshot of the tools would be awesome to give me an idea of where it's heading and what the workflow might be like. I'm very curious if it's going to have a large toolset like InDesign, or a small one like Quark (hopefully the smaller one because it will imply a simpler work process eg: 1 box object tool to create text boxes, image boxes and rectangle oblects and to edit their contents instead of a tool each (potentially 6 tools), afterall, they are sort of the same things.) Here's an idea of what I'm hoping to see, attached. Please please please...

If an application is "Retina Ready", does it use raster or vector UI elements? Thought they would be made as SVG files and no longer as PNGs to allow any number of higher resolution devices and scaling. If they are vectors, then scaling would be possible, but if pixel-based, then I can see how that would be a hug amount of work to create a whole new set of interface icons. Please can a developer enlighten me on this – if my assumption is wrong, then it might stop a whole bunch of my requests/complaints/opinions before I even post them.

Interesting. I haven't heard the term, but I have seen many consumer scanners that produce a scan of a higher resolution than their DPI should allow. I always thought they were just upsampling the image post scanning. Perhaps what they are doing are overlapping scan passes to "figure out" what more pixels should be. It could be a better "universal" term since some scanners have different horizontal resolutions compared to their vertical resolutions – something that always confused me… perhaps they are scanning rectangular pixels which are then chopped up through multiple passes? Any scanner salesmen or old-school repro scan operators out their who could explain this to me?

Lamont… you are my hero! Please enlighten me on the second part of your post… what does USM stand for? I haven't quite followed your argument because of this. Thanks.

I also feel strongly about the PPI vs DPI issue. I don't understand why you chose Dots over Pixels. AD & AP define image sizes in Pixels, not Dots, so why jump to dots when using an abbreviation. It feels a bit lazy to use DPI just because it's more commonly used that the correct term PPI. These are professional tools and should use the correct, professional terminologies. Leave the common-place "slang" for consumer products. I took a 5 day PhotoShop course 10 years ago, and the first day was dedicated just to basic terminologies like resolution, size, dimension etc. We couldn't learn the app unless we understood the basic principles and I find today's graduates don't know them and make terrible mistakes preparing files for printing, and interchanging DPI and PPI just causes confusion, handicapping them further. We don't call rectangles blocks, or strokes lines… or pixels dots. Ever seen a "16 megaDOT" digital camera and you don't get a phrase more "consumer-ish" than that. If DPI is used for describing the resolution of a monitor… well, that's a bit of a debatable term because the diodes that represent pixels are roundish (kind of pill-shaped) and since DPI is a hardware term, then it's not wrong. 3 diodes (RGB) create an optical illusion we perceive as a pixel. I'll really put my head on the block here and say: there are no physical pixels on a screen. For the uninitiated who would like to know... PPI: Pixels per inch (resolution of raster files - images) DPI: Dots per inch (resolution of hardware devices like printers & scanners) LPI: Lines per inch (the number of rows of printed dots of ink per inch on paper) If PPI is low, you get pixelation If DPI is low, you get banding If LPI is low, you see the ink dots on the paper Pixelation can be fixed by reducing the LPI Banding can be fixed by reducing the LPI LPI can be increased by printing onto a paper that produces less bleed / dot gain. … Yes, I know I'm an anal dooshbag on this topic. (and to anyone who read right to the end, thank you for humoring me)

I don't quite get what every one is moaning about. When I put Illustrator's interface next to Affinity's, they are nearly identical in colour & contrast. Infact, I would say that Affinity is is clearer (or softer on the eye) than Illustrator in nearly every aspect as shown in my compareson screenshots. The main areas of difference I note: AI's rulers aren't anti-aliased AI's sliders are small and pokey AI's palette icons are smaller AI's icons are monotone (personal choice here) AI's pathfinder icons are smaller and less obvious AI's Transform corner selector is smaller All these areas have Affinity come up on top, so I don't understand why AI (the industry standard) is considered fine but Affinity is a migraine disaster. (If you want a difficult interface, try Pixelmator – it's pure black to my eyes). I'm not a doctor and don't want to sound insensitive, but if you're suffering from migraines, is it really the interface that's causing this? Aren't ambient light, monitor settings, refresh/flicker rates, flourescent/tungston room lighting, reflections, pixel pitch, distance of monitor from you, contrast between monitor and room background etc not more influential? Have you tried moving your computer around a bit to create a better work space?

Hmm, clearly not a really small thing. Pity. What about a "drag + d-key"? It currently bugs out if you use the c-key because it changes the tool and forces the object to be dropped ...but the d-key doesn't seem to do anything. D would make sense since it could also represent "Duplicate" instead of "Clone".

Hi This is a REALLY small thing but it's driving me insane because I can't change my muscle memory. You need me to hold down the Alt key before clicking on an object. Please can you allow me to press the Alt key after I've started dragging the object. (the same way Apple's finder functions)

While requesting a font usage improvement... Could the font size values get up & down arrows to tap the font size up a point size or two. If it's not in the pull down list, then you have to manually type new values, (or worse… use my mouse's track surface which sends me skyrocketing into massive numbers) Thanks in advance.

I hope this revamp will include upgrading/changing the way tabs are managed. It's totally hit and miss.

+1 Tabs in AD is like pure trial & error to get them right. It's fine if the tab is close the left side of the text box and you only one, but if you want a few on the far side, you have to draw boxes and measure them to figure out where to place them. Is there no way to add a ruler to the top of the paragraph text box to at least display where the tabs are (I'm remembering how awesome FreeHand's solution to displaying tabs were – MUCH better than Illustrator's clunky Tabs palette.) This would also serve to give immediate feedback on whether text is character or paragraph text because the current little extra dot in the bottom right corner is a bit vague when working quickly.

+1 Tabs in AD is like pure trial & error to get them right. It's fine if the tab is close the left side of the text box, but if you want a few on the far side, you have to draw boxes and measure them to figure out where to place them. Is there no way to add a ruler to the top of the paragraph text box to at least display where the tabs are? Hm, as I type this, I realise I need to post this in the requested features section. I'll post it there as well so feel free to delete this posting if it breaks any rules about duplicate posting.

Also like Affinity Press. It has a very high-end professional sound to it. (Bureau is too difficult to spell). It implies robust colour management and accurate proofing tools that pros demand. Affinity HardCopy also caught my eye. It sounds hardcore with a focus on text. It also distinguishes itself from the rest by implying the final output will be physical – not virtual like images, websites, apps, ebooks, interfaces etc that use RGB.

I also can't wait for Publisher. There are lots of reasonably powerful PhotoShop alternatives out there, and if you can do without CMYK support, there are as many Illustrator competitors as (they mostly differ in terms of what their primary focus is, but between Sketch, Acorn, Pixelmator, iDraw, InkScape, Gimp, Manga Studio, Sketchbook, ArtRage, Corel Painter etc. you are covered) InDesign competitors are Quark Xpress and… um, er.. iStudio, and ummm (does Apple's Pages count?). Bottom line, professional grade page layout applications are few. I have no doubt the required layout tools, master pages, colour tools and awesome PDF support will be there, I'm just wondering if there is going to be the same skitzo thinking as InDesign has and provide layout for print AND digital apps. I don't know anyone who does both (the disciplines are so different they might as well combine page layout with AutoCad for architects) BTW, are there any [leaked] screenshots to whet our appetites? I saw a video demonstrating text wrapping and it filled my heart with joy...

Will that come in 'Lite' and 'Pro' versions?

I know we get used to drag and drop, but copy and paste also works.

+1 on points 1, 2, 4 & 5.

+1 for opening InDesign files. An essential feature if we are to move away from Adobe completely. I can't keep a CC account alive just open last year's annual report or to read files supplied from another company.

It would be great to be able to specify the entire font size list in the preferences somewhere. I would love to add 4pt and 5pt which are super useful for stationery. I do, however find the list very long and the 96/144/288pt feel a bit random. I'd like to be able to shorten it and add just one huge top end point size that I can just jump my font to. I have used an app in the distant past that allowed me to make my own list of font sizes (FreeHand? Painter? I can't remember…). I think it also allowed for default stroke thicknesses to be defined as well.