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I am posting this feedback in this section of the forum, I hope this help to improve the software
Not going to talk about the bugs, I hope all of them get fixed
I am going to compare my experience with other softares, such as Adobe Illustrator, Inkscape (the ones I use the most)

For the few time I have used the software I can tell is very minimalistic, (I really hope this is not because the Ipad version limitations, as PC can do much more than a Ipad, so I hope PC version is not being limited to keep in the same quality of the Ipad version)
Or maybe is the way the software is going to be, as it could be a minimalistic software not planned to have advanced features, I would like to know which kind of software Affinity Designer aim to be, minimalistic or advanced?

Developer team care for both personas this mean less time to focus to improve designer persona and possibly priorize pixel persona over vector persona (The software is meant to be a vector graphic software, rather than a raster graphic software)

The exporting persona is not intuitive and does not have much more to offer than the traditional exporting in the user menu
The software have very few settings and some of them are not compatible with SVG format (The standard file format for vector graphics)
The software have very few tools and some of them are not compatible with SVG format (The standard file format for vector graphics)
There are very few tools for vector graphics, and the customization for them are very tricky and not intuitive & limited
_
What I suggest is to focus on introducing new tools&features&settings to work with vector graphics and improve the ones that the software already have

Currently I don`t use this software because of the limitations exposed, as other vector graphic software have to offer much more optimized tools&features for vector format (SVG), I really hope it get more complexity eventually as for now it is not a stand alone software for its limitations & few features for vector graphics.

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@Larryh,

Affinity Designer is hardly minimalistic; not sure where you are getting that from or what you are comparing with.

In some cases the tools are designed differently than in other software (as should be expected) and the functionality that other programs use multiple tools for are merged into a single tool which may have multiple modes of operation.  It sounds like you need to spend a bit more time exploring the interface before trying to judge the program.

SVG is only one standard for vector graphics, and is not the native or primary format that Designer targets.  It is one option among many when exporting, and it would make no sense for Designer to limit its feature set to only those things which happen to be supported by this one format.

The export persona allows configuration of repeatable exports from the same document and for exporting multiple sections of a document simultaneously, which can be very useful to some designers depending on their workflow and what they are trying to produce.  For one-off exports, the options in the File menu are likely more convenient.

I'm not sure what you are designing, but realize that design/illustration is a very large field with numerous people in different situations having different requirements; this program may not be tailored to exactly the type of work you are doing as it attempts to cover a lot of ground; search around the forum a bit and you will find people using it for everything from designing corporate ads and logos to software user interface design to creating card games.  It is a powerful, professional application, but whether or not it is the best for your needs is something you will need to determine - no one program will be perfect for every user and project.

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The large field Affinity Designer want to cover means less attention to the main purpose of the software, Vector Graphics SVG format
I have view every video tutorial available, read every tutorial available and still, knowing how the software works does not provide full functionality, as it is missing half of the features other softwares have to offer to work with vector graphics
What I suggest is very clear, to improve vector graphic tool and add new ones, currently for only-vector graphic projects (SVG format) the software is incapable to provide a stand alone work space, because of the lack of advanced features and the rudimentary vector features it currently offer

(I work with vector graphics & SVG vector graphic format)
Affinity Designer is good to work with raster graphics, I can´t deny that, because the software have focus on raster graphics over vector graphics
The UI is good, I like the way the software is organizing the items in layers and the features it offer for the layer organization
Exporting have no bugs, that is a nice thing, but still missing option for exporting, which should be improved (Importing have some bugs for SVG format, that is something they have told that they are working on to fix)

I would recommend the software to everyone who works with raster graphics and pixels
I would not recommend the software for anyone who works with vector graphics and SVG format,  but I have high expectations to what the software have to offer and I hope new features arrive for vector graphics and more attention is provided to that fundamental field
(I might say, I really want to use Affinity Designer as my main stand alone software to work with vector graphics when it improves the current weaknesses of the software)
I have posted in topics (See my profile) all the missing features and bugs I requested to add/fix/improve, you can find more information in those topics:
https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/profile/118527-larryh/&do=content&type=forums_topic&change_section=1

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45 minutes ago, Larryh said:

because of the lack of advanced features and the rudimentary vector features it currently offer

Hello @Larryh,

it would be helpful to understand what you are claiming here if you could provide some (or many) examples of features you are missing.

Thank you.
d.

Affinity Designer 1 & 2   |   Affinity Photo 1 & 2   |   Affinity Publisher 1 & 2
Affinity Designer 2 for iPad   |   Affinity Photo 2 for iPad   |   Affinity Publisher 2 for iPad

Windows 11 64-bit - Core i7 - 16GB - Intel HD Graphics 4600 & NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M
iPad pro 9.7" + Apple Pencil

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The ones I find more noticeable are those:


Those are the most important features that are missing, there might be other improves to be made, but those are fundamental in my opinion
With those features The software would be much more usable
_
About bugs, those are the ones I request the most to be fixed:

1, Bug that makes the masking object not apply the mask to the object inside when importing* an SVG file
(Affinity Designer software convert the mask to a layer group instead, meaning that they are just in the same group, but there is no masking)
I could provide a SVG as explample if needed

2. Bug that makes the transparency added inverted to the masked object
(This bug is the one that is presented in the SVG file that I sent via email previously)


Those are explained here: (Developer already told that they are working to fix those two)

 

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10 minutes ago, Larryh said:

The ones I find more noticeable are those:

Hello @Larryh,

thank you for your quick reply and the samples you show. This will certainly help to continue the discussion and perhaps to distill some intersting ideas.

Cheers,
d.

Affinity Designer 1 & 2   |   Affinity Photo 1 & 2   |   Affinity Publisher 1 & 2
Affinity Designer 2 for iPad   |   Affinity Photo 2 for iPad   |   Affinity Publisher 2 for iPad

Windows 11 64-bit - Core i7 - 16GB - Intel HD Graphics 4600 & NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M
iPad pro 9.7" + Apple Pencil

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Clearly using other software is not what the topic is about, but your suggestion is already being implemented by myself, thanks, I am currently using other vector graphic softwares, as I told before: ""(I might say, I really want to use Affinity Designer as my main stand alone software to work with vector graphics when it improves the current weaknesses of the software)" 
I want Affinity designer to be as good as the other softwares are, even better
Read my previous topics and previous posts in this topic to understand what are the suggestions I provide to this software

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It is more like Postscript is the premier vector language, SVG supports only a subset...

Designer omissions are many, personally I am irked by its tendency to fall back to full pixel graphic export if there are any pixel effects applied. For example if you use noise fill that element is exported as pixel element, instead of proper vector shape with bitmap enclosed. And that sucks. (As you started about raster abilities..)

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16 hours ago, Larryh said:

Clearly using other software is not what the topic is about, but your suggestion is already being implemented by myself, thanks, I am currently using other vector graphic softwares, as I told before: ""(I might say, I really want to use Affinity Designer as my main stand alone software to work with vector graphics when it improves the current weaknesses of the software)" 
I want Affinity designer to be as good as the other softwares are, even better
Read my previous topics and previous posts in this topic to understand what are the suggestions I provide to this software

I agree with you @Larryh

Affinity Designer does indeed lack a range of advanced to semi-advanced tools requested in here for years. It is a little surprising when you compare it to feature rich Photo fx.

Designer is fine for many types of simple vector illustrations but the moment you advance into more complex scenarios any business case is quickly ruined by time consuming work arounds and manual work. I am not sure hobbyists or fan**** (!) understand this.

DrawPlus never impressed in the vector department either (over a decade at least) so I am a little concerned about the future of Designer.

  • "The user interface is supposed to work for me - I am not supposed to work for the user interface."
  • Computer-, operating system- and software agnostic; I am a result oriented professional. Look for a fanboy somewhere else.
  • “When a wise man points at the moon the imbecile examines the finger.” ― Confucius
  • Not an Affinity user og forum user anymore. The software continued to disappoint and not deliver.
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  • Staff

To some of the recent participants in this thread

Less of the personal and snide remarks please. We get threads like these reported by people who lurk and find these responses unnecessary and upsetting. Not everyone wants to see this level of argument, and I do not want those people (or you) to leave this forum because of personal disagreements about the future of the software. I have hidden some responses and will lock the thread if needed.

@Larryh

please note this is absolutely not aimed at you.

Patrick Connor
Serif Europe Ltd

"There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man. True nobility lies in being superior to your previous self."  W. L. Sheldon

 

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16 hours ago, Fixx said:

It is more like Postscript is the premier vector language, SVG supports only a subset...

Exactly. A lightweight XML version of Postscript.

  • "The user interface is supposed to work for me - I am not supposed to work for the user interface."
  • Computer-, operating system- and software agnostic; I am a result oriented professional. Look for a fanboy somewhere else.
  • “When a wise man points at the moon the imbecile examines the finger.” ― Confucius
  • Not an Affinity user og forum user anymore. The software continued to disappoint and not deliver.
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18 hours ago, Fixx said:

It is more like Postscript is the premier vector language, SVG supports only a subset....

While there is overlap between the formats, they target different market segments.  PostScript is a page description language with a primary purpose of describing entire documents for a printer, though it has been adapted for use in transporting individual images (EPS) and for display use (DPS) prior to PDF coming along.  SVG is designed for individual images and animations (something the Affinity products are not expected to support anytime soon if ever) and is targeted primarily at display use rather than print.

I generally view Affinity Designer as catering to both market segments, so both are important: SVG for those creating graphics for the web and some types of UI work, and PDF for those designing for print.

This means having features of both standards, some of which will require adaptation to be made to work in the other (or in some cases will simply need to be omitted).

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Yes, add here that Postscript is also a turing complete interpreter based programming language, which SVG isn't. - Display Postscript, well since I programmed a lot of stuff for that in the past I'm probably biased here (the bookshelf here still has some good old references laying around) ...

dps_prog_books.jpg.ef5374aff9ca89653007b8a6f617fe0b.jpg

Just for fun PS hacking with a simple OSX PostScript interpreter based on core graphics ...

coregraphics_ps.jpg.a1475f78f16a31fe14ffcbee1227c5e8.jpg

 

However, nowadays Postscript, Encapsulated Postscript and Display Postscript have been mostly replaced by the Portable Document Format (PDF), which incorporates a lot from all those.

Beside PDF as an exchangable document format, SVG is the other important one for vector graphics exchange, though their support and implementation varies partly a lot among common software.

 

☛ Affinity Designer 1.10.8 ◆ Affinity Photo 1.10.8 ◆ Affinity Publisher 1.10.8 ◆ OSX El Capitan
☛ Affinity V2.3 apps ◆ MacOS Sonoma 14.2 ◆ iPad OS 17.2

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On 11/27/2019 at 10:43 PM, Larryh said:

The large field Affinity Designer want to cover means less attention to the main purpose of the software, Vector Graphics SVG format
 

No, SVG is not the main purpose of anything.  Maybe that’s your main purpose.  I’ve no idea what AD’s primary focus is.  Or Illustrator’s for that matter. I imagine that they’re trying to cover a certain amount of ground.  Illustrator is of course covering absolutely everything while AD is covering a small subset of what Illustrator can handle.  Last time I tried Inkscape, it felt like something I’d highly recommend to an enemy.  But for you, I suppose it has wonderful SVG support, if not much else.

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On 11/28/2019 at 1:33 AM, Larryh said:

Clearly using other software is not what the topic is about, but your suggestion is already being implemented by myself, thanks, I am currently using other vector graphic softwares, as I told before: ""(I might say, I really want to use Affinity Designer as my main stand alone software to work with vector graphics when it improves the current weaknesses of the software)" 
I want Affinity designer to be as good as the other softwares are, even better
Read my previous topics and previous posts in this topic to understand what are the suggestions I provide to this software

When AD becomes as good as Illustrator, it will have a price tag similar to Illustrator.

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