kazrbutler

View Menu> Show text flow may be what you are after.
 

@DavS & @JohnSinclair
Welcome to the Serif Affinity forums  
We think this was a single rogue box (seven or 8 books only) and that most have now arrived. Sorry this has happened.
@JohnSinclairThe service team on AffinityOrders@Serif.com will contact you shortly 

From 3 pm GMT on Thursday 24th December 2020 until 9 am GMT Monday 4th January 2021 the Serif company is officially closed. There will be some light coverage of the support channels during these 12 days, but most staff are taking time off whilst the offices are closed. Customer Service and Technical Support tickets will take priority and queries about bugs and beta builds will be picked up in the New Year. Unusually, the way the year has panned out a number of staff have not been on holiday for obvious reasons so some are also taking annual holiday now before this company closure, and so it is fair to say that from this week there will be fewer staff here on the forums. 
Please bear with us if you contact us during this time and potentially for a short time after the annual closure, whist we deal with any backlog.
Thank you in advance for your patience and we will make every effort to address your queries in the shortest time-frame possible.

You can do this already. Alongside individual fonts in the font list, click on the heart to add to favourites.
When you click on the drop down arrow alongside the font in the top bar, you have the option to select: All, Recent, Used and Favourites.

<EDITED> Please note, Affinity Publisher 1.8.2 for Windows is now live so this thread is locked </EDITED>
We are pleased to announce a major update for the Windows release of Affinity Publisher, version 1.8.0
Changes in this build
The changes in Affinity Publisher for Windows 1.8.0 (over the last release Affinity Publisher for Windows 1.7.3) are as follows:
New Features:
Template support – save documents as template files to re-use time and time again, share templates across all apps and even access files on multiple devices through cloud storage. New document dialog – it’s now simpler than ever to find, create and manage document presets with customised, saveable presets and thumbnail previews. Updated PANTONE© library – work with a seemingly endless range of colours, including updated PANTONE© Color Bridge and PANTONE© Formula Guide solid palettes (coated and uncoated). IDML import – import InDesign® IDML files, including all text styles, master pages, guides, pinned objects and more, directly into Affinity Publisher. Live preflight checking – customise the app’s all new Preflight panel to receive live warnings for possible errors in your document, including poor image resolution, bleed hazards, overflowing text, spelling errors, missing images or font resources, and more. XLSX import – import spreadsheet data from Excel, Apple Numbers or LibreOffice in XLSX format as a standalone table or inline with your text frames. Document merge – merge multiple documents together into a single file and take advantage of text style mapping, index merging and master page control, whether you’re combining whole documents or selecting page ranges to import. Smart master pages – effortlessly swap master pages and migrate edited content from any page to a new master page layout in a single click without losing any of your work in the process. Collect resources – organise all image resources into a single folder location and share with others in your network. New Anchors panel – easily manage anchors in your document and create new ones from selected text. Text column dividing lines – add lines to separate columns in text frame settings. Many other improvements. Fixes
List still being compiled Help updates. Localization Tweaks  
UPDATING TO THIS VERSION (Free for existing customers)
The software version can be seen on the splash screen and the About dialog (in Help > About Affinity Publisher).
If you’ve purchased from the Affinity Store— each time you start the Affinity Store software it will check for updates and offer any available update. The latest update will install over the top of any earlier version, with no need to uninstall. You can download the latest installer by logging into the affinity store here and find the order in your account and use the "Download" button in there. Alternatively, this new release (and previous versions of Affinity Publisher for Windows) can be downloaded from this link (that installer is NOT for Windows Store purchases and needs a product key).
If you’ve purchased from the Microsoft Store— Microsoft Store updates are done automatically by the operating system (each time you start the application). If this does not happen for you, open the Windows Store app and click the three dots in the top right corner of the app and then go to Downloads and Updates. Click Get Updates. This should hopefully force the update to show.

Status: Beta
Purpose: Stability and General Testing
Requirements: Purchased Affinity Publisher
Windows Store: Not submitted
Download: Download
Auto-update: Not Available
---
Hi,
We are pleased to announce that a new Customer Beta of Affinity Publisher (1.8.0.549) is now available as a download from the link above.
As this is a 'Stability and General Testing' beta it is considered to be not suitable for production use. This means that you should not attempt to use it for commercial purposes or for any other activity where you may be adversely affected by the application failing, including the total loss of any documents. 
We hope you enjoy the beta, and as always, if you've got any problems installing or running up, please don't hesitate to post in this thread. 
Any problems actually using this version please make a new topic in this forum and we'll get back to you as soon as we can. Please feel free to leave general suggestions and comments in the Discussion Forum. 
Many thanks for your continued feedback.
---
Fixes and Updates
New Document Dialog
(Win) Implemented new New Document / Template dialog
(Mac) Miscellaneous fixes
General
Layers thumbnails now update when a global colour is changed
Convert to text frame now preserves corners
Fixed creation of unnecessary duplicates in Resource Manager / Collect...
Added 'Show in Explorer / Finder' to Resource Manager
Document Grid drawn incorrectly when switching between Master and Regular View
Fixed crash adding assets from afpub file
Assets imported via an afasset file aren't made visible if no categories currently exist
Can now search for missing fonts via Find and Replace
Fixes for Baseline Grid propagation from Master Pages
Preflight
Preflight check for missing glyphs
Text
Fixed crash in text composition. Recent regression
Fixed for Even / Odd Page Breaks
Fixes for Pinning Page UI
Column Rules now honour Text Wrap
Fixed Text Wrapping issues that could occur with large negative borders
Wrap settings saved in an objects style weren't correctly applied
Added more 'special characters' to the Bullets and Numbering character pick lists
Fixed Text Styles Panel preview for styles with a large 'Space Above'
'Word Joiner' and 'Zero Width Non-breaking Space' can now be entered with ToggleUnicode, and have their own "Show Special" representation.
Pasting text with Move Tool active now appends content to non-filler text rather than replacing
Warning now given when attempting to spell check text with no suitable dictionary available
Improved Title Exceptions granularity to never change certain words
Specific font incorrectly keeps italics activated
(Win) Drop Scale for Descenders option was missing
(Win) Previews on Typography Panel corrupted
Tables
Deleting row(s) in table caused alignment settings to reset
Table format > Frame stroke alignment is not remembered when changing the width
TOC
Pinned Frames now use the location of their pin to influence the order of TOC entries
(Win) TOC Panel was missing separator field
Index
Fix occasional crash opening Index Panel
Import
PDF Import: PDF Import now supports JBIG2 compression.
DOCX Import: DOCX Import now supports linked images
IDML Import: Shift+Tab (Right Indent Tab) not imported
IDML Import: Gutter values could be incorrect
Export / Print
PDF Export: Images in Embedded Documents weren't downsampling to correct DPI leading to unnecessarily high-res bitmaps.
JPEG Export: Include bleed was missing
Updated Help and Translations
---
To be notified about all future Windows beta updates, please follow this notification thread 
To be notified when this Publisher update comes out of beta and is fully released to all Publisher customers, please follow this thread

Hi @Dan C,
I've had another chance to work on the project this issue was encountered in today and thought it might be useful to share experiences. Having read something relating to settings elsewhere in the forums, I tried exporting SVGs for in Print. For some of the diagrams, the issue with flattening when using the images in publisher was resolved. For the final 2 diagrams, which have more layers, there were still some issues - though fewer than with previous export settings. 
I've resorted to jpegs this time, which appear to be absolutely fine.

Thanks @Dan C
I'll use work arounds in the meantime.
It appears I used jpegs with the last batch of diagrams I made, for use in Page Plus.

If you create your own Preset that's one of the settings that the Preset will remember, @Abernethy.
Choose your base preset in the File > New dialog. Change the Image Placement Policy. Click the hamburger menu next to the Page Preset dropdown box. Choose Create Preset, and name your preset. The next time you create a document, change Type from Print to Presets. Publisher should fill in the last one you used, but if not you can choose it from the Preset dropdown.
It would be even nicer if Publisher would default to the last document type you used (Print, Presets, ...) which would eliminate the need to change to Presets. But this should give you all the settings you need.

@Ian Tasker Someone else shared this, but it is worth passing on. From the View menu, make sure you have Show Text Flow selected, and are NOT using Preview mode - this allows the red dots indicating overflow to show. Then select Zoom> Zoom to document.
The pages will be reduced in size, but the red over flow dots remain the same size, allowing you to easily see which pages have overflows, and an idea of location. You may also need to check the master pages.
 

@Ian Tasker Someone else shared this, but it is worth passing on. From the View menu, make sure you have Show Text Flow selected, and are NOT using Preview mode - this allows the red dots indicating overflow to show. Then select Zoom> Zoom to document.
The pages will be reduced in size, but the red over flow dots remain the same size, allowing you to easily see which pages have overflows, and an idea of location. You may also need to check the master pages.
 

You can do this already. Alongside individual fonts in the font list, click on the heart to add to favourites.
When you click on the drop down arrow alongside the font in the top bar, you have the option to select: All, Recent, Used and Favourites.

You can change it under Document Setup, make sure that convert is selected

Thanks @Murfee.
Once I've got a document to that stage, I will test. Currently still setting up the Master pages. Layout is an occasional activity for me, so it generally takes me a while - as much because I keep changing my mind about what I need to include. I don't mind having to start from scratch occasionally, as I often find that is a good way to consolidate my learning, especially with regard to what order to do things. I learn a lot by making mistakes!
Would be useful to know whether it is possible to change that initial setting though. I have colleagues (Pageplus users) who publish the same documents online and professionally printed.
 

Just a thought until there is a preflight panel  - in terms of tracking down the culprit text-frames, if you do 'view > zoom > zoom to document' - no matter how many pages you have, you will zoom out to see thumbnails of all pages at once - the little red alert dots do NOT scale down with the thumbnail, so it's really easy to spy which page(s) have overflowing text (assuming as above, that you have 'show text flow' enabled and are not in preview mode)

Yeah, that was the point wasn't it. Adobe already had the graphics industry in an iron grip but decided that wasn't enough. Any thoughts of switching software is dashed by the fact that giving up the sub means no access to your older files. There's no way to open InDesign for those occasions you might need to while creating new sets of documents somewhere else. Workflows and expectations revolve around Adobe. At this point they OWN your ability to make a living in your field. That's a terrible feeling and untenable from a business standpoint.
I only own Designer at the moment but plan to add the other apps at some point. I'm fortunate to have a copy of CS6 which has given me some breathing room. I've noticed a number of "missing" features and some UI flaws in the various Affinity apps but have no choice but work around them until Serif can add or fix those issues. Our options are few and Affinity is like a lifeboat that can't fit everyone all at once. Hopefully they can come back to pick you up later.

Since the launch last Tuesday evening (UK time) the Affinity team has been answering questions, solving wrinkles, and providing solutions on an almost nonstop basis — particularly for the many people who have just begun using the apps.  I am in the USA and have been amazed at the times this week when I have browsed through the Forums at 10 pm (EDST) to find Patrick and others still posting at what is 3 AM (UK time).   I am sure that you will agree that after 5 days of this, they deserve a day off.  Meanwhile, I cannot count the times when  @carl123 (or another experienced user) has provided a solution for something that I have not thought:  “Oh ho!  Bookmark this!  May want to use it myself one day.”    

@Raymondo: I am a type setter and graphic designer and earn my money with that job since „Lino Setting“ (, which you might not know, if you are a younger guy) with creating high end print products (magazines, packages, book, …). My first desktop publisher was version 2 of QuarkXPress and beta of Calamus. I continued with InDesign version 1, and am now on actual Adobe CC applications, which I really like (excuse me!)!. Nevertheless I am a big fan of new applications with new, fresh ideas and new ways of workflow — and I dislike the attitude, that each problem requires a button in the application. Less buttons, more creativity, and, above all, more patience!

I enjoyed the launch and spent some time today exploring Publisher. You've done an amazing amount of work since I had chance to participate in the beta testing. It is amazing. Well done.

I enjoyed the launch and spent some time today exploring Publisher. You've done an amazing amount of work since I had chance to participate in the beta testing. It is amazing. Well done.

Page Plus users would be in a much worse position in the future if Serif weren't producing Publisher. Perhaps you would rather wait until some point in the future when some change outside Serif's control means the software is no longer usable, you haven't access to your Page Plus documents, and are without an affordable replacement available.
I  consider myself responsible for future-proofing my business. This means accepting that things outside my control are changing, and doing something about it. In my case, I will contribute what I can to the beta work, make suggestions as to what options I need. Then I will start producing new documents using Publisher once it is available for sale, and start to migrate the old ones. I find it preferable to see this as an opportunity to update my document styles and workflow, rather than burying my head in the sand, clinging to the old software and moaning about how I am being treated. 
Serif do listen to their users, which is more than can be said for a lot of the software producers out there.

You should not recommend our new products .......unless
1) you think it is useful to others
and
2) you want to recommend any Serif product.
To try to address #2
When you buy any software licence it does not mean that the software will continue to be developed or supported forever. However so far Serif have kept supporting the legacy range on the CommunityPlus forums for almost 3 years now since we launched PagePlus X9, and 2 1/2 years since we announced the end of the Plus range and kept patching PagePlus for another year after that. A while ago the Head of Software Development made a commitment to patch PagePlus if a Microsoft Windows 10 update broke it. So far it has kept working fine, and as it still works on Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 10 then I would hope it will continue to do so for some time longer.
So I would hope that for existing .PPP documents you could continue to use PagePlus X9. Possessing hundreds of .PPP files is not the same as needing to open and edit hundreds of .PPP  files (PagePlus can still do that). It is only if you want/need to use a feature that Affinity Publisher has, that PagePlus X9 does not have, that you would need to convert/import into Affinity Publisher.
Serif would love there to be a simple process where PagePlus files would load into Publisher and we would program it in a heartbeat if there were, but it is realistically a very difficult task as Ben has said. PagePlus is excellent software, but we knew we could do better, but that meant starting again not adding more and more to what we had. We have been honest from the start of development that we do not think PPP import is likely to happen. Some people are only finding out now, but I don't think we have tried to hide this fact when asked.
If you have (and like) PagePlus then please keep using it when needed as well as using Affinity applications. We like it and have made the Affinity Workbooks using it, [and ironically may well make an Affinity Publisher one in it too, because we have the template all set up already].
The expressions of upset in this thread are ones I have seen many times in my interactions on CommunityPlus and I really do appreciate the feelings of disappointment. Please try the Affinity Publisher beta and see if the features it has are what you are looking for for your new work going forward. If not then keep using PagePlus and come back and try a trial later in it's development. But please don't write us off as we do care about you and your custom.

Then you are missing the advantage of this.  We have written our new code base to be largely platform agnostic - that is the point of cross-platform - not just that the software appears on different OS.  That means we are no longer tied to the whims of a vendor OS.  Only the UI layer is platform specific - and changes to that are less impactful than reengineering core code that relied on vendor SDKs (such as MFC, for example).  All the internal workings are fully independent of any OS - written in lean C++.  So, when an OS drops a bombshell on us, and we have to roll with it, the underlying workings of our tools and file format don't need to change.  That is future proofing.
 
And, as for Apple compatibility - The Apple user base is very significant when it comes to creative software. Other big players seem to think so too.
 
Historically, apps like Photoshop were primarily Mac driven. This is evidenced by the fact the PSD file format is Big endian, where Windows OS was always little endian.  Ironically, Mac OS also now is little endian since the move to Intel - so the PSD format is saddled with the legacy overhead of supporting long obsolete hardware.

*When
Fixed it for you.

How would other publishing programs make this situation any different?
 
You may decide on another package, but you would be overlooking the core reasons we began again in engineering the Affinity suite.  We have certain features that are not found elsewhere - such as our true single file format, full-scale support on iPad and being cross platform. We also aimed to redefine some tools since we were not bound by legacy requirements.  So, we've tried to put innovation first where we could.  Something that would have been impossible if all we had done was update an old application.  If we succeed with Publisher as we have with Designer and Photo, then why would you want to look elsewhere anyway??
 
Everyone may feel sad that the Plus range is coming to an end, but a lot of what drove that decision was beyond our control.  The fact is that the way people use computers has changed rapidly - the hardware people bought and the way they acquire software.  We had to look at emerging markets - iOS being a very big one.  Continuing with the old software model would only have gone on so long anyway - the net result would likely have still been the end of the Plus range, but without Affinity to offer an alternative future.