AdamStanislav

2023 n all that.... 

. . . . at the end of 2022 a small photo collage of my last graphics :-). I wish you all a happy and healthy new 2023 🥳. . . and thank you for all the positive feedback over the past weeks and months 🤗

Hey again!
I do transit maps and diagrams for fun in my spare time. 
This time I'd like to show you my interpretation of a possible future commuter rail network in the Perth area, Western Australia.
Based it on the current project information and facts that I could find on the internet. So it is certainly not definite nor official.
I have done different versions which are attached.


Enjoy it! And as usual feedback is highly appreciated!
All the best,
Chris

Here is a first attempt, following James Ritson's excellent new video tutorial.  Not only is there a huge difference in the two images on my retina screen, but also the printed versions have a major difference too.  There is also a vast difference in file size.  The HDR version is 31.0 MB.  The original JPEG is 3.1 MB.    The exported HDR image does not appear in FINDER with the usual image thumbnail.  See below.
So here are my first and second tries.   HDR.jxl on the left, JPEG on the right.  Next set, HDR.jxl on the top, JPEG on the bottom.
 

Sadly known in America only for the Faschierten (at least that’s what they call it in Wien).
I visited Hamburg back in either 1969 or 1970. We were a boy scout troop from Slovakia vacationing in Lüneburger Heide and took a one day trip to Hamburg. Quite a big city it was.

@NotMyFault Of course, it is always also a homage to my beautiful hometown. - Hamburg City unlimited!

hamburg_unlimited.mp4

Developers hear customer wishes - But a good developer works at HIS program, he can integrate some wishes but many won't fit to the vision of the program so won't be implemented. This is good as without a vision you get a mountain of features without any coherence.

@Ruzgfpegk
Welcome to the Serif Affinity forums (finally)
I have approved your (first) post as this is not the first time this work around has been suggested but, as I've said before, this is not a supported method of use for the software and will give a number of functionality problems immediately and going forward. I strongly recommend using the EXE/msi installers as soon as they are available.
 

I feel like this guy just likes to argue, which is sad.
If users want/need the standard .exe or .msi files, that's their choice. Most users would not have expected to get this new format. And some users like the freedom to install the apps to wherever they choose. Also their choice.
Respect it.

Offtopic
Freedom is not an illusion. Freedom is only unfortunately restricted by a few for many in order to remain in authority.
Fortunately, I live in a country where I have the freedom to speak my mind.
My respect and esteem goes to all those who fight for the freedom of free speech and self-determination in their country.
But freedom of the individual also means that it stops where the freedom of others is restricted or violated.

 
 
 

I finally figured out an easy way to create a symmetrical shapes such as this classic US highway sign.  Simply create half the shape, duplicate, flip horizontally and then join the two elements into one.  

Yes, please offer an msi version. My workflow is based around. Custom dashboard which need to find the exes file. As sitvit with MSIX and protected install location, it does not work.  

I've been using Publisher for a while and love it how light it is comparing to similar competitors and how much heavy load it can handle.
But I was expecting some other updates such as ability to copy paste pages between two open project as well exporting to interactive fillable forms pdf files... well, hopefully something like that comes in before V3.

mac OS - 10 computers x3 apps = 30 updates.
Each one wants to update from the web. Are there updaters to download and put on a server instead of each one doing their own download?

And as I asked before, who would actually need the "SaveAs V1" function? Anyone with only the V1 version? Why, how would he get this feature available in V2? Anyone with both V1 and V2 like me? Why? I haven't even opened the V1 version since switching to V2. Anyone using both V1 and V2 depending on what client they work with? Why? Why would someone working with a V1 client do something in V2, only to have to deal with backporting to a less functional V1?
Sure there will be some cases and situations where it could be useful, but it reminds me a bit of the legacy Plus app and Affinity incompatibility situation. There has been a lot of demand here for Affinity to be able to read the legacy plus format so that users can easily transfer their work - but that's what V2 does because it can read V1 format. But has anyone here requested that Affinity save to the legacy plus app format?

How would that work in practice?
Say I have V2 and you have V1.
Then say I have a V2 document which only contains a Rectangle layer within a Warp Group (doesn’t matter which one).
Then I export it as a V1 document and send it to you (or you open the document and the V1 software ignores the new/changed functionalities).
What will you see when you open the document?
You won’t be able to see the warping so you will not see the document as I intended it to be seen. Would I have to then describe to you what the document should look like, and/or also send you an image of it?
If you then add a Circle inside the Rectangle, save the document and send it back to me, what will I see?
You won’t be able to save the document with the Warp Group intact because the V1 software has no concept of a Warp Group so the Warp Group that I added would be missing so I’m not getting back what I send to you and would then have to re-create what’s missing in the document, taking care of handling the new circle as you intended (somehow), before moving on.
Even in such a simple example as this, the document being passed around would be practically useless because the V1 software cannot handle any new/changed V2 functionalities. The more V2 functionalities that are used, the less the ‘exported to V1’ document will look like it should and therefore the less useful it will be.
It just won’t work.

I didn’t say it was. I said many computer makers give you a small system drive and a large drive D, so it is important to be able to choose where to install your software. For example, I am typing this on a really good computer whose drive C formatted capacity is 117 GB, while its drive D has the formatted capacity of 911 GB. So I install most important software (including v.1 of Affinity software) to drive D, and less important software to one of several external drives, each of at least 4 TB (slightly less formatted).
You asked why anyone would install software on a drive other than the system drive, and I explained why I do on this computer. My other computer also came with just one small system SSD, which I replaced with a 2 TB SSD (since it is SSD and not a hard drive, it is OK to have the system and the software on it because there is no time wasted by physically moving over the platters as it is with an HD). That happens to be the computer I installed Affinity Suite 2.0 to, so in my case it did not matter they used the .msix type of installer. But I fully understand why it matters to others.
Come to think of it, I actually was annoyed by it installing it to a directory/folder that Windows 11 absolutely refuses me to access (because Microsoft thinks we all are stupid and don’t know what we are doing, even though I personally have been computing since before Microsoft was born, actually even since before Unix was created, and of course many others are fully competent computer admins and users). And because I cannot access it, I cannot create shortcuts for the Affinity suite on my desktop. And that is just pathetic.

There is no update Serif have no plans to port to Linux.

And how many customers does this really affect? If someone works for himself and for some reason does not want to upgrade applications (for example, because the applications are too expensive even after the discount, or the new added features are not worth the price, or he uses and does not want to upgrade his outdated OS), then he does not mind backward compatibility at all. And if someone works professionally - in a larger team, or shares files with customers, then I assume that the above arguments (too high an upgrade price, or using an outdated OS) are minor issues. In these cases, the proposed solutions to get data from V2 to V1 (export/import to PDF, copy/paste) are a usable alternative. It is very unrealistic to expect that Serif will create a specific converter for these few cases, which will be constantly developed, supplemented and tested with each update of the V2 version.

This saddens me. In preparing for Comicraft Fonts' annual sale, I had chosen some variable fonts that looked cool. I hope Serif implements this in future updates.

I did this stupid photo design 8 years where I photoshopped 4 chickens walking across an old country road with zebra crossing lines and it went a it viral across the internet (so much that two musical artists stole it and put it on their album cover) and so I decided to redesign it better recently and ended up with this
One morning in the Spring of 1972 - in a parallel universe somewhere - George, Paul, Ringo and John are on a road trip to a farm - to grow some wheat - when they bump into their old pal Buster Bloodvessel out walking his chickens
Trying to get some nice dust brush effects going on but I don’t feel I’m 100% happy with the result so far so might rework bits of it - if anyone has any nice tips for me then I’m happy to take them

. . . another way to create "street art / graffiti" with Affinity Designer 2 (probably my last post for this year)
I wish everyone happy holidays and a prosperous 2023
 

And here is what remains of the cookies we made yesterday with both of my cookie cutters, the one with Mr. Splurge, and the one with a Christmas star.

While I can’t speak for that foundry, as a font designer myself, I am not going to waste my time producing every static combination of my fonts possible, when I can place it all in a single font per typeface. You know, if your font contains five variations in each of just five characters, you would have to produce 25 static fonts with corresponding kerning in each (or potentially put all the variants into one extra font with non-standard encoding and no kerning). And if you have more, the number of possible static fonts grows very quickly.
It is not the job of every single font designer or font foundry to produce static versions. It is the job of software like the Affinity Designer, Publish, and Photo to implement (or not if they don’t know how, or don’t care to) the standard.

Some foundries are now releasing only a variable font.
Which makes a lot of sense.
The current advanced font development process now uses a multiple master approach, so the sources created are inherently variable.
When the masters sources are done, push-a-button to export the variable font.
Producing the static fonts involves additional steps, and compromises.
Depending on the axes, the number of static fonts can quickly get unwieldy.
Most people just think about weight and width.
Using the OpenType "standard" ten weights from 100 to 1000, and the nine widths from ultra-condensed to ultra-expanded, and italics you get - 10 weights x 9 widths x 2 (regular+italic) = 180 fonts.
Then lets add an optical size axis.
What increment do you use for the optical size static fonts?
Merriweather has an optical size axis of 6pt to 144pt.
They only export statics at 6pt, 12pt, 60pt, and 144pt.
Even with their limited weights and widths, that ends up being 120 static fonts.
Playfair Display is being upgraded to include an optical size axis of 5pt to 1200pt.
It also includes a weight axis, a width axis, and italics.
Depending on increments used you could have hundreds of static fonts.
Science Gothic (a Bank Gothic revival) has four axes: weight, width, optical size, and contrast.
They had some discussions about how they could end up with thousands of static fonts (or variable instances) depending on the increments used.
That is with just four axes.
Roboto Flex has 13 axes.
If you used an increment of just 10 for each axis, that would be 10¹³ static fonts.
Additionally…
What is the proper increment for the Mutation (MUTA) axis in static fonts?
Or for the Gravity (GRVT) axis, or the Horizontal Rotation (HROT) axis, etc., etc.?
So far I have documented 59 different variable axes.
And many of those variable axes simply do not fit in a simple incremental pattern.
All of these pre-determined static fonts may not be "just right."
Variable fonts enable the designer to get exactly what they want, or require.