Bit Dissapointed

[Updated Nov 30 2023 - new version for Publisher 2.3 with 120 more pages than the first version]
Learn how to format text and publish books and other long documents with Affinity Publisher 2.3. This free in-depth manual is filled with steps, tips, and recommendations for:
Character and paragraph formatting - added Nov 30 Text styles - added Nov 30 Documents, Pages, Master Pages, Sections, and Baseline Grid Text Frames, Text Flow, and Stories Books and Chapters Cross-References, Table of Contents, and Index Notes - including Footnotes, Sidenotes, and Endnotes Fields - including Page Numbering, Running Headers, and Custom Variables Anchors and Hyperlinks Printing and Exporting Settings This manual does not cover objects and photos so it covers approximately half of the topics.
Updated version:
Publisher Manual Nov 29 2023.pdf
 
Q&A
Is there a full manual I can purchase? No, this is all there is. Is this really free? Yes, I'm making it available free of charge. It's copyrighted to prevent others from publishing it as their own. Is there an iPad version? No, the steps and screenshots are for the macOS and Windows versions. Is there a version for Designer or Photo? No, but the text features are largely the same so you may find it useful. Why does it use a print layout if it's a PDF? It's a demonstration of how to use the features it describes to create a print book. Original version:
Publisher Manual Sep 26 2023.pdf
Publisher Manual Sep 18 2023.pdf

To Serif Staff and @Ash
I've been meaning to write this feature request for years, and it's been partly written before by others, but now I'm doing it with passion, two dashes underneath and weariness in my soul. Because I spend too much time correcting the flaws in Affinity in my work.
There are a number of usability flaws in Affinity, and they are well-reported. I can live with some, but not with others. There are some flaws that simply must be fixed now, and not as small fixes, but in a fundamental and structured way.
I can only recommend that a future release should be dedicated to only settings, usability and workflows. That you take all these reports from customers seriously and resolve them in a serious and structured way. And give yourself the time, space and dedication to stop and rebuild some of Affinity instead of patching holes as you go.
I would just like to request two things to be fixed at this time, and at the same time I would like to ask you to have preferences expanded and structured so that your customers can avoid workarounds and endless detours to the greatest extent possible by setting good default settings in one place. Not small additions - but get it set up professionally and user-friendly.
My specific request:
In ALL my work, I want to use FX: Scale with object ON and Stroke: Scale with object. The few times the opposite is the case, I want to be able to disable it. The opposite of today. But they are not enabled by default, and in the case of stroke scaling you have to change a default for the object, which you can't do with FX. But somehow again and again I find these settings disabled. On my computers, on others... constantly.
I create lots of small and large objects with FX, and I can't believe I have to set scale with object on each one. Why on earth can't I just set defaults centrally in preferences once - and change them again if I need to use other defaults?
All the nonsense that has built up over time in Affinity deserves its own release, so you can also build architecture and methodology around the corrections, so that it is corrected logically and technologically appropriate. Preferences as of today is still pretty messy.
I am not looking for workarounds or object inheritance. Just want to enable scaling and never look back.

To Serif Staff and @Ash
I've been meaning to write this feature request for years, and it's been partly written before by others, but now I'm doing it with passion, two dashes underneath and weariness in my soul. Because I spend too much time correcting the flaws in Affinity in my work.
There are a number of usability flaws in Affinity, and they are well-reported. I can live with some, but not with others. There are some flaws that simply must be fixed now, and not as small fixes, but in a fundamental and structured way.
I can only recommend that a future release should be dedicated to only settings, usability and workflows. That you take all these reports from customers seriously and resolve them in a serious and structured way. And give yourself the time, space and dedication to stop and rebuild some of Affinity instead of patching holes as you go.
I would just like to request two things to be fixed at this time, and at the same time I would like to ask you to have preferences expanded and structured so that your customers can avoid workarounds and endless detours to the greatest extent possible by setting good default settings in one place. Not small additions - but get it set up professionally and user-friendly.
My specific request:
In ALL my work, I want to use FX: Scale with object ON and Stroke: Scale with object. The few times the opposite is the case, I want to be able to disable it. The opposite of today. But they are not enabled by default, and in the case of stroke scaling you have to change a default for the object, which you can't do with FX. But somehow again and again I find these settings disabled. On my computers, on others... constantly.
I create lots of small and large objects with FX, and I can't believe I have to set scale with object on each one. Why on earth can't I just set defaults centrally in preferences once - and change them again if I need to use other defaults?
All the nonsense that has built up over time in Affinity deserves its own release, so you can also build architecture and methodology around the corrections, so that it is corrected logically and technologically appropriate. Preferences as of today is still pretty messy.
I am not looking for workarounds or object inheritance. Just want to enable scaling and never look back.

To Serif Staff and @Ash
I've been meaning to write this feature request for years, and it's been partly written before by others, but now I'm doing it with passion, two dashes underneath and weariness in my soul. Because I spend too much time correcting the flaws in Affinity in my work.
There are a number of usability flaws in Affinity, and they are well-reported. I can live with some, but not with others. There are some flaws that simply must be fixed now, and not as small fixes, but in a fundamental and structured way.
I can only recommend that a future release should be dedicated to only settings, usability and workflows. That you take all these reports from customers seriously and resolve them in a serious and structured way. And give yourself the time, space and dedication to stop and rebuild some of Affinity instead of patching holes as you go.
I would just like to request two things to be fixed at this time, and at the same time I would like to ask you to have preferences expanded and structured so that your customers can avoid workarounds and endless detours to the greatest extent possible by setting good default settings in one place. Not small additions - but get it set up professionally and user-friendly.
My specific request:
In ALL my work, I want to use FX: Scale with object ON and Stroke: Scale with object. The few times the opposite is the case, I want to be able to disable it. The opposite of today. But they are not enabled by default, and in the case of stroke scaling you have to change a default for the object, which you can't do with FX. But somehow again and again I find these settings disabled. On my computers, on others... constantly.
I create lots of small and large objects with FX, and I can't believe I have to set scale with object on each one. Why on earth can't I just set defaults centrally in preferences once - and change them again if I need to use other defaults?
All the nonsense that has built up over time in Affinity deserves its own release, so you can also build architecture and methodology around the corrections, so that it is corrected logically and technologically appropriate. Preferences as of today is still pretty messy.
I am not looking for workarounds or object inheritance. Just want to enable scaling and never look back.

The issue "User File - Select Same > Fill fails to detect other objects with the same HEX applied (possible rounding error?)" (REF: AF-527) has been fixed by the developers in internal build &quot2.3.0.2083&quot.
This fix should soon be available as a customer beta and is planned for inclusion in the next customer release.
Customer beta builds are announced here and you can participate by following these instructions.
If you still experience this problem once you are using that build version (or later) please reply to this thread including @Serif Info Bot to notify us.

To me, the lasso/ freehand selection tool (and polygonal selection tools) are a must have in my daily workflow. For very irregular selections, they are indispensable, especially when you also have to avoid selecting other objects close-by. It still surprises me on a regular basis that I cannot use such a vital tool after having used other software that have such selection tools. Please add these selection tools to Designer and Publisher!

Yes, but that doesn't easily let you select objects within a group. You can't Ctrl+Alt drag select. If you do, you'll window select. Right mouse dragging to deselect is counter-intuitive. All software I use and have used 12+ use LMB + modifier deselect. You cannot force to add to a selection and toggle selection (deselect if selected, select if deselected) You need multiple modifier keys this way, whereas a stand-alone tool could do with Ctrl = add, Shift = toggle, Alt = deselect. The software often times doesn't note the hotkeys, you need to have at least something selected for them to show. Pretty important, since it has these (to me) weird key combinations.

I would like to see keyboard shortcuts implemented for:
Convert to Sharp Convert to Smooth Convert to Smart in both the desktop and ipad version. On the iPad they would really help together with my keyboard! 

"Serif customer since 2007"
I'm a veteran of Serif's waiting room. 🙂

"Serif customer since 2007"
I'm a veteran of Serif's waiting room. 🙂

I recently had a terrible experience working on a branding guide. Despite saving the document manually, I started noticing a lag in the copy and paste function. Ignoring this issue, I continued working until I finished. However, when I tried to export the document as a PDF without saving it manually one last time, it froze. Frustrated, I force quit the document and when I reopened it, only the restore window appeared with just the first page of the 32 pages I had worked on. The file was nowhere to be found. It wasn't in the project folder where I had been saving it, and it wasn't even listed in the "show all recent projects" section of the Affinity app. I tried using macOS time machine and even purchased an app that locates missing files, hoping to recover the document and save myself from redoing the entire project. Unfortunately, nothing worked. The project had disappeared completely, as if I hadn't worked on it for those four long hours. Some may argue that I may have done something wrong, suggesting that maybe I didn't name it correctly, or perhaps I accidentally deleted it, or maybe I opened a PDF file instead of an Affinity document. But the truth is, I created a new document, diligently worked on it, and saved it manually every hour. However, after the crash, it vanished without a trace. All I had left were the screenshots I had taken for the client, but those pages were no longer accessible. The document simply did not exist. I believe there needs to be a better way to ensure that one's work is saved in case something like this happens. And yes, I ended up having to redo everything all over again.

Oh, I appreciate your suggestion, but I actually have a well-established backup setup already.  I've implemented an automated workflow where all my files are duplicated to external drives, and I also have Time Machine running in the background. It's a reliable system that ensures my design files are consistently backed up and protected.
To further fortify my backup strategy, I've also integrated cloud storage solutions like Dropbox and Google Drive. By syncing my files to the cloud, I add an extra layer of security and accessibility. Even if something were to happen to my local backups, I can confidently retrieve my files from anywhere with an internet connection.
So, while your advice is thoughtful, I've already taken proactive measures to safeguard my work. Thanks for the input though!

I would like to see keyboard shortcuts implemented for:
Convert to Sharp Convert to Smooth Convert to Smart in both the desktop and ipad version. On the iPad they would really help together with my keyboard! 

Interesting advice, thank you for your time @Hangman
Probably not always possible due to my complex designs but I'll give it a go.

You may want to consider working with Layers (Capital 'L') which is really what the Edit All Layers icon in the layers panel is designed for... Disabling Edit All Layers allows you to focus on individual layers within a Layer...
That means selecting an object in a Layer and using Cmd A will select all the objects only in that Layer and you can also use Select > Same Fill Colour and all the other variations from the Select > Select Same menu if for example you only want to select objects with the same fill colour, same stroke colour, same stroke weight, same blend mode, same opacity and so on within an individual Layer.
Have a play with the attached modified version of your file and make sure to disable Edit All Layers in the layers panel and then select an object within a Layer and experiment with the options mentioned above to see if it gives you what you want...
select same fill v2.afdesign

Hi @Bitarts,
This has come up before with a separate user file in the thread below and is possibly caused by a rounding error occurring in the background which isn't visible in the UI. If you manually select the objects, change the colour panel to RGB Hex and then press enter in the RGB hex field it should fix this, as after doing this Select same > fill is working as expected.
I'll add your file as another example and bump the existing issue with your report.
 

The same problem i see on windows 10

@Bitarts I'm guessing you want to select all of the objects that are inside a Group rather than select the Group itself.
If you have an object of a Group selected, then cmd+A (Select All) will select it and all of its peers, and nothing else, if Edit All Layers is disabled.
Edit All Layers is toggled with the little button in bottom left corner of Layers panel. It does not appear in any menu and cannot be assigned a keyboard shortcut, unfortunately.
 

Bulls eye.
AHA! Thanks - that is what I am looking for!

We have now released beta build 2.2.1.2075, which is Release Candidate 3 of the 2.2.1 patch
It includes the fixes listed above and has updated Help files in all languages, but is otherwise the same as 2.2.1.2063.
We think it is important to get these fixes above released as soon as possible, so 2.2.1.2075 is to be treated as a Gold Master (final release candidate) that we hope can be released next week.

Here's a list of some of the bugs which have been fixed in the beta build 2.2.1.2063, which is Release Candidate 2 of the 2.2.1 patch
(fixes since the post above for 2.2.1.2052)
Please only reply in this forum to comment on any fixes which are in this list (in particular to let us know if you notice that something we say is fixed isn't!) To report any new bugs please do that against the relevant new feature post, or if unrelated to new functionality in the Other bugs & issues forum.
Bugs affecting Desktop (Windows and macOS)
Certain ICC Color profiles were not showing in Document Setup/Convert or Soft Proof  Bugs affecting Windows
Windows "File is ready for archiving" flag is not getting set File > Save or Save As. [AF-637] Known Issues: There are some other known issues in the FAQ Forum which are not fully resolved, but we think it is important to get these fixes above released as soon as possible.

I'm seeing this issue on a 2018 ipad pro 12.9 (first generation with the new design, no home button). Just to add a model to the list. 

It's so typical of me to create a lot of elements and then realize I've done it in the wrong order. It would be really useful to be able to reverse the order with an "Invert order of selection".
Of course, this is not a function that should be in the right-click menu, but in the layers menu.
Just a suggestion 🙂

Hi @Bitarts,
Thanks for your report and my apologies for the delayed response here!
I can confirm that a colleague of mine has been able to replicate this issue using an iPad Air 5th gen, running iPadOS 17 - whereas I was not able to replicate this on an iPad Pro 10.5 running iPadOS 16.5, so I agree this appears to be related to the OS update, rather than the iPad being an 'M' based device.
I'm getting this logged with our development team now to be resolved ASAP.
I hope this helps

We've come so far with Publisher that there's room for simple but effective features.
One simple way to automatically and beautifully prevent ugly, and to be honest, amateurish headlines and designs is InDesign's simple
Balance Ragged Lines style option that balances ragged aligned text across multiple lines:

It is a feature that in Adobe InDesign is part of Adobe Paragraph Composer, which "shifts text to ensure that the paragraph has consistent text density and is visually appealing." and I quite like how it works. It's automation working against the small, ugly details that I often see when people have used cheap programs for a book or printed material - or have used their program without professional knowledge.