dominik
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Posts
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Posts posted by dominik
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10 hours ago, MikeW said:
1) Yes, I know. But as evidenced by the number of people who use the scaling handle accidentally, when the help hint in the hintline are clearly saying that text will be resized, yet this still happens.
I don't think having a different shape and/or color of the text resize handle is sufficient. In fact, I liken it to the old saying of putting lipstick on a pig doesn't change the fact it is still a pig. At best it is an attempt for a poor UI choice in the first place.
2) There are literally dozens of modifier keys to learn when using any software. That includes Affinity software. People who are using ID or QXP who are new to the software learn these things by themselves or simply ask via one of the support channels and are then informed about the modifier keys...and then they have learned and don't need to ask again.
For people coming from these other applications expect it to work as per the application they are switching from.
The "best" idea is making it configurable in preferences AND when turned off that the modifier keys accomplish the action.
You make some good points ... especially the one with the pig 😉
Of course modiefier keys are very practical and effecient ... for those who know them. And any person doing serious work should learn them sooner or later.
But OTOH I believe a user interface should help the less experienced or new users to see that are more ore different options available. One nice solution that comes to mind is the help overlay in the iPad versions of Affinity if one presses the '?'. The '?' is perhaps a universal symbol/sign that there is some help available and thus indicates to go there if there is a question. The effect is stunning because it reveals help all over the place.
Something like this could be introduced in the desktop apps as well. Press one icon and see help bubbles everywhere. The pro users won't get disturbed at all. The curious beginner will get used to this easily.
Just a thought.
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1 hour ago, MikeW said:
QXP & ID do it by holding ctrl/cmd + shift.
My thinking is to give the user a visual clue that there is something to be changed by moving the item on screen.
Holding down some modifier keys without any hint what they might achive seems to me kryptic.
In this regard Affinity's help hints at the bottom is a good idea.
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5 minutes ago, fde101 said:
Making that handle look different
Actually it is different by its outset. But this has proven to be not different enough 😉
After seeing the latest introduction of the new 'New File' dialogue (on Windows) I am confident they can come up with something better.
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4 hours ago, fde101 said:
Particularly for new users it seems to be more confusing than helpful.
Are you asking for an 'APub Essential' version? 😉
It is very hard to create an interface that serves new users and familiar with the software users (I'm not using the word 'professional') the same way. Hiding this handle seems to me less optimal. I agree, some indication of its function would be of help. And a read out of the scaling, too.
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55 minutes ago, MickRose said:
Someone has given me a PDF which needs tweaking. I couldn't open it properly in APub because of missing fonts. So I tried Xara PGD & I got a message asking whether to install missing Google fonts. I clicked yes and the document now opens okay in APub. That's a nice surprise. If Serif could implement this feature that would be good.
While this is not as comfortable as you describe it, you can download Google fonts to your computer and install (or temporarily install if you have a font manager). This let's you open the document as expected.
Go and search here: https://fonts.google.com/
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On 1/27/2020 at 10:29 AM, Gabe said:
Hi @dominik
Thanks for spotting this. I logged it with our developers.
Thanks for fixing this in the latest beta within less than two weeks!
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- Patrick Connor and AdamW
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1 minute ago, fde101 said:
Nice... then this may indeed provide the desired solution for artboard-based documents.
I then opened my AD document with 6 artboards and one layer outside of all artboards in APub. Artboards converted in spreads.
APub then omits the layer and objects outside the artboards.
If the artboards are not converted to spreads the layer and it's objects remain.
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8 minutes ago, carl123 said:
APhoto and AD would have had to support Pinned objects and since the underlying code (for Pinning) is basically the same APhoto and AD got Pinning (inline graphics) shortly after Publisher did.
Hi @carl123,
thanks for pointing to the link to 'Pinning' in APub. I did think of that but was unsure.
8 minutes ago, carl123 said:There was no big fanfare or announcement regarding this new facility in APhoto and AD - which is why, even today, not a lot of people know you can now use "inline graphics" in this way in those two apps.
The 'no big fanfare' may be the reason that I missed the introduction of this very handy feature.
I just opened my test document in APub and can see that the objects on the text path seem to be pinned ones. There seems to be a distinction between pinning properties and glyph properties.
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13 minutes ago, Last Chance said:
but it would be nice to be kept abreast of the actual progress and a possible timeline - we do need to know one way or the other.
Serif many times have made clear that they do not publish a timeline for the implementation of features (for several reasons). If it's not there, it's not there. If you need this feature now you have to use some different software.
I am very sure they are aware of the lack of footnotes and endnotes and this will come eventually. We just do not know.
I hope this helps you planning your upcoming projects 🙂
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1 hour ago, JET_Affinity said:
Affinity's provision for Inline graphics is much to be applauded. All vector drawing programs should provide that. But again, that's not really the same thing as objects along a path.
Thanks, @JET_Affinity, for putting the information together.
While I do understand the concept of inline graphics I'm really just surprised that it is possible in AD. I cannot remember see it mentioned somewhere (but I certainly do not know all the places in the forum and help files 😉).
I also understand that this is not a replacement to distribute objects along a path. I'm familiar with how Xara does it (= blending between objects). There is also control over the distribution distance between the objects. This may be mimicked with different tracking settings but this is at least cumbersome.
Anyway, this can be of great use in some situations.
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7 minutes ago, G13RL said:
For a freehand curve, draw the objects to be placed on the curve.
Draw the curve, "Convert to Text Path".
Select the objects, "Ctrl + X".
Select the curve, take "Text Tool", "Ctrl/Cmd + V".
Select the objects with "Text Tool" and set the spacing with "Tracking".
This surprises me a little bit because I was not aware that it is possible to treat any vector object as a glyph. I just tried it and it seems to work.
When was this introduced?
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1 hour ago, JCD2016 said:
Yes Dominik, you are absolutly right. I fully understand why, I would do the same in that case. So you are in luck, I have to export stuff to eps, and loading that back in; And im back to the px units
Terrible
I agree, there is room for improvement in regard to unit handling. I suspect there is a certain logic to it as it is now.
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7 minutes ago, JCD2016 said:
Pixels is for pictures, mm is for vector/designwork.
In webdesign I often work in AD and my documents are set to pixels. No offence, just another perspective. I doubt there is such a general rule.
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36 minutes ago, Hokusai said:
Hi dominik,
Here are two screen shots which I hope shows the different styles. The regular one that you described is just a regular marquee type. The one with the modifier (with the Option key on the Mac) gives you greater control over which nodes (or points) are selected by letting you "draw" the selection as opposed to just selecting broadly. I'm guessing this is the difference but there maybe be something else, I'm just not sure.
Hokusai
Thanks for the screenshots. I tried again and can confirm that this works the same on Windows with the ALT-key as a modifier. I do not know what I did wrong in my first test. Most likely I pressed the wrong modifier key
I am not sure if there is more to it.
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6 hours ago, Hokusai said:
but the behavior is slightly different with the modifier and without. Maybe someone can explain the reason for the differences?
The help text at the bottom of the screen says 'Drag + ALT to begin lasso selection'. But interestingly this does not work for me. It always marquee selects. Are we about to find a bug? What kind of difference do you observe when you use the modifier key?
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5 minutes ago, JET_Affinity said:
Quite suitable alternatives have been mentioned repeatedly in these threads requesting yet another autotrace feature.
I want to add a link to another (recent) thread that provides a (for some working) solution to autotrace:
Even though I would like to see this feature eventually being part of AD (and hopefully in a superior way) this is one of the things I for now can easily get done with other solutions. So, I do not miss it at all (in AD).
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- Alfred, Ozymandias1972 and SrPx
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7 minutes ago, Manege said:
I haven't worked with publisher in a while but now I'm about to start a new book project.
Does anyone know if there is something new about this Topic?
Hello @Manege,
no, I haven't seen any news on this.
There was recently added the ability to merge APub files. This is not really a book feature because the merged files are by no means linked to their original files. But this could be used to keep chapters in seperate files and merge them together in one final step. (I have in mind to test this to see how page numbers and TOC work with this concept but haven't had the time so far).
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31 minutes ago, Arlen Keshabyan said:
Ahh. It is
Thank you, @dominik You made my day
Please, consider this topic as resolved.
Great that some things can be solved easily
Cheers,
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3 minutes ago, Arlen Keshabyan said:
Are there any plans to implement CUSP join for curves in Affinity Designer (like Xara does)?
I extremely need this.Thanks,
Arlen.
Hi @Arlen Keshabyan,
well, I am not a developer but just another user.
If I understand your request correctly you can do this. Click on a node's handle and additionally press the ALT-key (on Windows). This will turn a smooth node into a corner.
Is this what you are looking for?
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6 hours ago, Hokusai said:
There is a trick for it to allow you to select multiple nodes with a selection by first selecting the object with the Node tool and then holding down the Option key and drawing or moving your mouse around the nodes you want to select. Sorry I don't know the Windows modifier but I'm sure someone else here does.
On Windows I don't have to use a modifier key. I just drag the mouse and that way nodes get selected.
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6 hours ago, Notes said:
- Bring the symmetry tool to the Designer persona to use on vector brush and pencil tool. (Using it on Pixel persona is rasterize in vector)
Hello @Notes,
you can accomplish this already by using symbols. This is e.g. explained in this video:
Cheers,
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Terrible
Thank you, 
Bug or 'by design'? Artboards to spreads looses objects
in [ARCHIVE] Publisher beta on Windows threads
Posted
I came across the following during reading this thread and doing some tests:
My goal was to understand how layers in AD work when placed outside and across artboards.
I created a very basic AD document with three empty artboards. Above and around all three of them one layer (rectangle) with three artistic text objects above each artboard (but not inside of the artboard). See attached AD file.
I then opened this document in APub and converted the artboards to spreads when asked for it.
The artboards translate into spreads as expected. The overlaying rectangle and the three text objects get lost. There is no hint that some of the document's content is going to be lost during this operation. I consider this not desireable.
I wonder if this is by design or a bug? Or perhaps some unfinished feature?
Method:
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artboard-to-publisher-test.afdesign