ThePixelWhisperer

Okay, thank you for explaining. I was hoping Designer could be a full replacement for the subscription-based Illustrator, but file incompatibilities with AI files and eps files with AI data will mean that I need to keep Illustrator. Too bad.

I just downloaded two .eps files from a stock photo service. Designer takes ten seconds to open each <11MB file, then makes the files look weird, as if half their layers are missing. The layers I do see are incomplete and many cannot be worked with separately. Adobe Illustrator opens both files as expected, shows the .eps files exactly like their JPEG previews, and all layers can be worked with separately. I'm attaching both .eps files and their JPEG previews. chalkboards assorted.eps chalkboard gray.eps

Let's say I'm working with an .eps file in Designer, then I close the file. Designer won't release its grip on the file, so when I try to rename the closed file or move it to a folder, I get the Windows 10 error message "The action can't be completed because the file is open in Affinity Designer. Close the file and try again." (See attached screenshot.) Is that a bug? I have to close Designer to be able to move or rename a closed file?

Wow, such quick service. Sweet! Best of luck with the fix.

Good to know. I now see where the Designer feature list includes only "Adobe Illustrator files containing a PDF stream." Since there are indeed other types of Illustrator files, I can't expect Designer to open them all. Too bad, though. I'd love a complete substitute for Illustrator. Thank you for your clarifications!

Wow, that was some great sleuthing! Thank you for taking the time to research this. Since I still have Adobe Illustrator, this is classified under "high-class problem." Just an addition to the Designer wishlist that it could open .AI files, no matter how they were saved.

Thank you for weighing in on this. Designer opens roughly 90% of the 40 .ai files I tried today. That actually may be good enough. I'll be requesting .eps and .svg files from now on, which should also help. The issue I have with Designer: I know that there's no guarantee that it can open a competitor's file. But as a potential replacement for a competitor, it should be able to. For example, Affinity Photo has no trouble opening and saving PSD files. I feel that Designer should be able to open an Illustrator file, no matter how it was saved.

My file doesn't have a .ps extension. It ends with the .ai extension.

Adobe Illustrator and Zamzar.com online file converter are all I checked so far.

Sorry, I don't know how it was saved from AI...I got it from a client. All I know is that it has the AI suffix, and other apps open it and Designer doesn't. If it is a PostScript file, why can't Designer open that? I'm just afraid that I'll cancel my Adobe subscription and then won't be able to open files that I could open before.

I'm trying to open an .AI file in Designer, and all I get is a blank page, no logo. The logo image opens perfectly in Adobe Illustrator. I'm attempting to replace Illustrator completely with Designer. But I would need Designer not to balk at files that other programs open (including the online file conversion website Zamzar.com). The file is attached. Logo Robofiber v2.ai

Cool! Thanks for jumping on this so quickly.

I know this is just one extra mouse click, but... When I double-click a file (.eps, .svg, .afdesign, etc.), the Affinity Designer tab lights up in the taskbar, but that's all. Windows doesn't switch to Affinity Designer and open up the window with the file. In addition to double-clicking the file, I have to also click the glowing Affinity Designer tab in the taskbar. How do I make Affinity Designer behave like every other app on my PC, and come into focus when I click one of its associated files? Thank you.

Thanks so much for the tip. I will check it out! :)

You're correct, Neil. I'm using Bridge for an image browser. It actually does a great job at that, but if I were to replace Photoshop with Affinity Photo, Bridge would have to go, too. I'll definitely check out ACDSee. It's been like 100 years since I used that! Thanks much for the tip.