wonderings

RAM can be cheap. It is just unfortunate how Apple is closing everything off as Apple's cost of RAM is ridiculous. When I buy my iMacs for work I buy with base RAM and upgrade myself as it is super easy to do on the 27" iMacs.

I am guessing you have a 27" iMac. The 21.5" is different and is not accessible like the 27" model.

If it is a brand new iMac you are out of luck unless you want to void your warranty. Apple will not upgrade the RAM at an Apple store and anyone who will will void your warranty in my opinion. If you are using this computer for work use you really should look at something with more. Personally I think 16 gigs is small these days for pro use. If you are planning on regularly working with large files then you may need to look at other options or void your warranty with a RAM upgrade. 19 gigs is a massive file if the files are not embedded. I would think all images are embedded as that is default for Publisher I believe. I would not say using 7.8 gigs is out of line. I just saved a calendar job from indesign as IDML and opened in Publisher, Publisher was using just under 4 gigs and all the linked files were missing. Indesign file was only 85mb.

Yes, Some jobs would be 1 spot + Black, others 2 Spots, etc. I have profiles for these in Indesign, it is super quick to make sure that aspect of the job is ok. It would be nice to create different profiles for different types of jobs. In Indesign you can create a preflight profile, have it allow 1 spot, 2 spot, or as many as you want plus a ton of other helpful features that really make the preflight something functional for everyone as it can be tailored for your own needs.

Did not work for me, I have 2 Apple ID's and the one that was used to purchase the Affinity apps was not logged in. When I logged in it did not show updates ready save for Designer. Both Photo and Publisher had to be installed from their app location in the App store. At least there are a few ways of getting the job done.

My updates did not show in the "update" section of the App store. If I went to the app in the store though it had an option to "install" rather than buy. If you go in the "purchased" section of the App store does it show the Affinity software there? This could at least rule that out for sure.

So I just updated Publisher (and Photo) today, they did not show up in the app store under updates, had to just re-download the app for some strange reason Designer was there... but that is not what this post is about. I was happy to see a preflight option added and began looking at it. Is there no way to customized the preflight checks? For me it was specifically for colour. There are jobs that will be 2 spot/pantone colours, or 1 spot 1 black, etc. I have a range of custom preflight checks depending on the job I am working on in Indesign and it was simple and easy to make a usable preflight. It looks like I can only set it to check that it matches the colour space of the document or am I missing something somewhere? I barely use the software yet as PDF handling is still horrible (re: fonts) so could be I just need to look in the right place.

If you have Acrobat Pro you can convert all text to outlines in the preflight section. This would get rid of all fonts making it import properly into Publisher. Of course you loose any editing capabilities of the text if you need it. Personally I can't imagine importing a 96 page job in Publisher as is, too many little quirks with PDF import. Have not tried the beta yet to see how IDML files are handled, but again that is a big file, seems simpler to just work in Indesign if you have it rather then hunting around that many pages to make sure everything imported correctly. Now if you were setting up from scratch that would be another thing.

Not much of a work around. I tried using Publisher again today while exporting a large variable data and wanted to do a simple card and thought I would check out Publisher again. Dropped in the supplied PDF file and of course the font is messed up. I mentioned this a while back during beta and thought I remembered some way of placing the PDF without Affinity trying to edit it... did I just make up some great idea to make me feel better about the software? If there is no way of doing this what is the hold up Affinity? Every time I try and use Publisher I hit a wall and find it unusable for what is extremely simple and basic tasks I do in Indesign. Not everything needs to be edited in Publisher, in fact it creates more headaches then I think it is worth. If was going to be setting up a catalogue or anything with a lot of imported PDF pages Publisher would be a train wreck. Simply put, we need to be able to place a PDF as is, no editing, just the PDF as is.

You could go through and outline all the fonts in Acrobat and I am guessing things would be fine. Needing to do extra steps just to use a PDF is not something has me clambering to try and make it work. I know I could if I needed too but I am not interested in fighting or figuring work arounds for something that is just simple in Indesign.

this has been an issue since the beta and most likely since the first beta release. They simply need to offer a way to place the PDF without trying to make it editable. Place it as a linked file, nothing embedded. Like others I cannot even use this Publisher for any live jobs till this is fixed as many jobs have placed PDF ads or even a designed file from the customer that needs to be tweaked size wise or add bleeds.

None of the text boxes show an issue? When I made a text box and had text go beyond the box there is a little eye that shows there is an issue. This is a case where having preflight like Indesign would help. It lists the problems and with a double click brings you to the problem in your job.

This issue has been around a while and mentioned a long time ago. If they have not sorted it out by now I am assuming they are not interested in Publisher working this way. These little things make it unusable in my opinion. @Duboiz - I played around with the beta a bit, this was an issue I brought up then as well. I still bought it assuming these little things would not be corrected. I do appreciate the attempt and I like to be somewhat familiar of other options out there, especially at the price of 1 month for Adobe CC. Not a bad buy for what it is though not ready for pro work.

I brought this up for the beta and it seems nothing has changed. Not sure how anyone could use Publisher with poor PDF handling. The original file I brought up in the past was made from Microsoft Word. Sure not a great program for PDF making but never had an issue with them in Indesign. Today I received a print ready PDF from a client. PDF was made in Indesign, everything looks good in Acrobat and Indesign and prints fine. Drop the file in Publisher and immediately the fonts are messed up. To be sure it was not just a preview issue I exported as PDF from Publisher and get the same results with the PDF. Just awful and I cannot be the only one noticing issues with placed PDF's.... can I? Screen Shot 2019-06-21 at 11.48.05 AM by B P, on Flickr

A big +1. I really hate the way Affinity handles colours. Not sure why it has to be so difficult. They really need to take some cues from Adobe who have refined many things over the year. I am sure a bit part of it is I do not use the affinities a whole lot despite owning them all I stick with the industry standard and what I am used to Adobe CC. If I drop in a PDF with spot colours or pantones I would like to see those automatically added to a pallet. I am trying to do a bit more with Affinity just to better familiarize myself, but this is one thing I have never liked with Designer or Photo and now Publisher. Really needs a change to something simpler. Should have a document pallet that has all colours used in the document, should have a separate pallet for the pantone library and others. The current setup seems overly complex for something that should be quick and simple and not something I should have to give much thought to. That being said I would rather have preflight and separations view added first. I can muddle around with the colours and make something work. Not having preflight and separations are another reason I will not switch to Publisher for real work beyond testing and exploring.

Adobe has also done something really good with their packages. If everything is correctly there in the font folder you do not need to activate fonts. Indesign automatically sees the font in the folder and uses them without need of font management software. It is really slick and has taken a big headache away with multiple font versions, deactivating reactivating etc. So if you have to send your packaged file (we get them from a few clients) I just open it and everything is there ready for my changes or for me to make a PDF and prep for proofs and press.

Because packing also pulls fonts and puts everything in a nice package neatly organized. Say you place images in your document, you do all the work but you forgot to put it in the folder, that would not matter when it comes time to package (as long as all links were still fine). It will automatically pull everything together for you. You can then delete all the loose stuff in a folder and are left with a workable file and 100% all necessary pieces for that file.

+1 Requested that before the last update came out. They are making something that is necessary and simple complex and unintuitive.

+1 would much prefer that name. Publisher already has a bad name from Microsoft and you are immediately reminded of that. Not that the 2 applications can really be compared, Microsoft Publisher is a nightmare, Affinity Publisher is a dream in comparison.

Adobe does the private community with beta releases. I know I participated in one for a release of Indesign. They listened and implanted changes as the small community requested. I found it to be a very positive experience. Maybe that could be implemented here, have both a wider use base finding bugs and issues but start a secondary filled with people who are in the market they are after, be it pros or hobbyists. You certainly cannot please everyone but you can definitely listen and see what professionals need in the software. Many of the things asked for are not just personal preference but tools needed to work professionally. It is asked by professionals who are looking for options in this marketplace as Adobe is king and currently has us all with a gun to our head (I still love the software but hate the subscription).

+1 Variable data is one of the fastest growing segments of the print world. Now no one is expecting it to be a full featured variable data program but it must be able to do the basics.

+1 There will never be a perfect conversion tool for Indesign files to something else and vice versa. Same goes for Quark. There is software that does convert Quark to Indesign but that is not perfect either. A perfect conversion from Indesign to Publisher for your work flow is never going to happen and obviously Publisher is not the app for you as you are dependent on Indesign. You are only opening up yourself to possibly expensive problems and mistakes by looking for a solution like that.

It is incredibly important for anyone developing software for a market that is already there to listen to the needs of that community. The daily users will have far more experience with apps both good and bad then most developers and company support for that app. Goes with most thing like that, I know more about what our digital press can handle and can do then the techs we call in to service it. They have been amazed at some of the things we run through with no issue and some of the issues or suggestions that would make it a much better machine. Those things they would never think of because they are not using it as an end user would use it. Serif definitely has their own way of doing things and I have no issue with it despite finding some simple things difficult to do (just a learning curve for new software when used to Adobe). I think Affinities colour panels are atrocious and overly complex, but they do the job and others will have no issue with it I am sure. As long as the job can get done and you can accomplish what needs to be done everything else can be learned. The important thing is to be able to capable of what needs done in the application.

Strongly disagree, preflight is a MUST HAVE FEATURE. If people actually used preflight they would catch so many problems before sending their files out to a printer. Indesigns preflight is customizable, I have various preflight profiles based no the type of work I am doing. It is the easiest and fastest way to get an overview of your job and let you know any issues. Be it overset text, colour issues, whatever, it is incredibly important and a must have functional tool for any pro work.

Honestly I had never heard of PagePlus before Serif released Designer and Photo and I looked at the forums here. I hope they do honestly want to compete and do listen to what professionals who use their competitions software WANT and NEED in a page layout program. If not they will be the bargain bin application for a lot of amateur work. That being said looking at it now I would rather take a file made in Publisher then in Publisher... Microsoft that is. Still hate that they chose the name Publisher, one of the most reviled names in print thanks to Microsoft.