I'm currently dipping my toes in Publisher, looking to switch from InDesign, and would prefer to use it in Separated Mode with floating panels because that's how I'm used to working.
However, I'm experiencing difficulties using the application in this mode.
Issue 1:
When editing styles (character style, paragraph style, group style), the focus changes away from the style editor window back to the document after every interaction. At best this is a minor annoyance, but it makes some things frustrating or almost impossible to accomplish, such as operating the slider when changing line width for a decoration.
See the screen recording (second video) for a demonstration. Notice how after every change I make to a setting unfocuses the editor and focuses the document window, despite the fact that there's nothing to do in the document.
Issue 2:
When multiple documents are open and some of them are minimised to the Dock, editing any text in the document I'm working on will unminimise those documents. Also, if these documents are already unminimised, editing text will focus one of the other documents.
See the screen recording (first video) for a demonstration. I have three open documents, and in the beginning I'll minimise two of those. In the document that's left I have simply a text box into which I'm attempting to type random characters.
Issue 3:
Text editing feels more sluggish in Separated Mode.
An unrelated issue – happens both separated and non-separated mode – that's visible at the end of first video, is when deleting text with the backspace key, the Edit menu always flashes as if I was using a keyboard shortcut. Deleting text should not flash the Edit menu – it doesn't do that in any other Mac applications that also use the backspace key for deleting objects when not editing text.
Affinity Publisher 1.8.3, Mac OS X 10.14.6 on a MacBook Pro Late 2013.
Thanks for your time.
Document_Focus.mov
Style_Focus.mov