Hokusai

Mattai, Right now it isn't possible but it is on the Roadmap. You can see the other features that the Affinity team has planned here ( are quite a few keyboard shortcuts already but for now you will have to use the default ones. I'm looking forward to this feature being added too! Hokusai

Chris, As far as I know, currently in Affinity Designer there isn't any way to select multiple instances of an object (among many other objects) other than Select All or simply selecting them one by one. I requested some more powerful select options before and MEB said that while they weren't on the roadmap, they have been requested and would be added sometime in the future (https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/3529-selections/). As well symbols hasn't been implemented yet but it is on the Roadmap (https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/842-affinity-designer-feature-roadmap/). They are adding new things to Affinity Designer all the time and the program is improving a lot in a short amount of time, so hang in there and hopefully it will be added sometime soon! Best of Luck, Hokusai

Shaun, I would recommend that your ask your colleague to give you a PDF file. Affinity Designer will open EPS and Illustrator files but in my experience PDF is the best choice in maintaining compatibility with users of other programs. Also, are you using the latest beta or are you using the App Store version? If you are using the App Store version, try the beta (it is free for those who have purchased the App Store version). Just remember that if you save a file in the beta version, you won't be able to open it in the App Store version (all of the betas have been stable for me and I haven't had any problems with it but you might want to make a copy just to be safe). The beta has a lot of added features and improvements. Best of luck, Hokusai

dcbruns, Sorry to hear that you are having problems. I tried it and was able to export an EPS file successfully using the latest Affinity Designer beta with no cropping and no problems. Have you tried the beta yet? If not, give it a try and see if it works better. The only thing is if you do use the beta, you won't be able to go back to the App Store version, so make a copy! As well, do you have to use EPS? I have used many PDF files from Affinity Designer with no problems and most places will accept PDF files in place of EPS with no problems (not all places but most). I hope that you are able to solve your problem.

+1 for this too, a very valuable feature!

lavinnyv, What size monitor do you use? I use a 27 inch iMac and I had similar issues as you when I first started using Affinity Designer. Now I dock the Layers palette (or tab) on the left with the other tools on the right side and it works well for me. I can see up to 33 layers at one time. If you have a big enough monitor then I recommend that you give it a try.

MEB, Thanks for letting me know the reason I'm not seeing the contextual menu is because of a bug. I'm looking forward to being able to change the layer colour!

MEB, Yes, if I control + click on a Brush in the Brushes Panel, I get a contextual menu that reads "edit brush.....". I hope that helps. Let me know if you think of anything. Thanks, Hokusai

MEB, Thanks for the tip and the help. For some reason, I can't get that to work for me. I use a one button mouse but I do a control + click which should be the same as a right click but I don't get anything that looks like your screen shot. I tried other key combos as well but I got nothing. Do you have any ideas? Thanks, Hokusai

MEB, Really? I can't get it to work and I'm using the latest beta. When I right click on a layer, I can change the name but I don't see anything that indicates that I can change the colour. What am I doing wrong? Thanks in advance!

Never mind I realise that Eduardo posted this in question about Affinity Photo in the Affinity Designer area. I was exciting thinking that there was a "fill" shortcut! I'm hoping that a "Fill" and "None" shortcut will makes its way into Designer!

Eduardo, I wasn't aware that there was a "Fill" shortcut in Affinity Designer (like the "<" in Illustrator to apply a fill). I have been hoping for one as well as for a set to none (like /, in Illustrator). Could you pass along the shortcut? Thanks, Hokusai

MattP, Great, thanks for all the hard work! I noticed it in the last beta but I wanted to say thanks for adding the "Paste Style" option, very handy! I also like the "Find in Layer Panel" as well. I'm still hoping that you guys will add a "Hide" and "Show All" short cut sometime! Keep up the great work! Hokusai

AshTeriyaki, I see what you mean but if there is no prompt to choose a colour how would you know that the layer colour isn't the same or a similar colour as to the artwork on the layer? For me, I still think the user should be presented with a choice when creating a new layer (like in Illustrator) where you can name the layer and as well, choose a colour for that layer. That way the end user can determine which colour would work best for that layer. For me, I like to choose a colour that easily stands out compared to the other artwork on that layer (and possibly other artwork on the layers below it). There simply isn't a way to have the program automatically choose the best colour because the best colour is a variable determined by the user (being subjective, it is completely different for every user). For beginning users I can imagine that having the layer colour set automatically is better for them but for more advanced users I don't think it wouldn't work. For me, the work that I do in Affinity Designer is of varying colours and so any set colour pattern wouldn't work as eventually one of the colours would blend in with the artwork that I'm trying to create. In the very least, if there are predetermined colours, at least let them be user definable. Maybe someone on the Affinity team has a more elegant solution? Whatever the case, I hope that something along the lines of layer colours is added in the future.

Braceyourself, MEB's explanation is good but I added this just to give you a visual aid.

+1 for each layer having its own layer colour, but for me, instead of adding it automatically I would prefer a behaviour similar to Illustrator's where it prompts me to choose to a colour when I create a new layer. Many people might prefer the automatic style but there are times when the layer colour and the colour of the objects are too similar and it is difficult to see, so I prefer to set the colour myself.

Rik, I think what MEB is saying is that you copy your text (so now you have two of them stacked on top of each other), then apply the stroke to the one on the bottom (as well you can apply the effects to the stroke which is on the bottom and it won't show up nor affect the text on the top). I have attached a sample that clearly explains it. SampleText.afdesign

camloken, I don't know either but you can simply copy or command c and then do "paste style" or shift + command v. It works well! Hokusai

It is great that we can convert fonts to curves (or outlines for those coming from Illustrator) but when viewing fonts in outline mode both regular editable fonts (not converted to curves) and fonts that have been converted to curves both appear the same. In Illustrator when you view a document in outline mode, fonts that are no longer editable appear as outlines or curves but fonts that are still editable appear as solid black. I'm not saying that Affinity should do it the same way as Illustrator but I do think it would be beneficial to have someway to convey to the user that the fonts are either editable or not (when using the outline view). As it is, the only way to see if a font is editable or not is to click on it. If there is a way to distinguish between editable and non-editable fonts in outline view now, could someone please let me know, thanks!

I often use the boolean operations but sometimes I have to take several extra steps because of the way Designer performs the operations. As it is now, if I have a shape that has any overlap (and I have set the fill mode to winding (non-zero)) and then I add some other shapes that I want to subtract, it also subtracts the overlapping area too. This seems odd as it kind of defeats the whole purpose of having a winding (non-zero) setting. I would like to request that if a shape has a fill mode of winding (non-zero) that the boolean operation treat the overlapping areas as part of the whole shape. This would greatly help me to work faster. Thanks! Sorry if my explanation doesn't make sense, please see my attached sample. BooleanQuestion.afdesign

Dave, I downloaded the latest beta and I'm enjoying the new and improved undo menu. Thanks!

Dave, Thanks, I'll be looking forward to it! Hokusai

chasedelperdang, You don't need to do anything special to add a new font in Affinity Designer. Just add the new font to your current fonts (Library/Fonts/). You might have to restart Affinity Designer before the new font that you added will show up in the menu. You will need access to the font file (or files) that you used on your previous file otherwise you won't be able to add the font.

Brad, What version are you using? The latest beta version (free to those who have purchased the Mac App Store version) has text on a path as well as some other text options. I recommend to give it a try. Affinity Designer is continually growing in terms of features and power. Affinity Designer can compete with Illustrator in many areas (Designer does many things better than Illustrator if you ask me), sure there are some places where Affinity Designer isn't quite there yet but it is a really new program and it is still maturing. Give it time, things are being added and improved very quickly. Best of Luck, Hokusai

AndreaR, Converting text to curves (outlines for those coming from Illustrator) is handy but it is a pain because you have to (as you pointed out) keep another copy of the file so that you can edit the text later if you need to. Affinity Designer has a handy feature when you export your files to PDF. You can choose "Export text as curves for font independence" and then you get the best of both worlds. You get fonts that are exported to PDF as curves (outlines) and yet your text remains editable in your original file. Hokusai