Ronny Axelsson

There are three ways to solve this issue (that apparently isn't an issue at all 😉) : 1. The unit could be picked from the default document settings, and this is how it is done in CorelDRAW and Illustrator, as far as I know. 2. There could be an option in Settings to choose whether to always use a certain unit (for PDF or maybe for all documents) or use the embedded unit. 3. There could be a menu in the PDF options dialog, same as the DPI menu, where we could choose unit or leave as is. This setting should then be remembered (this is how DPI works), meaning that you would only have to change it once. So no, it would not be the same as manually clicking the 'ruler menu' every time after opening a PDF.

Agree. And therefore I cannot see any reason to bring in units that are neither useful nor wanted for that given task. 😊 Absolutely, but the unit is then set by a user for a reason. Exactly. And therefore it should be up to the user to choose a default unit that he or she wants to use for new documents and when opening certain file types.

I'll add you to my list of users working in points, loukash. 😊 I still believe most of us like working with a unit that is easy to understand and corresponds to the end result, be it millimeters or inches or pixels, and if you say you prefer to use points I believe you. But what harm could it possibly do to allow the user to choose default unit for PDFs when other apps do, which was what this thread was about? It's no big deal changing the unit afterwards but why should we have to do that every time?

Oh sorry, you are absolutely right, I do not know what unit people are working with. It was just an assumption based on around twenty years of communication in the Corel public forums and beta forums, and I can honestly say that I don't think I've ever heard anyone working in 'points', which I think is rather logical since the 'point' doesn't have any use outside the graphic or typographic world. Is it an Affinity thing?

Even though the internal default unit for PDF is points, there are very few (if any) users working with this unit, which means that all of us must remember to go in and change it every time we open a PDF, to make it easier to work and reduce the risk of mistakes. All other software developers have apparently realized this, and a very simple and risk free change in the code could also benefit Affinity users.

I opened the file in both Illustrator and Draw, and also in Libre Office Draw, and it took up the document default unit in all of them. Importing or 'placing' a PDF is something different of course. Sorry but I have to disagree, it is not the same thing. I'm pretty sure all file formats have some kind of internal unit that probably none of us would understand, and therefore we have the choice to use a default unit that makes more sense.

FWIW, I made a small test where I created a new document in Designer, 100 x 100 mm, and added a square, 80 x 80 mm. I exported to PDF and then opened this file in all apps I could think of. They all showed a 100 x 100 mm document with a 80 x 80 mm square, all except Affinity Designer/Publisher/Photo.

As you say, the PDF specification defines PDF units as 72 'points' to 1 inch, and that is how things are measured internally. But just because it may be technically correct, it doesn't mean that it is right from a user's perspective. I bet you cannot find one single user who prefers to work in points, and all other programs that I have around automatically convert to the user's preferred default unit when opening a PDF. This includes Adobe Reader and Acrobat Pro as well as other PDF readers, CorelDRAW, Illustrator, office apps and web browsers. They all have a user defined unit that they use instead of points, and I think it would rather practical if Affinity could do the same. Of course we can change the unit after opening a PDF but it is easy to forget and could lead to confusion as we work. Therefore I suggest that the Affinity apps automatically convert to default document unit, or that they add a dropdown menu to the PDF options dialog, and preferably a menu that remembers 'last used'.

I read somewhere that this is as designed but in my opinion it is wrong that when opening a PDF in Designer 2 (or Publisher 2), the document unit is always "pt", no matter what unit it was when saved. So even if we have a PDF created with "mm" as document unit, and the page size is "mm" when we open in Acrobat Reader, it will be "pt" in Designer. Very irritating that we have to change this for every document.