CedarHouse

Have had a re-think over the last couple of days regarding the new "Resample" title. Think now that it is a reasonable title for the action of the crop tool set. Tried to see whether one can change the aspect ratio from within the "Resample" tool.
Played around with many different options for increasing (up-sampling) an image. Used the canvas resize and selection method to change the width or height of an image and then resize. Also used the resample method to increase the size of the image in either pixels or unit dimensions. Tried to increase image size to different aspect ratios by just changing one dimension in either the height or in the width from the Camera ratio of 1.507 to 1.0 to different ratios such as 1.33 to 1, 1.25 to 1 or 1.618 to 1. Basically up-sampling images in either width or height to produce a different aspect ratio from the original ratio of 1.507 to 1.
Some of these are in the presets, but the presets work in a different way. My original image was 4950px by 3284px so wanted to maintain the 4950px value but resize to different ratios in the height only. Came to the conclusion that I could do with a ratio box within the Resample crop tool to be able to change the image size by using direct ratio entry to get a different aspect ratio without having to resort to a calculator to calculate the change in height or width dimensions, whether pixels or unit lengths. Sometimes the new ratio selected made the crop grid go out beyond the image area and needed to be dragged back in. Not sure how this can be addressed to ensure the crop grid "rubber bands" back in to the image.

Quite like current beta version .445 and crop choices available. Would it be possible to "rubber band" the crop grid boundary so that it cannot go past the edges of the original image particularly with reference to the newly named "Resample" cropping tool?
I am not quite convinced that the term "Resample" is quite the correct term for this tool. Done a bit of a search of other photo editing software and common terms used elsewhere is A. "Original Ratio". B. "Original Proportions" and C. "Preserve Aspect Ratio".  There may be other terms I have not come across as of yet. The other possible thought is in the new "Resample" tool is to include a box to adequately describe the Original image ratio. eg 4950px by 3284px could be also described as (1:1.507). The "Resize Document" does allow the size to change in relation to the aspect ratio when the padlock is locked. Just wonder whether a similar function could be available in the "Resample" tool when selecting a new size or resize greater than the original image size at the same time maintaining the original proportions of the original image or aspect ratio.
For the image stated above at 4950px by 3284px why does the Custom Ratio then describe the ratio as 2475px by 1642px (50% of the original pixel count)?
Could this tool set be used as the conversion tool to show the true custom ratio as 1:1.507 or similar. Other images could have different ratios and the "Custom Ratio" should be able to save the ratio in a more appropriate format to describe the aspect ratio as a fraction and save this for future use as a preset. There are other common ratios of say 3:2 but this is still not the same ratio as 1:1.507. End up losing a small strip out of the original image aspect ratio. Other camera sensor ratios may also have different aspect ratios.

Thanks Mark for the feedback on the resize issues. Have been researching the option of getting an alternative photo editing solution to avoid future problems.
I regularly go to a web site called [lifeafterphotoshop.com] by Rod Lawton. Despite the title it does include items on Photoshop and Lightroom. There was an offer through the web site (running until 31st July) for ON1 PhotoRaw 2019. I initially tried this software over two years ago but decided as Serif was a British company with it's base in the UK that I would run with Affinity Photo rather than another US site. The life after photoshop web site has recently added a photo A-Z in which Serif and Affinity Photo get mentioned. The web site has a list of the top ten photo editing software and Affinity Photo is at number eight in the list.  The  photo A-Z has a definition for Cropping, Resampling, Resizing and Resolution that might be worth a look at. Hoping that the Document Resizing has been sorted along with the Absolute size Crop tool that is also re-sampling rather than resizing. Changing the DPI settings in the Absolute size crop repeatedly changing the ppi then starts to re-sample the pixel quantities only making the quantity of pixels smaller and bigger but does not change the dimension of the image.

Maybe I am being to quick in response to the recent beta version 424. Still cannot see any change with regard to the Document Resize and DPI settings relating to the resolution and size or area of an image. I have taken onboard an example from a Digital Photography book from 2005. Imagine a 2D Universe that is expanding. Initialy there are lots of stars occupying a small area of space. As the universe expands the area that contains the stars get bigger and bigger. The quantity of stars remains the same as the area of the universe increases. The way to describe the change of size of the universe as it expands is to determine a resolution. So one can determine a value for how many stars there are in a unit of length. Called the Resolution. More stars per unit length will occupy a smaller area and fewer stars will occupy a larger area. Same with pixels in an original image from the camera. The pixels should stay the same but as the resolution changes then the area of the image will increase or decrease. The original pixels have no size, just a quantity of pixels. The size is determined via a resolution of some degree of measurement. i.e 300 pixels per inch (ppi of DPI) or 100 pixels per inch (ppi of DPI) or maybe 50 pixels per inch (ppi of DPI).
Digital Images.pdf

Went through the process of cropping an image and then export to jpg. Two images one at 16.5 inches (4950px) by 10.95 inches (3284px) and a second using the crop tool to a size 14 inches (4200px) by  10 inches (3000px). Both images show the sizing in File Details, but the first has the full image size and the second has a white border top and bottom. The second so called cropped image does not appear to have changed from the first image when displayed side by side but the crop size is shown as different.
Moving crop box by the corners the size does not change in the absolute display box.

I would like to use unconstrained mode if there was other alternative dimensions available other than only having "pixels". Only in Absolute mode is there the facility to use other dimensions such as inches, centimeters etc.
Go to DSColour Labs in Manchester or for that matter any other photo lab that provides Fuji Crystal Archive paper and the print sizes available to order are in inches. I like to use 16 inch by 12 inch paper and have my prints with a least an inch white border around the perimeter of the supplied paper to allow room for mounting on a card mount. 500mm by 500mm mounting card. So would look for a image to be say 14 inches in the long (horizontal) direction and 10 inches in the vertical direction. Then copy and paste the image to a 16inch by 12 inch white canvas.
The absolute mode in 1.7 now increases the crop box beyond the original area of the image.  I am hopelessly lost. Type 14 inch into the left hand box and the crop boundary goes up and down beyond the original image size area. Type 10inch and the crop box shrinks in height but is still outside of the original image area. Original image 16.5 inch by 10.98 inch at 300 DPI.

At the risk of seeming silly, I have done another way of adding Metadata within Affinity Photo. File Open in Affinity photo goes into Windows File explorer. Right click on thumbnail for the image and then down to the bottom to Properties. This open the properties dialogue. Then click Details tab.
There should be listed the metadata for the image file. Some sections can be written into  such as author, copyright, lens type etc. Then click apply.
Open the image into Affinity Photo and the additional added information is displayed in Affinity Photo Exif.
Windows 10, Affinity 1.6.4.104.

At the risk of seeming silly, I have done another way of adding Metadata within Affinity Photo. File Open in Affinity photo goes into Windows File explorer. Right click on thumbnail for the image and then down to the bottom to Properties. This open the properties dialogue. Then click Details tab.
There should be listed the metadata for the image file. Some sections can be written into  such as author, copyright, lens type etc. Then click apply.
Open the image into Affinity Photo and the additional added information is displayed in Affinity Photo Exif.
Windows 10, Affinity 1.6.4.104.

As far as I can determine the Exif and Metadata is lost from an Exported image once the Metadata is clicked off in the More part of the export process. Tried several different methods of exporting a jpg from an Affinity Photo file. In many cases ticking the metadata on or off and comparing with other software and cannot see any way of recovering Exif and MetaData once it has gone. Unless there is some software out in the internet of everything that can solve it. I exported an image fron a .afphoto file to .jpg left the Metadata ticked. Saved jpg as a 96ppi (DPI), 1400px by 876px, size 14.583inches by 9.125 inches. Opened the same image back into Affinity Photo. And in Document Resize the resolution was 1400px by 876px, but the ppi (DPI) was 300 and the image size is now 4.667 inches by 3.92 inches. Which is not what I originally exported. Shows same result in Document Resize and in the Crop Tool Absolute dimensions when selecting either pixels or inches.
Turn of untick the Metadata in Export using More and then when re-importing the file the correct ppi (DPI) is shown as that before Export and the image size is the same as the Export version.
The only way to keep Metadata appears to be to export two files in jpeg into separate folders, one with Metadata and one without Metadata. Just have to have a folder name that reminds one of the differences. File sizes and ppi (DPI) may not matter to many users and most people can get along just fine for publishing images to the web. I need to print images and or use the images in presentation and it gets very confusing when one cannot determine in AP what type of image I have got open in AP. Is it 300ppi, 96ppi, 72ppi? Get the calculator out and start dividing 1400px by 300 or 96 or 72 to determine which or was the correct size when originally Exported. Gets more difficult the longer the period of time since the file was Exported. Have folders titled 300ppi, 96ppi, and 72ppi and save the relevant size exported image file to the relevant folder. So that if I did not untick the Metadata then I know that the file was originally save at 72ppi and then on import into AP I can reapply the Document Resize with Resample ticked to off to bring the image back to the original exported size.

Thanks for the reply. My concern is with the user settings when resizing documents for 72ppi, 96ppi, and 300ppi images. There is a "known" bug that does not allow the user settings to be retained after export of the  processed image. One needs to click on More and then untick Metadata to retain the user defined settings at export of the image. Sometimes I forget to do this.  I have had AP since May and it is now August. I like Affinity Photo, but still need to retain an alternative for additional items that I cannot do in Affinity Photo for now.
In the UK there is an organisation called PAGB (Photographic Alliance of Great Britain). Affiliated to this organisation are regional bodies to which a large number of Photography Societies and Camera Clubs are in turn affiiliated to involve thousands of amateur or semi proffessional photographers. Probably there are similar organisations internationally. September is the start of a season. All across the UK thousands are preparing their images for September and through to April/May next year. Display images at 72ppi with resolution of 1400px by 1050px with maybe a small white border around the inside edge. Print images at 300ppi to any size up to 50cm by 40cm. At colour space sRGB. A few in my small circle are struggling with the current incarnations of PP, better with LR or PE. Some are considering moving over to Affinity Photo. Potentially across the whole of the UK thousands could be in the same situation. But there is no way of opening an image in Affinity Photo and getting the correct image information on an image exported to say a JPEG without losing all the Metadata attached to the image. If it is a known "bug" is there a possibility that it will be fixed and when? (Next update?).