"Edit Document" Button missing in 1.8

[kamanderside]

I assume it was intentional? If so, where is this button/functionality now? Do I need to reset the app?
When I import some psd/afphoto files, I need to hide some of the layers on those files as we use those file in multiple applications, and don't wish to edit the main file.  Thanks. 

[walt.farrell]

There were changes made in 1.8 to the handling of embedded and linked document files. Are your files Linked or Embedded? Anddo you see the same thing for PSD and for .afphoto? What OS are you using?

I can Edit a .afphoto file whether it's Linked or Embedded. But, for example, I can only Edit a PDF file if it is embedded, because (I believe) it would not be possible to Save back to the original document when it is Linked.

For Linked files, I think Edit Document is there only for image and/or document files that Affinity can Save directly. (JPG, TIFF, PNG, and the native Affinity formats).

[kamanderside]

MacOS Mojave 10.4.6 
After checking, the problem is for linked psd. files AND .aphoto files. 

All files are indeed linked (although as changes to the files in Publisher 1.7 weren't reflected in the originals, they may have been behaving as embedded, anyway), as they already exist on the server we save the document to, and we're trying to conserve space.  It's going to be a lot of work to go back through those files (a task I'll have to do sometime down the road, anyway, but would prefer to not do now).

We have a bunch of .psd product photos from before we got Affinity, and being able to just turn off the background layer from Publisher was super handy and time saving, without having to go back and forth between programs.

[walt.farrell]

For me (Windows) I do have an Edit Document button for Linked .afphoto files. Lacking any PSD files I can't comment on them.

In 1.7 Linked image files (PNG, TIFF, JPG) were truly linked, and the Publisher file had only a preview image. Changes made via the Edit Image button were saved to the original file. Linked document files (basically, everything else) had a full copy in the Publisher file, but would detect changes made to the files externally, so they operated as a kind of hybrid between linked and embedded. If I remember correctly (I can't test 1.7 as I've upgraded both of my PCs) changes made via Edit Document were saved only locally, not to the original file.

In 1.8, Linked image files operate as they did in 1.7. Linked document files can be edited via Edit Document if they are a format that Affinity can Save. And the original files will be updated when Edited that way. If it is not possible to update the original linked file via Save then I don't think you get the Edit Document button at all, but I've only done limited experimentation with that, using linked PDF and SVG files.

Files that you can Save are limited to JPG, PNG, TIFF, .afphoto, .afdesign, and .afpub files, as far as I know.

[kamanderside]

If you still have the button for .afphoto files in 1.8, I probably just need to reset the program. No fun, given I'll have to rearrange the workspace again, but if it brings the button back it will save some other trouble. I'll try that and then put the results below.

---
First off, .afphoto files are fine. It turns out that the .afphoto files that I thought were .afphoto files were actually .psds. The reason being is they are product photos initially edited in Photo, but exported as .psds to send to another guy to cut out because he has Photoshop and sent back to us, and we waited to get Publisher until later, so we needed to be able to place them in InDesign. 

So linked .psd files don't get to be edited anymore, in-program in Publisher, it seems. This is rather counter-intuitive? I know they weren't truly placed, but now I have to go and re-place all of those as embedded, or convert them all to .afphoto. There's like over 500 photos I just did myself in the year since I got hired here, and probably twice that or more in .psd product photos that were taken since 2016. I also don't want to embed them, that's a lot. Working on a file saved on the server is slow enough already and the file size is gonna balloon like crazy.

[walt.farrell]

39 minutes ago, warzmanda said:

So linked .psd files don't get to be edited anymore, in-program in Publisher, it seems. This is rather counter-intuitive?

I haven't seen any comments from Serif staff about that, but my assumption is that because Linked document files are truly Linked now, and Edits to them need to be Saved (File > Save) in order to save the updates back to the original, that only those files that can be Saved will have the Edit (Image | Document) button. That's JPG, TIFF, PNG, and the 3 native Affinity file types. All other files would need to be Exported via File > Export, rather than Saved.

Ah. Just remembered, though, that PSD files can be Saved if you've chosen to allow that in Preferences, General:

It's a risky option, as you can lose information or editability, and therefore it's off by default. And in any case it doesn't get you an Edit Document button when you have a Linked .psd file, so that won't help.

[kamanderside]

Yah. Thanks for your help, though.

[walt.farrell]

You're welcome.

[DWright]

The Edit Document button was removed in 1.8 for .PSD and .PDF files 

[SoftwareDeveloperErik]

The Edit button is still there. Go to File -> Document Setup and change the line Image Placement Policy to: Prefer embedded. Then place the image again and the button is there.