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I backup the system. Boot into my Ubuntu LTSC usb stick, then i install it. Its pretty straightforward. Then i do what i would on any windows / mac machine. I run the updates. Install my software. Then i do my work. As a bonus, I take the time to pop off my sidepanel, do a little dusting and cleaning up while I'm at it. Not super difficult. I only have about 20 years messing with computers but for me this is pretty reasonable. I am no programmer. I am a technician and user. And as a user, linux has become quite useable and has caught up to windows and mac in terms of usability and features in the decade we were stuck on Windows 10. So far I've looked through your posts and all i see is, "Linux is a bad idea". That's all well and good. But for a long time installing desktop Linux was a terrible thing and no one could recommend it. Then canonical came along, and suddenly, installing Linux was as easy as installing windows. It takes one entity to start something. Ubuntu with its gui installer, made desktop linux accessible to the average windows user. Imagine what would happen if Affinity was the first major software suite to put their weight behind a Linux distro? Valve has built a distro that can run Windows Video Games. I'm sure with the right motivation, it might run more than just video games. Android, a Linux based OS with daddy morebucks (Google) financing development has become the OS of practically everything (except Chromebooks weirdly, but is still running a flavour of Linux underneath), TVs, Tablets, Watches. At the end of this whole thing, I came on this to voice my support for any effort to be made to get Affinity on Linux. Not to be lectured about why its a bad idea. Nor do I think anyone else here did. ======================= On a side note: Given how modern mac's are set up, how much they cost and that nothing is user upgradeable or maintainable, I really don't have any interest in spending money on them. Then needing to find apps to do basic OS level features that you get built into windows and linux distros, not a great experience. i.e. An app like rectangles for window management. An app to show when i have a network cable plugged in instead of a WiFi connection. I wish i could find an app to put the power button and a USB port on the front of the computer, but that might be a bit difficult. /h At any rate I am going to unfollow this topic, because it is seemingly pointless. Have a lovely day.

Hi @Tim France, I was also going to ask whether there is a reason for not providing a vCalendar preset. Is that because the format isn't directly supported by Android (though there are options to get around that)... or would you consider adding that as an additional preset? It's quite a handy one to have when sending invites to events, save the date etc., via email though I realise these can again be added using the Text preset, not everyone is going to want or understand how to do so effectively, hence the idea of presets...

Yeah... vCards are loads of fun. The vCard "spec" (it's kind of standardised in a few RFCs) states that fields are terminated with CRLF. Not LF, not paragraph separators, but "\r\n". Multiline fields (e.g. notes) must use slash n (i.e. "\\n") to escape their new lines. An earlier iteration of this editor only had a single multiline text field and I actually replaced paragraph breaks with CRLF in it, but then there's every possibility that someone will say "no no no! Don't do that! I deliberately wanted paragraph breaks in my Text data!". Here's the kicker - some versions of Android's scanner will accept some exotic unicode breaks instead of CRLF! But the iPhone I tested that on flat out rejects it. TL;DR I thought automatically replacing paragraph breaks with \r\n was a good idea but it breaks functionality for other cases.

My mistake. I'm sure you take the point though Anything is "legal" in a QR code - it is just text (technically it doesn't even have to be that - you can have raw byte data if you like). The only thing that makes a particular type is how it is formatted / constructed and if it is supported by the QR reader. There aren't any official standards, just conventions that most QR readers follow... but even those differ between Android and iOS.

Its just crazy there isn't an Android version of Affinity. My two cents. Yadda yadda about M1 and processors etc. This is a professional tool, Affinity is not supposed to be just winning a drag race for number crunching speeds. I'd be quite happy with my Android tablet coming in a few milliseconds behind Mac, as long as it got the job done in a tolerable time.

Android tablet getting pretty good. And there is no combination in it if you add the affinity suite. There is no full creative apps in Android it would be amazing if we could have apps like the affinity suite. Thanks and I hope y'all think about it

One of the reasons variable fonts are being adopted for interfaces - the width axis is used to fit varying localized word lenghts into the same field width. Apple System Font variable, Microsoft Segoe UI Variable, Android Roboto Flex variable, etc. And the optical size is automatically adjusted.

iPad Pro=Surface Pro Sure I would like the Affinity Suite on my Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra 5G because it would be great to sync and work on files on both devices and this phone is pretty big and powerful, and there are tablets that are even more capable. But Affinity Publisher isn't available on the iPhone either. Think about it, Apple has created a bigger device with a 12.9 inch screen called the iPad running a more advanced operating system than the phone. But in the Android world the tablets pretty much use phone software even though they are often phablets or tablets. But Microsoft Surface tablets are available in the 13 inch form factor running full Windows which will run the regular Windows Affinity Suite while the Apple iPads are actually running a lesser Affinity Suite. Both the iPad Pro and the Surface Pro with similar specs are roughly the same price at C$1,500. So why are people complaining then, there is another solution in the Windows world that is even better than in the Apple world? It's all Microsoft's fault Oh, the problem is Android is used on most phones that aren't Apple and this simple operating system has just got popular and it's use has extended beyond what is practical, so really Android is resulting in a big headache for society and Samsung is part of the problem as they used to sell Windows tablets but no more. But this is Microsoft's fault really. Apple phones don't run on Android, they run on an Apple iOS. Had Microsoft done it's job properly, all the other phones would be running on the Windows Phone operating system. I had one of these phones and they were great and this would have killed Android. Had Windows phones been popular, all the small inexpensive tablets would be running full Windows and running Affinity Suite would be no problem. The ideal device mix I've thought about work flow on different devices for several years now and here are my ideas. The ideal is that people have three compatible devices. (1) A 100 mm (4 inch) screen wrist phone running advanced Windows watch or Apple watch software. (2) A 200 mm (8 inch) screen device running full Windows or Mac tablet software optimized for small devices which would include phone software. (3) A 400 mm (16 inch) screen 2 in 1 convertible laptop running full Windows or Mac software, plugged in to a 27 inch monitor at home or office. 200 mm screen device is now big enough to run Affinity Publisher The key idea is that the smartphone size is increased to a 200 mm (8 inches 16:9 format) screen size and this allows the device to run full Windows or Mac software. I've held 8 inch 16:9 form factor tablets in my hand and you hold them differently to a small smartphone but I think this size is completely practical if you use the speakerphone, earbuds, or headsets when talking on the phone. This is about the biggest size that is practical for the phone and smallest size that could run full Windows and saves people money by not having to buy 2 devices. This also saves time for the program developers because they don't have to develop variations for small and larger devices. The 100 mm screen wrist phones wouldn't be used for anything that serious and would run the usual smartphone programs. The most serious work is done on the 400 mm devices but being able to do some of the work flow while being out for the day or traveling minimally on the 200 mm devices would be great.

The problem is in a weird stereotype that android tablets are bad, that's why software development companies neglect them, in fact, they're bad because they're neglected, the system itself is very polished and the hardware can be close to Windows devices. I understand that there are tablets assembled in China in someone's basement 😁 But what stops you limiting the availability to Qualcomm processors, large screens and big RAMs? Oh, and if you didn't know, there is already a good set of professional apps available for Android, like infinite painter, nomad sculpt, Lightroom, capcut pro. Now that affinity is acquired by Canva, we expect their apps released for Android as Canva already has a quite polished app for that platform.

@Jt_moreno there exist something in that direction the App "Concepts" unfortunately no Mac Version only Windows, Android, iPad. I own a copy on my iPad. Its a vector graphics app but offers Airbrush, Pencil even a Watercolor like Brush and an infinite canvas

For anyone who may be interested, in addition to the options provided with the initial post for the new QR Code creation tool here are a few additions that work with iOS... Syntax Provided in the Initial Post for QR Code Creation in Affinity 2.5 Beta Apps SMS Payload structure: SMSTO:number:text message Eg. SMSTO:07513123456:Hello mate! GEO location Payload structure: GEO:lat:lon:height Eg. GEO:40.71872,-73.98905,100 WIFI credentials Payload structure: WIFI:S:ssid;T:type;P:password;; Eg. WIFI:S:MyWiFiSSID;T:WPA;P:MyPassW0rd;; Note: I've not tested these on Android but I'd be keen to know which work (with the applicable options) and which don't if anyone is happy to test... Additional Syntax Options for QR Code Creation in the Affinity 2.5 Beta Apps Phone Payload structure: TEL:number e.g., TEL:07772123456 Email Payload structure: MAILTO:email address e.g., MAILTO:jon.doe@example.com Email Additions (Cc, Bcc, Subject, Message) Payload structure: MAILTO:email address?CC=email address&BCC=email address&SUBJECT=subject&BODY=message e.g., MAILTO:john.smith@example.com?CC=john.doe@example.com&BCC=jane.doe@example.com&SUBJECT=Friday Drinks&BODY=We are all meeting at the Dog & Duck on Friday after work, hope you can make it. FaceTime Payload structure: FACETIME:mobile number e.g., FACETIME:07772123456 YouTube Payload structure: URL:https://youtubeurl e.g., https://www.youtube.com/AffinitySuite WhatsApp Payload structure: URL:https://wa.me/internationalnumber?text=message e.g., https://wa.me/447772123456?text=We are all meeting at the Dog & Duck on Friday after work, hope you can make it. Note 1: The mobile number needs to include the international dialling code without any prefixed zeros, e.g., UK 44 and US 1 as opposed to 0044 or 01. Note 2: Reserved characters need to use URL encoding when included as part of the message, i.e., ‘Dog & Duck’ should be typed as ‘Dog %26 Duck’ otherwise the message element is truncated at ‘Dog’. Examples of Reserved Characters Spotify Track Payload structure: https://open.spotify.com/track/songlink e.g., https://open.spotify.com/track/3Z5VaAEN7NWkgBXbCXNilW?si=91dfd85f75df4009 Spotify Playlist Payload structure: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/playlistlink e.g., https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7y40TSg305MTZ3n3Q2LqSF?si=dc0c24f1a6a34cdd Address Book Contact (vCard) Payload structure: BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:3.0 N:LastName;FirstName;;; FN:FirstName LastName ORG:Company; EMAIL;type=INTERNET;type=WORK;type=pref:name@company.com TEL;type=WORK;type=VOICE;type=pref:Work Number TEL;type=CELL;type=VOICE:Mobile Number ADR;type=HOME;type=pref:;;Address NOTE:Notes item1.URL;type=pref:Web Address item1.X-ABLabel:_$!<HomePage>!$_ BDAY:2000-02-28 END:VCARD While the QR Code generator library (used in the v2.5 Beta for QR Code creation) supports the vCard (.vcf) format, currently Affinity apps don’t because of the requirement to use a CRLF (Carriage Return/Linefeed) after each line entry which the single-line Payload format used for QR Code creation in the Affinity apps don't accept and means the vCard formats fails with a No Usable Data Found error message. The alternative for Contact QR Codes is to use the more limited MECARD format which is accepted by the Affinity apps when creating a new Contact QR Code… Address Book Contact (MECARD) Payload structure: MECARD:N:Last Name,First Name;ADR:Address;TEL:number;TEL:number;EMAIL:emailaddress;NOTE:note e.g., MECARD:N:Cook,Tim;ADR:One Apple Park Way, Cupertino, CA 95014, United States;TEL:+14089961010;TEL:+17513123456;EMAIL:tim.cook@apple.com;URL:https://apple.com;BDAY:19600111;NOTE:”Apple Vision Pro, You navigate simply by using your eyes, hands, and voice.”;; PDF File Payload structure: https://hostlurl/file/pdflink e.g., https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WZD6wOgG1bkPQfcNA_MMCIuPhKVhWWQf/view?usp=sharing Add to Calendar Event for Apple and Google Calendar (.ics) Payload structure: BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 BEGIN:VEVENT UID:90bbafd033c512f7590d844a0d65b449 SUMMARY:Run the London Marathon DTSTAMP:20240421T080000Z DTSTART:20240421T080000Z DTEND:20240421T130000Z DESCRIPTION:Run the London Marathon LOCATION:London BEGIN:VALARM ACTION:DISPLAY DESCRIPTION:London Marathon Tomorrow TRIGGER:-PT1440M END:VALARM BEGIN:VALARM ACTION:DISPLAY DESCRIPTION:Time to leave for the London Marathon TRIGGER:-PT60M END:VALARM END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR While the QR Code generator library (used in the v2.5 Beta for QR Code creation) supports both the VCALENDAR AND VEVENT formats, currently Affinity apps don’t because of the requirement to use a CRLF (Carriage Return/Linefeed) after each line entry which the single-line Payload format used for QR Code creation in the Affinity apps don't accept and means the VCALENDAR AND VEVENT formats fail with a No Usable Data Found error message.

I'm proposing this as a bug because while the QR Code generator library (used in the v2.5 Beta for QR Code creation) supports the vCard (.vcf), VCALENDAR and VEVENT (.ics) formats it's not possible to create QR Codes with the Affinity apps using either format since both require a CRLF (Carriage Return/Linefeed) after each line entry which the single-line Payload format used for QR Code creation in the Affinity apps don't accept and means the following formats fail: \n = LF (Line Feed) → Used as a new line character in Unix/Mac OS X \\n = An escaped LF (Line Feed) → Used as a new line character in Unix/Mac OS X \r = CR (Carriage Return) → Used as a new line character in Mac OS before Mac OS X \r\n = CR + LF → Used as a new line character on Windows %0a = a URL encoded (Line Feed) → Used as a line feed character on Unix/Mac OS X %0d = a URL encoded (Carriage Return) → Used as a carriage return character on Unix/Mac OS X %0d%0a = a URL encoded (Carriage Return/Line Feed) → Used as a carriage return/line feed character on Unix/Mac OS X %0d%0a%0d%0a = a URL encoded form of CRLFCRLF → which tricks the server into inserting a CRLF sequence on Unix/Mac OS X This means that while it is possible to create a vCard QR Code with the QR Code generator library using this format: BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:3.0 PRODID:-//Apple Inc.//macOS 12.7.4//EN N:LasteName;FirstName;;; FN:FirstName LastName ORG:Company; EMAIL;type=INTERNET;type=WORK;type=pref:name@company.com TEL;type=WORK;type=VOICE;type=pref:Work Number TEL;type=CELL;type=VOICE:Mobile Number ADR;type=HOME;type=pref:;;Address NOTE:Notes item1.URL;type=pref:Web Address item1.X-ABLabel:_$!<HomePage>!$_ BDAY:2000-02-28 END:VCARD or an 'Add to Calendar' VEVENT QR Code with the QR Code generator library using this format: BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:Spatie calendar-links BEGIN:VEVENT UID:90bbafd033c512f7590d844a0d65b449 SUMMARY:Run the London Marathon DTSTAMP:20240421T080000Z DTSTART:20240421T080000Z DTEND:20240421T130000Z DESCRIPTION:I'm running the London Marathon LOCATION:London END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR it's not possible to create a QR Code using the Affinity apps because of the single-line format which results in a No Usable Data Found error message when scanning the generated QR Code using the iPhone camera's built-in QR Code Scanner... Note: I've not tested this on Android but my assumption is that this will result in the same issue...

What's your favorite Android app for stylus sketching that is easy/best to transfer to Affinity Designer/Suite? Vector main

I bought Affinity because they were fairly priced and because the functions worked for me. I had considered Canva as well, specially because they also had an Android version, but the truth is that I didn't really like what they were offering, and I also didn't care much about the subscription model. As a hobby user, I delve into Clip Studio Paint. I have a PC one-time license for the EX version (the one with more functions) and a subscription for my Android tablet that includes the last updates, but it is only a pro one (allows me to do stand-alone illustrations, but not to handle whole comics, which is fine by me because I use the two desktop monitors for that). The point is that the subscription price is reasonable, and the functions I get for it are good enough for me. Now, depends on what the Canva guys do, the current V2 (with any updates/patches) might be the last one I get. If they start throwing random "AI" stuff in the programs, I'll definitely not support them. If they brought out a newer version that kept the Affinity philosophy with an Android version, I may even consider a subscription if the price is reasonable, but I'll not go in blindly.

Android tabs like Samsung tab S9 are tremdously powerful and capable in processing graphics algorithms. Then, why there is no app from your side?

As there is a version of Publisher on iPad may I perhaps hope that there will be a version for the other many thousands of tablet enthusiasts, not to mention the many smartphone users, who run Android as an operating system. Somewhere in the future maybe. John

Seit Version 2.3. ist Affinity Hilfe auf Android Smartphone nicht mehr richtig nutzbar, sobald man "Suche" nutzen will. Nach Eingeben eines Suchwortes lassen sich die Fundstellen (Smartphone im Hochformat) nicht mehr im gleichen Fenster öffnen. Smartphone im Querformat: Fundstelle wird geöffnet, ist aber vom Menü teilweise überlagert. Im Tab "Inhalt" funktioniert alles wie erwartet. Since version 2.3, Affinity Help can no longer be used properly on Android smartphones as soon as you want to use "Search". After entering a search term, the search results (smartphone in portrait format) can no longer be opened in the same window. Smartphone in landscape format: Search results are opened, but are partially overlaid by the menu. Everything works as expected in the "Content" tab.

Yes and no. In the past, their anti-piracy was trivial, and honestly, it made me stick to their software for years. And I know I am not the only one. As soon as I started designing ads for a living, I bought the license and paid the monthly fee. Their software was trivial to pirate in the past - which is not the primary reason it is the Design Suite of choice nowadays - but it certainly didn't hurt them much. Honestly, there is a bit of a chicken and, e.g. problem on Android. There aren't many exceptional design apps on the platform; however, Samsung is making more exceptional hardware for designing/drawing/etc. At the moment, I am using Infinite Painter and Design on my Tab S9, which are fine. Not great, just fine. Krita does the job but is primarily a simple desktop port and doesn't have an excellent UI for tablets. Which means I don't use it. There are a few more apps. But most of these are ad-supported garbage or straight garbage. When you look at the Adobe forums, there are hundreds of posts, each with hundreds of replies requesting Android versions of the iPad apps. There is quite a bit of demand for it. Because, at best, only 1% of potential users will actively request something from a developer. I don't blame Serif for not creating Android apps yet (hopefully). The business/team isn't close to the size of Adobe's. However, I blame Adobe for not leaving their earlier drawing apps on Android. Their actions, in this case, told their Android users to piss off by just deleting their existing apps. It's one of the reasons I started looking elsewhere for my design needs. I won't switch back to iPads because I'm not particularly eager to work with iPad OS and its overpriced ecosystem. Samsung hardware is not cheap, but it's more feature-complete right out of the box. Anyway, thank you for your comment and have a great day.

Hello, because now Affinitys RAW developing is really good, I hope you make file organize / handling software like lightroom & bridge or xnview, what is free and quite good, but no raw image prosessing / handling. Something like af. integrated Stock images, so that you can drag n drop and handle your files and images e.g. at AfPub. Only thing what keeps me still with adobe, even I use Affinitys, is LR & Bride. So why not? Just do it better, like you do if you look Activity Monitor in your mac, even there is zero Adobe's SW open there might be at bacground prosessing tens of adobe's "whatever sync daemon" BTW they might change that daemon, because it sounds like demon, I wrote to them about that, "Adobe demons are eating my mac resourses". Adobes photoshop, bride. LR...resousces, utilities etc. eats about 40GB space of my mac. Funny thing at my iPad was 9 image, but LightRoom eat its all space. I had to delete it and install agian to get my space back. At android you can open via "Android file transfer" adobes folder and delete those LR colledted files, what just take space, even you dot use or see those. (sorry my english, I'm not native)

I will continue to support the affinity product line as long as it is fair and they keep perpetual licenses. I dont believe it so, but I hope for Android versions of their iPad lineup.

Which drawing programs for Android are they using?

Well, I am a hobbyist user, and I don't know much about printing save for cropping margins, RGB/CMYK modes and a few other things that carry from my illustration background, but I found Affinity Publisher/designer easy to use and with an intuitive UI, except for when it came to adding cross-references/links on Publisher, not long ago we still had to use wonky workarounds for something that should have been easy -for the user- to do. I also remember checking Canva back in the day, I also looked for an app that had an Android version. Canva did, but from what I saw, it was widely inadequate for my purposes, and didn't really offer enough control save for choosing a template and filling it. It may have evolved, but I didn't find much of a documentation about its features to get me interested in their product. Affinity did (having a forum with plenty of nice, helpful people also helps... when in doubt, I always choose the software with the best community).

LOL, if Piracy is an argument, no software company should be able to exist. You can trivially pirate Affinity on MacOS, Windows, and iPadOS (admittedly, that last one is quite a bit harder). So, if I don't want to pay for Affinity, I won't do the same for anyone who knows how to pirate stuff. Now, on to another secret. Do you know why Adobe Suite has become the most used creativity suite? Up until Adobe Photoshop CS6, Photoshop was trivial to pirate. It schooled millions of users on pirated software. Then, it was time to crack down, and Adobe did; pirated software users were locked into the workflow, and Adobe grew. Piracy isn't bad if you give people who know how to do it a good and affordable way to get out of it... Back to the main topic... Most people don't know how to sideload cracked APKs on their Android phones. It's even a more minor problem than on MacOS because it is harder to do so. The user base, however, is unimaginably larger. These are old statistics, but the trend for Android market share is up globally. December 2022 Global Android: 72.37% Global iOS: 26.98% US Android: 43.75% US iOS: 55.85% Android tablets might be different. But if you want to make creative software available in emerging markets, make sure people know you prefer your software. It needs to be open to them. And Adobe isn't lifting a finger for the Android crowd. Hopefully, Serif will, but that is up to them, honestly.

It's a lovely idea but I don't think it washes. Adobe was adopted by professionals who did pay the higher licence fee and didn't pirate thus allowing Adobe to invest further in features that professionals wanted. Yes it was easier to pirate (and I'm sure it's possible to pirate Adobe now) but making it the professional tool of choice was what they were interested in and removing any competition in that space. Being only on the Mac platform in the late 80s (getting acquired by Adobe in 1990) when Mac was the creative community platform of choice helped that too. The Windows version arrived in '92. There are tools from even higher end markets like the medium format cameras that did similar; ie go for a smaller high margin market. The fact that we're talking a Photoshop and not Lightroom replacement in these threads indicates the Adobe professional focus and why they were successful I think. I'd also note that Adobe tried to reduce piracy throughout the lifetime of their products. I think they just won the arms race. I might concede that they went subscription when they thought they'd got piracy beat but not the argument that they deliberately allowed it. Professionals will pay for the tools of their trade as I've mentioned before if you have a business need then you'll go buy an IOS tablet if you have a need for a tablet based business tool or the Windows version on a Surface or similar. As to the numbers of each platform, IOS vs Android I think the addressable market is more important than the total numbers when deciding if/when to invest. I don't think Affinity think the addressable Android market is there yet, and if they think to address the market we won't know until they decide to release the product (though I'm sure if you want to stalk job openings you might be able to see if they start hiring Android devs).

Hi Canva, Affinity for Android devices maybe? 🤔