Drag and Drop import problem

[lignumaqua]

I've had this issue with Affinity Designer on Mac for years, but have always lived with it. Today it bit me three times so I'm motivated to finally ask a question! 

If I drag and drop a non native file such as a pdf or ai file into Designer it opens a small pop-up window to confirm parameters such as dpi, fonts etc. In itself that isn't a problem, however, depending on which window was last active, that pop up window can open behind the main Affinity Window. If that happens there is no way to access it. Affinity is waiting for input from that window, but there is no way to get to the window to provide that input. The main Affinity window is locked out, and will accept no input. Nor can you access it through the 'show all windows' option in the dock. The only way I've found to recover is to do a  force quit on AD and start again. That often results in lost data and much cursing...

Is there a way to avoid this problem or to recover from it? As I say this issue has been there in every version of AD since the beginning. I can usually avoid it by remembering to click n the AD window first to make sure it's active, but I forget from time to time.

[Dan C]

Hi @lignumaqua 

My apologies for the delayed response here. I've attempted to replicate this and in each instance the PDF import dialog appears above the app.

On 6/2/2020 at 10:36 PM, lignumaqua said:

depending on which window was last active, that pop up window can open behind the main Affinity Window.

Can you be more specific regarding the last active window for me? Perhaps a screen recording demonstrating the issue could also provide clarity.

Many thanks in advance!

[lignumaqua]

Hi @Dan C. Thanks for the response!

What I meant by 'active window' is that the Affinity Designer app has to be the selected and highlighted window in OSX.  If, as is easily done, you make Finder the active window as you select the file to drag and drop it, and the Affinity Designer window is still visible but not selected, then the drag and drop fails as described. That is, Affinity still sees the pdf file, but it opens the pop up window behind the main window.

If I remember to ensure that the Affinity Designer window is active and selected, and then 'stealthily' drag and drop the file (being careful not to select the Finder window by mistake), then the import works successfully and the pop up window appears in front of Affinity Designer. If this still isn't clear I'll make a screen capture video as you suggest.

I should also reiterate that this isn't a new issue. AD has *always* behaved like this as long as I can remember. When I forget and get bitten, I usually just curse and force quit. What triggered me enough to complain this time was that I hadn't saved the document I was working on and, once this happens, there is no way to save. No way out other than to force quit.

[R C-R]

4 hours ago, lignumaqua said:

What I meant by 'active window' is that the Affinity Designer app has to be the selected and highlighted window in OSX.  If, as is easily done, you make Finder the active window as you select the file to drag and drop it, and the Affinity Designer window is still visible but not selected, then the drag and drop fails as described. That is, Affinity still sees the pdf file, but it opens the pop up window behind the main window.

I cannot duplicate that behavior on my Mac -- the window always opens at the front of AD.

[lignumaqua]

Another thing I should mention. I use two monitors, AD is on one, and Finder on the other. Shouldn't make any difference, but perhaps it does?

[walt.farrell]

12 hours ago, lignumaqua said:

Another thing I should mention. I use two monitors, AD is on one, and Finder on the other. Shouldn't make any difference, but perhaps it does?

If you put them both on one monitor, does the problem go away?