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I have looked at the latest Beta version and notice that it is mainly about fixes for previous Beta versions.

 

Where can I find the difference between what the current Beta version offers over the AD 1.8.3? If there is little difference between them then there is no point in me downloading it.

I tried to add a signature to my profile but the signature 'window' shakes and cannot be used.

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Mac OS Monterey 12.6.4

AD version 2.3.0

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3 minutes ago, jackamus said:

Where can I find the difference between what the current Beta version offers over the AD 1.8.3?

There is a specific list of these differences In the first post of the thread for the current beta of 1.8.4.

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Changes Since 1.8.3

- Fix for incorrect rendering of grids in OpenGL past certain zoom levels.
- Fix for poor functioning of 'Force Touch' trackpads in pressure-sensitive tools.
- Speculative fix for occasional lockups in Pencil Tool.
- Added option in preferences to re-enable the old behaviour for deleting objects (we used to previously favour empty selections).
- Added ability to show folders as icons in the layers panel.
- Added option to always show folders as “small” in the layers panel.
- Improved dragging behaviour in the layers panel (make it easier to drag child items around within their container without affecting parenting).
- PDF import performance improvements.
- Document save performance improvements.
- Text performance improvements.
- Assorted small bug fixes.
- Fix for 'Expand Strokes' failing to consider 'velocity' as a width controller.
- Fix for focus issues when tabbing between text entry fields in the Colour panel with Text objects selected.
- Fix for operation of Command+Right-Click on an object to show the tree hierarchy of the selected node.
- Allow certain documents created on Windows to open correctly (if the document contained a saved reference to exporting as Windows GDI formats).
- Help improvements.
- Localisation improvements.

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I saw that but it doesn't tell me the real difference between AD and AD Beta.

If voting made any difference it wouldn't be allowed!

Rules are for the guidance of wise men and the obedience of fools.

To be ignorant of world happenings is forgivable - to be willingly ignorant is unforgivable.

Truth does not need to be protected only lies do.

Mac OS Monterey 12.6.4

AD version 2.3.0

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14 minutes ago, anon2 said:

To me, a change makes a difference. Maybe I'm not understanding what you mean by difference.

As I understand it when a Beta version is released for the first time it would need contain significant differences which need to be tested by users.

As time goes by bugs get fixed until it works OK. When this point is reached I would ten expect the differences to be incorporated into the current version. Maybe the Beta version never gets 'completed' and just keeps evolving.

I just want to know if the AD Beta version is different enough from AD 1.8.3 to make it worthwhile downloading to try it out for myself.

If voting made any difference it wouldn't be allowed!

Rules are for the guidance of wise men and the obedience of fools.

To be ignorant of world happenings is forgivable - to be willingly ignorant is unforgivable.

Truth does not need to be protected only lies do.

Mac OS Monterey 12.6.4

AD version 2.3.0

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10 minutes ago, jackamus said:

I just want to know if the AD Beta version is different enough from AD 1.8.3 to make it worthwhile downloading to try it out for myself.

What more do you want than the list of 17 items, headed "Changes Since 1.8.3", which I copied and pasted from the current beta thread?

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That's OK if that is all of them. I thought that there may be others.

 

For me its not worth downloading.

If voting made any difference it wouldn't be allowed!

Rules are for the guidance of wise men and the obedience of fools.

To be ignorant of world happenings is forgivable - to be willingly ignorant is unforgivable.

Truth does not need to be protected only lies do.

Mac OS Monterey 12.6.4

AD version 2.3.0

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I think the version change (1.8.3 to 1.8.4) clearly indicates, that these will be only minor changes and fixies.

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1 hour ago, jackamus said:

to make it worthwhile downloading to try it out for myself.

I think, that you do not correctly understand the meaning and significance of "Beta" versions and their testing by users.

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1 hour ago, Pšenda said:

I think, that you do not correctly understand the meaning and significance of "Beta" versions and their testing by users.

OK. Then please correct me.

If voting made any difference it wouldn't be allowed!

Rules are for the guidance of wise men and the obedience of fools.

To be ignorant of world happenings is forgivable - to be willingly ignorant is unforgivable.

Truth does not need to be protected only lies do.

Mac OS Monterey 12.6.4

AD version 2.3.0

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Hahaha!

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Can you blame me?

If voting made any difference it wouldn't be allowed!

Rules are for the guidance of wise men and the obedience of fools.

To be ignorant of world happenings is forgivable - to be willingly ignorant is unforgivable.

Truth does not need to be protected only lies do.

Mac OS Monterey 12.6.4

AD version 2.3.0

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37 minutes ago, jackamus said:

OK. Then please correct me.

For example here:
https://www.softwaretestinghelp.com/beta-testing/

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That's exactly how I understood it. Before AD was published was it given a Beta test first?

If voting made any difference it wouldn't be allowed!

Rules are for the guidance of wise men and the obedience of fools.

To be ignorant of world happenings is forgivable - to be willingly ignorant is unforgivable.

Truth does not need to be protected only lies do.

Mac OS Monterey 12.6.4

AD version 2.3.0

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A beta is a pre-release version for usability feedback and technical testing of whatever new release that is in the horizon. Big, small, whatever. In this case it is a beta of a minor release with bugfixes - a beta of 1.8.4.

I have a feeling though that there won't be a 1.8.4 - that the bugfixes will be released with 1.9.0. But still the principle stands.

It is perfectly normal here for Serif to release betas of every forthcoming release. Major, minor or of entirely new product.

In this particular case... if you have no direct interest in testing the bugfixes in the beta (and in providing feedback for Serif, if you reported some of the bugs) you can simply wait for the "retail release" of it.

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Thanks.

If voting made any difference it wouldn't be allowed!

Rules are for the guidance of wise men and the obedience of fools.

To be ignorant of world happenings is forgivable - to be willingly ignorant is unforgivable.

Truth does not need to be protected only lies do.

Mac OS Monterey 12.6.4

AD version 2.3.0

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5 hours ago, jackamus said:

Before AD was published was it given a Beta test first?

Yes, beta testing should precede the release of any final version, because the application is tested in many user-specific HW configurations, and in many user-specific workflows. So it's about helping users who, if they want to participate in beta testing, check the functionality of the application, not only the new features, but also the old ones, if they were not damaged during the modifications. If users want to participate in testing, they should check each new version, and not just the one that has some interesting new features for them.

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You say 'should precede the release of any final version'. How would Serif have selected Beta testers pre AD? Before AD was DrawPlus.

If voting made any difference it wouldn't be allowed!

Rules are for the guidance of wise men and the obedience of fools.

To be ignorant of world happenings is forgivable - to be willingly ignorant is unforgivable.

Truth does not need to be protected only lies do.

Mac OS Monterey 12.6.4

AD version 2.3.0

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1 hour ago, jackamus said:

You say 'should precede the release of any final version'. How would Serif have selected Beta testers pre AD? Before AD was DrawPlus.

Internal tests I presume. Tons of boring test-cases for whoever that tested it. Problem is they would test the same features the same way every time. It is also very time consuming. Enter public betas. Tons of free volunteers that test it from low to high in all kinds of scenarios after internal testing is complete.

  • "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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Yes, public beta testing is far superior to closed beta testing.

Serif used the closed method during the Plus days. However, unlike some companies, there was a private section of the website for beta testers and Serif to interact. The beta testers also had access to the bug database, which was nice.

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So basically what seems to have been said is that the Beta version is only cosmetically different from AD 1.8.3. and only useful for testing fixes.

So the bottom line is that the old DrawPlus8 is still a better graphics program than AD even with its frequent crashes. I wonder how many AD users have even heard of Serif's DrawPlus and don't realise what they are missing?

If voting made any difference it wouldn't be allowed!

Rules are for the guidance of wise men and the obedience of fools.

To be ignorant of world happenings is forgivable - to be willingly ignorant is unforgivable.

Truth does not need to be protected only lies do.

Mac OS Monterey 12.6.4

AD version 2.3.0

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1 hour ago, jackamus said:

So basically what seems to have been said is that the Beta version is only cosmetically different from AD 1.8.3. and only useful for testing fixes.

I'm not sure what you mean by "cosmetic" - any change to the way the software behaves is functional.  Even if the intended change is limited to a single bug fix there's still the possibility of introducing new bugs.  What individual beta testers get out of it is up to them - I'm a hobbyist, so my reasons for beta testing will be very different from a commercial user whose livelihood might be impacted.

3 hours ago, jackamus said:

So the bottom line is that the old DrawPlus8 is still a better graphics program than AD even with its frequent crashes.

How did you reach that conclusion?

AP, AD & APub user, running Win10

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3 hours ago, jackamus said:

So the bottom line is that the old DrawPlus8 is still a better graphics program than AD even with its frequent crashes.

 

11 minutes ago, IanSG said:

How did you reach that conclusion?

I think what Jack really means is that AD is currently lacking some of the features that DrawPlus had acquired by the time it reached version X8 (not version 8 without the ‘X’, which was released nearly a decade earlier!) but we have to bear in mind that DP is Windows-only and developed incrementally whereas AD is cross-platform and written from scratch.

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25 minutes ago, Alfred said:

and written from scratch.

... and Serif has always stated that Affinity applications will gradually add all the important functionality.

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