William Overington

I am using the BT webmail system as I am a BT broadband customer. BT is British Telecommunications. William.

A related problem has arisen. Before the problem arose with the Lenovo computer, I had been writing a document on the Lenovo computer using WordPad. I habitually use webmail, so emails are not on my computer. As I proceeded with the writing, as a precaution, I sent email to myself with the latest version of the Wordpad .rtf document as an attachment. I am on draft 7. So today, I tried to download a copy of that .rtf document to this Hewlett Packard computer so that I could continue to write it on this Hewlett Packard computer, which is running Windows 10S. But I cannot seem to be able to download the file from the webmail email to this computer. As I had often used that technique on the other computer, though not with a .rtf file, though I had with PDFs and a TTF, I am wondering why I cannot get it to work now. It seems to want to open it as an image in the browser. As a test, I tried to download a PDF from another email, and that won't work either. Does anyone recognize this problem please? Is it something to do with the S in Windows 10S? Can anyone suggest a solution please? William

An update. I am posting using the Lonovo 14 inch computer. I found some videos on YouTube. I watched them on the Hewlett Packard 11 inch Windows 10S computer. Here is a link to the part of one of the videos that has enabled me to get this computer started, as a workaround. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87c6M9ZRtu0&t=120s Now although it says that one can access the Bios and recovery mode I found that it also offers an ordinary start, in fact that is the default. So, although I could not find the unfolded paper clip that I have used on other things some time ago and that I thought was in a known place, I found a picture hanging kit that I got from Tesco some time ago and in it are several plastic topped pins, so I used one of them to press the Novo button and the computer started up and the panel became displayed on the screen. I then pressed Enter on the USB keyboard and the computer started up as if it had started with the power button being pressed. So at present hopefully I can use the Hewlett Packard computer for ordering groceries, watching movies on YouTube and BBC iplayer, and learning (some) Welsh and unrusting my French on Duolingo.com et cetera et cetera and only turning on this computer using the Novo button when I want to use Affinity software, PagePlus X7 or High-Logic FontCreator, perhaps only switching this computer on when I am going to have it switched on for several hours, even if I am not using it at times, such as for a meal break. The other day I had a good chat with a gentleman at Currys about what I wanted to do, within the constraints of me wanting a 14 inch Hewlett Packard laptop running Windows 10 and not needing fast graphics (as in game playing) and my limited budget and he suggested this one. https://www.currys.co.uk/products/hp-14sdq2502na-14-laptop-intel-pentium-gold-128-gb-ssd-silver-10222266.html?q=751120 I have not ordered it at this time, and the £159 one mentioned previously is not available for delivery at present. However, as it might be that I can continue to use this machine, then I might not need to buy another computer yet. In fact, when this computer did not start over a week ago, realizing that I then only had one computer available to order shopping I found that Currys had on offer at £128.97 a computer at £90 off the previous price a Hewlett Packard computer which I think is the same as the Hewlett Packard computer that I have here, and which cost £219 in March 2021, so i bought it and it arrived though i have not opened it yet (Covid quarantine precaution). I later learned that apparentky Curys price things at something and 97 pence when it is a clearance item. I bought this Lenovo computer in about June 2019, which was pre-Covid, as my then computer had broken down, so at that time I was able to telephone Currys, and a helpful lady asked me various questions such as whether I wanted a tower or a laptop, whether I wanted fast graphics for video games and so on and recommended this Lenovo machine and the lady placed the order for me. However, when this machine broke down in March 2021 due to Covid restrictions it was not possible to place an order over the telephone, only online. But I could not get online. The way I got a computer, the Hewlett Packard machine, is that when this Lenovo machine would start and could be used offline but would not connect to the internet, is that I telephoned a local self-employed electrician who had done some electrical work for me in 2018 and 2019 and he got online to Currys website, we discussed options over the telephone, he ordered a computer, had it delivered to him, then brought it to me and delivered it social distance style. He was very helpful, solved my problem and I paid him for the time he spent on sorting it all out for me. As it happened, after some helpful guidance on the now vanished Serif lounge forum, I was able to use the Hewlett Packard computer to get a new copy of the Lenovo wifi driver, presented within a .exe file, use a USB memory stick to copy it across to this Lenovo machine, run it and the Lenovo machine then connected to the internet again. William

Thank you. Oh, that is an education for me! 🙂 And there was me thinking that option 1 at £329 was expensive! Clearly I need to rethink given this information. Thus far, notwithstanding the keyboard issue and the trackpad click issue (for which issues I have workarounds with an USB full size keyboard and using mousekeys) the Lenovo computer seems to do all I need it to do as regards my need to use Affinity products, PagePlus X7 and High-Logic FontCreator. So something from Hewlett Packard of equivalent performance yet a better on-off switch might well suit me fine for my hobbyist level use. Though I recognize that it might well be inadequate for a professional artist or someone working. William

It may be impossible, but I am still wondering if I can fix the Lenovo. It did start up once after a bit of pressing of the on-off button, so it might 'just' be a faulty switch. But that is not 'just' it is FUNDAMENTAL! 🙂 William

Could you possibly say what you are suggesting to avoid please? For example, are you meaning the £159 computer that I am thinking about? William

Ah, so 'notebook' is a subset of 'laptop', not a synonym of 'laptop'. William

Is what is called a 'notebook' the same as what is called a 'laptop'? Perhaps a name change as the Hewlett Packard notes did say to use it on a solid surface. So maybe the term 'laptop' is being deprecated? But just wondering in case a 'notebook' is something different from a so-called 'laptop'. William

I am constrained to using a portable, laptop type system. I don't know if it makes any difference in relation to the processing power needed from a computer, but my use of Affinity Designer tends to be mostly (though not always) vector and fonts designs, typically Pen tool and the built-in shape tools (I still think of them as Quickshapes 🙂 ), rather than photograph-like bit pattern things, though I do export png and jpg images William

Yes, that is the computer to which I was referring. William

I have been thinking about this. There appeared yesterday to me to be three options. 1. Buy a computer at £329 that does not have its Windows system S-locked and download again Affinity products that I have already purchased. 2. Buy a computer at £159 that has its Windows system S-locked, then buy S-runnable versions of Affinity Publisher and Affinity Designer from the Microsoft store. 3. Buy a computer at £159 that that has its Windows system S-locked, un-S-lock it and download again Affinity products that I have already purchased. Having some years ago had a computer that was about £350 at the time, ethernet, built-in disc drive, and after some time it went wrong, I had decided to go over to a policy of getting a more basic lower cost machine and having an external USB disc drive so that if the computer went wrong then it was not such a big loss and I would still have the disc drive. So I am a bit reluctant to buy the £329 computer. Option 2 was beginning to look good, on the basis of why un-S-lock the computer, thouigh I did wonder if one can redownload Affinity products purchased from Microsoft Store if one needs to get another computer later, or if it would need a repurchase. However, upon further consideration, I have remembered that I also want to run High-Logic FontCreator, so it looks like an S-locked machine that is not un-S-locked is not compatible with that. So it looks like option 2 is out. So what I seek advice on please, is about unlocking an S-locked computer and then installing Affinity products purchsed directly from Serif on it. From what a gentleman at Currys told me it appears that unlocking slows down the system as it results in a bigger version of Windows, not just (in my words) switching off a binary flag. Also, the effect varies from computer system to computer system. So has anyone here any experience or knowledge of the implications of unlocking an S-locked Windows system and then using it with Affinity products purchased direct from Serif please? Also, is it still the case that, having purchased licences for the Serif Affinity products direct from Serif some time ago that one can still download a new copy without further charge please? William

I know that Affinity products to run on a Windows system are sold both directly by Serif and on Microsoft store. I know that Serif regards these as separate purchases. What I am wondering is why the version sold directly by Serif will not run under Windows 10S. Is there some reason why the version from either source could not be the same and thus the version bought directly from Serif would be able to be run under Windows 10S? William

I am considering getting a new computer to run Affinity products. I am thinking of doing this as I do not wish to potentially jeopardize my ability to order grocery deliveries by unlocking this one. I was considering buying a Hewlett Packard one from Currys at £159 https://www.currys.co.uk/computing/laptops/laptops/hp?searchTerm=hp%20laptop that I think has Windows 10S so it would need un-S-locking it so as to use the software that I have bought previously. But chatting to a helpful gentleman on Currys live chat it appears that unlocking a Windows 10S computer slows it down. That computer has a Celeron processor. He recommended an i3 machine, which is £329. https://www.currys.co.uk/products/hp-14sdq2507na-14-laptop-intel-core-i3-128-gb-ssd-silver-10222268.html I am wondering if it would be better to buy another copy of Affinity Designer and Affinity Publisher from Microsoft store and run it on a Windows 10S computer and thus not un-S-locking it. I know that for the Affinity products that I have direct from Serif that I can get another copy free when I want it. Does that "get it again" apply with a version bought from Microsoft store please? The £159 computer has 64 gigabytes of storage. Is anyone running Affinity software on a lower cost Windows 10S computer please? If so, can you say something about your experiences please? William

Yes, this is off-topic, but it is about using Affinity products in that unless I can switch the computer on I cannot use them, so hopefully the moderator will allow this thread to continue please. I am writing this on my backup computer, which is an 11 inch Hewlett Packard laptop computer which runs Windows 10S and I don't want to un-S it as my critical use for a computer is ordering groceries. I have Affiinity Publisher, Affinity Designer, and Affinity Photo on my 13 inch Lenovo laptop. The computing part works fine, but I have had problems. The keyboard and the power switch are what appears to be a rubber sheet thing. It is supposed to have a small light in the on off switch but it has not worked for a long time. In fact, due to some keyboard letters not working properly and trackpad clicking beIng wonky I have for a long time used it by using the move about part of the trackpad, together with a pluged in full size USB keyboard and using mouse keys from the keyboard. In fact I have used the plugged in USB keyboard and mouse keys on this Hewlett Packard computer from as soon as I got it, and I find the full-size keyboard good and I am now very used to using mousekeys from the keyboard and I prefer to work that way. A few days ago the computer would not turn on, but after a few tries it did. Then it wouldn't. But the next day it would not at first, but eventually it did. I have wondered about whether it would be safe that if I can get it to switch on one more time to never turn it off, just to close the lid when not using it. Does anyone have any advice on whether this can be fixed in some way please? I do not carry the computer around, so if it means having an external switch that would not be an issue, but I would need to be able to set that up in the first place. I am wondering if the power switch can be bypassed in some way using the USB socket or something like that. Possibly just wishful thinking but an on-off switch failing might be a fairly common occurrence. Is there a way to turn the computer on independently of the switch? Ultimately I might need to buy another computer, and then decide to either un-S-lock it and add the software, which, thanks to Serif's policy that I can get another copy is possible, or leave it S-locked and buy the software from Microsoft store. so I can keep the computer S-locked. Any advice on this would be helpful please. William

William

This seventh image was produced by starting with a copy of the source file of the fifth image. In fact, this image is made up of two complete white hexagons, and two black half hexagons, all upon a grey background. Grey, white, black, white, black. William

For completeness. William

In this image, the black hexagon is a copy of the original white hexagon that has had its height and width each multiplied by 0.7071, which is the square root of 2 divided by 2. So is the area of white that is displayed in the image the same as the area of black that is displayed in the image? William

Dw i eisiau hecsagon du a gwyn. The above sentence is in the Welsh language. The sentence translates into English as follows. I want a black and white hexagon. I am learning some Welsh. There is a free course. https://www.duolingo.com/enroll/cy/en/Learn-Welsh Anyway, the sentence arose in an exercise about colours. So, having finished the exercise, I wondered, how exactly would one have a black and white hexagon. Some readers may remember the image in the following post. https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/155334-art-inspired-by-the-art-of-sophie-taeuber-arp/page/2/#comment-876457 That image has a source file with square5.afdesign as its file name. So I made a copy as hexagon1.afdesign and then deleted the image, yet kept the background. So it is 1641 pixels square. So, start with a hexagon, produced using the Polygon Tool with the keyboard shift key depressed, with a zero-width stroke. Ah, the bounding box is square. The Transform panel has the excellent faciiity that one can have the X and Y coordinates of an image about any one of nine places and one can change that as one proceeds if one chooses to do so. So, with X and Y measured about the centre of the image, set (X, Y) = (820, 820) and the width and height of the bounding box both to 1000 pixels. Colour the hexagon white. Now, convert to curves. Please note that the size of the bounding box changes. Copy the hexagon, paste a copy, colour the copy black, and use the node tool to delete two nodes and save. Here is a png 547 pixels square. Yet there are many possible black and white hexagons. Here are a few more images that I have produced. Each of these images with the extra conditions that the area of black is the same as the area of white, and that the shapes of the black areas are the same as the shapes of the white areas. One or more of those conditions need not necessarily apply to all black and white hexagons, but both of those two conditions do apply to each of these four images. The technique that I used was to copy a shape, delete a node or nodes and then position the shape precisely by entering numbers into the Transform Panel, typically 820 for each of X and Y having chosen the option of from about which point to measure X and Y as seemed was needed for the particular shape positioning. William

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOTd78ZTDGE William

It is very useful for some projects to use the Transform panel to position each node precisely, especially if one sets the measurement units to be pixels. View Studio Transform Click to get a tick thus thereby showing it is on. If it is already ticked but the Transform panel is not showing, untick then use the sequence again to tick it on. The Transform panel can be dragged away from its default position amongst other items. On a separate aspect, if View Show Context Toolbar is ticked, then each node of the drawing produced using the Pen Tool can be set as one of several types. I tend to firstly draw shapes using straight lines, as if sides of a polygon, then use the Convert to Smooth mode (by clicking on the toolbar logo while in node mode with the node selected) facility to remove the sharp corners. This can be done, if so desired, one node at a time, so one can choose to smooth some corners yet not others. It is possible, if so desired, to convert every node of a drawing to become a smooth mode all at once by, in Node Mode, selecting one node then using Control A on the keyboard and then choosing Convert to Smooth. William

Does it need to be a plug? Could it be a socket with the plug holes? It is a very recognizable pattern. Then the shape of the edge of the plug would not be needed. Then that could fit inside a circle with the sun rays around it. Also, renewables is about more that solar power, so could there be wind turbines in the upper corners, and perhaps waves along the lower edge? William

Thank you. So something like add two new nodes to the flat horizontal part, move one down vertically several millimetres, and the one that is nearer the angled end of the original down and sideways and use the node tool to find the coordinates of the original line and work out the gradient so as to place the new node such that the angle of the added new piece is as close as possible to the angle of the original edge of the block of colour. Repeat for each colour. It may take a while but if it gets a good print that will be worth it. William

In another thread I produced some artwork with some text in an A3 document. https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/163212-art-and-a-poem-using-language-independent-glyphs/&do=findComment&comment=933597 Later, I produced a slightly different version with CMYK colour and 3 mm bleed areas all around. I uploaded it to an online virtual print house and I have received some prints on 350 gsm paper, the colours going right to the edges. I am now trying to produce an A5 version. To do this I made a copy of the .afdesign file and, still at A3 size, in the copy I gradually increased the text size from 11 point to 24 point, by a combination of increasing the point size of the text, decreasing the inter-line spacing and moving the text box a bit up and a bit left. This done so that with an A5 version that the text will be large ebough to read. I then saved that A3 large lettering file. I then made a copy of that .afdesign file and then, using File Document Setup... scaled the copy to A5. Yes, the text and the language-independent symbols go to 12 point. However, it seems that the scaling is about the point (0, 0) so the black now only goes to -1.5 mm rather than -3 mm. That seems perfectly logical, but it does mean that the A5 PDF document only has black across half of the bleed area. Ah, I am wondering if I can add black rectangles into the bleed area. That might be straightforward down the left side, but along the upper edge and lower edge there are angles and at the lower edge several colours. So, I might be able to fix it that way. But is there a simpler method please? William

I got an email notification of a post to this thread, timed at 10:15 today, commenting on my post, but the post is not appearing in the thread. Does anyone know why please? William