HFNotts

No, Topaz last time acted just like NIK and appeared straight away as a PS plugin and Affinity could see it OK. All a big puzzle especially as a friend had no trouble at all with W11 and A2 and has done nothing different to me. A quirk somewhere.

Oh, I see, thank you. I've been looking at that so often over tghe past few days and there is nothing in that folder which seems to be the default folder. The thing that really confuses me is that NIK loaded fully straight as a PS plugin so why doesn't Topaz? It did on my old system but Affinity and Windows updates seem to have changed things in a way I cannot fathom.

Sorry, even more confused now. Whilst I am competent in my computer basics I'm in no way an expert at understanding what experts take as straight forward. I'm not aware of configuring any directories in Affinity Photo.

Not sure which directories that Affinity should be looking into. I've looked at so much onloine and on the Topaz web site that confusion reigns supreme, hence raising the question in this forum.

Thanks. When I press ADD nothing shows. Topaz doesn't show in the filter> plugins menu. Under C>Prtogram Files I see Tpoaz LLC but that only show Topaz AI and Topaz Studio 2 and not the other AI Topaz programs I hav e which, at present I use as standalones but adding all those extra steps to my workflow is driving me mad!

Most grateful, I hope this is correct - snapped on my phone.

Thanks, I do appreciate your replies. I have done all that yet still it doesn't work for me.

I don't have anything showing in the way you have so it doesn't work for me like that.

I cannot find a way to use the Topaz apps as a plugin with Affinity Photo. I have Nik also and that does work as an Affinbity plugin. I have enabled unknown plugins which brought in Nik but Topax doesn't show there. I don't have an Adobe folder in Programs as I don't have any Adobe software. Topaz website just direcxts to the enable unknown plugins so is not help yet Topaz lists Affinity as available as plugins. I use Windows 11. All software and drivers are fully uptodate. I would appreciate any help with this issue.

Thanks for your help appreciated. Eventually solved the issue by resetting studio and starting again to personalise the pandels for my liking.

Version 2 Windows 10 doesn't seem to have the tools at the bottom of the layer panel such, for example, the bin, adjustments, mask etc. Is there a way of getting these back?

My DXO showed as normal from plugins, i.e. not greyed oud but just don 't open, regardless of which background or layer, rasterized or not, I am using. Standalones are a pain by increasing workflow moves and times but are the only way I can move forward with V2 at present.

I still don't find DeNoise and Sharpen working as plugins although Mask now does. No DXO stuff yet works as a plugin for me either.

Windows 10 and yes, loads of RAM.

THat is what I've done. I've spent several hours on trying to solve this issue to no avail and am not going to waste any more time on it. Maybe Serif will look at it soon as there seems to be many of us having these issues.

Doesn't work whatever I do. GRRRRRRRR!

Thanks. You are dealing with an 82 year old non-computer expert who gets by with understanding just what he needs to get by with. I would be on the background layer with a copy to preserve the original so there would be no layer stack to view. As I mention DXO just doesnt respond whereas Topaz tries, brings up the flag that there is an error in opning plugins, goes to the Topaz flag about invoking a Topaz and the Affinity just closes down. I am really just so frustrated that I'm likely to go to Photoshop (I have a basic understanding of LR and PS) and swallow the payment if this, and another item fundamental to how I work cannot get sorted soon. I'v been with Serif from before Affinity but this mess of V2, I cannot describe it as anything else, is destoying thier reputation with me. I used Publisher and Photo from their inception to edit and lay-out several books and edit a couple of journals but V2 is, as I say, a mess. Off the soap box, thank you for trying to help.

Gone back in and tried again. DXO stuff just doesn't open at all. Topaz tries and I get a message that eror with plugins and then tries to open but crashes Affinity 2 I hope these help to sort it for me.

How?

I am finding V2 Photo much slower than V1 and I have plenty of RAM

Unfortunately not because in frustration I have removed the plugins and had to start using them as standalones which is far from ideal. When I started with V1 the plugins were detected immediately and loaded without any problems. This is just one of the issues I am experiencing with V2 which is making me rather unhappy when V1 worked "straight from the box" whereas V2 isn't doing it for me. I'm not a computer expert, am 82 years old, and just hoped the new version would work in a straight forward way as did V1 without requiring me to delve into the innards of the computer!

I have followed the procedures for adding my DXO and Topaz plugins. They show as available when using V2 to work on an image but just don't open. Is there a reason and how do I resolve the issue?

Not sure what you mean about galleries but I refer to a proper catalogue system where I can add folders for adding my images in a systematic way and acces them into Affinity directly. If you like much as I could when using Lightroom and Photoshop without doing any work in LR and as I now do in XPView. Using Pictures I have to search them from Affinity rather than click on an image in a catalogue which then goes straight into Affinity - just speeds up the workflow and therefore more convenient. It would need any PP tools just a way of holding the image files in a catalogue system and linking directly into Affinity Photo. I'm happy with the new features by the way and have already bought 2.

LR has a catalogue module as do Capture One, Luminar etc. Bridge can integrate with Affinity Photo and I use the free XN View but quite a few I know would like, as would I, a catalogue module by Affinity (Serif) to link directly to Photo

Very disappointed that we still don't get a catalogue system for Photo. The lack of it puts off so many photogs from moving to Affinity Photo. Other newer systems have one so why cannot we Affinity devotees have one! I know there are alternatives but we do need an integrated one by Affinity to make it complete.