GRAFKOM

I think since there is already a measurement tool in version 2.3, measurement and labeling issues should be a feature that needs to be added, because we have many designers using affinity to edit printing files, and they need to convey size information to customers so that they can be used at different times. There is a clear size reference when converting formats between suppliers, so I suggest that the dimensioning function can be added and the dimensions can be displayed in real time as the size of the graphics changes.

The entire interface of version 2.0 is a degradation from V1. A thorough redesign is no longer an option but a necessity. 
Incredibly poor contrast (shades of gray used to build panels, buttons, category backgrounds). Lack of consistency when it comes to the design of elements such as drop-down lists, text fields (size, padding, alignment, text line heights, appearance)  Different shapes of tabs in panel groups for active states, hovering states. Blending of the background color of the text box with the panel itself. Lack of consistency when it comes to the quality of icons (some look sharp, pixel aligned and pixel perfect others are blurry) Visual noise. (to much bad previews, icons) ... It would take a long time to list. It is simply unpleasant to work with such an interface.
When I read the following article on Affinity Spotlight it gave me a good laugh.
Specifically, I am referring to the beginning of the article which reads:
EDIT: link to article corrected.

The first implementation of the export preview feature wasn't as good as (Serif team) would have liked, so they provided a toggle button and everything was fine.
In version 2, the export preview is no better. It's slow, there are no buttons to control the zoom size, only keyboard shortcuts, there's no need to always use it and it's a waste of resources, users want a toggle button and yet Serif decided to keep it on permanently, leaving users in control. Where is the logic here?

I think it would be useful to display the export format if exporting from the Designer persona, so have logged that.

Hi All,
The latest build (2.4.0.2240) which should be available shortly on auto update does now include the ability to lock "insert inside" in addition to the other insertion targets. We have also added the ability for you to use long press on iPad to lock insertion targets...
Other fixes in this build are listed in Patrick's post here.
Thanks,
Ash
 

That's right. Access only thru main toolbar/menu is not enough.

Hello everyone,
v2.4.0.222
With the arrival of version 2.4 of Affinity Designer, it is crucial to pay more attention to the needs of web designers. Exporting AFDESIGN files in SVG format reveals a major issue: the excessive presence of superfluous elements in the source code. This can cause problems when SVGs are used on websites.

Issues
test-text-rectangle.afdesign
Current export vs. ideal export:
Here is a concrete example to illustrate the problem, based on a very simplified situation:
Current SVG source (Exported by Affinity Designer 2.4.0.2222): 3184 bytes
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="no"?> <!DOCTYPE svg PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD SVG 1.1//EN" "http://www.w3.org/Graphics/SVG/1.1/DTD/svg11.dtd"> <svg width="100%" height="100%" viewBox="0 0 889 154" version="1.1" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xml:space="preserve" xmlns:serif="http://www.serif.com/" style="fill-rule:evenodd;clip-rule:evenodd;stroke-linejoin:round;stroke-miterlimit:2;"> <g id="SVG-export" serif:id="SVG export" transform="matrix(1.05833,0,0,1.1,0,0)"> <rect x="0" y="0" width="840" height="140" style="fill:none;"/> <clipPath id="_clip1"> <rect x="0" y="0" width="840" height="140"/> </clipPath> <g clip-path="url(#_clip1)"> <g id="Hide-maroon-rgb-115-72-72--tear" serif:id="Hide maroon rgb(115,72,72) tear" transform="matrix(0.944882,0,0,0.909091,76.9626,-7.27273)"> <path d="M774.428,41.82C774.428,41.82 807.548,60.083 807.548,67.91C807.548,82.31 792.708,94 774.428,94C756.149,94 741.309,82.31 741.309,67.91C741.309,60.083 774.428,41.82 774.428,41.82Z" style="fill:rgb(115,72,72);"/> </g> <g id="Purple-rgb-115-72-242--circle" serif:id="Purple rgb(115,72,242) circle" transform="matrix(1.19876,0,0,1.31455,-195.447,-62.4413)"> <ellipse cx="828.307" cy="100.75" rx="60.693" ry="53.25" style="fill:rgb(115,72,242);"/> </g> <g id="Pink-rgb-204-44-255--visible-heart" serif:id="Pink rgb(204,44,255) visible heart" transform="matrix(0.944309,0,0,0.908621,-17.4437,0.166044)"> <path d="M853.979,109.074C861.352,98.868 876.097,98.868 883.47,103.971C890.844,109.074 890.844,119.279 883.47,129.484C878.309,137.138 865.038,144.792 853.979,149.895C842.919,144.792 829.648,137.138 824.487,129.484C817.114,119.279 817.114,109.074 824.487,103.971C831.86,98.868 846.606,98.868 853.979,109.074Z" style="fill:rgb(204,44,255);"/> </g> <g id="Yellow-rgb-255-255-63--Artistic-text" serif:id="Yellow rgb(255,255,63) Artistic text" transform="matrix(0.944882,0,0,0.909091,21.9758,16.3877)"> <g transform="matrix(37.5,0,0,37.5,698.358,103.622)"> </g> <text x="95.08px" y="103.622px" style="font-family:'SimplySans-Book', 'Simply Sans', sans-serif;font-size:37.5px;fill:rgb(255,255,63);">Unnecessary objects and elements</text> </g> <g id="Blue--rgb-0-255-255--Artistic-text" serif:id="Blue #rgb(0,255,255) Artistic text" transform="matrix(0.944882,0,0,0.909091,14.1732,1.81818)"> <g transform="matrix(58.3333,0,0,58.3333,607.818,50.0094)"> </g> <text x="107px" y="50.009px" style="font-family:'SimplySans-Book', 'Simply Sans', sans-serif;font-size:58.333px;fill:rgb(0,255,255);">A plethoric source</text> </g> <g id="Green-rgb-51-193-33--rectangle" serif:id="Green rgb(51,193,33) rectangle" transform="matrix(0.220472,0,0,0.233333,0,0)"> <rect x="0" y="0" width="300" height="600" style="fill:rgb(51,193,33);"/> </g> </g> </g> </svg> Ideal SVG Source: 1555 bytes (1493 without spaces)
<svg viewBox="0 0 889 154" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xml:space="preserve" style="fill-rule:evenodd;clip-rule:evenodd;stroke-linejoin:round;stroke-miterlimit:2"> <g transform="scale(1.05833 1.1)"> <clipPath id="a"> <path d="M0 0h840v140H0z"/> </clipPath> <g clip-path="url(#a)"> <path d="M774.428 41.82s33.12 18.263 33.12 26.09c0 14.4-14.84 26.09-33.12 26.09-18.279 0-33.119-11.69-33.119-26.09 0-7.827 33.119-26.09 33.119-26.09Z" style="fill:#734848" transform="matrix(.94488 0 0 .9091 76.963 -7.273)"/> <ellipse cx="828.307" cy="100.75" rx="60.693" ry="53.25" style="fill:#7348f2" transform="matrix(1.19876 0 0 1.31455 -195.447 -62.441)"/> <path d="M853.979 109.074c7.373-10.206 22.118-10.206 29.491-5.103 7.374 5.103 7.374 15.308 0 25.513-5.161 7.654-18.432 15.308-29.491 20.411-11.06-5.103-24.331-12.757-29.492-20.411-7.373-10.205-7.373-20.41 0-25.513 7.373-5.103 22.119-5.103 29.492 5.103Z" style="fill:#cc2cff" transform="matrix(.9443 0 0 .90862 -17.444 .166)"/> <text x="95.08" y="103.622" style="font-family:'SimplySans-Book','Simply Sans',sans-serif;font-size:37.5px;fill:#ffff3f" transform="matrix(.94488 0 0 .9091 21.976 16.388)">Unnecessary objects and elements</text> <text x="107" y="50.009" style="font-family:'SimplySans-Book','Simply Sans',sans-serif;font-size:58.333px;fill:#0ff" transform="matrix(.94488 0 0 .9091 14.173 1.818)">A plethoric source</text> <path style="fill:#33c121" d="M0 0h300v600H0z" transform="scale(.22047 .23333)"/> </g> </g> </svg> A comparison of the two versions highlights the overabundance of unnecessary information in the current export.
Suggested improvements
Automatic code clean-up:
Implement an automatic clean-up function during export to eliminate superfluous elements. Export in Two Formats. Offer the option of exporting the SVG in two versions: Standard SVG file. SVG source optimized for integration into a web source. <g id="" viewBox="0 0 889 154" transform="scale(1.05833 1.1)"> <clipPath id="a"> <path d="M0 0h840v140H0z"/> </clipPath> <g clip-path="url(#a)"> <path id="Hide-maroon-rgb-115-72-72--tear" d="M774.428 41.82s33.12 18.263 33.12 26.09c0 14.4-14.84 26.09-33.12 26.09-18.279 0-33.119-11.69-33.119-26.09 0-7.827 33.119-26.09 33.119-26.09Z" style="fill:#734848" transform="matrix(.94488 0 0 .9091 76.963 -7.273)"/> <ellipse id="Purple-rgb-115-72-242--circle" cx="828.307" cy="100.75" rx="60.693" ry="53.25" style="fill:#7348f2" transform="matrix(1.19876 0 0 1.31455 -195.447 -62.441)"/> <path id="Pink-rgb-204-44-255--visible-heart" d="M853.979 109.074c7.373-10.206 22.118-10.206 29.491-5.103 7.374 5.103 7.374 15.308 0 25.513-5.161 7.654-18.432 15.308-29.491 20.411-11.06-5.103-24.331-12.757-29.492-20.411-7.373-10.205-7.373-20.41 0-25.513 7.373-5.103 22.119-5.103 29.492 5.103Z" style="fill:#cc2cff" transform="matrix(.9443 0 0 .90862 -17.444 .166)"/> <text id="Yellow-rgb-255-255-63--Artistic-text" x="95.08" y="103.622" style="font-family:'SimplySans-Book','Simply Sans',sans-serif;font-size:37.5px;fill:#ffff3f" transform="matrix(.94488 0 0 .9091 21.976 16.388)">Unnecessary objects and elements</text> <text id="Blue--rgb-0-255-255--Artistic-text" x="107" y="50.009" style="font-family:'SimplySans-Book','Simply Sans',sans-serif;font-size:58.333px;fill:#0ff" transform="matrix(.94488 0 0 .9091 14.173 1.818)">A plethoric source</text> <path id="Green-rgb-51-193-33--rectangle" style="fill:#33c121" d="M0 0h300v600H0z" transform="scale(.22047 .23333)"/> </g> </g>
Conclusion
Implementing these improvements in Affinity Designer would enable greater compatibility with current web practices and significant performance optimization for sites incorporating SVGs. This would represent a considerable advantage for web designers using Affinity Designer.
See also:
Iconify: https://iconly.io/tools/svg-cleaner SVGom: https://svgomg.net/ SVG Minify: https://www.svgminify.com/

Please include the option to update all 3 programs at once so we don't have to load each one and update separately.
If a user owns Publisher, I assume it can see the file paths for the Designer and Photo installs.
The updater should check each program's version and make sure D and P are at least the same version as A
 

Reported and requested by serveral customers since v1.
Could the grey page border and what not be hidden in at least preview mode in Publisher. 


More history:
 

Hi All,
It looks as though the default is shared between both of these tools. I have made a log with our developers to look at potentially changing this in the future.
Thanks
C

I think, without too much effort put into thinking it, that the Rectangle Tool should always draw new rectangles with squared corners no matter which settings were used in the Rounded Rectangle Tool or what the last rectangle was changed to use while using the Rectangle Tool.
And the Rounded Rectangle Tool should always draw new rectangles with the settings which were last drawn with that tool (unless the user has pressed “Revert Defaults”).
Otherwise what’s the point of having separate tools if they both ‘borrow’ settings from each other?
(The 'roundedness' can, of course, still be changed after the rectangle has been drawn.) 
This seems sensible to me – if I want a new non-rounded rectangle I use the Rectangle Tool rather than the Rounded Rectangle Tool.

@Ash any chance fo rollback/undo to old behavior and allow users to select "Align to" option in the Alignment panel first before the actual align operation?
Curent after a change between app version it is greyed out until you choose an align option. There wher complaints about that change.

Thanks!
+1 for this! 😜

+1 for a separate panel for alignment controls.

Apps: All
Platforms: Windows, macOS and iPad
While transforming any object with the move tool (whether resizing, rotating, skewing or moving) you can now hold space to temporarily toggle Lock Children on or off (to achieve the opposite behaviour of what you currently have set in the context toolbar).

I'm curious why these new functions were added to Alignment rather than being added to Transform, though. They feel more like object transformation actions than object alignment actions. Am I missing some aspect of how this works?

I believe this has been requested before: In the case of the Desktop version, having a Panel dedicated for this alignment actions would be better than the current Dropdown option. Still, nice additions.  
Best regards!

A line does not have an inside or outside. Those are properties of closed objects.

We are planning to release a 2.3.1 patch to address a handful of important things and then start 2.4.0 beta.
We think it's important to address a few high customer impact bugs quickly in a 2.3.1 release, in a fast/stable manner.
The release of 2.4.0 with improvements and features and many fixes will likely take a while to be "release ready" (need a longer beta testing cycle due to having more significant code changes).
We have builds for both 2.3.1 and 2.4.0 in internal testing at the moment. I would expect these to both be with you in the first half of this month

As you say, the PDF specification defines PDF units as 72 'points' to 1 inch, and that is how things are measured internally.
But just because it may be technically correct, it doesn't mean that it is right from a user's perspective.

I bet you cannot find one single user who prefers to work in points, and all other programs that I have around automatically convert to the user's preferred default unit when opening a PDF.
This includes Adobe Reader and Acrobat Pro as well as other PDF readers, CorelDRAW, Illustrator, office apps and web browsers.
They all have a user defined unit that they use instead of points, and I think it would rather practical if Affinity could do the same.
Of course we can change the unit after opening a PDF but it is easy to forget and could lead to confusion as we work.

Therefore I suggest that the Affinity apps automatically convert to default document unit, or that they add a dropdown menu to the PDF options dialog, and preferably a menu that remembers 'last used'.

I have updated the Currency Effect macro to version 2. This new version adds a live Ripple filter, which will give the engraving lines a bit of wave. This can be turned off (naturally!) but I think the added touch gives the engraving a bit more authenticity. There is also an Instructions macro, which will place on-screen instructions into a new layer.
The new version can be downloaded from the first post in this thread. The .afmacros category includes both the original and new versions of the macro, along with the instructions macro. You can safely delete the old version of the Currency Effect, since that original macro is included in the v2 category above.

I most certainly do not know why it would be useful for the Node tool, since the normal triangular pointer already affords precise positioning of the pointer at its tip.
For brushes it makes sense, otherwise it does not, at least to me.

Hi,
Right now the tool box can only be docked to the left side margin by default. I was hoping the V2 upgrade would've included this, but I'll request it nonetheless: it would be nice to be able to dock the tool box to either side of the screen, specially for those who carry out most their workflow on the right side. Having to look for tools on the opposite end of a large screen is awfully ineffective.
PS. I am aware the tools can be detached and placed freely around the screen, however I rezise my windows constantly and the tool box unfortunately stays at the same spot and always has to be dragged along.

Hi All,
I’m pleased to say that we will be pushing 2.3 live to retail this morning. The beta versions were updated yesterday to the same build (2.3.0.2165) as detailed in Patrick’s post here. This means the beta versions are in effect exactly the same as the retail versions we will push so you can keep them installed if you wish. 
As always it’s been a pleasure working with you all on this release and cannot thank you enough for all the bug reports and other feedback you have given. I mentioned at the start of this beta we are working towards a shorter cadence between updates to help us release improvements and bug fixes sooner - and I hope you agree this has worked very well.
With that in mind we will be starting 2.4 beta very shortly (hopefully in just a couple of weeks). Looking forward to seeing you all on here for that!
Thanks again,
Ash

Hi All,
We have just pushed another update to the 2.3 beta (2.3.0.2165) which is considered a potential release candidate and should be available to you on auto update shortly. The list of fixes included in this build are listed in Patrick's post here.
Thanks,
Ash