affinity publisher Font Book Demo

[CJRM]

When I was testing the Affinity Publisher Beta I decided to stress test it by using it to create specimen pages of all the typefaces I own. The Affinity Devs quickly addressed the one memory issue I found, and I later set the project aside. Recently I decided to try finishing it off, just as a way of learning various features of the program.

Well, applause to Serif and the Affinity team! Publisher handled the whole file with aplomb. Over 1,200 pages with a different typeface on almost every one. It even handled all 37 variants of Kidnapped at Old Times, an unspeakable monstrosity that I usually keep turned off because of what it does to my Mac's memory profile.

The document itself is nothing special, but the fact that Affinity dealt with the whole thing in one file is just mind blowing.

 

 

The Font Book.pdf

Edited March 8, 2022 by CJRM
Uploaded corrected version.

[Wosven]

It reminds me of old days, when we all had a "Catalogue Letraset" to identify and choose a font, or did our own depending of the ones available.

Did you use the default leading and kerning of each fonts?

 

[CJRM]

Hi Wosven, I used the default leading unless otherwise indicated. There's a bit of vertical type next to each specimen that indicates the font size and leading (if it isn't default). I generally left the kerning alone as well, so I'd have an accurate view of how the typeface would look 'as is.'

[dannyg9]

This is genius. I had an old program years ago that would do this, but if you would, can you explain how you did this in Publisher? By the way, thanks for the book I shall "digitally" keep it on a close shelf!

[walt.farrell]

Yes, very nice.

If you could also provide the basic .afpub file it would be helpful

[CJRM]

Thanks Danny and Walt,

Thank you! Very kind.

I've attached the .afpub skeleton for the document to this post. Fair warning: I was filling it in in my free time as a way to relax, so the process is not really automated.

There are master pages for the basic page layouts. They should be self explanatory. The only 'gotcha' is that applying a background master (e.g. Section A Background) after the basic Section Spread master may result in the decorative lettering covering up page numbers and such. This can be fixed in the layers panel.

If you look in the Assets Studio for the document, the fourth entry is a generic 'page' ready to be changed to the appropriate typeface. I've placed one on page 3 in the 'A' section. You need to ungroup it after placing it.

The first three assets are variations on the proofing text I used. The first paragraph is Loren Ipsum, but then I've used three variants of Hoefler's Proof, which comes from here.

The attached PDF file goes through the rather laborious process I adopted to populate the character grids at the top of each standard page.

Hope this helps!

- Christopher

Empty Font Book .afpub Creating Font Tables in Affinity Publisher.pdf

[CJRM]

I'm just uploading a corrected version for anyone who liked the original. Thanks to feedback from friends I've stamped out over 100 minor issues. Now my OCD insists I do something about the one I've posted here.

The Font Book.pdf

[jmwellborn]

@CJRM  Thank you so much for providing the link to the Hoefler download.  Your font book is an excellent resource.  I have hundreds of fonts that could use the treatment.  Once I checked the link and downloaded the three available styles, I made my own “font book” master so now I can have a good long look at stuff like “Fajita” or “Herculanum” or “Black Chancery” or “Fifth Century Caps” or . . . . when contemplating something new and rash.  Combining this with Typeface has really expanded my horizons!

[VectorWhiz]

Thanks for the heap of work creating this book may have required. Excellent lay-out, by the way.

[iuli]

@CJRM Thank you for sharing!

[CJRM]

Thanks @VectorWhiz and @iuli. Much appreciated.

And iuli, were you eventually able to open it on your iPad? The PDF is big, but I'm surprised it blew out the memory limits on a newer model!

[iuli]

Hi @CJRM, 

It takes some time to open but it does! Zoom in/out takes a bit and any interaction with the text freezes, and eventually crashes, the app, but it’s impressive that such a big document is even being opened on iPads at all! Especially because new M1 iPad models are supposed to let apps access at least 6GBRam, but unfortunately Affinity apps are still locked at 3GBram. 

I’ve started a topic about low ram access on Affinity for M1 iPad six months ago, and a mod replied that the devs are aware. The hope remains that bringing Publisher to the iPad in the summer (accompanied by Studiolink) will change things for the better.

All the best!