Bhikkhu Pesala

I don't find it hard to use. It might be better if it showed up exactly like the Show Character List does or at least if it remembered its position. As it is, it blocks the middle of the drawing window. The shortcuts might also be better as Toggles to show/hide the options.

Here are other files that cannot be opened at all. Edit: This files now open OK in the latest Beta 1.5.0.4. Cankama Typeface.pdf Anjana Typeface.pdf

On opening the attached PDF file, OpenType Initial Forms are enabled for all text frames, but they are not listed in the OpenType Features, so cannot be turned off. Advanced Typography.pdf

I only see an option to change the background to a lighter grey and adjust the gamma. There was much discussion in this earlier thread. It's a deal-breaker for me, and severely limits how much time I can spend testing since trying to read the menus gives me a headache after a short time. I don't wish to be negative, but it should be obvious why this is a problem for many users.

It's easy enough to drag and drop multiple images into Affinity Designer, but it would be better if it could be done from the Import Picture dialogue. I would usually work with the application maximised.

The attached file causes some problems with the program not responding. I set up an A0 landscape drawing, and imported the image, then tried to zoom in. After waiting for a minute or two while I created this post, Affinity Designer has recovered, and is now able to zoom in close on the image. I did not notice any major problems with 16000 x 16000 pixel images from NASA, which took a few seconds to import.

Yes. Access key for Width although displayed, does nothing either. All dialogues should be accessible without using a mouse. There are users who have difficulty using a mouse, though not too many of them may be using a drawing application.

When a help topic is opened, it always opens in the middle of the Window. It should remember its last used size and position. The Help window can be resized and moved to the side to keep it in view while learning the application. However, it cannot be minimized. The menu button is in the white area of the help topic, but the search button is in the black toolbar area. The menu button should be moved up, perhaps to the top left corner? The blue back and forward buttons have poor contrast against the black toolbar The search field also suffers from poor contrast. The search field background should be light grey with black text. F1 does not open help. This is a must for a Windows application. The user can assign it, but it should be the default. Searching for "Frame" or "Text" doesn't find the Frame Text topic. Multiple help windows can be opened simultaneously. Is it possible to have them dock together as a tabbed dialogue? No doubt your graphic designers could do better, but here's a quick mockup.

Thanks for the quick response. That is exactly the kind of help needed. I don't need to spend any more time testing this, or trying with different fonts, until after this issue is patched.

Importing a small Rich Text file from disk (Scratchpad.rtf) fails to render most characters correctly. If I use Paste Special, Unformatted Unicode Text to paste the text from Jarte (a Wordpad clone) it comes in correctly. Having saved the file and formatted the text with a different font, and changing the font size, I find that the application is very likely to crash on selecting different fonts. Typing to search the font list does nothing. The font that I chose was Sukhumala but I doubt if that's the issue. The application just disappeared again when I tried to apply Calibri to the selected text. First, the text is deleted. Then the application crashed. Frame Text.afdesign Scratchpad.rtf

Thanks for the feedback guys. Is there any other easy method for inserting extended characters like the Insert Symbol dialogue of PagePlus? Windows Character Map is not very user-friendly.

I fixed the link.

No, that's not the reason. If I select "1st 2nd 3rd" then enabling Default figures would obviously make a difference to the selection. Show all font features is not enabled, but as you can see from the screen shots, the features are still available for selection (sometimes). Affinity Designer just crashed again too. I got no option to recover my changes.

If only figures are selected, the options for Default/OldStyle or Default/Proportional appear, but if other text is selected, they do not. So, for example, if I select "1st 2nd 3rd" I can select the Ordinals feature, but not OldStyle figures or Proportional figures. Annotation forms are also affected by the same issue. Available options become greyed out depending on the selection made. In other applications there are no such restrictions. In Affinity Designer, the options available seem quite arbitrary.

The OpenType feature implemtation seems good and comprehensive. There seems to be a bug with OldStyle Figures. Using my Kabala OpenType Font I can enable the OldStyle Figures, and then revert to Default sometimes, but other times the option is greyed out. Again, after a while, the application crashes.

Dead keys for grave (`)and acute (¬) also do not work, nor does the dead key for ring accent (Ctrl + Alt + Shift + @) for å Å

The same problem exists for typing letters with cedilla accent like çḑşţ or ÇḐŞŢ etc. Typing the dead key (Ctrl + Alt + Comma) does nothing, and typing the consonant just types the regular consonant. The dead key for caron (hachek) works as expected: so I can use Ctrl + Alt + 6 to type ǎ ě ǐ ǒ ǔ without difficulty. However the dead key for circumflex (^) does not work. I cannot type â ê î ô û as I always get just the caret sign. The dead key for diaeresis (Ctrl + Alt + 2) works fine so I can type ä ë ï ö ü or Ä Ë Ï Ö Ü and also ṅ and Ṅ, which make use of the same dead key. The dead key for tilde (~) works as expected to type ã õ ñ or Ã Õ Ñ The shortcut for the Euro sign (Ctrl + Alt + 4) also fails to produce anything at all. Likewise, the shortcuts for Lira ₤ (Ctrl + Alt + Shift + 3), and cent ¢ (Ctrl + Alt + Shift + 4) also do nothing, and the dead key for áééóú (Ctrl + Alt + Apostrophe) is also ineffectual.

I use a customised keyboard for typing extended characters needed for Pāli words like Satipaṭḥāna. I designed it for PagePlus based on the UK International keyboard for Windows using the Microsoft Keyboard Layout Creator. The keyboard works just fine in PagePlus and all other Windows applications, including the Vivaldi browser that I am using to type this post. When I try to use it in Affinity Designer for windows, it can type letters with dot below using the dead key (Ctrl + Alt + Period) followed by the consonant to type ḍḥḷṃṇṛṣṭ or ḌḶḤṂṆṢṚṬ. However, the first attempt does not always take. However, I am unable to use the dead key for typing vowels with macron accents (Underscore _) followed by the vowel to type āēīōū or ĀĒĪŌŪ and ṝ Ṝ If I attempt this in Affinity Designer for Windows, I only ever get an underscore character _ and further attempts lead to a crash. I did not see any crash reporter. AD just disappeared.

Downloaded and installed without any issues on Windows 7 64-bit. A few first impressions: The dark user interface gives me a headache after ten minutes of use, so I won't be able to do much serious testing with this until there is a choice. Larger text and icons would help, but a lighter interface is essential. I already found "Reopen document on startup" in Edit, Preferences, General. This is what I would always use as I tend to work for a long time on each project. It would be nice if the zoom level and position were also restored. Exiting the program shows a delay of a few seconds, just long enough to make me wonder whether my Ctrl Q shortcut worked as expected. Learning the program looks like it won't take very long. Tabs, Persona, Customising, etc., are all familiar to anyone who has used Serif's Windows programs before. Sliders for setting preferences don't work in the usual way by dragging the position indicator, but only by clidking on the slider bar

I have since upgraded from 0.43r to 0.91r and find that the GUI has changed to a light theme. It is now usable, while before it was not. A dark interface is likely to be a deal-breaker for me.

I hope, when Affinity comes to Windows, that a conventional light interface is the default, with an option for a dark interface for those who like it. I don't use Inkscape due to its dark interface, and Affinity Designer for Windows would soon end up in my trash bin if there was no option other than a dark interface. Clearly, there are many other users who need this.

The older versions of PagePlus (at least up to PagePlus X5) had a web design mode, but it really needs a dedicated application. I am sure that Serif have already bitten off as much as they can chew for now. The Affinity products are still new, and far from mature. Porting them all to Windows will have to be a gradual process. Maybe five years from now, when/if Affinity Photo, Designer, and Publisher are all successful on both platforms they might have enough money in the bank to start work on Affinity Web Designer. It makes no sense for you to think that far ahead. Enjoy using WebPlus X8 to hone your web design skills, and learn about CSS and HTML5 if you don't already. My best guess at the moment is that it will be at least two years before Serif will be in a position to even consider starting work on a Web Design application, and by then a new Internet revolution may be upon us. Everyone may be browsing the Internet from their refrigerators when at home and from their cars while on the move. :D

Thank you for your prompt and direct reply. That's not a problem for me as I am happy to continue using WebPlus X8 for the foreseeable future. A lot of WebPlus users are going to be unhappy, but at least the uncertainty has been removed.

Hi, I am a long-term Serif user, especially of PagePlus, but I also use WebPlus for all three of my web sites, and occasionally use DrawPlus or PhotoPlus. The CommunityPlus forum is buzzing with posts asking about the future of WebPlus after the recent announcment. The FAQ about this here does not answer the question — it only mentions that you would like to create a Digital Asset Management application, whatever that is? Are there yet any plans for a Web Design application for the Affinity Range? If so, will it be able to create responsive/fluid designs?