sarahkeast Posted February 23, 2022 Share Posted February 23, 2022 I have had Affinity a few months and recently the Blur tool and the Sharpen tool dont make any affect, they did initially. I have tried varying the pixels and diameter and various other settings. I dont know if I have disabled or blocked something and cant find how to reset or what else to do. Immensely frustrating as it is impacting other learning. Any advice on how to reset or if I may of got a background/hidden setting wrong would be very much appreciated. Thanks, Sarah Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AffinityJules Posted February 24, 2022 Share Posted February 24, 2022 The two things to immediately check (Affinity Photo) are: 1. Make sure the picture is not an image file, but a pixel layer. The blur tool will not work on an image file. 2. Make sure that the layer you are trying to blur, etc, is highlighted in the layers panel. Quote Some scientists claim that hydrogen, because it is so plentiful, is the basic building block of the universe. I dispute that. I say there is more stupidity than hydrogen, and that is the basic building block of the universe. These are not my own words but I sure like this quote. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staff Callum Posted February 24, 2022 Staff Share Posted February 24, 2022 11 hours ago, sarahkeast said: I have had Affinity a few months and recently the Blur tool and the Sharpen tool dont make any affect, they did initially. I have tried varying the pixels and diameter and various other settings. I dont know if I have disabled or blocked something and cant find how to reset or what else to do. Immensely frustrating as it is impacting other learning. Any advice on how to reset or if I may of got a background/hidden setting wrong would be very much appreciated. Thanks, Sarah Hi Sarah, Please could you go into the apps preferences and under performance could you try disabling Open CL? This should solve this problem Thanks C Quote Please tag me using @ in your reply so I can be sure to respond ASAP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarahkeast Posted February 24, 2022 Author Share Posted February 24, 2022 10 hours ago, Callum said: Hi Sarah, Please could you go into the apps preferences and under performance could you try disabling Open CL? This should solve this problem Thanks C What and/or where are apps preferences? I am running on my laptop. I have deinstalled and reinstalled to no avail. Reset settings [I think] Really frustrated. There seems to be no customer support or any contact information to actually talk to someone, other than interested people on forums and FB groups. Need to talk to someone or even better sit down with them and work through all of this. Sarah Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walt.farrell Posted February 24, 2022 Share Posted February 24, 2022 17 minutes ago, sarahkeast said: What and/or where are apps preferences? Edit > Preferences (or Ctrl+, by default) on Windows. 17 minutes ago, sarahkeast said: There seems to be no customer support or any contact information to actually talk to someone Talk? No, the support is electronic here or via email. (With the forums preferred.) But Callum, who responded above, is part of the Serif staff as you can see (on a laptop or desktop browser) by the markings on his post: And on the upper right: If you're using a mobile device, with a smaller screen, you'll see the tiny badge on the upper right of the profile picture, and the user's name in red and the gray "moderators" tag above both of those. sarahkeast 1 Quote -- Walt Designer, Photo, and Publisher V1 and V2 at latest retail and beta releases PC: Desktop: Windows 11 Pro, version 23H2, 64GB memory, AMD Ryzen 9 5900 12-Core @ 3.00 GHz, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Laptop: Windows 11 Pro, version 23H2, 32GB memory, Intel Core i7-10750H @ 2.60GHz, Intel UHD Graphics Comet Lake GT2 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Laptop GPU. iPad: iPad Pro M1, 12.9": iPadOS 17.4.1, Apple Pencil 2, Magic Keyboard Mac: 2023 M2 MacBook Air 15", 16GB memory, macOS Sonoma 14.4.1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staff Callum Posted February 28, 2022 Staff Share Posted February 28, 2022 Hi @sarahkeast Have you now found the setting I was referring to in your apps preferences? Thanks C Quote Please tag me using @ in your reply so I can be sure to respond ASAP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarahkeast Posted March 3, 2022 Author Share Posted March 3, 2022 On 2/28/2022 at 10:07 AM, Callum said: Hi @sarahkeast Have you now found the setting I was referring to in your apps preferences? Thanks C Hi Callum, no nothing has changed when I found the setting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
v_kyr Posted March 3, 2022 Share Posted March 3, 2022 On 2/23/2022 at 11:52 PM, sarahkeast said: I have had Affinity a few months and recently the Blur tool and the Sharpen tool dont make any affect, they did initially. I have tried varying the pixels and diameter and various other settings. I dont know if I have disabled or blocked something and cant find how to reset or what else to do. Immensely frustrating as it is impacting other learning. Any advice on how to reset or if I may of got a background/hidden setting wrong would be very much appreciated. It always helps more if you also name the operating system (Windows, MacOS, ... or iPad) you are running "Affinity Photo" on! - Further there are three Affinity apps for Desktops, so explicitely naming the one you've the problems with will help more to give a fitting answer. In this case I assume Affinity Photo on a Desktop system (but which one?) here, due to the fact that you initially named the Blur tool and the Sharpen tool). Ok, assuming you are using Affinity Photo on a Windows system, you said the following doesn't help and doesn't change anything ... [FAQ] How can I disable OpenCL compute acceleration on Windows? Affinity OpenCL Disabler [FAQ] Windows Hardware Acceleration Requirements ... then you can try to reset the app to it's initial defaults, in order to see if that fixes anything for the behavior you described. To reset the app see ... [FAQ] How do I reset the app back to its default settings? ... and before doing that, also take a look at ... What exactly do the Clear User Data options clear? If that too doesn't change anything in behavior let us know! Other than that the following Online help to Affinity Photo might be helpful for you, in order to get an overview about the apps panels, settings etc. Affinity Photo Desktop Online Help Quote ☛ Affinity Designer 1.10.8 ◆ Affinity Photo 1.10.8 ◆ Affinity Publisher 1.10.8 ◆ OSX El Capitan ☛ Affinity V2.3 apps ◆ MacOS Sonoma 14.2 ◆ iPad OS 17.2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarahkeast Posted March 3, 2022 Author Share Posted March 3, 2022 42 minutes ago, v_kyr said: It always helps more if you also name the operating system (Windows, MacOS, ... or iPad) you are running "Affinity Photo" on! - Further there are three Affinity apps for Desktops, so explicitely naming the one you've the problems with will help more to give a fitting answer. In this case I assume Affinity Photo on a Desktop system (but which one?) here, due to the fact that you initially named the Blur tool and the Sharpen tool). Ok, assuming you are using Affinity Photo on a Windows system, you said the following doesn't help and doesn't change anything ... [FAQ] How can I disable OpenCL compute acceleration on Windows? Affinity OpenCL Disabler [FAQ] Windows Hardware Acceleration Requirements ... then you can try to reset the app to it's initial defaults, in order to see if that fixes anything for the behavior you described. To reset the app see ... [FAQ] How do I reset the app back to its default settings? ... and before doing that, also take a look at ... What exactly do the Clear User Data options clear? If that too doesn't change anything in behavior let us know! Other than that the following Online help to Affinity Photo might be helpful for you, in order to get an overview about the apps panels, settings etc. Affinity Photo Desktop Online Help Thanks, I am on Windows. I have reset everything, and uninstalled and reinstalled. Still not working. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
v_kyr Posted March 3, 2022 Share Posted March 3, 2022 1 hour ago, sarahkeast said: I have reset everything, and uninstalled and reinstalled. Still not working. Hmm, how do you load the image into Affinity Photo, via "Open..." or "Place file...", further did you first selected the image background layer before trying to apply those filters? Another thing to check is the coresponding tools settings and the brush type used for them. See also: Blur Brush Tool Sharpen Brush Tool Quote ☛ Affinity Designer 1.10.8 ◆ Affinity Photo 1.10.8 ◆ Affinity Publisher 1.10.8 ◆ OSX El Capitan ☛ Affinity V2.3 apps ◆ MacOS Sonoma 14.2 ◆ iPad OS 17.2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarahkeast Posted March 3, 2022 Author Share Posted March 3, 2022 2 minutes ago, v_kyr said: Hmm, how do you load the image into Affinity Photo, via "Open..." or "Place file...", further did you first selected the image background layer before trying to apply those filters? Another thing to check is the coresponding tools settings and the brush type used for them. See also: Blur Brush Tool Sharpen Brush Tool Thank you for replying. I am just dragging and dropping, the same as I have always done. I am doing nothing different that I am aware of. It has simply stopped working to blur and sharpen in any way. I have tried varying the settings for the tools and the brushes to no avail. I am frankly despairing and very disapointed that I have spent my limited money on software that doesnt work and isnt simple to get fixed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lem3 Posted March 4, 2022 Share Posted March 4, 2022 The blur tool works for me, but I find seeing its effect depends on the size of the image and the zoom level. The "blur" images show what I achieved with about 15 strokes of the brush (set to 100% opacity/flow/hardness). If you zoom out to about 12% (from 100%) you'd think nothing had changed. Image size is 3840 x 5760 px. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarahkeast Posted March 4, 2022 Author Share Posted March 4, 2022 Thanks, it used to work for me, so I was able to use it and see what it did. Just doesnt now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Bruce Posted March 4, 2022 Share Posted March 4, 2022 19 hours ago, sarahkeast said: Thank you for replying. I am just dragging and dropping, the same as I have always done. What sort of files? Are there layers in the Layers panel? Have you chosen the topmost pixel layer to work on? Do you have the Basic Round brush chosen from the Brushes panel? The Blur and Sharpen tools need to use a brush from the brushes panel. Quote Mac Pro (Late 2013) Mac OS 12.7.4 Affinity Designer 2.4.1 | Affinity Photo 2.4.1 | Affinity Publisher 2.4.1 | Beta versions as they appear. I have never mastered color management, period, so I cannot help with that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarahkeast Posted March 4, 2022 Author Share Posted March 4, 2022 19 minutes ago, Old Bruce said: What sort of files? Are there layers in the Layers panel? Have you chosen the topmost pixel layer to work on? Do you have the Basic Round brush chosen from the Brushes panel? The Blur and Sharpen tools need to use a brush from the brushes panel. I have checked the brush tool settings, all reset. It doesnt work on anything at all, let alone when I start to do layers. I am at the point of giving up and binning Affinity. Disappointed with level of 'Customer Support' from a product problem. Only had it a couple of months. Waste of money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AffinityJules Posted March 4, 2022 Share Posted March 4, 2022 Could you provide a screenshot showing the layers panel and context toolbars (whole screen in other words) when trying to use the tools you say are not working. It might be a simple thing that a screenshot will easily expose. Quote Some scientists claim that hydrogen, because it is so plentiful, is the basic building block of the universe. I dispute that. I say there is more stupidity than hydrogen, and that is the basic building block of the universe. These are not my own words but I sure like this quote. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarahkeast Posted March 4, 2022 Author Share Posted March 4, 2022 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimmyJack Posted March 4, 2022 Share Posted March 4, 2022 10 minutes ago, AffinityJules said: Could you provide a screenshot showing the layers panel and context toolbars (whole screen in other words) when trying to use the tools you say are not working. It might be a simple thing that a screenshot will easily expose. I would suggest even a step further. Maybe a short vid of Sarah doing her thing. Or should I say, the tools NOT doing their thing. Edit: Sarah posted while I was typing. First thing I see is your opacity is under 50%. So you're staring out under half strength to start. Also, what exactly in that scene are you sharpening? The owl I assume?.... (why a vid might help more) You might also try changing the mode to Harsh, just to crank things up (after, of course, increasing opacity). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AffinityJules Posted March 4, 2022 Share Posted March 4, 2022 Something to try here that might help prove that the tools are working. Try setting the opacity and flow to 100% and try it again. Does it work? Quote Some scientists claim that hydrogen, because it is so plentiful, is the basic building block of the universe. I dispute that. I say there is more stupidity than hydrogen, and that is the basic building block of the universe. These are not my own words but I sure like this quote. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron P. Posted March 4, 2022 Share Posted March 4, 2022 One other setting to try on the Sharpen Tool is changing the Mode from Clarity to Harsh or Unsharp Mask.. Clarity applies a real subtle sharpening. You also may need to zoom in to near or at 100% to see if it's making a difference. Finally, to have a comparison, try duplicating the layer, then applying the sharpen or blur. Now to see if there's anything being applied, simply uncheck/check the layer your working on to see a comparison to your original (bottom layer). It's a real quick before/after viewing. Quote Affinity Photo 2.4..; Affinity Designer 2.4..; Affinity Publisher 2.4..; Affinity2 Beta versions. Affinity Photo,Designer 1.10.6.1605 Win10 Home Version:21H2, Build: 19044.1766: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-5820K CPU @ 3.30GHz, 3301 Mhz, 6 Core(s), 12 Logical Processor(s);32GB Ram, Nvidia GTX 3070, 3-Internal HDD (1 Crucial MX5000 1TB, 1-Crucial MX5000 500GB, 1-WD 1 TB), 4 External HDD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarahkeast Posted March 4, 2022 Author Share Posted March 4, 2022 I was trying different opacitys etc to make sure I had at least a chance of something showing. Nothing. Same in 100% The owl picture was just one I had randomly put in to see if anything worked. I have lost heart to do any proper editing with this, which is frustrating as I have some great shots I want to process, but not worth it on Affinity if it doesnt work. Adding video is more than I am set up for. Clarity and Harsh on the Sharpen tool is the first time I have seen any change, albeit an ugly big streak, a bit like the Dodge tool does. Not workable, but at least something shows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AffinityJules Posted March 4, 2022 Share Posted March 4, 2022 I take it you're using a basic brush rather than a specialised brush? Quote Some scientists claim that hydrogen, because it is so plentiful, is the basic building block of the universe. I dispute that. I say there is more stupidity than hydrogen, and that is the basic building block of the universe. These are not my own words but I sure like this quote. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarahkeast Posted March 4, 2022 Author Share Posted March 4, 2022 Just now, AffinityJules said: I take it you're using a basic brush rather than a specialised brush? Errr, I think so, I havent changed anything. I dont think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AffinityJules Posted March 4, 2022 Share Posted March 4, 2022 Just now, sarahkeast said: Errr, I think so, I havent changed anything. I dont think. Click on the brush tab and select basic. Quote Some scientists claim that hydrogen, because it is so plentiful, is the basic building block of the universe. I dispute that. I say there is more stupidity than hydrogen, and that is the basic building block of the universe. These are not my own words but I sure like this quote. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarahkeast Posted March 4, 2022 Author Share Posted March 4, 2022 3 minutes ago, AffinityJules said: Click on the brush tab and select basic. sorry, but where do I find that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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