Signguy

I second that motion.

No Escape key? You are sadly mistaken. Maybe there isn't a dedicated hard key but it is still there and can be easily implemented using the "fn" function button. And from everything that I've seen, you can customize the bar anyway so it offers even more flexibility and productivity over any other operating system available. Maybe you should try it before you jump ship.

Geometry and expand stroke not working with text in Beta 3 1. Create Text using artistic text tool (T) 2. Give the Text a stroke (I do this many times to either make a font thicker or thinner depending on the font I'm working with). 3. Convert the text to curves 4. Select each letter within the Group 5. Expand Stroke In MAS version, you can expand the stroke and select the stroke and letter and use geometry on each object. In Beta version, you can not expand the stroke or use geometry on the objects. EDIT: Closed Beta and restarted with new document and it works now. I'll keep an eye on this and see if I can duplicate the issue.

Why don't you create words that get duplicated into symbols. Change them once and your done. I can see this working exceptionally well for your floorpans and also for the avery labels.

File Save As not functioning properly. When trying to do a file save as and clicking on a file name in the popup dialog, Affinity does not auto fill/change the file name to the file that was click on. Actually, Affinity locks up. Using Affinity Designer Beta 1.5 - RC1 and macOS Sierra on a non production machine.

Is there a way to disable the saving of this transparency group or is it just a standard format for PDF files to include it? I don't want to complicate things at all and I feel there are already a ton of settings in AD for users to change. I'm just trying to get it to work with some existing software since the developer of that software doesn't seem like they want to change their importing options.

I'm having the same issue with all of my documents as well. All my files were created with basically version 1.0 of Affinity Designer and I do not get any layers when I export. The print shop told me they don't like my files and now I know why. If I recreate a new file under v1.4.2 of AD and simply copy and past my layers over from an old version, the layers don't export. However, if I create a new layer in v1.4.2 and then I copy and past the contents of the layer over, the export works just fine.

MikeW is correct, Divide does work. One other thing that I do is after I divide the object, I switch over to Outline view mode ⌘Y (It really helps to be able to see the edges of your objects). I then select the outer most edge, press shift and select the next edge closest to the outer and hit the Subtract Operation as MikeW suggested. You can then keep repeating this process for the next inner shape. Divide Objects.mov

Go to view/studio/symbols. Create some type of shape and then select the shape and click on create within the symbols window. You can then duplicate your shape any number of times, when you double click on one of your shapes within the artboard and rotate it, all duplicate copies of that shape will also rotate. Editing a single shape will change all shapes as well. I think you will find that you will be able to create some pretty unique patterns this way. At this point in time, you will just have to play with it in order to figure it out until more documentation is created.

I can confirm this. This behavior did not occur in v1.4.2.

Dave, I notice that when when I export a document as a PDF file that has an embedded object within it, and then I re-open the pdf in affinity, the embedded object has some type of mask attached to it. It is this mask that is causing my sign cutting software to not be able to import the file properly. If I remove the mask and then re-export the file again, the file imports just fine into my cutting software. Is there a reason for this mask? Is this something that can be disabled so that I can use the place tool instead of having to open/copy/paste every vector image I want to use in a document?

You should play around with the symbols feature in AD 1.5 beta. I think you will be pleasantly surprised by what you will come up with.

Would it be possible to allow a layer to be copied and pasted within another layer. You can drag layers within another layer but currently you can not copy and past a layer within a layer. I thought previous versions allowed for this? For example, I would like to be working on a document with multiple layers, open up another document or even a vector graphic that also has layers, copy the layer that I want and paste it into my original document after clicking on the layer that I want it pasted into. Currently, the program will just create a new layer. Maybe it already allows for this and I'm missing something? Sorry, I just discovered that there is a paste inside option ( ⌥⌘V ) that allows me to do that. I may have to set that up as my default behavior using the shortcut keys. Then again, maybe not!

Designer file sent to support@seriflabs.com

What I meant was that even at $50, Affinity Designer is an absolute bargain! It would still be a bargain at $150. I'm sorry you missed the deal that was going on but seriously think that the extra $10 that you need to spend is well worth it. The developers have done an awesome job and if you can't justify the extra $10 then maybe this isn't the software for you. Just remember, your other option out there costs several hundreds of dollars more for their subscription model. Maybe it's easier for me to justify spending the money because I am self employed and use the Affinity(Serif) products to make a living. I'm sure that someone that uses another program that costs hundreds and maybe thousands of dollars more to make a living can justify the cost of that program. But what I see here is real value at an absolutely unbelievable price. At $50, Serif has priced it so it is affordable to the masses and I don't think they need to offer ANY discount beyond that. I don't even use Windows and I will probably end up buying the Windows version when it comes out just to show my appreciation for the products.

Unable to export to pdf if the document has objects(embedded objects) that were placed using the place tool. v1.5 pops up with "an error occured" dialog box. It does seem to export using pdf 1.4 Acrobat 5 compatibility but the objects don't seem to scale properly.

Dave, you are correct, they do export as vectors in v1.5. However, the embedded object(document) does not scale properly when imported into my cutting software (which uses pdf 1.4 Acrobat 5 settings). I've played around with other compatibility settings but I get a lot of "unable to export" errors in v1.5. So at this time, it is still better for me to copy contents into my document rather then use the place image tool. Especially for backward compatibility with other programs. I can not get v1.5 to export any document to anything higher then pdf 1.4 Acrobat 5 settings if it contains embedded objects(documents).

Are there any plans to work on embedded objects so they are easier to export? Currently, I have to open (vector) objects in a new window, copy the object and place it in my original document. If I simply use the place tool, the embedded objects do not export as a vector. Could you add some type of switch to export embedded objects as their native vector shape and not as an image? (un-embed objects) This was requested almost two years ago. https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/427-smart-objects-embedded-objects/

Nick,Affinity Designer currently has three personas. Vector, pixel, and export. You can change the persona by clicking on the respective icon in the upper left. If you are wanting to edit a raster image, you need to click on the pixel persona. The tools for that persona will appear. I believe you will then find the smart selection tool that your looking for.

You won't catch me running any Windows OS. I value my Time, Security, and Sanity too much! LOL

Actually, I was playing around with this again. If you want an odd number, just divide the number into 360 like the above option. So 360/45= 8º of separation. Follow the same procedures as above but change the color of the bottom circle that you put in the 6 o'clock position (This will help you to identify it later). Enter your rotation into the rotation box and duplicate it all the way around the circle (not just half way like before). Now just delete the offending circles that you changed the color on and you should now have your evenly spaced and odd numbered circles in a circular pattern.

I have heard of people finding the circumfrance of the circle and then making a line the same length of the circle circumference. Then you could space your 45 shapes (or what ever the odd number is) evenly across the line using the space horizontally tool. Then you could create a new brush using those shapes. Create a new circle using the brush and I guess this might work. Especially if you have different kinds of shapes that need to be spaced evenly. I know it's possible but it sounds like a pain to me. Plus, if she is using a vinyl cutter, the brush would no longer be a vector shape that could be cut out. It would just be a lot easier to make an even number of circles and rebuild it. I doubt that anyone is going to actually count the number circles other then you. On a side note, how are you exporting your AD files into your cutter software? What format?

This has been covered a couple of different times on this forum. The easiest way is as follows: 1. Draw a circle using the circle shape and hold the shift key to constrain its proportions. 2. Drag the circle to the top of your design in the 12 o'clock position. 3. Select the circle and duplicate it using either Copy/Past or Command J key combinations. 4. Drag the second circle to the 6 o'clock position while holding the shift key to keep it in perfect alignment. 5. Decide how many dots that you want your overall circle to contain. Make sure it is an even number and divide it into 360. (ex. 360 dots divided by 46 = 7.8260869565º of seperation) 7. Click on the center rotation spot in the transform window. 8. Select both upper and lower circle and hit CMD-J to duplicate them. 9. In the rotation box (transform window) enter the degree of separation that you came up with. 10. Continue to hit CMD-J until your circle fills up with the required number of duplicate shapes that you wanted.

Meb, Do you think there will ever be a way to have embedded objects export as vectors if they are vector based to begin with? For example, I have thousands of graphics that I use for making signs. Currently, I have to open the graphic and then past it into my sign template. It would be nice to simply be able to use the place image tool to do essentially the same thing. If I'm not mistaken, there is an option in Ai for doing this.

Which is still an absolute BARGAN!