PaoloT

The native scribbling app (Notes) in the new Mac OS (Tahoe) will export documents in Markdown format. Markdown is no longer a niche format: it's the standard one (or, at least, one of the standard ones). Very likely, the most commonly used one. Paolo

I got the standalone app, without the ability to be used as a series of plugins from Photo. Well, what I have tried up to now is impressive. Cleaning images, resizing, is really incredible. And I'm not a photographer, for whom there is abundance of wonder. Paolo

That's it, thank you. I forgot this issue, due to the ability of some music production software I use to overcome this limitation. Paolo

The last time someone was bought by Adobe, it didn't end well for their software…

Haven't they already been bought?

May I ask you to fix the typo in the subject? It makes me always have to "decode" it twice…

Hi, I have a few Photoshop plugins installed since forever. They are the old Nick Collection, ON1 Effects 2023, Painter ParticleShop. They have always worked on my Intel Mac, used up to Monterey. Now, it is the first time I try to use them on my M4 Pro Mac under Sequoia. I can see them in the menu. They are correctly located in the Settings (I even removed and added them again). The images I'm trying are in the RGB/8 space. Yet, they can't be run. Select them, and nothing happens. Select an internal filter, and everything works. What went wrong? Paolo

Well, isn't it the reason why we also have non-Preview mode? If you want to see all the indications, you turn Preview mode off. If you want to work on a perfect preview of the page, you turn on Preview mode. Otherwise, why the different modes? I have to insist in my need of a totally distraction-free way of working – when needed. Ah, good hint. Usually, I work in a coherent page design. I hope it is not happening, in Publisher, what happens in InDesign: you create a primary text flow, and it overlaps flown text on a new, disconnected frame… That's fine, when you select them. But when you double click to edit the contained text, for me they are no longer selected. You are working on the text, not on the container. Paolo

On the contrary, I find it extremely distracting. As if someone was constantly screaming at me: stay inside the boundaries!

Alas, it is not really practical. I see there is not a way to choose the color of the guides as a general setting. Changing it for each text frame would not be usable in a real publication. So, the only hope is to have it implemented as a new feature. Paolo

Hi, Sometimes I want to work with the minimum amount of distraction as possible, and switch to Preview mode. Unfortunately, the text frame bounding box is still there while typing. I find it very distracting, since it alters the appearance of the printed page. It not as much 'preview' as it should. I expect Preview mode to actually offer a complete adherence to the final result while working. I would therefore ask for this feature to be implemented. Paolo

Thank you. I prefer to have it hidden in Preview mode, so I’ll use the workaround. But I’ll file a feature request in the other forum. Paolo

Hi, Sometimes I want to work with the minimum amount of distraction as possible, as switch to Preview mode. Unfortunately, the text frame edges are still there while typing. I find it very distracting, since it alters the appearance of the printed page. It not as much 'preview' as it should. Is there a way to deactivate it? I see you can deactivate the line separating the two pages in a spread, but nothing to hide the text frame edges. Paolo

If you are on Mac, you can find the lists inside ~/Library/Spelling/ I see them as folders, but they are indeed text documents. My guess is that these are not Affinity dictionaries, but system-wide ones. Paolo

Hi, ON1 Photo RAW is an (in my view, more elegant) alternative to Lightroom, plus several advanced editing photo editing tools. It is now on offer at a very reduced price for a limited time. I'm not sure, but I think that full compatibility with Affinity Photo files require the Max version. But please those who know more than me confirm this claim. Paolo

Are you implying that what counts in the stock market is the number of users, whomever they are? I would bet it is market dominance, for which Canva needed a direct competitor to Adobe's pro design apps. All the market analysts cite Adobe as their direct target. Paolo

In my experience, the culture of personal interaction with the users is confined to the old artisanal culture. In the IT industry, this was typical of companies led by GenX individuals, who grew up during the early stages of the internet (possibly even before the web existed). A culture that has not survived the generation change. Younger entrepreneurs seem to be inspired by a culture modeled on social media, where a leader speaks and customers follow. This excludes individual presence in the community and demands centralized control of communication. Possibly wearing pastel-tinted clothes. Centralizing instead of delegating was once considered a significant mistake. Lack of communication was an immediate consequence, as leaders couldn’t reach everyone every time. While this may be a mistake in my GenX eyes, it could also be a sign of rapid growth, with an artisan’s house transforming into a monolithic company catering to a cult following. But while Canva, with its younger user base, could benefit from this culture, I’m not convinced it’s a wise move for a professional tool like Affinity. I’m more and more convinced that the acquisition didn't come after a thorough evaluation of what the software actually is, but because they needed a competitor to Adobe in view of the stock listing expected next year. Paolo

While it's natural to feel sympathetic towards a fellow user in distress, sometimes you may find yourself feeling that that fellow is stealing valuable time to the community with senseless venting…

Hi, Just wondering what our beloved tools are used for. I know my cases – I make user manuals and proofread books. That's all I know about them. But what are these tools still used for? For instance, when I was young, magazines and newspapers were commonplace. However, I doubt they are relevant anymore. Most local publications have shifted to social media, while national ones struggle to find a distribution network. This may differ in other countries. So, what exactly is graphic design used for nowadays? Could people who work in this field help me understand? Where is this profession headed? Consequently, what are the future prospects of graphic design software? Paolo

Affinity is for sure diverting users from the other software suites. Apart for this comparative table, there are a couple moves from Adobe that could show this – the introduction of the ability of PDF editing in InDesign 2025, and the introduction of the slightly less expensive collection without AI features in North America (the price remains the same, but considering the general price increase this may be considered a reduction…). Paolo

It looks like the author was envisioning a printed flyer, like the ones that were commonly distributed during specialized exhibitions. When there were exhibitions in the world. Paolo

The reason why I wouldn't like it dockable, as in InDesign, is that the resource manager usually requires more horizontal space to show all the details. Rearranging it in a vertical space would make the data less readable. If docked, it would require constant resizing of the sidebar. As it is, I can keep it open and just send it to the Dock when not needed.

This is an example of how I use the Writing Tools. Take this passage: Antidote says that most of this text is Ok. It can't understand technical terms like "timbral", "sul tasto" or "non-legato", but it finds it easy to understand and correct. Apple Intelligence finds it correct, without saying anything more and without offering me an analysis like the one of Antidote. If I ask to rewrite it, however, I get this one: It did understand the technical terms. The rewriting made the style more elegant, with a richer choice of words. The meaning was preserved, but it is now more pleasant to read. The quality has greatly improved. I would not let it touch my Italian. But for English, it's a godsend. Paolo

I don't know the details, but Adobe have recently switched to HarfBuzz, that should be open source and free even for commercial developers. So, there is for sure development cost, but making users pay more for something that is mostly based on open source code could be unfair. In any case, maybe it is now just a matter of integrating HarfBuzz to the Affinity text engine. Maybe times will now be shorter. Paolo

They use very different code, so the acquisition doesn't remove the technical issues. Recently, Adobe replaced the original RTL code for a better one, that Affinity could use as well. This is promising. However, I read that InDesign can do RTL only in dedicated versions, so maybe Affinity will have to separate them in some way.