pmcabinet

I open an image in Affinity Photo 2 and make an unconstrained crop. Then I add a vignette (new live filter layer>colours>vignette). Now when I try to add an effect (layer effects>outline>inside) I get the 'border' on only two sides - the sides that were unchanged when I cropped the image. I have tried rasterising the cropped layer to get rid of the 'saved' portion of the original image, but that doesn't make any difference. If I go back to the uncropped original then I get the full border outline. Clearly my process is not correct - what should I be doing instead?

This is the image (original size 3456x2491) that I wish to reduce: And here is the image reduced to 800x576 px in MS Paint: Now a screenshot of the resize settings: And the result in Affinity: Zoom each reduced image to 200% and it's clear the MS Paint version is much better quality. I tried reducing in Affinity by specifying a centimetre size and unchecking 'resample', but the result was no better. Any idea why this should be so?

I can use Microsft Paint to reduce an image size quite considerably (3456x2491 px to 800x576 px) without any noticeable loss of quality (no apparent pixellation). If I try to do this in Affinity Photo 2 (Document<Image size) the result is lousy, no matter, it seems, what settings I use. Clearly, as a relative newbie, I'm not using the right method; can a kind soul give me a way to use AP for this? Surely it cannot be that MS Paint will do something not possible in Affinity!

Thanks everyone for your suggestions; I should have enough to work on for now! PS: JimmyJack, where can I see this 'pretty cool interactive version'?!

Is there a way to zoom in on a selection as if using a magnifying glass over the selected object? Leaving the background at its native resolution, that is. I created a donut shape, selected it, inverted the selection and used a live filter to blur the background, as shown. But I'm curious whether it's possible to zoom in on just the area inside the donut - and how I would deal with the donut if such a method exists? Maybe isolating the subject, saving it, then placing the image on the blurred background?

Thanks for confirming, Peter. Using AP without hardware acceleration is rather unpredictable (crashes on complex processes) so if you find any answers do post here! Happy New Year Peter (me!)

This issue occurs in Windows 10 Pro (x64) v2009 (build 19043.1415) with NVIDIA GeForce GTX1050 GPU. System is fully updated with latest Studio Driver from NVIDIA. Earlier versions of NVIDIA driver also suffer. I'm relatively new to AP (v1.10.4.1198) so have only started to use brush tools recently. Finding the blur brush tool not working I did some searching and discovered reports of issues with hardware acceleration going back quite a long time. HSL dialogue also seems to suffer. It was reported that disabling HA cures the problem, which indeed it does; but then other processes become decidedly less friendly (i.e. slow!). I've not found a topic that addresses directly the GTX1050, hence this post. Since this seems to be a long running affair, is it something we have to live with or can we expect a fix? I really don't want to go back to Lightroom or Photoshop!

Alfred, you haven't wasted my time at all. I've learned a great deal in the process! But I still can't upload the d****d screenshot.

Yes, I'm dragging it to the correct place. See my reply to Alfred for explanation.

Well, I'm puzzled because I've been very careful to place the file in the right area. I'm dragging a 1.00 MB PNG from Windows Explorer. So I've just tried again and notice that left-clicking on the file and dragging shows a thumbnail with an arrow and 'move'. I've not seen that before. Alternatively, clicking 'choose files' just takes me back to the beginning of the conversation! Is that a Windows issue or a Firefox problem, or a Forum glitch? I don't know. Anyway, I'll have a look at the tutorial and let you know if it gives me the answer. Many thanks for your help so far.

Sorry about the file size Alfred. I didn't notice it was a BMP rather than a PNG! I'll be more careful next time. OK, so I have filled the ellipse (and applied a Gaussian blur to see the effect) - but it's the opposite of what you say should happen; that is, the oval is now solid white while everything outside is visible. When I try to drag a screenshot, or choose the file to show you, it just fills the browser window and I lose my reply. Any idea what's going on there? Sorry to be a pain.

Thanks for taking the trouble to explain, Alfred. I get the layer move now, but I think I must be misunderstanding the mask procedure; having repositioned the shape layer, how do I get to the point where anything outside the blue ellipse is invisible but the part within the shape is showing? I suppose what I'm asking is how to make the shape into a mask? (Or is it already a mask and I just don't know how to use it?) (I can't upload an updated screenshot - the attachment pane here doesn't seem to be working.)

MickRose, I know yours is an old post, but it's exactly what I want to do. The problem is, I don't understand what you mean by "In the layers panel drag the shape slightly to the right of the photo." Could you explain in a bit more detail for novices like me? I can use the shape tool to create an ellipse and move it around over the area of focus, but can't do anything with it! What do I do next? Affinity Photo 12112021 115545.bmp

Both methods work nicely and simply. I think the keys I was missing are: 1. Convert to curves, in firstdefence's method. 2. The double arrows (skew) hidden between the rotate and linear arrows, in walt.farrell's method. Both will be put to good use in future; thanks to you two again.

Oh, that's very cute! I'm about to try both methods - will report in due course. Many thanks for your interest.

Is it possible to edit a shape - rectangle, say - to create an irregular quadrilateral? I can anchor one corner and 'push' the shape into any parallelogram, but it's always constrained, whereas I want a rectangle in perspective form, i.e with four unequal sides. Can it be done (reasonably simply!) in Designer? Can two or more corners of a rectangle shape be anchored at once? Suggestions (polite!) very much appreciated.

Resolved! Many thanks to all of you, especially Dan C for making that excellent video! I can't believe how I missed that Stroke setting when it had already been suggested; another lesson learned. Can I make 'no stroke' the default, or will the last setting be maintained until I change it?

Thanks for the replies, but I'm a bit confused. I can't see a node tool in Photo so maybe this refers to Designer? Also, I have checked Decorations in Character panel (Photo) - no stroke selected. Two helpers ask for a screenshot; I have already uploaded a snip which is shown with my original post - is it not visible? Rather than any outline it shows a sort of black edge pixellation. In response to Dan C I tried to upload the whole afphoto file, but the browser crashed for some reason and I have had to type it all over again! I suspect my problem is something to do with resolution/sizing, so this is the method I used: 1. Create new A4 document (for printing) from templates 2. Place selected image (original size 3456x4608 px) in doc and resize (bounding box handles) to suit 3. Create layer mask and paste new sky 4. Select Artistic Text tool, white swatch, 24pt Bodoni and type text within image This is when I see black (also some grey) edges to the lettering This morning I tried a different method: open file in photo at original size, select and enter white type, go to print, choose 'Fit to printable (A4); result perfect. So what happened with my original method (which I prefer because it gives me more control)? I will try again to upload the problem file. Willow_Oak__Bedgebury_2.afphoto

Using the artistic text tool in Affinity Photo I selected white colour with 14pt Bodoni for an A4 size document (photo). As I type, an unwanted black and grey outline/edge appears on each letter; a print shows the same effect (as per the snip image at 200% attached). I know there are other posts about unwanted outlines on text, but they don't seem to address this particular issue. And I have successfully used white text on photos in the past by the same (I think) method. It doesn't seem to relate to any stroke setting (which doesn't appear on the context bar anyway - or at least not that I can see). It looks like I have introduced a pixel problem somehow but I can't find any way to eliminate it. Does anyone know why it happens and how to get rid of it?

Yes it's there, I checked the drop down paper size menu - it shows a long list with 'custom' at the top. But hidden above was the option 'Defined by Driver'; once used then the drop down defaults to showing it first. But I don't think you would ever see it if you didn't know it was there! I don't want to disparage Affinity Photo. It is a really good alternative to Photoshop and remarkable value for money but I still think AP needs to sharpen up (pun intended!) its print side. I think you are quite right not to want any hidden sharpening process - Lightroom, for one, does give you the option to choose what level of output sharpening might be appropriate for photo prints, web etc and you can 'proof' this on screen to get an idea of how it will look as a print. With Affinity you have to sharpen to a level that looks misleadingly awful on screen to get a good print result, making it difficult to judge. Photoshop just gets it right. (I say this as someone who prints close shots of botanical subjects requiring the best possible detail for comparative purposes.) Nonetheless, as I said, Affinity is fabulous and I will certainly continue to use it. And thanks again for your interest.

Thanks for your quck response Walt. Since posting, I have found another question on the same subject (really sorry for having started a new topic!) where the chap having trouble mentions that after a restart of AP he found a setting under 'Paper Size' specifying 'Defined by Driver'. So I restarted Photo, loaded my image and sure enough there was 'Defined by Driver' in the Print 'Paper Size' box, right at the top above 'Custom'. Now I'm pretty sure that option wasn't on the menu before; but I chose it and yes, the borderless print worked correctly. Do you think it only appears after setting 'Fit to Printable'? If that's the case I could have missed it - whatever, definitely one to watch out for. So, success; but I have to add that while I think AP is fantastic for editing, the print side of it sucks compared to Photoshop! (Just compare among other things image sharpness after printing with each program - the Photoshop version is noticeably sharper when printing the exact same file. Have you found this?) Anyway, thanks again for your interest.

I print quite frequently from Affinity Photo for Windows, using a Canon Pixma TS6250. This is usually for bordered images. Recently I have needed to print 6"x4" borderless but cannot get the Affinity print dialogue to work with my Canon printer: having reduced my document size to 6"x4", set the print dialogue to the correct orientation and scale 100%, I click Printer Properties to bring up the Canon print dialogue. The latter is set to borderless on 6x4 photo paper, preview box checked. I click OK to return to Affinity print dialogue, click OK again and the Canon print preview is invoked - but shows paper size changed to A4 with the image placed in the corner! I have tried this with the document at original size with Affinity print dialogue set to 'fit to printable': same result. I have tried every combination I can think of between the Affinity and Canon dialogues to achieve this borderless print but the Canon preview always shows the paper size changed to A4. I check the paper settings on the printer - all OK. If I go ahead and print anyway, I get just a portion of the image on a 6x4 paper. If I leave everything as is but uncheck the borderless setting in the Canon properties then the image prints correctly but of course with borders. Now I feel this must be an Affinity issue because my old Photoshop CS2 software will produce a borderless print of the same file (Canon printer settings same as used with Affinity) with no fuss at all. The burning question is: do I now have to export all my borderless image printing to CS2, or have I missed or misunderstood a setting in Affinity? I can't believe Affinity is lacking in such a basic requirement, so if anyone can point me to a solution I will be so, so grateful!

I have installed Affinity Photo and now discover that the program will not start unless I use an Aero desktop theme on my PC (W7 Pro 64 bit). There does not appear to be a way to 'OK' and overrride the warning: But, for sound reasons I will not elaborate here, I do not want an Aero desktop theme; surely the software does not depend entirely on this? If it does, I will have to ask for a refund. How would I go about that? A pity since I would like to have compared it to Lightroom. Or have I missed something?