Affinity Beta Asking for Product Validation

[CH Trippe]

I installed Affinity Photo Beta awhile back and have been using it daily, until today, when suddenly -- this morning, surprise surprise ---  it was asking me to install  from the Mac store or have a valid product key. What's up ?  See below the screen shot of the message I got. What do I need to do now? Install again from Mac Store?  Also, are the issues with the "old" Affinity Photo being resolved? 

[PaulEC]

15 minutes ago, CH Trippe said:

Also, are the issues with the "old" Affinity Photo being resolved? 

If by "old" you mean the current release version, then it depends what "issues" you are referring to! 

Beta releases expire at some point and are not always immediately replaced with a new beta. You have to remember that beta versions are intended to be for you to try out new features and improvements etc, they are not intended to be used as a replacement for the release version. 

Basically you need to go back to using the release version, or wait for a new beta to be released.

[CH Trippe]

Thanks Paul. I didn't realize that was the case.   Has Affinity Photo (the current version) been updated to improve its performance with Mac OS ?  The Beta version was working very well with some of the features that had slowed down because of "coding problems.'  These issues have been discussed on this forum. The selection brush  (for removing an object from its background) was one of the tools that had become very slow to use. Also the gradient tool -- color selection was slow. 

[walt.farrell]

32 minutes ago, CH Trippe said:

What's up ?

Mac betas require that you have an older version of the retail application installed, if you purchased from the Mac App Store. It sounds like your MAS copy has updated so it's newer than the beta. You'll need to run the retail version, instead.

[CH Trippe]

In fact, I do indeed  have the original retail  version of Affinity, which I purchased, heaven knows how long ago, from the Mac App Store, which  allowed me to install Affinity Beta.  I wasn't aware that the original version had updated --- I am currently running 1.10.5  --- but I did notice that it seemed to open more quickly this time --- slow opening was one of the issues. Hope everything else works well.  I did create a few new image brushes in Affinity Beta, so  I'm not sure if I will be able to import them, but in any case, I still  have the PNGS from which I made them, so I can re-create them.    

[walt.farrell]

29 minutes ago, CH Trippe said:

I did create a few new image brushes in Affinity Beta, so  I'm not sure if I will be able to import them,

You should be able to export them from your beta release and import them into your retail release.

[CH Trippe]

Apparently I can't use the Beta release at all anymore --- it won't even open  -- when I tried it asked  for a product code which I don't have,  even though my account shows I was registered for the Beta.  Paul, on this forum, said the Beta has probably expired ? ( I didn't know., because I was using it regularly up until this morning).   Of course if the "issues" with Affinity have been fixed, then there's not really a problem. 

I did try to import one of the brushes  into Affinity, but Affinity Beta didn't even show up as an option. At least I didn't see it.   Anyway, it's not a huge deal. There were only a few "new" brushes, and I've already re-created one of them.

 I'm very  happy to say that the affected features in Affinity Photo seem to be working smoothly  now --- at least the selection brush tool is working the way it's supposed to, quickly and cleanly, so I'm assuming that issue has been resolved. Haven't tried the gradient color selection or the overlay color choices yet. 

[walt.farrell]

Ah. Sorry; yes, you would need to have exported before the beta expired for you. 

You could copy your raster_brushes.propcol file from the beta "user" directory over to your retail "user" directory, completely replacing your retail brushes. There's a FAQ that will tell you where to locate the file:

 

[R C-R]

@CH Trippe, I get the same message as in your first post for both the AD & AP betas. As has been explained, this is because I bought them from the Mac App Store & the current 1.10.5 versions I recently updated from there are newer than those 2 betas. (I bought APub from the Affinity Store & I can still run the older 1.10.5 beta for it along side the now updated 1.10.5 retail version, but that is a subject for a different post.)

Anyway, the message we get when trying to open the older AP (or AD) betas is deceptive because what it should tell up is that these betas can't be used because they are older than the installed retail versions. It does not matter that we do in fact have the retail version installed from the Mac App Store.

Another annoying thing about this is as Walt mentioned, if you have not already exported/backed up your beta settings & preferences, you can't use them with the updated retail version unless you try the wholesale replacement method, which could lead to unexpected results.

[CH Trippe]

Thank you, RC-R. Good to know. I am back to using the "default" version of Affinity which is fine  --- but of course  I hadn't realized there was an update which resolved certain issues, so I was continuing to use the Beta.  Now I don't need it anyway! 

 

[walt.farrell]

1 hour ago, CH Trippe said:

but of course  I hadn't realized there was an update which resolved certain issues, so I was continuing to use the Beta.

You can Follow this topic, and you will always know  

[CH Trippe]

Thank you, Walt!   I think at one point I was receiving notifications, but maybe not since I changed my email address over a year ago. Glad you reminded me.

👍

[Andrew Buckle]

Yes, having the same problem - purchased on the mac app store and have no product key therefore cannot enter a validation. Great. !! If only my Affinity Photo would actually work on M1 Monterey, still get the spinning wheel of death, though not that the beta was much better. 

Andrew

[R C-R]

49 minutes ago, Andrew Buckle said:

Yes, having the same problem - purchased on the mac app store and have no product key therefore cannot enter a validation.

As I mentioned above, the current Affinity Photo version (1.10.5) is newer than the most recent Mac beta version, so that beta can't be used anymore. The message asking for a validation is deceptive. It should say that the beta has been replaced by a newer retail version, & that the beta no longer can be used.

[Andrew Buckle]

Yes, that would be a better message ... unfortunately still has not resolved the main issue that Affinity Photo latest version is still pretty dire with the M1 Monterey on the mac. I can't work out the logic of why I get the spinning wheel of death with the application. 

Affinity Designer is fine, no issue, no spinning wheel. Affinity Photo can go a week or so and no spinning wheel of death. Then it suddenly appears and then it will happen all day, whether I turn off my machine or not and then just as sudden, I will not get the spinning wheel of death. 

 

Not sure if it is because I was using affinity designer this morning, Photo has now triggered its wheel of death. I haven't been using designer for quite a while and have had no issues, is there some odd quirk with that running before using Photo ?? I am struggling to see why it suddenly has this issue and it is frustrating when I am trying to create a tutorial or two and all I end up saying through the tutorial is sorry about the spinning wheel ... M1 monterey was supposed to make AD even faster and better, seems to have gone into reverse. 

 

Please fix this bug ....