IPv6

We are pleased to make available the next update to the 2.1 beta (2.1.0.1730) This should now be available for you on auto-update.
Below are some of the main changes:
Dashed line / stroke panel improvements
The big new feature here is that you can now choose to set dashed lines to be "balanced", meaning spacing is automatically adjusted so cusps (e.g. corners of a rectangle) look correct. Additionally available dash lined patterns have been extended to 3 dashes and 3 gaps and there is a new "Clear arrow heads" button.
Running headers
You can now add running headers to your document in Publisher using the new running header field.
Adjusted mask behaviour
From customer feedback the drop down menu when hitting the mask button in layers panel has been removed, and logic for how the assistant determines if a mask should be added as a new layer or a child altered.
Some file management changes to iPad versions
New option to "Find in files" added to document burger menu iPadOS default Photos browser now used when opening a photo. Redesigned Edit menu on iPad
Taking on board various feedback regarding readability and loss of icons for Isometric options
Crop tool 
Problem with the hit area when dragging a corner has been fixed
Auto clean in paint mixer
Setting is now remembered
Special characters view in Designer and Photo
This has now now been added to the iPad versions of Designer and Photo
Additional select options added to iPad shortcuts / quick menu
Select next, previous, top and bottom now available in iPad shortcuts and quick menu
Brush Panel improvements
You can now optionally decide to turn the new auto scroll / switch category functionality when you change brush tool on or off
Auto-select
Auto-select is now it's own checkable toggle separate to the drop down options of selecting group or objects. Position of auto select options has moved to be after any context options based on selection Guides
Mouse wheel / arrow keys can now be used to nudge values that have focus in guides manager. Option to lock margin and spread original values added to guides manager dialog. Vector flood tool
Various changes to behind the scenes logic to try to do a better job at combining fills together.  A new scaling option of "None" when tool has a bitmap or gradient fill. Migrate your release version content to beta
A new option has been added to preferences in the desktop versions where you can transfer any content you have in your retail versions over to the beta versions at anytime.
 
Plus various bug fixes as listed in the fix list thread.
 

The issue "Auto clean setting (paint mixer) isn't remembered" (REF: AFP-6036) has been fixed by the developers in internal build &quot2.1.0.1728&quot.
This fix should soon be available as a customer beta and is planned for inclusion in the next customer release.
Customer beta builds are announced here and you can participate by following these instructions.
If you still experience this problem once you are using that build version (or later) please reply to this thread including @Serif Info Bot to notify us.

Are you sure? 
On macOS low spacing it is even worse...

Screen Recording 2023-03-15 at 09.03.37.mov Here you can see a different tool and background colour (one layer painting), you can see also other issues such as the "blocky" effect or the mixing that happens "before" crossing colour areas.

Screen Recording 2023-03-15 at 09.24.15.mov It is true that I'm not a photo retoucher, and AP is "photography-first" so for sure its behaviour is useful for these channel and frequency separation tasks/workflows.
Speaking as an illustrator, I find it a bit "confusing"
For sure illustration is still perfectly feasible...

...but is a bit hard and the design strategy of the preset needs to be different, since the 80% of tablet's dynamic is disabled and the only parameter which rules the interaction (Strength) does not have its Jitter and needs to be changed manually.
 
 
 
 
 

Thanks, that's a bug - it should remember that setting. We'll get it fixed.

I have been playing with this. It is a feature that has been needed for some time in the retouching arena smoothing colors in frequency-separation. 
I have found a discrepancy remembering state when switching from paint mixer brush to brush and then back. While the auto-load-brush checkbox remembers it's last state, the auto-clean-brush checkbox.
I am testing 2.1.0.1714 on Windows 11.

The issue "Shortcuts not working when focus is in layers panel " (REF: PD-304) has been fixed by the developers in internal build &quot2.1.0.1713/4&quot.
This fix should soon be available as a customer beta and is planned for inclusion in the next customer release.
Customer beta builds are announced here and you can participate by following these instructions.
If you still experience this problem once you are using that build version (or later) please reply to this thread including @Serif Info Bot to notify us.

Hi IPv6,

Thanks for letting us know. I've passed this on to development.

Don't hesitate to make a new thread if you do discover any other areas or controls that have the same behaviour.

Tried to mimic an Illustrator tutorial. Got there because the gradient fill works with the simple spherical shape. This would have been so easy with blend tools.
Instead of manually tweaking everything: Select text and shape - blend. Rescale group and darken the fill colour - blend.

Look at this, people have been BAFFLED by this for YEARS!
Affinity, you could solve a years old problem!

Hi @IPv6
We are aware of this issue and it has been passed to the developers for investigation.

I also suspected layer selection problem at first, but layer selection always proper, just exit and reenter makes everything work (no extra clicks, no selection changes)
I`ll try to catch situation on video, but hard to tell when this happens in advance

Please include an improvement to the macro capability.  It is very hard to use . you still cannot move a macro category up or down except one at a time.  Takes too much time
 
Thanks

Here's a list of some of the bugs which have been fixed in beta builds 2.1.0.1706, 1709, 1713/14, 1730, 1732, 1736, 1742/3, 1769, 1781, 1790 & 2.1.0.1799
(NEW) at the end of the line means "added to this list in the latest patch"
Please reply in this forum only to comment on any fixes which are in this list (in particular to let us know if you notice that something we say is fixed isn't!) To report any new bugs please do that against the relevant new feature post, or if unrelated to new functionality in the Other bugs & issues forum.
Bugs affecting all platforms
Fixed: App hangs when zooming AFD-6338 AFFonts can now be streamed from Affinity Store Spanish Hyphenation Dictionary provided with the apps updated Unable to place vector files from the stock panel inside a pic frame. Adjustments Panel contents [and others] had lost their translations. Content that requires downloading via a browser are not shown in My Account Hang exporting specific file to PDF (press ready) Kerning improved in fonts with previously unsupported Kerning Data Flood select tool inconsistent at pixel level [Photo] Astro crash -10GB file [Photo] Opening Pentax RAW files with an Exposure Bias Assistant setting enabled opens as pure white with Exposure maxed [Photo]  Adding two single pages to start of facing document messes up Z-order [Publisher] App crashes when duplicating text frames in a group on Master Page [Publisher] No "Undo" step for autoflowing text, when frame is on a master page [Publisher] Node Transform mode issues with moving multiple nodes and snapping on pages >1 [Publisher] Trying to Place specific PDF into document causes app to get stuck on "Place Images" progress bar [Publisher] Object changes page based on centre of bounding box and not cursor position AFB-7272 Sidenotes set 'Towards / Away from Spine' that are long enough to cover one another are hidden, or displayed on the last page incorrectly AFB-7222 App hangs whilst editing/using pixel brushes, all brushes disappear on next launch. AFD-6283 Adjustments fail to show Preset Names when category is displayed. AFP-5944 File exports to EXR with artifacts/alpha issues. Mesh Warp can break when adjusting warp. AFP-4863 Warp Group exported to PDF results in clipped objects. AFD-6306 Page hyperlinks don't shift when pages inserted. Guides - + snap to units based on delta rather than origin. Insert index does not create a new break if not inserted at the beginning of a paragraph [Publisher] Lens Profiles: Nikkor Z 40mm f/2 lens profile misidentified as Meike 25mm f/1.8 AFP-5994 Non breaking hyphen removed from place DOCX files AFB-7353 Duplicating pinned node possible Misidentified lens - Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 30mm F3.5 Macro AFP-5995 Crop Tool - don't remember setting when unconstrained Lens profile does not automatically apply on ARW (DT 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 SAM) AFP-5938 Unable to move pin/inline position & Can't Unpin AFB-7248 Brush selection does not switch to the new brush when duplicating a brush in Photo/Pixel persona  'Continue' button fails to work after completing registration in My Account   Deleted brushes reappear in brush panel when app is restarted Guides - lock margins / spread origin in dialog Importing PDF drops metadata Lens profile does not automatically apply on ARW (DT 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 SAM) [AFP-5938]   Make Fields behaviour consistent with other UI elements  Misidentified lens - Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 30mm F3.5 Macro [AFP-5995]  Select Same > Unstroked Objects erroneously selects stroked objects Sigma 100-400mm F5-6.3 DG OS HSM | C - not matched/identified in Lens Correction Profiles in Develop Persona [AFP-4350]   Unbalanced Margins incorrectly aligned on the last page in document when no master applied .GPR (GoPro RAW) files fail to open with 'File Type Not Supported' error [AFP-5860]  Add Hyperlink copies only the first 128 selected characters [AFB-7450]  Assistant logic for mask change   Auto clean setting (paint mixer) isn't remembered [AFP-6036]  Books panel's Preferences menu lacks a way to update numeric cross-references' values across all chapters prior to export  Can't cancel ongoing download in My Account  Changing the DPI of the document makes the stroke slider unusable   Collapsed topics on the Index panel automatically expand when you add a new topic (Publisher)  Crash editing TOC seperator using Accessibility zoomed view [AFB-7166]  Crash switching pages in specific document   Crop Tool - corner drag hit area now too small   Dragging the Positioning and Transform icons in Character Panel is broken [AFB-7436]  DXF file occasionally opens with incorrect dash gap  EMF exports with brighter colours than expected  Export triggers "Move" UI and not "Save" UI  Grammarly for Desktop causes Publisher to crash when accessing the Find and Replace Panel [cannot replicate anymore] [AFB-7131]  Hang when deleting object styles - propcol specific  Import DXF files with dashed lines set to unbalanced   Include Paragraph Numbering for running headers crashes   Inconsistent behavior when renaming and undoing renaming of swatches, warning shown in UI is not always applicable [PD-371]  Paint Mixer Tool: Auto Clear Brush should say Auto Clean Brush.   Recent docs - both pin and remove from list hover indicator seems unreliable (regression)   Release in Layers context menu is not selectable  Searching Stock Studio with no internet connection should show a 'Connection Failed' error   Transform Origin is moved after adjusting the height/width of an object or flipping it. [AFD-6403]  Unable to paste into a document unless clicking the canvas first [AFP-6016]  Auto-Select Groups Failing to Cycle Through the Complete Layer Stack Attached .PSD opens differently in v2 to v1 [AFP-6035]  Drawing a new table does not take selected font into account   Line width, column guides and distance from text do not scale when rescaling document [AFB-7404]  Renaming global colour adds a history step of "Set global colour"  Resampling/resizing text decorations on a master page increases the width of the decoration, relative to the number of pages [AFB-5642] Running headers - allow to be based on character style? [AFB-7458] Strip Camera Raw crs metadata on export to raster formats [AFP-6056] Add default shortcut SHIFT+[CTRL/CMD]+R to rename layer Add default shortcut to rename layer Rename Layer - could we initiate with double click on Artboard name Add 'Enable associated tools' to the burger menu Crop Tool - shift constrain issues Shared content may not load or save correctly when running apps side by side Add WebP & JPEG-XL to batch export options Crop Tool - CMD shouldn't initiate straighten when over a transform handle/edge Metadata Panel - EXIF 'Date Shot' field incorrectly re-applies the local OS time offset for images lacking timezone data [AFP-6061] Mask gets deleted when undoing the last brush stroke [AFP-5214] SVG code generated by ChatGPT AI crashes Affinity on open [AFD-6524] Balanced dash lines - accept zero in 2nd and 3rd dash SVG copy and paste by defalt [AFD-6466] Vector Flood Fill - add a fill with click on unselected object Exporting File Hyperlinks to PDF is escaping files/escaping them incorrectly. Pixel Brush Tool fails to output if using Accumulation or Flow Jitter when its not 100% [AFP-3919] Text in a Placed PDF is No Longer Split by Layer making it difficult to hide individual items  File size in master doc increasing inexplicably with linked files Non supported lens Nikkor Z 26mm f/2.8 is detected as a KMZ Helios-40 85mm f/1.5 [AFP-6072] Update PANTONE Solid / Process Coated / Uncoated Tables to Version 5 Brush accumulation appears broken in 1.9/2.0 [AFP-4823]  Crop Tool - auto resize on rotate  Pixel Brush Tool fails to output if using Accumulation or Flow Jitter when its not 100% [AFP-3919]  Time Taken to Expand Dashed Strokes Gradually Increases as Second Dash Value Decreases Eventually Causing Designer To Hang [AFD-6485]  Vector Flood - click asset or stock image to add as fill  Using Vector Flood Fill on text creates a Text Frame fill which cannot be removed  Select Tool: Multi-selection across spreads draws incorrectly  Exporting to a Raster format can incorrectly draw the Picture Frame "cross" when it is an embedded/linked Publisher file [AFB-7547]  IDML import > Fill on picture frames is hidden on import [AFB-7203]  UI menu capitalization inconsistencies in Menu lists [AFB-6221]  Dragging an image layer on top of a picture frame won't replace the frames contents  Duplicate brush category auto links it  Boolean operation causes objects to fall outside of group if performed outside an artboard [AFD-5452] Boolean Operation fails to apply fills to text objects Artifacts showing on dashed balanced lines at shape corners. Balanced dotted lines don't expand correctly [AFD-6503] Content Sync UI on secondary IPC instances is non-reflective [HUB-292] IDML file imports with all embedded images replaced with the same initial image - File specific [AFB-7612] Extremely short dash lengths draw and export improved. Unable to use Cmd+Shift together to select objects [AFD-6571]  Glyph IDs are displayed in Hex, but the search is assuming decimal On Text panel's Bullets and Numbering section, tab stop options show paragraph alignment icons Spellcheck is broken by zero non-width joiner Linear DNG opens broken (green channel / pink highlights) [AFP-4293]  [iPad] On Text Panel's Bullets and Numbering section, Tabstop is one word but it's two elsewhere Vector Flood - bitmaps in different colour spaces  Bugs affecting Desktop (Windows and macOS)
When using hover to lock a layer current selection would be lost Searching Stock Studio with no internet connection crashes apps Export dialog doesn't always remember last area setting Typographic apostrophe (or certain other characters) followed by an accented character not copied to clipboard correctly AFB-7168 Issue causing "Min Gap Before" being ignored for Footnotes [Publisher] Placing .docx file enables auto hyphenation, even though it is disabled in Word [Publisher] Opening and closing chapters in a book can leave the files locked and read only [Publisher] AFB-6837 Opening a Book Chapter and closing without making changes stops book from being able to save, or close. [Publisher] AFB-7193 Books Chapter Status can get out of sync [Publisher] PDF passthrough and Artboards not generating a correct export [Designer] Enable Transform Origin for Pen drawn open curves are offset from the object [Designer] Drag and drop with text will drop in a frame that's clipped out [Publisher] Double clicking and deleting a word with a Pin Before/After results in the Pin and Object being removed [Publisher] AFB-7165 Email hyperlinks where the email address (incorrectly) has a leading space fail to export to PDF [Publisher] Character styles list in Hyperlink Panel has duplicate entries [Publisher] Live filters with blend mode treat 0% opacity as 100% AFP-5866 Vertically flipping a copied Pixel selection retains bounding box from original Pixel layer, incorrectly flipped with the new layer and visually clips pasted pixel layer. AFP-5946 Luminosity Mask gives incorrect results due to clipping range. AFP-5840 ISO Value from EXIF data is capped at 65536. AFP-4990 Pixel brush in use loses focus when resized using ctrl+alt+L click drag. Exporting a specific file to SVG shows no progress bar. Docx - index entries not being imported. Creating a table and then placing an XLSX file will cause the cell text to inherit the previous table's stroke width. AFB-7158 No Undo step for autoflowing text when frame is on a master [Publisher]. AFB-7111 Some custom formulas aren't importing correctly [Publisher]. AFB-7027 Vertically flipping a copied Pixel selection retains bounding box from original Pixel layer, incorrectly flipped with the new layer and visually clips pasted pixel layer. AFP-5946  Luminosity Mask gives incorrect results due to clipping range. AFP-5840 ISO Value from EXIF data is capped at 65536. AFP-4990  Pixel brush in use loses focus when resized using ctrl+alt+L click drag  Exporting a specific file to SVG shows no progress bar  Docx - index entries not being imported  Creating a table and then placing an XLSX file will cause the cell text to inherit the previous table's stroke width. AFB-7158 No Undo step for autoflowing text when frame is on a master [Publisher]. AFB-7111  Some custom formulas aren't importing correctly [Publisher]. AFB-7027  Attached file crashes Affinity Publisher on open / place [AFB-7289]   Can't create an e-mail link with a subject in [AFB-7319]   Changing the DPI of a document using any unit, other than pixels, cause the page to change size [AFB-7395]   Clicking "Page" in Cross References dialog doesn't sort Export as PDF Bookmark icons on Anchors panel give false impression their state can be edited from other book chapters Grammar correction to Context Menu > Notes > Goto Note Body/Goto Note Reference [AFB-7325]   Guides - nudge / mouse wheel to edit values? Incorrect Margins used on Right side of a spread when Left side is a single page master. Incorrect vignetting on Pentax-FA 43mm f/1.9 Limited using Serif Labs [AFP-4656]   Opening file with Embedded assets ignores the Link status of the asset when determing if it needs to offer the import  Point transform origin point is always offset to a position off of the page/spread on facing page documents [AFB-7322]   Select Same > Unstroked Objects selects stroked objects. Snapping indicator is offset when drawing objects Sony E PZ: Lens correction doesn't remove vignette [AFP-3164]   Status Bar for Guides needs updating Streamed fonts are not installed correctly in secondary instances [HUB-280]   Text entry for email hyperlinks should be validated on "OK" or before [AFB-7320]   Text outline width cannot be adjusted on text on text frames that have been created on a master page [AFB-7398]   Unable to Lasso Node Select on documents with more than 1 page  Unable to scroll or use the arrows on the White Balance field in Develop Persona [AFP-5659]  Brush selection may be incorrect after duplicating a vector brush [iPad still affected]  Can't create tabstops from paragraph panel on mac [AFB-7396]  Improvement: Add tooltips to link margins/bleed on New Document dialog   Margins are not undoing/redoing correctly.  Margins aren't being scaled correctly during document rescale Tab/Shift+Tab to cycle through renaming Layers fails to work in Export Persona [PD-382]  2 page facing document starting on the left cannot export page 2 individually to PDF Attached documents cause app to crash when added as a Book Chapter Edit Embedded PDF > Layer selection through the layers panel does not select the objects and ignores any edits made to it [AFB-7492] Hang printing a book Preflight Maximum ink setting can wrongly report an error Publisher hangs adding an Index on a book Running headers - add to main menu fields [AFB-7519] Snapping indicator is offset when drawing objects [AFB-7252] User File - importing IDML document with embedded EPS files opens with placed resource size of 0x0, EPS files are not displayed [AFB-7454] When cross-references are updated during export of a book, their values disappear from publication pages [AFB-7518] Brush selection may change after switching to an associated tool when selecting a brush Brush panel - support Grid mode for vector brushes Editing a brush selection from More Info will cause source brushes to be edited if you change the brush. Add a manual 'Refresh' to Resource Manager (Specific) File crashes when saving after being modified [AFB-7512]  Move tool > Context toolbar > Settings button is not translated  Crash editing Running Headers with no document open [AFB-7523]  Book created in an earlier version has begun to display 'locked by another app' dialog or cause app to stop responding [AFB-7544]  Tooltip: Can the Place Image Tool be named Place Tool on desktop (to match iPad) Brush selection may be incorrect after duplicating a vector brush Close all - should just close all files in develop [Under Review] Crash after autosave Inconsistent visibility of the frame preset cog on the context tool bar. When cross-references are updated during export of a book, their values disappear from publication pages Update Endnotes and Update Numbers > Note Numbers fail to respect Restart Every: Book numbering Brush panel - thumbnail view in vector brushes Keyboard input broken after altering table settings [AFB-7583]  Long Plugin file paths cause the Add / Remove icons to be out of view [AFP-6094]   Being prompted to save TIFF with layers or Save As even though only contains Background layer [AFP-5996] & [AFP-5635]  Unable to use NumPad keys to move between Previous and Next Blend Modes [PD-379]  Unable to use Ctrl+Alt to resize brush width since 2.1.0.1736 [AFP-6084]  Dashed lines - make draggable values have 0.1 accuracy  Make "phase" label draggable to change too  Saving changes to a book chapter may cause the app to become unresponsive  Inserting a cross-reference into a book chapter may crash the app  Crash on save with embedded document on Master Page [AFB-7558]  Books > Page Number Options > Start Numbering from Page should auto enable option if a value is changed, or values should not be editable before option is selected  Starting Page Number setting lost when adding document as book chapter  Section Manager > Page Number settings don't function within a chapter document from a book  Identical Index markers across 2 chapters in a book use incorrect page numbers in generated index  Editing shared content in the app will (temporarily) break the content in one of the secondary instances if you have two running Add provides incorrect results when using Smooth nodes, works as expected with Sharp nodes [AFD-6441] Applying Vector Flood Fill to an empty, non-overlapping curve will cause it to crash [AFD-6549] Attached documents cause app to crash when added as a Book Chapter [AFB-7490] Auto-select - alt-drag Hyperlink path button is too narrow Knife Tool is missing Straight Line mode [AFD-6066] use correct profile when converting asset bitmap in a vector fill. Use icons for Knife tool options on context toolbar Crash - Dragging slider on Sub brush settings [AFP-6042]  DNG file not being opened correctly [AFP-4465]  Hang printing a book User file - Crash on File > Print [AFB-7632]  Endnotes take <NoteEnd> into consideration when spellchecking providing unexpected results .XLSX files with font name values in Chinese cannot be used when Data Merging AFD-5571 Divide Operation fails on Picture Frame object  32 bit TIF file shifts exposure when changing between Photo and Develop persona - File(s) specific [AFP-6108]  Exposure shift inserting 32bit (linear) layer(s) into 16bit doc differs in V2 compared to V1 [AFP-6086]  RAF is heavily cropped on open (Serif Labs & Apple Core) [AFP-4488]  Sony RAW converted to DNG using Iridient S Transformer has red areas when adjusting exposure  Develop Persona: issues (highlights rendering) with DNG generated by DxO PureRaw/DeepPRIME technology. [AFP-4444]  V2 displaying additional fringing over V1  Vector Flood Fill crashes with complex DWG documents  App hangs when editing a text frame from a book chapter  Margins that are linked in New document setup are shown as unlinked in document setup [AFB-7642] Books Panel Menu still has entries for Cross references "Calculations failed" error message while flow filling of design containing complex geometry in some instances Linked document previews disappear completely after saving and reopening document. [AFD-5496]  (NEW) Bugs affecting Windows
In Windows versions text contrast in settings did not have the range available to macOS versions. Deleting a (shared) category in App A while editing a styles name in App B can crash App B. Resource Manager doesn't update colour space on linked images. Colour Chooser displays CMYK sliders as 0-255. DAUB W&W - Bristles crashes app when selected from dropdown [Designer/Photo] Lens Profile fails to show as none for some images with no lens profile [Photo] Develop Persona: Opening 2x RAW files at once doesn't save changes/edits after developing [Photo] Endnote numbers reset to zero when dragging frame off of spread [Publisher] Paste without formatting places the object on the next spread/page [Publisher] Asset categories do not remember the 'last used' category [Photo] Windows pixel persona has warp group button on layers panel.  Layers Panel: If a nested layer is collapsed with Alt held down, it collapses the nested layer below.  Live perspective / Warp - added as destructive version on Windows.  UI needs spacing adding between each input box on Colour Chooser.  Unable to use Ctrl click to select objects on Windows with the Vector Flood Fill Tool.  Show as list/Show Brush Names missing from Designer on Windows.  Crash when Shape builder tool is selected. AFD-6239 Adding a preset to an Adjustment Layer will cause the app to crash. AFB-7306 Export as PDF icons overrun the Anchor panel's default width. Windows pixel persona has warp group button on layers panel.  Layers Panel: If a nested layer is collapsed with Alt held down, it collapses the nested layer below.  Live perspective / Warp - added as destructive version on Windows.  UI needs spacing adding between each input box on Colour Chooser. Unable to use Ctrl click to select objects on Windows with the Vector Flood Fill Tool.  Show as list/Show Brush Names missing from Designer on Windows.  Crash when Shape builder tool is selected. AFD-6239  Adding a preset to an Adjustment Layer will cause the app to crash. AFB-7306  Export as PDF icons overrun the Anchor panel's default width.  Book's panel minimum height is too high [AFB-7415]   Brush duplicated via Alt + Left Click is incorrectly highlighted when original brush is resized [AFP-5999]   Cannot zoom using shortcuts after interacting with Basic, Lens etc [PD-390]   Crash after adding an Overlay in Develop [AFP-5990]   Crash on shutdown Crash double clicking cross reference if there is no text selection   Cross Reference filter text box is black in Dark UI  Cross Reference targets can be multi selected  Delete keyboard shortcut icon not on screen when app set to German in Preferences>Keyboard Shortcuts set to Publisher and Text [AFB-7381]   Focus is not moved to parent layer when closed via layer bar next to child layer [AFD-6446]   Lens Correction "has already been applied" to Sony ARW file but distortion is still visible Linked EPS files load at different DPI/Resolution in 2.1 Pixel brush nozzle thumbnails showing cut in half  V2 EXE build doesn't currently work with Roaming Profiles Alt + F4 with undocked tools closes toolbar and not application, toggling show tools then crashes [AFB-7227]  Export Persona's Tools Panel on Windows incorrectly contains the colour selectors   Focus remains after naming a layer  Layer Effect blend modes are applied without being selected. [AFD-6230]  Layer Effects/FX Panel no longer accepts field values unless you press return [PD-456]  The 'Unsupported Graphics Card' message needs improving for V2 [AFP-5854]  Unable to use keyboard shortcuts whilst focus is in Text Styles Panel [PD-453]  Windows Layers Panel incorrectly shows the 'Crop' icon instead of the 'Clip' icon [PD-286]  AMD Big Navi GPUs should now work better on Windows. Expanding multiple entry in resource manager 'jumps' to last manually selected resource First Dash Pattern Gap no longer has a minimum value of 0.05 on Windows Font Manager - Fonts disappear after selecting substitute [AFB-7442] Running headers end on dropdown has no entries in it [AFB-7515] Text Contrast doesn't affect Adjustments or renamed layers on Windows [AFB-7498] Asset Panel preference menu isn't being reflected correctly on Windows Crashing using books [AFB-7536] Preferences, User Interface, Light UI: UI Brightness and Text Contrast sliders reset to defaults when we restart the app [AFP-5676] Adding a global colour dialog allows list separator selection when using Tab key to change fields Learned words are forgotten when document is reopened after restarting the application [AFB-7538] Settings > Filler text is clipped on German [AFB-7534] Dragging JpegXL creates new layer instead of dropping into frame when dropped from desktop. [AFB-7486] Context Menu appears in top left of app if called on opened document without left clicking the layer first [AFB-7150] Stroke Panel From Context Toolbar clipped Cannot change document DPI [AFB-7528] Dragging Bitmap onto Tools Panel with the Vector Flood Fill switches to Move Tool Hang/Crash when dragging an FX to the Links Panel Vector Flood Fill Tool - 'Fill to visible boundaries' button is missing tooltip on Windows  Duplicate brush naming is inconsistent  Using the mouse wheel to adjust colour sliders fail to apply the colour on Windows [PD-581]  The pop-up menu for masks fails to highlight the list of masks correctly [AFP-6092]  Dragging the label to resize a shape in Transform Panel creates hundreds of History entries  The Shortcuts title bar in Settings > Shortcuts should be fixed into position [AFP-6076]  Crop Tool - after not committing a rotated crop you get weird behaviour  Filters menu missing Alt accessibility accelerator  My Account is missing when snapped to half of the screen  Vector Flood Fill Tool: One-click flooding of stock images does not work on Windows  Cannot change document DPI above 400 in document setup [AFB-7528]  Hang/Crash after attempting to save document with multiple documents open [AFB-7578]  File is left open when editing a book chapter with a cross reference  Hang - Exporting Book - All Chapters as Pages [AFB-7563]  User File - Index show incorrect page numbers when used between 2 different .afpub files in a book, updating TOC provides different results depending on which option is selected  Setting the numerical value of an effect using a scroll wheel increases the number but does not apply FX [AFB-7571]  User file - Shape Builder crash on undo, crash when selecting groups in the Layers Studio, crash when creating a new shape [AFD-6304] App crashing creating RGB document whilst running in OpenCL on Intel Arc A770 Graphics [AFP-6077] Export Preview: WebP and JPEG XL formats do not zoom with the shortcut [AFP-5615] Crash deselecting text in specific document [AFB-7574] Crop preset greyed out on Windows [AFP-6106] Custom content not being migrated from 2.0.4 to 2.1.0 EXE installs Dash / Gap hover - mouse wheel behaviour Mouse scroll values for dash pattern are incorrect on Windows On Windows, New Document > Document summary does not show if it is a facing page document Add rename layer to layer menu in pixel persona Edit Pixel brush > Dynamics > Distance Max value box does not show as % on Mac and iOS Export dialog defaults can cause Zoom keyboard shortcuts to stop working. Quick FX panel: scrolling the mouse wheel over an input field to adjust the slider does nothing on Windows. [AFD-6550] Resize Document> Aspect ratio lock missing in Windows [AFP-6098] Rulers: Right-click menu is missing the tick for the document unit [AFP-6103] Shape Builder Tool: The + and - keys on the numeric keypad do not Create or Delete objects Use Fill and Auto Close options state is not correctly remembered/retained when switching Tool [AFD-6523] When using Select Object to remove from the current selection, the menu closes as soon as you hold Alt Add rename layer to layer menu in pixel persona "Always install available content" checkbox is not being reflected between session instances [HUB-296]  Copying of settings from Release to Beta isn't working on Windows [HUB-295]  Canvas flickers when switching between open documents [AFB-7440]  Edit Pixel brush > Dynamics > Distance Max value box disappearing [PD-606]  Unable to drag asset to the Colour Panel to apply as Bitmap Fill [AFD-6579]  JPEG Export defaults to CMYK 0,0,0,100 Matte when selecting a colour profile to be embedded, UI fails to reflect and sliders do not function [AFP-6113]  Exporting to JPEG with Embed ICC profile unchecked exports a black canvas [AFB-7611]  Export Preview: Some formats do not zoom with the shortcut [AFP-5615]  Export Preview: Unable to interact with Matte sliders whilst Generating Preview [AFP-6114]  App crash when printing file with pages outside the specified 'Include on Export' range in Section Manager [AFB-7433]  Paste Inside fails to work on Picture Frames when copied from Windows Photo Viewer [AFB-7635]  Settings > Colour > Warn when assigning working profile... is clipped in German and shifts left when clicked [AFB-7581]  RAW files open underexposed / dark [AFP-6119]  RAW files loading slower in V2 [AFP-5882]  PD-633 [Win] Add Area tool as customisation option to Photo and Publisher [PD-635]  New Document Dialog: When deleting a Recent document, the scrollbar jumps up Background grey level slider doesn't function [AFB-7679] General performance improvements Phi Grid is missing in Crop Tool  (NEW) Better memory handling  (NEW) States Panel missing Chinese translation on Windows  (NEW) Bugs affecting macOS
Drag on label (e.g. "X", "Y", etc.) to change values in transform panel could stop working when panel was undocked cmd-mouse scroll to rotate canvas should be off by default PDFs placed during multi-resource file placement operation don't render their colours correctly Document > Go To Page... fails [Publisher] AFB-7104 Shape Builder Tool cursor shows a + even when in subtract mode [Designer] Unsharp mask produces artefacts [Photo] Selection Brush Tool: Too much play in the slider [Photo] Refine overlay disappears whilst painting [Photo] Hang after attempting to edit some already edited, pre-supplied Gouache brushes [Photo] Crash when Alt+dragging a Symbol containing text [Designer] User issue: Gets error when apps are first launched showing, prevents apps from opening. HUB-220  Missing font dialog prevents the other apps from opening.  Frequency Separation, destructive Gaussian Blur and High Pass: corruption/thin colored lines. AFP-5936 High Pass filter rendering issue. AFP-5858  Attached file crashes Publisher on open. AFB-7285  Large area occupied by tickboxes in AutoCorrect preferences prevents scrolling Preferences [Publisher]. User issue: Gets error when apps are first launched showing, prevents apps from opening. HUB-220  Missing font dialog prevents the other apps from opening.  Frequency Separation, destructive Gaussian Blur and High Pass: corruption/thin colored lines. AFP-5936  High Pass filter rendering issue. AFP-5858  Attached file crashes Publisher on open. AFB-7285  Large area occupied by tickboxes in AutoCorrect preferences prevents scrolling Preferences [Publisher].  [macOS Monterey, Big Sur] Resize Canvas, Resize Document, Transform panel input fields: issues when entering values [AFP-5856]   The brush name displayed in the Brush panel does not update after renaming the brush until it is scrolled off and back on screen  FS Sammy displays oddly in the Context Toolbar font list [AFWS-165]   Designer rendering HSV Adjustment differently to Photo [AFP-6003]   My Account screen is cutting off Affinity ID: and Password: labels Outline Layer Fx with blend mode set to overlay on the Fx isn't being applied correctly, MacOS [AFP-5986]   PDF export does not output spaces [AFB-7405]   Print Presets with N-UP cause a hang when opening print dialogue [AFB-7230]   The Add Index Topic dialog may remember See Also content from previous time it was used Typing in certain fields removes the initial character [AFP-5798]   When a brush is deleted the blue highlight moves to the unselected brush below App attempts to reconnect to disconnected SMB share on launch [AFB-7024]  Cannot drag layers from one document to another in V2 [AFP-6020]  Develop Persona: The Develop button is no longer blue on macOS [AFP-5991]  Dialog Title has gone missing on the Preferences / Settings dialog.  Go To Page dialog no longer focuses on page number field and cannot use Return to accept [AFB-7373]  Index panel's Delete icon looked dimmed even when an entry is selected   It's no longer possible to drag and drop layers/objects between documents. [AFP-5685]  Palettes that have bitmap fills fail to display thumbnails when installed as system palette   Sliders in Settings > UI don't function correctly [AFB-7376]  Specific file crashes when entering resource manager [AFB-7120]  Switching to Metadata panel expands both studio views   Template files saved on an external drive show the "._ resource" files in the Template Dialog, usually hidden by macOS [AFB-6982]  Unable to delete a shape preset category if it contains any presets  Adjusting spinners in Character Panel can cause all spinners to stop working [AFB-7390] Blend Mode Shortcuts: Add is missing a shortcut on macOS Brush panel - brush selection lost when category changed  Brush panel - name labels don't scale with font size preference  Brush selection highlight is lost when switching categories Edit Field... Right click option incorrectly available on some fields Layer Panel: Visibility/Lock icons are obscured when a group is present [AFP-6026] On the Books panel's Preferences menu, Update Cross-References seems permanently unavailable  [macOS] Artboard label font size too small Unable to edit file Hyperlinks on macOS after the first Alt-click select raster brush to not set size Swatches on FX menu displayed as an RGB preview when document is set to CMYK [AFB-7219] Crash when closing app after collapsing EXIF/XMP fields in Detail dropdown UI-Misalignment in text styles panels [AFB-7217] Crash with Fields Panel and no document open [AFB-7530] Artboard label font size too small Manually modifying AppleHighlightColor in defaults can cause app to crash on launch [PD-556] "Leading" label in paragraph panel incorrectly anchored [PD-532]  Layer names cropped with large font size  Font UI Size set to Large clips descenders in the Layers Panel [AFB-5632]  Identical Index markers across 2 chapters in a book stops book from saving/generating .afbook file, freezes app on macOS  Layer names cropped with large font size  Add rename layer to layer menu in pixel persona  Layer Visibility toggles won't show if you make the Layers Panel wider [AFP-5740]  Importing .ASE files fails to import the Palette name [AFD-6537]  Vector Flood - Creating multiple new bitmap fills to same object  Localisation - Mac - New document - Margin Tab should be Margins [AFB-6126]  Spread Setup: Unable to tab in Margins  Shapebuilder Tool: hintline for Instant delete says 'Click+[TERIARY] to delete this edge' (should show alt/option symbol) Swatches on FX menu displayed as an RGB preview when document is set to CMYK [AFB-7219]  Correct some positioning/size of labels in the Text Style editor  Color Profile Manager should be initialised BEFORE loading saved data  Endnotes take <NoteEnd> into consideration when spellchecking providing unexpected results (Windows to follow) [AFB-7562] Text Frame panel Unit control inches [AFB-7215]  Cross Reference shortcuts still exist on Mac [AFB-7651]  StudioLink fails to work on macOS [AFB-7653]  Edit Pixel brush > Dynamics > Distance Max value box does not have set min value on Mac [PD-610]  Export Persona hang in Open and Save Panel Process when Exporting Slices [AFD-5921]  New textured intensity brushes do not repeat with portrait images [AFD-2727]  Zooming in/out on a document with Live Perspective can intermittently cause a crash on (M1/M2) MacBooks [AFD-6345] Running Header Settings dialog can get stuck open in the background Book crashing on export to PDF [AFB-7606] Bugs affecting iPad
UI could keep reappearing even after you entered full screen mode. Searching Stock Studio with no internet connection crashes apps "Show group thumbnails" was not being obeyed on layers panel when in compact mode Blur Live Filters: setting Radius to negative values crashes app [Photo] AFP-5770 Crash when cancelling an 'Import Text Styles' on iPad [Designer/Publisher]  You can add 'Break' characters as bullet points causing the app to crash. Placing images from Photos in a pic frame makes them linked and deduplicates them [Publisher] Dragging an object's transform origin may result it in unexpectedly moving to facing page [Publisher] Changing adjustment category on an iPad crashes the app. Send anonymous usage information has no toggle on iPad beta. AFB-7307 'Settings' is clipped.  Rulers don't stay hidden in preview mode.  Hide rulers in full screen.  StylePicker - Add 'hint' text to Context Bar to indicate current status.  Style Picker - Add cursors for mousers.  Rulers disappear temporarily when using pinch to zoom.  Rulers do not immediately update as you change Spread Origin values in Guides Settings.  Hard to deselect pages on PDF Options dialog after selecting all.  Add cross-reference dialog does not validate typed topic name, unlike desktop Brush panel can show incorrect brush previews  It's possible to call multiple Quick Menus with the Pencil's double tap feature  Locking the screen/Minimising app while downloading content cancels the entire operation Option to show note marks is missing Some data entry keypads don't dismiss with second tap   Style Picker - Make cursors bigger Switching app out of focus to a different app, then back into focus changes Palettes list to Recent Colours  Toast - queues notifications incorrectly  Crash Changing an existing anchor type Edit Cross reference button actually inserts one PDF options aren't presented with drag / drop to open  Find and replace. The Replace field's Formatting pop-up menu is empty.  Format button at the bottom of the options menu that brings up the Format editor is hidden  Enable a way to remove several fonts at once  Style Picker freezes when dragging over objects  Zero-Width Space on the on-screen keyboard's special characters layout is missing a hyphen  Anti-aliasing is broken with iPad System Settings > Display > Display Zoom > 'More Space' enabled [AFD-6154]  Numbers are inserted twice when using a magic keyboard [AFB-7453]  Allow multi-select place in Designer and Photo Add Status indicator to Style Picker Tool Context Bar Brush panel - reverts to Basic category on persona change Don't dismiss Style Picker menu when All / None selected Long pressing a Section Name field in document text displays unnecessary Edit option Menu can go offscreen PDF export issue / lock up on iPad Running headers - add as field on keyboard? [AFB-7506] Stock Panel - Pixabay has lost the vector option on first run Text Vertical alignment setting is not reflected in the UI  Fonts installed from creative cloud show on context toolbar with name in Chinese [AFD-6170]  Crop Tool - (iPad) finger modifiers not working Compound icons missing Auto flow has a missing icon for "replace existing" File > Place from Photos uses the first file placed on that session for all subsequent place operations of that file type [AFP-6054] Style picker - status bar copy Fields panel not switching locale after app language change Breaks and Fields incorrectly available in Designer and Photo via keyboard Text > Decorations > Relative to > Top and bottom selectors don't stick [AFB-7220] It's not possible to close the Quick Menu with the Pencil's double tap feature [AFD-6499] Navigator panel rotation lock hit area is too small When installing add-ons, the UI says Installin... due to running out of space Localisation - Account screen - Button text truncated Fix compact mode vector brush previews Artboard label font size too small Delete button missing from Quick Menu Text Capitalisations have gone missing on iPad PDF export issue / lock up on iPad - Area dropdown does not reflect the correct state Add 'Enable associated tools' to the burger menu Artboard label font size too small Move some options currently under group to merge layer menu  Left Swipe Compound options - checkbox not updating  Designer default tools  Buttons at bottom of stroke panel don't work  Node Snapping options are not being updated on first tap [PD-450]  Renaming Swatches - dialog uses incorrect wording, the swatch name is not shown & gradient swatches are displayed cropped  Unable to interact with Arrowhead controls on smaller iPads/Larger set to Display Zoom: Larger Text [PD-563]  Localisation - Account screen - Button text truncated  No ability to select Vectors for iPad Stock Panel   Edit menu clipped in Left-Handed Mode  Convert Image Colour Space missing from PDF export  Relative position of Lock Font and Traits button is misleading about which options it affects  Gradient Tool causes a temporary freeze if magnifying loup appears [AFP-5684]  Live Perspective Filter causes lag and leads to a crash when the magnifier appears [AFD-6470]  Moving Gradient Nodes with Apple Pencil 2 after magnifier shows causes gradient stops to 'jump' & cannot be moved smoothly [AFP-5791]  Unable to interact with Hole Radius, Start Angle and End Angle controls on iPad using a Mouse/Trackpad  [PD-295]  Crop Tool: finger modifiers not working Crop Tool: after not committing a rotated crop you get weird behaviour  Crop Tool: Offset when cropping from selection  Help Menu improvements { Help / Learning Portal / QuickStart Guide / What's New } If a document is closed on the iPad whilst editing an embedded file it will cause the document to fail to open again [AFD-5299] Adjusting settings in the PDF Options dialog can cause the page preview to break Assets Category Drop down menu is hard to read as text is black [AFB-7610] Contour tool: Contour Mitre incorrectly uses Miter US spelling in EN install Document viewer document dimensions cannot display decimal places Double tapping a layer in Compact mode doesn't zoom to selection. [AFD-6357] Double-tap of layer thumbnail doesn't Zoom to Selection [AFB-5832] Some UI improvements on 11" iPad Show tooltip when selecting a filter in My Account Export Panel Localisation Long press to show Quick Menu should be disabled in certain personas On Account window, control for selecting whether content is auto/manually downloaded renders incorrectly Change the studio toolbar order Show Curve Orientation option is missing [PD-601] Text Capitalisation options missing on iPad Double tapping on the < > chevrons no longer resets export zoom Place DWG dialog has some mashed text Color Profile Manager should be initialised BEFORE loading saved data Updated style picker/format dropper tool icons. Overheating whilst in Refine mode [AFP-6111]  Capitalisation context toolbar option is missing from the ? overlay  Layer Context menu can incorrectly appear when moving a layer leading to a crash  Unable to quickly tap on the < > arrows  File created in desktop version crashes iPad version on open  Text Panel's Stroke options lack 3rd dash length/gap and Balanced option  Photo's Reset menu in French is truncated as it doesn't use two columns  Preferences > Reset page is not scrollable in Spanish  Quickly returning through multiple studio menus leaves studio blank until re-entering document [AFD-6341]  Auto Clean Brush is missing from iPad's Paint Mixer Brush [AFP-6075]  Brush Panel corruption can occur with multiple brush kits installed [AFP-6132] Viewport 'furniture' is not being drawn at the correct scale when document is opened with rulers enabled [AFD-6519] On fields whose output can be formatted, the related context menu item is labelled differently than on desktop Popover that contains tab stop options is missing a couple of labels It's possible to force gaps to appear in the Studio Panel bar Vector Flood Fill Tool is incorrectly named just Flood Fill Tool  (NEW) ...and a variety of customer file specific fixes and stability improvements.
To access Affinity V2 beta builds, you first need to add the V2 beta entitlement into your account and then you will be given the beta downloads (and Apple TestFlight links for iPad). Please read these instructions for more information and apply to be a beta tester.

Hi All,
We're happy to make the second build of the 2.1 beta available today - 2.1.0.1709. This should now be available for you on auto update.
Here's some of the main changes in this build:
Guides
Had a lot of great feedback on guides - thank you. In this build we have:
Added Alt-Click to delete a guide Made Alt-Shift while dragging snap to delta. We had already made holding shift snap to ruler units from page origin. What this new option gives is if you have a guide placed at, say, 35.3mm from the page origin and you want to move it 10mm - you can now drag while holding Alt-Shift to snap to that difference. Of course this also works if you have alt or cmd dragged a duplicate of the guide If guides are currently set to not visible, then dragging out a new guide from ruler (or moving an existing guide from indicator on ruler) will automatically turn guide visibility on in all OSs Crop Tool
Enter as well as return now commits a crop Escape now resets the crop Brush Panel
Generally tightened panel up somewhat so less vertical space was being used. Brush names if you have chosen to show them are now justified to left Light UI should now hopefully look correct Modifying a brush using drag shortcuts (e.g. ctrl+alt+click drag left and right) keeps brush selection in panel (and shown as modified as appropriate). Raster mesh and perspective live filters in pixel persona
Now added correctly in Windows version so the live versions of these filters are available Have now added to pixel persona in the iPad version of Designer. You will have two new options under the + button in Layers panel where you can choose to add either of these live filter layers. Vector flood fill
New icon has been added for tool to distinguish between the raster flood fill tool in Affinity Photo When you are in tool you can now drag and drop swatches directly from the swatches panel into any area the fill tool recognises from your selection If you are in "In Between" mode the additional shapes / fills which are created are automatically added to your selection so if you subsequently change the fill of them again additional shapes are not created. Bitmap fills are now supported. This means you can pick a bitmap fill swatch from swatches to use as your fill colour (or drag and drop a bitmap fill swatch into the appropriate area). Few notes on this: Currently if the bitmap fill has transparency this will be added as an additional fill (in appearance panel), so can be added as a texture over an existing colour fill. It's a cool feature, but we probably need to add a modifier / option in context toolbar about whether you want that to do that vs. replace the fill altogether.  You will notice in the context toolbar some new options for min, max and stretch to fit. These options are only relevant for bitmap and gradient fills and determines how the gradient or bitmap are scaled within the new fill being created.  A nice thing to try is when you are in fill tool you can drag from assets into your active colour on the toolbar to automatically create a bitmap fill to use - as shown in the video below.   Texture Fills.mov  
Blend mode shortcuts
Erase bend mode now available to configure on macOS and iPad Ordering of blend mode list and default keys should now be consistent between operating systems Close All
Apply to all check box now been added to macOS dialog if you have currently open unsaved / modified documents.
Various bug fixes
Of course there are also various bug fixes - you can find the list of these on the second post in the fix list thread.
Thanks again for all your help.
Ash
 

I can confirm that in Photo 2.1.0.1706 Beta and Designer 2.1.0.1706 Beta there is a problem with FOCUS which stays in recent clicked dropdown menu everywhere among all panels and toolbar. There is a blue rectangle around it, for example in Layer panel blend mode, in brush settings on toolbar, in color mode selection on color panel etc. And after opening it and choosing a setting, the focus stays there and you can't switch tools by shortcuts. The only way to switch tools is to select it on Tools panel. Escape button does not help, switching layers in Layer panel does not remove focus either.
In release versions of Photo and Designer 2.0.4 the blue rectangle also stays in recent clicked dropdown menu BUT you can use shortcuts normally and everything is working as expected.
 

In recent beta many controls are now NOT loosing focus when user clicks outside of control. And even escape key do not remove focus out of control.
For example layer blending mode: click on it (in outliner), change blending - and click on any other layer in outliner. Or change the tool to another, for example. Blue rectangle will stay on control - focus not removed. Same with "Source" dropdown of patch tool - after changin source blue rectangle stays at control even if user clicks on canvas anywhere.

The problem with focus leads to much more painful keyboard interceptions. When focus stays in control - brush can not be changes with brackets (intercepted by control in focus - nothing happens with actual brush size) or user can not press space key to move the canvas (again, keypress intercepted by control and activates dropdown).  Current behaviour of not removing focus from control (after changing the value in dropdowns) automatically - effectively cancels many of hotkeys. 

Hi IPv6,
Thanks for raising this again. I couldn't find the original report to bump/update yet, so I've filled a new one.
It's possible it may have slipped/I got distracted at the time with something else and didn't fill it or my description wasn't clear/concise enough to find it quickly (I will have to take another look). In any case I'm closely following it now.
Thanks for your support and my apologies for the delay/trouble.

This assumptions / expectation is wrong.
When putting a layer into child position (clipping), it will clip only RGB values, but all adjustments and filters which can modify alpha will "escape" the clipping. If you raise alpha above 0, you get color values either based on old values from source, new from filter (blur / distort), or black (zero) by default.
You can try:
Curves, channel mixer, levels: choose alpha channel, and set an offset / lift the left node / increase  output black distortion filters like ripple, motion blut etc last but not least the PT filter. Escaping a base shape is essential functionality, otherwise blur and distortion filters would not work. Some filter, including PT filter, have "preserve alpha" modifier specifically to deactivate if unwanted (but this deactivates inside and outside of parent shape)
Then nesting (alpha modifying) adjustment layers to masking positions, you get rendering issues, this is an actual bug.
 
If you want to clip a PT filter, add the following to the alpha formula:
(.. .your formula ...)*step(0,A)
 
 

I think this FAQ will show you how to add a desktop shortcut if you want one.
 

Thanks so much for helping us test pre-release builds of our apps. The idea of the beta program is to primarily identify any bugs and issues we have introduced in the latest version or find problems where any new functionality in the apps is not performing as expected. We would also love to hear your feedback on any of the new features / improvements, and suggest any ways in which those features could be improved further. Below are some pointers...

Reporting bugs

If you do come across any bugs here are a few pointers on the best way to report them so we can quickly replicate and investigate a fix for the problem…
Check that you are using the latest version of the beta. We will be releasing regular new builds (every 7-14 days) and it's quite possible your issue has already been fixed. Please let us know which app, operating system and device you are using. If you are happy to do so, and to save repeating yourself on each post, it's a great idea to include this information in your signature. You can do this via your forum account settings If the issue relates to any of the new functionality in the app, please go to the relevant post about that feature and report your bug in that thread If the issue relates to anything else please post in the general bugs area here. If certain steps need to be followed to reproduce the problem, please explain that as clearly as possible If the issue relates to a specific document please either attach to your post (preferable) or if you would prefer to not share the document publicly but are happy to share directly with us let us know on your post and we'll DM you for it. If the bug involves a crash and you are given the option to send us a crash report, please do that as it really helps with our diagnostics. Even if you do send an automatic crash report it is still valuable to us for you to report the crash as a bug on the forum too. Giving feedback
If you think there are ways we could make the experience of any of the new functionality better we would love to hear about it. Please keep this within scope of the improvements we have made, and post that feedback in reply to the relevant new feature / improvement post. We will do our best to take this feedback on board and if it's sensible / we have time we will certainly look at it - whether for the current update cycle or to have on our list for a future update.

Please bear in mind the beta forums are not for giving new feature suggestions which are outside of what have been added to the beta. You can give any new feature or improvement suggestions in our feedback forum for consideration in a future update cycle.

Other than that we hope you enjoy testing out our latest developments. If you have not enrolled into the beta program yet and would like to take part, you can do so here. This will immediately give you access to the latest 2.5 beta builds to try for yourself. If you have any questions about this or anything to do with the beta program please post in this members area for us / the community to respond to.

Thanks again for taking part!

Ash 

Apps: Photo (and Photo Persona of Publisher) 
Platforms: Windows and macOS

The Mask to below function, previously only available from the right-click menu in the Layers panel, has now been added to the top Layer menu. This was requested primarily so that a shortcut could be assigned if desired.

Apps: Photo (and Photo Persona in Publisher)
Platforms: Windows, macOS and iPad
A new option available in the context toolbar options of the paint mixer brush to auto-clean the brush after every stroke.

Apps: All
Platforms: Windows, macOS and iPad
With any layer(s) selected in the Layers panel, you can now hold alt (Windows) or Option (Mac / iPad) and drag to create a copy of the selected layers. The duplicated layers will be inserted into the layer stack in the position you have dragged to.
Note: on iPad you will need a keyboard attached, or use the command controller to access the option modifier for this operation.

Apps: Publisher
Platforms: Windows and macOS
Rename layer has been added to the Layer menu. This has been primarily added from customer requests that it be made possible for a shortcut to be assigned to this function.
In the case of an artboard, you can also now open the rename dialog by double clicking / tapping the artboard name on document.
In addition, for V2 we added the function that if you rename a layer in the Layers panel hitting tab would commit that name and immediately give focus to the next layer's name in the stack to edit (shift-tab to go to the previous layer). Well, as it turned out this was something which only ended up in the Windows version, so in 2.1 this tab functionality in the layers panel is now available in the Mac version too.

Apps: Photo
Platforms: Windows, macOS and iPad
A number of improvements have been made to the crop tool based on customer feedback:
Crop to selection. If you have a pixel selection active the crop tool will now initiate to be a min fit around the selection you have. After a crop the current zoom level will be maintained (rather than automatically zooming to fit as previously). From various feedback this was considered preferable behaviour and leaving it to the user to choose if they want to zoom to fit after (cmd-0 or hitting zoom icon in the top toolbar of iPad). The Crop tool now remembers the last setting globally, so if you wish to apply the same ratio crop to a number of images it's much easier. You can now drag anywhere on the bounding box edges to resize the crop, rather than having to drag from a handle. Enter as well as Return will now commit a crop Escape will reset the current crop In unconstrained mode, holding Shift will constrain the current aspect ratio and Cmd (Ctrl on Windows) will resize around the centre When you rotate / use straighten feature in crop tool it will now automatically adjust crop box to fit. Please let us know what you think or if you spot any issues or have any feedback on this new behaviour.