dominik

You are correct. They can be renamed, they have a folder icon, they can be color coded (via right click) and all child items get the same color assigned.
Only thing: I wouldn't call them 'master layers' but rather 'folder layers'. There is a long disussion in the forum about master layers that have a different concept of layers across all spreads. What you suggest is more likely layers to organize things within only one spread 
With the tools at hand plus a little planing and practice it is possible to create a layer structure that is not chaotic (same goes for paragraph styles and master pages).
d.

Not if you first create two (or three) folder layers that are called left page and right page (plus spread) and use them accordingly 
To be clear, I am not against your suggestion of some more automatic assistance from the software itself. I think your example of the artboards in AD illustrates the idea very well. But I assume to make this work really well for all kinds of situations this has to be thought out very well.
What I stumbled across is your claim that the layers are chaotic per se (no offense, just a comment). There are tools to work in a less chaotic way if one wishes to. It's just a manual way at the moment. But working neat and with a plan always takes longer at first. In a workshop, in a kitchen, in art 
Cheers,
d.

You are correct. They can be renamed, they have a folder icon, they can be color coded (via right click) and all child items get the same color assigned.
Only thing: I wouldn't call them 'master layers' but rather 'folder layers'. There is a long disussion in the forum about master layers that have a different concept of layers across all spreads. What you suggest is more likely layers to organize things within only one spread 
With the tools at hand plus a little planing and practice it is possible to create a layer structure that is not chaotic (same goes for paragraph styles and master pages).
d.

Carl123 posted it before the paginator was introduced. One more good reason for your suggestion 
d.

Hi @ronnyb,
are you aware that the section manager is available as an icon in the pages panel? Since the pages panel is almost always visible this should be a good shortcut. It's just not next to 'Document Setup' but below 

 
d.

Sorry, I misread your request. You only want to hide the help text, not the status bar. That's a different thing.
d.

I think it will come at some time (see the roadmap here. The call it 'Mesh fill tool').
You already can create something in that direction using multiple fills. It is not the same but worth a try:

 
Cheers,
d.

Thanks.
That sounds exactly it

I think it will come at some time (see the roadmap here. The call it 'Mesh fill tool').
You already can create something in that direction using multiple fills. It is not the same but worth a try:

 
Cheers,
d.

I think it will come at some time (see the roadmap here. The call it 'Mesh fill tool').
You already can create something in that direction using multiple fills. It is not the same but worth a try:

 
Cheers,
d.

To make things in #4 even more cofusing 
You can assign stroke properties (and fill) from the text frame panel.
d.

In all Affinity programs you can CTRL+J to duplicate the object and then type in the value in the transform panel. It's not like ALT+typing but very close 
d.

I think a nice solution to this would be to add the functionality to create and store templates in Publisher but not include them in the app, they could be added to the resources section of the forum for users to choose which ones they need. Additional templates could be added by users. This way people that do not need them do not have the additional bloat in the app and those that do want them have easy access to add them. They could add a link in the template area of the app that directs users to the wherever it is decided to store them.

Really? I use it literally every day in PagePlus - it never fails to work for me.  Import an EPS, convert it to curves and manipulate the elements.  Anyhow - you've shown me a way to achieve it in Publisher, so I'm happy.  Many thanks Dominik.

Then you have a working solution for your needs. And once Serif comes up with something that works you can switch at a later time. I do not see a problem with the fact that mail merge was not part of the initial release (apart from many people wishing it were. But that is - to say it a little sarcastic - the people's problem and not Serif's  ).
To put this into perspective: I myself have many features on my personal wish list that are not part in the entire Affintiy suite. I learned to be patient and pragmatic.
d.

@Joerg Thoeming & @Jozef
Welcome to the Serif Affinity forums and for your input to this thread   As you can see Dave Harris, one of the developers most likely to work on these features is posting here directly so thanks for your patience while we implement any new features.
 

A remarkable (and in time) keynote!
Having worked for many events (of different kind) I know about how hard it is to deliver such an event. Well done!
Have a good one.
d.

A remarkable (and in time) keynote!
Having worked for many events (of different kind) I know about how hard it is to deliver such an event. Well done!
Have a good one.
d.

We have to learn and explore constantly. Especially when coming from Adobe. Some things work the same. Many things need a new approach. This is why I value these forums. We can help each other. I myself do learn a lot from here.
BTW, I am not against pages in AD. I just look at  a workflow that already is available without pages created within AD.
d.

The office suites market is really saturated, Microsoft office, google docs, LibreOffice, Apple pages/keynotes... I don't see any real benefit from entering such market, especially that it's shifting more towards editing in the cloud right now.

Ok, I understand. Let the people at Serif celebrate today's release and then take a deep breath. And then we'll see with what they come up with 
d.

I understand. I wish you all of luck to track this down.
d.

Right you are!
 

Brave and lucky. Congratulations 
As we are approaching the initial release of APub (tomorrow!) it is good news to read reports of successful and reliable projects.
My impression is that we can expect a very solid base of features (including a can of  worms/bugs next to it) and a very interesting future to look at. I am very impressed on how the team made efforts for last minute fixes.
d.

What better could the Affinity team read the day before the official release 
Glad you sorted it with @Old Bruce's help out.
Happy scoring!
d.