Affinity Publisher for macOS - 1.8.1 (was 1.8.0)

[Ryk Groff]

Wow! Wow! Wow! Just imported an IDML into Publisher 1.8.1 and it's nearly identical to the original! Having something like ID's Paragraph Composer would probably have made it even more true to the original, but still, I can't complain.

Great job to everyone who worked on this update. It's amazing!

[illusie]

hi,

i did not try out everything new in version 1.8.1 (mac), but i immediatly tried to use luminar 4 as a plugin.

and no, it didn't work. nothing has changed at that point since the former version.

luminar is a rather popular piece of software, i would think. i almost can't believe it's ignored in this new version.

regards
jan

[thomaso]

On 2/26/2020 at 10:39 AM, Patrick Connor said:

NOTE: This was originally released as 1.8.0 on the Affinity Store and the Mac App Store. Affinity Photo 1.8.0 on the Mac App Store had a permission missing that caused a problem with plugins and Affinity Designer on the Mac App Store had a single file missing (...)

Do I understand right that v. 1.8.1 is not a necessary/urgent update for Affinity Store apps, and, respectively for APub as long I don't use Studio-Link? ... (I'd currently like to postpone downloading and installing three apps.)

[Patrick Connor]

8 hours ago, thomaso said:

Do I understand right that v. 1.8.1 is not a necessary/urgent update for Affinity Store apps, and, respectively for APub as long I don't use Studio-Link? ... (I'd currently like to postpone downloading and installing three apps.)

Absolutely. if you (or any reader here) has all 3 applications from the Affinity Store (so you do not have a mix and match of Affinity Store and Mac App Store) then there is no need to update to 1.8.1. HOWEVER 1.8.0 to 1.8.1 is a binary diff tiny update and so updating any Affinity Store Mac build from 1.8.0 to 1.8.1 would be very small and very fast to auto-update.

[R C-R]

6 minutes ago, Patrick Connor said:

HOWEVER 1.8.0 to 1.8.1 is a binary diff tiny update and so updating any Affinity Store Mac build from 1.8.0 to 1.8.1 would be very small and very fast to auto-update.

That was true for me for APu, which I bought from the Affinity Store, but as I just posted here, I bought AD & AP from the Mac App Store & those updates were fairly large & took an unusually long time to complete.

[Patrick Connor]

2 minutes ago, R C-R said:

I bought AD & AP from the Mac App Store & those updates were fairly large & took an unusually long time to complete.

Well, I was not replying about them, AND they are the ones that need to be patched due to specific problems with those builds.

[R C-R]

8 minutes ago, Patrick Connor said:

... AND they are the ones that need to be patched due to specific problems with those builds.

That is why I mentioned them. Apple's servers seem to be struggling to deliver them to everyone that needs or wants them in a timely fashion.

[thomaso]

2 hours ago, Patrick Connor said:

if you (or any reader here) has all 3 applications from the Affinity Store (...) 1.8.0 to 1.8.1 is a binary diff tiny update and so updating any Affinity Store Mac build from 1.8.0 to 1.8.1 would be very small and very fast to auto-update.

This your size hint is good news for Affinity Store users! Thank you!
Maybe such updates could be named accordingly (e.g. "patch"?) – and/or tell their size before download via forum link or app auto-update?

[thomaso]

>> "Maybe such updates could be named accordingly (e.g. "batch"?) – and/or tell their size before download via forum link or app auto-update?"

Also it would be useful to have the download/extract/install info dialog window appearing in front of the app panels, otherwise it might be invisible hidden behind for users in separated mode on two monitors.

Unfortunately in a situation like this*, where the Toggle-UI command would help, the tab-key doesn't work and the command is grayed out in the menu.

(* which is the same issue when a document was opened: hidden behind panels, toggle-UI doesn't work)

While the Software Update dialog windows both before + after download + update do appear charming in front of the panels already

  

[Whitedog]

Thinks for this great update. The problem I had earlier opening my long form document (over 400 pages) was solved. Publisher 1.8.1 opened the IDML file almost immediately. Not to mention it launches very quickly in mac OS 10.14 Mojave. And once I saved it in the afpub format, it reopens almost instantly. Excellent update, and I haven't even tried all the new features yet. But now that I can work on my book in Publisher, I'm sure I'll find them handy as well. As for exporting to the IDML format, I can see where that would be useful. But for now I'm a happy camper. I can move my work to the newer versions of the Mac OS without worry about compatibility. Interesting that the new integrated toolbar is only available in Mojave and above. That suggests that other new features may be linked to newer versions of the Mac OS. For now I'm avoiding Catalina because of the exclusion of 32 bit apps. But Publisher may remove at least some of my concerns on that count. Even so, I'll have to save a version of the Mac OS that still handles 32 bit. I'll need another external SSD for that job, as HDDs now seem slow in comparison.

As for the download, I didn't do mine until I got the e-mail from Serif announcing the 1.8.1 updates. The auto update in the older version of Publisher worked fine for me. But then, I was using Serif's server, not Apple's. I try to avoid the App Store for larger, more complex programs, like Publisher and Lightroom. YMMV.

[Bikerbudmatt]

This is a major update in my book. I have hesitated to commit to Publisher because of my large library of InDesign CS6 files that still need tending. After seeing:

1. The short work that Publisher made of ingesting an IDML file; and
2. The fact that I can now save that ingested file as a template

I am blown away. THANK YOU for this. I have used ID since its initial release in the early 2000s, migrating from PageMaker. I have pushed it close to its limits, and have depended upon it for jobs small and large. I have had to freeze my MacOS version at High Sierra to accommodate it, at the expense of updating other applications.

With this capability, I can virtualize High Sierra, safely move to the latest system, and run CS6 for exports.

For fun I opened an IDML file in BBEdit. After seeing what the IDML package encompasses, I say "hats off!" to the Affinity Publisher team. Well done!