iMatt

I have used CorelDraw for page layout. It works fine for single, double-sided and documents which are not going to have too many pages such as a newsletter. CD is never going to have the robust page layout abilities of ID and QXP. Nor are those programs ever going to have hardcore vector illustration and manipulation abilities of CD. Corel should either put in a 'DTP mode' within CD or create a new page layout program from scratch. But then, as I use Affinity programs, this is a moot point as far as I'm concerned.

I quite liked ID when I used it in CS, CS2, CS3 and CS4. It was QXP I had issues with. I found ID esp its earlier versions a souped-up version of PageMaker. Of course, with Adobe's rigid subscription based CC, I left and went over to Corel for a few years. Gave Affinity a chance around 3 years ago as Corel went down the subscription route AND effectively increasing their prices by publishing a new version every year rather than every two yet keeping the same pricing structure.

Any chance of Affinity Photo gaining the ability to scan an image directly into the program via Windows WIA interface anytime soon?

Yep, many (including myself) did keep using PM. I used it up to version 7.0x. However, Aldus had already lost this war with Quark. Most professional design studios, publishers and ad agencies had moved on to QXP long before ID came onto the scene. And were continuing to do so even when ID 1.x hit the scene. The real transition started when ID 2.0 came along esp for Mac users as it was OSX ready. QPX users had to wait till version 6.0 for this 'feature'. And with version 3.0 of ID, it was a no-brainer as it was part of the then new Creative Suite version 1.0. For the cost of Photoshop and Illustrator, you effectively got ID bundled for free at the same price os QXP, give or take a little. As far as Affinity Publisher is concerned, I think the main thing in the first version is first to get it ready. And then make sure it covers all the basics. I would not expect it to be as 'fully featured' as QXP or ID at this point. And it may never be if we were to bullet point EVERY feature. However, I also expect it'll do certain things quicker and better. Besides, perhaps we need to remember the 80/20 rule where only 20% of the features of many increasingly complex programs such as Word, Photoshop, Illustrator etc. are used by 80% of their customers. What I would like to see perhaps is the development of plug-ins for Affinity. I guess enough users will have to employ Affinity progs in order for a plug-in developer to be interested. And even then, they may not be interested as Adobe casts such a loooong shadow. P.S. Can Affinity Designer and Photo make use of Photoshop plug-ins?

I consider Affinity Publisher (and indeed the rest of the Affinity range) the equivalent of Adobe InDesign 1.0. InDesign was already being labelled 'Quark Killer'' even at a beta stage. However, with version 1.0, InDesign was pretty rough around the edges. It lacked type on a path and built in support for tables which QuarkXPress possessed. Version 1.5 fixed this as free update. This did not stop InDesign gaining traction and I guess it really took off with version 3.0 as part of Adobe's Creative Suite. So yes, Affinity Publisher will not be as full featured as InDesign and QXP. However, provided it covers the main bases and does them well, they can be added to and expanded.

What Alfred says is important. As a result, I have been able to open the very same files created in Illustrator CS in CorelDraw and now Affinity Designer.

Any chance that Opentype SVG fonts will be supported in the affinity range anytime soon or at all? Just seeing support in Adobe CC so far.

I guess I haven't introduced myself properly. I'm Ian from Leeds in GB.I have used a variety of graphics arts progs on DOS, Windows (3.1 - 10) and MacOS. Along the way this has included now obscure titles such as Newsmaster DTP, Express Publisher and Arts & Letters (anyone remember any of these?) Aldus PageMaker 4.0 was the first ''professional" application I owned. I then upgraded to PM 6.0, 6.5 and 7.0. In this period I bought a cut down version of CorelDraw based on version 7.0. Soon afterwards I purchased Adobe CS 1.0 at the education rate as I was a mature student doing a graphics course at university. This led to CS 2, 3 and 4. I skipped versions 5, 5.5 and 6. The Adobe CC came along which made me go back to CorelDraw. So it was CorelDraw X6 to X8 which I still have. Sadly Corel are dipping their toes ever more into the subscription pool (after luring me and others with an upgrade offer from Adobe CC ironically). And it not seems they have embarked upon a yearly upgrade path. Which would not be so bad if they were not charging the same as when they were producing every 2 years. I stumbled upon Affinity Designer which was only £29.99 at the time. So it was pretty much a ''what the hell'' purchase. Initially disappointed due to not having as many features as CorelDraw, I am impressed with the regular updates and confident AD will grow and catch up. Recently ordered and downloaded Affinity Photo. Waiting eagerly for Affinity Publisher.

Liking the ability to move the artboard ruler origin. Been looking forward to this since I installed AD.

LOOKING GOOD! The page arrangement from what I could see looks reminiscent of InDesign. Which is not necessarily a bad thing. seems a very much drag and drop application. I do hope the graphics capabilities such as vector drawing are there also.The text wrap looks very slick as does the drop cap tool.

As an Affinity Designer owner I also use CorelDraw X8 as it has some very powerful capabilities esp. regarding its page layout text handling overall. I am awaiting Affinity Publisher as I wish to see if I can make the jump from Corel to Serif/Affinity (although I may keep CD around). One of the things that makes me warm to the Affinity range is that in following Adobe and MS, Corel is edging closer to the subscription route. Although I don't think Corel are quite big enough to go subs only. I notice that on the Affinity web site, it mentions Affinity Publisher will appear in 2018. Whilst I don't expect a definite date, it would be helpful to know if it will be Q1, Q2, Q3 or Q4. After all, Dec 31 2018 would still qualify!

Much talk of Affinity Designer taking on Adobe Illustrator. Bit what of CorelDraw? I use CD but looking at the Affinity range as a viable alternative. One thing I love about CorelDraw is the powerclip feature where a photo for example can be place inside a container. Does AD have this feature? Will I have to wait for an upgrade or Affinity Publisher.