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Affinity Photo Customer Beta (1.9.0.209)


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Status: Beta

Purpose: Features, Improvements, Fixes

Requirements: Purchased Affinity Photo

Mac App Store: Not submitted

Download ZIP (Universal): Download

Auto-update: Available

 

Hello,

We are pleased to announce the immediate availability of the seventh build of Affinity Photo 1.9.0 for macOS.

If this is your first time using a customer beta of an Affinity app, it’s worth noting that the beta will install as a separate app - alongside your store version. They will not interfere with each other at all and you can continue to use the store version for critical work without worry.

This beta is significantly different from the 1.8 version available for purchase - we strongly recommend that you do not use this beta for real work as data could be lost and the files you save are not guaranteed to open in previous / future versions of Affinity Photo.

 

Thanks again for your continued support!

 

Affinity Photo Team  :ph34r:

 

Changes Since 1.9.0.206

 

- Added export preview panel (for raster types) - updates live whenever you change an export parameter.
- Added JPEG-XR 101010 import support (useful for screen captures from Xbox, etc.)
- Added per-layer antialiasing controls in the advanced blending menu (it’s also hierarchical, which is nice).
- Added new splash screen.
- Added a new filter to remove background light from astrophotography images (Filters -> Astrophotography -> Remove Background).

- Assorted improvements to astrophotography stacking (performance, robustness, quality).
- Live liquify improvements.
- The layer link editor is now a studio panel - further cleanup work is still planned on this panel.
- Reduced binary size.
- Content download service improvements.

- Numerous assorted fixes.
- Help improvements.
- Localisation improvements.
 

Cumulative Changes Since 1.8

 

- Linked Layers.

You can now select a layer and do Layer -> Duplicate Linked. Linked layers are denoted by a small link icon in the layers tab - clicking that icon will bring up a link editing panel (the UI here will change in subsequent beta builds - this is just so we can test the linking itself for now). You can “unlink” particular aspects of a layer using the buttons - for example, if you wanted a mask to share the same pixel content as another mask, but not the opacity settings, you can do that using this test UI.

For the brave, this panel also allows “relinking” - even between different layer types(!). Dragging a layer from the layer tab and dropping it onto one of the small target icons in the panel will link together that particular aspect of the two layers (again, the UI is all going to change). For example, you could make a mask layer which shares opacity settings with an adjustment layer somewhere else in the document, whilst also sharing blend mode with a circle shape layer somewhere else. 

It’s worth noting that this feature is quite raw at the moment - please feel free to experiment with it, but *do not* use it for any real work. There is a high chance any documents you make will stop working in a future beta.

- Default to black-to-white gradients in the gradient tool (more gradient tool improvements are coming for 1.9, at last).
- Content download service improvements.
- Assorted astrophotography stacking improvements.
- Allow placement policy for images to be changed using the menu.
- Added missing text baseline options to the menu.
- Added support for 12bit grayscale TIFF files.
- Added ability to create pattern layers from selections.

- Timelapse fixes and improvements, including ability to choose codec.
- Timelapse export performance improvements.

- Fixed incorrect attribute bits when writing 32bit TGA files.
- Fixed bugs when duplicating pattern layers.
- Fixed broken insertion target buttons on the toolbar.
- Fixed incorrect pattern sizes when committing the dialog without tabbing away from the height field.
- Fixed broken AANN sampling mode in pattern layers.
- Fixed filter effects on pattern layers.
- Fixed brush panel crashes.
- Fixed live filters initialising to RGB in (for example) CMYK documents.
- Fixed crazy behaviour when entering Liquify persona.
- Fixed issue whereby you would get more / different options depending where you right click on spare channels (!).
- Assorted other small bug fixes.

- Localisation improvements.
- Help improvements.

 

- Pattern improvements - brushes now wrap around the edges of the pattern.
- Timelapse improvements - progress bar, abortable, crossfade.
- Improved colours for Canon EOS R5 camera RAW.
- Filter effects now work properly with global colours.

- Fixed white balance issues.

- Added a new “Astrophotography Stack” persona which allows you to combine dark frames, light frames, bias frames, flat frames and dark flat frames then stack them. FITS images are also supported. Lots of photographers have been experimenting with astro during lockdown - hopefully these new tools will help users to get better results. I'm sure James Ritson will be providing some tutorial guidance in short order :)

- Added “Pattern Layers” - a fixed size bitmap layer which repeats across the entire document. You can paint on pattern layers and use all filters to manipulate them and see the resulting pattern in real time. They can be transformed non-destructively. After a pattern is added and a tool selected, a faint grey box indicates the "real" area of the pattern which can be edited.

- Added “Export Timelapse” - the ability to export a document which has undo steps as a video. Numerous options exist to control how the video is generated (and more will come later!).

- Added “Live Liquify” layers - as the name suggests, they allow you to have non-destructive liquify layers in your stack which can be edited and masked just like all other live filter layers. At the moment, a hard limit of 512 pixels offset in either X or Y is enforced - we hope to eventually lift this restriction.

- Reworked “Studio Presets” from the earlier 1.9 betas. They now work in a more predictable way and store tool / toolbar configuration. A manager dialog is also now provided.

- Added a new “Combined” result to the benchmark - to test performance contexts where vector and raster content is used together. The benchmark version is still 1900 - so existing vector and raster scores from previous builds are still valid and comparable.

- Added a registration page to the app - this allows users to login and auto-install brushes (so far).

- Added the “Resource Manager” functionality from Publisher for managing image placement.

- Added ability to open package files from Designer and Publisher.

- Photo is now a universal binary, supporting both Intel and Apple silicon processors.

- Path text improvements.


- Added “Duplicate spare channel” to right click menu.
- Added missing “Convert to Path Text” menu item.
- Small improvements to the benchmark UI.
- Update app icon for Big Sur.
- Fixed numerous bugs with brushes, introduced in the 1.9.0 betas.
- Fixed issues when opening multiple RAW files at once.
- Fixed significant memory leak introduced in 1.9.0 betas.
- Fixed UI issues with Big Sur.
- Fixed assorted other GPU acceleration issues introduced in the 1.9.0 betas.

 

- Text on a path is now available in Photo.
- More filters now work on masks / adjustments / spare channels (Add Noise, Perlin Noise, etc.).
- Improved Metal rendering performance (over 195).
- Improved experience when editing a spare channel (view artefacts, histogram and navigator).
- Setting a blend mode on a sub-brush will now work properly - paving the way for import of PSD dual-brushes in a future build.
- Attempted to fix startup crash on machines with no compatible Metal GPU.
- Fixed localisation issues affecting non-UK users.
- Fixed issues when attempting to add layers to a spare channel (!).


- Improved “Serif Labs” RAW engine.
- You can now single click a spare channel in the Channels panel to edit it like a layer.
- The Curves adjustment now has numeric field controls for precise positioning.
- Studio presets are now available.
- A benchmarking tool has been added in the help menu. It will only become available when no documents are open.
- Blend modes now work on “alpha only” layers (masks, adjustments, live filters, etc.).
- Added a new “Divide” blend mode.
- Added “Create from centre” for the elliptical marquee tool.
- Allowed snapping to the bounds of the pixel selection.
- Added ability to create brushes from the current pixel selection with one click.

 

To be notified about all future macOS beta updates, please follow this notification thread 
To be notified when this Photo update comes out of beta and is fully released to all Affinity Photo on macOS customers, please follow this thread

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Hi @Andy Somerfield,

 

Thanks for adding the "export preview panel (for raster types)" functionality to the export window.  I, however, suggest that the display of the previous image be included directly into the export windows and shown by default.   We can then have a toggle to "preview in a separate window" as an option.  

Instead of the currently centered "Size", "Preset", "Resample" etc on the export window, perhaps, move them to the left and have the preview image for raster types sit on the right of that pane.  Just a suggestion.

Aside that, Photo is looking great.

Nana

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Export preview panel is great but probably should have a magnify option - mouse zoom shortcut doesn't currently work but magic trackpad works great.

Can't find a use for the links panel - what is it for and how does it work? my first thoughts where that it was a way to link items scattered throughout a busy layer stack and have them update in a similar fashion to symbols but giving you the option to make multiple line or colour changes (GREAT although more useful in designer) - at the moment if you click on anything it gives options in the link panel but they don't do anything and if you try to select a few items to link, all the link options disappear : very confusing or am I really that pig thick that I'm missing something ultra intuitive - Have I missed something regarding it being a placeholder for a feature that is yet to be switched on? 

Daz1.png

Mac Pro Cheese-grater (Early 2009) 2.93 GHz 6-Core Intel Xeon 48 GB 1333 MHz DDR3 ECC Ram, Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 580 8GB GDDR5, Ugee 19" Graphics Tablet Monitor Triple boot via OCLP 1.2.1 - Mac OS Monterey 12.7.1, Sonoma 14.1.1 and Mojave 10.14.6

Affinity Publisher, Designer and Photo 1.10.5 - 2.2.1

www.bingercreative.co.uk

 

 

 

 

 

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14 minutes ago, Dazmondo77 said:

mouse zoom shortcut doesn't currently work

Alt+Mousehweel works. I would personally prefer a zoom icon somewhere too. Thanks for confirming the trackpad works—I was trying to track one down.

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19 minutes ago, Chris B said:

Alt+Mousehweel works.

Not working for me with first gen magic mouse?

Daz1.png

Mac Pro Cheese-grater (Early 2009) 2.93 GHz 6-Core Intel Xeon 48 GB 1333 MHz DDR3 ECC Ram, Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 580 8GB GDDR5, Ugee 19" Graphics Tablet Monitor Triple boot via OCLP 1.2.1 - Mac OS Monterey 12.7.1, Sonoma 14.1.1 and Mojave 10.14.6

Affinity Publisher, Designer and Photo 1.10.5 - 2.2.1

www.bingercreative.co.uk

 

 

 

 

 

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5 minutes ago, Dazmondo77 said:

Not working for me with first get magic mouse?

Probably a bug or improvement request. I was using a standard mouse with an actual wheel as I gave up with the Magic Mouse a long time ago. I'll speak with dev—cheers.

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15 minutes ago, Chris B said:

Probably a bug or improvement request.

Ace stuff Chris - any idea how we use new links panel - doesn't seem to refer to actual external links - is it supposed to link layers?

Daz1.png

Mac Pro Cheese-grater (Early 2009) 2.93 GHz 6-Core Intel Xeon 48 GB 1333 MHz DDR3 ECC Ram, Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 580 8GB GDDR5, Ugee 19" Graphics Tablet Monitor Triple boot via OCLP 1.2.1 - Mac OS Monterey 12.7.1, Sonoma 14.1.1 and Mojave 10.14.6

Affinity Publisher, Designer and Photo 1.10.5 - 2.2.1

www.bingercreative.co.uk

 

 

 

 

 

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1 hour ago, Dazmondo77 said:

any idea how we use new links panel - doesn't seem to refer to actual external links - is it supposed to link layers?

Check the "cumulative changes since 1.8" section of the first post in this topic; it should provide the answer. (There may also be info in the built-in application Help.)

-- Walt
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1 hour ago, Dazmondo77 said:

Ace stuff Chris - any idea how we use new links panel - doesn't seem to refer to actual external links - is it supposed to link layers?

If you select a layer and go to Layer menu > Duplicate Linked you will see the panel after clicking the new icon on the Layer Panel. You can then unlink things like Blend modes, opacity and a few other things.

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35 minutes ago, Chris B said:

f you select a layer and go to Layer menu > Duplicate Linked you will see the panel after clicking the new icon on the Layer Panel.

Ahhh - just had a mess around with it and not something I'd use - I prefer symbols - looks like it's a very basic symbols-like feature solely for Photo users who don't have access to symbols - be interesting to learn who can make use of it?

Daz1.png

Mac Pro Cheese-grater (Early 2009) 2.93 GHz 6-Core Intel Xeon 48 GB 1333 MHz DDR3 ECC Ram, Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 580 8GB GDDR5, Ugee 19" Graphics Tablet Monitor Triple boot via OCLP 1.2.1 - Mac OS Monterey 12.7.1, Sonoma 14.1.1 and Mojave 10.14.6

Affinity Publisher, Designer and Photo 1.10.5 - 2.2.1

www.bingercreative.co.uk

 

 

 

 

 

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Just wondering if it would be easy to implement 'select next' and 'select previous' as in Pub and Designer, as the shortcuts are really handy for moving between elements of a mask group?

Daz1.png

Mac Pro Cheese-grater (Early 2009) 2.93 GHz 6-Core Intel Xeon 48 GB 1333 MHz DDR3 ECC Ram, Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 580 8GB GDDR5, Ugee 19" Graphics Tablet Monitor Triple boot via OCLP 1.2.1 - Mac OS Monterey 12.7.1, Sonoma 14.1.1 and Mojave 10.14.6

Affinity Publisher, Designer and Photo 1.10.5 - 2.2.1

www.bingercreative.co.uk

 

 

 

 

 

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12 hours ago, Dazmondo77 said:

looks like it's a very basic symbols-like feature solely for Photo users who don't have access to symbols

You can actually link different properties to different objects - link the fill color of object A to object B but link the stroke width of object A to object C - and you can do it after the objects have been created if you are a bit clever about it (currently you need to duplicate linked to get to the panel, but then you can re-link to arbitrary existing objects and get rid of the initial dupe).

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20 minutes ago, ConnectCreative said:

Great to have an Export Preview, but I expected it to be part of the Export window UI rather than an additional window to the left, personally I feel it looks a bit untidy at the moment. Also as others have mentioned I expected a zoom of some kind, wasn't clear I could do that after a quick look.

I was not expecting to see it floating and separate from the dialog as well. I've logged an improvement/bug for us to be able to zoom.

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Just now, ConnectCreative said:

Great to have an Export Preview, but I expected it to be part of the Export window UI rather than an additional window to the left, personally I feel it looks a bit untidy at the moment. Also as others have mentioned I expected a zoom of some kind, wasn't clear I could do that after a quick look.

A cynic would see this implementation as the laziest possible way to add "Export Preview!" to the features list to pull in customers and/or say, "See, we do respond to users' requests." 

Of course, we'll be told that improvements are planned already and this is a first draft.

How about something that improves on "Export As..." in the latest Photoshop?

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On 1/5/2021 at 5:44 AM, Nana said:

 I, however, suggest that the display of the previous image be included directly into the export windows and shown by default.   We can then have a toggle to "preview in a separate window" as an option.  

The issue with having it built into the dialog forces it to be a fixed size, resizing will then affect the entire export dialog. As a separate window, you have complete control where it should be and what size it can be, or not shown at all. There's an argument to be said to have the preview window shown by default though.

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18 hours ago, Andrew Tang said:

The issue with having it built into the dialog forces it to be a fixed size, resizing will then affect the entire export dialog. As a separate window, you have complete control where it should be and what size it can be, or not shown at all. There's an argument to be said to have the preview window shown by default though.

I personally think a fixed size would be fine as long as there are capable zoom options though.

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23 hours ago, Andrew Tang said:

As a separate window, you have complete control where it should be and what size it can be, or not shown at all.

I think that is the best way to do it but that window still needs zoom & pan capabilities to maximize its usefulness.

All 3 1.10.8, & all 3 V2.4.1 Mac apps; 2020 iMac 27"; 3.8GHz i7, Radeon Pro 5700, 32GB RAM; macOS 10.15.7
Affinity Photo 
1.10.8; Affinity Designer 1.108; & all 3 V2 apps for iPad; 6th Generation iPad 32 GB; Apple Pencil; iPadOS 15.7

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18 minutes ago, R C-R said:

I think that is the best way to do it but that window still needs zoom & pan capabilities to maximize its usefulness.

I can zoom & pan in that window with a touchpad and resize or move it wherever I want it

I like it 

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1 minute ago, Murfee said:

I can zoom & pan in that window with a touchpad and resize it

Since I do not use a touchpad, I can't do that. Also, after changing the preview window size & then closing & reopening it sometimes the preview image reappears at the same zoom percent & sometimes at a different one, according to the window header.

So it seems a bit buggy.

All 3 1.10.8, & all 3 V2.4.1 Mac apps; 2020 iMac 27"; 3.8GHz i7, Radeon Pro 5700, 32GB RAM; macOS 10.15.7
Affinity Photo 
1.10.8; Affinity Designer 1.108; & all 3 V2 apps for iPad; 6th Generation iPad 32 GB; Apple Pencil; iPadOS 15.7

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29 minutes ago, vonBusing said:

When can we expect the pending auto-update to be available?

Same question.

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