Interior Book Design

Status: Beta
Purpose: Stability and General Testing
Requirements: Purchased Affinity Publisher
Windows Store: Not submitted
Download: Download
Auto-update: Not Available
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Hi,
We are pleased to announce that a new Customer Beta of Affinity Publisher (1.8.0.502) is now available as a download from the link above.
As this is a 'Stability and General Testing' beta it is considered to be not suitable for production use. This means that you should not attempt to use it for commercial purposes or for any other activity where you may be adversely affected by the application failing, including the total loss of any documents. 
We hope you enjoy the beta, and as always, if you've got any problems installing or running up, please don't hesitate to post in this thread. 
Any problems actually using this version please make a new topic in this forum and we'll get back to you as soon as we can. Please feel free to leave general suggestions and comments in the Discussion Forum. 
Many thanks for your continued feedback.
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New Features and Major Improvements
IDML Import
This build includes an importer for the IDML ((Adobe) InDesign Markup Language) file format. Many entities, attributes and properties are not currently imported. In general if a feature currently has no native support it is unlikely to be imported entirely successfully. In addition to this, please find below a list highlighting features we know are not currently supported fully.
Document
- Document User details
Spread / Page Items
- Promoted master page items
- Overprint properties
- Arrowheads
- Text on path
Transparency / FX
- Directional Feather
- Gradient Feather
Text Frames
- Content transparency / FX for text vs text + frame
- First baseline offset
Story Items
- Text layout can differ due to differences in composition and metric vs optical kerning
- TOC
- Index 
- Page number fields
- Hyperlinks
XLSX Import
This build includes an importer for the XLSX (Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet) file format. Excel files are placed as tables. The following are not currently supported.
- Formulae are imported as their calculated result value, which Excel stores in the file alongside the formula
- Local formatting is imported, but global Table Styles currently are not
- Overflowing cell content is handled differently in that Excel allows content of an overflowing cell to draw on top of adjacent cell if the cells are empty
Column Rules
The facility to add (vertical) rules / lines between columns in a multi-column text frame. The rules can be configured via the Text Frame Panel
Fixes and Smaller Updates
General
(Mac) Unified Toolbar tweaks
'Edit Document' for Linked Documents now works correctly rather than editing the embedded copy
Layers Panel should now maintain the expand / collapsed status of objects when switching spreads
Fixed issue for specific document where placed Designer file prevented Save
Fixed issue where export was causing application hang for specific document
(Win) Fixed crash dragging fill layer to bottom of layers stack
(Win) Fixed freeze editing colour from Swatches Panel
Master Pages
Changing size of Master Spread now offers option to update size of spreads it is applied to
Fixed issue whereby duplicating a Master Page Instance could unlink it
Blendmode / Opacity not working correctly with Master Page Instances
Adjustments were not working correctly when used with Master Page Instances
Picture Frames
Empty Picture Frames weren't showing in Assets Panel thumbnail previews
Replacing Master Pages containing Picture Frames with promoted context could distort content
(Mac) Original Size button wasn't functioning for Picture Frame content
Text
Paragraph Panel layout fixes
Fixed crash transposing characters (e.g. <Ctrl>+T on Mac)
Fixed Drop Cap anomalies
Leading Override can now be set to Auto in Text Style Editor
Fixed crash changing capitalization on multiple Text Frames simultaneously
(Win) Kerning in Base text style is now set to "Auto" 
(Mac) Custom text style shortcuts were not showing in Text Styles Panel
(Mac) Spell check not learning words originating from Master Pages
(Win) Fixed crash adding tab stop in Text Style Editor
(Mac) Paragraph leading, wrong separator being used with non-uk locale settings
DocX
Importing docx with no Text Frame selected fails to import style
Importing docx fails to apply 'Normal' style 
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To be notified about all future Windows beta updates, please follow this notification thread 
To be notified when this Publisher update comes out of beta and is fully released to all Publisher customers, please follow this thread

Publisher 1.7.3 is a wonderful piece of software, but so buggy it is almost impossible to use.
- Linking a simple .jpg image works almost 1/3 of the time.
- Synchronizing defaults from selection doesn't work at all.
- Linked pictures can suddenly "disappear", i. e. become impossible to select.
I bought two licenses even though I need only one just to support Serif.
Is there any near term hope?
 
Jim Meketa
San Diego, California
 

Isn't all of that something more for Designer than Photo (which this topic is about)?
Probably best if you post about that in Feedback for Affinity Designer on Desktop, by the way.

Not bigger just smarter and faster. Maybe even more handsome.

So why not create an off-page text frame, write your comment, and Pin it to the word as a floating frame. That's basically what happens in Word, isn't it? You mark the word and write a comment outside the page boundaries.

This is probably not what you want either, use the Fields and document information.

On the other hand, if you put your picture frame on a master page, and apply that master page to your working page, then you won't be able to move it but you can replace that picture at will. Effectively, you will have it locked but able to edit.

Assuming you have View > View Mode > Clip to Canvas turned off, you could put a Text Frame or Artistic Text off the page, to the right or left, and make your comments there.
 

Not possible at the moment. I would file a request for that feature, if I were you.
As far as I remember people have asked for this option a few times already, but it wouldn't harm if you did the same thing again.

Use menu “View → Studio → Fields” to get the Fields Panel, put your text insert point where you want to insert the field and then double-click the “Total Pages” field name (in the Document Statistics section).

paste as plain text should be an option - i am finding that a lot of text boxes some how automatically change settings (like random positioning and transform settings).

They should add running head variables that are based on paragraph/character styles.

Something is wrong here inside the PDF.
I tested the ligatures-for-web.pdf in various applications.
Old Firefox (Waterfox) viewer (which is PDF.js viewer) - BAD, characters just gone.
I use this viewer all the time (near daily) and have never noticed an issue before.
PDF-XChange Viewer (my primary PDF reader) - BAD, but different bad.
Characters are all there, but the word character spacing is all broken.
I use this reader every day and have not had any issues before.
PDF-XChange Editor - OK, looks fine.
NitroPDF Pro (editor) - OK, looks fine.
Foxit Reader - OK, looks fine.
FlexiPDF Pro (editor) - OK, looks fine.
Oddly all three editors took a long time to render this one line of text.
It was like they had to think about it real hard.
FlexiPDF even displayed a non-responding dialog before the text finally appeared.
It appears that some PDF readers and PDF editors really don't like something in the way this PDF is structured. This would appear to be an APub issue.

@Joerg Thoeming & @Jozef
Welcome to the Serif Affinity forums and for your input to this thread   As you can see Dave Harris, one of the developers most likely to work on these features is posting here directly so thanks for your patience while we implement any new features.
 

I want to thank the whole team for all of their hard work in getting this great software out, bang on the time it was promised to Beta Testers.
Love the slick way that the personas work... very nice.  (you need to add some award emoticons to the forums) 

Right you are!
 

Hi, I have downloaded and updated my Affinity publisher, however, when I open the software it's still advising me that there is an update.
I have restarted my machine since the update and the same thing is happening.
P.S looking forward to product launch.
Thanks in advance.
Clyall90

I dare to say that it will be like this one, a previous edition of the event:
Best regards!

Hi,
I've already made this feature request in AD forum over a year ago. A customisable workspace is very important for individual work efficiency. For me being able to customise my workspace in the following way is important for I understand and believe the scientific facts behind it. ...

 
And, that image is from my MacBook Pro. I now mostly use a 5K iMac. Which means, as a right-handed person, keeping the Studio on the right and inadvertently keep leaving the mouse cursor on the right all the time feels even more inefficient, when I have to move the cursor all the way to the left to pick up something from the tool palette.
I have ditched Photoshop and Illustrator long ago and can't wait to replace InDesign for Publisher, and I hope my request makes sense to someone at Affinity and we get a customisable workspace option (for me with the ability to dock even the tool palette on the right).
Thanks!

Hi Interior Book Design
This should be resolved in the next build! Thanks for letting us know. 

I think we have received all the feedback we need for PagePlus import. I will end this thread by saying that if we did produce an importer we would wait until Affinity Publisher supports enough features that the importer would be better than our current PDF import. Sorry but that's best we can say at this time.
 

I have to say, that I am astonished at not having any way to Import PagePlus files. I got an invite by email to download the Beta as I am a Serif Customer, the main product I use is PagePlus. I have been using it for years, first with a company I worked for, then bought it myself. I have loads of files that I update regularly.
I understand new software, designed from scratch, not on the old platform, but I don't understand that there is no way to import PagePlus files. Surely there must be a way for you to do this for your existing customers, whether a stand alone app, a plug in or integrated into Affinity, I really think this is an essential. 
I use OpenOffice, if someone sends my a Microsoft Word file, I can open it with Open Office. Though it is completely different software, not built on the same code base, Open Office realise that they need to open MS Word files, as their users will need this facility. It doesn't always work perfectly because of the differences in the software features, but it does import them. I find it really hard to understand that Serif don't realise how important it is for customers to import files from their own old software. I don't expect PP to be able to open Affinity files, but I really did expect the new software to open the old files. 
The first thing I did when I opened the beta programme was to try and open an existing PagePlus file, well that didn't go well, then I looked on the forum to find out how to do it and found this thread. :(
In business it is a know fact that it is easier and cheaper to sell to existing customers that to acquire new customers. I guess a percentage of your existing customers will look elsewhere now. If they have to start from scratch anyway, they will look for a company that will support them and all their work long term. Where you could have made easy and cheap sales to existing customers, you will loose a bunch of those and have to market to new customers instead.
Me? I will continue to use PagePlus and when I need to update in the future, I will look at what is available. Maybe I will turn to Affinity, maybe not. But, where this was an opportunity for an easy sale to an existing customer, it has backfired I think.

I also do appreciate your hard work and I'm very impressed with the progress your are making. You are really listening to us, the users and customers.
Thank you!

Hi,
just wanted to let you guys know how incredibly impressed I am with how Publisher is developing -- I am really happy with you adding some extra features and having a really long beta cycle rather than pushing out a software that cannot compete with others. Love the reworked master pages, the search--replace enhancements (RegEx, RegEx, RegEx!) and the new pinned objects!
It's about time that Adobe gets some competition in the pro market (there's lot's of semi-pro applications out there with tons of templates and flashy features, but nothing except Quark Xpress that can actually do what InDesign does).
Thanks for your hard work!

Vital. Maybe streamlined, customized HTML based on styles (and CSS).