[FAQ] How can I disable OpenCL compute acceleration on Windows?

[Leigh]

Our 1.9 updates added support for OpenCL compute acceleration on Windows which is enabled by default. It can be disabled in the app by going to Edit > Preferences > Performance and unticking Enable OpenCL compute acceleration.

However, if you're having issues launching the app and you suspect that OpenCL compute acceleration is causing the issue you can manually edit PerformancePreferences.xml in %AppData%\<APPNAME>\1.0\Settings\

You will need to change the following line from: 

<UseHardwareAcceleration>True</UseHardwareAcceleration>

to

<UseHardwareAcceleration>False</UseHardwareAcceleration>

Please be aware that if you haven't been able to launch the app since updating to 1.9, you will not have this line and will need to add it just before the </Settings> closing tag like so:

	<UseHardwareAcceleration>False</UseHardwareAcceleration>
</Settings>

Once you've made these changes, please try and launch the app again.

More information about OpenCL compute acceleration can be found here: Hardware acceleration (affinity.help)

[Leigh]

Using the OpenCL Flag (Affinity Store)

It's also possible to use the --no-ocl flag to launch the app with OpenCL disabled. This flag will also edit the PerformancePreferences.xml to update <UseHardwareAcceleration> to False meaning subsequent launches of the app will continue to have OpenCL disabled and the --no-ocl flag is no longer necessary.

To use the flag, press the Windows Key + R on your keyboard to open the Run dialog and then type CMD and press Enter. This will launch Command Prompt.

*Presuming you have the app installed in the default location, type in cd "C:\Program Files\Affinity\Photo\" and press Enter. Now type Photo --no-ocl and press Enter - the app will now launch.

*If you installed the app to a different location or you're using Affinity Publisher or Designer, please update the location to point to correct folder.

[Leigh]

Using the OpenCL Flag (MS Store)

It's also possible to use the --no-ocl flag to launch the app with OpenCL disabled. This flag will also edit the PerformancePreferences.xml to update <UseHardwareAcceleration> to False meaning subsequent launches of the app will continue to have OpenCL disabled and the --no-ocl flag is no longer necessary.

To use the flag, press the Windows Key + R on your keyboard to open the Run dialog and then type CMD and press Enter. This will launch Command Prompt.

• Affinity Photo: Type in start shell:AppsFolder\SerifEuropeLtd.AffinityPhoto_844sdzfcmm7k0!SerifEuropeLtd.AffinityPhoto --no-ocl and press Enter - the app will now launch.
   
• Affinity Designer: Type in start shell:AppsFolder\SerifEuropeLtd.AffinityDesigner_844sdzfcmm7k0!SerifEuropeLtd.AffinityDesigner --no-ocl and press Enter - the app will now launch.
   
• Affinity Publisher: Type in start shell:AppsFolder\SerifEuropeLtd.AffinityPublisher_844sdzfcmm7k0!SerifEuropeLtd.AffinityPublisher --no-ocl and press Enter - the app will now launch.