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Gigatronix Pete

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  1. Thanks
    Gigatronix Pete reacted to NathanC in The hardness option has become greyed out on my erase brush tool   
    Hi @Gigatronix Pete,
    Image/Image Intensity based brushes cannot have their hardness adjusted so the slider is locked, if you switch to a Basic Round brush type you'll find that the hardness slider becomes active as Paul mentioned.
     
  2. Thanks
    Gigatronix Pete reacted to PaulEC in The hardness option has become greyed out on my erase brush tool   
    Some brushes do not support hardness, try using one of the basic brushes.
  3. Thanks
    Gigatronix Pete reacted to markw in Blank edges when exporting from an artboard   
    Perhaps a bit late to the party here but for the sake of completeness; exporting each Artboard one at a time via File > Export and they come out the correct size every time.
    Only seems to be the Export persona that has a problem with the High Pass filter.
    One for the devs to ponder over…
  4. Like
    Gigatronix Pete got a reaction from Callum in Blank edges when exporting from an artboard   
    Ah yes @carl123 that's it  ....cool, thanks very much for that!
    Dragging the High pass into the actual image layer (rather than deleting it) worked as well!   ...fabulous & thanks again sir 
     
  5. Thanks
    Gigatronix Pete reacted to carl123 in Blank edges when exporting from an artboard   
    The problem has something to do with the Live High Pass filter layer.
    Delete (not hide) that layer and the problem goes away. 
    Not sure why it is doing this
    Note: The unwanted space on the exported image gets larger as you increase the Radius slider in the Live High Pass filter
  6. Thanks
    Gigatronix Pete reacted to GarryP in Blank edges when exporting from an artboard   
    If you go to the Export Persona, delete the existing Slice for that Artboard, go to the Layers Panel and recreate the Slice, the size of the Slice will be 836×176 with an 8px ‘border’ around the layer.
    Deleting all of the layers inside the banner layer puts the Slice size back to 820×160, so that gives me the idea that one (or more) of the layers in the banner is what could be causing the problem.
    I don’t have the time to go through each layer (and children) to find out what the problem layer actually is but I think it might have something to do with blurring as that rings a bell, but I can’t be sure about that.
    I think the best you can do is keep deleting layers, one-by-one, until things are fixed in the Export Persona and then work from there to figure out what is causing the problem.
  7. Thanks
    Gigatronix Pete reacted to loukash in Blank edges when exporting from an artboard   
    You may want to upload an example *.afdesign document that is affected.
  8. Like
    Gigatronix Pete got a reaction from walt.farrell in Bullet points are there whenever I try to write any text   
    Thanks for the reply @walt.farrell i found what I'd done  ...i somehow clicked the Bulleted List box by mistake


  9. Thanks
    Gigatronix Pete reacted to walt.farrell in Bullet points are there whenever I try to write any text   
    Maybe you clicked on the Bullets option in the Context Toolbar?
    Really, without a screenshot of the complete application window we can only guess.
  10. Thanks
    Gigatronix Pete reacted to lacerto in Different file sizes when exporting to PDF   
    Possibly so, but it is still interesting to note that everything appears to work fine within .afdesign file itself, and that when using the original file without touching anything, it is possible to produce a PDF/X-4 non-flattened export file size of which is 25MB. Yet when the same file is simplified to the point of having flattened all effects and combined multiple raster layers so that only three are left, hiding the vectors, and leaving just the top bar, as follows:

    ...Designer goes on and creates -- very slowly -- a 165MB PDF/X-4 file consisting of 6 raster layers, 3 of which CMYK and 3 Gray, sizes of which are up to 33,811x29,528px. So simplifying the file, rasterizing on screen, removing layers that are supposed to be problematic, etc., and saving as: nothing helps to make the export sizes smaller, because basically layered images just increase in size, and seem to be somehow buried deep in the file structure beyond user control... 

    The file still verifies as a valid PDF/X-4 without any issues, but Adobe Acrobat Pro cannot render it, and 64-bit Illustrator CS6 crashes when trying to open it. But no worries: Affinity Designer can still open the produced PDF file without flaws (even if pretty slowly), thus verifying that everything is correctly produced 🙂 Printer would not probably be happy, though... 
    Based on all this, it is of course possible that the file is corrupted, but as it exports properly when opened and without making any changes (at 25MB size, even if over twice the size of the same content exported by AI), and each time after making changes to it, even if producing hugely bigger file sizes, and opens correctly in Designer even when other apps fail to render the file at all, I think that the core of the problem is in poor processing of file elements when exporting, inability to merge raster layers where possible, and inability to compress effectively. The standard solution offered on this forum has often been: get more RAM (I have only 16GB on my laptop), and more effective processor. Doing so will certainly make processing these kinds of files smoother, but it does not fix fundamental flaws in PDF production that Affinity apps still have, especially when working with large designs.
  11. Thanks
    Gigatronix Pete reacted to loukash in Different file sizes when exporting to PDF   
    I've tried to replicate the issue by creating a 4×3 m showstand wall using similar objects – albeit not that many – with a blown up masked image and lots of layer effects that cause rasterizing.
    I couldn't replicate it.

    The afdesign file is 12.8 MB, export with text 37.4 MB, export without text 33.2 MB, export without layer effects only 10.9 MB (as expected). Same PDF/X-4 export settings as above.
    Whereas IBC2023-SideWall_Version2.afdesign causes the same issues as reported above. My conclusion is that there must be something corrupt about the file structure.
  12. Thanks
    Gigatronix Pete reacted to lacerto in Different file sizes when exporting to PDF   
    I probably misunderstand something, but if you, too, get equally large export file size when you completely remove that layer, then how can the issue be related to that specific layer? I can also hide the both raster layers below, and when I export, still get about 70MB file size (and pretty long export time). Leaving all these layers visible gives me a 25MB file. To me that implies that there is something wrong with the file in general, or with the way Affinity processes the file's elements when exporting to PDF.
    I have done all the tests with these files using Windows 11 Pro and latest Designer (2.3.0). 
    Filesize-wise both files come significantly smaller when exported from AI (opening the same file, exporting using the same method), which IMO basically answers OP's question. The thing with this other file, whatever is wrong with it (or Affinity / PDFLib code that processes the file) is more a kind of a secondary glitch (one possibly related to use of effects, which kinds of issues are not uncommon, either, but in a way, secondary, because the issue with the file sizes can be experienced also when no effects are used). The fact that the export file sizes are significantly smaller when exporting from Adobe apps is a thing that has been shown in numerous posts on the forum, and it is primarily explained by poor compression done for large images within Affinity apps because files are not analyzed at export time to determine optimum compression rate and method, but instead a fixed quality setting (compression rate) is applied. 
    Here are the file sizes for the other file (the one with odd error when the file content is getting simplified, whether text layer removed, or the underlying image layers Cables and Connectors hidden, and file sizes getting bigger than when leaving these layers visible, or not deleting them). The bottommost file is exported from .afdesign using PDF/X-4, and then this file is opened in  AI and AD and again exported using PDF/X-4 with default settings (that means on second time, 98% quality at 300DPI from AD). AI produces over a half smaller PDF with the same settings. It seems rather a coincidence how the original and re-export from AD have more or less equal file size, the exact byte counts being 25.685,239 bytes vs. 25,685,251 bytes), but the point is that the same file content is exported at 11,530KB when done from AI CS6:

  13. Thanks
    Gigatronix Pete reacted to Hangman in Different file sizes when exporting to PDF   
    That's not what I'm seeing on macOS, if I either toggle the visibility of that layer off or delete that layer completely and export the file (PDF/X-4) 92% Quality, both come in at 135.7 MB...
    I'd say it's definitely that layer causing the issue/corruption.
    Out of interest, are you testing on Mac or Windows...
  14. Thanks
    Gigatronix Pete reacted to lacerto in Different file sizes when exporting to PDF   
    I removed the whole layer, yet the size of the exported file was 216,058KB (PDF/X-4), so it is not the layer that is corrupt; it is some odd Affinity error. It is strange that it happens when making the file simpler (removing text), but not when not making any changes.
  15. Thanks
    Gigatronix Pete reacted to Hangman in Different file sizes when exporting to PDF   
    No problem at all, glad we now know what is going on at least...
  16. Thanks
    Gigatronix Pete reacted to Hangman in Different file sizes when exporting to PDF   
    Hi @lacerto,
    Hide the Artistic Text layer, 12G SDI, 4K in that file and re-export it...
  17. Thanks
    Gigatronix Pete reacted to lacerto in Different file sizes when exporting to PDF   
    My standard when using InDesign is using PDF (press ready) based (default) routine which uses PDF 1.4 so it does not flatten transparencies, but converts everything to CMYK. I used PDF/X-1 with this job mainly because it simplifies the export file by converting everything to CMYK, and also because PDF/X-4s that I exported from the original file caused bad rendering and memory issues in Adobe Acrobat Pro.
    Yes, I mean rasterizing objects and effects as much as possible on the canvas, before exporting but keeping vectors as vectors. So saving a copy of the current file and then rasterizing part by part and exporting (or at least previewing, since the preview window shows realistically the file size as it appears to be doing pretty much the same that is done in actual export).
    Btw, I did not experience issues with the other file, so I opened it without making any changes, exported it to PDF/X-4 without issues and the file size was 25,084KB so a bit less than what you mentioned above.
  18. Thanks
    Gigatronix Pete reacted to Hangman in Different file sizes when exporting to PDF   
    It's certainly an odd one I have to agree but weirdly as far as I can tell it's having no detrimental effect on the quality of the PDF though it may be a completely different story if the file was sent to a RIP for separating...
    Technically you could but I'd strongly advise against doing that because you could suddenly find you have three corrupt files which you can no longer open.
  19. Thanks
    Gigatronix Pete reacted to Hangman in Different file sizes when exporting to PDF   
    Hi @Gigatronix Pete,
    That's absolutely no problem at all, no need to apologise...
    So, it turns out the issue is a corrupted layer in the IBC2023-SideWall_Version2.afdesign file. The layer in question is the Artistic Text layer, 12G SDI, 4K.
    Export the file with that layer visible and the exported PDF is 25.7 MB Export the file with that layer hidden and the exported PDF is 135.7 MB Based on the dimensions of the Artwork and the graphics contained within, in particular, the 'Connectors' and 'Cables' the file size of 135.7 MB is far more realistic and it also makes sense relative to the exported file size for Showstand A and Showstand B.
    I hope that helps even though it's the opposite of what you were hoping for regarding file size..
  20. Thanks
    Gigatronix Pete reacted to Hangman in Different file sizes when exporting to PDF   
    Hi @Gigatronix Pete,
    Without seeing the physical Affinity files it's going to be tricky to diagnose, are you happy to upload both so we can take a look at what might be going on?
    Could you in the meantime also confirm which particular PDF preset (or PDF Version) you're using so we can ensure we're working to the same criteria...
  21. Thanks
    Gigatronix Pete reacted to carl123 in Publisher 2 I have a black outline on any text box i open ...on both paragraph or artistic text   
    Window > Text > Text Frame
     
     
    (Windows 11)
  22. Thanks
    Gigatronix Pete reacted to carl123 in Publisher 2 I have a black outline on any text box i open ...on both paragraph or artistic text   
    First check the Text Frame panel to see if any stroke has been applied
     
  23. Like
    Gigatronix Pete reacted to viMtyj-kacror-kodvu5 in [Affinity Designer] How to export a DXF file?   
    If Affinity is supposed to be an Illustrator alternative why would one need to export to another piece of software to get a simple result that should be built in.
  24. Thanks
    Gigatronix Pete reacted to walt.farrell in Photo 2 on Windows is crashing (split)   
    As far as I know, @Gigatronix Pete, V2 is not affected by the Windows Update problem.
  25. Thanks
    Gigatronix Pete reacted to GarryP in Affinity Designer 2 - How do we save a new page template   
    Have you tried menu “File → Export as Template”?
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