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Accidentally deleted a few 3rd party brushes


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Reset Brushes
This will delete any brushes imported into the app and will reset all brushes within the app back to their default settings. This option is also available in Preferences > Misc > Reset Brushes.

These settings are stored in raster_brushes.propcol and can be exported from the Brushes Panel

 

☛ 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

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Thank you for the info on .propcol , .preset, raster_brushes.propcol.

However after deleting 2-3 brushes, finding the Time Machine brush.propcol, then restore does nothing. Deleting the brush.protocol, then dragging a backup did not work. I also found out that deleting the preset layout.preset, restarting AP and the program picks up the deleted preset file from somewhere to be found. AP needs the great folder storage that Photoshop keeps all presets. If I import an A.style, I want it to show in a folder under Preset/Styles/A.style. AP method is simply confusing.

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In my MAS based APh installment there are also initial brushes under the following APh App path ...

raster-brushes.jpg.fd4485547b735c5ffef7b86886df7c02.jpg

☛ 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

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6 hours ago, blackxacto said:

You see, this is irresponsible unnecessary complexity

Why do you think it is unnecessary? The items in the various application Contents/Resources folders are separate from the per user stuff for several good reasons, among them to provide a reliable way to reset various things to factory defaults (which otherwise would require that the app be reinstalled), & so that each user can have their own set of preferences, presets, & other properties without that affecting what other users set up for their own use.

Is it possible you were replacing the application level raster_brushes.propcol file from the same location in the Time Machine backup? That won't do anything to what the app will use stored in the user level Library folder.

All 3 1.10.8, & all 3 V2.4.1 Mac apps; 2020 iMac 27"; 3.8GHz i7, Radeon Pro 5700, 32GB RAM; macOS 10.15.7
Affinity Photo 
1.10.8; Affinity Designer 1.108; & all 3 V2 apps for iPad; 6th Generation iPad 32 GB; Apple Pencil; iPadOS 15.7

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Quit AP. I only explored the ~/user (me)/Library/Containers/Affinity Photo/Data/Library/Application Support/presets/. For the Workspace file. And trashed it. Restarted AP. The workspace did not go to default. The workspace picked up the trashed workspace file.

Please take a look at the search results on my iMac only for “propcol”. Can you see my confusion? I don’t remember what brush propcol I trashed.

What does ~/user (me)/Library/Containers/Affinity Photo/Data/Library/Application Support/preferences.dat   accomplish?

What does ~/user (me)/Library/Containers/Affinity Photo/Data/Library/Preferences/com.seriflabs.affinity photo.plist    accomplish?

In Photoshop I only have one preset folder, all files inside relate to me only. Other users have their own user preset folder.

Screen Shot 2022-03-28 at 10.13.31 AM.JPG

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23 minutes ago, blackxacto said:

Why are brush files hidden in the Affinity Photo Application/Contents/Resources.

Those are (I think) the default files, used on initial installation and if you perform an application reset to factory defaults.

Your files, containing the brushes you've added, are elsewhere, as explained in the FAQ that was previously mentioned:

 

25 minutes ago, blackxacto said:

Am I suppose to reveal these hidden files?

You shouldn't need to, as there should never be a need for you to make use of them. (Assuming I understand how things work on Mac, by analogy with how they work on Windows.)

-- 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

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Chased down where all these brush propcol files reside w one user on iMac. Trashed the backup file I made. There is only one left for AP.

Here's what happened Saturday:

Opened AP, accidentally deleted 3 (3rd party) brushes. I asked in the AP forum where was the AP brush file stored. I retrieved it from Time Machine backup from couple days previous (raster_brushes.propcol). I quit AP. Looked for the file in my user account. Trashed it. Then replaced with the TM backup file (raster_brushes.propcol). But when I opened AP, the deleted brushes were not there.

That's why I asked the forum where is the file that keeps record of the brushes. Still do know what file keeps records of brushes.

 

dd.pdf

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1 hour ago, blackxacto said:

Please take a look at the search results on my iMac only for “propcol”. Can you see my confusion?

If you have more than one Affinity app installed that search can show you all the *.propcol files for each of them, both in the per user folders & in the application(s) Resources folder(s). If you do a "Get Info" on each of the 5 raster_brushes.propcol files, you can see where each of them is located. You only want to concern yourself with the one in your per user folder named "raster_brushes.propcol."

Per user means your ~/Library folder, where the tilde & forward slash is shorthand for your user's Home folder.

All 3 1.10.8, & all 3 V2.4.1 Mac apps; 2020 iMac 27"; 3.8GHz i7, Radeon Pro 5700, 32GB RAM; macOS 10.15.7
Affinity Photo 
1.10.8; Affinity Designer 1.108; & all 3 V2 apps for iPad; 6th Generation iPad 32 GB; Apple Pencil; iPadOS 15.7

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22 minutes ago, blackxacto said:

Still do know what file keeps records of brushes.

The one mentioned in the FAQ (raster_brushes.propcol), located in the directory mentioned in the FAQ (which depends on which application you're talking about and where you purchased the application and which OS you use).

-- 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

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11 minutes ago, walt.farrell said:

The one mentioned in the FAQ (raster_brushes.propcol), located in the directory mentioned in the FAQ (which depends on which application you're talking about and where you purchased the application and which OS you use).

So please tell us which store (Mac or Affinity) you bought AP from and what version of the macOS you are running if you want help finding the correct raster_brushes.propcol file.

All 3 1.10.8, & all 3 V2.4.1 Mac apps; 2020 iMac 27"; 3.8GHz i7, Radeon Pro 5700, 32GB RAM; macOS 10.15.7
Affinity Photo 
1.10.8; Affinity Designer 1.108; & all 3 V2 apps for iPad; 6th Generation iPad 32 GB; Apple Pencil; iPadOS 15.7

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Got Affinity Photo from the Apple App Store

19,1 iMac, Monterey 12.3, 64gb RAM

"I QUIT AP. Looked for the file in my user account: ~/user/Library Containers/Affinity Photo/Data/Library/Application Support/user/raster_brushes.propcol. TRASHED IT. Then replaced it with the Time Machine backup file from two days earlier (raster_brushes.propcol). But when I REOPENED AP, the deleted brushes were not there."

This told me that that raster_brushes.propcol(from two days ago) did not have the 3 deleted brushes before Saturdays deletion.

So my question is still, what file can I restore from a Time Machine backup that would give me the 3 deleted third party brushes?


 

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8 minutes ago, blackxacto said:

Got Affinity Photo from the Apple App Store

19,1 iMac, Monterey 12.3, 64gb RAM

Then I think you should be looking in ~/Library/Containers/Affinity Photo/Data/Library/Application Support/user/ on your Time Machine backup. On the timeline go back several days, at least 3 if you are certain it was 2 days ago when you deleted the brushes & farther back if you are not. Select the raster_brushes.propcol file in that backup (should have a mod date older than 2 or whatever days ago) & restore that.

All 3 1.10.8, & all 3 V2.4.1 Mac apps; 2020 iMac 27"; 3.8GHz i7, Radeon Pro 5700, 32GB RAM; macOS 10.15.7
Affinity Photo 
1.10.8; Affinity Designer 1.108; & all 3 V2 apps for iPad; 6th Generation iPad 32 GB; Apple Pencil; iPadOS 15.7

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I did exactly as you suggested, ~/Library/Containers/Affinity Photo/Data/Library/Application Support/user/.  Restored from two days before Saturday (day I deleted the 3 brushes) No three brush backup of the three last week.

I went to March 18 this year. I did EXACTLY as you say. There were no three brushes from the 3-18 restoration.

There has to be ANOTHER FILE that holds brush info that will restore my 3 brushes I deleted on Saturday.

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1 minute ago, blackxacto said:

There has to be ANOTHER FILE that holds brush info that will restore my 3 brushes I deleted on Saturday.

That should be the file that holds the info for all of the brushes you've installed in Photo. 

Why not just add them again from the original .abr or .afbrushes file you originally used to install them?

-- 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

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I didn't keep a backup of the originals. I thought Affinity Photo would backed up. I do three complete iMac backups each night. But Affinity Photo does not backup itself, or there is a file no one is talking about w the backup of the Saturday Affinity Photo brushes. It isn't in raster_brushes.propcol. Its not in any backups through the last month. If Affinity Photo keeps all my brushes in a file: raster_brushes.propcol, then it isn't backing up correctly. Or, there has to be another file that backup brushes.

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2 hours ago, blackxacto said:

If Affinity Photo keeps all my brushes in a file: raster_brushes.propcol, then it isn't backing up correctly.

It isn't a "backup." It is where all the per user brush presets are stored.

All 3 1.10.8, & all 3 V2.4.1 Mac apps; 2020 iMac 27"; 3.8GHz i7, Radeon Pro 5700, 32GB RAM; macOS 10.15.7
Affinity Photo 
1.10.8; Affinity Designer 1.108; & all 3 V2 apps for iPad; 6th Generation iPad 32 GB; Apple Pencil; iPadOS 15.7

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6 hours ago, blackxacto said:

Then why don’t all the per user brush presets backup in Time Machine.

The procedure seems to work for others who have done it, so something is odd.

A few possibilities come to mind:

  1. Could it have been some other Affinity app than Photo where you had those brushes? E.g., could you have had them in the Pixel Persona of Designer or the Photo Persona of Publisher, rather than in Affinity Photo itself?
  2. Could you have copied it from the wrong TimeMachine backup folder? You told us where you found the file to delete, but I don't think you confirmed the name of the backup directory you copied from.

-- 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

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11 hours ago, blackxacto said:

Then why don’t all the per user brush presets backup in Time Machine.

They should, unless you specifically excluded backing up the folder they are in.

Like Walt said, there has to be something else going on here because this works for just about everyone else who has tried it. My best guess is the brushes you deleted were originally added to one of the other Affinity apps, so they were never in AP to begin with. Of course, this assumes you do have more than one of them installed, & it appears from your dd.pdf file that you at least have AD installed.

All 3 1.10.8, & all 3 V2.4.1 Mac apps; 2020 iMac 27"; 3.8GHz i7, Radeon Pro 5700, 32GB RAM; macOS 10.15.7
Affinity Photo 
1.10.8; Affinity Designer 1.108; & all 3 V2 apps for iPad; 6th Generation iPad 32 GB; Apple Pencil; iPadOS 15.7

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Walt & RCR, thanks for responding. If others have success just replacing the raster_brushes.propcol, then must be something else. I only targeted the Affinity Photo folder in libraries. Time Machine is set to ignore only my external disks. Maybe I’ll figure out what I did. Thanks again for responding.

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2 hours ago, blackxacto said:

I only targeted the Affinity Photo folder in libraries.

Are you certain that the brushes you deleted were in AP to begin with, & not perhaps in AD?

BTW, how many Affinity apps do you have installed?

All 3 1.10.8, & all 3 V2.4.1 Mac apps; 2020 iMac 27"; 3.8GHz i7, Radeon Pro 5700, 32GB RAM; macOS 10.15.7
Affinity Photo 
1.10.8; Affinity Designer 1.108; & all 3 V2 apps for iPad; 6th Generation iPad 32 GB; Apple Pencil; iPadOS 15.7

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