Andy Somerfield

Status: Beta Purpose: Features, Improvements, Fixes Requirements: Purchased Affinity Photo for iPad From App Store App Store: Not submitted Download link: Download Hello, We are pleased to announce the immediate availability of the fifth build of Affinity Photo 1.9.0 for iPad. 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. This beta is significantly different from the 1.8.4 version available for purchase - we strongly recommend that you do not use this beta for real work as data could be lost and the files you save are not guaranteed to open in previous / future versions of Affinity Photo. Thanks again for your continued support! Affinity Photo Team  Changes Since 1.9.0.210 - Added support for live liquify filter layers. - Fixed issue with high pass live filter compositing. - Fixed assorted compositor alpha issues. - Fixed assorted compositor crashes. - Added a preferences option to disable external displays. - Added support for snapping to the pixel selection bounds. - Fixed layout issues for the convert document controls on small iPads. - Fixed crazy transform page bugs. - Help improvements. Changes Since 1.8 - Added export preview button (for raster types). - Added Linked Layers - the ability to duplicate a layer and keep the contents of the layers linked. At present, only layer duplication is supported - UI to unlink and relink attributes of the layer will be made available in a subsequent beta. - Added “Pattern Layers” - a fixed size bitmap layer which repeats across the entire document. You can paint on pattern layers and use all filters to manipulate them and see the resulting pattern in real time. They can be transformed non-destructively. After a pattern is added and a tool selected, a faint grey box indicates the "real" area of the pattern which can be edited. - Added “Export Timelapse” - the ability to export a document which has undo steps as a video. Numerous options exist to control how the video is generated. - Added a new “Combined” result to the benchmark - to test performance contexts where vector and raster content is used together. The benchmark version is still 1900 - so existing vector and raster scores from previous builds are still valid and comparable. - Added per-layer antialiasing controls in the layer options window (it’s also hierarchical, which is nice). - Added a registration page to the app - this allows users to login and auto-install content. - Added support for 12bit grayscale TIFF files. - Added JPEG-XR 101010 import support (useful for screen captures from Xbox, etc.) - Added new splash screen. - Improved appearance of popup dialogs. - Reduced binary size. - Default to black-to-white gradients in the gradient tool (more gradient tool improvements are coming for 1.9, at last). - Filter effects now work properly with global colours. - Added noise reduction and tone mapping options into the HDR merge dialog. - Added curves adjustment to the tone mapping persona. - Added “Duplicate spare channel” to right click menu. - Merged assorted iOS14 fixes from 1.8.6. - Fixed numerous bugs with brushes, introduced in the 1.9.0 betas. - Fixed “Infer LUT”. - Fixed assorted other GPU acceleration issues introduced in the 1.9.0 betas. - Text on a path is now available in Photo. - Assistant options are now available from preferences (so there is no need to open a document to access them). - More filters now work on masks / adjustments / spare channels (Add Noise, Perlin Noise, etc.). - Improved experience when editing a spare channel (view artefacts, histogram and navigator). - Setting a blend mode on a sub-brush will now work properly - paving the way for import of PSD dual-brushes in a future build. - Fixed issues when attempting to add layers to a spare channel (!). - The “Serif Labs” RAW engine is now available on iPad. - Added external display support for iPad (in the navigator panel, once the external display is connected). - You can now single tap a spare channel in the Channels panel to edit it like a layer. - A benchmarking tool has been added in the preferences dialog. - Blend modes now work on “alpha only” layers (masks, adjustments, live filters, etc.). - Added a new “Divide” blend mode. - Added “Create from centre” for the elliptical marquee tool. - Allowed snapping to the bounds of the pixel selection. - Added ability to create brushes from the current pixel selection with one click.

Status: Beta Purpose: Features, Improvements, Fixes Requirements: Purchased Affinity Photo Mac App Store: Not submitted Download ZIP (Universal): Download Auto-update: Pending Hello, We are pleased to announce the immediate availability of the eighth build of Affinity Photo 1.9.0 for macOS. 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. This beta is significantly different from the 1.8 version available for purchase - we strongly recommend that you do not use this beta for real work as data could be lost and the files you save are not guaranteed to open in previous / future versions of Affinity Photo. Thanks again for your continued support! Affinity Photo Team  Changes Since 1.9.0.209 - Added support for PDF passthrough. - Fixed issue with high pass live filter compositing. - Fixed assorted compositor alpha issues. - Fixed assorted compositor crashes. - Improved astrophotography background removal filter. - Help improvements. Cumulative Changes Since 1.8 - Added export preview panel (for raster types) - updates live whenever you change an export parameter. - Added JPEG-XR 101010 import support (useful for screen captures from Xbox, etc.) - Added per-layer antialiasing controls in the advanced blending menu (it’s also hierarchical, which is nice). - Added new splash screen. - Added a new filter to remove background light from astrophotography images (Filters -> Astrophotography -> Remove Background). - Assorted improvements to astrophotography stacking (performance, robustness, quality). - Live liquify improvements. - The layer link editor is now a studio panel - further cleanup work is still planned on this panel. - Reduced binary size. - Content download service improvements. - Linked Layers. You can now select a layer and do Layer -> Duplicate Linked. Linked layers are denoted by a small link icon in the layers tab - clicking that icon will bring up a link editing panel (the UI here will change in subsequent beta builds - this is just so we can test the linking itself for now). You can “unlink” particular aspects of a layer using the buttons - for example, if you wanted a mask to share the same pixel content as another mask, but not the opacity settings, you can do that using this test UI. For the brave, this panel also allows “relinking” - even between different layer types(!). Dragging a layer from the layer tab and dropping it onto one of the small target icons in the panel will link together that particular aspect of the two layers (again, the UI is all going to change). For example, you could make a mask layer which shares opacity settings with an adjustment layer somewhere else in the document, whilst also sharing blend mode with a circle shape layer somewhere else. It’s worth noting that this feature is quite raw at the moment - please feel free to experiment with it, but *do not* use it for any real work. There is a high chance any documents you make will stop working in a future beta. - Default to black-to-white gradients in the gradient tool (more gradient tool improvements are coming for 1.9, at last). - Content download service improvements. - Assorted astrophotography stacking improvements. - Allow placement policy for images to be changed using the menu. - Added missing text baseline options to the menu. - Added support for 12bit grayscale TIFF files. - Added ability to create pattern layers from selections. - Timelapse fixes and improvements, including ability to choose codec. - Timelapse export performance improvements. - Fixed incorrect attribute bits when writing 32bit TGA files. - Fixed bugs when duplicating pattern layers. - Fixed broken insertion target buttons on the toolbar. - Fixed incorrect pattern sizes when committing the dialog without tabbing away from the height field. - Fixed broken AANN sampling mode in pattern layers. - Fixed filter effects on pattern layers. - Fixed brush panel crashes. - Fixed live filters initialising to RGB in (for example) CMYK documents. - Fixed crazy behaviour when entering Liquify persona. - Fixed issue whereby you would get more / different options depending where you right click on spare channels (!). - Assorted other small bug fixes. - Localisation improvements. - Help improvements. - Pattern improvements - brushes now wrap around the edges of the pattern. - Timelapse improvements - progress bar, abortable, crossfade. - Improved colours for Canon EOS R5 camera RAW. - Filter effects now work properly with global colours. - Fixed white balance issues. - Added a new “Astrophotography Stack” persona which allows you to combine dark frames, light frames, bias frames, flat frames and dark flat frames then stack them. FITS images are also supported. Lots of photographers have been experimenting with astro during lockdown - hopefully these new tools will help users to get better results. I'm sure James Ritson will be providing some tutorial guidance in short order - Added “Pattern Layers” - a fixed size bitmap layer which repeats across the entire document. You can paint on pattern layers and use all filters to manipulate them and see the resulting pattern in real time. They can be transformed non-destructively. After a pattern is added and a tool selected, a faint grey box indicates the "real" area of the pattern which can be edited. - Added “Export Timelapse” - the ability to export a document which has undo steps as a video. Numerous options exist to control how the video is generated (and more will come later!). - Added “Live Liquify” layers - as the name suggests, they allow you to have non-destructive liquify layers in your stack which can be edited and masked just like all other live filter layers. At the moment, a hard limit of 512 pixels offset in either X or Y is enforced - we hope to eventually lift this restriction. - Reworked “Studio Presets” from the earlier 1.9 betas. They now work in a more predictable way and store tool / toolbar configuration. A manager dialog is also now provided. - Added a new “Combined” result to the benchmark - to test performance contexts where vector and raster content is used together. The benchmark version is still 1900 - so existing vector and raster scores from previous builds are still valid and comparable. - Added a registration page to the app - this allows users to login and auto-install brushes (so far). - Added the “Resource Manager” functionality from Publisher for managing image placement. - Added ability to open package files from Designer and Publisher. - Photo is now a universal binary, supporting both Intel and Apple silicon processors. - Path text improvements. - Added “Duplicate spare channel” to right click menu. - Added missing “Convert to Path Text” menu item. - Small improvements to the benchmark UI. - Update app icon for Big Sur. - Fixed numerous bugs with brushes, introduced in the 1.9.0 betas. - Fixed issues when opening multiple RAW files at once. - Fixed significant memory leak introduced in 1.9.0 betas. - Fixed UI issues with Big Sur. - Fixed assorted other GPU acceleration issues introduced in the 1.9.0 betas. - Text on a path is now available in Photo. - More filters now work on masks / adjustments / spare channels (Add Noise, Perlin Noise, etc.). - Improved Metal rendering performance (over 195). - Improved experience when editing a spare channel (view artefacts, histogram and navigator). - Setting a blend mode on a sub-brush will now work properly - paving the way for import of PSD dual-brushes in a future build. - Attempted to fix startup crash on machines with no compatible Metal GPU. - Fixed localisation issues affecting non-UK users. - Fixed issues when attempting to add layers to a spare channel (!). - Improved “Serif Labs” RAW engine. - You can now single click a spare channel in the Channels panel to edit it like a layer. - The Curves adjustment now has numeric field controls for precise positioning. - Studio presets are now available. - A benchmarking tool has been added in the help menu. It will only become available when no documents are open. - Blend modes now work on “alpha only” layers (masks, adjustments, live filters, etc.). - Added a new “Divide” blend mode. - Added “Create from centre” for the elliptical marquee tool. - Allowed snapping to the bounds of the pixel selection. - Added ability to create brushes from the current pixel selection with one click. To be notified about all future macOS beta updates, please follow this notification thread To be notified when this Photo update comes out of beta and is fully released to all Affinity Photo on macOS customers, please follow this thread

Status: Beta Purpose: Features, Improvements, Fixes Requirements: Purchased Affinity Photo for iPad From App Store App Store: Not submitted Download link: Download Hello, We are pleased to announce the immediate availability of the fourth build of Affinity Photo 1.9.0 for iPad. 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. This beta is significantly different from the 1.8.4 version available for purchase - we strongly recommend that you do not use this beta for real work as data could be lost and the files you save are not guaranteed to open in previous / future versions of Affinity Photo. Thanks again for your continued support! Affinity Photo Team  Changes Since 1.9.0.199 - Added export preview button (for raster types). - Added Linked Layers - the ability to duplicate a layer and keep the contents of the layers linked. At present, only layer duplication is supported - UI to unlink and relink attributes of the layer will be made available in a subsequent beta. - Added “Pattern Layers” - a fixed size bitmap layer which repeats across the entire document. You can paint on pattern layers and use all filters to manipulate them and see the resulting pattern in real time. They can be transformed non-destructively. After a pattern is added and a tool selected, a faint grey box indicates the "real" area of the pattern which can be edited. - Added “Export Timelapse” - the ability to export a document which has undo steps as a video. Numerous options exist to control how the video is generated. - Added a new “Combined” result to the benchmark - to test performance contexts where vector and raster content is used together. The benchmark version is still 1900 - so existing vector and raster scores from previous builds are still valid and comparable. - Added per-layer antialiasing controls in the layer options window (it’s also hierarchical, which is nice). - Added a registration page to the app - this allows users to login and auto-install content. - Added support for 12bit grayscale TIFF files. - Added JPEG-XR 101010 import support (useful for screen captures from Xbox, etc.) - Added new splash screen. - Improved appearance of popup dialogs. - Reduced binary size. - Default to black-to-white gradients in the gradient tool (more gradient tool improvements are coming for 1.9, at last). - Filter effects now work properly with global colours. - Assorted bug fixes. - Localisation improvements. - Help improvements. Changes Since 1.8.6 - Added noise reduction and tone mapping options into the HDR merge dialog. - Added curves adjustment to the tone mapping persona. - Added “Duplicate spare channel” to right click menu. - Merged assorted iOS14 fixes from 1.8.6. - Fixed numerous bugs with brushes, introduced in the 1.9.0 betas. - Fixed “Infer LUT”. - Fixed assorted other GPU acceleration issues introduced in the 1.9.0 betas. - Text on a path is now available in Photo. - Assistant options are now available from preferences (so there is no need to open a document to access them). - More filters now work on masks / adjustments / spare channels (Add Noise, Perlin Noise, etc.). - Improved experience when editing a spare channel (view artefacts, histogram and navigator). - Setting a blend mode on a sub-brush will now work properly - paving the way for import of PSD dual-brushes in a future build. - Fixed issues when attempting to add layers to a spare channel (!). - The “Serif Labs” RAW engine is now available on iPad. - Added external display support for iPad (in the navigator panel, once the external display is connected). - You can now single tap a spare channel in the Channels panel to edit it like a layer. - A benchmarking tool has been added in the preferences dialog. - Blend modes now work on “alpha only” layers (masks, adjustments, live filters, etc.). - Added a new “Divide” blend mode. - Added “Create from centre” for the elliptical marquee tool. - Allowed snapping to the bounds of the pixel selection. - Added ability to create brushes from the current pixel selection with one click.

Status: Beta Purpose: Features, Improvements, Fixes Requirements: Purchased Affinity Photo Mac App Store: Not submitted Download ZIP (Universal): Download Auto-update: Available Hello, We are pleased to announce the immediate availability of the seventh build of Affinity Photo 1.9.0 for macOS. 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. This beta is significantly different from the 1.8 version available for purchase - we strongly recommend that you do not use this beta for real work as data could be lost and the files you save are not guaranteed to open in previous / future versions of Affinity Photo. Thanks again for your continued support! Affinity Photo Team  Changes Since 1.9.0.206 - Added export preview panel (for raster types) - updates live whenever you change an export parameter. - Added JPEG-XR 101010 import support (useful for screen captures from Xbox, etc.) - Added per-layer antialiasing controls in the advanced blending menu (it’s also hierarchical, which is nice). - Added new splash screen. - Added a new filter to remove background light from astrophotography images (Filters -> Astrophotography -> Remove Background). - Assorted improvements to astrophotography stacking (performance, robustness, quality). - Live liquify improvements. - The layer link editor is now a studio panel - further cleanup work is still planned on this panel. - Reduced binary size. - Content download service improvements. - Numerous assorted fixes. - Help improvements. - Localisation improvements. Cumulative Changes Since 1.8 - Linked Layers. You can now select a layer and do Layer -> Duplicate Linked. Linked layers are denoted by a small link icon in the layers tab - clicking that icon will bring up a link editing panel (the UI here will change in subsequent beta builds - this is just so we can test the linking itself for now). You can “unlink” particular aspects of a layer using the buttons - for example, if you wanted a mask to share the same pixel content as another mask, but not the opacity settings, you can do that using this test UI. For the brave, this panel also allows “relinking” - even between different layer types(!). Dragging a layer from the layer tab and dropping it onto one of the small target icons in the panel will link together that particular aspect of the two layers (again, the UI is all going to change). For example, you could make a mask layer which shares opacity settings with an adjustment layer somewhere else in the document, whilst also sharing blend mode with a circle shape layer somewhere else. It’s worth noting that this feature is quite raw at the moment - please feel free to experiment with it, but *do not* use it for any real work. There is a high chance any documents you make will stop working in a future beta. - Default to black-to-white gradients in the gradient tool (more gradient tool improvements are coming for 1.9, at last). - Content download service improvements. - Assorted astrophotography stacking improvements. - Allow placement policy for images to be changed using the menu. - Added missing text baseline options to the menu. - Added support for 12bit grayscale TIFF files. - Added ability to create pattern layers from selections. - Timelapse fixes and improvements, including ability to choose codec. - Timelapse export performance improvements. - Fixed incorrect attribute bits when writing 32bit TGA files. - Fixed bugs when duplicating pattern layers. - Fixed broken insertion target buttons on the toolbar. - Fixed incorrect pattern sizes when committing the dialog without tabbing away from the height field. - Fixed broken AANN sampling mode in pattern layers. - Fixed filter effects on pattern layers. - Fixed brush panel crashes. - Fixed live filters initialising to RGB in (for example) CMYK documents. - Fixed crazy behaviour when entering Liquify persona. - Fixed issue whereby you would get more / different options depending where you right click on spare channels (!). - Assorted other small bug fixes. - Localisation improvements. - Help improvements. - Pattern improvements - brushes now wrap around the edges of the pattern. - Timelapse improvements - progress bar, abortable, crossfade. - Improved colours for Canon EOS R5 camera RAW. - Filter effects now work properly with global colours. - Fixed white balance issues. - Added a new “Astrophotography Stack” persona which allows you to combine dark frames, light frames, bias frames, flat frames and dark flat frames then stack them. FITS images are also supported. Lots of photographers have been experimenting with astro during lockdown - hopefully these new tools will help users to get better results. I'm sure James Ritson will be providing some tutorial guidance in short order - Added “Pattern Layers” - a fixed size bitmap layer which repeats across the entire document. You can paint on pattern layers and use all filters to manipulate them and see the resulting pattern in real time. They can be transformed non-destructively. After a pattern is added and a tool selected, a faint grey box indicates the "real" area of the pattern which can be edited. - Added “Export Timelapse” - the ability to export a document which has undo steps as a video. Numerous options exist to control how the video is generated (and more will come later!). - Added “Live Liquify” layers - as the name suggests, they allow you to have non-destructive liquify layers in your stack which can be edited and masked just like all other live filter layers. At the moment, a hard limit of 512 pixels offset in either X or Y is enforced - we hope to eventually lift this restriction. - Reworked “Studio Presets” from the earlier 1.9 betas. They now work in a more predictable way and store tool / toolbar configuration. A manager dialog is also now provided. - Added a new “Combined” result to the benchmark - to test performance contexts where vector and raster content is used together. The benchmark version is still 1900 - so existing vector and raster scores from previous builds are still valid and comparable. - Added a registration page to the app - this allows users to login and auto-install brushes (so far). - Added the “Resource Manager” functionality from Publisher for managing image placement. - Added ability to open package files from Designer and Publisher. - Photo is now a universal binary, supporting both Intel and Apple silicon processors. - Path text improvements. - Added “Duplicate spare channel” to right click menu. - Added missing “Convert to Path Text” menu item. - Small improvements to the benchmark UI. - Update app icon for Big Sur. - Fixed numerous bugs with brushes, introduced in the 1.9.0 betas. - Fixed issues when opening multiple RAW files at once. - Fixed significant memory leak introduced in 1.9.0 betas. - Fixed UI issues with Big Sur. - Fixed assorted other GPU acceleration issues introduced in the 1.9.0 betas. - Text on a path is now available in Photo. - More filters now work on masks / adjustments / spare channels (Add Noise, Perlin Noise, etc.). - Improved Metal rendering performance (over 195). - Improved experience when editing a spare channel (view artefacts, histogram and navigator). - Setting a blend mode on a sub-brush will now work properly - paving the way for import of PSD dual-brushes in a future build. - Attempted to fix startup crash on machines with no compatible Metal GPU. - Fixed localisation issues affecting non-UK users. - Fixed issues when attempting to add layers to a spare channel (!). - Improved “Serif Labs” RAW engine. - You can now single click a spare channel in the Channels panel to edit it like a layer. - The Curves adjustment now has numeric field controls for precise positioning. - Studio presets are now available. - A benchmarking tool has been added in the help menu. It will only become available when no documents are open. - Blend modes now work on “alpha only” layers (masks, adjustments, live filters, etc.). - Added a new “Divide” blend mode. - Added “Create from centre” for the elliptical marquee tool. - Allowed snapping to the bounds of the pixel selection. - Added ability to create brushes from the current pixel selection with one click. To be notified about all future macOS beta updates, please follow this notification thread To be notified when this Photo update comes out of beta and is fully released to all Affinity Photo on macOS customers, please follow this thread

Linked layers aren't a substitute for any potential future "node mode" - they are a useful feature in layer-based documents which we have been hoping to add for some time. I do agree about node-based image editing being useful for only a subset of jobs - we have no intention of making the default layer-based editing mode go away Also, why make the assumption that going from layer-based to node-based is a "one way" conversion? I don't believe that is the case.. A

Evening, Sorry I meant 12 bit grayscale Will fix the post! A

Thanks guys, We will build a 206 this evening to fix this (it makes it impossible to really test links without it). A

Status: Beta Purpose: Features, Improvements, Fixes Requirements: Purchased Affinity Photo Mac App Store: Not submitted Download ZIP (Universal): Download Auto-update: Available Edit: Build 206 has replaced 205 (to fix a layer linking issue which made it difficult if not impossible to test the new feature). Hello, We are pleased to announce the immediate availability of the sixth build of Affinity Photo 1.9.0 for macOS. 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. This beta is significantly different from the 1.8 version available for purchase - we strongly recommend that you do not use this beta for real work as data could be lost and the files you save are not guaranteed to open in previous / future versions of Affinity Photo. Furthermore, massive behind the scenes work has been done to enable GPU acceleration for the Windows version of Affinity Photo in 1.9. In theory this should have no consequences for macOS / iOS users - but it’s likely that a couple of things will have become broken along the way. We are giving ourselves a longer beta period with 1.9 in order to find and fix those things. This also means that the full complement of new features is not available yet in this 1.9 beta - more will be added over the coming weeks. Thanks again for your continued support! Affinity Photo Team  Changes Since 1.9.0.204 - Linked Layers. You can now select a layer and do Layer -> Duplicate Linked. Linked layers are denoted by a small link icon in the layers tab - clicking that icon will bring up a link editing panel (the UI here will change in subsequent beta builds - this is just so we can test the linking itself for now). You can “unlink” particular aspects of a layer using the buttons - for example, if you wanted a mask to share the same pixel content as another mask, but not the opacity settings, you can do that using this test UI. For the brave, this panel also allows “relinking” - even between different layer types(!). Dragging a layer from the layer tab and dropping it onto one of the small target icons in the panel will link together that particular aspect of the two layers (again, the UI is all going to change). For example, you could make a mask layer which shares opacity settings with an adjustment layer somewhere else in the document, whilst also sharing blend mode with a circle shape layer somewhere else. It’s worth noting that this feature is quite raw at the moment - please feel free to experiment with it, but *do not* use it for any real work. There is a high chance any documents you make will stop working in a future beta. - Default to black-to-white gradients in the gradient tool (more gradient tool improvements are coming for 1.9, at last). - Content download service improvements. - Assorted astrophotography stacking improvements. - Allow placement policy for images to be changed using the menu. - Added missing text baseline options to the menu. - Added support for 12bit grayscale TIFF files. - Added ability to create pattern layers from selections. - Timelapse fixes and improvements, including ability to choose codec. - Timelapse export performance improvements. - Fixed incorrect attribute bits when writing 32bit TGA files. - Fixed bugs when duplicating pattern layers. - Fixed broken insertion target buttons on the toolbar. - Fixed incorrect pattern sizes when committing the dialog without tabbing away from the height field. - Fixed broken AANN sampling mode in pattern layers. - Fixed filter effects on pattern layers. - Fixed brush panel crashes. - Fixed live filters initialising to RGB in (for example) CMYK documents. - Fixed crazy behaviour when entering Liquify persona. - Fixed issue whereby you would get more / different options depending where you right click on spare channels (!). - Assorted other small bug fixes. - Localisation improvements. - Help improvements. Cumulative Changes Since 1.8 - Pattern improvements - brushes now wrap around the edges of the pattern. - Timelapse improvements - progress bar, abortable, crossfade. - Improved colours for Canon EOS R5 camera RAW. - Filter effects now work properly with global colours. - Fixed white balance issues. - Added a new “Astrophotography Stack” persona which allows you to combine dark frames, light frames, bias frames, flat frames and dark flat frames then stack them. FITS images are also supported. Lots of photographers have been experimenting with astro during lockdown - hopefully these new tools will help users to get better results. I'm sure James Ritson will be providing some tutorial guidance in short order - Added “Pattern Layers” - a fixed size bitmap layer which repeats across the entire document. You can paint on pattern layers and use all filters to manipulate them and see the resulting pattern in real time. They can be transformed non-destructively. After a pattern is added and a tool selected, a faint grey box indicates the "real" area of the pattern which can be edited. - Added “Export Timelapse” - the ability to export a document which has undo steps as a video. Numerous options exist to control how the video is generated (and more will come later!). - Added “Live Liquify” layers - as the name suggests, they allow you to have non-destructive liquify layers in your stack which can be edited and masked just like all other live filter layers. At the moment, a hard limit of 512 pixels offset in either X or Y is enforced - we hope to eventually lift this restriction. - Reworked “Studio Presets” from the earlier 1.9 betas. They now work in a more predictable way and store tool / toolbar configuration. A manager dialog is also now provided. - Added a new “Combined” result to the benchmark - to test performance contexts where vector and raster content is used together. The benchmark version is still 1900 - so existing vector and raster scores from previous builds are still valid and comparable. - Added a registration page to the app - this allows users to login and auto-install brushes (so far). - Added the “Resource Manager” functionality from Publisher for managing image placement. - Added ability to open package files from Designer and Publisher. - Photo is now a universal binary, supporting both Intel and Apple silicon processors. - Path text improvements. - Added “Duplicate spare channel” to right click menu. - Added missing “Convert to Path Text” menu item. - Small improvements to the benchmark UI. - Update app icon for Big Sur. - Fixed numerous bugs with brushes, introduced in the 1.9.0 betas. - Fixed issues when opening multiple RAW files at once. - Fixed significant memory leak introduced in 1.9.0 betas. - Fixed UI issues with Big Sur. - Fixed assorted other GPU acceleration issues introduced in the 1.9.0 betas. - Text on a path is now available in Photo. - More filters now work on masks / adjustments / spare channels (Add Noise, Perlin Noise, etc.). - Improved Metal rendering performance (over 195). - Improved experience when editing a spare channel (view artefacts, histogram and navigator). - Setting a blend mode on a sub-brush will now work properly - paving the way for import of PSD dual-brushes in a future build. - Attempted to fix startup crash on machines with no compatible Metal GPU. - Fixed localisation issues affecting non-UK users. - Fixed issues when attempting to add layers to a spare channel (!). - Improved “Serif Labs” RAW engine. - You can now single click a spare channel in the Channels panel to edit it like a layer. - The Curves adjustment now has numeric field controls for precise positioning. - Studio presets are now available. - A benchmarking tool has been added in the help menu. It will only become available when no documents are open. - Blend modes now work on “alpha only” layers (masks, adjustments, live filters, etc.). - Added a new “Divide” blend mode. - Added “Create from centre” for the elliptical marquee tool. - Allowed snapping to the bounds of the pixel selection. - Added ability to create brushes from the current pixel selection with one click. To be notified about all future macOS beta updates, please follow this notification thread To be notified when this Photo update comes out of beta and is fully released to all Affinity Photo on macOS customers, please follow this thread

Aftemplate, I have nearly implemented the "node mode" feature a few times now - never actually got round to doing it - I imagine it will happen at some point (although not for 1.9!). It would be interesting to hear what people would expect from a feature like that.. Thanks, A

Hi, Repeating child vector objects could become a thing if people think it's useful? I nearly put a toggle in for it yesterday then had second thoughts (exporting these to a vector target will rasterise them, of course). Hope this helps, A

R-C-R, Apologies, I am confusing the issue by using our internal terminology in the release notes (layers are "nodes" in our parlance). - Fixed repeat issue with pattern layers.- Fixed issues with pattern layers when they contain child layers. .. would be more correct. A

ronnyb, We think so - it's just 12bit linear DNG - we have an example file and it looks ok but we will check it out properly :) Thanks, A

Status: Beta Purpose: Features, Improvements, Fixes Requirements: Purchased Affinity Photo Mac App Store: Not submitted Download ZIP (Universal): Download Auto-update: Available Hello, We are pleased to announce the immediate availability of the fifth build of Affinity Photo 1.9.0 for macOS. 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. This beta is significantly different from the 1.8 version available for purchase - we strongly recommend that you do not use this beta for real work as data could be lost and the files you save are not guaranteed to open in previous / future versions of Affinity Photo. Furthermore, massive behind the scenes work has been done to enable GPU acceleration for the Windows version of Affinity Photo in 1.9. In theory this should have no consequences for macOS / iOS users - but it’s likely that a couple of things will have become broken along the way. We are giving ourselves a longer beta period with 1.9 in order to find and fix those things. This also means that the full complement of new features is not available yet in this 1.9 beta - more will be added over the coming weeks. Thanks again for your continued support! Affinity Photo Team  Changes Since 1.9.0.203 - Compatibility with recently released 1.8.6 retail build. - Pattern improvements - brushes now wrap around the edges of the pattern. - Timelapse improvements - progress bar, abortable, crossfade. - Improved colours for Canon EOS R5 camera RAW. - Filter effects now work properly with global colours. - Fixed repeat issue with pattern nodes. - Fixed timelapse memory leak. - Fixed timelapse zoom to area bugs. - Fixed issues with pattern nodes when they contain child nodes. - Fixed white balance issues. - Assorted other small bug fixes. Cumulative Changes Since 1.8 - Added a new “Astrophotography Stack” persona which allows you to combine dark frames, light frames, bias frames, flat frames and dark flat frames then stack them. FITS images are also supported. Lots of photographers have been experimenting with astro during lockdown - hopefully these new tools will help users to get better results. I'm sure James Ritson will be providing some tutorial guidance in short order - Added “Pattern Layers” - a fixed size bitmap layer which repeats across the entire document. You can paint on pattern layers and use all filters to manipulate them and see the resulting pattern in real time. They can be transformed non-destructively. After a pattern is added and a tool selected, a faint grey box indicates the "real" area of the pattern which can be edited. - Added “Export Timelapse” - the ability to export a document which has undo steps as a video. Numerous options exist to control how the video is generated (and more will come later!). - Added “Live Liquify” layers - as the name suggests, they allow you to have non-destructive liquify layers in your stack which can be edited and masked just like all other live filter layers. At the moment, a hard limit of 512 pixels offset in either X or Y is enforced - we hope to eventually lift this restriction. - Reworked “Studio Presets” from the earlier 1.9 betas. They now work in a more predictable way and store tool / toolbar configuration. A manager dialog is also now provided. - Added a new “Combined” result to the benchmark - to test performance contexts where vector and raster content is used together. The benchmark version is still 1900 - so existing vector and raster scores from previous builds are still valid and comparable. - Added a registration page to the app - this allows users to login and auto-install brushes (so far). - Added the “Resource Manager” functionality from Publisher for managing image placement. - Added ability to open package files from Designer and Publisher. - Photo is now a universal binary, supporting both Intel and Apple silicon processors. - Path text improvements. - Assorted small bug fixes. - Help improvements. - Localisation improvements. - Added “Duplicate spare channel” to right click menu. - Added missing “Convert to Path Text” menu item. - Small improvements to the benchmark UI. - Update app icon for Big Sur. - Fixed numerous bugs with brushes, introduced in the 1.9.0 betas. - Fixed issues when opening multiple RAW files at once. - Fixed significant memory leak introduced in 1.9.0 betas. - Fixed UI issues with Big Sur. - Fixed assorted other GPU acceleration issues introduced in the 1.9.0 betas. - Text on a path is now available in Photo. - More filters now work on masks / adjustments / spare channels (Add Noise, Perlin Noise, etc.). - Improved Metal rendering performance (over 195). - Improved experience when editing a spare channel (view artefacts, histogram and navigator). - Setting a blend mode on a sub-brush will now work properly - paving the way for import of PSD dual-brushes in a future build. - Attempted to fix startup crash on machines with no compatible Metal GPU. - Fixed localisation issues affecting non-UK users. - Fixed issues when attempting to add layers to a spare channel (!). - Improved “Serif Labs” RAW engine. - You can now single click a spare channel in the Channels panel to edit it like a layer. - The Curves adjustment now has numeric field controls for precise positioning. - Studio presets are now available. - A benchmarking tool has been added in the help menu. It will only become available when no documents are open. - Blend modes now work on “alpha only” layers (masks, adjustments, live filters, etc.). - Added a new “Divide” blend mode. - Added “Create from centre” for the elliptical marquee tool. - Allowed snapping to the bounds of the pixel selection. - Added ability to create brushes from the current pixel selection with one click. To be notified about all future macOS beta updates, please follow this notification thread To be notified when this Photo update comes out of beta and is fully released to all Affinity Photo on macOS customers, please follow this thread

anon2, We are not finished with the pattern feature yet - the point you raise is something we are aware of Thanks, A

Thanks fde101 - looks like a simple bug - you should be able to do that! We will get it fixed. A

Status: Beta Purpose: Features, Improvements, Fixes Requirements: Purchased Affinity Photo Mac App Store: Not submitted Download ZIP (Universal): Download Auto-update: Unavailable (the switch to universal binary has disrupted auto-update - it will return soon) Hello, We are pleased to announce the immediate availability of the fourth build of Affinity Photo 1.9.0 for macOS. 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. This beta is significantly different from the 1.8 version available for purchase - we strongly recommend that you do not use this beta for real work as data could be lost and the files you save are not guaranteed to open in previous / future versions of Affinity Photo. Furthermore, massive behind the scenes work has been done to enable GPU acceleration for the Windows version of Affinity Photo in 1.9. In theory this should have no consequences for macOS / iOS users - but it’s likely that a couple of things will have become broken along the way. We are giving ourselves a longer beta period with 1.9 in order to find and fix those things. This also means that the full complement of new features is not available yet in this 1.9 beta - more will be added over the coming weeks. Thanks again for your continued support! Affinity Photo Team  Changes Since 1.9.0.199 - Added a new “Astrophotography Stack” persona which allows you to combine dark frames, light frames, bias frames, flat frames and dark flat frames then stack them. FITS images are also supported. Lots of photographers have been experimenting with astro during lockdown - hopefully these new tools will help users to get better results. I'm sure James Ritson will be providing some tutorial guidance in short order - Added “Pattern Layers” - a fixed size bitmap layer which repeats across the entire document. You can paint on pattern layers and use all filters to manipulate them and see the resulting pattern in real time. They can be transformed non-destructively. After a pattern is added and a tool selected, a faint grey box indicates the "real" area of the pattern which can be edited. - Added “Export Timelapse” - the ability to export a document which has undo steps as a video. Numerous options exist to control how the video is generated (and more will come later!). - Added “Live Liquify” layers - as the name suggests, they allow you to have non-destructive liquify layers in your stack which can be edited and masked just like all other live filter layers. At the moment, a hard limit of 512 pixels offset in either X or Y is enforced - we hope to eventually lift this restriction. - Reworked “Studio Presets” from the earlier 1.9 betas. They now work in a more predictable way and store tool / toolbar configuration. A manager dialog is also now provided. - Added a new “Combined” result to the benchmark - to test performance contexts where vector and raster content is used together. The benchmark version is still 1900 - so existing vector and raster scores from previous builds are still valid and comparable. - Added a registration page to the app - this allows users to login and auto-install brushes (so far). - Added the “Resource Manager” functionality from Publisher for managing image placement. - Added ability to open package files from Designer and Publisher. - Photo is now a universal binary, supporting both Intel and Apple silicon processors. - Path text improvements. - Assorted small bug fixes. - Help improvements. - Localisation improvements. Cumulative Changes Since 1.8 - Added “Duplicate spare channel” to right click menu. - Added missing “Convert to Path Text” menu item. - Small improvements to the benchmark UI. - Update app icon for Big Sur. - Fixed numerous bugs with brushes, introduced in the 1.9.0 betas. - Fixed issues when opening multiple RAW files at once. - Fixed significant memory leak introduced in 1.9.0 betas. - Fixed UI issues with Big Sur. - Fixed assorted other GPU acceleration issues introduced in the 1.9.0 betas. - Text on a path is now available in Photo. - More filters now work on masks / adjustments / spare channels (Add Noise, Perlin Noise, etc.). - Improved Metal rendering performance (over 195). - Improved experience when editing a spare channel (view artefacts, histogram and navigator). - Setting a blend mode on a sub-brush will now work properly - paving the way for import of PSD dual-brushes in a future build. - Attempted to fix startup crash on machines with no compatible Metal GPU. - Fixed localisation issues affecting non-UK users. - Fixed issues when attempting to add layers to a spare channel (!). - Improved “Serif Labs” RAW engine. - You can now single click a spare channel in the Channels panel to edit it like a layer. - The Curves adjustment now has numeric field controls for precise positioning. - Studio presets are now available. - A benchmarking tool has been added in the help menu. It will only become available when no documents are open. - Blend modes now work on “alpha only” layers (masks, adjustments, live filters, etc.). - Added a new “Divide” blend mode. - Added “Create from centre” for the elliptical marquee tool. - Allowed snapping to the bounds of the pixel selection. - Added ability to create brushes from the current pixel selection with one click. To be notified about all future macOS beta updates, please follow this notification thread To be notified when this Photo update comes out of beta and is fully released to all Affinity Photo on macOS customers, please follow this thread

Status: Beta Purpose: Features, Improvements, Fixes Requirements: Purchased Affinity Photo for iPad From App Store App Store: Not submitted Download link: Download Hello, We are pleased to announce the immediate availability of the third build of Affinity Photo 1.9.0 for iPad. 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. This beta is significantly different from the 1.8.4 version available for purchase - we strongly recommend that you do not use this beta for real work as data could be lost and the files you save are not guaranteed to open in previous / future versions of Affinity Photo. Furthermore, massive behind the scenes work has been done to enable GPU acceleration for the Windows version of Affinity Photo in 1.9. In theory this should have no consequences for macOS / iOS users - but it’s likely that a couple of things will have become broken along the way. We are giving ourselves a longer beta period with 1.9 in order to find and fix those things. This also means that the full complement of new features is not available yet in this 1.9 beta - more will be added over the coming weeks. Thanks again for your continued support! Affinity Photo Team  Changes Since 1.9.0.196 - Added noise reduction and tone mapping options into the HDR merge dialog. - Added curves adjustment to the tone mapping persona. - Added “Duplicate spare channel” to right click menu. - Merged assorted iOS14 fixes from 1.8.6. - Fixed numerous bugs with brushes, introduced in the 1.9.0 betas. - Fixed “Infer LUT”. - Fixed assorted other GPU acceleration issues introduced in the 1.9.0 betas. - Localisation improvements. Changes Since 1.9.0 - Text on a path is now available in Photo. - Assistant options are now available from preferences (so there is no need to open a document to access them). - More filters now work on masks / adjustments / spare channels (Add Noise, Perlin Noise, etc.). - Improved experience when editing a spare channel (view artefacts, histogram and navigator). - Setting a blend mode on a sub-brush will now work properly - paving the way for import of PSD dual-brushes in a future build. - Fixed issues when attempting to add layers to a spare channel (!). - The “Serif Labs” RAW engine is now available on iPad. - Added external display support for iPad (in the navigator panel, once the external display is connected). - You can now single tap a spare channel in the Channels panel to edit it like a layer. - A benchmarking tool has been added in the preferences dialog. - Blend modes now work on “alpha only” layers (masks, adjustments, live filters, etc.). - Added a new “Divide” blend mode. - Added “Create from centre” for the elliptical marquee tool. - Allowed snapping to the bounds of the pixel selection. - Added ability to create brushes from the current pixel selection with one click.

Status: Beta Purpose: Features, Improvements, Fixes Requirements: Purchased Affinity Photo Mac App Store: Not submitted Download ZIP (Intel): Download Download ZIP (Apple Silicon): Download Auto-update: Pending Hello, We are pleased to announce the immediate availability of the third build of Affinity Photo 1.9.0 for macOS. 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. This beta is significantly different from the 1.8.4 version available for purchase - we strongly recommend that you do not use this beta for real work as data could be lost and the files you save are not guaranteed to open in previous / future versions of Affinity Photo. Furthermore, massive behind the scenes work has been done to enable GPU acceleration for the Windows version of Affinity Photo in 1.9. In theory this should have no consequences for macOS / iOS users - but it’s likely that a couple of things will have become broken along the way. We are giving ourselves a longer beta period with 1.9 in order to find and fix those things. This also means that the full complement of new features is not available yet in this 1.9 beta - more will be added over the coming weeks. Thanks again for your continued support! Affinity Photo Team  Changes Since 1.9.0.196 - Added support for Apple Silicon (separate download for now). - Added “Duplicate spare channel” to right click menu. - Added missing “Convert to Path Text” menu item. - Small improvements to the benchmark UI. - Update app icon for Big Sur. - Fixed numerous bugs with brushes, introduced in the 1.9.0 betas. - Fixed issues when opening multiple RAW files at once. - Fixed significant memory leak introduced in 1.9.0 betas. - Fixed UI issues with Big Sur. - Fixed assorted other GPU acceleration issues introduced in the 1.9.0 betas. - Localisation improvements. Cumulative Changes Since 1.8.4 - Text on a path is now available in Photo. - More filters now work on masks / adjustments / spare channels (Add Noise, Perlin Noise, etc.). - Improved Metal rendering performance (over 195). - Improved experience when editing a spare channel (view artefacts, histogram and navigator). - Setting a blend mode on a sub-brush will now work properly - paving the way for import of PSD dual-brushes in a future build. - Attempted to fix startup crash on machines with no compatible Metal GPU. - Fixed localisation issues affecting non-UK users. - Fixed issues when attempting to add layers to a spare channel (!). - Improved “Serif Labs” RAW engine. - You can now single click a spare channel in the Channels panel to edit it like a layer. - The Curves adjustment now has numeric field controls for precise positioning. - Studio presets are now available. - A benchmarking tool has been added in the help menu. It will only become available when no documents are open. - Blend modes now work on “alpha only” layers (masks, adjustments, live filters, etc.). - Added a new “Divide” blend mode. - Added “Create from centre” for the elliptical marquee tool. - Allowed snapping to the bounds of the pixel selection. - Added ability to create brushes from the current pixel selection with one click. To be notified about all future macOS beta updates, please follow this notification thread To be notified when this Photo update comes out of beta and is fully released to all Affinity Photo on macOS customers, please follow this thread

2.0 (I think!) Thanks, A

Good spot - thanks. Fixed for next build. A

Hi, We are collecting benchmarks from users of the 1.9 betas in the Windows forum (as the Windows builds are finally getting GPU acceleration). It will be useful to collect similar benchmarks on the Mac. If you would like to contribute your Mac benchmarks, the thread is here: Thanks, Andy.

Hi, If you disable the acceleration, does it work correctly? Thanks, A

Status: Beta Purpose: Features, Improvements, Fixes Requirements: Purchased Affinity Photo for iPad From App Store App Store: Not submitted Download link: Download Hello, We are pleased to announce the immediate availability of the second build of Affinity Photo 1.9.0 for iPad. 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. This beta is significantly different from the 1.8.4 version available for purchase - we strongly recommend that you do not use this beta for real work as data could be lost and the files you save are not guaranteed to open in previous / future versions of Affinity Photo. Furthermore, massive behind the scenes work has been done to enable GPU acceleration for the Windows version of Affinity Photo in 1.9. In theory this should have no consequences for macOS / iOS users - but it’s likely that a couple of things will have become broken along the way. We are giving ourselves a longer beta period with 1.9 in order to find and fix those things. This also means that the full complement of new features is not available yet in this 1.9 beta - more will be added over the coming weeks. Thanks again for your continued support! Affinity Photo Team  Changes Since 1.9.0.195 - Text on a path is now available in Photo. - Assistant options are now available from preferences (so there is no need to open a document to access them). - More filters now work on masks / adjustments / spare channels (Add Noise, Perlin Noise, etc.). - Improved experience when editing a spare channel (view artefacts, histogram and navigator). - Setting a blend mode on a sub-brush will now work properly - paving the way for import of PSD dual-brushes in a future build. - Fixed issues when attempting to add layers to a spare channel (!). Changes Since 1.9.0 - The “Serif Labs” RAW engine is now available on iPad. - Added external display support for iPad (in the navigator panel, once the external display is connected). - You can now single tap a spare channel in the Channels panel to edit it like a layer. - A benchmarking tool has been added in the preferences dialog. - Blend modes now work on “alpha only” layers (masks, adjustments, live filters, etc.). - Added a new “Divide” blend mode. - Added “Create from centre” for the elliptical marquee tool. - Allowed snapping to the bounds of the pixel selection. - Added ability to create brushes from the current pixel selection with one click.

Status: Beta Purpose: Features, Improvements, Fixes Requirements: Purchased Affinity Photo Mac App Store: Not submitted Download ZIP: Download Auto-update: Available Hello, We are pleased to announce the immediate availability of the second build of Affinity Photo 1.9.0 for macOS. 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. This beta is significantly different from the 1.8.4 version available for purchase - we strongly recommend that you do not use this beta for real work as data could be lost and the files you save are not guaranteed to open in previous / future versions of Affinity Photo. Furthermore, massive behind the scenes work has been done to enable GPU acceleration for the Windows version of Affinity Photo in 1.9. In theory this should have no consequences for macOS / iOS users - but it’s likely that a couple of things will have become broken along the way. We are giving ourselves a longer beta period with 1.9 in order to find and fix those things. This also means that the full complement of new features is not available yet in this 1.9 beta - more will be added over the coming weeks. Thanks again for your continued support! Affinity Photo Team  Changes Since 1.9.0.195 - Text on a path is now available in Photo. - More filters now work on masks / adjustments / spare channels (Add Noise, Perlin Noise, etc.). - Improved Metal rendering performance (over 195). - Improved experience when editing a spare channel (view artefacts, histogram and navigator). - Setting a blend mode on a sub-brush will now work properly - paving the way for import of PSD dual-brushes in a future build. - Attempted to fix startup crash on machines with no compatible Metal GPU. - Fixed localisation issues affecting non-UK users. - Fixed issues when attempting to add layers to a spare channel (!). Cumulative Changes Since 1.8.4 - Improved “Serif Labs” RAW engine. - You can now single click a spare channel in the Channels panel to edit it like a layer. - The Curves adjustment now has numeric field controls for precise positioning. - Studio presets are now available. - A benchmarking tool has been added in the help menu. It will only become available when no documents are open. - Blend modes now work on “alpha only” layers (masks, adjustments, live filters, etc.). - Added a new “Divide” blend mode. - Added “Create from centre” for the elliptical marquee tool. - Allowed snapping to the bounds of the pixel selection. - Added ability to create brushes from the current pixel selection with one click. To be notified about all future macOS beta updates, please follow this notification thread To be notified when this Photo update comes out of beta and is fully released to all Affinity Photo on macOS customers, please follow this thread

"I would like to meet the Serif UX that recommended this "on the fly" approach. " That would be me Interestingly, the way I use it, it works well (although I agree re. the naming). I have a Photo, Brushing, Compositing preset and switch between them. I rarely move any panels in each preset but if I do I expect them to stay where I moved them to. That said, it's fair to say that the consensus is contrary to that argument Build 196 is done (released in an hour or so, to help the people who are crashing on start) - but I'll make the changes to presets for 197. Thanks, A