000

Considering how many “funds” Canva has “raised” in the past few years and how many venture capital campanies are involved, I have a VERY bad feeling about this.
The forced marketing speech (“joining the family”, yeah, sure) in the announcement doesn’t halp.
I guess that it’s probably a good way for all Serif employees to get a nice retirement in 3 to 5 years, but it’s a buckshot in the face for me as a happy user and supporter of an independent company that makes professional software I use every day.

I can’t see much good coming from this.
Personally, I’ve never really cared about the lack of subscription, and I’ve always thought Affinity products were priced too cheap. I moved some of my illustrator work to Affinity in the early days for performance reasons and before I knew it, I had moved over entirely. Not saying I like Adobe, I don’t like their business practices* but it was not my motivation for investing in Affinity and being an early advocate. Selling to a company with a similar lack of financial scruples isn’t much different, enshittification comes to all of their services eventually. Capitalism comes for all of us and something like this was kind of inevitable. Still a bit sad though.
 
*Adobe are a dream compared to Autodesk.

I love you guys, and I have a big load of respect about you, being a big evangelist of Affinity, but I'm not having a good felling on this. Canva is not what I could name a "professional software" partner. They want to be Adobe, not an adobe alternative.
The first insinuation of subscription model will break any trust on Affinity, and for the love of the goddess, I hope Affinity apps don't become a dumpster of stupid and crappy AI and cheap design tools that Canva really is.
I've read the FAQs you published… they don't give me enough reassessment that nothing is gonna change. Your company and your project is not yours anymore.
I wish to be wrong.

We’ve all been around the block and saw what happened to PaintShopPro when Corel acquired it (and how it turned into a bloated horrible mess). I feel sad that the Affinity apps will head in the same direction. Really is a sad day. 

Yeah, I’ve not a good feeling about it. 
 
That reads to me as, from v3 it’ll be different. 
 
I really really hope we don’t get any Canva crap to deal with and subscription stays away. I’m not that loyal. 
 
 

I must say this was a shock but not a good one - Canva also bought SMARTMOCKUPS.COM which was amazing and now they are shutting it down - I do hope this is not the case with Affinity.
Canva have the cash and resources and do make the final decision which is a shame. All this companies say at the beginning no no we will be independent but in reality that will not be the case.

A few days ago I bought V2 universal and now I wish I didn't. If you will get subscription I think your software will die. It is okay to pay for a new major Version. But if you force to pay with a subscription, you will loose your fans and customers.

I just got the email and it's a bomb. Great news for you guys but incredibly bad news for me. I just started migrating off Corel, now i might have to stop and get back to that...

I'm sorry, but I don't have a good feeling either. May my doubts be allayed.

I like the "Current" weasel word snuck in - NOT.
Whatever you do don't slime in some kind of "Subscription".  Serious, I've been promoting Affinity/Serif for years for that;  One time purchase, then occasional upgrade but dirt cheap compared to Photoshop and does 99% of what most people would do in the big 3 from Adobe. As a bonus I reff'd you to technophobe luddites screaming about AiArt since by luck of never getting to it Serif never got into it, too busy trying the toe in Adobe's door.
 
For a very simple statement - Look into Zbrush (Pixologic) and Unity game engine.
Both got bought out/into by some 3rd party.
Zbrush went subscription leading to a massive exodus to other software.  Also more piracy since it's pretty easily hacked - I see full working copies while in India for US $30 but had bought mine at full professional price.  Nice having the license randomly go out or get lost with a computer crash/reinstall and wait...  Come Maxon they moved to other software including Blender (FREE) where once you climb the learning curve it's most of the critical.
Unity (Game engine) got bought into by someone too greedy for Microsoft.  So they were forcing in a license that make everyone have to spam with ads or face potentially unthinkable fees they'd have to pay.  (Installation fee?)  The backlash permanently lost them a chunk of the market and are still recovering from it.
 
This isn't 1990s - computers are in Gigahertz and Gigabytes and there are tons of full professional programmers.  There's tons of competition now for graphics programs of all sorts, game DIY engines, 3D software.
 
Serif/Affinity had a good thing - keep it up.
IF you offer any subscription let it be for niche things like an "AiARt" engine like Adobe.  Make it absolutely clear it's OPT-IN and there will be NO data-scraping by contract EULA from users.  IF the latter 100% opt in with warnings.  That's a strong "Edge" you now have over Adobe that was just given to you.  Got a lot of business from luddites worried their sub-highschool "Furry" art would be taken... So I mentioned Affinity when Photoshop's data scraping thing came out.

Hi All,

I am thrilled to announce that Affinity is joining the Canva family.
This is a moment of great excitement, anticipation, and profound gratitude for all of you who have been part of our story so far. 
We know that those of you who’ve put your faith in Affinity, some since we launched our very first Mac app, will have questions about what this means for the future of our products. Since the inception of Affinity, our mission has been to empower creatives with tools that unleash their full potential, fostering a community where innovation and artistry flourish. We've worked tirelessly to challenge the status quo, delivering professional-grade creative software that is both accessible and affordable. 
None of that changes today.
In Canva, we’ve found a kindred spirit who can help us take Affinity to new levels. Their extra resources will mean we can deliver much more, much faster. Beyond that, we can forge new horizons for Affinity products, opening up a world of possibilities which previously would never have been achievable. 
Canva’s revolutionary approach to design democratisation and commitment to empowering everyone to create aligns perfectly with our core values and vision. This union is a testament to what can be achieved when two companies that share a common goal of making design accessible and enjoyable for everyone come together. 
I want to express my deepest gratitude to our incredible Affinity team. Your passion, dedication, and relentless pursuit of excellence have been the driving force behind our success so far, and I can’t wait to continue this journey with you all. 
To our loyal users and the creative community, your support and feedback have been invaluable. You’ve inspired us to push boundaries and continuously improve, and we’re excited to embark on this new chapter together. 
The future is bright, and I am incredibly excited to continue our story together and create a world where design is within everyone's reach.
With heartfelt thanks,
Ash
For more information...
We have made four pledges to the Affinity community which you can read here. We have included some FAQs at the bottom of the announcement article here. A video message from me with some more background is on YouTube here. This announcement post is locked, but I have included a duplicate of it in the questions forum here which you can respond to.

I am a Corel Draw user running it via Parallels and would LOVE to move away — despite the ugly new UI the newer versions of Draw require a ,Corel Account' and the barcode feature works with an active internet connection only.
Therefore, I second and third this! CDR import would be awesome and the file format isn't too complicated (basically ZIP files with XML or XHTML, renamed to CDR).

It's in the TEXT menu, there's a submenu called "Spelling". Turn off "Check spelling while typing" — made me slightly mad as well.

Hi All,
We have just made a new build available of the 2.4 beta live - version 2.4.0.2240 - which will be available to you on auto update shortly. The fix list for this build is here.

In addition to those fixes we have made a couple of tweaks to insertion target locking based on your feedback:
You can now choose to lock your insertion target to insert inside your selection. All lock insertion options can now be applied on iPad via a long press on the relevant option, in addition to alt-click. Thanks as always for your continued feedback!
Ash

Even though, ordering the newest artboard on top and exporting the first created one (bottom of the stack) first, makes absolute sense and is logical, it would help if the artboards were numbered through, starting with the bottom one and counting upwards — maybe with the counter number in brackets, independent from the name of the artboard and unchangeable (always updating when moving artboards in the layers off course). Displaying these numbers in an additional column in the layers palette could be optional. Would help greatly in seeing the export order for those who use the artboards as pages in multipage documents.

Another vote vor "insert inside" from me.
My use cases:
- Using rectangles as image frames in Designer, copying a file from a folder and inserting it with STRG+C
- copying and pasting adverts from one file into prepared frames

Another vote vor "insert inside" from me.
My use cases:
- Using rectangles as image frames in Designer, copying a file from a folder and inserting it with STRG+C
- copying and pasting adverts from one file into prepared frames

Hi All,
Another update to the 2.3 beta has just been pushed and should be available to you now via auto-update. Various fixes are included in this which are listed here.
Thanks,
Ash

Here's a list of some of the bugs which have been fixed in beta build 2.3.0.2096
Please reply in this forum only to comment on any fixes which are in this list (in particular to let us know if you notice that something we say is fixed isn't!) To report any new bugs please do that against the relevant new feature post, or if unrelated to new functionality in the Other bugs & issues forum.
(A) Bug fixes which affected all platforms 
Fields Panel - 'Created' field fails to update when using 'Save as' on documents [AF-70] PDF passwords - Allowable characters not consistent between creating and opening [AF-124] Unable to place/open password protected PDF created by Acrobat [AF-121] Changing Language of text and updating Text Style does not remove red squiggly spellcheck lines under text in a separate frame until reopening file [AF-50] Cross references - allow anchors and index marks to be filtered by name [AF-2] When a document is opened, the Index panel may show limited or no entries until Update is clicked  Edit placed pdf doesn't show any layers in the layers panel  Word footnote imports with tiny font size  DWG file stuck on loading [AF-346] Presets can't be added for just the black and white adjustment [AF-520] (B) Bug fixes which affected Desktop (Windows and macOS)
Editing placed PDF fails to save changes until source file is saved and reopened [AF-31] Opening a password protected file (Made in publisher) fails to render images  Copying a frame with an index in allows multiple indexes to be in the same document [AF-329] Unable to delete selected anchors from TOC in user file [AF-30] Running Headers Settings- Inconsistent casing on dialog settings [AF-42] It should not be possible to use 'Move Inside' to place a Symbol inside itself [AF-562] View > View Mode >Hide effects inconsistency [AF-644] Alt + Click / Alt + Shift + Click on a new brush to retain size no longer functions for Pixel tools [AF-463] User File - Select Same > Fill fails to detect other objects with the same HEX applied (possible rounding error?) [AF-527] Replacing Style Source Chapter in Book results in Book without a Style Source Chapter - app crashes when exporting/printing file [AF-223] Paragraph break point regression over V1 allows commas at the start of line [AF-38] Hyperlink control value not set when choosing a preset  Unable to launch the app without linking my app to my account - licence specific  User File: Text Wrapping issue with vector cropped embedded PDF document [AF-58] Table of contents and Index Page numbers do not update on Book Output [AF-59] Cross-references can be inserted on a Master Page but do not function as expected on Pages  Toggling scale override in the transform panel clears the move data entry preview  Clicking at the end of a line with a break character can incorrectly position the insertion point [AF-57] Exporting a file with substituted fonts to Password PDF fails to load images and text when opened [AF-19] Placed restricted PDF fails to draw when switching from passthrough to interpret  Saving a book silently fails if saving to a disconnected device  Hyperlinks to anchors in different chapters warn that the anchor is off spread  On the Edit Table Format dialog, you can't type values for the Frame or Cell Format's Fill setting  Hyperlinking to book chapters requires the anchor to be re-selected  Text doesn't re-flow when group size indirectly increased [AF-333] Password protected PDFs fail re-linking when missing resources  Previously viewed page fails after text entry  Embedded profile isn't recognised when opening a Password Protected PDF exported from Publisher beta Tooltip for Create Custom Field is incorrect after deleting Custom fields [AF-17] On the Edit Table Format dialog, tooltips are the same for table and cell insets  Packed Footnotes can appear in the wrong linked text frame [AF-834] (C) Bugs fixed which specifically affected Windows
Mouse cannot control text caret when renaming existing anchor [AF-312] Develop Lens Correction does not function on macOS Sonoma [AF-513] The Font search box can expand to fill the width of the context toolbar when typing [AF-56] Shapes do not retain colour if selected via numerical sliders in colour chooser [AF-396] Develop Sliders are not auto enabled when expanding view or changing a value [AF-314] Batch Dialog: Hang when expanding the filetype dropdown  Tooltip for Add Custom Field in Fields Panel missing in 1971 Windows [AF-15] Tabbing out of the White Balance field collapses the group  New Batch Dialog tweaks  Curve visual not updating correctly when a node is adjusted next to a cornered node  Node Right Click context menu is missing dividers on Windows [AF-14] Edit Table Format - Amending the Fill using RGB sliders on a CMYK doc will render an RGB table preview [AF-230] Changing White Balance Temperature without enabling the White Balance section auto-collapses panel instantaneously [AF-316] Active toast when closing document with colour picker active causes cursor to be invisible  Assistant toolbar icon does not function with Settings dialog already open  Index panel is missing Show Index/and References options in Preferences [AF-21] Edit In with a passworded PDF and an adjustment fails to redraw  Pasting text in N'Ko alphabet crashes app [AF-54] Images lost when editing a password protected PDF  Hyperlink Properties' Character Style dropdown is out of view for Book Chapters  Windows Unable to drag asset subcategories around within asset category by mouse [AF-403] Brush dialog is missing the input field for brush Size [AF-380] Guides Manager contains a limit for the Spread Origin value [AF-29] On the Structure section of the Edit Table Format dialog, positions of add/delete buttons are reversed across platforms  The Table Formats panel displays formats one per row in a single column regardless of the panel's width  File partially locks up app after exporting to SVG (all pages)  Move cmd+K (Find in Layers Panel) from Misc to Layer in Shortcuts  User File crashes when changing Footnotes Notes>Initial Advance or Min Advance [AF-791] Open Template for Editing will open it as Untitled [AF-254] Flood Select Tool doesn't have the new CTRL + ALT shortcut for Add to selection [AF-601] (D) Bugs fixed which specifically affected macOS
Preserve Alpha box and label vanishes after calling dialog a 2nd time  Light UI: Scroll bar background is white which makes it difficult to see  View Mode and Insert location button groups are transparent without a document opened in Light UI [AF-22] MFA/2FA dialog shows empty grey pop up on macOS  Password protected file not loading all pages text  MacOS Keyboard shortcuts list changes depending on the selected Persona before opening preferences  Remove unwanted/missing projects from Recent [AF-203] Text Style Panel - numeric entry for colour values in sliders not possible [AF-204] Keyboard shortcut for Pixel Category > Tools doesn't save after a restart [AF-206] Shortcuts list is not Persona aware and we can set shortcuts for non-exiting actions  Drag-dropping a file from Finder inside itself shows a Recovery file warning  Recent doc previews aren't generated until after releasing scroll bar  Text Key Keyboard Shortcuts do not function on macOS Sonoma [AF-508] Anchor book mark truncates on Mac  Anchor panel 'jumps' up when editing existing anchor name, provided parent - child hierarchy group is present  New Anchor button not disabled when it should be  Text Frame > Columns doesn't update Units correctly when switching between multiple open documents  Cannot enable Show Topics in Index panel preferences [AF-328] Duplicate entries for keyboard shortcuts  Opening two .afbook files stored in different directories but with the same file name causes an app crash  Slow typing with Anchors panel and long list of anchors  Insert Hyperlink Dialog can be resized and hides Character Style dropdown  Delete cross-reference does not work across multiple stories  Editing a hyperlink to another books chapter doesn't auto populate correctly  App locks when replacing files  The Find command on a text selection's context menu is dimmed, though the command can be invoked via the Text menu  With one or more table cells selected, Font Colour on context toolbar displays a cell's fill colour  Basing a style on an existing one can set Initial Word end characters as [No Change]  Keyboard shortcuts for showing/hiding panels are in different categories across platforms  (E) Bugs fixed which specifically affected iPad
Localisation - Add custom field button has clipped text  Not asked for embedded PDF's password when opening parent document, app crashes on going to Affinity's Home screen  Names of new navigation options on View menu include the word 'page', whereas desktop uses 'spread'  Table of Contents is Toc when it should be ToC  Go to Page command affects the document view differently than equivalent desktop method  Initial Words > End Characters are not being remembered if changed from default. [AF-46] Go to Page command treats its input as spread number, not page number  If you have reported a bug and it is not yet fixed, please do not report it again. More fixes will be made during the 2.3 beta cycle.

Apps: Publisher
Platforms: macOS, Windows and iPad
In Find and Replace fields are now available from the drop down. This will also include any custom text fields you have set up, therefore making it easy to replace many instances of a text string within your document with a custom text field for example.

In addition, as was requested during the previous beta, we have now added the option to ‘Convert Text to Field…’ from the right click menu when you have a text selection.

Apps: All
Platforms: macOS, Windows and iPad
You can now choose whether you want the background of the Asset Panel to be light, dark, checkerboard or automatic based on your current Light/Dark UI setting. This behaves in the same way as changing the background colour used for layer thumbnails.
This is primarily to be able to switch the background to achieve greater contrast for the particular assets you are looking at.
You can change the background colour from the burger menu at the top of the assets panel.
          
 

 
 

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

Apps: Publisher
Platforms: macOS, Windows and iPad
There is a new Tags panel in Affinity Publisher which allows you to add Alt-text to any image or object when exported to PDF for accessibility purposes.  To use just open the Tags panel from the Window menu, select the image or object you want to add Alt Text too and add your description in the box:

Alt Text Source
As well as adding your own custom description to any object, you can also choose to scrape the Alt Text from the Title, Description or Headline meta data which may be embedded within the image in question.

Mark as Decoration
You also have the option to “Mark as Decoration”. This means no image description will be exported or used by screen readers as the item is purely there for decorative purposes rather than important to the understanding of the document. It’s primarily there so you can positively tag an image as not needing a description so will not return as needing one in preflight.
Preflight
Options have also been added in preflight to make it easy to check your document for any missing Alt Text should you wish. When creating or editing a profile you will see a new section for Alt Text. Here you can choose whether you want preflight to return a warning if images, placed documents or vector objects do not have Alt Text added (or marked as decoration).

Export
In the advanced section of PDF export there is a new option of "Tagged PDF". This is required to be checked if you wish to export your PDF including any tags you have added. Currently this is off by default for all factory PDF presets, although we do intend to make this on by default for all non-print based factory PDF presets.
General note on accessibility features
I also just wanted to say that there are a number of accessibility features we are working on which will be added in upcoming updates such as reading order, heading tags and other document structure tools important for screen readers. For the time being, and so to not go off topic, please keep comments on this thread focused on the new Tags Panel / Alt Text feature added in this version.

Strange, really strange, must have been really, really lucky.
Keeping my fingers crossed for the fix, glad you identified the issue ... I sent the text out to the client and am expeting it back late next week. Would be great if it worked by then. 🙂

I think we posted at the same time, so you might of missed my last reply.
There certainly is a bug at play here which also affected 2.1, so i think you must of got lucky in the previous times it worked or perhaps the setup wasn't exactly the same in those files or the pages were inserted in a different location in the file.  But its certainly a bug and hopefully will be fixed shortly