StrixCZ

Hi, I'm trying to transition from InDesign to Publisher and one thing I've been sorely missing so far is the ability to place multiple pages of a linked PDF into an AFPUB document.

In InDesign, there's a "Show import options" checkbox when placing a file, with a consequent dialog window which allows you to choose all pages (or a range) of a PDF file.
So if I want to place a 100 page PDF onto 100 pages of a document, I'll just create a document, add 100 pages, import the PDF, choose all pages and then I can simply scroll and click 100 times to place page after page. Not at all perfect but it works.
Sadly, I haven't found any way to place more than one page of a PDF at a time into Publisher (and I can't even choose which page of a multi-page PDF to place - it always places page 1 which I then have to manually change), which is inconvenient to say the least. Please, can you do something about this?

Obviously, you're misunderstanding what AI is or what it can do, as automatic tracing is exactly one of the tasks AI can be incredibly useful to help with. Creating images based on text prompts is only one of many possible uses of AI - it's definitely not the only (or even the main) one. And since Affinity is trying to compete with Adobe, they actually need to adopt AI tools if they don't want to be left in the dust. Have you seen what you can do with Photoshop's "neural filters" (based on AI models)? Considering they're only in beta stages yet, they're pretty impressive already. And if Affinity doesn't come up with something similar, it will eventually render their suite obsolete. I mean, not many people will choose to spend hours on tasks AI can take care of in a matter of seconds (and we're not far from this being the case)...

Sadly, the question is not whether they "should be able to". The question is how to deal with the fact the they "already can" (and I don't think any sort of regulation can stop it now). To put it in perspective with your "breaking into someone's house" metaphor, we're talking about the equivalent of trying to ban production/sales of crowbars or making it mandatory for anyone buying one to sign some sort of "ethical use" contract (and expecting them to never break it, LOL).

Sadly, the question is not whether they "should be able to". The question is how to deal with the fact the they "already can" (and I don't think any sort of regulation can stop it now). To put it in perspective with your "breaking into someone's house" metaphor, we're talking about the equivalent of trying to ban production/sales of crowbars or making it mandatory for anyone buying one to sign some sort of "ethical use" contract (and expecting them to never break it, LOL).

Obviously, you're misunderstanding what AI is or what it can do, as automatic tracing is exactly one of the tasks AI can be incredibly useful to help with. Creating images based on text prompts is only one of many possible uses of AI - it's definitely not the only (or even the main) one. And since Affinity is trying to compete with Adobe, they actually need to adopt AI tools if they don't want to be left in the dust. Have you seen what you can do with Photoshop's "neural filters" (based on AI models)? Considering they're only in beta stages yet, they're pretty impressive already. And if Affinity doesn't come up with something similar, it will eventually render their suite obsolete. I mean, not many people will choose to spend hours on tasks AI can take care of in a matter of seconds (and we're not far from this being the case)...

Well I also wouldn't take foreign images & work, since I like and prefer to do my own programming, photography and also own specific vector drawings here. - If anything, I would only reuse & refer to royalty-free and rights-free material here.
However, as I've already said and shown above, there is also a bunch of AI stuff nowadays available which moves here in a quasi gray area. - And that's IMO also a result of todays too much artificially generated hype made about AI-based systems etc. Since finally everyone (every player in that field) wants to play along commercially here and also have a piece of the pie.

Expert PS user / professional graphic designer with 15+ years of experience here and I can tell you this is simply not true. At best, you can remove watermarks from some images (simple illustrations with white background are the easiest to deal with) but even that won't usually take 2 minutes. Removing a watermark from a complex photo/illustration - well, good luck with that 😅 Not to mention that the watermarked images are generally low-res (meant as a preview / to be used for mock-ups) so typically you wouldn't get a decent print from them even without the watermark. Anyway, the watermarks are actually quite effective in terms of protecting images from being used without permission - otherwise, nobody would use them anymore. The problem is that while this solution is suitable for stock images, it's not nearly as suitable for artists trying to display their work as big ugly watermarks basically prevent everyone from fully appreciating the artwork...

Neither offers any protection (wishful thinking). - Watermarking is at best also only a gimmick nothing else, as easily as you can apply them you can also remove them.

Thanks, exactly my point. At best, we can hope that the AI models will ignore images containing certain "copyright protected" / "AI generated" symbols or patterns. However, if their creators decide to ignore/circumvent these measures, it will be rather easy for them to do so, and it's safe to assume that at least some AI models will do exactly that, especially if lot of people starts to "protect" their artwork.
It's unfortunate, but the question the artists today need to be asking really is "how can I make profit from my art despite the AI being able to immitate my style". The only real  option to make sure* AI won't use your images for training is never publishing any of your artwork online which is next to impossible for most people trying to make money from their art.
* And even that won't be 100 % bulletproof solution as the AI can still hypothetically use a photo of your artwork someone else publishes, even though it would be as close to keeping your art protected as possible.

However, all of the mentioned procedures require a fair and correct approach by the AI to reject images that were not authorized by the author for its learning.
But the topic is completely different, see OP "how my art software can help protect my artwork against AI theft.". Unfortunately, the answer is as mentioned by StrixCZ.

Hi, I'm trying to migrate from InDesign to Publisher but one major culprit is the lack of ability to export into any format that people could open (and edit) with InDesign - this could be a deal-breaker for some clients if they ever ask me about the source data of anything and I'll be only able to provide them with the AFPUB file.
As much as I love seeing you competing with Adobe (and Publisher itself seems to be a huge contender for InDesign so far), Adobe is still the "industry-standard" (and probably will be in a foreseeable future) so being unable to export into a format that allows one to switch between Publisher and InDesign is a serious problem.
Correct me if I'm wrong but since Publisher can actually import IDML files, it even looks like the lack of functionality in terms of exporting into the very same format is willful and deliberate, rather than actual technical limitation.
Can you please add this much needed option? I understand that you want your customers to stay with your apps rather than going back to Adobe but this limitation really isn't helping your cause...

Hi, I'm trying to migrate from InDesign to Publisher but one major culprit is the lack of ability to export into any format that people could open (and edit) with InDesign - this could be a deal-breaker for some clients if they ever ask me about the source data of anything and I'll be only able to provide them with the AFPUB file.
As much as I love seeing you competing with Adobe (and Publisher itself seems to be a huge contender for InDesign so far), Adobe is still the "industry-standard" (and probably will be in a foreseeable future) so being unable to export into a format that allows one to switch between Publisher and InDesign is a serious problem.
Correct me if I'm wrong but since Publisher can actually import IDML files, it even looks like the lack of functionality in terms of exporting into the very same format is willful and deliberate, rather than actual technical limitation.
Can you please add this much needed option? I understand that you want your customers to stay with your apps rather than going back to Adobe but this limitation really isn't helping your cause...

Well, it also makes some people (like me) buy the whole bundle instead of just one app (I originally wanted only Publisher) . I'm also an exclusive Windows user but the bundle price with the launch discount was just too good to miss (and I didn't care a bit about "paying for Mac versions that I wouldn't use" - I saw it more as Serif just releasing one bundle for everyone - I actually think that a vast majority of their users are either on Mac or Windows - not both).
Bottom line, I spent more money in the Serif store than I originally planned to - without feeling cheated at all (on the contrary). And I'm quite sure I'm not alone here. So this pricing model actually does make a lot of sense (even though it's obviously less convenient for people who really want just one app).

Just to say, that method imports the PDF (so it will be editable), which in many cases is what you want. However the new place auto-flow feature was originally implemented because of the request many people had to place a multi-page PDF. Using this route each page of the PDF is added as a place file - meaning they could all be set to passthrough for example. This is a better method if you do not need to edit your PDF.
Lets say you had an A4 PDF with 100 pages. The way to do this is would be to add an A4 page to your Publisher document, create a picture frame the size of the entire page, then go to file-place and choose the PDF you want (without the picture frame selected). This will bring up the place panel. This allows you to choose which page you want to place, but also above the file thumbnail there is a > which allows you to expand to see all pages. Do that then hit cmd-a (or shift select first and last page to select all the pages you want to place) and then hit the picture frame. Publisher will then add all the additional pages to your document automatically and place each page of the PDF file separately on those pages.

100 % this! Also, Open Shell FTW (and screw you, W11 🤮).

Me neither, but it worked just fine for me (Win 10 Pro 64bit) with the only downside of the apps being listed among Windows Apps rather than Installed Programs which is a bit confusing but doesn't affect functionality in any way...

If someone wants further previewing/tweaking on selected RAW files you can try the technique below
But you are never going to get a film strip or all the features Adobe has at the moment (until Serif implements an update/upgrade).
Both my suggestions are for those users that don't want to keep paying Adobe but if you can afford it just carry on until Serif releases something better
 

I think i's worth remembering that originally Serif developed the Affinity software for MAC, then Windows, then added iPad. Each of the apps was released at a different time (Designer, Photo then Publisher) over several years. This obviously made it a bit "messy" to offer deals on bundles that were fair to both new customers, and to those who purchased the apps separately as they were released. There have also been numerous complaints from people who use both MAC and Windows that they had to pay "twice" for the software. With the release of v2, all three apps are available on all three OS at the same time. Now Serif are offering a really good deal for all three apps on all three OS as a bundle, but still people find things to complain about! 

Well, it also makes some people (like me) buy the whole bundle instead of just one app (I originally wanted only Publisher) . I'm also an exclusive Windows user but the bundle price with the launch discount was just too good to miss (and I didn't care a bit about "paying for Mac versions that I wouldn't use" - I saw it more as Serif just releasing one bundle for everyone - I actually think that a vast majority of their users are either on Mac or Windows - not both).
Bottom line, I spent more money in the Serif store than I originally planned to - without feeling cheated at all (on the contrary). And I'm quite sure I'm not alone here. So this pricing model actually does make a lot of sense (even though it's obviously less convenient for people who really want just one app).

Hi All,
Well, it’s been a pretty crazy week since the launch of V2!
This has been a real labour of love for us over the last year or so, and I can’t even begin to describe how hard the development team have worked on it. Not only getting the V2 apps launched, but also of course finally bringing Publisher to iPad. 
With this being our first paid-for upgrade there has understandably been a lot of feedback / questions around future updates and our pricing policies. I thought it was worth addressing / clarifying our position on some of these personally...
Updates to V2 moving forward
Buying V2 not only gets you all the new features you have seen, but we have various updates planned – including many more new features and improvements – which you will get for free. This will continue until such a time that V3 is released. We’re not sure exactly when V3 will be, but I can confirm we are not going to move to anything as regular as an annual upgrade cycle as has been speculated.
It’s worth saying too that V2 does include many under-the-hood changes to our underlying technology, and we have also been investing in several new areas of research recently. Some of these haven’t manifested themselves into new features yet, but overall V2 does give us a better platform to develop on moving forward and I’m sure you will be pleased with the updates V2 will receive.
Updates to V1 moving forward
While we did say on the FAQ that V1 would no longer receive any updates, I want to clarify that was about new feature updates. We will be updating V1 to fix any critical problems caused by operating system updates in the future. So if the next version of macOS breaks V1 we will endeavour to fix it. There will be a point in time when continuing to maintain V1 in this way will not be tenable, but certainly for the foreseeable future we will continue to patch. In fact, we have an update to V1 queued up for release very shortly with some fixes for Ventura and issues caused by a recent Windows security / quality update. 
We will update our FAQ shortly to make that clearer for everyone.
Offer period
In case you didn’t see, I’m pleased to confirm we have decided to run this initial launch offer until 14th December to give everyone the best chance possible to get it if they wish / have a decent amount of time to trial it. 
Upgrade pricing
It’s been really hard to see some of the comments about us not looking after our existing customers – we’re pretty devasted that anyone feels like that to be honest. But the fact is we felt our hands were tied somewhat with being able to offer upgrade pricing in a fair way. The main reason for this was App Store customers (which make up around 35% of our userbase). The problems with that are two-fold: firstly, we didn’t have a way from within V1 to validate an App Store purchase receipt to reliably ensure customers who were entitled to an upgrade could get one; and secondly, we could not find a good way for people to get that discount via the App Store. Us pushing upgrade customers to go exclusively via our own site (including customers who were previously acquired via the app stores) may also have put us in violation of App Store Ts & Cs which we were obviously concerned about.
I’m not saying that these issues were completely insurmountable, but any solutions we came up with would be messy, and most importantly could have resulted in some bona fide V1 customers struggling to get validated and claim their discount. We certainly don’t have the support resource here if we ended up needing to manually validate tens of thousands of receipts for example.
The only option we felt was safe to move forward with was a general launch offer, which would guarantee that every V1 customer could get the discount, whether they purchased directly through us or the App Stores. We knew a side effect of that would mean some new customers would end up receiving that same discount – but we felt that was a better option than V1 customers missing out. It’s also worth saying that while there has been some good press about V2, all our main marketing has been via email and through social media to our followers. In other words, we felt ok about it because we knew the vast majority of people who would find out about it or take advantage of the offer would be existing customers. I would be surprised if over the offer period customers upgrading from V1 didn’t make up more than 90% of our sales.
Overall I do believe us giving a 40% discount, along with the addition of the new Universal Licence of course, is offering fantastic value for money for those who want to upgrade. 
However, taking on board some of the feedback there is something extra we can do – we will offer a new free bundle of content exclusively for V1 customers upgrading to V2 as an extra thank you for your support. I’ve seen this suggested by a number of customers and it’s a great idea as it does remove the App Store conflict entirely. 
We’ll need a little time to put something together, but all customers who previously registered or purchased V1 and have since upgraded to V2 will receive a voucher code for this via email as soon as we can.
A comment on no subscription
I do want to say that some of the points above are exactly the reason why software companies move to subscription. Whatever you do with upgrade pricing, you still have the issue of customers who bought the previous version 3 months ago vs. those who have had it 2+ years. Offering perpetual licences also gives the additional overhead of needing to maintain the previous version longer than you would if everyone was on subscription / generally always on the latest version.
We are a small team so some of these complications are not ideal — all we really want to do is focus on developing our latest codebase, push out regular updates and continue with our mission to make great creative software accessible to everyone. 
But it does need to be funded somehow. We know you love our no-subscription model, but there also needs to be a level of appreciation that the alternative is having paid-for upgrades from time to time. That unfortunately comes with its own problems.
All of that said, I have to say we have been blown away with the response to V2 - around 3 times as many people have upgraded in the last week than we expected - and we really can't thank you enough for the support you have shown. More than anything the success of this upgrade puts us in a great place to continue investing heavily in development which is ultimately what it's all about, and we’re super excited to crack on with some great updates coming next year!
All the best,
Ash
This is a duplicate post of a thread that is now locked and moved to the questions forum

Well, it also makes some people (like me) buy the whole bundle instead of just one app (I originally wanted only Publisher) . I'm also an exclusive Windows user but the bundle price with the launch discount was just too good to miss (and I didn't care a bit about "paying for Mac versions that I wouldn't use" - I saw it more as Serif just releasing one bundle for everyone - I actually think that a vast majority of their users are either on Mac or Windows - not both).
Bottom line, I spent more money in the Serif store than I originally planned to - without feeling cheated at all (on the contrary). And I'm quite sure I'm not alone here. So this pricing model actually does make a lot of sense (even though it's obviously less convenient for people who really want just one app).

Hi @luki1412,
No, individual product prices weren't covered specifically. We did increase the price of all apps compared to V1 because we believe they do worth/offer more value as apps than V1 did. There's no obligation to pay/upgrade for those who think the new features/tools don't worth the increase in price - V1 remains functional, as ever, and should receive an update/patch soon to address a few compatibility issues with most current OS's.

Similarly to other products (in other areas too), prices for larger quantities/bundles or in this case for the whole suite tend to be more beneficial/offer a better value for money than buying the apps individually. I won't comment about any values/decisions specifically because I'm really not the most suited person to do it.

Kudos. A very gracious reply to a very non-gracious post. Well done.

They may be able to if they simply indicate that they cannot accommodate such requests from their clients.  It might limit the clients that they can provide work for, so which freelancers can get away with that will depend on the clients they can attract and the like - but some could do it.

Hi, I'm trying to transition from InDesign to Publisher and one thing I've been sorely missing so far is the ability to place multiple pages of a linked PDF into an AFPUB document.

In InDesign, there's a "Show import options" checkbox when placing a file, with a consequent dialog window which allows you to choose all pages (or a range) of a PDF file.
So if I want to place a 100 page PDF onto 100 pages of a document, I'll just create a document, add 100 pages, import the PDF, choose all pages and then I can simply scroll and click 100 times to place page after page. Not at all perfect but it works.
Sadly, I haven't found any way to place more than one page of a PDF at a time into Publisher (and I can't even choose which page of a multi-page PDF to place - it always places page 1 which I then have to manually change), which is inconvenient to say the least. Please, can you do something about this?