Export to .BMP

[Humam2104]

5 hours ago, Pšenda said:

Serif has already mentioned the problems with adding other formats to Affinity applications and their maintenance and testing

But the program is being advertised as a photoshop alternative. But it doesn't really replace it. Even photoshop plugins don't all work in affinity photo (dds texture plugin) doesn't. We are buying a product only to discover that we still need another software to take care of the work for us because affinity photo doesn't do the full job. Also, the bmp format is supported by many freeware programs like paint.net. So if a free open-source program can do it, I would at least expect the same from a commercial product.

[AdamStanislav]

8 hours ago, PaulEC said:

worth the extra cost?

What extra cost? BMP is a very simple format, much simpler than JPG, PNG, TIFF, and others that are supported. It is just a simple header followed by raw data. Any junior programmer can whip up the code in no time. That is why it is supported by just about all graphics software.

[Humam2104]

46 minutes ago, AdamStanislav said:

What extra cost? BMP is a very simple format, much simpler than JPG, PNG, TIFF, and others that are supported. It is just a simple header followed by raw data. Any junior programmer can whip up the code in no time. That is why it is supported by just about all graphics software.

And yet it is still not supported in affinity photo 👎

[Pšenda]

9 hours ago, Humam2104 said:

We are buying a product only to discover that we still need another software

??? That's why Serif provides a Trial version so that the user can test what it can and can't do before buying the product.

[Humam2104]

21 minutes ago, Pšenda said:

??? That's why Serif provides a Trial version so that the user can test what it can and can't do before buying the product.

I've never seen a photo editor that doesn't support bmp in my entire life. So it didn't cross my my mind to check for that!! 

Btw, I think even paint that comes with windows saves bmp pictures ever since windows xp or something.

[PaulEC]

10 hours ago, AdamStanislav said:

What extra cost?

This was in reply to the statement "Photoshop does the job", and trying to make the point that paying for Photoshop, just to get an extra export format, would be just a bit daft! – I'm afraid I do get a bit fed up with the oft repeated idea that anything and everything available in Photoshop should also be in APhoto (for a fraction of the cost)!

I actually agree that it would be nice if APhoto could export BMP (and webp,) but the reality is that it doesn't at the moment! In the meantime (if it's that important to you,) you can either pay for another app, like Photoshop, or use a free app, like XNConvert, to convert the file types that APhoto doesn't export to.

 

[PaulEC]

9 hours ago, Humam2104 said:

Btw, I think even paint that comes with windows saves bmp pictures ever since windows xp or something.

That's hardly surprising, as it was developed by Microsoft! Obviously they would use it in their own software. 😉

[Humam2104]

2 hours ago, PaulEC said:

That's hardly surprising, as it was developed by Microsoft! Obviously they would use it in their own software. 😉

I haven't heard of any photo editing software that doesn't support bmp (except affinity photo). Even free ones do, what does that tell you?!

 

 

[Murfee]

2 hours ago, Humam2104 said:

I haven't heard of any photo editing software that doesn't support bmp (except affinity photo). Even free ones do, what does that tell you?!

Luminar, another modern software doesn’t support bmp. 

It tells me that software either free or paid that has been around for some years are still supporting legacy file formats, modern software is not.

[Pšenda]

12 hours ago, Humam2104 said:

I haven't heard of any photo editing software that doesn't support bmp (except affinity photo). Even free ones do, what does that tell you?!

That there is no need to implement it in APhoto? (as well as dozens of other obsolete and little used formats?).

 

P. S. "photo editing" - do you save photos in BMP? Do you think this is the optimal format for these purposes?

[Humam2104]

32 minutes ago, Pšenda said:

That there is no need to implement it in APhoto? (as well as dozens of other obsolete and little used formats?).

 

P. S. "photo editing" - do you save photos in BMP? Do you think this is the optimal format for these purposes?

I use a 2022 version of a software that reads textures as..bmp files, and I was trying to upscale these textures. It's not as obsolete as you mag think. That's why I need it. 

[jorsh]

So much bikeshedding on this thread, BMP is the best or only or most convenient tool for some jobs and debating its relative merits won't nullify the actual users with real world problems on this thread.

File formats don't rot, BMP's simplicity is a feature and makes it excellent for many use cases (including ease of implementation for the Affinity team).  Would I find BMP optimal for saving an image?  Yeah, definitely in some contexts, and it seems weird to have that dismissed by people who have no idea what other AP users' needs are.
I could never imagine the equivalent arguments being made with a straight face if, say, a paid spreadsheet program couldn't export a CSV ("have you tried exporting as a PDF instead" or "this is obsolete and legacy, you should export with a newer format like <fancier binary format with better compression that doesn't solve the user's problem because, for instance, it can't be processed with a company's existing tools or won't work with a different third-party application it needs to work with>").

I will never understand peoples' willingness to jump on this thread just to tell people they don't want what they say they want.  Things like "have you tried using another format" or "have you tried converting it after", of course users have explored alternatives before posting on the forum (and maybe making an account to do that, too).  At least I did, and there's been plenty of people explaining that they know the alternatives, and they do actually need BMP for what they're doing, and that converting or using different software is just a pain, and then getting told they don't actually want BMP like they say they do.

And there are other people jumping on the thread just to wonder out loud about why Serif has not implemented it yet.  Someone mentioned testing and maintenance, as if this is a hard format to test or the code would need constant attention once written.  I write computer software and this argument is just rationalization and mental gymnastics.  If they have architected the software in such a way that either of those concerns is valid then they have done a poor job predicting how the software will need to change.  That also has nothing to do with the fact that AP is not solving real users' problems in the real world, and those users are respectfully voicing interest in a BMP export for the future of the program on this thread.

Why don't I go use another image editor?  I like AP, I'm sold on it, I like its features and I want to use it for more things.  That's been rough for me because I can't actually export in my target format right out of AP and my target format is stupid simple.

[Dan C]

Please note I have hidden some of the most recent comments in this thread as they either violate our guidelines or aren't welcome here on the Affinity Forums.

We understand many users are awaiting support for this format.
As we do not tend to comment on feature requests, I can provide no definitive answer as to whether this will be implemented within the Affinity applications.

Regardless of the feature being requested, we do not allow personal attacks of any kind here on the Affinity Forums, as this is in direct violation of our guidelines.
Therefore I have locked this thread from further replies.

If any users wish to add your 'vote' to .BMP support, please simply 'like' my below post.

[Dan C]

Please 'like' this post to add your vote for .BMP support in Affinity -

 

Yes! I would love Affinity to add support for the .BMP format