Images are embedded: the policy is: prefer linked

[bsx]

While working, I notice again and again that the file size grows extremely. The reason is that Publisher embeds new or changed images in picture frames.

Document setup: Image Placement Policy  "Prefer Linked"

My way of working is: I drag the pictures from a picture viewer directly into the frame.

Publisher 1.9.1.979

[walt.farrell]

What does the Resource Manager show?

[bsx]

The Resource Manager shows it correctly as embedded and I can manually link it.

But my problem is that publisher should not specify whether an image is linked and an another image is embedded. .

In the versions before 1.9. I never had this problem. In Pre 1.9 Versions "Prefer Linked" -> all images are linked.

[walt.farrell]

Thanks. And what does File > Document Setup show as the Image Placement Policy?

[bsx]

Image Placement Policy  "Prefer Linked"

[walt.farrell]

Thanks. Does seem like your workflow has exposed a bug, then.

My Publisher (1.9.2.1006 beta) operates correctly doing what you described. I dragged an image from the Irfanview Thumbnail viewer on top of a Publisher Picture Frame, and it was correctly made Linked.

You might try the beta and see if it works for you. If not, you might try recreating it in a new document in the retail release.

[bsx]

Hi Walt,

many thanks for the help. I'm finishing a project that I've been working on for 3 weeks. And more and more often I notice that an changed image (drag and drop from XNViewMP)  is now embedded and not linked. 

I will test the workflow in the Beta in the next days.

[Pauls]

Just been trying this with XNViewMP  and the images dragged into publisher are showing as linked

[bsx]

Thank you for the test,   it doesn't always happend. I notice it in the increase in the file size. Then I look into the Resource Manager and I see the last picture ist embedded.

Version 1.9.1.979 und TIFF Files

I'm working on another project at the same time  with Beta 1.9.2.1009 an JPGs. Here is no problem.

I hope, I hope with the new version it's done

 

[Mr. Doodlezz]

Hey everyone,

glad I'm not going crazy, I have the exact same problem, though with the latest release:
The document image placement policy is set to »link«, but the files keep getting embedded, seemingly at random.

Especially when assigning new images via the »Replace image« button in the toolbar while a Picture Frame is selected, the opening dialogue/explorer window keeps selecting »Embed Image« by default and I have to manually tick »Link Image« time and again.

In very rare cases the image placement policy is respected, in most cases unfortunately not – I could not yet find out when or why.

I'm working on macOS Systems as well – no problem there, since these little check boxes aren't even present, which makes sense to me. 😅
I can't quite understand why a defined document policy can be (and by default is automatically) directly bypassed elsewhere.

Cheers
MrDoodlezz 🐇

[Fritz_H]

On 4/2/2021 at 1:06 PM, MrDoodlezz said:

Hey everyone,

glad I'm not going crazy, I have the exact same problem, though with the latest release....

I guess, I already pointed out that there is something wrong/broken about the link vs embed - settings...

Edit:
Video of the/my issue, which is still present in release-Version 1.9.2

[Komatös]

Depending on which default setting is selected when creating a new document (preferably embedded or linked), the method is applied to all objects that are added via drag & drop or via the various insert options.

The document default should be overridden at least for the option selection when inserting.

This still needs to be improved.

[Mr. Doodlezz]

4 minutes ago, Komatös said:

The document default should be overridden at least for the option selection when inserting.

Hey @Komatös,

I guess what you're saying is the document setup should not be overridden, right? 🤔
Because currently that's what's happening and causing the trouble – the set document
setup/preference (linked) is being ignored and images are getting embedded instead.

15 hours ago, Fritz_H said:

I guess, I already pointed out that there is something wrong/broken about the link vs embed - settings...

@Fritz_H: Good thing it's already logged.
Too bad, since January it's apparently not prioritised high enough for the latest update?
Makes me wonder though, because exactly this feature was advertised in the release
trailer, if I'm not mistaken. ☹️

15 hours ago, Fritz_H said:

Video of the/my issue

Hm, it seems like this is a slightly different problem than the one I have. For me, the type (embedded/linked)
for the placed resource does not change after placing.

Nevertheless, I have to check the box in the dialogue every single time when re-/placing a resource.
I guess this Windows dialogue window as a whole urgently needs to be checked again and revised.

 

Apart from these bugs, it would also be nice to have an option in the application settings
(not document setup) where you can specify the general way of handling placed files, instead
of having to take care of it every single time you create a new document.

 

Cheers
MrDoodlezz

[Komatös]

27 minutes ago, MrDoodlezz said:

...

Apart from these bugs, it would also be nice to have an option in the application settings 
(not document setup) where you can specify the general way of handling placed files, instead
of having to take care of it every single time you create a new document.

You can define your own defaults for new documents. This is more flexible than including it rigidly as an option in the programme.

[Mr. Doodlezz]

18 hours ago, Komatös said:

You can define your own defaults for new documents. This is more flexible than including it rigidly as an option in the programme.

In this case, however, flexibility means inconvenience caused by unnecessary clicking time and again. In my case – I guess I'm
not the only one – the way I integrate resources in my projects never changes, and in a nutshell that's what preferences are for.
When completing or sharing a project, I collect all linked resources into one package with the new function provided for it.
(This is how I handled it when I was still working with Adobe products).

So another application preferences option would be »Always ask« or similar. This would give you three options to choose from in the settings:

1. Document Setup dependent
   (That's more or less how it works right now ... except that it doesn't really do that.)
2. Embedded
3. Linked

I find the way it works at the moment a bit inconvenient and, as I mentioned earlier, with each new document you have to remember to tick the box.

[Fritz_H]

@MrDoodlezz

Mein Video trifft zwar nicht genau dein Problem - stimmt, aber den Themenkreis:  eingebettet vs verknüpft   und dass Serif das Thema nicht im Griff hat.

Falls du es noch nicht bemerkt hast: alles was die Usability der Affinity-Produkte verbessern würde, wird von Serif konsequent NICHT implementiert.

Ich habe grade gesehen, dass die Bitte die Farbe der normalen Hilfslinien anpassen zu können seit 2017 offen ist.
Man kann weiterhin die Datei löschen während man grade daran arbeitet.
Das gerade-ausrichten Werkzeug ist noch immer ein Alptraum usw. usw.
HW-Beschleunigung scheint noch immer nicht zuverlässig zu klappen (hier sind aber angeblich die Grafiktreiber schuld... genau.. und es trifft nur Serif.. genau...)
Wenn man ein Problem der Windows-Versionen meldet, kommt meist die Antwort von Serif, dass es auf deren Macs keine Probleme gibt..  sehr hilfreich.

[rufus]

Sigh. Yes, I posted a feature request months ago about this issue. On the multi document book project I am currently working on I am about to add the 2000th image to the book, and I had to manually select link for every one of them even though preference for linked images has always been set. The good news (for me, and this project anyway) is I am running out of images that need to be inserted. 8-)

 

[walt.farrell]

31 minutes ago, rufus said:

Sigh. Yes, I posted a feature request months ago about this issue. On the multi document book project I am currently working on I am about to add the 2000th image to the book, and I had to manually select link for every one of them even though preference for linked images has always been set. The good news (for me, and this project anyway) is I am running out of images that need to be inserted. 8-)

 

Is there an issue when you are initially Placing the images, or is it when you are Replacing the images via the Context Toolbar button or the Resource Manager?

[walt.farrell]

On 4/5/2021 at 2:31 PM, MrDoodlezz said:

I find the way it works at the moment a bit inconvenient and, as I mentioned earlier, with each new document you have to remember to tick the box.

You might consider creating your own Presets for File > New (or a Template) that has it set the way you want. You are not limited to the Presets supplied by Serif.

[rufus]

2 hours ago, walt.farrell said:

Is there an issue when you are initially Placing the images, or is it when you are Replacing the images via the Context Toolbar button or the Resource Manager?

I don't know about initially placing images Walt. In my workflow I am always replacing an image, usually via the toolbar Replace Image button.

[walt.farrell]

24 minutes ago, rufus said:

In my workflow I am always replacing an image, usually via the toolbar Replace Image button.

Thanks. It's important to be clear about that in these discussions, because that's the only scenario with the problem, I believe. When you Place an image it follows the placement settings. When you Replace an image you must choose (and it may default incorrectly).

I'm curious; why are you Replacing images so often?

[rufus]

1 hour ago, walt.farrell said:

Thanks. It's important to be clear about that in these discussions, because that's the only scenario with the problem, I believe. When you Place an image it follows the placement settings. When you Replace an image you must choose (and it may default incorrectly).

I'm curious; why are you Replacing images so often?

Correct as far as I can tell. If I delete the image first and then place the new image it works fine. The file selection dialog associated with the place doesn't even have the {link, embed} menu. And when replacing the image, for me it does not *may* default incorrectly, it always defaults incorrectly.

To your question.

1. Limitations of the asset library. The project is technical documentation. There are three standard photo sizes, three standard figure widths, each with their associated caption frames and credit frames. There are two standard placements for each of these, each with their text wrap settings. Prototypes for all of this are in the assets library. Finding what asset I'm looking for in a hierarchical text list it too tedious and time consuming. Asset location is quicker when an icon display is used, but the automatic icon generation facility is, simplistic. An icon of an empty image frame is invisible. So my image frames have color coded dummy images in them, which makes acquisition fast. But now I have an image which must be replaced for each asset dragged in.

2. Frame arrays. The smaller size photos are regularly grouped into frame arrays. All the permutations specified above in terms of caption and credit frames, placements, and text wrap settings apply, but in addition the arrays are of varying numbers of rows and columns. It is far quicker to copy an entire array from somewhere in the book and reuse it than it is to construct a new one from its component elements. Of course all possible permutations of the prototype arrays could be placed in the asset library, but persistent bugs that cause the product to crash and burn when (maybe) big things are dragged out of the asset library have shaped my usage as specified here.

So the upshot is, I always end up replacing an existing image. Even with the Replace Image link/embed defaulting bug, it is quicker to work this way.

[Mr. Doodlezz]

12 hours ago, walt.farrell said:

You might consider creating your own Presets for File > New (or a Template) that has it set the way you want. You are not limited to the Presets supplied by Serif.

Hey Walt,

I understand that you want to provide solutions and thank you for pointing this out, I am aware of the option.
But all I really see here is another workaround for a problem that Affinity doesn't get a hold of.

I don't want to mirror the default size templates from Affinity to be able to use an especially announced feature/fix as intended. I work with the default document sizes and think it is pointless to create them as template clones. I haven't tested it yet, but I strongly suspect that the problem will remain even then.

Maybe I am not tied to Affinity templates, however my workflow is affected by unfinished yet released features.

 

I'm pretty patient, but this is slowly but surely driving me nuts!

 

Cheers
MrDoodlezz

[walt.farrell]

2 hours ago, MrDoodlezz said:

don't want to mirror the default size templates from Affinity to be able to use an especially announced feature/fix as intended. I work with the default document sizes and think it is pointless to create them as template clones. I haven't tested it yet, but I strongly suspect that the problem will remain even then.

I can assure you that if you create your own Preset or Template, that the "Link" or "Embed" setting you want will be used during document creation. I was responding to your comment that you need to keep remembering to set it correctly when creating new documents. Creating your own Preset or Template definitely takes care of that.

[Mr. Doodlezz]

4 minutes ago, walt.farrell said:

I can assure you that if you create your own Preset or Template, that the "Link" or "Embed" setting you want will be used during document creation. I was responding to your comment that you need to keep remembering to set it correctly when creating new documents. Creating your own Preset or Template definitely takes care of that.

Agreed, I tested it and it works.

Nevertheless, assuming I would use each template regularly, I would have to create umpteen unnecessary duplicates, because Publisher ignores the user preference or for a better term doesn't provide a document independent preference.

For example, why isn't there also a box to tick in the app settings along the lines of »Prefer linking resources« directly above the option »Automatically update linked resources when modified externally«? Or a drop-down option as I described above?

On 4/5/2021 at 8:31 PM, MrDoodlezz said: