New to Affinity: Export Preview & Differences between the 3 apps?

[madonnaragu]

Hi,

I am looking for replacements for Adobe's apps, and it seems the Affinity apps are a great answer to Adobe's greedy subscription model. I have some questions, though and I hope you can help me. 😊

- Where is export preview? I see export, but there's no preview. I can't see options for matte, transparency, etc.

- It seems there's a lot of overlap between Photo/Designer/Publisher. I tested one file containing bitmap images and vectors, exported from Adobe Fireworks as PSD, and all three seem to open it and are able to manipulate it. Is there a comparison of their features somewhere? Is there something that one of these can do that the others can't?

- It looks like Designer is the closest alternative to Adobe Fireworks. Is that correct?

Thank you! :)

[walt.farrell]

Welcome to the Serif Affinity forums.

1 hour ago, madonnaragu said:

Where is export preview? I see export, but there's no preview.

It's coming in 1.9 (currently in beta test).

1 hour ago, madonnaragu said:

I can't see options for matte, transparency, etc.

For transparency, it's a document-level attribute. In Photo, look for the menu item Document > Transparent Background. In Publisher or Designer look in File > Document Setup, in the Color tab. Or in all 3, set it during File > New.

For matte, check the options in the More... dialog of File > Export.

1 hour ago, madonnaragu said:

It seems there's a lot of overlap between Photo/Designer/Publisher. I tested one file containing bitmap images and vectors, exported from Adobe Fireworks as PSD, and all three seem to open it and are able to manipulate it. Is there a comparison of their features somewhere? Is there something that one of these can do that the others can't?

Photo is intended primarily for working on photographs. Designer is intended primarily for doing illustration work. Publisher is intended primarily for creating books or other documents with a lot of text or needing advanced text features. But yes, there's a lot of overlap, and also a number of things that one can do that the others can't.

Try them all using the 90-day trial, and see which ones meet your needs. Or, at the 50% off sale, if you like one you might consider buying all 3.

1 hour ago, madonnaragu said:

It looks like Designer is the closest alternative to Adobe Fireworks. Is that correct?

Sorry; no idea.

[Alfred]

2 hours ago, madonnaragu said:

- It looks like Designer is the closest alternative to Adobe Fireworks. Is that correct?

Designer is a hybrid vector/raster app but it doesn’t offer HTML output.

[carl123]

5 minutes ago, walt.farrell said:

For matte, check the options in the More... dialog of File > Export.

Or Edit > Matte in APhoto

 

As regards "Export Preview", Designer and APhoto will have it very soon but not Publisher