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First: Affinit Designer is really great - thanks to the Affinity team! (Former-time Corel user, then Inkscape, now switched to Affinity due to CMYK and better color management)
 
My request:
I often use Save-As to generate numbered versions of files (as backups, and so that when I discuss them with a client, we can refer to which version we are talking about). In the Save As dialog, it appears that AD defaults to the folder where I last saved anything. This is very tricky when working on files that lie in different folders. To me, the current behaviour is somehow unexpected, and I often accidentially store files in the wrong project's folder.
 
The same happens when exporting, to PDF for instance.
 
I can imagine that people might want to always export all PDFs to a certain folder no matter where the curent file is, so maybe we should also consider this use-case.
 
My suggestion is:
1.) Save As: Default to the folder where the current file lies.
2.) Export (pdf etc, but also for palettes): Default to the folder where I last exported the respective file type when the current document was open.
 
(Maybe its not a good idea to store file paths in documents (like the export paths necessary for 2.). For me, it would be ok if this only works for the last, say, 30 files I worked on, so it could be stored somewhere in the application options storage, not in the document files.)
 
Would this cover all use-cases?
 
Best,
Philipp

ok, so I found this thread just now, looks like it has been an outstanding issue for years. Can't believe that with so many people asking for this to be fixed, nobody at Affinity is listening, very disappointing. 
 
 

@Sharon Villines Agreed, this was one of a few major longstanding UX oversights that kept me from purchasing Affinity.

I still don't understand if the save to option is a feature of the Apple IO why the only program I have problems with is Affinity Photo. I save frequently to keep prior work. Having to check every time to be sure where the file will be saved to is irritating and frustrating and invites me to look for alternatives to Affinity.
Having the default change every time I open and save a file means I have recent copies of a file all over my laptop and have to remember to check to be sure I'm opening the most recent copy of the file. If I open a file from from a folder, I expect it to save back to exactly that folder unless I use "Save As" and change the location.
I have installed DefaultFolderX and it seems to work but I'm irritated to have to install an add on just to make Affinity safe to use.

First: Affinit Designer is really great - thanks to the Affinity team! (Former-time Corel user, then Inkscape, now switched to Affinity due to CMYK and better color management)
 
My request:
I often use Save-As to generate numbered versions of files (as backups, and so that when I discuss them with a client, we can refer to which version we are talking about). In the Save As dialog, it appears that AD defaults to the folder where I last saved anything. This is very tricky when working on files that lie in different folders. To me, the current behaviour is somehow unexpected, and I often accidentially store files in the wrong project's folder.
 
The same happens when exporting, to PDF for instance.
 
I can imagine that people might want to always export all PDFs to a certain folder no matter where the curent file is, so maybe we should also consider this use-case.
 
My suggestion is:
1.) Save As: Default to the folder where the current file lies.
2.) Export (pdf etc, but also for palettes): Default to the folder where I last exported the respective file type when the current document was open.
 
(Maybe its not a good idea to store file paths in documents (like the export paths necessary for 2.). For me, it would be ok if this only works for the last, say, 30 files I worked on, so it could be stored somewhere in the application options storage, not in the document files.)
 
Would this cover all use-cases?
 
Best,
Philipp

@Patrick Connor In my opinion, it might be good enough to be equally good as a free application. :-)
If you consequently refuse to implement anything that is not superior to free tools, then you should not have included the alignment function at all (because it is not better, in fact it is far off from being as good as the one in Inkscape, I am afraid)...
Sorry for my hard words, I really like AD, but thats my honest opinion.

Well we could use Inkscape *instead* of Affinity. It is not so bad actually... :-)

I love the variables that I can use in the export settings for each slice. However, I miss a variable that holds the name of the document.
Whe I export slices of images from multiple documents, this would be very helpful for leter finding the source document when I recognize I a mistake when looking at one of the exported slices.

Can I ask the administrator to move this thread to the V2 section?

First: Affinit Designer is really great - thanks to the Affinity team! (Former-time Corel user, then Inkscape, now switched to Affinity due to CMYK and better color management)
 
My request:
I often use Save-As to generate numbered versions of files (as backups, and so that when I discuss them with a client, we can refer to which version we are talking about). In the Save As dialog, it appears that AD defaults to the folder where I last saved anything. This is very tricky when working on files that lie in different folders. To me, the current behaviour is somehow unexpected, and I often accidentially store files in the wrong project's folder.
 
The same happens when exporting, to PDF for instance.
 
I can imagine that people might want to always export all PDFs to a certain folder no matter where the curent file is, so maybe we should also consider this use-case.
 
My suggestion is:
1.) Save As: Default to the folder where the current file lies.
2.) Export (pdf etc, but also for palettes): Default to the folder where I last exported the respective file type when the current document was open.
 
(Maybe its not a good idea to store file paths in documents (like the export paths necessary for 2.). For me, it would be ok if this only works for the last, say, 30 files I worked on, so it could be stored somewhere in the application options storage, not in the document files.)
 
Would this cover all use-cases?
 
Best,
Philipp

Hello, all. Just adding my support for this request. Would be great to have control.  Otherwise love the product (mainly use Publisher), but updating the SAVE AS would help tremendously.

I must say that this doesn't affect me so much but it is driving my sister crazy.
She has a lot of clients and is constantly jumping between them so this is a constant source of mistakes for her.
At this point this should be a priority, especially as this is the behavior from Adobe’s applications, this would greatly help newcomers 😇

I am very disappointing this issue is not fixed in v2, I don't see any use case this behavior may be useful, I don't know any app working like this (probably there is but it is not a "common" behavior) and it makes me waste a lot of time... 

Well, I'm not buying another version until at least some of these problems are fixed.  And it looks like none of them have been.
FFS, it shouldn't take six years to get a program to give users the option of defaulting to the original file location for saving!

It's a constant source of frustration. I end up doing a scavenger hunt trying to figure out where it was exported or saved to. Here's the way another app that I frequently use rather elegantly handles where things are saved to.

I don't understand developers and why they are deaf to the community's voice. They made a great program and destroyed it with little things. If someone is working on multiple projects, they organize them into separate folders. All the other apps I'm working on save to the location where the file is located. I always forget Affinity works differently and I have to manually stack what this program broke in my file organization. This is idiotic because if someone wants a permanent location they can save the file there. If someone needs a separate location for each project, affinity is not able to do so.

Wouldn't agree with this. Saving and exporting are two very different functions and it's appropriate and useful to keep them distinct, as in fact does Publisher's major competitor, InDesign (if you're comparing with other software).
Saving is related to the working .afpub file as a whole. (Ditto saving to a package.)

Exporting on the other hand is not "saving in a different format" so much as pushing out specific versions or portions of that file for particular use cases, e.g. 
• selected high-quality PDF pages/spreads for client proofreading and approvals 
• PDF edition for online publication
• PDF print-ready file for a printer
• JPEG/PNG/TIFF files of selected pages for use as images in different contexts, e.g. for a portfolio or presentation
• etc. 
When I export I'm assuming that the saved source/working file that I have open is not changed in any way.  

+1 from me 
The unconventional and unintuitive file-saving behaviour is a constant source of frustration and misplaced files. Especially when I'm working on multiple projects for different clients in the same day/week. I'm astonished we've all been putting up with this for years now. Publisher is so good in so many ways, it's a pity that a flaw like this causes unnecessary friction when, it seems to my non-developer eye, it would surely be easy to fix.
 

Yes, this also sounds very reasonable.
I very often need to use the "expose in Finder" menu just to get my working folder so that I can drag it into the file-save dialog. (BTW, most Mac apps show the current folder when you right-click on the icon in the title bar - this would also be a useful thing that Affinity apps are currently lacking).
I think we all agree that the current behavior is only useful in a minority of usecases, and it is at least unusual compared to most other apps. Pity, because I really love the Affinity apps for most other respects.

First: Affinit Designer is really great - thanks to the Affinity team! (Former-time Corel user, then Inkscape, now switched to Affinity due to CMYK and better color management)
 
My request:
I often use Save-As to generate numbered versions of files (as backups, and so that when I discuss them with a client, we can refer to which version we are talking about). In the Save As dialog, it appears that AD defaults to the folder where I last saved anything. This is very tricky when working on files that lie in different folders. To me, the current behaviour is somehow unexpected, and I often accidentially store files in the wrong project's folder.
 
The same happens when exporting, to PDF for instance.
 
I can imagine that people might want to always export all PDFs to a certain folder no matter where the curent file is, so maybe we should also consider this use-case.
 
My suggestion is:
1.) Save As: Default to the folder where the current file lies.
2.) Export (pdf etc, but also for palettes): Default to the folder where I last exported the respective file type when the current document was open.
 
(Maybe its not a good idea to store file paths in documents (like the export paths necessary for 2.). For me, it would be ok if this only works for the last, say, 30 files I worked on, so it could be stored somewhere in the application options storage, not in the document files.)
 
Would this cover all use-cases?
 
Best,
Philipp

First: Affinit Designer is really great - thanks to the Affinity team! (Former-time Corel user, then Inkscape, now switched to Affinity due to CMYK and better color management)
 
My request:
I often use Save-As to generate numbered versions of files (as backups, and so that when I discuss them with a client, we can refer to which version we are talking about). In the Save As dialog, it appears that AD defaults to the folder where I last saved anything. This is very tricky when working on files that lie in different folders. To me, the current behaviour is somehow unexpected, and I often accidentially store files in the wrong project's folder.
 
The same happens when exporting, to PDF for instance.
 
I can imagine that people might want to always export all PDFs to a certain folder no matter where the curent file is, so maybe we should also consider this use-case.
 
My suggestion is:
1.) Save As: Default to the folder where the current file lies.
2.) Export (pdf etc, but also for palettes): Default to the folder where I last exported the respective file type when the current document was open.
 
(Maybe its not a good idea to store file paths in documents (like the export paths necessary for 2.). For me, it would be ok if this only works for the last, say, 30 files I worked on, so it could be stored somewhere in the application options storage, not in the document files.)
 
Would this cover all use-cases?
 
Best,
Philipp

+1 for this feature. All of my music software does this. My video editing software. Pretty much everything. Affinity is fantastic, but why not get even better? Would love to have it default to the folder I originally saved it in and then choose a new folder later on if need be since I easily do 2-3 different projects at a time in Designer or Publisher and much more often save in project folders than I do in some new folder I navigate to.

+1 for more convenient, auto-set save + export paths.
I wonder which of the required info / data would be managed by and stored in the operating system, as described e.g. for mac OS X (2017):
https://eclecticlight.co/2017/08/10/recent-items-launch-services-and-sharedfilelists/
 
+ 1, this missing UI option should be fixed, as it is a common behaviour on mac.

I waste a lot of time looking for save as files and exported files because they don't go into the same folder as where the source file was opened from. If my other apps can save as or export to the same location as the source file opened, I really don't understand why Affinity can't do the same. I've been on Macs since 1990 and this is the first instance that I'm seeing this sort of behavior. It's baffling why an enhancement request that been opened since 2016, that's FIVE YEARS can't be accomodated.  

Not sure if this is by default or a bug.
When I generate an hyperlink to a file, the obtained path of the link is an absolute address. If I change it to become a relative path, no link is added to the pdf on export. The same happens if I paste a custom path to the file, instead of a publisher generated one.
It seems that on pdf publish, Publisher checks the url and if it does not conform to what it expects, it directly omits the link completely on the pdf. This renders Publisher unusable to make PDF linked to files that must be distributed on a pendrive or to link to a 3rd party drive out of the system where the document has been created.
I think that Publisher should create pdf with whatever path you use, with no regard of being valid or not, because you could need to use a precise path at some points.
And no, the option to "include document on export" is of not value here because it destroys the linked document hierarchy and places everything on the same level, which is a big no no.
Steps to reproduce the issue:
Select text or objets and create hyperlink Link to the file (it creates  Users/Xxx/Folder/Folder/Filename.pdf path) Modify path to make it relative to where the pdf is gonna be ( Folder/Filename.pdf ) Export to pdf with links th the correct route for relative links to work. The result pdf has no links added at all If word and indesign does it, why not publisher? is not big science. Just add the link I want.