tallrob

The point of a Digital Asset Manager isn't just organizing files. Every OS has a native method of doing that. The reason we need a DAM is to facilitate non-destructive editing. This is where LR and Aperture (rip) excelled, and why people latched on to them. Before LR there was Bridge, which was good for the time but you could easily stack up many GBs of "versions" that shared 99% of the same bits. True DAMs solved that problem by storing master files and saving versions as editing instructions to be applied on export. Aperture was the king of DAM for photography, and happily stored whatever files you threw at it. It could even handle multilayered psd files with ease. C1P is pretty good but lacks Aperture's stacking and album features, plus it's slow as molasses with large libraries. I can't speak much to LR anymore since I haven't used it in ages. The other critical feature of a DAM is culling. That means ratings and filters. This is where amateur applications like Photos fall short. You can "love" a photo, but it won't do star ratings (honestly I would have used Photos if not for this lacking feature because the plugin implementation is pretty decent). I think it's really difficult to invent a method of storing any and every type of file while still allowing for a roundtrip non-destructive workflow. It's not impossible, but there will always be compromise.

But the whole point of this feature request is to remedy exactly that problem.

So, this post is pinned, and it says [Implemented], but I still don't see any obvious way to open an indeed file in Affinity Publisher. If it's indeed now possible, maybe it's a good idea to edit the first post to reveal the method of doing so.

Bingo.

DAM, or something that looks like it. I switched from Aperture to C1 and I'm regretting it, but like everyone else here (I assume) I won't do Adobe. Affinity asset management is a must.

I have to say I don't understand this type of response. Successful companies grow by adding products to their lineup in addition to improving existing ones all the time. They also grow by acquiring existing packages and rebranding them to fit their lineup. This attitude of "please don't add what other people need, just improve what I already have" is shortsighted. Serif is squarely aimed at competing with Adobe, which is their only chance of long term survival. They need to be doing what Adobe does, better and cheaper. So far so good, but asking them to stop short of a 1:1 parity in product offering is shortsighted. That means Serif should develop (or acquire) video editing, special effects and DAM programs to complete their lineup. Affinity is nothing if not a lifeline for folks drowning in the Adobe model.

Bravo. If Serif would just basically rebuild Aperture minus the bloat, their suite would be a miracle product and Adobe would feel it.

The print dialog is a mess. I have to drop down too many menus and the only color profiles that show are the built-in Epson .iccs – custom and paper manufacturer's profiles require another click and search, and don't persist. I have to do it again with every print. Also, can't recenter or reduce the print area, so I can't do test strips. Easier to go back to Photoshop for printing. Please give the print workflow some consideration. A pre-print dialog with an actual print preview based on page setup, that allows for scaling and repositioning would be wonderful. Thanks.

What the naysayers don't seem to understand is that an integrated DAM/RAW Processor/Pixel Editor is essential to maintaining a start to finish non-destructive workflow, and that nobody has come closer to this than Adobe, and even LR and/or Bridge still haven't gotten it right. Affinity has a better chance of taking on Adobe because they're doing it from the ground up. A DAM implementation should have been their TOP priority. Crowds of visual designers would have swarmed to Affinity and Adobe would be shaking in their boots by now. But they went the way of iPad apps instead, and too many ignorant folks say they don't see the point of a DAM app. Maybe they're ok with having dozens of versions of files in a mix of proprietary and destructive formats, floating around on an archive of hard drives, but high production pros know the value of a database-driven library where you can do it once and always know where to find it when it's time to go to the next step of the project. NON-DESTRUCTIVE workflow is the key. If Serif is brave enough to dive in all the way they'll reap the rewards. Until then, thousands of users will keep the Affinity suite at arms length if they can't see an end-to-end commitment.

Same here. Serif have been promising a DAM implementation into the Affinity Suite for YEARS. Now they say there are no plans for it. Oh well, not a chance I'm going to dive into Affinity now. I'll stick with Capture One plus an old version of Photoshop. *sigh*

I should add and stress: the lack of DAM/RAW is keeping from adopting Affinity as my full time solution.

Honestly I'm not sure why this is such a long-standing question. Any real professional media production suite needs a lossless DAM for managing versions and editing history. And integrating a RAW processor is critical to its success. This is a no-brainer. Just look at all the big names, present and former: Lightroom, Capture One, Aperture (R.I.P.), even Apple Photos and iPhoto before it. Apple doesn't use the finder to manage photos and videos, why should we? Adobe Bridge was good enough until the Library/Catalog database concept replaced it. Bridge still dumps dozens of near duplicates on your hard drive, and should your sidecar files ever become separated, good luck. And Managing RAW files in the Finder or Bridge is a lesson in frustration. Let's stop trying to reinvent the wheel here. A database DAM RAW editor tool is essential.

Yes, a Mac. I have an account from signing up for the first public beta in 2015, and later a different account (accidentally) when I downloaded the trial.

MEB, I don't think you're reading my posts very carefully. I went to download the extras, and I was asked to either create a new account or log in with my old account. I have two accounts from previous purchases of Affinity Photo and beta testing. Neither of those logins worked, and neither does the password reset. I'm not talking about Forum login or old Serif accounts. Now your first reply told me I didn't need to log in, and now you're telling me I need to create a new account. The real problem is that the login and password reset aren't working. So perhaps you could stop replying with useless info and go see if someone knows something about that. OK? Thanks.

So I have to create a new, third account even though I already have two accounts? Your password reset is still not working.