Lubiloo

For anyone that would like to work around issues with launching our apps from third-party applications (e.g. DxO, ACDSee, etc), I have written a launcher utility that you can place anywhere on your system, and it will take care of calling our apps, with any required arguments.
Usage: aflaunch -a name -b build [args] -a name : One of the following Designer2 Photo2 [Default] Publisher2 -b build : One of the following Retail [Default] Beta MSStore args : [Optional] All remaining arguments to be passed onto the target application (must be last)  
The -a and -b arguments are optional, so you can ignore them unless you want to launch a different app, or the beta or MS Store versions.
I have signed the exe as well, so it will have a valid digital signature.
Please let me know how you get on with this.
Updated: 12/11/2022 @ 11:04am UTC. Now deals with spaces in filenames.
 aflaunch.zip

I've just been following James Ritson's video on the new Divide Blend Mode.  Worked wonderfully until I reached the Lighting Live Filter; Divide Blend Mode element.  Screen shot to illustrate the issue.  And I tried with and without hardware acceleration in Preferences. No other applications open except YouTube
Windows 10 Home: processor Intel Core i7-8700; 16.0 GB; Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti

Sorry, but I don't think that's going to help as much as you hope.
You can change where the main set of files go, so that instead of C:\Program Files\Affinity\Photo you can put it someplace else. However, there is another set of important files that will go into C:\ProgramData\Affinity\Photo that will be overlayed when installing a new version.
 

Looks great!
Amazing work..........total life savers!
On a possible future tweak, can you add a 'save panels' option?
I've had to drag them all out again, for 2 monitors.
:-)

@counterprojects, in addition to what MEB said about gradients, you might want to take a look at the Swatches panel help topic. The online US-English version is here, or you can find it in the built-in Help system in the Workspace > Panels section.
 
Note in particular the To save a color or gradient to a palette section -- you can save custom gradients of your own to any palette, even to the predefined Gradient Application palette, although it is suggested that you add them to ones you create. So you are not limited to the 4 default black/white/transparent ones, & it is a simple one-click step to apply them.
 
BTW, you said, "Is there anything used more often than a black to white gradient?" I can't speak for anybody else, but I very rarely use black to white gradients, or for that matter any gradient with a pure black or pure white color stop.

I was just about to write a few questions for the forum - but decided to check if they've been mentioned before.
 
I have this 'problem' too - each section of the develop UI has its own preset - there should be, I think, a single central place for saving Develop presets that gathers ALL of the separate presets together as a kind of easy global preset.
 
A key thing professionals need is repeatability - and for anybody in the office to be able to repeat the action if possible. Seeing as the Develop stage isn't dynamic - the next best thing would be to have a single point preset - and preferably one that can be saved and shared. . ..  instead of 4 or 5 different presets in different parts of the UI.
 
I'd say this is genuinely THE biggest problem I have with Affinity Photo at the moment - especially as I've been brave enough to completely make the jump from Adobe CC !!! In the main I am incredibly incredibly happy to have made the jump - and I love the Develop persona. .  but you MUST make global shareable presets your very highest priority - and if you can make it a dynamic editable part of the process (with a dynamic flattened top 'Develop' layer? which users can pause and play when editing below is happening?) - then that would be perfect.
 
The other biggest problem is the AWFUL. .. and it is awful. .. gradient tool. Is there anything used more often than a black to white gradient? No- there is not - can I make it the default? No. Can I save it as a preset? No. Do I ALWAYS have to click 6 times to be able to create, each time, a black to white gradient.? YES!!!!!!! Insane! 
 
I have more problems. . .  but maybe a few at a time is best.
 

 
Cheers,
 
Marc.
 

I wrote DXO  - Nik Support earlier today asking about the  ' new ' ( paid) version of the Nik Software bundle compatibility going forward, since  DXO really hasn't changed to functionality of Nik for now, and won't until the new upgrade comes out later this year.
Specifically , I was asking about compatibility between Nik , Affinity Photo , and GraphicConverter on my Macs running OS 11.6 El Capitan.
Riley at DXO Support responded with an official compatibility chart of  old/new Nik with past/present  apps.
https://support.dxo.com/hc/en-us/articles/115015298887-Licensing-and-Compatibility-paid-version-only-
It was disheartening to see that the 2018 version of Nik will NOT be compatible with OS-X El Capitan 11.6 or older ; NOT compatible with latest Lightroom or Apple Aperture 3.x
- at least not officially. DXO does not even mention Affinity or Graphic COnverter by name, saying only that Nik plug-ins  may work but are not supported.
(quote) " they may work with other programs, but they are not officially supported by us to do so. ( endquote)
Well, obviously they do work , since I am using them flawlessly....  Nik 1.2.11 on Affinity Photo 1.6 and Graphic Converter 10.6 on OSX El Capitan.  I'm guessing DXO considers Affinity to be a strong competitor and simply does not want to steer them any business.
I do have Nik full install .dmg for my Mac, and it certainly looks like I will not be upgrading to OS X 10.14 Mojave , the new Nik bundle, and worst of all , new Mac computers. I only hope that Affinity Photo remains compatible with El Capitan for the forseeable, since I am leery of upgrading to Sierra or High Sierra.
YMMV

Mr. OldRadioGuy, I cross-referenced your findings to another post of the Affinity forum (Will Viveza (Nik) be fixed for Affinity?).  Here is their response:
"We only support .8bf plugins, we do nothing specific for Nix plugins and nothing we can do to support them directly. They definitely changed something in the new release as they worked fine with the old "Google" plugins."
I'm not trying to start any "war of words" on the forum but would love to see a single thread where the Affinity Folks address the software's problems and their efforts to address it/create a workaround. At least tell us if they are working with DXO to resolve the issue. 

DEPRECATED THREAD
The Photo tutorials listed below have been refreshed and moved. Please see this new thread or use the Affinity site Photo Desktop tutorials webpage
 
In support of our fantastic photo editing app, please use this comprehensive and structured set of videos for accelerated learning!
The video tutorials are available on Vimeo and YouTube via these links:
 
Vimeo - http://affin.co/PhotoVids
YouTube - http://affin.co/photoyt

We now have a specific Beginners Series of videos tailored to absolute beginners, with a more manageable pacing and focus on concepts and straightforward procedures. They all include subtitles to aid understanding.

The tutorial set includes:

Beginners Series
Opening & Saving -  YouTube / Vimeo Layers - YouTube / Vimeo Adjustments - YouTube / Vimeo Filters - YouTube / Vimeo Exporting - YouTube / Vimeo  
Introduction
Discover Affinity Photo Getting Started Technical Benefits  
Basics
Document Setup Layer Concepts Layers Overview Live Filter Layers Scaling and Transforming Cutting Out Understanding DPI Accessing Help  
Transforming
Document/Image Resizing Canvas Resizing Cropping: Practical Cropping: Aesthetic Straightening Images Cropping: Golden Spiral Cropping: Options Aligning Images  
Selections and Masking
Making Selections Refining Selections Pixel Selections from Layers Quick Masks Mask Layers Exposure Merging Clipping vs Masking Vector Masking Using Adjustment Layers on Masks - YouTube / Vimeo  
Correction
Adjustment Layers Levels Curves Shadows/Highlights Split Toning and Selective Colour LAB Colour Mode Defringing and Chromatic Aberration Live Perspective Haze Removal FFT Denoise Removing Lens Flares Changing Eye Colour Graduated ND Filter Effect Salvaging Underexposed Images Dual Perspective Correction Perspective Skew Correction - YouTube / Vimeo (New: 20th April)  
Retouching
Cloning Inpainting Frequency Separation Liquify: Retouching Vector-Based Retouching Enhancing Landscapes/Architecture Vector Architecture: Worked Example Enhancing Camera Phone Photography Making Images Pop Revealing Sky Detail Bringing Out Water Detail Quick Inpainting Crooked Horizons - YouTube / Vimeo  
RAW Development
Raw: Discover Develop Raw: Developing Images Raw: Overlays Raw: Redeveloping Images Raw: Noise Reduction Maximising Raw Latitude Custom Tone Curve Raw Development Quality 32-bit Raw Development - YouTube / Vimeo Raw Colour Quality Automatic Lens Corrections Raw: Recovering Overexposed Highlights Raw: Exposure Bias  
Getting Creative
Lighting Creative Gradients Creative Black & White Sepia Images Brushes Blend Modes Blend Ranges Liquify Persona Sky Replacement Adding Borders Text: Branding/Watermarking Diffuse Glow Displacement Circular Bokeh Swirling Bokeh Simulating Ambient Occlusion Texturing with Blend Modes Creating Atmosphere Creating Light Beams Vector Lighting Simple Gradients Technicolor Emulation - YouTube / Vimeo Creative Painting Colour toning with shapes Infrared Emulation Radial Blur Regular Tone Mapping Compositing Landscapes Adding Extended Borders Creating Photo Collages Abstract Ideas #01 Abstract Ideas #02 Enhancing Low Light Trails Light Painting Compositing Tone Mapping Portraits HSL Tonal Separation - YouTube / Vimeo Orton Effect - YouTube / Vimeo  
Design Aids
Snapshots Modifiers Designer/Photo Interworking Pixel Accurate Design Placing Documents Useful Keyboard Shortcuts Non Destructive Inpainting and Cloning Layer Creation Behaviour Layer Nesting Exporting 3D LUTs LUTs for Tonal Adjustments View Points Global Cloning Subtle Toning Multiple Colour Formats Scopes Curves Picker Non-Destructive Dodge & Burn Flexible Defringing Edge Detection for Masking Split & Mirror View Batch Processing Clone Sources Pixel Art Resize Direct PSD write-back (round tripping) Freehand Selection Tool Undo History Importing .abr Brushes Undo Brush with Snapshots Quick Toggling Panels - YouTube / Vimeo Light UI - YouTube / Vimeo Brush Stabilisation - YouTube / Vimeo  
Channels
Channels Channels for Alpha Masking Channels: Creating/Storing Selections Editing Single Channels Channels: Greyscale Blending Channel Packing  
Filters
Live Filter Layers (Also in Basics) Apply Image Apply Image: Equations Equations Filter Dust & Scratches Filter Halftone Scanlines Effect Mirror filter Diffuse Glow Filter Defeating Filter Limits  
Panoramas
Panoramas Tricky Panoramas Panorama Distortion Correction  
HDR (High Dynamic Range)
HDR: Merging & Tone Mapping HDR from one exposure - YouTube / Vimeo HDR: Tone Map Presets HDR: Panoramas HDR: Preprocessing HDR: Advanced Editing HDR: Ghosts Removal HDR: 32-bit Editing  
Focus Merging (Focus Stacking)
Focus Merging Focus Merge Retouching Focus Merging Bracketed Exposures  
Live Stacking
Maximum Stacking Big Stopper Effect Light Painting Blending Stacking: Long Exposure Simulation Stacking: Noise Reduction Stacking: Object Removal Stacking: Exposure Merging Stacking: Star Trail Effect  
Live Projections (360 editing, perspective projection)
360 Live Editing - YouTube / Vimeo 360 Advanced Editing 360 Retouching 360 Multiple Views 360 Roll Correction - YouTube / Vimeo Live Perspective Projection  
 OpenEXR/32-bit
OpenEXR Multichannel Import/Export OpenEXR Import Options Editing 32-bit 3D Renders OpenEXR: Using Alpha Channels & Association  
3D Render/Texture Work
Seamless Textures Clone Sources: Texture Creation Enhancing 3D Renders #01 Enhancing 3D Renders #02 Tone Mapping 3D Renders 3D Relighting with Normal Map Passes - YouTube / Vimeo  
Colour Management
OpenColorIO Setup OpenColorIO Adjustment Soft Proofing Printing on Mac Printing on Windows Wide Colour Profiles vs sRGB - YouTube / Vimeo  
Macros
Macros Macros: Equations Macros: Layer Behaviour Batch Processing with Macros  
Finishing Off
Sharpening Selective Sharpening Exporting Export Compression Efficiency  
Plugins
Installing Nik Plugins (macOS) Installing Nik Plugins (Windows) Installing & Using Nik Dfine  
Projects
Nature Portrait Supermoon Product Shot Retouching #01 Nighttime Architecture Workflow - YouTube / Vimeo Portrait Retouching Workflow - YouTube / Vimeo  
Bonus Content
Uplift Epic Skies (1.6 Bonus Content) - YouTube / Vimeo  
Windows Workflow videos
 
In addition to the regular tutorials, we've also got some workflow videos shot on the Windows version of Photo that cover using a variety of features to edit an image to completion. These tend to be released on a more informal basis.
Hadrian's Wall Tiled Building Portrait Retouching Monochromatic Architecture Canary Wharf Banded Demoiselle  
 
Please let us know about areas you think need covering, have problems with, don’t understand, or just tell us if we’re on the right or wrong track. Simply reply to this pinned topic.

Have fun with Affinity Photo!

Best wishes from the Affinity Documentation Team!

Hi. If you go here - https://theeagerlearner.com/ I offer a free 90+ page guide to Affinity Photo which assumes no prior knowledge on your part. It covers the absolute basics and may help you. If it does, I'll be happy for you.

Bought the $45 book and it starts by saying " the projects in this book assume you have a working knowledge of the interface" and continues to the next page, (nine), Master the Core Skills headline and first sentence is " ...also assume you have mastered the core skills..." etc and refers to page 85. 
"assume, assume..." Please, do not assume, the who organized the book. Or make it clear it is not the book for which to get started.
 
This is illogical, frustrating and confusing to me. I would expect a crawl, walk, run sequence, but, no, the developers "assume" too blanking much to provide a one, two three approach. I am an absolute beginner in Affinity, Aperture was sent out to sea and I am still clinging to it.
 
Understood, there are many Affinity videos which get good reviews, but, again, the index of the topics listed as the first topic here show different places to start, thus my request, which I feel needs to be addressed by the organizers: Please show me the most basic introductory video, (since the book investment is wasted until I am up to speed), then the next, and the one following and let me skip the ones I may know. 
Is there not a numbering system for the videos when one starts? Then, later, I can certainly understand going into more depth with the various tools, but it seems that the folks are so well advanced that they do not understand or put much effort into the very basic beginning steps.
So, is there an index of sorts, a Start Here, then Next Step, etc. in the videos? Is there a Beginning I, II, III system or something which I can use as a basis for starting the tutorials?
Thanks,
Stuart
PS is there a way to see the Affinity users in my area to maybe contact them and get together to learn/teach?

Could I suggest you place this list somewhere as a page for both AD and AP, reachable from the public Affinity website?
 
You have a generic "Tutorials" link there, but this list is so much more informative and ought to impress anyone looking for either product - and then you only have to tell us that there's an update :).
 
That brings me to a second point: date the entries and highlight anything less than a month old, if you have the date information it's not that difficult to automate.
 
Cheers :)

Click here to download the latest beta
 
Status: Customer Beta
Purpose: Stability
Requirements: A valid product key, (issued if Affinity Photo was purchased from Affinity Store).

As this is a beta it is 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, including the total loss of any documents. 

We hope you enjoy the latest build, and as always, if you've got any problems, please don't hesitate to post here and we'll get back to you as soon as we can. Thanks once again for your continued feedback.

If you have a general question about the software, please head over to the Questions Forum, or if you have any suggestions, please head over to the Feature Requests forum.

Fixes
Improvements to Shadows and Highlights  Improvements to Clarity Fixed View Mode menu item incorrectly exposed in Affinity Photo Export Persona  Fixed double clicking View Tool is not consistent between Personas  Fixed crash when making a gradient document fill global  Improved performance when History and Layers panel are visible Fixed PDF Export for some documents Added bottom right resize grip corner to floating document windows Added Float, Float All, Dock and Dock All commands to Window menu Fixed Adjustment panels appearing at an invalid location if the panel was closed on a monitor which is then subsequently unplugged Fixed metadata not loading for unicode paths opened via drag and drop Fixed failure to close down due to waiting for invalid files to finish opening Fixed Text Styles panel to reflect the document defaults when no text is selected  Fixed Layers panel to add more distinction between clipped and nested layers  Fixed document DPI showing decimal places Fixed Workspaces getting reset when new panels are added in updates Fixed vector export of clips on rasterised items Fixed Fit/Shrink to printable not fitting to printer margins  Fixed second Print having a zero size document in printer dialog  Fixed fonts being rejected if they had a space in their Postscript name Fixed being unable to move the Greyness node in Layer Effects > Colour Overlay Fixed Spacebar not changing cursor to hand when in Develop Improved resizing of floating document windows Fixed closing a floating window through the taskbar closes the app Fixed Alignment Editor applying a second time when clicking away via a direct new selection Changed 'Arrange' button text to be 'Alignment' Fixed being unable to adjust custom wet edges spline  Fixed sporadic hanging when opening many image files at once 

There's still a little localization work to be done, but it seems OK otherwise.
 

Hello, Chris_K and thanks for your reassurance!  Just for the sake of trying, I exported a set of adjustments as a .3dl file and it worked perfectly.  I tried with a few others and they are all exactly as intended.  I've attached one in case it's any use... Thanks again.  
Autmn.3dl

Hello.  I'm wondering if - yet again - I'm doing something wrong.  I've made some adjustments and saved as a LUT (Screen shot 'Adjustments applied').  When I copy and paste the adjustments to another photo, they are fine.  When I load as a LUT, the resulting adjustment is nothing like what I thought I'd saved.  The second screenshot 'LUT applied' shows the same image, with the original and saved adjustment layers disabledm, and the LUT applied.  
I've referred to the LUT tutorial video and double checked that I'm not doing anything wrong, but I probably still am...  
 

Thanks in advance.

I can. The dialog box says "Are you sure you want to cancel this RAW develop?" Assuming one is literate & capable of understanding all the words in that question, "Yes" (the default)  & "No" are by far the most clear & unambiguous answers to choose from. "Abandon" would be a horrible, totally ambiguous one!
 
He also said, "First, why the heck is this buried in an obscure, vaguely named dialog you can only reach in one mode?" He is also wrong about that -- in the Photo Persona (not "mode") the Assistant manager includes a button to switch to the Develop Persona assistant. I don't know about anybody else but to me neither "Develop" nor "Assistant Options" (the latter appearing in the Develop Persona toolbar by default) seem obscure or vaguely named to me.
 
It is fairly obvious this blogger enjoys sharing his "thoughts" on dozens of different topics with anybody he can get to read his blog, but it is also obvious if you read many of them that quite often he does not know much about what he is writing about & does at best superficial research or experimentation before he starts a new topic. He reminds me of too many people I have had casual, face-to-face conversations with -- they love sharing their rant-filled opinions with anybody who will listen to them but are not very interested in accuracy, details, or anything else that might suggest they are not the 'deep thinkers' they think they are.

Affinity Photo's 'native' RAW developer does not by default do any noise reduction; along with tonal curve & exposure bias these adjustments can be enabled or not in the Develop Assistant (the same assistant mentioned in the second blog post). Apple's Core Image RAW developer does these adjustments automatically (& does not tell the user that it has or offer any way to avoid them).
 
If the blogger had done a bit more research he might have figured this out but apparently research is not his strongest suit. When doing searches like these, the wisdom of this "meme" might be worth considering:

I made some curves adjustments for AD and AP which I'd like to share with you.
 
the attached Affinity file features embedded documents so that you can easily preview the effect of all curves on a single photo and then choose a curve that fits best/ gives you a good starting point/ idea.
 
You can add them to your AP though opening the document, selecting each group, selecting the "curves" adj, so that it's panel opens up, click "add preset". (I've made a feature request to make that easier)
You can then access them by the "view > studio > adjustments" panel which is active by default (only available in AP)
 
please don't overdo it   
blend modes, opacity and blend ranges can, and should be adjusted upon your needs  
 
for more information about such techniques you can have a look over here
https://affinity.ser...er-amateur-pro/
 

 
cheers
 
PS:   similar presets for the "channel mixer" are available here
PS: similar presets for "LUT" adj. are available here
 
PS: here is a great resource to really understand curves
 
 
 
 
 
 
EDIT:
just added some Black and White adjustments too FWIW   
>> curves mix.afdesign <<
>> BW mix.afdesign <<

Hello.  Yes, I bought it online through the Affinity website.  I have emailed file to you.  

Do you use the gradient tool? It appears in all sorts of places in AP. Are you a bit irritated with the default white-to-grey gradient? Would you prefer it to be white-to-black without having to click nodes and colour settings?
Here's how I do this. I don't know why it happens, but it's jolly handy.
In the gradient tool context toolbar, change Type to your choice, eg. Elliptical. Click on colour box. Drop-down box appears. Clicking on Gradient shows the default white to grey gradient line.
Here's the magic: Click on the 'None' tab and then the 'Gradient' tab. Ole! White to black gradient.

I'm new here, downloaded the Affinity app for my IPad and my MAC computer.   Started with photography 5 years ago when I retired. Still a work in progress!! I needed a program to replace Aperture and find Lightroom and photoshop too challenging.  Love Affinity, and the tutorials are wonderful, as are the You-Tube videos.  Photo was taken Cape Cod, Provincetown. 

-
1stsummary.pdf

On Windows, press down Alt, then both buttons, then drag. That does it.
 
Once you start to drag, you can let go of Alt and the right button. The brush will keep changing as you drag until you release the left button.

I get that, but there are more forum posts that reported these issues, and eventhough I understand that ironing bugs and platform optimalisations take time, we didn't get a solid response that this serious issue is present and being investigated.
 
Instead, they seem to work on new features and other mac optimalisations like the touchbar. To the Windows user community, this does not give the feeling that they take their multiplatform strategy very serious, but is more like a slap in the face.
 
The least you can expect is a "we know the issue exists and are working on it" message.