ꜱᴩʀɪᴛᴇ➀

it's a good point that there are various bugs. I find it to be a bug that it outright doesn't run on the platform of choice. How is asking for Linux support any more or less important than all the other requests around the forum? As I mentioned to other people here, I don't need Mac support, I dont care for being able to edit raw, so I don't care about the bugs for that platform or feature yet I don't go to bug reports and request threads for those things and complain about how much I don't need it... So why people are coming in this thread complaining that they don't use linux is beyond me lol. I do find it peculiar that people are so against requests that have nothing to do with them and don't affect them at all.

Anyways, Linux is many peoples platform of choice and there's no decent image editing applications, so it's understandable that we'd want the newest, freshest image editing application to begin it's life with a cross platform foundation. Lets face it, Affinity Photo is far from finished or complete and the longer Serif wait, the more work it'll be to get it working on Linux. I'd argue it was a mistake on Serifs part not to develop Affinity to be cross platform from the very beginning. It's not like it's impossible... Plenty of other software out there that works on Mac, Windows and Linux alike. I'd like to hear what Serif have to say about this anyway, more than negative nelly hobbyists who are angry that Linux exists.

1% of the total desktop users does not equate to 1% of Serif's target demographic. Serif makes design software, not a universal application like a web browser, so you should be taking into account only Serif's potential customers in this argument, and not the entirety of computer users. The number of creative professionals that use (or want to use) Linux is higher than the total population.
The thing is, we don't know exactly what Serif's target demo is. If Serif is only interested in taking current Adobe users (who are ipso facto only Windows and Mac users), then yes, making a Linux version makes no sense. But I would assume that Serif is interested in more than Adobe's current customers that need design software: students, UI designers, front-end developers, film editors, 3D animators, software developers, and marginalized creatives.
I don't know what their target demo is, but I what Serif to know that there are designers who work in software development that want Affinity applications available in Linux, even moreso in web design. I know people who work in animation who would give anything to use something besides The GIMP at work because their 3D pipeline is Linux (Pixar, WDAS).
As someone who has a graphic design degree, who is currently working on 3D assets, does web design and front-end development as part of their job, I'm in Linux for 70% of my day. I spend $323 USD annually on software that I run in Linux (no VM, no WINE). It fluctuates every year, but this year I donated €40 to open-source software that I use in Linux and Windows. Not technically commercial software, but it's software I use commercially, and I gave them my money. That sounds like a business to me. It shows that if it was not open source, I would have paid at least that much money for the software. So abso-freaking-lutely, successful commercial Linux software exists.
Again, I get it. Serif might not care about large film or animation studios. They may not care about software developers. But I think it is the right of customers, and potential customers, to let Serif know that there's a need for it. So instead of pretending to know what Serif's demo is, accept that there is demand for it. The argument that an electric car shouldn't be made because not enough electric cars have been made doesn't make sense to me.

Exactly, it's a non-argument with a high degree of "duh", and literally no one thinks what you are saying and repeating. It's a textbook straw man, and it doesn't bring any value to this topic. You are giving the impression of refuting an argument, whereas the proper idea of argument under discussion was not addressed.
Most people here ask for a Linux version. Others even plead for a Linux version. Some argue that a Linux version would be a good economic decision, and part of them indicate that they would be willing to pre-pay, crowdfund, or even pay double or more.
No one actually believes Serif owes them anything. That includes you. They don't owe you(r preferred OS) their undivided attention. So let's keep this topic a place where people can join to indicate their shared wish for a Linux version in order to show Serif that there is actually a desire for this. A place where we can discuss possible deployment platforms and distro support.
 

People here are just asking Serif to bring the Affinity suite over to Linux, and they're even claiming they will extra money to buy another license for it if it ever happens.
This thread should only exist here to campaign this request. Contra-arguments about how Serif doesn't "owe" anything to anyone and how Linux is not for XYZ seems a little repulsive, also ridiculous at least.
Dodge released Viper RT/10 in 1992 and the car only had a chassis, a hood, two seats and an engine. People asked for more, Dodge delivered and people bought the new models. That's it. It's a matter of demand and supply, not some ridiculous enigmatic subject as "Linux not for certain people".
Please do not pollute this thread. We just want to use Affinity on Linux, if you don't like it, just leave this thread alone.

This must be the most ignorant and useless waste of time line of arguments to ever appear in request for Linux support ever.

@quiray
Welcome to the Serif Affinity forums
We use an off the shelf forums and the text is probably generic. Where does it say that please? We have had to use email verification for your forums or the spamming is unmanageable, whereas at the moment it is quite well controlled. Sorry that you feel you were misled

They do listen to their users, they are just not doing what you want. This is a business and they owe nothing to anyone. Now with that said it is good for business to have a good relationship with your users obviously. In this case I would say they just do not have the resources to support a 3rd (4th counting iOS) OS for a very small user base. There is a reason Adobe is not on Linux, they are a company with money and resources to spare and they have opted out after market research. This does not mean it will never happen but it is not at a place yet where they think they will make any money (my assumption). I believe the same is for Serif, they are a much much much smaller company with a product still in V1. It is being refined and they are still adding features to V1 and not saving them for a V2 release, which I think in many cases would have been warranted. They have been very generous in my opinion with these feature rich updates. 
Not sure what Steam being on Linux has to do with Affinity. Didn't Steam drop one of the major distros of Linux as well last year?

They are not sleeping at the wheel, they have made a choice. They do not owe the Linux community anything, nor any other OS community. 
 
Not sure how much a delay this will cause as they already have Designer and Photo out for the iPad which is running Apple's own CPU. What I gathered from the last event this move to Apple's own chips should make things easier for developers to bring their mobile apps to the desktop and vice versa. 

Dear developers, please read and consider seriously.
I am not a programmer. So I can not understand how much you can not program.
Because of that, in Japan, design software has been working on the premise that Japanese vertical typography is implemented.
All the design applications of "illustrator", "Freehand", "Canvas", "Quark Xpress", "Pagemaker" and "InDesign" have implemented Japanese vertical typography.
We have never thought that vertical typography can not be done.
In the Japanese printing industry, we will avoid using apps that can not do "vertical writing typography" on a first look.
If you do not know, please be aware of this fact.
It seems that you have avoided this problem ever since the 2015 “Desiger” release.
I hope to put in a good mood soon.
We are in the "Adobe" prison, an absurd world where we can not even manipulate past data we created.
Please provide design tools that allow us to create freely without becoming refugees.
We aspire to implement Japanese vertical typography on all of "Pyblisher", "Designer" and "Photo".
/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /
I do not think that it is naive English.

Japanese and other Asian language punctuation problems are something that we would aim to fix, and is hopefully achievable in 1.x (as I understand it).
Right to left language support is something that will require a lot more work than this fix,

Why tie it to a distro? Why not have it be a Flatpak so it's compatible with pretty much every distro. Or even an AppImage. Just please not a Snap. Just like Windows and Mac versions, the users can just buy the license directly on Serif website

Please support Japanese vertical writing.
This is the function most needed by Japanese.

Website with detailed explanation:
https://w3c.github.io/jlreq/#vertical-writing-mode-and-horizontal-writing-mode
 
Adobe uses this because it supports vertical writing in Japanese.
This is the only reason why I and my workplace cannot adopt “Affinity”.
If this problem is solved, “Affinity” may become the top share in the Japanese market.
 
 
Can Japanese donate development costs to support vertical writing in Japanese?

In Japan, Adobe dominates the market.
That is not good.
The Japanese market requires the emergence of competitors that compete with Adobe.
I hope that Affinity plays an active role for Japan.

Tick the Show axis editing handles box

I have been a Windows user since Windows 3.0, I think it's time I parted ways with that OS as I don't like the direction things are going with windows (patching,security, etc). I currently own Affinity and pay the monthly stipend to Adobe CC. I dislike having to pay that every month and would prefer to purchase my software outright.  Linux is mature enough and now friendly enough for me to switch, but I can't make the switch as I am a part time photographer and need a good photo editing software (GIMP is not for me). I am adding my voice to the request for a Linux version. I will gladly pay for your excellent software. I am a big fan of what your guys are doing. 

I recently switched over to Linux elementary OS. It's such a game-changer, it's hard for me to turn back. I even sacrificed my Windows programs to run alternate software as a single-boot system. Virtualization is a pain and an Affinity port would be VERY welcome. At least have the software run as an AppImage (it runs universally on all distros - more info here). Rizom UV, a 3d texture mapper, has now Linux support when it has always been primarily Windows software and it uses AppImage. For Affinity, this would be a good option to reduce overhead.
Linux FTW - it's the future!

Recently I was responsible for getting a company to switch over to the Affinity products. (Serif, you're welcome. ) I wanted to share some insights behind one company's process of deciding what design software to purchase, my own experience as a teacher of art and design, and why Affinity should start thinking about developing Linux versions of their design software. This isn't intended to influence short-term plans, just long term ones and the way the market is shifting with regards to software ownership and operating systems.
* * * * *
The company I convinced to adopt the Affinity software is a web software company that also creates print/video games. We primarily run Linux. I'm a new hire in the design and art team, so I was able to bring up the existence of the Affinity products when the discussion of design software came up. We have huge issues with Adobe with regards to ownership, and other issues I won't get into here. The short version is that we had philosophical issues with Creative Cloud and Adobe as a company.
The problem is that our choice to go with Affinity products is that it was a compromise. There wasn't any other reason for us to use Affinity products besides we didn't like Adobe, and the minor issue of cost. It doesn't run on our preferred development environment, meaning that seemingly arbitrary separation between developers and designers and the software that they run will still exist in our process. It's almost 2020; it shouldn't be that way. Developers are designers too.
That is why we use software like Figma. It works on all operating systems because it's a vector and UI design tool that works in the browser. We are not really a fan of the subscription model or how our data is basically held hostage, but it's more practical to pay extra to have a unifying tool among all team member's operating systems. That is why we use Figma.
With WebAssembly, we'll start seeing more browser-based design applications. I strongly suspect that this is the direction Adobe will go to address the cross platform issue, but it doesn't address people's pain with "subscription fatigue," the questions of ownership, or having performant design applications. (If you haven't used Figma, it's performance is acceptable but not great.) I don't see WebAssembly browser apps having as good a user experience as native design apps in the near future.
So there's still a need for native design apps, including native Linux apps. For us, Affinity was a compromise purchase, and we bought the minimum number of copies we needed for each team member's role, instead of making sure everyone was on the same page which is what would have been ideal for us, but alas, "not available on Linux." What happened to the rest of the software budget that didn't go to getting copies for the entire staff, including the development team? That budget is going to the development funds of other design tools that do work in Linux, but just need more work to make them viable.
* * * * *
Okay, so that's just one company. It's just a web development company, not a design agency. Web development companies may not be Serif's intended customer. I get that might be the possibility. But here's something else to consider.
I'm also a teacher of art and design. I took a human-centered design approach to art education, and did a lot of research on the people who want to learn design. That process led me to focusing my efforts on teaching underprivileged and disadvantaged creatives, because I found that group encompasses most of the creatives out there. Since starting that journey I've developed some personal beefs with Adobe. I've witnessed creatives who couldn't afford their Adobe subscription, which meant they had to stop working as a freelancer if I hadn't stepped in. That's the type of stuff I deal with. Again, this group is huge: people in college, just out of college, or trying to ditch their horrible day jobs and pursue a more creative career.
When it comes to this group of people, every dollar counts. You may not think the cost of Windows ($140-$200 per computer) is that big of a deal, but it matters when you have to scrimp and save for every dollar, or when your local currency doesn't go as far is does in other countries. If that freelancer had the choice to use Linux as a designer, they would have been able to afford a few more months of the Creative Cloud subscription and continue working that month. Linux is the difference between someone having to save $460 for a computer instead of $600 to get started (that's 24% less, just from the cost of Windows). It's the difference between being able to work as a multi-disciplinary web developer and be able to design for and code in the operating system that powers the web. (Just us a VM for your dev server you say? VMs require a good chunk of dedicated RAM and a little bit more overhead, and a budget computer may not be able to handle that, especially if you have Windows as your host OS, making it far more memory efficient to run your entire server environment locally.)
Quite frankly, for creatives Linux is about providing more opportunities to people that would otherwise not have it. I'm hoping that more software companies adopt that mission too.
But until that happens, as a teacher I have to provide equal software coverage for both the Adobe products and the Affinity products in the curriculum, because I can't with full confidence entirely recommend one over the other. But for audio and video editing? DaVinci Resolve. Full stop. I won't teach Premier. Not everyone can install Premier, but everyone can install Resolve. For 3D modeling? Blender. Period. It works for everyone. No need to teach anything else.
I would love love LOVE to only teach Affinity products, but currently I can only recommend it. Granted, it's a strong recommendation, but my curriculum can't be as dedicated to one piece of graphic design software like I can with DaVinci Resolve, Blender, Krita, Godot, and Visual Studio Code, which are all programs I didn't have to compromise on.
I'm pleased with what Serif is doing. I got one company to adopting it, and a handful of other freelancers to start using it. I'm slowly moving over to Affinity for my freelance. Having software that competes with InDesign was a lot more urgent than Linux support, so I've been happy with the prioritization. (Although I think all software companies should consider targeting all three platforms at the beginning of a project. The libraries to do so have existed for years. But that's a business decision that is in the past.) The freelancer who couldn't pay for his Adobe subscription that month is now using Affinity products as per my recommendation. So Serif is doing a lot of good. I just hope that people who create design software don't forget about the creatives that are off of Adobe's radar.

Why tie it to a distro? Why not have it be a Flatpak so it's compatible with pretty much every distro. Or even an AppImage. Just please not a Snap. Just like Windows and Mac versions, the users can just buy the license directly on Serif website

I finally found that the export of x and y positions of slices is already possible. If you select in the Export Persona Batch builder: Spine JSON together with the slices a JSON file is exported. This file contains center x and y positions as well as the size of the exported object. With these information it is easy to calculate the positions of each corner. Interestingly (0, 0) is the lower left corner of the image, and not the upper left corner as in Affinity.
It should not be too much additional work to add some export formats in easier readable format, such as CSV.
Cheers,
Chris

There are probably a lot of different ways to get what you want (or near enough) but that might depend on which Affinity application you are using.
My first suggestion – in Designer – would be to try using Power Duplicate to make a grid quickly.
My second suggestion would be to try: https://incompetech.com/graphpaper/ (might be useful).
My third suggestion would be to ask the people who make the other software if they can add an isometric grid. (You never know, there might already be one in there somewhere.)

I'm drawing a mockup character in a different software and using Affinity Designer for the environment. I just want t be able to get a point of reference with the isometric grid I use. Right now, what I did is take a screenshot of the grid and just add it as a new layer in the drawing application but I was hoping there would be a more elegant solution

Is it possible to export the grid lines generated by the grid manager without having to manually place lines on each and every segment of it?

I installed Affinity Designer using my windows tablet and then I put the contents of C:\Program Files\Affinity into a self-extracting archive via 7-zip then moved that executable to my Linux machine

Hi, I've made an attempt to run Affinity Designer on Linux via Wine. I managed to run the program myself, but it is not possible to create or edit a document. The problem is probably with Direct3D support in Wine or in my GPU (maybe drivers).
I will describe how to install and run the Designer via Wine. Maybe someone can successfully create or edit a document (eg with a different GPU). The operating system used is Ubuntu 18.04.
What we need?
Windows (yes, I know) - it can be a virtual machine. It will be used to extract the installation of the program because the standard installer does not work under the Wine.
Wine with some patches - we must add MoveFileTransactedA/W stubs to kernel32. The building of Wine is required.
Winetricks.
64-bit mscms.dll library.
Affinity Designer installer and license.
Offline installer of .NET Framework 4.0 and .NET Framework 4.7.2.
Step 1 – build Wine
We must build and install 64-bit and 32-bit Wine with patch. Building of Wine on Ubuntu is very well described on the WineHQ wiki: Building Biarch Wine On Ubuntu. Don't forget to apply the patch from attachment (fix.patch). During the building process I installed additional libraries like libvulkan-dev and libvkd3d.
Step 2 – create MSI installer of Designer
This step must be done on Windows. Open the command line (cmd.exe) and go to the directory where the Affinity Designer installer is located. Run the affinity-designer.exe /extract command (the file name may be different). Complete the required data and create an MSI installer. Transfer the created MSI file to your system with Wine.
Step 3 – install Winetricks
The Winetricks installation is described on the project page: Winetricks. I prefer a manual installation of latest Winetricks instead install outdated version from repo.
Step 4 – create Wine prefix and install .Net framework
Installation of .Net Framework with Winetricks doesn't work for me, that's why I do it manually.
Initialize new Wine prefix:
WINEPREFIX=~/Designer wineboot –init Change the system to Windows XP (for correct installation of .Net Framework 4.0) and remove the mono if installed:
WINEPREFIX=~/Designer winetricks winxp WINEPREFIX=~/Designer winetricks remove_mono Download and install .NET Framework 4.0:
wget 'http://download.microsoft.com/download/9/5/A/95A9616B-7A37-4AF6-BC36-D6EA96C8DAAE/dotNetFx40_Full_x86_x64.exe' WINEPREFIX=~/Designer wine ./dotNetFx40_Full_x86_x64.exe /q Change the system to Windows 7 and switch mscoree to native (this is very important):
WINEPREFIX=~/Designer winetricks win7 WINEPREFIX=~/Designer winecfg Download and install .NET Framework 4.7.2:
wget 'http://download.microsoft.com/download/D/D/3/DD35CC25-6E9C-484B-A746-C5BE0C923290/NDP47-KB3186497-x86-x64-AllOS-ENU.exe' WINEPREFIX=~/Designer wine ./NDP47-KB3186497-x86-x64-AllOS-ENU.exe /q  
Step 5 - run Affinity Designer
Switch system to Windows 8.1 or 10. Designer will not start in Windows 7 mode due to Aero errors.
WINEPREFIX=~/Designer winetricks win81 Install Affinity Designer (in my case MSI installer is Affinity.msi)
WINEPREFIX=~/Designer wine msiexec /passive /i ./Affinity.msi Copy the missing mscms.dll library to Affinity Designer instalation directory. In my case it is ~/Designer/drive_c/Program Files/Affinity/Affinity Designer/. I have found the missing library on dlldownloader.com: mscms.dll.
Start Affinity Designer:
WINEPREFIX=~/Designer wine "C:\Program Files\Affinity\Affinity Designer\Designer.exe" The program should start and you will see the welcome screen.
I can open preferences and change options, but creating a new document causes a crash. In Performance tab my GPU is displayed as Intel(R) HD Graphivs 4000 (I have Intel® UHD Graphics 620).
Crash report:
Attempting to create Direct3D device with adapter Intel(R) HD Graphics 4000 c:\buildagent10\work\live\persona\windows\libraries\serif.directx\dxrenderer.cpp(676): error 0x80004001 (Unknown error 0x80004001) In the last step I tried to start the Designer using Vulkan-based D3D10/D3D11 implementation. After this (and install mesa-vulkan-drivers) in Performance tab my GPU is displayed correctly, but the program still crash while creating a new document.
WINEPREFIX=~/Designer winetricks dxvk Crash report:
Attempting to create Direct3D device with adapter Intel(R) UHD Graphics 620 (Kabylake GT2) c:\buildagent10\work\live\persona\windows\libraries\serif.directx\dxrenderer.cpp(676): error 0x80004001 (Unknown error 0x80004001) I know that Serif developers don't provide support for running Affinity programs via Wine. The post is for information purposes only.


fix.patch

It would be wonderful to have some of these sites!  Pixabay would be awesome. 

Thanks @firstdefence, I actually understand HTML and CSS but I wanted something that makes the process faster so I can allot more time to Affinity Designer instead. Also I love how BlueGriffon looks, it's akin to the Affinity products.