Granddaddy

You have to remember that the size of even simple Affinity Photo files were made 4 to 10 times larger with version 1.7 when compared to version 1.6 as a result of last minute file format changes required by Affinity Publisher. Serif does not consider the afphoto file format suitable for longterm storage so file size is not something they are concerned about. https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/87912-170380-huge-file-size-when-saving-16-image/&do=findComment&comment=527169

After posting this morning and learning that Windows 10 Version 1909 was available, I updated to Windows 10 Pro Version 1909. It took only a few minutes, unlike earlier version updates that took upwards of an hour or two. I am happy to report that my calibration with the Spyder5Pro now runs to completion and the new monitor profiles are loaded and applied. Version 1909 apparently fixed whatever the color managemtn problem was in Windows 10 Version 1903.

Color management is a major issue for many who post in these forums, yet I have not seen anything here about this problem in Windows 10 version 1903. Monitor calibration using a Spyder5Pro failed the other day under Windows 10 Pro x64 version 1903. The response from Datacolor is that Windows color management was broken with the release of version 1903. The problem affects all manufacturers of calibration equipment. Various solutions were suggested, none of which are sure to work. Those that might work can be expected to fail following another calibration or Windows update. An Internet search shows the problem has been known ever since version 1903 was first released several months ago. Windows cannot be expected to load a particular ICC profile or apply it even when it appears to be loaded. My system claims to have reverted to a monitor profile supplied by Dell, not my custom profile generated earlier by the Spyder. Does anyone at Serif have knowledge of this problem and when a fix from Microsoft might be expected. As an amateur, color management is way beyond my level of expertise, and it is not really an issue for me. I was perfectly happy with my photo prints before I bought the Spyder5 a year ago. But I understand this is a huge issue for professionals. Here are a couple of references about the problem from Datacolor that were just updated this morning. Perhaps the issue is fixed in Windows 10 Version 1909 that was announced on November 12. https://support.datacolor.com/index.php?/Knowledgebase/Article/View/1849/0/alert-bug-in-microsoft-windows-10-build-1903-causing-icc-profiling-issues https://support.datacolor.com/index.php?/Knowledgebase/Article/View/1847/0/windows-10-may-2019-update-windows-10-build-1903--unable-to-create-and--or-activate-an-icc-profile-in---spyderx-spyder5-and-spyder4 https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/whats-new/whats-new-windows-10-version-1909 https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2019/11/12/how-to-get-the-windows-10-november-2019-update/

Previous announcements identified versions 1.7.1 and versions 1.7.2 as "major updates", and they at least did have some new features and many fixes. Versions 1.7.3 had no new features and just a few fixes but was still described as a "major update", and that was the essence of my comment as noted by @Patrick Connor. For comparison, announcements for previous "major updates" are at https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/89224-affinity-photo-for-windows-171/ https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/95651-affinity-photo-for-windows-172/ I'm now wondering how version 2.0 will be described when it is released. My understanding is that the update to version 2.0 will not be free, but I can't find the pricing policy for updates at the moment. A paid update will have to be something beyond "major."

I noticed that Affinity Revolution, producer of many excellent AFPhoto tutorials, is recommending DarkTable. They have a tutorial plus a course on its use. Affinity Revolution tutorial on DarkTable: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5C5Bx8MOrk Their full course about DarkTable: https://courses.affinityrevolution.com/p/replace-lightroom-and-edit-faster-in-affinity-photo Disclaimer: I do not know the folks at Affinity Revolution, have never paid them a dime nor received anything from them. But their tutorials have been very helpful to me.

I do hope there will be some improvements in APhoto. I've been using Affinity Photo for nearly two years. I abandoned Photoshop Elements 14 because that "upgrade" removed a couple of features I had made regular use of in PE 10 (e.g., Clouds filter, known as Perlin Noise in APhoto, small but important to me and APhoto still does it poorly). I was attracted to APhoto by its emphasis on non-destructive editing, which was not emphasized or even possible in other products I looked at. But after two years I find that APhoto has been downgraded for my purposes . In particular it is now said that Serif does not consider the afphoto format suitable for longterm storage https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/87912-170380-huge-file-size-when-saving-16-image/&do=findComment&comment=527169 BOOM! The final editing step envisioned by Serif is the ultimate destructive edit: delete your afphoto file. We are told the huge afphoto files are not optimized for photo images but for fast reading and writing. Serif concentrated on APub and at least tripled the afphoto file size to accommodate features in APub. My afphoto files, including complex collages, load in the blink of an eye. Suppose the file format was optimized for efficient storage and loaded in 10 blinks, or even 10 seconds. That wouldn't bother me a bit if afphoto files were a more reasonable size for long term storage. I do revisit old projects when I learn more or when I want to re-purpose my projects. APhoto still has tiny icons and minuscule fonts for UI text elements. Both are long-standing complaints from users with aging eyes and high resolution monitors. I'm tempted to revisit PE 2020. It has always had a DAM called the Organizer. PE has since added AI for automated effects and edit assists. I know some users of Affinity products consider the lack of useful and convenient features to be a sign of software made for professionals. Perhaps that's true. But it is not a characteristic of a product with a future among enthusiasts with several tens of thousand of photos taken over a period of 70 years that cry out for editing into gifts and mementos and family histories. As for Serif not letting us know about it's plans for APhoto, I can only say this was not the practice with commercial applications I was personally involved in during my working years. We did not expect customers to buy a pig in a poke. Rather, we built commitment by outlining in detail the features we would be adding and provided a timeline showing our plans for adding those features. We had plans and visions we were proud of and we wanted our customers to know about them.

You say that Version 1.7.3 is a "major update." How do 8 minor bug fixes and some updated translations constitute a major update? It seems more like this latest update should be called version 1.7.21, or perhaps 1.7.2.472 since the previous release was 1.7.2.471

Other posts on this topic implied that the enormous increase in afphoto file sizes was introduced to accommodate features in Affinity Publisher. I had hoped for a photo editor that is optimized for photos. I was dismayed when Affinity Photo was downgraded to serve purposes in other products for which I have little use. Perhaps you need to give users the choice of saving their Affinity Photo files either in a format optimized for photos or else in a format compatible with Publisher documents. The fact that the developers were surprised when we began reporting the enormous increase in afphoto file sizes implies some unanticipated design oversights. The current one-size-fits-all file format with several different file extensions for that format has led to enormous photo file sizes that may only increase with time as more unanticipated issues arise.

Version 1809 of Windows 10 added a slider in Ease of Access to Make Text Bigger in addition to the older Make Everything Bigger slider. Not all text elements are affected. See my post for details This Windows scaling does not increase icon size, only text size. I do yearn for larger icons in the APhoto UI to assist my aging eyes and declining mouse precision.

The Color Picker Tool WILL sample color outside the Affinity Photo Window. Select the Color Picker Tool by clicking on the Tool Bar or press the shortcut key I. Click in the active editing window and drag the cross hair anywhere on any monitor to sample the color. The picker in the Color panel works similarly in that it can be dragged to the place you want to sample on any part of any monitor whether inside the Affinity Photo window or not. I learned this just the other day from "Ten Top Tips for Affinity Photo Volume 2" by Scott Williams Photography beginning at 15:45 into the video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QpeaKGs9ao

I made panoramas from two images using version 1.7.0.367 and 1.7.2.471 and do not observe the differences you report. Both panoramas and the original two images all have the same color. I'm sorry I do not have any suggestions as to why you are seeing something different. Also, I'm surprised no one else has responded to your post after one week, but things can get lost in these forums.

Perhaps the following will be helpful: A brief discussion from several months ago is at https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/72672-tree-selection-save-from-difficult-background/ Tutorials using Affinity: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdZ9H7eYWvo [Affinity Photo] Removing background from Trees (Leaves selection) by Xyz Tutorials Hair selections are similar though most tutorials I've seen use distinctly different hair and background colors http://iceflowstudios.com/2015/tutorials/creating-complex-selections-using-affinity-photo/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlmA1qicXN0 [Affinity Photo] Remove Background from a Complex image by Xyz Tutorials https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUsxghAYrlA How to remove tree background in affinity photo Non-English Tutorials using Photoshop that might be adaptable for Affinity Photo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZZRKgiWy4c http://www.pxleyes.com/tutorial/photoshop/1272/How-To-Mask-A-Tree-In-3-Minutes.html

Take look at Affinity Revolution's courses for Affinity Photo and other Affinity products. See for instance https://courses.affinityrevolution.com/p/affinity-photo-for-beginners https://courses.affinityrevolution.com/ They have many tutorials on YouTube that I have always found to be well made and clearly explained. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6xPJ4dx82vSjysPUyjlCsw/videos

For the sake of completeness, I note that the following site maintained a categorized list of Affinity Photo official tutorials even when Serif did not. http://www.miguelboto.com/affinity/photo/video-tutorials/ My other favorite sources that regularly publish Affinity Photo tutorials for the current and previous versions are the following: Affinity Revolution: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6xPJ4dx82vSjysPUyjlCsw/videos Bethany Acorn: (iPad, but easily adapted for desktop): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCn2U6mE9Ku2OZJ8h2BnmLsw/videos Carl Surry: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC75vJ_K3zu_joo_BtCAWDKA/videos Hubert Van den Borre: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwr2JdESRUstTDpYbdHstlg/videos InAffinity: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOnLUmyPHr2rayOHVHWsHVw/videos KN Edits: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyRUxmLXKRWsM7Wg5snl7KQ/videos Olivio Sarikas: https://www.youtube.com/user/Multitude07/videos

There is a discussion of very slow PDF export in AFPub at https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/90388-publisher-pdf-file-size-and-export-time-questions/ No suggestions have been forthcoming as to why on my relatively fast machine it takes 8 minutes to export a PDF file while at Serif it takes 20 seconds.