andy-in-mke

I've never seen this in any vector draw program... selecting a branch point with Affinity Designer's node tool would provide the user with the option to produce a path that branches out of the existing path while remaining a part of it (i.e. if you select the main path the branch is automatically selected also)... the branch point spawns a fork in the existing path such that the forked segment of the path automatically inherits all attributes of the path from which it sprouts... color, thickness, dash style, etc... I think something like this could be genuinely beneficial in a variety of use cases and would be a key differentiator for AD...

One of my long-standing pet-peeves with graphics apps on the Mac was Apple's early decision to make it necessary to hold the shift key down to scale an object proportionally. To me, that is default behavior, and should be doable without a modifier key. Thankfully, Apple is moving in that direction (which I particularly notice in apps like Pages), but the picture on the Mac as a whole is very spotty.  It's my impression that there are plenty of apps out there that adhere to the old-school way of things.
 
As things currently stand with Affinity Designer, when I want to resize an object proportionally (which is most, but not all of the time), I don't know when I'll have to hold the Shift key down to do so and when I won't. I think by sheer chance the first few times I scaled objects in AD, I did so without having to press the shift key, and I thought to myself, "Yay, Affinity-Serif, you got it right." But that turned out not to be true, and over time I've come to realize there's a 50% chance each time I want to scale an object that I'll have to hit command-z because the operation won't go as intended. 
 
I suppose there are a couple ways this problem can be solved.
 
The ideal solution, to my mind, is to make scaling behavior the same across all classes of objects, be they text, curves, simple objects, compound objects, or groups (made up of any combination of the aforementioned object types): proportional scaling should be the default when the object is selected and manipulated, with no modifier key necessary.
 
If, for some obscure programming reason, it's impossible to implement the above goal, can we have a scaling indicator that reliably tells us whether the selected object we're about to scale will do so proportionately or not, depending on the currently pressed keys?
 
Thanks very much.
 
Andy
 

I've found that having object styles available makes it easier for me to place graphics faster, as I can set a standard text wrap and apply it quickly. I've also used it to create standardized sidebars with simple designs when I don't want to create new graphics for all of them.
I've also found a few other features that other folks suggested that I also liked (e.g. book files), so I've been using the "Like" button to indicate agreement rather than posting my own thread or adding more posts to theirs. Not sure if that's the right way to go about this, but hopefully the admins will be able to see that.
Thanks for your hard work!

+1 ... remember this feature from FreeHand -- highly useful.

I’m sorry, Polygonius, but I don’t understand what you’re trying to say in your post, and that’s why I didn’t respond. Keep working on your written English skills. Take care. :-)

afffinityyyyy I f••••g need a roughen edges tool. stop making me having to ask ppl with AI to do that for me

Affinity Publisher sneak peek! Just to prove we're not making the whole thing up, check out this early build of our DTP app. Still lots of perfecting to do; expect the beta next summer. Enjoy.
 
Update: I think we have answered all the questions we can about Publisher before the beta starts. Hopefully the public beta will answer any remaining questions when it starts at the end of August.   
This thread is now locked. 

I'm putting this in Feature Requests as I can't find any hint of it in the App, though I'd love to wrong :)
 
There are a bunch of procedural path-level operations that I am missing from Freehand and other tools, but right now, I'm in desperate need of a "roughen" or "tesselate" tool. Basically a combination of N-subdivide (also missing) and U-V point jitter, so that a path can be "roughened" by a variable amount.
 
While the vector brushes are awesome, and can simulate this effect in some circumstances, there are also many times that an actual procedural adjustment to the path geometry is necessary.

Yeah, subscription is a nice idea (for Adobe), but not for me. I wish them luck, but after 25 years of buying and using their products I, for one, am switching to something more reasonably priced.
 
I've weaned myself off Photoshop and I'm in the process of weaning myself of Illustrator. If I can add InDesign to the mix then that would be amazing. I don't think Publisher will be an InDesign killer for a while though. It'll probably take a couple of versions before it has most of the features we're looking for. I get the feeling this product will hit the ground jogging and build up to a run, in subsequent years. But an Adobe free future looks more plausible.  :)

I’m getting ready to send some rack card pdf files to our service bureau when I noticed something strange...
 
I’ve got a couple png files (done in Photoshop) embedded in the Affinity Designer file, and they look fine in Affinity Designer. But when I export them to PDF and open them in Apple Preview, I’m seeing things that I don’t like. 
 
In particular there’s a strange milky-white quality to the lower edge of one embedded object (see attachment) when it should be a smooth opacity gradient... In the second embedded object immediately below the first one, the lower edge of the object cuts off sharply when it should be a more gradual opacity gradient. Again, it displays properly in Designer but not in Preview. Is it going to print out this way? 
 
Is there a pdf exporting setting I need to use?
 
Is there something else I need to tweak in the Photoshop > Designer > pdf Export pipeline?
 
Thanks,
 
Andy

Hi Andy
Welcome to Affinity Forums :)
You can choose the type of behaviour you want in Affinity Designer.
Go to Affinity Designer ▹ Preferences, User Interface tab (or Tools tab if you are using the latest Beta) and select the behavior you want from the Move Tool Aspect Constrain drop down:
The Automatic option will constrain the resize depending on the type of object selected. For objects with an intrinsic aspect ratio (like images or text frames) the proportion will be kept when you resize them. For the others, it will not (you must press ⇧ (shift) to keep their proportions. This option is selected by default.
  Constrain by default will resize objects proportionally no matter what's their type.  You will have to press ⇧ (shift) to override the constrain.
  Do no constrain by default will not constrain be default and will force you to press ⇧ (shift) to resize objects proportionally independently of their type.

I've never seen this in any vector draw program... selecting a branch point with Affinity Designer's node tool would provide the user with the option to produce a path that branches out of the existing path while remaining a part of it (i.e. if you select the main path the branch is automatically selected also)... the branch point spawns a fork in the existing path such that the forked segment of the path automatically inherits all attributes of the path from which it sprouts... color, thickness, dash style, etc... I think something like this could be genuinely beneficial in a variety of use cases and would be a key differentiator for AD...

Please allow:
 
1) Dragging the FX of a layer to the Trash to remove all effects.
 
2) Dragging FX to another layer to move the effects to the other layer.
 
3) Opt+Dragging FX to another layer to copy effects to the other layer.
 
Great work on the apps, group hug!

I've never seen this in any vector draw program... selecting a branch point with Affinity Designer's node tool would provide the user with the option to produce a path that branches out of the existing path while remaining a part of it (i.e. if you select the main path the branch is automatically selected also)... the branch point spawns a fork in the existing path such that the forked segment of the path automatically inherits all attributes of the path from which it sprouts... color, thickness, dash style, etc... I think something like this could be genuinely beneficial in a variety of use cases and would be a key differentiator for AD...

I've never seen this in any vector draw program... selecting a branch point with Affinity Designer's node tool would provide the user with the option to produce a path that branches out of the existing path while remaining a part of it (i.e. if you select the main path the branch is automatically selected also)... the branch point spawns a fork in the existing path such that the forked segment of the path automatically inherits all attributes of the path from which it sprouts... color, thickness, dash style, etc... I think something like this could be genuinely beneficial in a variety of use cases and would be a key differentiator for AD...

As much as I used and liked FreeHand's old roughen tool, I must say the idea of making it targetable to a segment of a line in the manner you describe sounds really good – I'd never thought of such a thing until reading it in your post. How about making that a tool pref, or a mode, depending on the user. The whole line or just part(s) of it, with the user choosing the default?

Santa Claus does exist though, surely!?! We can prove it too - the Freehand import is working really well at the moment and if you have any files you want me to test it against, then just send them over to support@seriflabs.com and we can make sure it works properly :) We'll obviously treat any files confidentially and they will be deleted after we've validated the import - we could even try to send you a .afdesign version back so you can use that file in Designer right now!
 
I'm going to work on Expand Stroke in a bit and also being able to use the pasteboard and see the objects on it soon. We already have functioning text wrapping (see my video here) but it's an Affinity Publisher feature so you'll need Publisher in order to activate the attribute on objects (although Designer will open and edit the document with wrapping working correctly, obviously). Text flow is yet to be added - but again it's really a Publisher thing... Text along paths will be added to Designer after launch as a free update.
 
I've never liked a broad 'roughen' effect - it always does the wrong thing in my experience (never quite what I wanted), so I think we might add a roughen tool that you rub over the areas of curve to roughen, and then also a smooth tool that smooths out curve segments that you apply it to: At least this way you have full control. Warping will also be added after launch as a free update, as will Pantone and professional print output.
 
Thanks for all your kind comments - really glad you're enjoying using Designer! :)
Matt

As a FreeHand jockey whose 32-bit MacBook Pro finally went to its reward, AD is exactly what I've been looking for. So far, the beta performs beautifully. Very few problems. Amazingly stable for a beta…  Huge kudos to AD developers for this wonderful program! When it's released, I'll be the first in line.

The FreeHand tools (or facsimiles) I'm hoping for include:

Add points & simplify points

Envelope warping (or some kind of object-distortion tool)

3D rotation (perspective tool) 

Fisheye lens

Roughen effect

Expand Stroke, Stroke to path & Inset path 

Text flow around objects, along paths & flow between text boxes

Multiple pages, with a scratch area for layout design work

A lot to expect, I know. But when Affinity Designer can do these things, then it really is adios, Illustrator...

I've heard that AD developers may be working on opening Freehand files. If so, then I DO believe in Santa Claus! Also, IMHO, pro-level CYMK prepress isn't a big priority since the vast majority of users (even Illustrator users) don't do 4-color publishing.

Thanks again for filling a big hole in the Mac vector sphere...