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I think what is being suggested is that the popup box where the URI is entered have a few tabs to build some of the common schemes for the user so that the user doesn't need to work out the encoding for all of them.
For example, iQR (on the App Store for the Mac), in addition to the URL option (which they label "WWW"), has tabs for Phone (enter a phone number), SMS (phone number and message), eMail (to address, subject and body), Map (enter an address and it looks it up using Google Maps or some other map service), Contact (first/last name, phone number(s), email address, web page, street address), Calendar (event name, when, where, etc.), PayPal/Bitcoin/SEPA payments (account, description, price, etc.), WiFi (network name/SSID, password, encryption type, hidden?), and Text.
 

 
It also provides an interesting range of formatting options to spice up the appearance of the generated codes:

 
Granted that this range of formatting options is probably a bit out of scope for a program that is not specialized in producing QR codes, but still thought I would point it out.  The more important thing to consider is to throw in the forms for a few of the common URI schemes.

I think what is being suggested is that the popup box where the URI is entered have a few tabs to build some of the common schemes for the user so that the user doesn't need to work out the encoding for all of them.
For example, iQR (on the App Store for the Mac), in addition to the URL option (which they label "WWW"), has tabs for Phone (enter a phone number), SMS (phone number and message), eMail (to address, subject and body), Map (enter an address and it looks it up using Google Maps or some other map service), Contact (first/last name, phone number(s), email address, web page, street address), Calendar (event name, when, where, etc.), PayPal/Bitcoin/SEPA payments (account, description, price, etc.), WiFi (network name/SSID, password, encryption type, hidden?), and Text.
 

 
It also provides an interesting range of formatting options to spice up the appearance of the generated codes:

 
Granted that this range of formatting options is probably a bit out of scope for a program that is not specialized in producing QR codes, but still thought I would point it out.  The more important thing to consider is to throw in the forms for a few of the common URI schemes.

I think what is being suggested is that the popup box where the URI is entered have a few tabs to build some of the common schemes for the user so that the user doesn't need to work out the encoding for all of them.
For example, iQR (on the App Store for the Mac), in addition to the URL option (which they label "WWW"), has tabs for Phone (enter a phone number), SMS (phone number and message), eMail (to address, subject and body), Map (enter an address and it looks it up using Google Maps or some other map service), Contact (first/last name, phone number(s), email address, web page, street address), Calendar (event name, when, where, etc.), PayPal/Bitcoin/SEPA payments (account, description, price, etc.), WiFi (network name/SSID, password, encryption type, hidden?), and Text.
 

 
It also provides an interesting range of formatting options to spice up the appearance of the generated codes:

 
Granted that this range of formatting options is probably a bit out of scope for a program that is not specialized in producing QR codes, but still thought I would point it out.  The more important thing to consider is to throw in the forms for a few of the common URI schemes.

Accordingly, shouldn't that be in the Feedback forum as it is not for this beta?
In any case, since these fonts are constructed by center-line strokes, when this is done, please consider leveraging that fact by allowing brushes to be applied to them (for those not doing CNC work, anyway...).

I think what is being suggested is that the popup box where the URI is entered have a few tabs to build some of the common schemes for the user so that the user doesn't need to work out the encoding for all of them.
For example, iQR (on the App Store for the Mac), in addition to the URL option (which they label "WWW"), has tabs for Phone (enter a phone number), SMS (phone number and message), eMail (to address, subject and body), Map (enter an address and it looks it up using Google Maps or some other map service), Contact (first/last name, phone number(s), email address, web page, street address), Calendar (event name, when, where, etc.), PayPal/Bitcoin/SEPA payments (account, description, price, etc.), WiFi (network name/SSID, password, encryption type, hidden?), and Text.
 

 
It also provides an interesting range of formatting options to spice up the appearance of the generated codes:

 
Granted that this range of formatting options is probably a bit out of scope for a program that is not specialized in producing QR codes, but still thought I would point it out.  The more important thing to consider is to throw in the forms for a few of the common URI schemes.

I think what is being suggested is that the popup box where the URI is entered have a few tabs to build some of the common schemes for the user so that the user doesn't need to work out the encoding for all of them.
For example, iQR (on the App Store for the Mac), in addition to the URL option (which they label "WWW"), has tabs for Phone (enter a phone number), SMS (phone number and message), eMail (to address, subject and body), Map (enter an address and it looks it up using Google Maps or some other map service), Contact (first/last name, phone number(s), email address, web page, street address), Calendar (event name, when, where, etc.), PayPal/Bitcoin/SEPA payments (account, description, price, etc.), WiFi (network name/SSID, password, encryption type, hidden?), and Text.
 

 
It also provides an interesting range of formatting options to spice up the appearance of the generated codes:

 
Granted that this range of formatting options is probably a bit out of scope for a program that is not specialized in producing QR codes, but still thought I would point it out.  The more important thing to consider is to throw in the forms for a few of the common URI schemes.

An important step, but don't discount that color font support is also important.
If not in parallel to variable fonts, please make sure these are not neglected either!

Apps: Designer
Platforms: macOS, Windows and iPad
Affinity Designer now includes a new width tool which is available by default alongside the pencil tool in your toolbar:

The Line Width Tool gives you an on-document way of editing the pressure profile of any curve. For example the curve below has 3 pressure points (5 including the start and end pressure). While in the Line Width tool the position of those points are shown along the curve, and you have the ability to drag to change the width and position of them. 
You can also click to add a new pressure point, or double click to remove any pressure point on a curve.

There are various modifiers available which you can see in the status bar:
Shift + Drag - allows you to modify the width at any point without adjusting it's position
Cmd (Mac) / Ctrl (Win) + Click - manually enter the width required at the chosen point
Ctrl (Mac) / Ctrl (Win) + Drag - move the point position without adjusting the width
Double click - remove pressure point
Additionally you will find some other options in the context toolbar when using this tool:

Adjust Line Weight - if this is turned on then should you drag the width of any point to be greater than the current line width (i.e. greater than 100% pressure) the line width will be increased to allow you to drag the width unrestricted. If it is turned off then the maximum width you can drag to is 100% of the set line width.
Allow point reordering - This option allows to you to specify whether you want to allow the tool to drag one point past another along the curve, effectively swapping their order, or not.
Snap to curve nodes - This will show any nodes on the curve as small white dots and will snap any pressure points to those nodes
Snap to widths on same curve - this will snap the width at any pressure point on a curve to other widths which already exist on that curve. This only applies when holding shift (i.e. you are adjusting the width without altering the point position).
Snap to curve geometry - this will snap the width to the geometry of any selected curves (again if you are holding shift). 

In addition to these excellent points, I would also point out that if anyone is working in an area with poor or no internet connectivity, there is no reason to rob them of access to online help simply to add rich video content that is probably not as important as having a quick reference to some less familiar feature they are trying to use.
Some users may also work in an environment where they need to be disconnected from the internet for security reasons and losing access to online help would similarly mean losing access to any kind of help.
I agree that a change to online-only help is a TERRIBLE idea.  PLEASE reconsider.

In addition to these excellent points, I would also point out that if anyone is working in an area with poor or no internet connectivity, there is no reason to rob them of access to online help simply to add rich video content that is probably not as important as having a quick reference to some less familiar feature they are trying to use.
Some users may also work in an environment where they need to be disconnected from the internet for security reasons and losing access to online help would similarly mean losing access to any kind of help.
I agree that a change to online-only help is a TERRIBLE idea.  PLEASE reconsider.

In addition to these excellent points, I would also point out that if anyone is working in an area with poor or no internet connectivity, there is no reason to rob them of access to online help simply to add rich video content that is probably not as important as having a quick reference to some less familiar feature they are trying to use.
Some users may also work in an environment where they need to be disconnected from the internet for security reasons and losing access to online help would similarly mean losing access to any kind of help.
I agree that a change to online-only help is a TERRIBLE idea.  PLEASE reconsider.

In addition to these excellent points, I would also point out that if anyone is working in an area with poor or no internet connectivity, there is no reason to rob them of access to online help simply to add rich video content that is probably not as important as having a quick reference to some less familiar feature they are trying to use.
Some users may also work in an environment where they need to be disconnected from the internet for security reasons and losing access to online help would similarly mean losing access to any kind of help.
I agree that a change to online-only help is a TERRIBLE idea.  PLEASE reconsider.

In addition to these excellent points, I would also point out that if anyone is working in an area with poor or no internet connectivity, there is no reason to rob them of access to online help simply to add rich video content that is probably not as important as having a quick reference to some less familiar feature they are trying to use.
Some users may also work in an environment where they need to be disconnected from the internet for security reasons and losing access to online help would similarly mean losing access to any kind of help.
I agree that a change to online-only help is a TERRIBLE idea.  PLEASE reconsider.

In addition to these excellent points, I would also point out that if anyone is working in an area with poor or no internet connectivity, there is no reason to rob them of access to online help simply to add rich video content that is probably not as important as having a quick reference to some less familiar feature they are trying to use.
Some users may also work in an environment where they need to be disconnected from the internet for security reasons and losing access to online help would similarly mean losing access to any kind of help.
I agree that a change to online-only help is a TERRIBLE idea.  PLEASE reconsider.

In addition to these excellent points, I would also point out that if anyone is working in an area with poor or no internet connectivity, there is no reason to rob them of access to online help simply to add rich video content that is probably not as important as having a quick reference to some less familiar feature they are trying to use.
Some users may also work in an environment where they need to be disconnected from the internet for security reasons and losing access to online help would similarly mean losing access to any kind of help.
I agree that a change to online-only help is a TERRIBLE idea.  PLEASE reconsider.

While i fully understand the (probably) good intentions, i have seen to many apps from other vendors going to total disarray because older versions lost attention and help get totally out of sync. It really helps nobody if online help works reliably only for the bleeding edge release of the app, and provides misleading or completely wrong results for slightly non-current releases.
The help documentation is an dedicate deliverable accompanying the app releases. It s no „optional“ or „if we find time“ low priority thing. As Affinity updates UI and features in every minor update, we need a perfect fitting documentation for every minor release. The offline help can include links to additional online-only resources like videos. This is never a reason to go fully only only.

I think you've stumbled onto the difference between a preset and a style.
A preset gets copied into the thing that uses it so the link between them is not maintained - if you apply a preset to a cross-reference, that cross-reference takes on a copy of the preset when it is created; it is not the same as a genuine style which maintains a link so that multiple instances can be updated in one place.
Sadly, the Affinity products blur the line a bit in that they have object "Styles" (via the Style panel) which are not styles at all, but are in fact presets, exhibiting the same sort of behavior - they are copied to the objects and no link back to them is kept.
In my opinion, presets in general are inappropriate for most of these things (including both of these), and I would have much preferred that Serif had implemented proper styles instead (particularly object styles, as QuarkXPress offers for example), but sadly that is not what they have done here.

I think you've stumbled onto the difference between a preset and a style.
A preset gets copied into the thing that uses it so the link between them is not maintained - if you apply a preset to a cross-reference, that cross-reference takes on a copy of the preset when it is created; it is not the same as a genuine style which maintains a link so that multiple instances can be updated in one place.
Sadly, the Affinity products blur the line a bit in that they have object "Styles" (via the Style panel) which are not styles at all, but are in fact presets, exhibiting the same sort of behavior - they are copied to the objects and no link back to them is kept.
In my opinion, presets in general are inappropriate for most of these things (including both of these), and I would have much preferred that Serif had implemented proper styles instead (particularly object styles, as QuarkXPress offers for example), but sadly that is not what they have done here.

Then it would be another related feature request...  ideally with its own thread, like each feature request should have.
The notion of a drafting persona kind of makes sense if you are trying to use Affinity Designer as a poor man's CAD application (in spite of there being *real* CAD applications which are even free and open source).  When working with a CAD program there is a difference in how you interact with tools to accomplish the same things as you would do with the tools we already have.
For example, in a typical drawing program, you create a circle either by dragging out from the center, or by dragging from one corner of its bounding box to another.
In a CAD application, you might also create a circle by specifying two or three arbitrary points on the circle, or create a line by telling the application to run parallel or perpendicular to an existing line or shape and give it a point along the line.
Adding stuff like this would not be unreasonable in and of itself, but it may create some expectation that other aspects of a CAD application will be covered, and I'm not sure Serif really wants to get into that market segment on top of everything else they are doing.
I would not be opposed to it, but I don't know that I can really support it either unless Serif comes out and indicates this is something they want to involve themselves with and that they are going to take precision more seriously (among other requirements for proper CAD).
In my opinion, if you want software that works like a CAD application, you should use a CAD application, which Affinity Designer is not.

I think you've stumbled onto the difference between a preset and a style.
A preset gets copied into the thing that uses it so the link between them is not maintained - if you apply a preset to a cross-reference, that cross-reference takes on a copy of the preset when it is created; it is not the same as a genuine style which maintains a link so that multiple instances can be updated in one place.
Sadly, the Affinity products blur the line a bit in that they have object "Styles" (via the Style panel) which are not styles at all, but are in fact presets, exhibiting the same sort of behavior - they are copied to the objects and no link back to them is kept.
In my opinion, presets in general are inappropriate for most of these things (including both of these), and I would have much preferred that Serif had implemented proper styles instead (particularly object styles, as QuarkXPress offers for example), but sadly that is not what they have done here.

This is 100% extraneous and would be foolish to waste toolbar space on.
Both supported platforms have integrated notification systems at the OS level.  It would be particularly dumb to reinvent the wheel on this.
If Serif did want to switch to using a notification-based update mechanism, they should use the notification system already provided by the underlying OS, which can then behave like every other app which uses the OS-provided notification system.
 
This is already available on both platforms.  On the Mac it is called the App Store.  On Windows it is called the Microsoft Store.  It even provides consistent behavior for software across multiple vendors - including Serif.

I think you've stumbled onto the difference between a preset and a style.
A preset gets copied into the thing that uses it so the link between them is not maintained - if you apply a preset to a cross-reference, that cross-reference takes on a copy of the preset when it is created; it is not the same as a genuine style which maintains a link so that multiple instances can be updated in one place.
Sadly, the Affinity products blur the line a bit in that they have object "Styles" (via the Style panel) which are not styles at all, but are in fact presets, exhibiting the same sort of behavior - they are copied to the objects and no link back to them is kept.
In my opinion, presets in general are inappropriate for most of these things (including both of these), and I would have much preferred that Serif had implemented proper styles instead (particularly object styles, as QuarkXPress offers for example), but sadly that is not what they have done here.

If you start with a rectangle or rounded rectangle and convert it to a text frame instead of creating it as a text frame to begin with, you can access the corner options using the node tool (or the corner tool if you also have Designer).
I still don't understand why they don't just create the text frames that way when you create them directly, as it seems kind of pointless to treat "normal" rectangular text frames as being so much more limited than converted ones.
It is technically possible to get different stroke widths by adjusting the pressure curve, but it is very annoying to do so that way.  Better tools for this have been requested numerous times.

If you start with a rectangle or rounded rectangle and convert it to a text frame instead of creating it as a text frame to begin with, you can access the corner options using the node tool (or the corner tool if you also have Designer).
I still don't understand why they don't just create the text frames that way when you create them directly, as it seems kind of pointless to treat "normal" rectangular text frames as being so much more limited than converted ones.
It is technically possible to get different stroke widths by adjusting the pressure curve, but it is very annoying to do so that way.  Better tools for this have been requested numerous times.

Then it would be another related feature request...  ideally with its own thread, like each feature request should have.
The notion of a drafting persona kind of makes sense if you are trying to use Affinity Designer as a poor man's CAD application (in spite of there being *real* CAD applications which are even free and open source).  When working with a CAD program there is a difference in how you interact with tools to accomplish the same things as you would do with the tools we already have.
For example, in a typical drawing program, you create a circle either by dragging out from the center, or by dragging from one corner of its bounding box to another.
In a CAD application, you might also create a circle by specifying two or three arbitrary points on the circle, or create a line by telling the application to run parallel or perpendicular to an existing line or shape and give it a point along the line.
Adding stuff like this would not be unreasonable in and of itself, but it may create some expectation that other aspects of a CAD application will be covered, and I'm not sure Serif really wants to get into that market segment on top of everything else they are doing.
I would not be opposed to it, but I don't know that I can really support it either unless Serif comes out and indicates this is something they want to involve themselves with and that they are going to take precision more seriously (among other requirements for proper CAD).
In my opinion, if you want software that works like a CAD application, you should use a CAD application, which Affinity Designer is not.