Modifying linked JPG gives me (nearly) no choice of file format when saving

[Joachim_L]

I fear this is currently "by 'bad' design".

1. Create a document and place a JPG linked.

2. From within APu edit the image and switch to the Photo Persona.

3. Add an adjustment like Selective Colour (not merging).

4. Close or save the tab with the edited image.

5. Now you will be asked if you want to save your changes. Click Yes.

6. Next you will be asked, whether you want to save the file flattened (because a JPG has no layers) or save as a new document.

7. Click Save as, as perhaps I don't want to be changed permanently.

Result A: Your choice is only .afpub and .aftemplate. Both nothing I want, so there should the export dialogue kick in. From this point the story goes further.

8. I select .afpub as my target format and the tab with the image closes.

Result B: The image I purposely edited, will not be replaced. The JPG remains at its place.

I would like to see this behaviour changed. As nice as StudioLink is, I explore the limits the more I use it.

[walt.farrell]

When you Edit a Linked file you are editing the original, @Joachim_L. That's why you have Save options at all when working in the editing tab for that file. And all the usual rules apply about saving that file.

When editing an image file (PNG, JPG, TIFF) you can do a Save and overwrite the original as long as you have a raster image, which means no layers. If you have any layers, you will have to Flatten, or Save As (which will give a .afphoto file or other native Affinity format), or Export.

If you have layers, only Export will be able to give you a JPG, PNG, or TIFF, just as if you had Opened the JPG/PNG/TIFF for editing originally.

And only Export will be able to replace the original file on disk, and thus update both the original file and (if you want) your Publisher file.

From what you've written, you want the behavior or workflow of an Embedded file. In that case, you need to use Embedded files, not Linked files. Edit: But note that I'm away from my PCs with Affinity installed, and I don't remeber exactly how the workflow for embedded PNG/JPG/TIFF works right now, as it has changed so often.

[Joachim_L]

1 hour ago, walt.farrell said:

which will give a .afphoto file or other native Affinity format

No, the options were .afpub or .aftemplate. I would be fine (more or less), when it were .afphoto.

1 hour ago, walt.farrell said:

From what you've written, you want the behavior or workflow of an Embedded file.

Wouldn't it be a benefit if the Photo Persona would act like Affinity Photo? Isn't it the benefit of StudioLink to seldom switch to another application and do everything at one place? Just a thought.

[walt.farrell]

1 hour ago, Joachim_L said:

the options were .afpub or .aftemplate. I would be fine (more or less), when it were .afphoto.

You should be able to change the filename extension to any of the native ones.

 

1 hour ago, Joachim_L said:

Wouldn't it be a benefit if the Photo Persona would act like Affinity Photo? Isn't it the benefit of StudioLink to seldom switch to another application and do everything at one place? Just a thought.

It is acting like Photo, the application. Photo would not allow you to Save that edited image either, without flattening, exporting, or doing Save As to a native format.

[Joachim_L]

22 minutes ago, walt.farrell said:

You should be able to change the filename extension to any of the native ones.

This can't be intended that I have to manually type in the filename extension?

25 minutes ago, walt.farrell said:

It is acting like Photo, the application.

It is not or is Affinity Photo offering the filename extension .afpub or .afdesign? I mean, I am in the Photo (Im)Persona(tor) or maybe I don't get the whole StudioLink concept?

[walt.farrell]

51 minutes ago, Joachim_L said:

It is not or is Affinity Photo offering the filename extension .afpub or .afdesign? I mean, I am in the Photo (Im)Persona(tor) or maybe I don't get the whole StudioLink concept?

You're right; in that aspect it is not acting like the Photo application. But normally one would save .afpub files from Publisher, and you are in the Publisher application, so to me it is acceptable and not a bug.

In all other aspects of your report it is acting just like the Photo application would.

[Joachim_L]

3 minutes ago, walt.farrell said:

But normally one would save .afpub files from Publisher

Last one before I give up: Yes, one would expect to save as .afpub from Publisher, but I am editing a raster image in the Photo Persona and just want to save my changes. So wouldn't it be natural to expect to save at least as .afphoto?

[walt.farrell]

9 minutes ago, Joachim_L said:

So wouldn't it be natural to expect to save at least as .afphoto?

I can understand why you (or someone else) might want that, but I don't think that I would want the various Personas to work differently within the same application.

For example, supposes I opened a JPG file into Publisher directly (which is possible, though Publisher makes it more difficult than in the other applications as you can't use File > Open). And now I do a File > Save operation.

Personally, I would want a .afpub file regardless of the Persona I save from. I would not want to get a .afpub automatically if I save from the Publisher Persona, but get a .afdesign file if I save from the Designer Persona, or a .afphoto if I save from the Photo Persona. The application is Publisher, and its native file format is .afpub.

And for me, it is easy to overtype the filename extension in the Save dialog if I decide to save in one of the other native file formats.

Thus, I still maintain that the current behavior is not a bug. But if you want to make a Feature Request about this, that's up to you.