smallreflection

Okay, I've replaced the Beta 6 with an updated version that hopefully fixes the remaining issue with fonts. If anyone who is experiencing the crash at startup could try it again, that would be appreciated! :)
 
Thanks!
Matt

Status: Beta Release
Purpose: New features, fixes
Requirements: Purchased Affinity Designer
Mac App Store: Not Submitted
Download: Here
 
This is an early beta of a substantial change to our codebase and as much as we have tried to ensure the quality of the code, it should be considered to be not suitable for production use. This means that you should not attempt to use it for commercial purposes or for any other activity that you may be adversely affected by the application failing. In addition it is definitely worth noting that files created in Affinity 1.5 cannot be opened in 1.4 so always make a copy of your important documents before opening them in 1.5 to ensure you do not accidentally overwrite them and are unable to open them in your 1.4 version.
 
To use this beta, simply download the file from the link given above and double-click on the file to open the installer. Follow the instructions to install the beta version. The beta sits alongside the Mac App Store version and will not interfere with it.
 
Fixes/Improvements:
Fix for certain fonts causing startup crashes (hopefully!) Fix for Node and Pen Tools not working correctly at silly zooms. Asset collections can now be embedded in documents. If the document is given to another user, they will be asked if they wish to install the assets if they haven't already installed them: This is the start of being able to distribute assets easily to users inside a demonstration file showing their usage. Changed text alignment to use Command+Option+L and Command+Option+R to avoid the existing keyboard shortcut clash. PDF import fix for password-protected PDFs. Deleting nodes on stroke pressure profiles now works correctly with Delete key. Minor bug fixes and stability issues.

Slides on steroids!
 
I don't recall seeing so many options in the Slices Tab before, especially when you click on the triangle left to the name.
Have they been there before or is it a new addition to Beta 1.5 release? JSON? Wow.
 
That would merit a good video tutorial from the Affinity Team.  :)
 
Regards

Hi Frank,
No, basically you have to disable all the controls both outside and inside in the Constraints panel and simply place the object at the center of the rectangle. See screenshot below.
 

I think that in this case the very solution could be the "old dear label"...  :)

Thanks - it'll definitely be worth a go because there has been work in the area of fonts since the App Store version so it's entirely possible the new code has a flaw... It really does look like something font-related is the root cause of the problem... :)

Did you possibly install a font before it crashed? The crash log seems to be suggesting there's a problem building the font list... That's why the beta 3/4/5 are all having problems as they're all getting the same failure. If you did install a font, can you try uninstalling it and running again - and then letting us know what the font was so we can fix whatever is going wrong!?! Thank you! :)

We are going to get a customisable multiplier in Export Persona.
So my use case in the future could be perfectly covered by a simple 1.5x for assets.
 
On the other side, if you're use the Apple Devices presets, these follow my approach (so you have the points/dpi combo) and the "move by whole pixels" is no more useful. 
 
PS. Wow! Blazing fast fix for ths SHIFT thing!  :ph34r:

Wow, new beta out already with the fix! That was fast!  :D

Status: Beta Release
Purpose: New features, fixes
Requirements: Purchased Affinity Designer
Mac App Store: Not Submitted
Download: Here
 
This is an early beta of a substantial change to our codebase and as much as we have tried to ensure the quality of the code, it should be considered to be not suitable for production use. This means that you should not attempt to use it for commercial purposes or for any other activity that you may be adversely affected by the application failing. In addition it is definitely worth noting that files created in Affinity 1.5 cannot be opened in 1.4 so always make a copy of your important documents before opening them in 1.5 to ensure you do not accidentally overwrite them and are unable to open them in your 1.4 version.
 
To use this beta, simply download the file from the link given above and double-click on the file to open the installer. Follow the instructions to install the beta version. The beta sits alongside the Mac App Store version and will not interfere with it.
 
Fixes/Improvements:
Open, Save and Export dialogs will now remember the last locations they were browsing Snapping and measurements work properly with Group nodes now, plus numerous other Snapping fixes Numerous Symbol fixes Fix for Embedded documents invalidating the incorrect areas in the containing document when they are modified Remember the currently selected palette in the Swatches panel between app sessions Raster Pixel tool (in Pixel Persona) can now clamp to horizontal/vertical and join lines by using Shift Miscellaneous Font fixes. Minor bug fixes and stability issues.

Thanks for finding this - it was a single totally isolated bug.  Good spot.

Ok - I've found the problem.  It'll be fixed in the next Beta.

Nothing at the moment, but it's something that's often talked about in the office...

I use Inkscape's built-in bitmap trace. Works really well for black and white line art conversions. Save as SVG, and import into Affinity.

The rendering engine is sound and uses the same optimisations found in basically all other rendering engines - some artefacts are easier to see in some engines than others, but they're nearly always there. We have a different rendering path that you can enable which removes these artefacts but it is slower and this is why it is not normally included in other packages. Go to Preferences->Performance and choose 'Use precise clipping' and this will remove the artefact you can see. This code path is always used on Export irrespective of the view setting that you are able to change, so you never need to worry about seeing these in your output...
 
Thanks,
Matt

Yes - the conflict between Alt and Cmd dragging - we provided Cmd also to allow duplication on drag to allow for people to duplicate and snap at the same time.  Both duplicate, but Cmd doesn't interfere with snapping.
 
Shift drag should still conform to pixel snapping.  Again, pixel snapping is applied if there is no other snap.  Again, if you start off pixel, the constrained direction snapping will stagger across pixel boundaries.  I should perhaps draw some diagrams of how we apply the snapping logic - it was carefully thought out to allow for arbitrary axis of snapping while still conforming to the pixel grid, and allow for snapping to other objects.  I was not convinced by the method of snapping to objects then quantising to a pixel position - it seems to fight against all other snapping.  And, you effectively don't snap directly to other objects, which seems counter intuitive to me.
 
If you identify an error, can you upload an example document and steps to recreate the problem, then I can see what's happening. Other than that, I'm reasonably confident that the precision we apply to snapping should be way in excess of pixel tolerances.

Yeah!!!!!

Status: Beta Release
Purpose: New features, fixes
Requirements: Purchased Affinity Designer
Mac App Store: Not Submitted
Download: Here
 
This is an early beta of a substantial change to our codebase and as much as we have tried to ensure the quality of the code, it should be considered to be not suitable for production use. This means that you should not attempt to use it for commercial purposes or for any other activity that you may be adversely affected by the application failing. In addition it is definitely worth noting that files created in Affinity 1.5 cannot be opened in 1.4 so always make a copy of your important documents before opening them in 1.5 to ensure you do not accidentally overwrite them and are unable to open them in your 1.4 version.
 
To use this beta, simply download the file from the link given above and double-click on the file to open the installer. Follow the instructions to install the beta version. The beta sits alongside the Mac App Store version and will not interfere with it.
 
Fixes/Improvements:
Deleting a curve node will now attempt to keep the curve's shape as much as possible by modifying the magnitude of the neighbouring nodes. Text improvements - Paragraph units updated to use text units vertically and document units horizontally. Fix for missing font styles - caused by OS X localisation issues. PDF import improvements for font matching and stability issues. PDF export improvements for transparency groups. Improved the visual style of the Assets panel. Fix for problems with applying Constraints to Compound objects or Images which were clipped by Compound objects. Creating a Style will now also include the text formatting and apply this correctly to other objects. PSD import of documents with pattern strokes should now function correctly. Added Colour Picker Tool to Pixel Persona. Minor bug fixes and stability issues.

Hello all! I threw together this social media template based on recommended sizes for 2015—largely based on Constant Contact's recommendations. It doesn't include quite everything, but it has slices already set up as well to help expedite most needs. Enjoy! :)
social-media-template-2015.afdesign

So I found myself wanting to come up with a basic stipple brush, of a more vector-style and less painterly variety. Going for that more retro-modern shading look inside of vectors that's quite popular these days. Pretty basic, but I think this is what I was going for! Works best sticking to applying with straight paths, no vector handles. The nice thing shading this way is you can vary the opacity and get quite a nice buildup on top of gradients. I threw together this trippy abstract to give them a go.   :)
 
Edit: Sorry, this post seems to have gotten mysteriously duplicated, and the attachment isn't showing up here consistently.

Basic-Stipple-Brushes.afbrushes.zip

Hey guys, one bug I just ran across in the last beta is using a curves layer with just a single point and pulling out (in either the lights or darks) causes this weird drop in that throws all of the colors off.

Hey guys, one bug I just ran across in the last beta is using a curves layer with just a single point and pulling out (in either the lights or darks) causes this weird drop in that throws all of the colors off.

Thanks for the feedback, all! Penwiper, good thoughts, I'll probably try to get some of those in revisions. Test prints came out a bit dark too, so I might play with tonal values a bit also.
 
Without giving too much away, here's another in-progress character piece from the set, with some slight stylistic differences (some folks said they preferred earlier sketched versions of the characters, so I'm testing out some subtle outlines and sketch elements along with the original layers.
 
Penwiper, the game is coming to Kickstarter soon, so you can follow us at SteamCourt.com until it drops. It's super fun, I can tell you that. :D

Status: Beta Release
Purpose: New features, fixes
Requirements: Purchased Affinity Designer
Mac App Store: Not Submitted
Download: Here
 
This is the third beta of a substantial change to our codebase and as much as we have tried to ensure the quality of the code, it should be considered to be not suitable for production use. This means that you should not attempt to use it for commercial purposes or for any other activity that you may be adversely affected by the application failing. In addition it is definitely worth noting that files created in Affinity 1.5 cannot be opened in 1.4 so always make a copy of your important documents before opening them in 1.5 to ensure you do not accidentally overwrite them and are unable to open them in your 1.4 version.
 
To use this beta, simply download the file from the link given above and double-click on the file to open the installer. Follow the instructions to install the beta version. The beta sits alongside the Mac App Store version and will not interfere with it.
 
Fixes/Improvements:
Symbolically linked text can be detached properly. Text Styles page menu option added: Apply Style and then Next Styles. Fixed crash with certain fonts (ZnikomitNo24). Fixed EPS export clipping paths getting combined with the following path PDF Export avoid using tiling bitmap patterns unless the fill is genuinely tiling. Fixed failure to rasterise transparency to PDF formats that don't support transparency Tweaked font size variables for cap height and x-height. Fixed position of text caret around line ends. Clip To Canvas is now saved. Import/Export of Assets now work. You can now rearrange the assets sub categories via the sub-category burger menu. Fixed Copy and Pasting from Apple's Photo app. Fixed Zoom shortcuts can sometimes crash. Fixed QuickLook thumbnail generation for files created in 1.5. Minor bug fixes and stability issues.

There's still a few things missing (not implemented yet) in the Export Persona like realtime previews (for compression) and the estimated output size. This should come later.