SpeedGeezer

Okay: clicked off Metal Compute, clicked to RESTART Designer. Seems to be working. That may or may not be a meaningful result, as the problem of the "stuttering line" was not consistent. Sometimes the Pencil Tool drew in real time, sometimes with the delay. One thing that seemed (emphasis on "seemed") to be a factor was just how I activated the Pencil Tool: typing "N" to activate the tool seemed to give better results than clicking on the tool in the Toolbox. Not enough info in practice to make a solid correlation here, just an initial grok. With Metal Compute turned off I will see how the non-appearance/hit V/appearance thing works out. TBT, this is all so minor, and the WorkArounds so quick and easy, it's not that big a deal. It just makes me nervous when OS's and apps leapfrog one another with their "updates" until one or the other becomes useless. DO NOT WANT AFFINITY DESIGNER TO BECOME ARCHAIC! I'm used to it now; I'm getting good results; I sho' nuff do NOT want to have to revert to Illustrator. Gnome sane? (BTW, nothing against Illustrator. It's a great, strong, versatile program. Just not a fan of the rent-not-to-own business model.) Thanks for your thoughtful response––especially if it works! (PS: screen shots will likely not be of any use. The wonky bits are dynamic, in the process of drawing, not telling in a static screen shot.)

Things are a bit off after having installed the new "Catalina" Mac OS. If I draw with the Pencil Tool, the drawn line does not necessarily appear. Perhaps some does, slowly, from node to node, inching and stuttering along. Perhaps it does not appear at all. WorkAround: hit V (makes line appear), then back to N to continue drawing. Another weird bit: drew a rectangle, filled it. It did not appear in the main window where I was working, but did appear in the Navigator window. WorkAround: hit Command + + (makes it appear), then Command + - (to go back to previous zoom level). Annoying bits, fer shur, but not paralyzing. Really wish Apple would stop with the "updates." Want to update security features? Sure, sounds reasonable. Go for it. But these "updates" that just seem to add snazzy "features"? They are ALWAYS a hassle. Could Apple just write one solid OS and then just leave it alone? Leave these annoying, useless "updates" to, say, your local highway department. THX.

No matter what, I'm not moving one inch, not one crummy Apple "update" past 10.6.8. It's just too much to risk losing complete functionality of CS5. I am off the bus so far as any more compliance with Apple's corporate policy of planned obsolescence—at least Adobe is obvious ("honest") in their approach. I'll run this iMac, with CS5, until it smokes. Please adapt designer for the now-"legacy" machines.