supermundane

Bumping this. I would ideally like to see Affinity Photo implement a similar workflow to Photoshop for the creation and use of Custom Shapes. It provides a very accelerated workflow for illustrators and concept artists.

I'll certainly look into this. Thanks. At the moment, I somehow managed to get it to run - not perfectly - but the the point where it's usable with AP and AD by simply enabling or disabling the 'Game Mode' checkbox. Strangely, this made no different with the first install attempt. When I use AP and AD I enable Game Mode, and I mostly have a trouble-free experience, while I disable Game-Mode for absolutely everything else. I believe the hardware has finally caught up to Wacom's but the drivers and the settings that are letting Huion and I believe XP-Pen down at the moment. To be fair, Wacom like Adobe, have had a serious head-start in that respect and my understanding is that the drivers have improved immensely in a very short space of time, which bodes well. Of course, the onus is also on Serif to ensure that its applications work as flawlessly as possible at least with the main competitors to Wacom, that being Huion and XP=Pen. Much like the transition to the Affinity suite, we're witnessing a transition away from Wacom especially as the consumer, freelancer and student level, which is where the Affinity suite itself is making the greatest inroads. I'm a freelancer and teacher myself, and I feel that both Affinity and Huion/XP-Pen are rapidly catching up on their larger, more established rivals.

An update to this thread. Incidentally, it would be nice to know if anyone at Serif is aware of these issues. Huion responded very promptly. They asked me to video capture what's taking place in Affinity Photo and upload it to them, which I have. Hopefully, that will aid them in addressing this at least from the driver side of things with the next driver update. Of course I'll keep everyone posted.

I hope they will and I also hope that Serif will purchase a few Huion and XP-Pen tablets and pen displays to test with their applications. Huion and XP-Pen, like Serif, are rapidly emerging as the dominant competitors to the established giant.

But if then you use the mouse and click within another program, and then attempt to return to Affinity Photo, it ceases to be responsive at all and you'll need to task manager to kill it outright.

Hi firstdefence, Thanks for your efforts and for enquiring on Facebook. I had to go out and so I've only just managed to get around to looking at the problem again. I have emailed Huion with the details and I await their response. However, I have something to add, which may provide a workaround for some, if others experience these issues. Within the Tablet's Driver settings panel and alongside the Enable Windows Ink checkbox, there is a Game Mode checkbox. I've previously toggled that option on and off to no effect. How after the reinstall, if I have both 'Enable Windows Ink' and 'Game Mode' enabled, the brush tools with work in Affinity Photo and Designer. Well sort of as the Mouse Pointer remains visible at all times, effectively obstructing the view of the brush itself. And...with the Game Mode checkbox enabled the tablet ceases to work in Photoshop CS4 - no response at all in PS. It does continue to work in Krita (it appears that the free, open-source program provides the best support for tablets and pen displays).

Weirdly the brush tools work with the Photo Persona in Publisher. Go figure.

Went through the steps I've outlined but no luck of uninstalling and reinstalling. The problem persists and I'm out of ideas. Affinity Photo and Designer will have to collect dust a while longer sadly. Serif - it's great that you're adding all these amazing features but really the fundamentals do need to work first and I'd suggest that getting brush and eraser tools to work properly (or at all) with pen displays (when 10 year old applications work with the same pen displays flawlessly) is one of those fundamentals. Scungio - The Wacom drivers were uninstalled prior to installing the Huion drivers so that isn't the problem. Agree with you on the improving quality of these competitors to Wacom. The drivers still seem a little unresolved however.

That registry entry doesn't appear to exist in my computer's registry. The pen appears to be behaving normally with Photoshop, Krita and Clip Studio Pro. Affinity Photo? No luck. I'm going to try uninstalling and re-installing my Affinity applications and see if that helps. The steps I'll follow - Uninstall the tablet drivers. Uninstall Affinity Photo and Designer Restart Install the tablet drivers Restart Install AP and AD. Cross fingers.

Thanks firstdefence. I've been scouring the web for a solution but I'll take a look at the link you've provided. Much appreciated. Ultimately, Serif do need to address the issues with tablet input, particularly with the Wacom competitors which, like Serif's own suite, are rapidly growing in popularity. I'll see if the link you've provided will address the issue, otherwise Affinity Photo and Designer will go back to occupying space on my hard-drive until the day it's addressed.

And to add, it works perfectly with the trial version of Clip Studio Pro that I have installed. Affinity Suite? No dice.

Hi firstdefence, Thanks so much for your kind words, and your response! In the latest drivers, the option is known as 'Enable Windows Ink'. I have enabled and disabled it, but to no avail.

I really want to migrate to Affinity Photo but I swear the issues particularly with how it responds to pen tablet or pen display inputs prevents me from making that transition. Just when one level of frustration is overcome with AP, another arises and I have to resort to firing up my copy of Photoshop CS4. I formerly owned a Wacom Cintiq 13HD but have wanted something with a little more screen real-estate. The Wacom competition appear to be coming of age and after much research and no indication of compatibility issues in the reviews and tests of the new Huion Kamvas 16 Pro, I decided to buy one. A lovely piece of kit except for one thing. I cannot get Affinity Photo or Designer to work with it. There was lag and bizarre pressure sensitivity issues (same level of pressure resulting in wildly different responses) with the Wacom with AP and AD, but at least it worked to a degree. With the Huion when I attempt to draw a line, there is no pressure sensitivity whatsoever and it appears that all it recognises is the start and end of the line as can be seen from this screen-grab. I've uninstalled the drivers, installed the latest. enable force pressure in AP but to no avail. And yet, the tablet works with my ancient copy of Photoshop CS4 and with Krita on Windows 10. What is going on? Why the issues with Tablets and the issues don't appear to plague any other similar software, eve something as old as CS4?

An update. I have noticed that the pen becomes responsive again when I press the Alt key once again. If I then lift the pen before I lift my finger off the Alt key, it will remain responsive. I hope this helps in isolating this issue.

I should add, it's a Cintiq 13HD and I'm running the latest drivers. I've restarted the computer, however the same issue persists. So until this is resolved, the transition to AP will need to wait a little while longer.

Hi people, 1.7 has witnessed massive improvements across the board with Affinity Photo and Designer - the new Brush tools in Affinity Photo with the Sub Brushes tab the ability (at last!) to draw a vertical or horizontal straight line by holding shift are wonderful improvements, but the Colour Picker has always frustrated me. Beyond finding the Magnifying Glass somehow less precise for colour-picking on the fly, I'm experiencing an issue with my Cintiq whereby if I hold the Alt for fast colour picking (which doesn't prove to be terribly fast and at frequently doesn't work at all), my Cintiq ceases to recognise the pen after I release the Alt key. After a time it generally works again if I click outside the program - say on a browser window. Sigh. I really want to transition to Affinity photo and retire my old copy of Photoshop once and for all but these roadblocks to an efficient workflow (of which a fast, responsive and working colour picker is frankly essential) are still holding me back. Is anyone else experiencing this problem?

And Australia and New Zealand for that matter. The US is the exception to the rule.

Kudos to the team! While DTP is fairly tangential to my work, I simply had to purchase Publisher, and with the very pleasant surprise of Studiolink, I'm very happy that I did. And I have a lecture that I'm giving soon and so Publisher should prove very useful in putting together class material. Studiolink is a revelation! I'm impressed with the direction that Serif is taking and the recent updates. The packages have progressed in leaps and bounds with the recent updates and I've now almost completely transitioned to AP for my illustration/concept work. It' adjusting to the workflow but the Brush tool with the Sub brushes is where for the improvements have been most meaningful. I'm glad that you're persisting with the perpetual licensing arrangement. It's a huge factor for why I was seeking out an alternative to Adobe in the first place. To this end, I'd be happy to pay say, 50 percent of the purchase price for major updates (say from 2 to 3 when that comes about). Congratulations guys! You deserve the success for your considerable efforts. I'm spreading the work where I can.

No problem Patrick. Apologies for jumping the gun. I tested 1.7 briefly before posting. I'm looking forward to delving into the new features. I will say that I do prefer the old shortcut icons A minor niggle. Anyway, great work guys!

Hi Frozen Death Knight. Thanks for this. I quickly trialed 1.7 after install but couldn't find this feature. I will check out your video (thanks for taking the time to create this) and play around with it later tonight when I have some free time. I'll also check out the measurement tool you cited. Thanks again and great news! I may finally be able to ditch Photoshop once and for all.

Phenomenal updates and kudos to the team. I'm looking forward to delving into them (and purchasing Publisher) However, there is a major caveat (or rather two). Why, after all this time, does AP still lack the capacity to constrain a line to the horizontal and vertical? Do you really not understand how vital this is to the workflow of many concept artists and matte-painters? There's no need to copy Photoshop's implementation - just take a look at Krita, which I find myself using far more than AP simply because it still lacks this function. Krita has a separate straight line tool, which, when the Shift key is held down, constrains a line to the horizontal and vertical. Otherwise, at the very least why not give the user some visual cue that a line is perpendicular or horizontal to its starting point - a change of colour for the cursor perhaps or a popup icon next to the cursor? Something at least. Second caveat is the lack of collapsible and dockable Studios. Studios that into an icon toolbar much like that in Photoshop. Very useful for clearing out unneeded obstructions to the workspace. Otherwise, AP is progressing nicely.

/bump my own thread on this subject. Still a deal-breaker for me. Bought Affinity some time ago as it showed great promise. There have been massive improvements but my transition to Affinity Photo is on hold until this functionality (which every other competing package, commercial or free has) is implemented.

/bump Sigh, 18 months after raising this issue with Serif and despite a large number of people here telling them that the lack of this functionality is a deal-breaker when it comes to AP being a viable replacement for illustrative purposes to Photoshop, there's still no sign that will be implemented and worse, no acknowledgement by Serif of the problem. Hell, even Krita and a new kid of the block Rebelle this functionality even if their implement differs to that of Photoshop. If you don't want or are unable to implement Adobe's solution due to issues of copyright then at least look at how Krita and Rebelle implement a straight line tool with the capacity to constraint the line to the horizontal and vertical. I implore Serif to investigate the solutions in these packages and implement something that permits this. Here are some suggestions - *Alt-Shift Click to constrain a straight line to the horizontal or vertical *A dedicated straight line tool a la Krita with Shift providing the ability to constrain it to the horizontal and vertical *Holding shift brings up a guide where the angle of the line can be set and Shift locks it to the horizontal and vertical. Serif, despite your apparent obstinance, there's a very good reason that every one of your free and commercial competitors offer this functionality. It's because it's immensely useful to indispensable for some workflows. I'm pleased with the improvements in the latest version. The Brush tool is vastly improved in terms of speed and responsiveness however, I still haven't made the transition and find myself using my old orphaned CS5 Photoshop and Krita while Photo languishes. The lack of this feature prevents me from recommended Photo unreservedly to other illustrators/visualisers.

My suggestion would be this. Retain the existing functionality within AP with the brush tool whilst holding SHIFT but add an ALT+SHIFT option that constrains the straight line to the horizontal and vertical as found in Photoshop and as mhackey describes. Users can always remap the shortcuts if they choose. A dedicated line tool a la Krita would be nice also.

Apologies for not responding. I've been busy with work and regrettably my transition to AP has been put on hold. My experience is that it is with all brushes frankly. There just isn't the immediacy with the brush tool that there is with Photoshop or even with Krita, which generally is very pleasant to use. I'll trial it again and if I have examples to show, I'll post them. Generally it occurs with swift brush strokes and with tight freehand circles or arcs. The pressure sensitivity when starting a stroke will at times disappear. The problem seems to worsen over time as Photo begins to rapidly get more sluggish. I look forward to seeing what improvements come with future versions as the potential is great but for any task that relies heavily on the brush tool and a stylus (in this case a Wacom Cintiq) I'm been using Krita and my old non-subscription copy of PS.