pdwlantic

We shouldn't criticize what we don't understand.
Not everyone can import their text in one go.  If for example you have a newspaper or magazine layout with one master template that covers let's say 64 pages and you have many fragmented texts to enter, you would obviously look for a way to import your existing document into the new format. 
It is fine to say keep on using PP. This is exactly the problem. How long will PP still be viable? No-one can promise you that it will be 10 years, or 5 years or even  2 years. Many of our old favorite DTP programs doesn't work on the current Windows anymore. There is no stres if you knew Serif would offer upgrades, but now that they don't, you know that your software has a limited lifespan and that sooner or later you will have to redo all your hard work. 
This is a trust issue. If Serif can drop their customers once, they will do it again. Why would anyone in his right mind support Affinity Publisher when Pageplus stop working?

HI
There is no need to support two different lines of similar software at the same time. The moment Pageplus users can transfer their files to Affinity Publisher then you only have to support the latter. 
The pdf import is a no-go! Even if the time should come that PP can no more run on Windows, there are plenty of free and cheap pdf editors that can do a better job than AP can do currently. So please do not use this argument to placate current PP users.
Serif is making this issue of converting from PP bigger than it really is. Text import from PP and in fact from any RTF compatible Word processor can be copied and pasted into AP, including the text styles and all formatting intact. So how incompatible are they really?
What I would love to see is that AP master pages get sorted out. At least we would be able to recreate our current PP templates on AP.  Currently I cannot even create a text box on the master page in AP that will automatically replicate in the publication. Sort this out and sort out autoflow and it is game on! 
I would rather manually recreate my master pages and paste a 200 page text document into it than fool myself with a pdf import. 

We shouldn't criticize what we don't understand.
Not everyone can import their text in one go.  If for example you have a newspaper or magazine layout with one master template that covers let's say 64 pages and you have many fragmented texts to enter, you would obviously look for a way to import your existing document into the new format. 
It is fine to say keep on using PP. This is exactly the problem. How long will PP still be viable? No-one can promise you that it will be 10 years, or 5 years or even  2 years. Many of our old favorite DTP programs doesn't work on the current Windows anymore. There is no stres if you knew Serif would offer upgrades, but now that they don't, you know that your software has a limited lifespan and that sooner or later you will have to redo all your hard work. 
This is a trust issue. If Serif can drop their customers once, they will do it again. Why would anyone in his right mind support Affinity Publisher when Pageplus stop working?

Importing Pageplus documents into Affinity Publisher? 
I am still importing my Ventura files into Pageplus because VP cannot run on my 64bit Windows 10. 
So I don't even want to imagine having to do it all over again. But let's put everything into perspective. As long as  Pageplus runs on the newest Windows there is no issue.
But we don't know what the future holds. So everyone would want an upgrade rather sooner than later. 
Someone at Serif decided that the the pdf import is the way to go. Wrong answer!
1. Font substitutions must be done manually. 
2. Text boxes don't link automatically.
3. Text styles are lost.
4. Master pages are lost.
We don't have to import from file. Pageplus is still working fine. So a simple copy and paste of text solves half the problems.
1. No font substitutions needed.
2. Text styles are converted automatically.
It is even possible to copy frames from Pageplus to Affinity Publisher, even from master page to master page. Except that it has to be stretched to the appropriate size.
So to cut to the chase. Importing of Pageplus files is not the real problem. The real problem is with the master pages. Whether I create a text frame in AP or paste it from PP, it doesn't work in the publication. In PP there is the option of promoting a frame form the master page or editing it on the master page. In AP the frames from the master pages are dysfunctional, except on the master page itself. Also when creating pages, there should be an autoflow option.
Once this is fixed,  please see if a frame that is pasted from Pageplus (or from any other source for that matter) can also be made to function in the publication.
What really is needed for current PP users, is to find a way to quickly and easily transfer or recreate their master pages in AP.
Even though the pdf export/import keeps the layout reasonably intact, it creates more problems than it solves. 
 

I am sure there will be many, especially Mac users,  who will be delighted in the product once it has gone through Beta but  criticism  is not negative if the  developers take note of the comments.  To take the attitude  'stuff you PP users' rather than take on board criticism  is not good CR.
AP works on Mac but PP doen't so sacrifice PP and all it's user base to the great god Mac!  One of the main reasons I am a PP user is that i have Windows PC's  and i do not need to pay for Adobe bloatware.
Yes PPX9 was the culmination of  many years  of  development but  bear in mind that people are more demanding now then they were 15  - 20 years ago and expect a professional product from day 1.   

Serif keep saying they're not going to offer an import from their own legacy product's format because the new product doesn't share any codebase with it, yet they are planning to offer import from products like InDesign, whose code base they don't even have access to, let alone share? Their excuse for not offering an import from PagePlus, when their developers know and fully understand (and created!) the PPP file format and the Affinity Publisher software, simply doesn't make sense. I hope they change their minds.