Mr. Doodlezz

Hey everyone, I wonder if this is a bug or a feature: Current behaviour: If I use the Rectangle Tool (M) and then switch to the Corner Tool (C), then work on one or more corners and release the mouse button, the tool automatically switches to the Node Tool (A) – is this a feature or a bug? Personally, I find this irritating and not really intelligible, because rarely I get the curve right with just one click and go. Expected behaviour: In Designer V1, the corner tool remained active after the rectangle was converted into a path object, which I would prefer. Can someone please check if it works the same for them and/or if it is a bug?

Hey everyone, today, when I open a document that I was working on yesterday perfectly fine, I get the following error message: What does »link« mean in this context and how can I fix it? How can I see which links/objects have been removed? Edit: I used no linked images/objects to begin with, only a couple of embedded screenshots and symbols. Thanks!

I also find the Quick Grid function good, but not very good. For my use cases it is simply not precise enough and I find the delay when changing the distance to each other irritating, especially when it is a matter of a few pixels or millimetres - then it becomes slightly frustrating, because as soon as you release the mouse button to move closer, for example, the process is automatically confirmed/completed. I find your ideas very well documented. However, I would find it even more intuitive if a kind of pop-up opened right beneath the mouse cursor as soon as the system recognised that I wanted to use Quick Grid. You could then define exactly these settings via the pop-up. It could look like this and would increase the accuracy by 100% (clearly I'm not a UI artist, so treat this as a mockup): Or, for a slightly more compact version just for manipulating the gutter, since you can get the first frame snap to the document grid can to control the number of frames horizontally/vertically via the keyboard anyway:

Hehe, it's a test of whether anyone here reads this conscientiously at all. You passed. 😜 Thanks, I'll take care! It seems that this is not necessary at all. I remember that in previous versions and updates my LUT files and other adjustment settings were unfortunately always forgotten/lost and I had to retrieve and copy them again myself into the new structure. This time it worked with the transfer.

You have just saved the day for me – thank you for this super simple workaround! Just two question: Where does this install the files exactly?

Do you actually mean buy or download? If you have bought the app, it should – if I understood Affinity correctly – still be displayed in your purchase history. Just like the desktop software in the App Store or on the Affinity website itself. This problem is indeed very frustrating, but at least there now is now a warning dialogue. It is beyond my grasp not to integrate such a dialogue right from the start in a version jump with a lack of backwards compatibility and especially a time-limited demo. 😑

You are right about that. So that would be one of the 4 workarounds I haven't used yet, and probably even the one that requires the fewest clicks. But these tricks are not as intuitive or comparable to the method we know and use from the other tools. I don't understand why this learned habit is broken for a single tool. (In fact, it is broken in at least two places I know of: The Crop Tool and the Tiltshift option within the live filter Depth of Field. Unfortunately it also does not pick up the function of adjusting the opposite sides at the same time when holding down the ⌘-key. Probably I’m super picky with this … oh well, what can I say, I do like precision.) Now if the selection were automatically detected when switching to the crop tool or offered as a potential crop, that would almost be an acceptable alternative. I saw this or a similar request as well somewhere in the forums. Haha, I know – aber der Spruch musste jetzt noch kurz sein. Und ist doch nun mal am Ende des Tages auch tatsächlich so, oder nicht? 😁

And of course, I know that there are probably 10 workarounds for both problems, of which I probably already use 6. But – as is the case with workarounds – they need more clicks, and each click takes time, and time is money. At least for simultaneously cropping opposite sides would be holding down one single additional key instead of 1. creating a shape 2. create rulers for that shape and 3. finally switching to the crop tool and crop.

Hey everyone, I honestly don't know exactly how to describe what I've been missing for a long time (actually since day one of Photo) other than the title. But I can try to describe what behaviour I would expect. As you can already tell from the title, it's about the Crop Tool. From certain other tools I am used to being able to click on the top and bottom and left and right centre nodes of a selection, a shape or an artboard and adjust the element symmetrically by holding down the ⌘ key. Here is a short demonstration of what I mean by this (Sorry for the poor quality, but I didn't want it to be a big clip): Crop_Tool_function.mov You could say: »Why don't you just move the active area so that it snaps into the middle?« But here's the thing: Snapping to the centre of the current canvas for some reason does not work with the cropping tool – only document edges and rulers are recognised. All other elements in the document are ignored as snapping candidates. For some reason these two functionalities (simultaneous crop opposite sides and snapping) apparently never made it into the crop tool and I really don't know why because these to me are the most basic functions I use on a daily bases – to crop equal parts from the sides or to snap to elements/candidates on the canvas. I really miss these – am I the only one? 😔

Thanks for the answer in this thread as well. Fingers crossed it'll all work out before the offer ends. 🤞

Thanks for the update, Patrick – I really appreciate it, it takes care of some of the concerns!

Well, the inconvenience, time invested and number of clicks to create a new address. The fact of having to use such a workaround in order to take advantage of a 30-day trial period should be reason enough. One would assume that potential problems, such as those that are taking place here on a relatively large scale, would be taken into account before the release of a software package. It's not like Affinity is starting from scratch with absolutely no market knowledge, let alone Serif, so it could be a marketing strategy. In any case, I'm very confused about how the release unfolded.

Oh wow, yes! That makes so much more sense, a very nice example of how a test phase should actually work. Also, there is still no statement from Affinity, neither officially nor unofficially, I guess. I don't have a test phase then? Cool cool cool, that's just great.

In another thread I asked about the trial period: Will the trial be reset when the MSI/EXE becomes available? Right now I'm down to about 12 days, although I can't test anything because of the installation problems.

I guess Affinty's lack of response indicates »no« for both questions? Nevermind, found something here.

Two questions, that I think are related in some way (I hope they haven't already been asked. If so: Sorry for the repetition and please point me into the right direction) : Is it foreseeable whether the MSI version will be available before the end of the current 40% offer? (14.12.2022 if the info I read somewhere is correct.) Will the trial be reset when the MSI versions become available? Because I currently have an activated trial version and only have a couple of days left, but am stuck with the MSIX versions, which for one reason or another can't install on my operating system (even after trying several options discussed here in the forum). Or will the trial version expire without me even having the possibility to test it? 😞

Of course it could be a mistake, but I am extremely sceptical this time. This kind of notification about the lack of compatibility with earlier versions of the apps was literally there in the earlier minor upgrades and betas! So what made them remove it, just not integrate it or forget it? With such a big announcement and release plus additional costs, I think every screw should actually be in place. Also because this upgrade was in the works for how many months/years?

If that is not confirmation of the scheme, I don't know what is! 😠 They have completely lost any connection to V1 and are relying on just anyone upgrading without a second thought, it appears. If they had been serious about their »… or you can just keep using V1« statement, something as simple as a warning message would have been on board with V2 from the start, damn it! I'm sorry, but this kind of attitude from them really pisses me off. 😡 I don't want to know how many users have already encountered this problem or will encounter it in the next few days. Especially because it would have been so easy to work around.

A possible workaround could be to use the 30-day trial version of the various apps to copy and paste files that can now only be opened in V2 into a V1 file. This then works for a total of … 120 days. (Each of the three individual apps comes with a 30-day trial period, and so does the complete suite). Not to mention that it is super inconvenient and costs time and nerves. As @Jan Tippman has already explained above, this also works rather poorly and only with documents with few page counts – but if you have a Publisher file with 10 or more pages, it is quite a pain. I also think of possible text and paragraph styles that have to be copied, if this is possible at all. It's a really strange way how Affinity handles it.

I'm sorry to tell you that's what »by design« means in this case, I'm afraid. Of course, you have to look at it from the company's point of view, and unfortunately the appreciation of the users is rarely priority No. 1 in 99% of cases, because in the end only revenue counts. And what is the best/most clever way to achieve sales? This question is answered by the current, non-obvious communication of the lack of backwards compatibility. I guess it is speculated that many long-term users will try out the 30 test phase with their old files, then possibly decide after the expiry of the 30-day period that the change to V2 is not worthwhile, but then remain stuck with files that can only be worked on with V2. And suddenly they are forced to upgrade. Here, definitely the transparency and clear communication on the part of Affinty.

It may be that the lack of backwards compatibility is intentional (I mean, of course it is from a business point of view) – but as a user (long-term or new) I expect at least a mention about it somewhere in the software – optimally, I don't even want to encounter the problem and have to search in some forum for the confirmation »congratulations, you screwed up and are now forced to upgrade«! If I remember correctly, this was also the case in previous versions when opening older files, there was a hint when opening. Maybe not. A dialogue (which can be deactivated in the settings) when opening would be the most basic and simple solution to this problem. Moreover, Affinity does not mention at any point that data may not be backwards compatible if saved in V2 (even if one can imagine this, but still not everyone may know this). It's almost negligent that Affinity offers a 30-day test phase while also mentioning elsewhere that you can stick with V1 in any case. And that's what dooms many people, indirectly forcing them to upgrade, all because they open V1 files to try V2, then save and maybe decide V2 isn't for them. @Bryce, you mention that no competitor offers backwards compatibility – which is just plain wrong. For example Photoshop indeed offers backwards compatibility mode and can save data so that it can be opened in other versions instead of just the most recent one. Of course, some of the newer functions may be lost when opening the file in an older version. Nevertheless, it is a way to ensure backwards compatibility in some way, rather than not at all.

Just as a side note: workflow speed with the Shape Building Tool is increased by efficiency and nothing else that may be implied. To achieve good results, of course, you have to know what you are doing and what you want to achieve. But even if you have absolutely no idea about Boolean, it is much faster with the Shape Building Tool than by other means.

Now to take it to the edge: Who wants to try to recreate this spontaneous creative freeform in Designer in less than 50 seconds? 😄 Jokes aside, this is not a competition or a race, let's not turn against each other. The Shape Builder can also be used as a kind of inspiration generator – you can use it to find shapes in forms that you wouldn't have come up with so easily otherwise. Anyway, this is a call for a long-awaited feature that is already present in many other apps. If you think you don't need it, that's fine – just move on. But don't ignore the need of others.

This way of creating shapes generates many more unnecessary nodes/steps than any other way. You will notice this because you suddenly have additional nodes/gaps in the middle of the form, which you then have to delete manually. Look, the nodes here (my converted compound file that I finished outside the video) are more accurately constructed and correspond – as far as it goes – to the original shape. By this I mean that for example that the former inner circle still consist of as few nodes as necessary and can therefore manipulated easier down the line, if needed. Also the corners where the bottom triangle meets the circle consist of only one node. With your approach, there are probably at least two nodes, if my experience does not err me.

Thank you, although I didn't ask for an evaluation of my workflow, I am trying to prove a point with this. Building shapes in a matter of seconds, not minutes. 😑 Trust me, I’m working with Designer since day one, so I know exactly what I'm doing. I know that the order plays a big role and that you can change the type of Boolean action afterwards. As I said, the point is not that it can also be done in Designer, but that it is easier, faster and much more intuitive in Illustrator.