Why does the iPad UI have to be so different?

[eobet]

Why does the iPad have to have different user interface than the desktop app? It’s way worse, not intuitive at all like Procreate, and apps like Clip Studio Paint have the full deskriptiv UI on the IPad anyway and it works just fine.

I want to use the iPad version of Affinity Designer, but:

The layer options, settings and buttons panel is so much more convoluted and difficult to use on the iPad compared to the desktop.

I’m even having a difficult time changing the gradient colors on an object, because on the desktop, I just click in the fill in the appearance tab, but that menu on the iPad is so obtuse I just don’t understand how to use it.

Also, this might be obvious to some, but I cannot find the live pixel preview on the iPad.

And menus I have zero interest in, like the Assets and Symbols, cannot be dragged off and closed like on the desktop.

Currently, I’m only drawing small things on the iPad where the pen is better, and then moving to the desktop for all other things.

[Lee D]

The UI is different on iPadOS due to it being an OS that doesn't have a general UI layout, it's also a touch device and has a smaller screen area compared to desktops. We've even had requests for the desktop UI to be more like iPadOS.

To change an existing gradient, select the object then tap the Fill Tool. It then just a case of selecting the node and then selecting the colour on the Colour Studio.

If you want to see a split vector/pixel view, switch to the Navigator panel and change the Split to Pixels.

[DM1]

It’s all relative.   Not having had the desktop version, I find the iPad ui ok once you get used to it. Particularly as Designer and Photo use the same basic ui on iPad. 

[Meinhart]

Having downloaded the iPad App first and after some time the desktop version I find it the other way round. The gestures and the optimized user interface for touch make it in my opinion more intuitiv. I guess it depends on what you are used to work with.

Edited December 3, 2019 by Meinhart

[8BitCerberus]

Having both the iPad and Desktop versions, sometimes it would be nice to have consistency between them, but so far I haven’t had much trouble finding my way around the iPad versions. 

However this just blew my mind:

Quote

And menus I have zero interest in, like the Assets and Symbols, cannot be dragged off and closed like on the desktop.

 How do you not? Do you start from scratch for everything, with each new piece? Do you not have recurring clients that have things like logos and common graphics like social media icons or UI elements you need to use over and over in other designs and mockups? Do you just keep cluttered files of common symbols to copy and paste from?

As a working designer, the symbols and assets are a godsend. I’ve been using them since they were first introduced into Illustrator so many years ago, and they’ve become a sort of bare minimum requirement for my consideration of alternate programs. I used to keep those cluttered files of symbols and logos, UI elements, social media icons, etc. It’s so much better having them built in and available right from the program, even if just to save the hassle of having to navigate through my file system to open them.

[BarnettArt]

On 11/27/2019 at 9:45 AM, Lee D said:

The UI is different on iPadOS due to it being an OS that doesn't have a general UI layout, it's also a touch device and has a smaller screen area compared to desktops. We've even had requests for the desktop UI to be more like iPadOS.

To change an existing gradient, select the object then tap the Fill Tool. It then just a case of selecting the node and then selecting the colour on the Colour Studio.

If you want to see a split vector/pixel view, switch to the Navigator panel and change the Split to Pixels.

This answer is easily as obtuse as the problem described. Is there a video somewhere about how easy this should be?

[eobet]

Why isn’t there a separate selection tool on the iPad? I can’t find, for example, a lasso selection in the move tool. I also can’t hold down a finger to drag or click to add to the current selection. The “add to selection” button in the move tool’s pop up toolbar didn’t do anything for me at first. Perhaps it doesn’t support additional box selections? It felt very unreliable. Also there is no “remove from selection” button.

Why does the layer panel close the moment I create a new layer? I wanted to move some objects into it. Why is it so difficult to scroll through hundreds of objects in a layer? Why do I need to open a second menu to lock and unlock layers?

I don’t think I’ve ever been as frustrated with an iPad UI as I have with Affinity. Desktop, warmly recommended. iPad unfortunately is a hard pass right now.

[DM1]

56 minutes ago, eobet said:

Why does the layer panel close the moment I create a new layer?

Tap the pin symbol at top right of menus to 'pin' them open.

56 minutes ago, eobet said:

Why do I need to open a second menu to lock and unlock layers?

You don’t. Just tap hamburger menu next to pin and select 'Show Locked'. Each layer now displays a lock symbol. Tap to lock, tap again to unlock.

56 minutes ago, eobet said:

I also can’t hold down a finger to drag or click to add to the current selection.

You don’t need to hold down a finger. Just draw a marquee around objects to select them or tap 'add' and tap objects to add them to selections. Makes sure the Magnet symbol bottom left is turned on. You can also have any object 'intersected' by marquee selected by turning on that feat in Settings.

56 minutes ago, eobet said:

Also there is no “remove from selection” button.

True. This would be useful.

59 minutes ago, eobet said:

Why isn’t there a separate selection tool on the iPad? I can’t find, for example, a lasso selection in the move tool.

Some tool symbols have a tiny (hard to see) triangle in bottom corner. This indicates the icon can be tapped to open a pop out menu that provides access to the other available tools. Small Screen real estate means only one is shown at a time. See attached screen shot.

 

I suspect many User  'issues' occur simply because the app has so many features and settings that are hidden away in menus somewhere. The tiny icons don’t help either. Unlabelled context menu items are frustrating for users and have even smaller symbols. The inability to access help within an open document compounds the issue. Most answers are actually available in the built in help but few people seem to know how to access and search it. 

[eobet]

On 6/7/2020 at 1:38 AM, DM1 said:

You don’t. Just tap hamburger menu next to pin and select 'Show Locked'. Each layer now displays a lock symbol. Tap to lock, tap again to unlock.

Thanks for this and the previous answer, but Jesus christ, why isn't that enabled by default?

On 6/7/2020 at 1:38 AM, DM1 said:

You don’t need to hold down a finger. Just draw a marquee around objects to select them or tap 'add' and tap objects to add them to selections. Makes sure the Magnet symbol bottom left is turned on. You can also have any object 'intersected' by marquee selected by turning on that feat in Settings.

I can't get this to work no matter what order of things I try. It's super unintuitive.

On 6/7/2020 at 1:38 AM, DM1 said:

See attached screen shot.

That looks like Affinity Photo and not Designer. I do not see something similar for Designer.

On 6/7/2020 at 1:38 AM, DM1 said:

I suspect many User  'issues' occur simply because the app has so many features and settings that are hidden away in menus somewhere.

And the reason why I created this topic is because that not only are so many settings hidden by default on the iPad, they're hidden in a different location compared to the desktop version!

On 6/7/2020 at 1:38 AM, DM1 said:

Most answers are actually available in the built in help but few people seem to know how to access and search it. 

It's 2020. I think the knowledge on how to design apps that do not require you to read a help file to find basic features is exists these days...

[ARCADER]

On 6/11/2020 at 9:00 AM, eobet said:

It's 2020. I think the knowledge on how to design apps that do not require you to read a help file to find basic features is exists these days...

It’s 2020 and people can’t be bothered to learn the software they want to use for their professional work. 

I mean, how much time passed between you had all those questions, you toyed around with the program, you signed up to these forums, posted and waited until you got a reply?

You could’ve read the documentation and watched the whole video tutorial series by Serif in one night before bed, especially since you say you already are familiar with the desktop version. You could’ve blazed trough the documentation looking for differences between both versions but I guess it’s easier to ask people around and then answer with cheeky replies.

[Markio]

On 6/11/2020 at 4:00 PM, eobet said:

That looks like Affinity Photo and not Designer. I do not see something similar for Designer.

That is the pixel persona in Affinity Designer.

And it would be great to have a freehand selection tool in the vector persona for the move and node tool.