InDesign->Publisher questions

[BKFC]

I'm running MacOS Mojave and have a purchased version of Affinity Publisher, as well as an older 32-bit version of InDesign.  I'd like to migrate to Publisher as I'm not willing to pay Adobe's fees for its 64-bit products.  I mainly use this software to create photo albums.  I have figured out most of what I need with Publisher, but some questions remain.  I'm putting them all here rather than separate posts.

1. I have set my album up so that all files are linked.  Is there an easy way to see a list of filenames?  InDesign has such a list, so that when I click on an image, it shows me the filename.
2. Is there a way to create a package consisting of a folder with the Publisher file plus only those images I actually end up using?  I've seen conflicting answers to this.  InDesign has such an option.
3. Is there a way to center an image (vertically or horizontally) on a page (not just align two or more images with each other)?
4. The file I'm working with was created by exporting from InDesign.  It had a uniform black background that I could turn off (for editing) and turn on (for the final version).  The Publisher version also has a black background, but I can't find a way to turn it off for the entire document, though the layer says something about "A-Master".

[wonderings]

12 minutes ago, BKFC said:

I'm running MacOS Mojave and have a purchased version of Affinity Publisher, as well as an older 32-bit version of InDesign.  I'd like to migrate to Publisher as I'm not willing to pay Adobe's fees for its 64-bit products.  I mainly use this software to create photo albums.  I have figured out most of what I need with Publisher, but some questions remain.  I'm putting them all here rather than separate posts.

1. I have set my album up so that all files are linked.  Is there an easy way to see a list of filenames?  InDesign has such a list, so that when I click on an image, it shows me the filename.
2. Is there a way to create a package consisting of a folder with the Publisher file plus only those images I actually end up using?  I've seen conflicting answers to this.  InDesign has such an option.
3. Is there a way to center an image (vertically or horizontally) on a page (not just align two or more images with each other)?
4. The file I'm working with was created by exporting from InDesign.  It had a uniform black background that I could turn off (for editing) and turn on (for the final version).  The Publisher version also has a black background, but I can't find a way to turn it off for the entire document, though the layer says something about "A-Master".

2 - Can't answer all your questions but I believe in the latest beta that is out it has a packaging feature. A lot have been asking for it as it is a very handy tool for keeping things organized, especially when the job is finished and ready to be filed. I would check that out, it also has data merge, not sure if you use that but it is something a lot of people want as well and need in order to replace Indesign with Publisher. 

You can download the beta here 

 

[loukash]

1. Document menu > Resource Manager
2. I think this is scheduled for the upcoming v1.9 update
3. View menu > Snapping Manager > Include spread mid points
4. It's obviously on the master page. Ctrl-click on the master page layer in the Layers palette and select Edit Linked, then you can disable the background, then click Finish in the red bar on top. Same for enabling it.

[BKFC]

Thanks for the replies.  These answer several questions.  What remains:

1. Document menu -> Resource Manager: this lists all the linked files, which is helpful, but I was looking for being able to know the link at the site of the photo in the document.  InDesign has a 'link' sidebar, which shows the linked filename when you click on the image
2. [answered]
3. Using Snapping Manager generates a snap line in the center of the page for horizontal centering, but I could not find an option to get vertical centering.
4. [answered]

A follow-on to 1: I also have a trial version of Photo.  In InDesign there's a clear way to invoke, say, Photoshop to edit a linked image, or one can edit the file separately and tell InDesign to update the link.  I still can't figure out the right way to do either of these with Affinity.  If I click "Photo Persona", it's still in Publisher.  If I then select "Edit in Photo" it separately loads Photo.  OK, but then when I try to save, it assumes I want to save the entire Publisher document (not a jpg file).  If I try to quit, it assumes I want to quit Publisher, even though the menu says "Photo" and both Photo and Publisher are (separately) running on my Mac.

So at this point I don't see the merit of "Persona"; instead I should treat Publisher and Photo as completely separate applications that happen to be developed by the same company, load and quit them separately, though at that point I still don't know how to update an edited link in Publisher, short of deleting the image and re-placing it.

[PaulEC]

15 minutes ago, BKFC said:

So at this point I don't see the merit of "Persona"; instead I should treat Publisher and Photo as completely separate applications that happen to be developed by the same company, load and quit them separately, though at that point I still don't know how to update an edited link in Publisher, short of deleting the image and re-placing it.

The Photo Persona in Affinity Publisher and Affinity Photo are not the same. Affinity Photo is a separate programme. The Photo Persona in APublisher is a "cut down" version of Affinity Photo, which is only available if you have APhoto installed. You don't need to have Affinity Photo open to use the Photo Persona in APub. APhoto itself has features which are not available in the Photo Persona in APub. The advantage of Photo Persona in APub is that you can make quick edits to images without needing to open APhoto, but APhoto is needed for more extensive editing of images.

[BKFC]

OK, understood that Persona is a 'lite' version.

• When I'm using Persona, I don't know what I'm editing: is it the real file that's linked, or some other data?  How is it saved?
• Since I do have Photo (a trial version for the moment - this is competing with Photoshop Elements) installed, I still have the problem described above where I can't tell what application I'm in.  If I say "edit with Photo", confusion begins.  Both applications are then running, but if I try to quit Photo (not the 'lite' Persona version), it thinks I'm in Publisher.  I go back to the Publisher window and it's empty.  So to be safe, I have to save my Publisher document from inside Photo and then quit both applications.  This is counterintuitive to say the least.

Again, the lesson I'm getting out of this is to treat Photo and Publisher completely separately - there is no seamless connection between the two (like one finds, say, between Microsoft Word and Excel).  If I own Publisher and Photo, (1) don't use Persona; (2) don't edit an image with Photo by invoking it inside Publisher.  Unless Photo has distinct advantages over Photoshop Elements, I should stay with the latter and use that with Publisher. 

[walt.farrell]

16 minutes ago, BKFC said:

When I'm using Persona, I don't know what I'm editing: is it the real file that's linked, or some other data?  How is it saved?

If you what to Edit a linked image, select the image, and you should see "Edit Image" on the Context Toolbar. Click it, and you'll get a new tab for editing that image. Then switch to the Photo Persona if you need that set of functions. Or, from that tab, use File > Edit in Photo if you need the full application.

You can then use File > Save or File > Export to save the file and then close the tab. Note that this updates the original Linked file unless you have under another name.

This will also work for some cases of Embedded files, but in that case simply closing the tab will update the contents in the Publisher document.

[loukash]

47 minutes ago, BKFC said:

a snap line in the center of the page for horizontal centering, but I could not find an option to get vertical centering

Horizontal center = red line
Vertical center = green line

[BKFC]

On the red line: if there are two images side by side, the red line in the middle disappears, but there's one on top or bottom to align the two images with each other.

I have tried placing a test jpg file into a document as a link with Publisher, then editing it with Photo.  If I save it in the same place with the same name (apparently I must always 'export', otherwise Photo gives it a proprietary extension), Publisher does not update the image.  I must replace it with the new version by hand.

Also, a new issue (I'm including it here because it relates the Publisher-Photo interplay): Occasionally I use the Photoshop skew/perspective/distort tools to straighten lines that are skewed due to camera perspective.  I find that this works when I launch Photo stand-alone and use the Perspective Tool.  However, if I choose a linked file in a Publisher document and select "edit in Photo", when I drag the corners of the grid containing the image, the grid distorts, but the image remains unchanged.  This defeats the purpose of being able to launch Photo while running Publisher.

[walt.farrell]

5 minutes ago, BKFC said:

I have tried placing a test jpg file into a document as a link with Publisher, then editing it with Photo.  If I save it in the same place with the same name (apparently I must always 'export', otherwise Photo gives it a proprietary extension), Publisher does not update the image.  I must replace it with the new version by hand.

If you edit a .jpg file, and do not create any layers, then you can use File > Save and save it over the original .jpg file. If you have any layers, however, you will be prompted to Flatten the document before saving. If you choose not to Flatten, your only choice will be to Save it as a .afphoto file. Accept the flattening (as JPG files cannot have layers) and you should be fine. Or use File > Export to give it a new name as a JPG file.

If you save it under the same name and file type, it will be recognized as changed by Publisher. At that point if you have chosen the Preference (on the General tab of the Preferences dialog) to automatically update images that were modified externally then it will update automatically. If not, you will have to Replace it or you can use the Resource Manager (Document > Resource Manager) to Update it.

11 minutes ago, BKFC said:

However, if I choose a linked file in a Publisher document and select "edit in Photo", when I drag the corners of the grid containing the image, the grid distorts, but the image remains unchanged.  This defeats the purpose of being able to launch Photo while running Publisher.

Are you sending the complete document to Photo, or are you first using Edit Image and then sending the new tab to Photo?

[BKFC]

Thanks regarding the Preferences option, which I've now set to update images.

This time I tried "Edit Image" and then "edit in Photo" and everything seems to work.

Thanks to all for your help!

[walt.farrell]

You're welcome.