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Hello,

 

I have downloaded the trial version and have to say it is very nice. I loaded my current tvOS projects character SVG which has about 110 frames of character animations.  Each frame comprised of about 30 elements.  So a good test to compare to Inkscape 0.91 for performance.  System is fairly maxed out 2011 iMac.

 

Pros:

Wow it is fast and scrolls in and out so smoothly

Using the same keyboard shortcuts as the rest of OSX is nice as well

Near perfect import of the test SVG (see cons for issues)

Easy to use so far

Awesome export options

 

Cons:

Clipped & Masked items in the test SVG did not import clipped or masked.  This is actually quite a mess to have to clean up by hand.

Color picker eye dropper was not nearly as intuitive to use as pretty much any other apps I have used.  The click & hold then move selection area to color felt very awkward.  Much prefer the select tool then move to area and click on color desired style eye dropper tools.

Not so happy with the path node tools either.  Enjoy having control arms on all three types of control nodes in Inkscape.

 

Questions:

1. Is there something I am missing to fix the problem with Clipped elements on SVG import? I use this technique often in Inkscape so getting this right on import is important.  Just to much work to fix it all by hand on every image and if I can't bring in all my old art it negates the value of moving to AD from Inkscape.

 

2. Is there a way to get a color picker that works more in line with the select object, select tool, select color  (like inkscape) with out the need for the click/hold/drag AD uses? Being new I bet I missing something here.

 

3. Path node control arms for all nodes types would be nice, so am I missing the obvious on how to get them to appear?

 

4. I know they keep this tool up to date so I will ask about PNG export without transparency (Alpha).  Anyone that is developing for Apple knows that they have moved several items to no Alpha channel and that they prefer PNG format files.  The latest is Image Stacks for tvOS apps require the back most layer to not have any Alpha.  So could that becomes a PNG export option?  I ask about PNG because it is easier to keep all images in the same format vice a mix of PNG and JPG files.  Also right now Apples tool chain for image stacks is young and mixing PNG/JPG in the stack has resulted in fun and for me it being easier to use Preview to fix the alpha channel as required and stay all PNG files.

 

5.  Speaking of tvOS will there be an Export option to create the Parallax Images (.lsr files) added at some point?  I have an idea on this might be done.  Special template with 1 to 5 layers (range that Apple's LSR format allows.  The export option would export each layer into the LSR file (layer 1 being back most) and then counting up from there.  It would sure be awesome to have something like this for AD given that Apple released a plugging for PhotoShop to do just this.

 

Again great product. Loving the trial version.  Besides the clipped and masked objects not importing correctly I am thinking this is a clear move from Inkscape for me.  Look forward to hearing back.

 

Matt

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  • Staff

Welcome to the forums Matt :)

 

Glad to hear you're enjoying our app!

 

1. I’ve tried to install Inkscape on my machine to test this but it won’t work. Is it possible to attach a sample Inkscape SVG to your post for us to investigate?

 

2. In AD you can select the object and then go to the Colour Panel to change the colour.

 

3. You will need to click and drag to make the arms appear. Perhaps this video will help: https://vimeo.com/112930017

 

4. When exporting your PNG image you can select a colour from Matte - your PNG will then export with the selected colour as the background.

 

5. I’m not aware of any plans for this to be added but feel free to start a new thread in the Feature Request section asking for it :)

 

Hope this helps!

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Welcome to the forums Matt :)

 

Glad to hear you're enjoying our app!

 

1. I’ve tried to install Inkscape on my machine to test this but it won’t work. Is it possible to attach a sample Inkscape SVG to your post for us to investigate?

 

2. In AD you can select the object and then go to the Colour Panel to change the colour.

 

3. You will need to click and drag to make the arms appear. Perhaps this video will help: https://vimeo.com/112930017

 

4. When exporting your PNG image you can select a colour from Matte - your PNG will then export with the selected colour as the background.

 

5. I’m not aware of any plans for this to be added but feel free to start a new thread in the Feature Request section asking for it :)

 

Hope this helps!

 

1. Link to a test SVG make with Inkscape 0.91.  Using your web browser save the the SVG to your local machine.  I use Chrome and it saved off just fine.

http://www.bytebybytesolutions.com/SVG/ClipProblem.svg

Again this is a show stopper for us as we have 5 years of SVG files that use clipping/masking techniques.  Simply put we don't have the time to fix a file every time we update one for an app update.  I have played more with the trial version and I can find nothing to fix this.  I tried fully ungrouping the object and pulling the clipped object out to see how AD was identifying it.  In Inkscape you can unclip an object at anytime and it indicated as a containing two objects if you inspect the object while it is clipped.  In AD it is just a single object that is the original unclipped base object.

 

2. I think you misunderstand.  I am talking about using the eye dropper from the color panel.  To set the eye dropper color I have to click on it, hold and drag the selection circle out to the colour I want to select.  then to set the objects color I have to select the object and click the color right of the eye dropper.  This is very cumbersome and not like any other tool I use that has an eye dropper.  Example of how I use the Inkscape version in typical work flow.  At the start of a project we settle on a color palette for the project.  We create that palette and save the bitmap off in a common spot.  Then every SVG we create we drag that palette in and use it to set colors.  So I can draw several objects and then select all objects I want the same color, select eye dropper tool (hot key actually) and then click the color I want on the palette and I am done.  very fast and very efficient as there is a hot key for activating the eye dropper tool and then I can hot key back to the selection tool and do the next set of objects.  This really is preference and the fact that AD is very different from the tool I use in regards to how the eye dropper works.

 

3. Thanks for the video link.  Will watch it and see what I was doing wrong as I could never get the points to drag out.

 

4. The image still has an alpha channel that has to be removed.  There is a difference between no transparent pixels and no alpha channel and iTunesConnect will not accept certain images if the Alpha channel is present.  Also the new tools for Images stack require that there be no Alpha channel.  To verify what I mean export the PNG as you suggested and then use "Get Info" in Finder and the field "Alpha: Yes" will be present in the image info section.  This is probably the #2 reason I am looking for a replacement for Inkscape is that I have to use another tool on the image after exporting to remove the alpha channel.

 

5.  I will take that under advisement.  If I do switch to AD then I will try to write up a good request and how it could be accomplished.

 

I know I referenced Inkscape quite a bit but it is the tool we have used for 5 years.  If the development had not stalled and they actually achieved a native OSX version I probably would not be looking for a replacement.  But being that it needs an X11 environment to run and it handles our large SVG files so badly (low FPS - as in single digits while zooming in/out) I feel it is time to explore out options and AD is at the top of the list for being that replacement.  I really do think AD is excellent product and its performance is incredible.  If we can figure out the clipped object issue I can make a feature request for a Alpha check box in the export section of PNG files.  See OSX Preview export dialog for example of Alpha checkbox.  That is the exact tool I use to remove Alpha and is what Apple recommends developers use to remove Alpha from PNG files.  Thank you for your time.

 

Matt

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • Staff

Sorry for not getting back to you sooner - didn't get a email notification when you replied. 

 

Thanks for the file. I can see why this would be a pain to work around. I'm going to try and install Inkscape again and log this with the developers.

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Matt, thanks for the SVG bug report.

 

Here is another troublesome file:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9a/Confederate_Rebel_Flag.svg

 

Can anyone test in Affinity? I am away from my workplace where we use Macs (only Windows at home). The flag does not open correctly in either Illustrator or CorelDraw.

n3124l.jpg

 

 

PS I sent your file to the Photoline devs as well: the clipping was not present, and the hair rendered wrong. The latest beta of Photoline now loads up your file and this flag as it should. I feel that the more Adobe alternatives open SVG files properly, the better!

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@Simengie:

 

1. I was finally able to get Inkscape and X11 installed and running albeit rather slowly. I was able to replicate the clipping issue and have logged it with our developers. Thanks for providing the file :)

 

2. There is already a thread in the feature request section where users have asked for the Colour Picker tool to be improved. I'm pretty sure it covers the issues you've raised above. You can read more here.

 

Some tools such as quick shape and brush have a shortcut that will allow you to select colours without having to select the Eye Dropper in the Colour Panel. If you draw a shape and press ALT + Left Mouse click and drag you will be given the option to pick a colour. Not your normal workflow but it might the app a little easier to use.

 

4. I understand. I’m pretty sure one of the developers stated in a previous thread that they’re wanting to add an option to select if Alpha is included or not. I will speak with the developers to see what I can find out. I've spoken with the devs and the option should be coming in the near future :)

 

@Herbert123:

The file opens but isn’t displayed correctly. Don't think it’s a clipping issue but I will get it logged with our developers. Thanks for the file :)

 

post-19-0-49699100-1448029222_thumb.jpeg

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  • 2 weeks later...

@Simengie: Good news. The devs have added a "Smart" alpha export to the latest beta builds of Affinity Designer and Photo. If no pixels have alpha then the alpha channel is removed :)

 

https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/15353-affinity-designer-customer-beta-13513-rc3/

Very nice to see this.  Still waiting on the clip/mask issue being fixed before move our development to AD however.  Hope this gets addressed soon.

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  • 2 months later...

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