retrograde

Walt, Please try not to derail threads in this forum. These threads must be encouraged to stay on topic
@darwinwasright
Thanks, we may consider that for the future but further discussion on this can be held in that thread you linked to.

I’m bumping that feedback. 

Can we hope to have the split screen function on iOS? Slide over is OK but it hides half of the toolbar on left or right side when I use it.

I recently tried Amadine, a tiny drawing app. It blew me away that this little app had a better workflow for this kind of creative reutilisation of a "style".  I made a complex set of effects upon a box, fiddling with shadows and bevel looks etc. Then drew another box. It had all the same effects of that just created and last used "style", even though I'd not yet saved it as a Style, and didn't yet even know if Amadine has such a preset saving system for effects. 
 
But what was utterly amazing is how this immediately sent me into a creativity frenzy. I had fun doing stuff in a 2D vector app for the first time in a long while.
 
It was joyous.
IOW: I agree... workflow and bugs need to be worked on by Affinity, in equal measure with their new UI and features and version count increments.

Is there a way now to organize the colour panel better? I have hundreds of colour swatch groups that I would like to organize better than the current one long list approach. Nameable folders or something similar would be ideal. Cheers for any response. 🙂

Experienced the same irritating grid thing. I’m working with a Mac mini M2 Pro and experimented with different source images. There was something about an RGB 8…. file referenced elsewhere I read. My source image was made of several scans(EPSON 1640XL) and pieced together in Affinity Photo. Its dpi was 400.
Went and lowered the dpi to 300, and tried converting ICC profile, and exporting with embedded metadata UNchecked. It works! The metadata contained Epson scanner profile info. Now I can enjoy x-ray option as intended. NO grid Yes!
Hope this works for others.

Following up on this thread from 2015...
If you are on a mac desktop I would highly recommend Keyshape. It's a $15 vector animation desktop mac app that you can copy and paste your vector Designer work directly into. It is very underrated but so powerful and easy to use. I have used it for client work. 
If you're on an ipad, I would highly recommend ToonSquid. It's a very capable frame by frame or keyframe workflow animation app that's available for $10. Currently it doesn't allow for vector importing but it does have a couple of vector brushes you can use in the app. I export all of my elements out of Designer as pngs with a good resolution. Nice UI too, well thought out. 

Here's a link to a recent series of fun and colourful retro inspired objects and toys. All done in vector using Affinity Designer. Designer is so great for this kind of work. Cheers Serif!
https://www.behance.net/gallery/180858837/Retro-inspired-objects-and-toys-series
 

Here's a link to a recent series of fun and colourful retro inspired objects and toys. All done in vector using Affinity Designer. Designer is so great for this kind of work. Cheers Serif!
https://www.behance.net/gallery/180858837/Retro-inspired-objects-and-toys-series
 

Here's a link to a recent series of fun and colourful retro inspired objects and toys. All done in vector using Affinity Designer. Designer is so great for this kind of work. Cheers Serif!
https://www.behance.net/gallery/180858837/Retro-inspired-objects-and-toys-series
 

Here's a link to a recent series of fun and colourful retro inspired objects and toys. All done in vector using Affinity Designer. Designer is so great for this kind of work. Cheers Serif!
https://www.behance.net/gallery/180858837/Retro-inspired-objects-and-toys-series
 

Really nice work, brings back memories. I love the old toy box/ad art from the 80's.

Here's a link to a recent series of fun and colourful retro inspired objects and toys. All done in vector using Affinity Designer. Designer is so great for this kind of work. Cheers Serif!
https://www.behance.net/gallery/180858837/Retro-inspired-objects-and-toys-series
 

Here's a link to a recent series of fun and colourful retro inspired objects and toys. All done in vector using Affinity Designer. Designer is so great for this kind of work. Cheers Serif!
https://www.behance.net/gallery/180858837/Retro-inspired-objects-and-toys-series
 

fwiw Inkscape can generate vector QR codes and barcodes and it's free. Bar and QR code bits starts at around 9:50.
There are some other cool features Inkscape has in this video but that would be another discussion...
 

Here's a link to a recent series of fun and colourful retro inspired objects and toys. All done in vector using Affinity Designer. Designer is so great for this kind of work. Cheers Serif!
https://www.behance.net/gallery/180858837/Retro-inspired-objects-and-toys-series
 

Here's a link to a recent series of fun and colourful retro inspired objects and toys. All done in vector using Affinity Designer. Designer is so great for this kind of work. Cheers Serif!
https://www.behance.net/gallery/180858837/Retro-inspired-objects-and-toys-series
 

fwiw Inkscape can generate vector QR codes and barcodes and it's free. Bar and QR code bits starts at around 9:50.
There are some other cool features Inkscape has in this video but that would be another discussion...
 

fwiw Inkscape can generate vector QR codes and barcodes and it's free. Bar and QR code bits starts at around 9:50.
There are some other cool features Inkscape has in this video but that would be another discussion...
 

Thank you for trying this out @retrograde and @tzvi20. I hope you enjoy it.

Updated Version Available (December 2023)
Recently, @christerdk posted in the "Desktop Questions" forum about trying to achieve the engraved look of U.S. currency. He was given a variety of suggestions (including one or two commercial products). Because of this, I am attaching a macro that I created several years ago and have refined a bit more recently. It is meant to approximate the look of engraved currency.
The macro uses a number of adjustments and filters, all enclosed within a Group. Because of this, the effect can be turned on and off by simply using the Hide/Show checkbox on the group itself.
The attached .afmacros file is a Macro Category and therefore should be imported from the Library panel. It contains a single macro (called "Currency Effect"). Once imported, the macro can be moved to a different category, if desired. The macro was created in Affinity Photo version 2.2 which probably means that it will not be compatible with AP version 1. However, since it is provided as a category, it can be imported into Affinity Photo 2 for iPad.
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Clicking on the macro will bring up a user dialog in which you can set certain parameters:
1) Set Line Size (default = 20)
The macro uses a live Halftone filter, and this will vary the width of the lines used. In general, use larger lines for larger images.
2) Set Line Angle (default = 30 degrees)
This affects the angle at which the lines are drawn. Try various settings to achieve subtle but important differences in output.
3) Set Contrast (default = 85)
This setting also affects the embedded Halftone filter, and can change the contrast between the dark lines and the background.
4) Adjust Overall Brightness (default = -20)
This affects a Brightness and Contrast adjustment, and will lighten or darken the final image, to your taste.
When you hit the Apply button, the effect is added to your image at the top of the layer stack. Note that the effect contains only adjustments and filters; because of that, it is completely non-destructive. You can make changes to the underlying image and this will not adversely affect the result. Also, you can open the individual adjustment and filter layers to make changes even after you have hit the Apply button.
Here is an example of a Before and After image, with the User Dialog showing the settings used to create this particular variant.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *
As always, I am one person using one computer and a single iPad. I have tested this macro on both of my devices, but cannot claim that this testing has examined every possible scenario. Nevertheless, I believe that it will work as suggested. Try it and, if you like it, keep it and enjoy it. It is free for you to use in any project you would like – personal or commercial.
I ask only 2 things. If you've used the macro, please let me know by posting your impressions. Perhaps, even provide a before and after screenshot. Second, please remember that this forum is a wonderful way to learn, and an even better way to share that learning. Pay it forward.
December 2023 Update
The .afmacros file attached below is now an updated category. It can still be imported into the Affinity Photo Library panel (or into the iPad version) but it now contains 3 macros. (1) The original version of the Currency Effect is included. (2) An updated version 2 of the macro is also provided. This update adds a live Ripple filter which makes the engraved lines a bit wavy, better simulating true engraving. (3) There is an Instructions macro, which will place on-screen instructions into your Layers panel.
Please feel free to download the new file, and to replace the previous Currency Effect category with the new one. Have fun!
 
Currency Effects (v2).afmacros

Is there a way now to organize the colour panel better? I have hundreds of colour swatch groups that I would like to organize better than the current one long list approach. Nameable folders or something similar would be ideal. Cheers for any response. 🙂

Is there a way now to organize the colour panel better? I have hundreds of colour swatch groups that I would like to organize better than the current one long list approach. Nameable folders or something similar would be ideal. Cheers for any response. 🙂

fwiw Inkscape can generate vector QR codes and barcodes and it's free. Bar and QR code bits starts at around 9:50.
There are some other cool features Inkscape has in this video but that would be another discussion...
 

If you look at the price of Adobe products, this is extremely reasonable. I prefer to pay for a new version (if I need to) after almost three years of using v1 than being trapped in a milking adobe system, which I can't even afford at the moment (and will never as my income doesn't come from graphic work). For 99 dollars, I get the three apps for my computer and iPad. Make the math of how much this would cost you with adobe at 55$ a month... Who cares if other people get the same discount, it is good for everyone, and I'm happy for them if they discover a fair alternative to Adobe. Those discussions are sterile, and it seems arrogant to think that using an app that you paid 50 dollars or less for many years entitles you to upgrade to a new major version with forthcoming functionality for almost nothing. The equivalent of 2 months of adobe is the price I paid for a new version.
 

Hi All,
Below is the list of all new feature and improvements which are included in the 2.3 beta (bug fix list is available here).
To learn more about these features please click on the link to go to each feature's dedicated post. To give feedback or report bugs against any of these features please reply to that same post (also check out bug reporting and feedback tips).
• Move Data Entry improvements
• New tags panel for adding Alt Text to images and objects
• Spiral Tool
• Ability to change Asset Panel background colour
• Fields now available in Find and Replace
• Pixel grid added
• "Keep selected" preference now available in Pencil Tool
• Create and place password protected PDFs
I should say in general we are now aiming to do slightly smaller updates more regularly than before so we can test and release in smaller chunks. This will allow us to get improvements and fixes out quicker, as well as having overall benefit to the stability of the apps.
The beta phase will now be shorter (4-6 weeks) for any update, and for that reason we will be avoiding any significant changes to functionality during beta as we focus on fixing bugs and correcting unintentional behaviour. This does mean that more of your improvement suggestions may need to wait until a future update (e.g. like some of the Move Data Entry suggestions you made during 2.2 beta which have now been added to 2.3), but please keep those suggestions coming!
Getting the 2.3 beta
If you have not enrolled into the beta program yet and would like to take part, you can do so here. This will immediately give you access to the latest 2.3 beta builds to try for yourself.
If you are already enrolled in the beta program you have two options:
1. If you still have the 2.2 beta installed, you can now run up those beta versions and you will be prompted to update them to the 2.3 beta.
2. If you have uninstalled the 2.2 beta, you will need to go back to Your Account -> Downloads and product keys and find your previous order for the Affinity Beta Software Program, and you can download the 2.3 beta from there.
Thanks,
Ash