Adding scrapbooking kits into Assets panel

[Canterslowly]

I've recently started using Affinity Photo and Designer (mainly Photo) in place of Craft Artist.  I found out how to load my scrapbooking kits into the Assets panel - with subcategories for different parts of the kit.  I had around 16 kits loaded last week but I started to get a while line across the top of the screen and "not responding".  After shutting down the program a number of times I eventually lost everything from the Assets panel.  Luckily I had exported the kits as Assets files and there's only one kit I need to re-make into as Asset.  I tried to reinstall the program and used the FIX option.  However I still keep getting the "not responding" message even though I now have only 3 kits in the Assets panel.  Can you tell me if there is an maximum for contents of the assets panel please?

[Callum]

Hi Canterslowly,
Welcome to the forums

There isn't really a maximum number of assets. Do you still have all of your asset packs backed up and does the app crash every time you try to open it?

Thanks
C

[PaulEC]

57 minutes ago, Canterslowly said:

Can you tell me if there is an maximum for contents of the assets panel please?

Although there isn't a maximum number of Assets do be aware that the Assets file which is created could become massive. (Only really a problem if you don't have a lot of spare disc space!)

[walt.farrell]

1 hour ago, PaulEC said:

Only really a problem if you don't have a lot of spare disc space!)

Could also, perhaps, become a problem when starting up or when displaying the assets panel, depending on the size of the file, number of assets, size/content of assets, etc.

[PaulEC]

1 hour ago, walt.farrell said:

Could also, perhaps, become a problem when starting up or when displaying the assets panel, depending on the size of the file, number of assets, size/content of assets, etc.

It's a pity Serif can't come up with a way of linking to a folder (a bit like PagePlus used to do), rather than just creating one big file. Although I suppose you can just import/place items from elsewhere, it's just a bit handier to have frequently used "assets" handy.

[Canterslowly]

On 10/14/2020 at 2:14 PM, Callum said:

Hi Canterslowly,
Welcome to the forums

There isn't really a maximum number of assets. Do you still have all of your asset packs backed up and does the app crash every time you try to open it?

Thanks
C

@Callum every time I convert a kit into an Asset I export it (so it's a back-up).  It's come to the stage that every time I import a kit or delete one I get the "not responding" screen.  Sometimes it just clears in a minute and I can continue but sometimes I have to shut down.  I deleted the program yesterday then re-installed it.  At the moment I'm just keeping about 5 kits in the Assets Panel.  I've just checked the size of one of the kits (for reference) and it's around 146,500kb.  There are a number of scrapbookers now starting to move to Affinity and we've started a new facebook group so that we can learn from each other, pass on tutorials we've found etc.  It would appear that existing facebook groups haven't been interested in using the Affinity products for scrapbooking so we're going it alone   (Thanks for your initial reply).

[Canterslowly]

On 10/14/2020 at 4:52 PM, PaulEC said:

It's a pity Serif can't come up with a way of linking to a folder (a bit like PagePlus used to do), rather than just creating one big file. Although I suppose you can just import/place items from elsewhere, it's just a bit handier to have frequently used "assets" handy.

@PaulEC @walt.farrell      I haven't seen PagePlus and used Craft Artist previously.  The display of pages and elements was brilliant for scrapbooking.  However the Affinity Assets panel is disappointing to say the least.  I've tried the dark screen but black word art does not show up clearly enough.  I've tried the light grey screen but can't see white elements.  It's too small.  Perhaps there's a way of detaching it and enlarging it that I haven't found yet.  It's all experimentation at the minute and a group of us scrapbookers trying to learn from each other. My Laptop was given to me, it's a gaming machine so I'm assuming there's plenty of memory (it's an MSi) (no idea what model ) - thanks for your initial reply.

[Canterslowly]

@PaulEC   Sorry, I forgot to say, before I found the Assets panel I was browsing my kit folders in Windows - it was a bit laborious, especially since Windows often didn't go back to the folder I was working from or decided I was looking for a different type of file so I had to change the dropdown box to find my elements etc.  So, putting a kit into the Assets panel is marginally better than working from my Windows folder setup.

[walt.farrell]

12 minutes ago, Canterslowly said:

I've just checked the size of one of the kits (for reference) and it's around 146,500kb. 

How big is your assets.propcol file?

This FAQ article will tell you how to find it, which depends on your OS and where you purchased the application:

 

[Canterslowly]

18 hours ago, walt.farrell said:

How big is your assets.propcol file?

This FAQ article will tell you how to find it, which depends on your OS and where you purchased the application:

 

@walt.farrell  Found it, eventually.  If I ensure all of the assets are backed up (I've added a new one) would it help if I go through that procedure to clear the User Data option for the Assets?

[walt.farrell]

8 hours ago, Canterslowly said:

Found it, eventually.  If I ensure all of the assets are backed up (I've added a new one) would it help if I go through that procedure to clear the User Data option for the Assets?

Or, you could simply (while the application is stopped) rename that file to something else.

I think it's too large, but that's just a guess. Either resetting or renaming it might demonstrate that. If, after that, things run OK, then you know the file was too big.

However, if it gets that big when you add the assets back in, then you know you have too many assets for the current implementation in Affinity.

[firstdefence]

Is packaging assets, brushes, swatches etc in .propcol files really necessary, what benefit do they give the end user over that of a folder that stores open files like palettes, brushes?

[Canterslowly]

19 hours ago, walt.farrell said:

Or, you could simply (while the application is stopped) rename that file to something else.

I think it's too large, but that's just a guess. Either resetting or renaming it might demonstrate that. If, after that, things run OK, then you know the file was too big.

However, if it gets that big when you add the assets back in, then you know you have too many assets for the current implementation in Affinity.

@walt.farrell thank you I will try that.  In the meantime I'll continue to make my Assets files   Thanks for your help.

[Canterslowly]

12 hours ago, firstdefence said:

Is packaging assets, brushes, swatches etc in .propcol files really necessary, what benefit do they give the end user over that of a folder that stores open files like palettes, brushes?

@firstdefence I've tried using my general Windows folder set up.  I have kits saved in separate folders (they often have different licences) but I can go to a folder, take an embellishment, then when I go back again Windows has changed the file type dropdown so it looks like nothing is there; or it's gone back to another folder that was open earlier.  It's a bit annoying.  It's much quicker to have everything in the assets panel - especially when you're trying to put a page together and are trying different backgrounds, embellishments etc.  The colour palettes, brushes etc are not a problem because they go into their relevant panel easily enough and I don't get the "not responding" problem with them. I found how to undock the Assets panel last night and stretched it to it's full extent which gave me a slightly better view but nowhere near as good as Craft Artist. 
Another problem is that many of us have existing Craft Artist kits - they are Pack Files and can't be undone successfully.  So to make one into a file useable in Affinity it's necessary to put the embellishments onto a page in Craft Artist then Export them as individuals onto a page in Affinity.  Then Select All Layers and move them into the Assets panel.  This can take quite a while - I normally put about 20 embellishments or 10 backgrounds on one Craft Artist file to be Exported then keep on repeating until the whole CA kit has been converted into an Assets files.  It's laborious but I have some lovely kits that I don't want to buy all over again.

[Canterslowly]

21 hours ago, walt.farrell said:

Or, you could simply (while the application is stopped) rename that file to something else.

I think it's too large, but that's just a guess. Either resetting or renaming it might demonstrate that. If, after that, things run OK, then you know the file was too big.

However, if it gets that big when you add the assets back in, then you know you have too many assets for the current implementation in Affinity.

@walt.farrell I deleted my assets from the panel then closed down the program.  I then found the propcol file - it was 1KB.  I might add a few kits to see what KB size it gets up to before I get the "not responding" message.  if that happens, should I report it to anyone as an ongoing issue?

[firstdefence]

I have some Digikits, I’ll have a go at adding some tomorrow and see what I get. 

[Canterslowly]

On 10/17/2020 at 10:37 PM, firstdefence said:

I have some Digikits, I’ll have a go at adding some tomorrow and see what I get. 

@firstdefence did you have any luck with this issue please?