mb6391

I agree with the sentiments re Xara - I'm an ex-user.
All we can do folks is take Ash on what he has stated. It's not for us to request/demand to view what was in the Sales Contract - it's priviliged for goodness sake.
Please can we chill out about this. It's a done deal and if you're uncomfortable about the future of Affinity, for whatever reason, then maybe it's time to move on. Okay, moving on is going to be more than an inconvenience but so be it.
I'll stay with Affinity and should I start smelling a rat then I'll move on. I have no wish for subscription or cloud based software. But for now I'll give Ash and the Affinity Team the benefit of some of our doubts albeit we all know that things can change.

I agree with the sentiments re Xara - I'm an ex-user.
All we can do folks is take Ash on what he has stated. It's not for us to request/demand to view what was in the Sales Contract - it's priviliged for goodness sake.
Please can we chill out about this. It's a done deal and if you're uncomfortable about the future of Affinity, for whatever reason, then maybe it's time to move on. Okay, moving on is going to be more than an inconvenience but so be it.
I'll stay with Affinity and should I start smelling a rat then I'll move on. I have no wish for subscription or cloud based software. But for now I'll give Ash and the Affinity Team the benefit of some of our doubts albeit we all know that things can change.

I agree with the sentiments re Xara - I'm an ex-user.
All we can do folks is take Ash on what he has stated. It's not for us to request/demand to view what was in the Sales Contract - it's priviliged for goodness sake.
Please can we chill out about this. It's a done deal and if you're uncomfortable about the future of Affinity, for whatever reason, then maybe it's time to move on. Okay, moving on is going to be more than an inconvenience but so be it.
I'll stay with Affinity and should I start smelling a rat then I'll move on. I have no wish for subscription or cloud based software. But for now I'll give Ash and the Affinity Team the benefit of some of our doubts albeit we all know that things can change.

I agree with the sentiments re Xara - I'm an ex-user.
All we can do folks is take Ash on what he has stated. It's not for us to request/demand to view what was in the Sales Contract - it's priviliged for goodness sake.
Please can we chill out about this. It's a done deal and if you're uncomfortable about the future of Affinity, for whatever reason, then maybe it's time to move on. Okay, moving on is going to be more than an inconvenience but so be it.
I'll stay with Affinity and should I start smelling a rat then I'll move on. I have no wish for subscription or cloud based software. But for now I'll give Ash and the Affinity Team the benefit of some of our doubts albeit we all know that things can change.

I agree with the sentiments re Xara - I'm an ex-user.
All we can do folks is take Ash on what he has stated. It's not for us to request/demand to view what was in the Sales Contract - it's priviliged for goodness sake.
Please can we chill out about this. It's a done deal and if you're uncomfortable about the future of Affinity, for whatever reason, then maybe it's time to move on. Okay, moving on is going to be more than an inconvenience but so be it.
I'll stay with Affinity and should I start smelling a rat then I'll move on. I have no wish for subscription or cloud based software. But for now I'll give Ash and the Affinity Team the benefit of some of our doubts albeit we all know that things can change.

I agree with the sentiments re Xara - I'm an ex-user.
All we can do folks is take Ash on what he has stated. It's not for us to request/demand to view what was in the Sales Contract - it's priviliged for goodness sake.
Please can we chill out about this. It's a done deal and if you're uncomfortable about the future of Affinity, for whatever reason, then maybe it's time to move on. Okay, moving on is going to be more than an inconvenience but so be it.
I'll stay with Affinity and should I start smelling a rat then I'll move on. I have no wish for subscription or cloud based software. But for now I'll give Ash and the Affinity Team the benefit of some of our doubts albeit we all know that things can change.

To address some of what is being said on this thread...
Firstly to be clear I'm not a founder, but have been with the company for 25 years. I'm officially appointed as Managing Director of the company, but also use CEO as my title as that is my role in terms of how other countries would view it.
Both Canva and us have made 100% clear we are committing to perpetual licences always being available. That will include V3 or any other future major upgrade of our apps which are released. What's more I will say with Canva's backing we are not under the same financial pressure we would have been to release a V3 anytime soon, meaning those of you using V2 will actually benefit from more features as free updates which may previously have been held back for a V3 if that makes sense. This is of great benefit from an engineering standpoint too as we are far better testing and releasing features in smaller chunks than saving them up to package up as a sellable upgrade. 
https://www.canva.com/newsroom/news/affinity-canva-pledge/
https://www.theverge.com/2024/3/27/24113423/affinity-canva-acquisition-pledge-license-price-subscription
https://affinity.serif.com/en-us/press/newsroom/affinity-and-canva-pledge/
As we have made clear there will at some point be a subscription option also which people can take if they choose to. I'm sure there will be additional benefits to that subscription in the future such as asset and document sync, sharing and collaboration and other things which naturally require a subscription as they are features which incur ongoing cost. It may also include other things which can be leveraged with a Canva subscription such as greater stock libraries of images, graphics and fonts. Hopefully that would just be considered reasonable and understandable. There will certainly not be any cynical cutting down of features or limitation of ongoing support in our existing apps just to force a subscription play.
I understand examples of previous acquisitions can make some of you fearful, but they are just historic examples - it has no bearing on what will happen in this case and we are genuinely doing something here which is very different and special. Everything I said on Tuesday, and what both Canva and us pledged yesterday, is 100% true and we are going to stand by it. That includes keeping our entire team here with no layoffs, and continuing to be based in Nottingham. 
If you want to believe this or not is up to you, I'm not sure what more we can say at this point to convince those who doubt it. We'll deliver on this over the coming months and years so whatever is being said right now I know it's going to be all good and assuming you are still using Affinity apps you will be happy with how they have developed and that we have continued to be fair and inclusive with our pricing.
Also to follow on from Patricks point - I can take some of the personal attacks on me, but I have to say some of the conduct on this thread with some of you being very quick to attack other community members just because they hold different opinions is really disheartening to see. You can absolutely give your opinion on this deal for sure, and we are happy to leave this as an open forum within reason, but that does mean being courteous to other forum members and not just repeating the same points over and over.
Thanks,
Ash
 

A very constructive and well thought out post - thank you. There is, as you are aware, a great deal of speculation about what the future holds for current Affinity users. Understandably many are threatening to walk away from the program although that is easier said than done. Nonetheless if folks are reluctant for whatever reason to 'invest' more time into a product that they do not have confidence in, then maybe their time will be better spent getting up to speed with another product.
Personally, I'm fairly chilled out about the whole thing. The only way that Canva will make this deal worthwhile is to get into the design schools that are embedded well and truly with Adobe who effectively gift their software to them. The subscription software model doesn't bother the large design companies one bit. All they want is highly polished end product for their own customers. So the result being that whatever Canva do, they must be superior to Adobe and it's not going to be an overnight task. More a medium to long term trudge. In accelerating Affinity to being a better product could well be a huge benefit to the existing user base. It took Adobe at least until v4 of InDesign to start moving the ground away from Quark and that was whilst Quark was asleep at the wheel so to speak.
The fly in the ointment in my opinion is the make up of the existing investors. They seem to be a majority of VC's who are historically not in it for the long term but looking for a profitable exit. So whilst the points you make are valid, it's all going to be driven by the bottom line.
Just my tuppence worth.

A very constructive and well thought out post - thank you. There is, as you are aware, a great deal of speculation about what the future holds for current Affinity users. Understandably many are threatening to walk away from the program although that is easier said than done. Nonetheless if folks are reluctant for whatever reason to 'invest' more time into a product that they do not have confidence in, then maybe their time will be better spent getting up to speed with another product.
Personally, I'm fairly chilled out about the whole thing. The only way that Canva will make this deal worthwhile is to get into the design schools that are embedded well and truly with Adobe who effectively gift their software to them. The subscription software model doesn't bother the large design companies one bit. All they want is highly polished end product for their own customers. So the result being that whatever Canva do, they must be superior to Adobe and it's not going to be an overnight task. More a medium to long term trudge. In accelerating Affinity to being a better product could well be a huge benefit to the existing user base. It took Adobe at least until v4 of InDesign to start moving the ground away from Quark and that was whilst Quark was asleep at the wheel so to speak.
The fly in the ointment in my opinion is the make up of the existing investors. They seem to be a majority of VC's who are historically not in it for the long term but looking for a profitable exit. So whilst the points you make are valid, it's all going to be driven by the bottom line.
Just my tuppence worth.

Like many Affinity users, I am really worried about my favorite software getting covered in Canva template-based easy-to-use barnacles that slow down the ship as a whole. Many of the users I’ve communicated with expect Canva to gut and part out the tools of Affinity, to then shove them into an all-in-one Canva-stein’s Monster that will cater to non-professionals and leave the professional graphics crowd high and dry. I have no idea if that’s the plan going forward, but in any situation where a fish is acquired by bigger fish, you can guess which of the two will wind up in pieces.
My request is this: rather than melt Affinity into Canva and vice versa, do the Studio Link thing: keep Canva as a standalone app, and make Canva tools and services accessible within Publisher. Canva can remain its own thing (with a few UI upgrades from the award wining Affinity side of the partnership) and can be used by its core audience the way they’re used to using it; no scary new Designer Nodes or Photo Live Filters to get in the way of their good time. Meanwhile, all the collaboration stuff, cloud storage, and everything else the Canva app brings to the table can be integrated and accessed only by the Affinity users who want to get involved in the Canva workflow going forward. No new menus to clutter the right side of the screen, and no new online connectivity requests fighting for attention every time you want to simply boot up Affinity Photo and adjust some Noise.
Canva as a separate Studio Link situation would even allow for the pricing structures to remain separate. The get-off-my-lawn crowd can have their one-time Universal License fee and not have to hear about anything else. Meanwhile, the cutting edge AI tech fans can keep a subscription for access to the newest whatever for making the latest whatever for whatever whatever.
As Canva keeps playing Bigger Fish and acquiring more companies into its belly, they too can be brought into the fold Studio Link style, keeping a consistent brand interface and functionality that keeps everything uniform and organized while giving all the users just enough of what they want with the stepping on of toes kept to a minimum. 
 
I don’t own any Australian graphics companies, so I have no idea how the business side of all of this works. I’m just an iPad Pro user that doesn’t want to see their favorite software on their favorite platform go away. Hopefully the bug I’m attempting to plant in the company ear will contribute something toward keeping touch-based computing the superior method for doing things that Affinity helps make possible. Thanks. 

As expected, a great deal of reaction to the Canva issue. No point in getting hot under the collar although I've also had a rant earlier on.
Whatever we say, Canva will do as they wish irrespective as to 'The Pledge' although it may be well meaning. I've still got a fully functioning version of Adobe CS6 and will continue to use the Affinity product until if/when it gives up or is no longer fit (for my purpose). No point in simply jumping ship although I can understand the knee jerk reaction and appreciate the need for some folks to embed themselves with alternative software. Nonetheless each of our circumstances is different but ranting is not going to change the direction of the Canva ship.
Canva have a plan, backed by VC's who are always looking to maximise the IPO price so they can cash out. So whatever is the most profitable route is the one they will take irrespective as to our thoughts. 

I have no problem with subscription software provided the so called updates are meaningful. Unfortunately (for me) I'm on the Adobe mailing list and month to month keep getting the latest and greatest offers. I still have my copy of CS6 and although like many probably only use 10-15% of it's functions, if I 'upgraded' to the latest Photoshop then there's very little to be gained apart from myself by now having a wallet that has been seriously lightened.
I fully appreciate that developers have to be paid but
a) I refuse to go cloud based with anything and
b) please ensure that the software has been updated with extra benefits rather than just a change of UI.
Affinity 2.* isn't going to suddenly stop working and will no doubt serve me well for some time to come. But if or more probably when Canva go subscription based anything produced with their subscription software will not be backwards compatible with v2.*. That's certainly how Adobe operate with their InDesign package and I doubt if Canva will be any different.

Thanks Mark and a thumbs up to Affinity/Serif

Thanks Mark and a thumbs up to Affinity/Serif

Sorry Mark I beg to differ. There was nothing wrong with the updates in V1. So where you get this information from I have no idea!!

Thanks Mark although I'm sure most posters/readers of this forum will be aware of the install path(s) by now. From memory there is or was not any mention of this during the actual install process. So many users who do not visit these parts will be left in the dark and no doubt possibly highly frustrated.
Anyway, V2 is what it is and it is of course entirely an individual choice whether to live with it or revert back to V1 as I have done.

Well, here I am. Professional 3D modeler and sculptor, using Affinity Photo and Designer for all sorts of stuff - texturing, good old graphic design, sketching, digital painting. Last year I have illustrated children's book using Photo. I could have use Paintstorm Studio or Krita or Corel Painter but I just used to Photo so much that I didnt bothered jumping between apps. I got several friends who are using Affinity - mostly Designer - for their purpose. Once I spoke with rather big name in the industry - Joseph Drust, formerly working in Pixologic, about possibility of writing addon for Affinity Photo that would allow to export many passes from ZBrush in one file to Photo. Sadly it was impossible due to lack of scripting capabilities in Photo (or something like that, I dont remember specifics) but he mentioned that is using Designer and finds it very cool.
I dont expect to convince you - judging by your tone you are determined to demand legal documents, videos, transcripts, official statistics posted on government website etc. proving that somebody is using Affinity in professional setting
But I think we may agree on fact, that just because YOU dont know anybody who is using it means literally NOTHING. I dont know any people that are using Rhino3D. So? That also means nothing. World is bigger then we and our circles. And you are just random person from internet - like many of us. Nobody will try hard to prove something to you. I might tell you how the things are, but you can easily keep believing otherwise. In the world where some people cannot be convinced that Earth is not flat I dont expect to have any success convincing you that you are mistaken. I just want you to know you are. Your disbelief will not affect reality, I will not be forced by it to go back to Adobe. Neither will any of people I know that are indeed using Affinity in their workflow. So you can either believe it or.. not.
-------------------
And yes, the whole windows app thing is really annoying.
I love using Affinity software and unlike many here that are threatening to stop using it or ask refund or some other type of drama - I will keep using it even as an app. But I did lost ability to start Photo from FastStone viewer which was very convenient. So it has impacted my workflow negatively offering nothing in exchange as positive. I hope devs will consider (or whoever is in charge there - certainly not devs ) to go back to good old exe. I would appreciate that very much!

Interesting point as our visiting IT guy disabled the Store on all of the Win10 PC's - apart from mine as I'm the boss. So we'll stay with V1.
Funny how Adobe and Corel (yes they are still going) installs to the Program Files directory but Affinity are trying to convince folks that they had no choice. So please Affinity/Serif cease treating your customers as though they are dummies. There are too many experienced contributors around here so stop digging. Just man up - we made a mistake - here's the *.exe file.

Interesting point as our visiting IT guy disabled the Store on all of the Win10 PC's - apart from mine as I'm the boss. So we'll stay with V1.
Funny how Adobe and Corel (yes they are still going) installs to the Program Files directory but Affinity are trying to convince folks that they had no choice. So please Affinity/Serif cease treating your customers as though they are dummies. There are too many experienced contributors around here so stop digging. Just man up - we made a mistake - here's the *.exe file.

Interesting point as our visiting IT guy disabled the Store on all of the Win10 PC's - apart from mine as I'm the boss. So we'll stay with V1.
Funny how Adobe and Corel (yes they are still going) installs to the Program Files directory but Affinity are trying to convince folks that they had no choice. So please Affinity/Serif cease treating your customers as though they are dummies. There are too many experienced contributors around here so stop digging. Just man up - we made a mistake - here's the *.exe file.

Interesting point as our visiting IT guy disabled the Store on all of the Win10 PC's - apart from mine as I'm the boss. So we'll stay with V1.
Funny how Adobe and Corel (yes they are still going) installs to the Program Files directory but Affinity are trying to convince folks that they had no choice. So please Affinity/Serif cease treating your customers as though they are dummies. There are too many experienced contributors around here so stop digging. Just man up - we made a mistake - here's the *.exe file.

Yes it's a mess - like others I have found a couple of programs that will not access the Apps section and no, I have no intention of amending/lowering the security for this folder.
What on earth were so development team thinking? Anyone from Affinity care to comment on this thread - I doubt it.
Anyway, refund requested. Maybe if/when it's sorted I'll be back but it's highly unusual for any programmer to admit an error!!

I'm surprised that this thread has been allowed to continue. Serif/Affinity are obviously not in the software business as a hobby - it is a business and no doubt like any business is intended to show a profit.
That being the case, there's no doubt in my opinion that the developers will introduce new features, etc on a soon as possible basis as there's every incentive for them to do so. If, although I very much doubt it they manage to find a way of opening INDD files directly with Publisher then so be it although as that file format is constantly, or so it appears to me, to be a moving Adobe target it will be a no go in my book.
IDML - well maybe but going on about it day after day isn't going to make it happen any faster. Publisher is what it is and for now that's what it is. 

I'm surprised that this thread has been allowed to continue. Serif/Affinity are obviously not in the software business as a hobby - it is a business and no doubt like any business is intended to show a profit.
That being the case, there's no doubt in my opinion that the developers will introduce new features, etc on a soon as possible basis as there's every incentive for them to do so. If, although I very much doubt it they manage to find a way of opening INDD files directly with Publisher then so be it although as that file format is constantly, or so it appears to me, to be a moving Adobe target it will be a no go in my book.
IDML - well maybe but going on about it day after day isn't going to make it happen any faster. Publisher is what it is and for now that's what it is. 

I'm surprised that this thread has been allowed to continue. Serif/Affinity are obviously not in the software business as a hobby - it is a business and no doubt like any business is intended to show a profit.
That being the case, there's no doubt in my opinion that the developers will introduce new features, etc on a soon as possible basis as there's every incentive for them to do so. If, although I very much doubt it they manage to find a way of opening INDD files directly with Publisher then so be it although as that file format is constantly, or so it appears to me, to be a moving Adobe target it will be a no go in my book.
IDML - well maybe but going on about it day after day isn't going to make it happen any faster. Publisher is what it is and for now that's what it is.