Affinity Photo Customer Beta (1.9.0.195)

[Jowday]

5 hours ago, Andy Somerfield said:

"I would like to meet the Serif UX that recommended this "on the fly" approach. "

 

That would be me

I knew the answer. But you are the lead Affinity Photo developer? Who is the real Affinity UX😀

I have access to four full time UX’es and they are booked months in advanced. It’s not a side project job. I am just curious how it works in Serif. The usability in Photo is a mess and I wonder who designed the UI. I simply don’t understand how so many rookie mistakes found their way into an modern program and how so many survive after several updates.

Several customers in the forum also noticed that a significant amount of feedback from customers is about usability issues.

[Jeremy Bohn]

On 9/14/2020 at 12:20 AM, Andy Somerfield said:

- Added “Create from centre” for the elliptical marquee tool.

This is a great addition and I agree it should be expanded to all selection tools. I also agree it would be great to do all the selection options by keyboard rather than having to click in the toolbar (or in addition to).

What I'd also like to see is the ability to move the selection as I'm drawing it. In Photoshop you can do this by pressing the spacebar. I have still not seen a way to do this In AP and it creates a lot of time wasted in trial and error for me. Someone please correct me if I've missed a way to do this.

[LesC]

11 hours ago, Jeremy Bohn said:

...

What I'd also like to see is the ability to move the selection as I'm drawing it. In Photoshop you can do this by pressing the spacebar. I have still not seen a way to do this In AP and it creates a lot of time wasted in trial and error for me. Someone please correct me if I've missed a way to do this.

That's something that I have been searching for ages! Photoshop can do that, but I also use the technique outside of Photoshop, on the Mac's Finder, e.g., when I'm making a screenshot. ⌘-4 allows me to select a region, and pressing down the spacebar allows me to move the selection, so that it fits exactly what I need copying.

[LesC]

Downloaded and installed new build this morning: AP ß 1.9.0.196 does no longer crash on my late 2012 iMac. Good job! I can start testing.

[walt.farrell]

On 9/14/2020 at 11:49 AM, Andy Somerfield said:

At the moment, selecting a preset then moving panels actually updates that preset on the fly. That might be counter-intuitive and if so will be changed. I agree also about the confirmation dialog.

I've only played with it on Windows, but I like the behavior of the Studio Preset updating automatically.

It's consistent with the current studio behavior: Set your panel configuration, and it is remembered. Modify it, and the modified version is remembered.

I would be annoyed if I changed the configuration and closed the application and my configuration was not remembered when I restarted it, and I should not have to remember to go into a menu and Save it again.

The approach as currently implemented is also consistent with how we create presets for:

• File > New: Set the document settings you want, then click the + sign to create a new preset.
• Cropping: Set the crop tool values, click the Cog, and click Create Preset.

What I do not like, however, is that when I click Create New Preset, and then name the preset, it reverts back to the factory default set of studio panels when creating the new preset, and I have to arrange everything again. I would prefer that my new studio preset start from the one I am currently using, allowing me to make incremental changes to the panel layout and save them. (I cannot confirm if it works the same way on Mac, of course.)

[carl123]

No, no, no & no

A preset is a preset. It should not change unless you edit that preset or deliberately save over that preset

I don't want my carefully configured presets which I set up for 95% of my work automatically changing when I work on one or two documents that may require me to fire up additional studio panels needed for those rare and specific case documents.

[smadell]

Walt...

I don't think anyone is suggesting that the layout of the Studio be forgotten. I agree that if I move a studio panel to a new position, or close it, or open another one, then the configuration of the Studio should survive a closing and re-opening of the application.

The bone of contention, however, is whether or not the Preset itself should be updated. If I create a Studio Preset and then close out a single panel, (i) should the studio look just as I left it when I re-start the application? and (ii) if I then choose that newly-created Studio Preset, should the panel I closed after creating the Preset be re-opened, or should the Studio Preset itself update to reflect the closed panel?

So far, my hunch is that the majority of us think that (i) the studio should look the way you left it; and (ii) the Studio Preset should look like it did when you created it (rather than after you selected it and changed the layout). I think you are conflating those two conditions, and they are not mutually exclusive. i.e., both conditions can be true – the Studio Preset is fixed in stone once you create it, and the current layout of the studio is remembered from session to session.

[Jeremy Bohn]

40 minutes ago, carl123 said:

A preset is a preset. It should not change unless you edit that preset or deliberately save over that preset

Agreed 100%. I get the UI right to where I want it, but sometimes I start opening and closing and moving panels around and eventually need to reset back to my original preset.

[Old Bruce]

47 minutes ago, carl123 said:

No, no, no & no

A preset is a preset. It should not change unless you edit that preset or deliberately save over that preset

I don't want my carefully configured presets which I set up for 95% of my work automatically changing when I work on one or two documents that may require me to fire up additional studio panels needed for those rare and specific case documents.

Agree 100%.