Gary Jones

I have been a user of PagePlus for many years (right up to X9). I have always liked PP but have been frustrated by some missing functionality (figure numbering, cross references, etc.). I was therefore looking forward to the nice new shiny Affinity Publisher which I hoped would be something quite special. I was a PhotoPlus user for many years and was really pleasantly surprised by how much of a step up Affinity Photo was. Hence I am left wondering what was Serif thinking of when they released the beta of Affinity Publisher. Not only is it not a step up from PPX9 (it initially appears to be very similar in appearance but with a UI that brings it more in line with other affinity products) but there is loads of functionality missing that PPX9 used to have (how can it not have footnotes!!!). How can this be? We have waited a long time for Publisher and when it arrives it seems to be a huge disappointment. I cannot understand how the latest product is so inferior to its predecessor? I will therefore have to continue to use PPX9 for some years until Publisher has not only caught up but hopefully improved upon PPX9. You never know after years of asking I may finally get the missing functionality I desire! Finally Serif must address the issue of users being able to use their considerable libraries of PP files with Affinity. Unlike Photo where once you have worked on a photo you don’t tend to go back to it that often a PP file can be updated/reused a number of times over the years and hence the idea that users have to recreate all their files in Affinity is frankly ridiculous. Surely it must be possible for Affinity to convert PP files so that users can continue to use their creations in which they have invested considerable time and effort? I am sorry this is a very negative input but it simply reflects my disappointment that Publisher seems to be a step back from PP, at least at the present time.