HVDB Photography

The Windows uninstaller sees 2 installation because you installed 2 different apps (released and beta).
The fact that you choose to install the beta in the same directory as the released version simply means that you overwrote the existing files in that directory but by doing that you do not tell the uninstaller to first uninstall the release version so the uninstaller thinks it still exists even though it has been completely overwritten by the beta and is now virtually non-existent. 

Check the Feather setting is at 0 not 1024px

Indeed
Definitely  yes ..
C:\Program Files\Affinity\Affinity Photo
C:\Program Files\Affinity\Photo Customer Beta
 
Hubert
 
 

Indeed
Definitely  yes ..
C:\Program Files\Affinity\Affinity Photo
C:\Program Files\Affinity\Photo Customer Beta
 
Hubert
 
 

WIndows Defender message  ?
https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/105533-enable-disable-windows-defender-exploit-protection-settings.html
 

Fixed it>
go to Affinity Photo/Designer Preferences, Tools section and tick Enable Canvas Rotation with Trackpad if you have one available. This one rotates the view freely using a two finger rotation gesture.
 
why on earth this is disabled, I have no clue.

If you paste or place an image into the app, it will open up as an image layer, retaining any information you may want/need. If you want to manipulate the pixels, you will need to rasterise the layer. 
However, if we were to automatically rasterise the placed or pasted image, it would have no connection to the original image and all the data would be lost—to a lot of users, it is preferable to retain this vital information and let them decide if they want to rasterise or not. 
 

I think channel selection will do a better job ...
 

solved it: anti-alias was turned on for the lasso tool! Here I was looking at the wrong solution. Thank you for your time, Gabe and I apologize for any inconveniences.

Hi Bruce,
I gave it a try.
I removed the white background using the blue channel to create a grayscale version, which allows to rasterize it as a mask.
I attached the .aphoto file and numbered the steps  I took to come to this result.
 

IMG_0513.afphoto

Hi,
I suppose  you know you're using the "Background Erase brush" tool which act somewhat different than the "Erase brush" tool.
Hubert
 

Okay ... here's  how I did it. Just a quick, rough video that shows the techniques I often use.
 
squirrel720.mp4

Hi @ApvdG
 
Try this:
Add a White Balance Adjustment layer and mask out the unwanted parts
Open the Channels panel
Right Click on "White Balance Adjustment Alpha" and select "Create Spare Channel"
Add a Levels Adjustment layer
Now right click on the spare channel and select "Load To  Levels Adjustment Alpha"
Hubert
 

Very nice. Thank you @LyricsGirl

Just finished there Winter Warmer Styles for Affinity. .The Lower part has pattern and the upper part is transparent  or partly transparent..
 
In this Sample image I have placed a WHITE duplicate of the typography to demonstrate clearer the upper portions of each style .
 
Keep warm this Winter! Put on yer Ugly Sweaters!
Winter_1.afstyles

Sure, here's the .afphoto document and the pencil drawing effect macro I used in the document.
 
Pencil Drawing Effect.afmacros
rain_effect_03.afphoto

put a copy of the background above the pencil drawing, and set the blend mode to  Vivid Light

From now I call you god of affinity :-)
One last question, when using your macro to my pic the result is black/white. Your pic shows some color. How did you ...
Thank you in advance for wasting your valuable time with a newbie.
Don Tango
 

Kind of  ...

Still not solved 

Here are a few wood styles:
 
The compressed styles file:
Knock_on_Wood.afstyles.zip

View > Show Pixel Selection
 

Very useful, thank you 

These are square brushes you can import
 
Square Brushes.afbrushes

It is possible, but it is a time-consuming job.
Too much to explain ...