PaulEC

I haven't used Data Merge for a while, but I did create a calendar way back, using this template and csv file, with no problem. I very much doubt that there is a bug, it's much more likely that the csv file hasn't been edited correctly.

Another of those ideas that is fine, as long as it's an option and I don't have to name a file when I create it!

Thanks - all seems OK now!

I just downloaded it and it says "The Box Set 2023 - update 10.23.23", so I assume that it is the latest/updated version.

I've just tried downloading from Gumroad again and there doesn't seem to be any problem installing the brushes. The only problem is that the Gouache Brushes are missing!

I've asked this before but never received an answer: I would really like to know why Serif insist that it's preferable to keep defaulting to settings they have chosen, rather than letting the user decide what they want as a default! Why can't settings be "sticky" so that when I choose a setting that I want, it stays as I've set it? I would really like to find any user that actually wants the settings they have chosen to keep reverting back to different settings! (It's not just PDF export, for example, I get fed up having to change the Batch settings back to the ones that I want, every time I open the dialogue.)

Nothing, but why do you assume that everyone in Plymouth who uses Affinity is also a member of this forum? (There are probably thousands of people who use the Affinity software who do not chose to be active members of this forum!)

But in the movie, which tool did you use to make the image look lighter?

What are you doing to make the image lighter? The odd thing is that the background gets lighter as well as the image itself!

FWIW it took about 10 secs to open this file in APhoto on my old, low spec, Windows laptop, so I think your problem must be something other than either Affinity or the file itself!

Personally I think that it makes sense for a series of books to have similar covers, so I would suggest carrying on in the same style. Having said that, it looks to me like the "Peaky Blinders" picture was done by hand, but based closely on a photo. If you want to gat a similar look, but don't want to start from scratch, I'd suggest having a look at a couple of free apps: G'MIC https://gmic.eu/download.html and FotoSketcher https://fotosketcher.com/ and see if any of the effects give you the result you want.

I can only offer a personal opinion, but firstly it does seem that you picked the wrong artist to do the style of work that you wanted. Secondly, I have to say that I really don’t think you should now take someone else’s artwork and change it without their consent. Obviously it all comes down to the contract you have with the artist, but my own feeling is that you should be up front and tell them that the illustration is not suitable, and if they cannot supply an illustration in the style you requested, you need to find another artist who can. (Which should be perfectly possible, although they may not necessarily choose to use Procreate!; they may prefer to use something else, maybe even Affinity!) The other option would be to use an existing painting for the cover (obviously you would have to deal with any copyright issues. EDIT, according to Wikipedia both these pictures are in the Public Domain). For example, a couple of well known paintings by David come to mind that might be suitable: Napoleon in his Study at the Tuileries (which is very close to the picture your artist provided} or one of him on horseback, Napoleon Crossing the Alps.

G'MIC has a number of frame options which might be of use. https://gmic.eu/ There are also some limited frames options in FotoSketcher. https://fotosketcher.com/ (FotoSketcher is a stand alone app, not a plugin.) Both of these are free!

EDITED: The tricky bit is getting the outline in the first place. You need to make a selection first and this might be difficult with an old sepia image. Using the Pen Tool would be more accurate, but it would certainly be quicker and easier to use the Selection Brush, Refine it, then just add an FX Outline. (As per Twolane's link below.) The part I don't really understand is outlining the figure so that you can add text!

I just tried this (with an afphoto file) and it worked OK! (Useful to know.)

Are you saying that the problem is that you get thumbnails for v1 but not for v2, or that you get thumbnails for v1 and v2 but they look the same so you can't tell which version the file was created in?

The v1 beta is no longer available, you might still have an old link, but you can no longer download and use it. You cannot use the v2 beta unless you have bought the v2 release version. Beta versions are not free alternatives to the release versions, they are only intended (for users who have already purchased the software) to test it before a new version of the software is released. Beta versions are only available for a limited time, and usually expire when the next release version is available. You can download a free 30 day trial of Affinity v2. If you have a problem with v1 it might help if you told us what it is!

If you want a "proper" contact sheet, including file names/sheet name etc, the easiest thing is to use something like Irfanview (free) which has a built in contact sheet feature: https://www.irfanview.com/ (It is only for Windows, but I'm sure there must be something similar for Mac.)

The thing is that most publications don't tend to include large numbers of capitalised names. If you are going to exclude so many words from the spell check, by excluding all capitalised words, you are quite likely to miss some actual mistakes. It's also worth remembering that spell checking is not perfect so should not be relied on blindly (there will often be "false positives"). I would have thought that it would be easier to just ignore spell check results, or turn it off altogether, if your publication has so many words not in the dictionary! Having said this, I suppose that there's no problem in having a way to exclude capitalised words (if enough people think it would be useful), as long as it is not possible for the option to be set inadvertently, as this could result in missing a lot of actual spelling mistakes.

But wouldn’t that mean that it never picks up spelling mistakes in the first word of a sentence, nor in any proper noun? I would have thought that that was more of a problem than adding words to the dictionary when you need to!

A lot of people have asked for a Blend Tool, and it seems likely that one will be added at some point.

It seems to make sense that if you hit a shortcut for "File - Place" it places a new image, but if you select an existing image first, it replaces the selected image instead!

From Fotosketcher web site: "FotoSketcher is a 100% free program for Windows (there is also an experimental version for MacOS) which converts your digital photos into art automatically and in just a few mouse clicks. Over 20 different styles are available from pencil sketches to watercolor or oil paintings, pen & ink drawings, abstract art and cartoons. From photo to painting (landscapes, architecture, portraits, etc.) in seconds! You can also improve your original photos with simple tools (enhance contrast, sharpen, simplify image, increase luminosity, color saturation etc…) and add simple or realistic frames and text. For advanced users, some more powerful tools allow you to batch process several images, manually retouch some areas of your pictures, combine multiple filters and even create your own effects by using the script function. FotoSketcher is completely free (even for commercial use, if you wish to sell your pictures) and does not contain any adware, spyware or virus. It runs on Microsoft Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 8.1 and the latest Windows 10 (an experimental Mac version is also available from the download page)." Tutorials are available on the website. To be honest, I think it's quite valid to post this information here as a resource, as painting/drawing effects are something that has been asked about, but are quite difficult to create within the Affinity apps. Although this is a stand alone app, rather than a plugin, so are a number of other apps that have been mentioned in the forums, such as Vectorizer (which has been mentioned ad infinitum!) I'd agree that a little more information might be nice for people who don't know about a particular item that is mentioned, but for those of us who use Fotosketcher, it's nice to be informed when there is a new update. 🙂

It's not a plugin, it's a stand alone app.

Panorama stitching will only work if there is a reasonable overlap (30% ideally) and the images have a similar perspective (i,e. both/all taken from the same position, with the same lighting conditions etc, and without movement, such as waves or fast moving clouds etc.)