Teo_

Yeah, I'm a big, BIG fan of Affinity, their buy-it-once model (and happy to do the bundle purchase); but, for years I put up with this 30-60 second launch delay.  I read your explanation about providing a universal binary because of Mx and Intel chips; but, I also have to ask how Adobe and the others mentioned above do this and still have quicker startup times.
When I use your Photo, Designer, and Publisher apps so frequently, but have to deal with the slow launch (almost every new day so I doubt Apple is updating YARA/etc. daily without my knowledge), I'm growing tired...very tired of this.
PLEASE...huddle the team and focus on your customer's experience (aka UX).  Come up with a solution!

About AI I’d like to see noise reduction improved.

This wrapping stuff around with the help of AI looks interesting.

EDIT; not 100% useful when it needs to be accurate and or truthful to reality but for quickly modifying placeholder images it looks interesting.
 
 

We have investigated this problem thoroughly, and unfortunately have found it to be intractable due to our application file size and the security that Apple builds into all it’s operating systems.
To support the different hardware Apple now makes, since 1.8.6 we have distributed a Universal Application (compiled for Apple-Silicon and again for Intel based macs) within the same .DMG installation file. These Affinity applications are consequentially almost twice as big as previous, but we have to provide both versions to support all types of current macOS hardware.
It seems the time required by YARA/Gatekeeper anti-virus checking, which occurs when first launching the app, is exponential with file size and therefore this delay out of our control - because we need to serve up a universal app through the mac App Store, and currently provide the same Universal App download from the Affinity Store.
The reason it happens every time you restart your mac is that the YARA/Gatekeeper system may have been improved since last time it checked our application, so it does not “save” the fact our application has already been checked. Other applications are likely much smaller files and so start quicker.
Unfortunately due to the above reasons, we do not currently have an option to reduce this start-up delay as it is intrinsically built into macOS security protocols and not controlled by Affinity directly - though we have informed Apple of this and will continue to monitor this in future macOS updates.
We may investigate an option in the future to provide separate installation files on macOS for each hardware type, from the Affinity Store directly - though we do not have any direct plans for this currently and unfortunately it would not change the behaviour experienced when using the mac App Store version.
Our apologies for any inconveniences caused due to this.

The issue "Export Persona hang in Open and Save Panel Process when Exporting Slices" (REF: AFD-5921) has been fixed by the developers in internal build &quot2.1.0.1781&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.

Unfortunately this issue is still logged with our developers and I will be sure to raise this with them once again for you now as I appreciate how critical this can be.
Our sincerest apologies for the continued inconveniences caused here.

If I understand this issue, maybe this is useful: on Macos you can select multiple or all slices in the Slices panel, then if you check or uncheck any one of them, all the selected are checked or unchecked accordingly. Don't know about Windows.

I’m working on a 150 artboards document for an app. I’m using an export preset that saves in 3 files per artboard.
I’d like to export only modified artboards or a selection of them and countinuous export isn’t the solutions for some cases (a symbol on all artboards is like and export all).

Now we have the ability to export New items only, Export all slices or export only selected output files.

I’d like to have the option to select the slices from Slices panel, then get in the export panel an Export selected button.
A “select/deselect all" in export panel could help too.

Hi @Teo_,
Thanks for your feedback! This is something our developers have discussed internally previously and I'll be sure to add a 'vote' to this feature to register your interest now.
Unfortunately this isn't currently a confirmed feature, so it's something we may add in a future update, though I cannot provide a timescale for this 

I have upload 4 files (2 x .fit and the same files in xisf format). They have been stacked with pixinsight.
Maybe implementing xisf file format would be a good idea, too. Pixinsigh gives a warning that FITS is deprecated and you should save your files in XISF format, which is open source:
https://www.pixinsight.com/xisf/
 

It work's! Thanks a lot for implementing this file format in Affinity Photo!👍 It would be great, if the XISF file format would be supported in the future as well.😊
https://pixinsight.com/doc/docs/XISF-1.0-spec/XISF-1.0-spec.html
 
Thanks! Great work!

Those betas are to expensive!
I was hesitant to buy a new MacBook Pro and now I have no more excuses 😁

I agree it is very annoying, and not something we have chosen in any way. If we can find a way to avoid the checks happening we will implement it we have already tried a number of things, but this is also currently with Apple to see if they can make their YARA system less strict (not rechecking if our files have not changed since last time they "checked" them) 

@MEB
From a number of reports it seems this work around may have been "blocked" by a recent macOS update, so it's no longer a suitable work-around. It was surprising that making a copy worked anyway, and if Apple have spotted the mistake and blocked it then that would seem logical, as all applications should be security checked.
Readers,
We are working with Apple on this and having another look at why they are treating our application in a way as to not trust it each time the application is started after the machine restarts. We hope we have a possible solution and will try it internally. Rest assured we are working hard on solving this problem. 

I'm sorry to have to use other software for the UI projects I'm developing because I feel very comfortable with Affinity Designer. However, since I have to share the product with a work team, I am forced to use software designed to the sharing of resources, the description, and the management of feedback.

I feel very unprofessional using Affinity Designer - my favourite piece of software - when my customers and team mates ask me if we can use Zeplin... 
Is Zeplin even considered in future updates? Any reaction would be appreciated Serif...

Pre-order was a no-brainer! Thanks for great software with affordable prices. 

It would be lovely to see other long-running threads such as this one being put to bed, too:
Or other, more recent ones detailing also long-standing conceptual issues in Affinity Designer, like this one:
The popularity of certain feature request threads and the time Serif devs take to address them makes me sometimes wonder what exactly is their criteria; is it the marketability of them towards a certain target user? Is it the technological implications and dependencies of each tool or feature?
Well, I'll tell you something: this tool seems to be very useful mostly for people into technical drawing. It is no accident that in Ai it's lumped in with stroke customisation, such as dotted/dashed strokes. But… I will stand my ground. If they are finally trying to attract technical drawing users now, they must implement these two features I mentioned first, because… they will also benefit other less technically-inclined users and lay an important groundwork without which those users won't even get to use or even test those arrow-head terminations. It's a simple cost-benefit equation and a matter of priorities, even if these two features are harder to implement on a deeper level.
Or maybe they are in fact not trying to attract those users by adding arrow-heads because… people may want to use them artistically? Or just sparingly? If that's the case, I believe they are wasting their time on fluff (users who need them artistically would probably be better served drawing them by hand, and if they are doing just a few of them at a time can very well afford to do so) and only dangling yet another carrot which will only serve to disappoint those technical drawing users when they inevitably run into the aforementioned limitations. Yes, I'm actually saying it: some new tools may actually harm Serif's reputation more than they help it because of the expectation they raise. It's better to keep a certain user at bay, by not offering nearly any of the critical tools they need, than to attract them and disappoint them, as that may actually be your only chance of successfully luring them in.
Again, here are Serif devs focusing on the tools instead of on the core and general usability features. Please fix the core first, guys. And I'll tell you something else, which is indeed very worrying coming from me, the soon-to-be-graduate in a MA in Typography: these omissions are more serious than even those pertaining to typography. And I know I've badgered you with how important those were even before Publisher was a blip on the radar, but… drop everything else, including those, and focus on these features first, even if you have to address these in a phased manner. Show some commitment into making Affinity Designer a bit more “universal”, even if the tools that go with many potential use cases aren't there yet and won't even be there for a while. That will at least signal to your user base your true intentions of eventually replacing Ai, while not really hurting your current, happy user base in any way, shape or form. And yes, I will make no excuses for my use of that verb, no matter what the apologists will inevitably say about “Affinity being an alternative and not a replacement”. Of course it won't be but an alternative for a while, and of course the end-game is for it to become a replacement, even if it takes them 20 years to do so. But for them to be able to do so, they will have to line up their actions in the correct order and create the kind of proper, positive engagement with their user base.
And yes, I know what I'm proposing sounds a bit paradoxical and even hypocritical, but to me it somehow feels that it's much easier to justify that you don't have the time to implement tool a or b because you're busy getting the basics, core feature x or y, right. I know that I would be much more accepting of that than the current status quo. It feels as if Serif set some lofty goals, and still boasts about them on their website, but in all truth has just settled for keeping their illustrator/artistic/web/UX user base happy (by the way, I can't, for the life of me, understand how their UX clients haven't raised the same issues I did; or maybe many of them could, but just fled from Affinity instead of putting in the time to explain their reasoning…) while migrating them to iOS. Those two goals are super important, I'm sure (and regarding the latter, the upcoming rumoured transition Apple will make on the Mac from Intel x86 processors to ARM-based, A-series ones will be a golden opportunity for Serif to do to Adobe what they did to Quark), but I'd rather see a price increase on the entire Affinity range and see them hire a few more developers and UX experts (and yes, I also know that putting more people in a project doesn't always translate into faster developing times, but clearly Serif seems to be biting more than they wanted to chew and could certainly use a few more hands on deck) so that four-year-old basic requests and inexplicable and indefensible UX gripes become a thing of the past.
For all those who may think that I'm being self-centred, well, I'm not. I'm thinking not of what I do currently (or not just of that), but as a former design student and potential design teacher (as in, of the main project subject). I can immediately think of several academic and professional projects that would be an absolute pain to do, if not outright impossible, without those two features I mentioned, whereas… arrowheads? Excluding technical drawing, those would be just nice to have in some niche cases.
As for the whole Mac vs. Windows thing, and the slight mismatch in tools and/or features – in a beta, mind you – I'm siding with the devs on this one; it's commendable that their releases are as in sync as they are right now. What other companies, besides the 800lb gorillas in the room – i.e. Adobe and Microsoft (and maybe now Corel, too) –, do you know that can keep entire cross-platform software suites so very much aligned in their feature set and so cross-compatible in their file formats? Come on, give us some examples… You can fault Serif for a lot of what happened (and especially what hasn't) these past few years but, if there's something you can't really be mad about is their level of commitment to different platforms. Indeed, it's that very commitment that admittedly caused all the delays in projects like Publisher, so, as someone who eagerly waited for that piece of software (and still does, for its final commercial release, at least), methinks the gentlemen (and ladies?) doth protest too much.

A few days ago I bought an X-Touch Mini to use with Affinity Photo. Here it is next to my Deco 03:

It took many hours to get everything talking, including configuring the X-Touch Mini and the MIDI translation software to convert the MIDI messages to keystrokes.
Most of the work applies to both Windows and Mac systems, but the free version of the MIDI translator I use is only available for Windows. Mac users will have to buy the Pro version or find another translator. 
The attached file contains a PDF with instructions, as well as pre-built configuration files for both layers on the X-Touch Mini, the configuration files for the MIDI translator and a couple of .svg templates for the overlay.
Enjoy!
Configuring X-Touch Mini for AP on Windows.zip
BTW, the 'knob' on the Deco's wheel is a soft, stick-on door stop - makes the wheel much easier to adjust (https://amazon.com/gp/product/B01J23R2X8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1). 

I hope in a release when 1.7.x will be ready, not before 

Status: Beta
Purpose: Features, Improvements, Fixes
Requirements: Purchased Affinity Designer
Mac App Store: Not submitted
Download: Here
Hello,
We are pleased to announce the immediate availability of the beta of Affinity Designer 1.7 for macOS.
Designer 1.7 is a significant change to the currently shipping 1.6 version. Files edited in this version will not be backwards-compatible with the shipping 1.6 version. As such, we would not recommend using this 1.7 version for critical or production work at this stage. It is inevitable that there were will be a number of issues with 1.7 but we hope these will be minor and aim to resolve any issues very quickly, so please use it and explore the new features, but also do keep in mind that you may find snags and we would appreciate your help with finding and reporting these to us.
If this is your first time using a customer beta of an Affinity app, it’s worth noting that the beta will install as a separate app - alongside your store version. They will not interfere with each other at all and you can continue to use the store version for critical work without worry.
It’s also worth noting that we aren’t done yet - we are still working through reported bugs from previous releases and hope to fix as many as possible before the final release of 1.7.
With all that said, we hope that you will enjoy the new capabilities introduced in this initial release and we look forward to any and all feedback you give to us.
Many thanks,
Matt
 
Affinity Designer 1.7 - Changes since last Beta release
- New program and document icons.
- New 'Cube' grid setup mode (take a look in 'View' -> 'Grid and Axis Manager...').
- Sub-brush editing fixes and improvements.
- HSL adjustment UI fixes.
- TIFF import/export improvements.
- Fix for loading very large JPEGs
- Fix for rendering issue with edit controls on the context toolbar.
- Fix for default artboard names sometimes causing sub-folders to be created in Export Persona output.
- Memory management tweaks.
- Fix for sporadic OpenGL issues (black squares appearing at random).
- Rotation of brush tips using keyboard modifiers can now occur during drag.
- PDF export improvements.
- Fill Tool is now plane-aware and generates initial fill handles appropriate for the current plane.
- UI gamma change now functions correctly on Mojave.
- Font list tweaks.
- 'Create artboard' option in New Document dialog should be initialised correctly now.
- Vector brushes now allow for non-pixel-aligned head/tail offsets when dragging (just hold Alt/Option to avoid pixel-snapping).
- Symbol fixes.
- Pen and Node Tool improvements.
- EPS import improvements.

Affinity Designer 1.7 - Changes Since Last 1.6 Release
Tools
- We've overhauled most of the core tools, adding subtle new features to make you more productive:
   - Node tool has a new 'Transform Mode' which provides a containing box for the selected nodes and allows for more freeform editing of the nodes.
   - Node and Pen tools have an utterly amazing Construction mode which gives easy access to common construction features to help you build complicated shapes or intersections accurately and easily, giving you simple access to parallels, right angles, reflected and mirrored angles, in addition to circular construction snaps and all construction intersections. This really needs a video to show how to use it - but it's awesome.
   - Pen tool now has a 'rubber band' mode and also a mode to allow future curves to be added to the current object's curves (for example, the character 'a' is constructed of two curves in a single 'curve object' and this mode makes that construction simpler).
   - Node tool can now auto-snap nodes if you drag a node from one curve over the top of a node from another (selected) curve and pause, it will offer to snap to the same geometry as the node you're hovering over (ie,  modify the on and off-curve nodes to match). This is really useful for trying to reconstruct areas of one curve from another curve.
   - Node tool now allows for lasso selection of nodes by holding the Alt/Option key and dragging a selection lasso.
   - Pencil tool now offers a 'sculpt' mode that allows for extending or manipulating curves in a more natural way. More to come in this area soon.
   - Many tools now allow for 'Alignment widgets' which you can toggle the visibility of in the context toolbar. When enabled you can visually adjust the alignment or even, for example, 'align to centre, snapped to the left edge of this object' by simply click/dragging.
   - Fill tool correctly allows editing of skewed fill handles and newly-created skewed fills draw much nicer now.
   - Ruler origin can be edited by simply dragging the area where the rulers intersect each other - it can even be snapped onto objects in the document.
   - Guides can be edited in most tools by simply dragging a guide in the ruler area.
   - Grid setup is now more interactive: origin can be dragged, axis scale adjusted and angle adjusted on-document, complete with snapping to objects and angles in the document to help you reconstruct useful grids from finished artworks or sketches.
   - By enabling 'Edit in Plane' on the new Isometric Studio, tools can edit objects and appear to make those edits along the currently active plane - extremely useful for artists who enjoy working with any axonometric projections.
   - You can now drag the rotation centre point (when enabled on the context toolbar) while holding Ctrl and it will translate the object - this is actually very useful for positioning and snapping objects relative to others.
   - Shapes tools now have presets so you can create your own favourite shape setups and more easily use them again.
   - There are just far too many subtle tool changes to mention here, but hopefully you'll find the tools much improved 
 
General
- New brushes, styles and assets are now shipped with the product.
- Visible bleed (accessed from the View menu) so you can more easily design into the bleed area - a common feature request.
- “Alternate futures” for document history have been added. Traditionally, if you roll back the undo history then do something else all your changes after that point are lost. Designer will now display a small branch icon in the history tab when you do this. Pressing that button will cycle between all the different “futures” after that history entry - meaning you will never lose work you have done.
- New 'Isometric' Studio makes it easy to setup and work with various axonometric projections within the application.
- HEIF images can now be loaded directly into Designer. If they contain a depth map, this will also be loaded as a second layer. Because depth maps are typically lower resolution than the main image, optional “smart” upsampling will be performed.
- Designer now supports custom document presets - a popular feature request.
- A new blend mode - Linear Burn - has been added.
- New “Move inside / outside” commands have been added - useful for quickly clipping/unclipping.
- New "Merge curves/Separate curves" commands.
- Grids now have an editable number of angle subdivisions.
- The Hard Mix blend mode has been improved.
- Numerous text improvements have been made - including new features such as bullets and numbering.
- Significant PDF import / export improvements and fixes.
- Fix for occasional crash when using Construction points
- Improved Freehand import slightly - failing to read all of a file shouldn't force it to produce a 'failed to load' response, instead we just load the bits that we *could* read
- Fix for very poorly named Styles (oops)
- New splash screen and Persona icons
 
Brushes
- Designer 1.7 introduces a new “sub-brush” mechanism, developed in conjunction with Paolo Limoncelli (DAUB® Brushes). This exciting feature allows any brush to have a list of other brushes attached which will draw at the same time. Each sub-brush has a fully separate and customisable set of dynamics. You can control when the sub-brushes are drawn and how they blend with the main brush.
- Symmetry (up to 32-way) is now supported - including on-canvas controls and optional mirroring.
- Wet edges and accumulation are now available on colour brushes and brushes with HSL variance.
- Brushes with multiple nozzle textures have always chosen the nozzle at random. In 1.7, the nozzle choice has a dynamic controller and ramp for greater control.
- All pixel brush tools now support left and right arrow keys for rotation - a common feature request.

Adjustments
- The HSL adjustment layer has been rewritten. It now supports custom hue ranges, a new algorithm, new UI and picker controls.
- The Levels adjustment layer now supports output levels - a common feature request.
- The White Balance adjustment layer has been rewritten.
- The Selective Colour adjustment layer has been rewritten.
- PSD import / export of adjustments has been improved.
- The Vibrance adjustment layer has been rewritten.
- The Recolour adjustment layer has gained a lightness slider.

 
Misc
- Numerous other bug fixes - too many to list!

+1 on this!
I own the full astute suite, and it's honestly the ONLY reason I still have illustrator set up on my machine.

Some will be happy:
 
Best regards!

Oval will have to explain what exactly he envisions. I hope he's just reinforcing the need to specify a Path End's position relative to the path's endpoint (e.g., whether an arrowhead's point is on the endpoint, or beyond the endpoint).
But if otherwise, as it sounds to me, both of the above situations (and countless more) would be addressed by what I have been trying to describe as tight integration between what Illustrator and other programs treat as too-isolated features: path Strokes, Fills, Ends; and Symbols.
Imagine an interface something like this:
Any path has three intuitive graphic attributes: Stroke, Fill, and Ends. (It's time to abandon many of the ambiguous, strained pre-computer metaphors like "Brush" or "Pen," not to mention increasingly outdated esoteric terms like "Dodge" and "Burn.")
A Stroke is either "Art" or "Line." An Art Stroke has options for: Scale: ("Fixed" or "Per Stroke Weight") "Stretched" or "Repeated." A Repeated Art Stroke has options for: Count: (Value) Spacing: ("Auto" or "Specific") Bend With Path: (Boolean) Offset (Distance, Random [Boolean] ) The content of an Art Stroke can be a stored Symbol, just as the content of a Path End can be a stored Symbol. So there is no need to confusingly position something specifically called a Path End midway along the path. That can be done with a Repeated Art Stroke, with any Count, Spacing, Offset, etc., desired.
Or something like that. The devil, of course, is in the details, so I'm not claiming the above is perfect. Some of the options, for example, would be inter-dependent. But the concept is sound, and would be more concise, intuitive, and versatile, while less scattered and confused than most existing treatments. For example, it effectively unifies functionality of Illustrators separate "Art Brushes" and "Pattern Brushes."
All three path attributes (Stroke, Fill, Ends) should support application of multiple instances.
JET
 
 

I applaud your use of  "line end effects" rather than "arrowheads."
It is so 1980s to think in terms of just arrowheads. As with other still-missing features, I very much hope that the reason for the delay is that the Affinity team has something far better in mind than the prevalent conventional wisdom.
Those who also follow Gravit Designer's (rapid, but sometimes too rapid) development know that it has been under a similar "must have" outcry for "arrowheads," and that it was just recently added. I have high regard for Gravit's  nobel effort to restore what has been for too long abandoned in vector drawing programs: interface elegance. But its obviously rushed-out-the-door arrowheads treatment is possibly the poorest I've ever seen. I sure don't want to see Affinity go that way due to unrelenting user pressure.
Paths have strokes and paths have ends. Nowadays, everyone expects (and rightly so) vector-based path stroke features to be far more elaborate than just the archaic basic color, weight, and end caps settings. Sadly, Illustrator's Pattern, Art, and Scatter Brushes (despite their needlessly overblown interface and lack of integration with other features) leads that functionality and is one of the really very few true advantages of that program.
All the while expecting more sophistication for path strokes, there seems to be a prevalent fixation on the archaic single-purpose use of "arrowheads" as path ends. Yes, arrowheads are a common need. But they are just a pointy-shaped vector graphic positioned at the end of a path and rotated to maintain tangency with the path's stroke. Thinking of "arrowheads" as a distinct feature needing its own interface is as archaic as thinking of dashes as something worthy of a standalone interface entirely distinct from other path strokes.
Even the conventional treatment of "brushes" misses the elegance mark. It's an example of how the typically-strained "natural media" metaphor breaks down. Like Illustrator, most programs have come to treat "Brushes" as an attribute. But in the physical media metaphor, a brush is not an attribute; it's a tool. A brush applies strokes, just as a pen or a pencil applies strokes.
Paths have strokes and paths have ends. Path ends should be every bit as versatile as path strokes (including so-called brushes). Both represent opportunity to exceed the functionality and disconnected non-integration with the rest of Illustrator's cumbersome, scattered, and grab-bag-like interface. Powerful as they can be when used with a little ingenuity, Illustrator's brushes are hamstrung by their stand-alone nature:
You can't simply use a Symbol as the "end tile" of a Pattern Brush. Why? You can set an option on or off to "Scale Strokes and Effects" for any ordinary object(s) in the document, but you can't set that for Symbols, strokes contained in Art Brushes, or strokes contained in Tiles of Pattern Brushes. Why? You can't simply assign a Symbol as a path end. Illustrator has its archaic separate Arrowheads setting. You can create custom Arrowheads, but to do so, you have to open a separate Arrowheads file, draw your custom "Arrowhead", and store it in that separate document as--wait for it--yes, a Symbol! You then quit the program, re-launch the program, re-open your document and now your "Custom Arrowhead" is available in the stupid separate Arrowheads popups of the Attributes panel. Arguably (albeit a stretch), Adobe may have somewhat of an excuse for this convoluted nonsense in that it is a very, very old program, so certain archaic aspects have to be perpetuated for the users' old files. But Affinity is new; it should be free of such backward constraints. I'll say it again: Market share be hanged. Adobe Illustrator IS NOT the program for anyone to emulate in creating a far better drawing program.
Nowadays, most programs provide a symbols feature. Path ends should be integrated with symbols. Any symbol should be able to be applied as a path ending. The interface for applying a symbol as a path end should include these options:
Setting the rotation angle of the symbol, and whether that angle is relative to the page or to the path. Setting the scale of the symbol (relative to how it is stored) and whether changing the path's stroke weight correspondingly affects the scale of its ends. Setting for whether or not strokes contained within the symbol's artwork are scaled. Most programs treat paths as having two primary attributes: stroke and fill. But they really have three: stroke, fill, and ends. It's way past time for someone to provide a modern, powerful, and elegantly integrated treatment of path ends.
JET