Jimo

This all reminds of that bit in the 'The Office': Brent: "The bad news is... Neil will be taking over both branches and some of you will lose your jobs. On a more positive note, the good news is... I’ve been promoted. "

Ah yes that's it thanks! I had already seen the auto-select option and toggled it on/off, but what I'd failed to notice was the drop down options beside it (and then failed to notice the drop down instructions about it at the bottom of the help page!). Anyway, that's what I was looking for. Thank you!

Ah thanks - I just went for the top Google result for my issue without double checking which version it favoured! Unfortunately it still doesn't offer any insight as to why I am experiencing this issue only now though and how to change it, and just states: "With the Move Tool selected, click an object or group on the page to select it" (emphasis mine). The point is I can no longer select the group on the page, whereas previously I'm pretty sure I could - now I can only select individual objects (unless I start multi-selecting). Maybe I'm wrong, and Publisher (and ONLY Publisher) has been doing this since Version 2 was released and I somehow didn't notice, but as I say, as it's only recently been driving me to infuriation, it feels like a recent change - either of my own accidental doing (if so how do I undo it) OR it has become the standard behaviour since version 2.1.1 (and so how do I make it NOT the standard behaviour?). Cheers

I'm currently getting infuriated with Publisher on Windows 10 which seems to have switched to selecting individual objects within a group rather than the group itself when I try and select it on the page. I keep trying to move a logo around - which is made up of a vast number of curves contained in a group - but every time I click on it, a curve within the group is selected instead and not the whole group. I have to keep going to the layers panel itself and selecting the group. I know it's not always been this way as it's only recently started to infuriate me. I could have sworn you had to double-click on the group first before selecting individual items, and a quick search of the Affinity Help says this is indeed the case: "To select objects (or groups) in a group: Double-click on the object. If the object itself is in a group, the group will be selected first—double-clicking again will select the object." This is now NOT happening. So, my questions are: 1. Have I inadvertently changed a setting? 2. Having only recently updated to 2.1.1 is this the new default behaviour? Either way, is it a setting that can be changed? Or is it a bug? (Note: when I open the same files in Designer, where I am still on 2.1.0, the group/objects selection works as it always did). Cheers!

Thanks for that @stokerg, For now, as everything seems to be working despite the warning message (at least as far as I can tell), I've gone through the repair process for the latest installation and I will see if that fixes the issue on the next update when it arrives. If it doesn't, I will report back in this thread.

When I update Photo and Publisher, once the installation has completed I get a warning message that says "A required privilege is not held by the client." (although Designer installs without incident). The apps of course don't then open like the successful Designer installation does, but the new installations do open successfully when started manually and appear to function. I'm reporting it now after just installing version 2.1.0 of the apps, but I've been getting the messages ever since the first installation of version 2.0, originally Installed from the start using the MSIX file and subsequently updated from the in-app prompt at start-up. I'm on Windows 10.

Just adding my voice to this thread to say I'm experiencing the same thing - a build up of 'laggy' behaviour in Designer 2 over time. I've particularly noticed it when using my graphics tablet - lines can be way behind what I'm trying to draw and there doesn't appear to be any reason why it should be getting so bad, and of course makes it particularly frustrating to use. Closing the app and starting it up again fixes the problem, although on occasion the app doesn't restart and an inspection of task manager reveals that it thinks it is still running and I have to force quit before starting it up again. Also, task manager has reported five-figure high memory usage before attempting to quit, but is back to a much lower four-figure memory usage on restarting, even with exactly the same working file open. I haven't read every post in this thread - so has it already been suggested that the History could be the cause of the problem?

Yes - The more I've been using Designer the more I've been experiencing this too. And it turns out we are not alone - there is already an ongoing thread all about it as well, with lots of people reporting the same thing:

Brilliant thank you!

As a v1 owner who now has v2, where I do get this amazing creative collection package?

So I've played with customising the tools 'palette' on the left of screen (not the tool bar) and it seems to create a problem that can't be reversed - you can't go back to the default setup once you've customised. By default, the DOCKED tools palatte has ONE column and the UNdocked tools has TWO columns . However, once you customise, both the docked AND the undocked tools pallete both have however many columns you picked - both are the same. The two modes can't be edited independently. But clicking reset DOESN'T go back to the default - both the docked AND undocked tool palette remain as they currently are. I like having a single column when docked and two columns when not docked. Is there a way of customising the columns in the docked and undocked tools palette separately? Is there a way of getting back to the default that I've missed, or is this a bug? This is just in Affinity Photo v2 so far - I haven't tried in Designer or Publisher.

Serif should pay me to upgrade.

I don't think they've announced what that is yet. My guess (and it IS just a guess) is that it will be a brushes or a font set or something along those lines.

Unfortunately you don't truly 'own' it. I too would love the security of knowing that I could carry on using the software I pay for in the future, even in the event that Serif should no longer be around. However, I'll repeat what I just posted in another thread: Technically, we don't, and have never, 'owned' software - even in the days when we bought it in a box from the store. We are only ever granted a license to use it. We're paying for the right to use someone else's software, under certain conditions and terms. Online registrations, dongles and now subscription models are ways the software companies introduced to try ensure we remain complient with those terms and conditions. Frequently, when companies talk about a 'lifetime' of usage, they don't mean the lifetime of the person who purchased it - they mean the 'lifetime' of the product. Which is a fairy vague guarantee at best, but tends to end when they stop supporting it and move on to another version.

It's also just a sort of general 'rule of nature'. Most people are only going to feel compelled to make the effort to express their views when they feel aggrieved by something. When they're happy and content they just get on with their lives. People don't take to the streets chanting and carrying placards to express how happy they are with what the government are doing!

Technically, on maybe a pedantic note, we have never 'owned' software, even when we bought it in a box from the store - we have only ever paid for a license to use it. We're paying for the right to use someone else's software, under certain conditions and terms. It just used to be easier to exploit and break those terms and conditions. Online registrations, dongles and now subscription models are ways the software companies introduced to try and prevent us from doing that.

Quark have TWO ways of paying: A subscription model where you pay annualy - if you cancel you can't use QuarkExpress (like Adobe's model) OR you can pay for an upfront perpetual licence to 'own' it, which entitles you to one year of updates. When that ends, you still have an active copy to use indefinitely, or you can pay another fee to get updates for another year. And as far as I'm aware, you can opt back into that at any time when you decide you want to start getting the latest updates again.

And no discount off something that costs just £60 at full price is better than a 20% discount off something that costs, say, £500 when you first bought it. It isn't reasonable to compare what one company does with what Serif offer when what another company does is also charge a lot more to begin with. But even with their current discounts, it looks to me like they those also cost more than all of the apps Serif provide. ON1 cost £105 to own outright. How much is the upgrade? DoX costs £199 before VAT (or £66.33 for 3 months - so is it looks like it's a subscribtion model anyway?). Cheapest version of ACDSee is the Home Edition at $54.95 (normally $219.97!). I can't see where it says how much any upgrades cost, but are they less than the £60 we'd have to pay for Affinity Photo 2 if we missed out on the promo discount (bearing in mind V1 only cost us £50 at most to begin with)?

You could have replied with this answer to my post instead of just insulting me. Although when I asked "What are you talking about?" it was a rhetorical question.

Indeed. Save installation files to a USB stick or extenral drive, or upload to the cloud. Although we should appreciate that might be difficult when the sky is falling.

What are you talking about?

Yeah they didn't say it ends next Tuesday. They are just saying that the sale will definitely still be running next Tuesday in response to someone who was concerend it might end before they get paid. It is just reassuring them that they don't need to worry! Someone asks: "Any date as to when the limited time offers end? I get paid next Tuesday so wondering if they’ll still be on offer by then?" Affinity reply: "The sale will certainly run through next Tuesday 😊" When they say "run through" they mean it will continue beyond Tuesday. They havent said when it will end. That's still the case and the tweet reaffirms that, not contradict it. The tweet doesn't say when the sale will end.

How much did those cost? Was it £36 each like the Affinity apps are? Or £60 each before the current discount? Could you get Photoshop AND Illustrator AND InDesign for an upgrade fee of £89? Was the upgrade price for the three Creative Suite tools the same, or less for the Affinity Universal Licence even at the non-discount rate of £155? How much did those Adobe tools cost to buy in the first place? How many full version updrades to Affinity do you think the same amount of money could pay for?

It's simple - because most of that other software already costs a lot more money than what we pay for Affinity, even with a discounted upgrade. It seems unreasonable to expect the same from something that costs so little. Any discounts other companies offer rarely, if ever, match the price of Affinity apps even at full price. So feeling hard done to and not being happy because Serif aren't offering more discount for exisiting customers on top of the staggering 40% discount they are already offering - and specifically complaining about it - does somewhat come across as 'entitled'. Personally, as somebody who only turned freelance in recent years and now have to pay for my own software, I am thankful that the Affinity apps exist at the astonishingly low price point that they do, even before any discount. I can't think of anything else that truly matches them. And as much I too would love free updates for the rest of my life, I don't and have never expected it, or think that I deserve a special discount on upgrades for something that cost so little anyway comparitively to most things out there. It's about recognising how good we've currently got it.

The Reaper DAW was mentioned either here or in another thread, and that kind of does have a hobbyists discount rate - $60 compared to a commercial $225, but with all the same features. Other companies offer/have offered cheaper, featured limited versions of their products too, which are sort of dicounted versions for hobbyist. I remember getting Sony Movie Studio before upgrading to Sony Vegas. Of course Affinity apps are ALREADY priced at the level though - in fact LOWER in many cases for fully featured 'pro' packages!