fbungartz

I think the "export" instead of "save/save as" is really a MAJOR nuisance and the main reason why I have decided to abandon Affinity and continue to use Photoshop instead.
The export just means I cannot quickly edit and save a file, but instead, I am forced to save everything as *.afphoto first and then still have to"export" everything into a format compatible with other software. That's just clumsy and the unwanted/unnecessary *.afphoto files clutter up hard drive space.
Yes, there are scenarios where I love to use the *.afphoto format. It is much more powerful, because unlike the PSD format from Adobe, the whole editing history can be saved to the file. This is fantastic and was one major reason that drew met to consider Affinity in the first place.
But for most of my files a few quick minor edits is all I want: come color adjustments, perhaps some re-size, perhaps a crop (and I always keep the original archived version).
I have used Photoshop for decades and NEVER EVER overwritten a file. Besides, that's what backups are for. What really, really bugs me about the "export" approach is that one has to configure all these additional options. This makes it very clumsy and rather convoluted. "Save as" is just two simple clicks. That's it. Affinity forces me to always decide all these specifications. Of course I cannot save transparency, layers, etc., etc. in a file format that doesn't support it. That's a no-brainer.
BTW - it is simply not true that "save / save as" overwrites the native file format in other applications. If I am working in photoshop PSD format, the file is saved as PSD, when I click "save". Only when I select "save as" gets a NEW file created and I can select it to be saved as a JPG. This does NOT replace the PSD format. And if I want to close the PSD without having saved it, I get a simple dialog reminding me, whether I still want to save my edits (even if I previously saved the file as a JPG).
I have no idea, what's wrong with that.
I really don't like this approach of forcing me to work ONLY in a particular format (= *.afphoto). Software should be made for people using it, not forcing a particular workflow on us.
The other aspect that I do not like at all:
Resize.
In Photoshop resizing an image is trivial and very intuitive = it gives you both the pixel dimensions AND the document size. You easily can see how pixel resolution translates into image size. In Affinity this is a major headache! The pixels and the DPI don't give you a clue what printout size this translates into. By comparison the Resize dialog in photoshop is simply genius.
Originally, I was really impressed with Affinity 1. Then, when they decided to go the Microsoft App route in Affinity 2, I thought "no way", holding off on upgrading. But I then realized, I hardly ever use Affinity. And the two reasons why are: 'export' and 'resize'.  Both are too much of a hassle, when just doing some quick routine. And the fine garnularity of being able to save the complete editing history. Nice feature, but if it keeps me from doing routine jobs quickly - not worth the hassle.