Sparkway

I would not count with support for any existing plugin for any other app. Adding support for plugins is already hard enough; adding the same support provided by another platform requires an additional layer of code translating what the plugin expects to what the program actually provides and little can be done if there is anything the program cannot/will not support.
When plugins are supported by the Affinity suite, I expect nothing different from it supporting their own set of plugins and providers of existing toolsets may choose to port their code or not. But remember once the door is open others may provide similar or even better extensions.

I've been following the forums for a while now since I've decided to switch from the "A" suite and, of all the features requested by users, the most are support for a given file format. Also some users have been heavily requesting for an API they could use to automate stuff (or build stuff - some ideas also came to my mind while writing this) and I think these could be handled with a little bit more of effort in building an API. Since most programming languages are object-oriented I'm also thinking in such terms while I write, however I'm not being specific on language.
I believe two kinds of plugins could be allowed: SCRIPTS, which would only help in automating repetitive tasks (think about closing a document for printing) and mostly would only manipulate the document without any sort of argument, and PLUGINS, which would be developed on a chosen platform (I'm pretty sure the Affinity suite relies on .NET) and would enable usage of every feature the platform has to offer. This dual approach is adopted by apps such as ZWCAD and could be great for different uses but it is not a mandatory thing.
As for the API itself, the idea would be to enable means to programmatically:
access a document (either by creating a new one or retrieving one currently open), layout the document (creating slices on AD or new pages on AP, for example), create, retrieve, modify and/or objects in the document (create shapes, change attributes like colour, add text, etc.), request users to select objects or a point on the document (to ask the user where action will take place). Basically that is allowing anything on an app to be done programatically (yes, with the right script, one could simply automate a complete complex drawing, I'm not asking why would you). I'm thinking of basic object-oriented programming here:
// in some pseudo language doc = new document rect = new rectangle object set brush in rect to X add rect to doc ... I'm also well aware the amount of effort and code required to implement this API so I'm not expecting this to be available tomorrow (or in the next version) but I think we'd have to start gathering ideas about this somewhere. Here are some examples of what I would expect that could be achieved with this API:
import/export to X file format (PLUGIN): triggered by selecting a file in a recognised format, it would (1) read from a file and create a document and the objects in it using the API representing the contents of the file or (2) traverse a document (or a slice of it in AD) and write it to a file in the chosen format, QR code (PLUGIN): it would open a dialog for the user to enter the info on the QR code (format version, size, tint, text, etc.) and create a group of rectangle objects based on that info. After that, it is just a series or rectangles and does not depend on the plugin (of course this approach does not allow the QR code to be edited, or even its info to be viewed, but I'm sure some other approaches can be taken - like storing arbitrary metadata on objects and groupings and even restricting some of these to be undone), create a draft in PDF format (SCRIPT): this would just add the word "DRAFT" in the background of every page (in a publication - to the original or a copy of the document that exists only in memory), trigger the export to PDF function (it is already embedded on the app, so why not make it accessible) and then remove the "DRAFT" word from every page (since it is not meant to be part of the final document). This could also be done as a PLUGIN if one would like to specify the tag text and colour. Perhaps the biggest concert of Serif in providing us an API is related to security/privacy of its users and that's a noble reason for not releasing an API yet. Of course PLUGINS could be more dangerous than SCRIPTS from this point of view since they have a broader access to the native API of the platform (from enumerating/reading/writing files arbitrarily, to spanning threads, to sending data over the internet) but I've never seen anyone complaining about those issues on Photoshop or any other app that enable the use of plugins. You choose to use plugins from a reliable source and Serif could even be a curator for one of those reliable sources, but nothing mandatory.
Another solution to this (and this would take a more considerable amount of time) would be Serif to create a full development platform with each and every API exposed (file access, document access, etc.) in order to minimise the existance of malicious plugins (and someone will always find a way to bypass it, trust me) and restrict programming languages to the one Serif itself choses (I'm not really fond of it but it seems the most claimed in the forums is Javascript). I could live with that with the right API.
I'm not in anyway affiliated with Serif and I don't know if they have already decided on any of the issues I raised and my intent here is not to discuss the exact implementation the API will take (thou it could certainly be fun) but to gather opinions on it, specially on whether the API should use an open platform or a more strict one to prevent malicious extensions, and to gather things people would be interested in doing with the API and are not sure I covered above. I would also like if this space were to be used by Serif to talk to us about how they view the issue of the API and how/when they are planning to handle it and to it discuss with us in order to create something really useful for everyone.

Hi Hesh-Art
Does clicking on the Global autoriseren on the error not resolve the issue?
@walt.farrell Is correct with his advice, you'll only get the option to use a the Resource Manager in Designer if a linked item is missing.  Your error looks more like a permission issue than a missing linked resource.

Hi!
In my opinion plugin support is something Serif will have to implement if they truly want to survive in the long run.
But unfortunately I get a feeling thet they don't always seem to listen that much to their users and it's also very quiet from them when users mention plugin support...  

Maybe covered elsewhere in the dungeon of this forum? Are there plans do add plugin-support for Designer? I would love to see the plugin for my Mimaki CG-60SR III cutting plotter working with Designer.

Status: Beta
Purpose: Features, Improvements, Fixes
Requirements: Purchased Affinity Photo
Mac App Store: Not submitted
Download DMG: Download
Auto-update: Available.
 
Hello,
We are pleased to announce the immediate availability of the latest beta of Affinity Photo 1.7 for macOS.
Photo 1.7 is a (very) significant change to the currently shipping 1.6 version, so, as ever, I would strongly urge users to avoid the 1.7 beta for critical work. This is a pre-release build of 1.7 - we will release more builds before 1.7 ships. Things will be broken in this build - please use it to explore the new features and not for real work.
If this is your first time using a customer beta of an Affinity app, it’s worth noting that the beta will install as a separate app - alongside your store version. They will not interfere with each other at all and you can continue to use the store version for critical work without worry.
It’s also worth noting that we aren’t done yet - we are still working through reported bugs from previous releases and hope to fix as many as possible before the final release of 1.7. To be notified when there is a new beta please press follow on this announcment thread
With all that said, we hope that you will enjoy the new capabilities introduced in this release and we look forward to any and all feedback you give to us.
Many thanks (as always),
Affinity Photo Team  
 
Changes This Build
 
- Improve performance on multi-GPU systems.
- Metal memory use improvements.
- Fix batch job crashes.
- Export persona should not show a vector view!
- Noise reduction improvements in 32bit documents.
- Avoid a potential deadlock with placed images.
- Merge visible now shows progress.
- Fix weird brushing issues.
- Mask thumbnails now update properly.
- Fixed some compositor issues with Metal enabled.
- Improved ORF RAW loading.
- Improved the speed of tone mapping, refine selection, healing brush when Metal compute is enabled.
- Fixed crash when using develop on a non-RAW image.
- Stock page improvements.
- Avoid flickering pixel selection.
- Some small terminology updates.
- Assorted other small fixes.
- Help improvements.
- Localisation improvements.
 
Changes Since 1.6 Release
 
EDR
- Added support for EDR displays to Photo. When editing a 32bit document, enabling EDR will switch macOS into a mode whereby it will increase the backlight intensity and darken screen content - increasing the dynamic range available when rendering content.
Performance
- The core processing engine in Affinity Photo has been rewritten to take advantage of the powerful discrete AMD GPUs in modern Mac hardware. It will now automatically use any compatible discrete GPU, alongside the Intel GPU support present in 1.6. Typically this improves compositing / editing performance by at least 1000%. Performance when using integrated Intel GPUs has also been massively improved.
- External GPUs (eGPU) are also supported - including hot-plug-and-unplug support.
- Multiple GPUs are supported - if you have more than 1 GPU (ie. Intel + AMD in MacBook Pro, or Intel + eGPU in other Macs) Photo will use them all, at the same time, to improve performance. There is no limit to the number of GPUs which can be used.
Brushes
- Photo 1.7 introduces a new “sub-brush” mechanism, developed in conjunction with Paolo Limoncelli (DAUB® Brushes). This exciting feature allows any brush to have a list of other brushes attached which will draw at the same time. Each sub-brush has a fully separate and customisable set of dynamics. You can control when the sub-brushes are drawn and how they blend with the main brush.
- The brush engine in Photo has been rewritten to use the new GPU architecture described above. With GPU support, even huge brushes with 1% spacing will perform well. All brushes / brush tools are accelerated.
- Symmetry (up to 32-way) is now supported - including on-canvas controls and optional mirroring. We have more symmetry features on the way - so stay tuned during the beta process.
- Wet edges and accumulation are now available on colour brushes and brushes with HSL variance.
- Brushes with multiple nozzle textures have always chosen the nozzle at random. In 1.7, the nozzle choice has a dynamic controller and ramp for greater control.
- All brush tools now support left and right arrow keys for rotation - a common feature request.
- Allow Ctrl key to be held when typing numbers in a brush tool (will change flow instead of opacity).
RAW
- The RAW processing engine in Photo has been rewritten - producing better results and improved performance. It also takes advantage of the GPU architecture changes described above.
- RAW files now load much more quickly - especially if you have a compatible GPU.
- Reimplemented support for XTrans sensors.
- The denoise algorithm has been rewritten. It produces better results and takes advantage of the new GPU architecture.
- Hot pixel removal is now automatically performed by the Serif Labs engine.
- Profiled lens correction are more stable, apply more quickly, and can be toggled in the Develop UI.
- The histogram in the Develop persona is now presented in the output colour space - as opposed to always being linear.
- Develop now respects the output profile when previewing.
- Added support for CR3 RAW when using the Core Image engine.
- Show which autofocus rectangles were in focus and which were selected by the camera (yellow, green respectively).
- A large number of new cameras are supported for RAW development (we will provide a list of the new supported cameras as soon as possible!).
- Automatically fall back to Core Image for cameras which are not supported by Serif Labs.
Filters
- New “Procedural Texture” filter with advanced presets support.
- New “Voronoi” filter.
- Denoise, Clarity and Shadows / Highlights filters have been rewritten (using technology from the Develop Persona).
- More filters are now available as Live Filters - including the new Procedural Texture filter.
- Live filters have been rewritten to improve performance - especially when multiple filters are used in a document.
- Improved Polar to Rectangular and Rectangular to Polar filters.
- Added round dot type to the halftone filter.
- New “Lens Correction” filter - apply lens correction from the built-in lens database.
- Bilateral blur accuracy improvements.
Adjustments
- The HSL adjustment layer has been rewritten. It now supports custom hue ranges, a new algorithm, new UI and picker controls.
- The Levels adjustment layer now supports output levels - a common feature request.
- The White Balance adjustment layer has been rewritten.
- The Selective Colour adjustment layer has been rewritten.
- PSD import / export of adjustments has been improved.
- The Vibrance adjustment layer has been rewritten.
- The Recolour adjustment layer has gained a lightness slider.
Layers
- Layers page - added option for transparent background for thumbnails.
- Layers page - added multiple thumbnail size options.
- Layers page - added ability to tag layers with a colour - including PSD round-trip.
- Allow adding an empty group from the Layer menu.
- New “Duplicate Selection” item in Layer menu (old behaviour). Duplicate now duplicate the whole layer ignoring pixel selection.
- Alt / Option is now used to make a pixel selection from layer luminance. You can now also hold shift to add the result to the current selection.
- Hide / Show / Show All Layers options in layers menu.
- Ability to either rasterise or rasterise and trim a layer. Previously recorded macros will trim.
 
Selections
- Significant improvements to selection refinement.
- When using selection tools with no pixel selection, default to New / Add as appropriate.
- Added “Alpha Similarity” to Select Sampled Colour tool.
Tools
- Grouped tool shortcuts now default to needing the shift key held to cycle (option in preferences).
- The Crop tool has been rewritten - it now supports resolution changes, absolute pixel size and has a much improved preset mechanism.
- The Sponge Brush tool now gives more correct / pleasant results.
- Allow brush rotate / size key changes while dragging.
- Added a “Reveal Canvas” checkbox to the crop tool - defaults to off.
- Added new “Transform object separately” mode into Move tool.
- A general tools overhaul has been performed - providing editing of grids, guides, page origin, across multiple tools (not just in the Move tool)
- Patch tool now supports arrow keys for rotate / scale.
- All brush tools can now be axis constrained once brush has started - not just the pixel tool.
History
- “Alternate futures” for document history have been added. Traditionally, if you roll back the undo history then do something else all your changes after that point are lost. Photo will now display a small branch icon in the history tab when you do this. Pressing that button will cycle between all the different “futures” after that history entry - meaning you will never lose work you have done.
- The History page now has an “advanced” mode - which shows thumbnails and time info.
I/O
- HEIF images can now be loaded directly into Photo. If they contain a depth map, this will also be loaded as a second layer. Because depth maps are typically lower resolution than the main image, optional “smart” upsampling will be performed.
- TIFF export now has user selectable compression method.
- Added support for 12bit TIFF files.
- Introduced new metadata mining - completely rewritten to improve performance, flexibility and correctness.
- Metadata is now dynamically synchronised with your document - so if you resize then export, the values will be correct.
- Added Focal Length to metadata summary view.
- Added a button in general preferences to open a folder from which Photo will read LensFun-style XML files - if users wish to add / experiment with their own lens profiles.
- Support 16bit CMYK TIFF import.
General
- New ability to control how macros are scaled / aligned when playing back.
- Added an “Assets” panel to Photo.
- New cube setup mode for grids.
- Add “Fill with Primary / Secondary” to the Edit menu for fast access.
- The batch process dialog now fully supports expressions for height and width - available constants are “w”, “h” and “dpi”.
- “Lock guides” added to menus.
- Support for drag dropping .afstyles into Photo.
- Support for drag dropping .afpalette into Photo.
- Photo now supports custom document presets - a popular feature request.
- A new blend mode - Linear Burn - has been added.
- New “Move inside / outside” commands have been added - useful for quick operations on clipping masks etc.
- The Hard Mix blend mode has been improved.
- New provider options have been added to the stock panel - support for Unsplash, Pexels and Pixabay. All of these providers offer full-resolution stock imagery which is free to use.
- Numerous text improvements have been made - including new features.
- Significant stability improvements when working on non-local files (network shares, USB drives, etc.).
- Significant PDF import / export improvements and fixes.
- New welcome screen layout and all new samples.
- Numerous other bug fixes - too many to list!

Now that Publisher has image linking as it is supposed to be I guess we won’t have to wait for too long to see this feature in Designer as well. To counter the possible argument about how that is of any importance for an app that deals primarily with vectors: here comes a screenshot …

Status: Beta
Purpose: Features, Improvements, Fixes
Requirements: Purchased Affinity Designer
Mac App Store: Not submitted
Download: Here
 
Hello,
We are pleased to announce the immediate availability of the beta of Affinity Designer 1.7 for macOS.
Designer 1.7 is a significant change to the currently shipping 1.6 version. Files edited in this version will not be backwards-compatible with the shipping 1.6 version. As such, we would not recommend using this 1.7 version for critical or production work at this stage. It is inevitable that there were will be a number of issues with 1.7 but we hope these will be minor and aim to resolve any issues very quickly, so please use it and explore the new features, but also do keep in mind that you may find snags and we would appreciate your help with finding and reporting these to us.
If this is your first time using a customer beta of an Affinity app, it’s worth noting that the beta will install as a separate app - alongside your store version. They will not interfere with each other at all and you can continue to use the store version for critical work without worry.
It’s also worth noting that we aren’t done yet - we are still working through reported bugs from previous releases and hope to fix as many as possible before the final release of 1.7. To be notified when there is a new beta please press follow on this announcment thread
With all that said, we hope that you will enjoy the new capabilities introduced in this initial release and we look forward to any and all feedback you give to us.
Many thanks,
Matt
 
Please refer to previous beta 1.7.0.4 post where there's a list of major changes since 1.6. This latest update builds on the 1.7.0.11 changes and also includes the following changes:
Adopt GPU acceleration (if your Mac supports it) for brushing - automatically enabled, but can be turned off in Preferences New samples! (actually, that'll be in the next build, sorry!) Improved selection logic for small objects and users with tablets Fixed order of palette import/export so it is not reversed! Miscellaneous Metal view mode improvements Fix for 'Create artboard' checkbox in the New Document dialog being incorrectly checked Fix for incorrect arrowhead previews in the drop-down list Restored original context menu behaviour of the Gradient Tool Fix for issues with horizontal or vertical lines not acting correctly in Node Tool Miscellaneous small fixes

Hi Dirk,
Welcome to the forums.
 
Any Illustrator documents that have objects on the pasteboard won't be present when opened in Affinity Designer. Once a file is open you can move objects onto the Pasteboard, but you may need to change the view mode first, View > View Mode > and uncheck Unclip to Canvas. 

This is because Affinity will read the embedded PDF stream within the Illustrator file and they don't contain the objects outside the pasteboard.