Mr. Doodlezz

Do I have this correct?
You have a Designer file with multiple Artboards, stored in Dropbox. You have the Dropbox application configured on your iPad, macOS, and Windows. You have Dropbox configured as a Linked Service in Settings for Publisher on your iPad, and I presume also on macOS and Windows. You create a Publisher document on the iPad, with the document Placement Policy set to Prefer Linked. You Place the Designer file from Dropbox into the document. The Resource Manager immediately shows the Linked file as Missing?

Hi @Mr. Doodlezz,
Thanks for reporting this.
I've replicated the issue here and will get this logged with the Developers.
@AammppaaThe issue you raised previously and linked to is still logged with the Developers to resolve.

Create a polygon with the Pen Tool Round the corners using the Corner Tool Use the Pencil Tool in Sculpt Mode to remodel an edge.
Result: The rounded corner vanishes / resets to being a sharp node.
Expected: Rounded corner remains.
Note: The rounded corner is always affected at the start node of the polygon, but is usually not affected on other corners (though I have seen instances where they too disappear).

You're absolutely right! I didn't mean to specifically point at the Shape Builder Tool – it was just my initial thought when testing.
I see now how the Corner Tool might be the main culprit given its behavior with other sharp points, so thanks for pointing it out. (No pun intended.)

While I agree that there is a bug here (the corner rounding should of course not vanish), I don't think it is a bug with the shape builder tool...
Try recreating your star shape using the regular Boolean tools, and you will see the same behaviour. Perhaps not surprising as the underlying calculations are probably the same.
Try drawing your star shape with the pen tool. You will now find that you can't even apply corner rounding!
The corner tool really doesn't like the incredibly fine points of the star that are formed when the control handles are perfectly aligned to the vertical (or horizontal). If you move one of the control handles very slightly away from the other (zoom in to 10,000% first so it is a microscopic movement), then corner behaves correctly when mirrored.
So I'd suggest that the issue is with the corner tool itself.
Here is a bug report I made 4½ years ago about a similar issue. Sadly v2.1 and v2.2 Beta both still exhibit the pencil sculpt bug.
Could one of the Affinity team please log both bugs for attention? Thanks.

The issue "Context Toolbar value boxes loose focus after the first arrow key press" (REF: PD-636) has been fixed by the developers in internal build &quot2.2.0.1857&quot.
This fix should soon be available as a customer beta and is planned for inclusion in the next customer release.
Customer beta builds are announced here and you can participate by following these instructions.
If you still experience this problem once you are using that build version (or later) please reply to this thread including @Serif Info Bot to notify us.

Hi @Silas,
Sorry to hear you're having trouble!
It sounds as though you may have the following option enabled, under Affinity Designer 2 > Settings > General:

If you disable this option, does this now work as you'd expect please?

AH!
You are correct.
My life is complete again!

Thank you for your response.

Hi @Mr. Doodlezz,
I've just been experimenting with this in the Beta app, the only solid way i've found to delete previously imported custom ICC profiles is to remove and re-download the app which then clears the profile, not really ideal. I had initially thought that it may be possible to remove this via a Clear user data full reset (AKA CTRL Run-up) or by deleting the original location that the ICC profile was stored, but unfortunately neither worked. The profile is downloaded into the app files and there doesn't appear to be any way to manage/edit custom profiles on a surface level.
I'll log this an improvement so that ICC profiles can be better managed/deleted within the app, similar to the Install Fonts interface.

Thanks @lepr, much appreciated workaround! 😉

A workaround to preserve editability: use the vector Compound as a vector mask on a 'white' raster Mask inside the Compound Mask.
Masks edited.afphoto
 

 

Hey forum!
I'm not sure if this is a bug or if I'm missing something. Basically I simply want to import all pages from document A into B after the last page. However, I'm asked to specify a valid target page. Am I misunderstanding the message? Why do I get the below warning?
Also, even if I wanted to, I can't access any boxes with this setting. 🤔
Thanks for any help! 😊

We want a direct button to instantly switch between the two app, like on the desktop app.

Apps: All
Platforms: macOS and Windows
Very small addition, but the right click menu available when in node tool (or while holding cmd in pen tool) now has the additional option of deleting the node. Both delete methods are available from this menu - either standard delete, or "Fit to Curve" delete. The fit to curve option is the same result you get when pressing Alt+Delete.

Apps: Designer and Publisher
Platforms: All
In Affinity Designer and Affinity Publisher you can now choose to toggle your view to hide all layer effects or switch to greyscale. Being able to hide layer effects in this way is particularly important for those creating very complex designers with 1000s of layers and effects - having a view mode where effects can be turned off greatly improves performance as you work.
Toggling to greyscale mode can also be useful to evaluate contrast and dynamic range more easily.
On desktop you will find these new options in the View Mode options, and on iPad you can toggle them using the buttons next to the View Mode options in the navigator as shown below.
 
Additionally on desktop we have created new buttons you can optionally add to your toolbar to make it more convenient for those who want to toggle between these views regularly. You can find these by right clicking on top toolbar and selecting "Customise Toolbar" and drag either of them on where you see fit.

 

It's nice to know that the bug is already known and being worked on. Well … is it though?
I'm not sure how much programming and coding is involved, but reading that it works in Studio-Link, as stated by @Paul Mudditt, leads me to believe that it's something that already works and could/should be adapted for the standalone Photo app. (As far as I know, and with my very limited understanding of programming, it works like copy/paste of code snippets – but again, I obviously have no idea).
The problem has been known since December last year, so it's all the more annoying that half a year later there's still no improvement in either the current 2.0.4 release or the latest beta. But I guess adding more and more features instead of fixing existing bugs is the standard now. 😐
Especially when recording macros, I see (and experience) a great potential for error.

Hey everyone,
Update: Okay, apparently I completely missed the introduction of Key Objects somehow. Thanks for telling me it’s already there! 🤯
Firstly, however, part of my original subject was that key objects should work for any alignment – this includes the spacing operations »Space Vertical« and »Space Horizontal«. They currently work for the general alignment options such as top/bottom, left/right.
From my logic it could/should work like this:
If NO key object is selected, the last set »Align To:« option works as intended and expected. However, if a key object IS selected, the »Align To:« option should react and prioritise it by changing the »Align To: Key Object«. As soon as there’s no Key Object selected, it switches back to the previous item in the list, like »Last/First Selected«. Without checking, I think this is how it works in Illustrator as well.
And I mean, it's just logical (at least to me): If a user actively selects a Key Object (and for Designer this can't be accidental, since you have to hold down an extra key on your keyboard), the user most likely wants to use it as such.
So the Key Object should always have the highest priority in the list of alignment candidates/options.
Secondly: They also only work from the Context toolbar – when I work with the toolbar popup and want to align (top/bottom, left/right, ...) it prioritises the selected »Align to:« option from the drop down. I think there's an item missing from this list for key objects to work in the toolbar popup as well, and I think that's the culprit.
It's not at all obvious that »First Selected« equals »Key Object« in the »Align To:« dropdown in the Toolbar (not Context Toolbar).
–––
I very dearly miss the ability to click on one of multiple selected shapes (especially in Designer and Publisher) in order to define it as some sort of »pivot« object, so to speak, around which all other alignments will happen since day one switching to Designer almost ten years ago. (Wow, Designer really turns 10 next year!)
The »First/Last Selected« options in the »Align to:« dropdown come close to what I mean, but are not as intuitive, nor do they work for all alignment operations such as »Space Horizontal/Vertical«.
Illustrator has solved this more elegantly and functionally by allowing you to mark one of the already selected objects as the »centre« by clicking on it, around which all further alignment operations will take place. They call it »Align to Key Object«. Here's a short clip of how it works. Here’s a video that explains its differences a little bit better compared to other alignment options present in Designer.
Please please pleeease Affinity, I need this QOL back in my process and would love to see it and in the Affinity Suite. 🥲
Cheers
Dennis

Apologies for not getting back to you sooner. I don't have any updates for this right now unfortunately however I will chase this up tomorrow when most teams are back in the office as most have left for the day unfortunately.

Here’s my list of bookmarks when it comes to stock photos. Some of them might be a bit outdated.
But pixabay and unsplash, mentioned by manuschwendener.ch, I like the most. ;)
 
http://www.cupcake.nilssonlee.se
http://www.deathtothestockphoto.com
http://www.foodiesfeed.com
http://www.getrefe.tumblr.com
http://www.gratisography.com
http://www.imcreator.com
http://www.jaymantri.com
http://www.jaymantri.com
http://www.jeshoots.com
http://www.kaboompics.com
http://www.lifeofpix.com
http://www.littlevisuals.co
http://www.lockandstockphotos.com
http://www.negativespace.co
http://www.nos.twnsnd.co
http://www.picjumbo.com
http://www.pixabay.com
http://www.raumrot.com
http://www.snapwiresnaps.tumblr.com
http://www.splitshire.com
http://www.stocksnap.io
http://www.superfamous.com
http://www.tock.tookapic.com
 
I recommend to also register at creativemarket.com, they offer six free goods every week like fonts, vector graphics, WordPress templates, photos, brushes and so on … haha, sorry for advertising, but they have nice deals for designers and creatives in general. :D
 
Cheers
Dennis

Are there any updates on automatic font activation for font manager applications, both Mac and Windows?
There were at least two threads in the past that I could find, now archived, but there was never a real answer from Serif/Affinity as to if and when this feature would finally be integrated.
The latest news is that FontBase has tried to contact Serif on several occasions (according to a thread in their forum), but has not received any response.
I would love to be able to use this super handy feature of Fontbase, or by now almost any other font manager out there, together with Affinity Suite, but nothing seems to have happened in this area for years.

Hey @Hangman and @Callum,
Huh, strangely enough it works for me now too. I don't know what's different now. 🤔
I'll try to capture it if I run into the problem again.
Thanks for reporting and testing!
Cheers
Dennis

Hey @Hangman and @Callum,
Huh, strangely enough it works for me now too. I don't know what's different now. 🤔
I'll try to capture it if I run into the problem again.
Thanks for reporting and testing!
Cheers
Dennis

Hey everyone,
is this behaviour correct? I noticed that it has always been this way in all versions, which I find a bit odd:
On a path with arrowheads, if you change the transparency, they are treated as a separate object and you can see the underlying path under the arrow.
I would have expected the path not to be seen under the arrowhead and the element to be treated as a whole. You can easily solve this problem by simply grouping the path first, but in my opinion this is an unnecessary step, since the arrowheads and their path are already considered »one element« in one way or another.
Thoughts? See my clip for a demo.

Arrowhead_Path_Transparency.mp4    
Greetings
Dennis

Similar strange behaviour also occurs when the Expand stroke option is used on the arrow.
 

Wait, wait, wait.
Although I appreciate your alternative suggestions, you are taking the discussion in a completely different direction from what I originally intended to discuss with this topic! 😅
To be clear, my feedback/suggestion/question exclusively concerns contours with arrowheads and how transparency works on them – I'm not asking for solutions that are or include expanded strokes, converted shapes, or third party arrow shapes. I’m talking about Vanilla Affinity transparency for contours with arrowheads. 😉
I don't want a one-piece arrow shape, converted, constructed or otherwise – that's not my point.
I want a functioning transparency for regular contours with arrowheads, as shown in my demo.
Aka the contour with arrowheads a) has to remain a contour with arrowheads and b) has to work properly (like any other constructed shape) with transparency.
With »Thoughts?« I was trying to get thoughts on how other members of the community thought this should work.