Best (easiest) way to run Affinity Photo on Linux?

[Shema]

Hi all,

Currently making the transition to Linux (Zorin OS) and Affinity Photo is really the only thing that's keeping me from leaving Windows entirely. I tried VirtualBox and Bottles, but had difficulty getting Affinity Photo to run in both instances.

Anyone have an easy solution?

Thank you in advance for any help you can provide.

[Lee_T]

Hi Shema,

We currently have no plans for Linux I'm afraid and we cannot support emulation etc.

Lee

 

[walt.farrell]

7 hours ago, Shema said:

Anyone have an easy solution?

There are people discussing it in other Linux threads here, most recently (with some hints) over here: 

From there forward you'll find some hints, scattered in the rest of the discussion. But as Lee mentioned it's not supported and not planned.

[Wanesty]

On 7/5/2022 at 11:23 AM, LeeThorpe said:

Hi Shema,

We currently have no plans for Linux I'm afraid and we cannot support emulation etc.

Lee

 

random up but i can't answer a FAQ topic:

now there's flatpak and affinity now also have it's own way to manage license.. updating this post in the V2 FAQ would be appropriate

[walt.farrell]

2 minutes ago, Wanesty said:

now there's flatpak and affinity now also have it's own way to manage license.. updating this post in the V2 FAQ would be appropriate

Why? It's still not supported, and Serif still has no plans to support it. 

If users are getting it to work that's nice, but the users involved in that effort are supplying all the documentation on what's required to make it work.

[Wanesty]

6 minutes ago, walt.farrell said:

Why? It's still not supported, and Serif still has no plans to support it. 

A precise answer from serif would be actually more than welcome, as you saw from the multiples Linux Topics, peoples are actually interested in it. A genuine and thoughtful answer, considering the progress of both Linux and Serif in the past 4 years is all we ask for.
 

[Lee_T]

It's still not supported, and we still have no plans to support it. 

Lee

[GrnDrm]

I would like to register my wish for a Linux version of Affinity Photo (and eventually the full suite). I no longer consider Windows a viable platform and have switched to Linux Mint as my daily OS. I refuse to rebuild or replace a perfectly capable PC to accommodate Microsoft's decision to require certain hardware. Plus, Microsoft has become increasingly invasive. The move away from large corporate-based compute is growing in momentum as more people find the allure of Linux and its open-source, ad-free nature.

That said, I will continue to support companies that provide quality software products and Affinity / Serif is definitely in that category. I have turned a lot of people on to the Affinity suite and will continue to do so, especially if a Linux version becomes available. I'm not making any demands, but just stating my heartfelt desire to run native versions of my favorite software in my favorite OS. I do not regret purchasing both iterations of the Affinity suite though I am now much less likely to use them on a regular basis.

Thanks for making such great products. I respectfully hope your plans change to include versions for the Linux OS.

Have a wonderful day!

[Jannes]

Here another Affinity user who some years ago wanted to leave adoby and loves Affinity! I introduced it to a lot op friends also.

The same feelings about windows, I really want to leave windows and the only reason not going to Linux is Affinity (as I almost dayly uses it)
I think a lot of the people who made the step to Affinity are also the people who are willing to leave microsoft (or even apple)

I really hope some day there will be a reliable solution to run Affinity on linux (without much technological knowhow for the users).

Serif also told me (few years ago) not having plans to do so but I think they have to do it in the coming 5 or 10 years as more and more people are leaving windows. (and for a good reason)

It would be so welcome!!!

[Wanesty]

14 hours ago, Jannes said:

The same feelings about windows, I really want to leave windows and the only reason not going to Linux is Affinity (as I almost dayly uses it)
I think a lot of the people who made the step to Affinity are also the people who are willing to leave microsoft (or even apple)

I really hope some day there will be a reliable solution to run Affinity on linux (without much technological knowhow for the users).

was in your situation Affinity was the only software holding me back from switching but when i saw that some people got it working and that ElementalWarrior did a fork of wine for the V2, i finally switched completely, and even made the guide discussed over on

it's not as simple as double-click installing affinity but the updated guide aims to make it easier for graphic designer, that are not devs nor really knowledgeable about linux to get it working ! Maybe try it for yourself and if you can deal with the few bugs and glitches, you'll probably see yourself ditching windows !

However ! i sadly cannot recommend it if you're using Affinity for professional purposes ! It will depend on your usecase tho so consider giving it a shot :)

[Chills]

The problem is that unlike Windows and OSX, Linux is not an OS.
Linux is the name given to a collection of several thousand different OS.

There are some programs that have the complexity of the Affinity suite that run on Linux but they run on ONE SPECIFIC distribution.
So Affinity might do an XYZ Linux version which may not be too difficult as OSX is POSIX compliant and Linux is not too far off.

The other problem, less so for Affinity than other apps, is licensing of Codecs.   Both Apple and Microsoft license some codecs you simply can't get on any Linux.

Finally the number of installed Linux users who would want Affinity is VERY small (even if the users are vocal). It simply isn't commercially viable to do a Linux version (for a single Linux distribution) for the number of potential users.

[Wanesty]

On 9/22/2023 at 12:08 AM, Chills said:

The problem is that unlike Windows and OSX, Linux is not an OS.
Linux is the name given to a collection of several thousand different OS.

Linux is a kernel.

On 9/22/2023 at 12:08 AM, Chills said:

There are some programs that have the complexity of the Affinity suite that run on Linux but they run on ONE SPECIFIC distribution.

this is not an issue anymore, you can either chose a single distribution to support like Davinci Resolve did with openSUSE,

OR even better, you could use Flatpak (Flathub) like most developers are currently moving towards as a mean of distribution (it can bundle dependencies easily instead of relying on distro packaged ones).

On 9/22/2023 at 12:08 AM, Chills said:

The other problem, less so for Affinity than other apps, is licensing of Codecs.   Both Apple and Microsoft license some codecs you simply can't get on any Linux.

The codecs Affinity uses are available freely(i.e.ie libre) on linux. And i believe Serif is already paying for distributing Pantone colors. (please do tell me if i'm missing a codec that wouldn't be on linux.)

On 9/22/2023 at 12:08 AM, Chills said:

Finally the number of installed Linux users who would want Affinity is VERY small (even if the users are vocal). It simply isn't commercially viable to do a Linux version (for a single Linux distribution) for the number of potential users.

Linux's userbase is small yes but again, growing, and non/small pro users are the ones asking for it because : companies that are already using linux will see and that serif, adobe, etc are distributing a linux version and they know that it's useless to waste company time trying to convincing them to port it.

But as Sorn pointed out that yes, there is professional interested in a linux port.

 

[Chills]

54 minutes ago, Wanesty said:

Linux is a kernel.

I see you don't understand the problem.
I don't have the inclination to spend time educating you.

[Wanesty]

joke aside, i'm not sure what "problem" you're referring to.. i thought my post was covering most of your concerns ?

please i'd love to know what you meant !

[Aethernir]

On 9/22/2023 at 12:08 AM, Chills said:

The problem is that unlike Windows and OSX, Linux is not an OS.
Linux is the name given to a collection of several thousand different OS.

There are some programs that have the complexity of the Affinity suite that run on Linux but they run on ONE SPECIFIC distribution.
So Affinity might do an XYZ Linux version which may not be too difficult as OSX is POSIX compliant and Linux is not too far off.

The other problem, less so for Affinity than other apps, is licensing of Codecs.   Both Apple and Microsoft license some codecs you simply can't get on any Linux.

Finally the number of installed Linux users who would want Affinity is VERY small (even if the users are vocal). It simply isn't commercially viable to do a Linux version (for a single Linux distribution) for the number of potential users.

As they have answered, Linux is a kernel, whereas GNU/Linux is an OS.

Codecs are not a problem, there is a multitude of professional software available in GNU/Linux, for example DaVinci Resolve, there are also triple A video games, and great work by Valve and its Proton project.

GNU/Linux is an OS used by large companies and professionals, and it is growing.

Now, the way I see it, instead of worrying about software that is not available in GNU/Linux, we should support projects like GIMP, Krita and others. I bought an Affinity Photo license, it's a great app, I use it with a VM, but I think I really should have donated the money to the GIMP team. If we all did this the situation might be different.

It's not bad to try to make Affinity Photo work with bottles, wine or anything else, but, in my opinion, this is somewhat complicated and if achieved it will not be reliable enough to use professionally. Without the support of the developer I don't think you can achieve much.

Edited September 24, 2023 by Aethernir

[Wanesty]

9 hours ago, Aethernir said:

but I think I really should have donated the money to the GIMP team

i gave GIMP a new try the other day(yes i also tried the beta), the UI/UX is pretty bad and the workflow way too destructive for my taste, i much prefer Krita over GIMP for most usecases.

i usually prefer Krita over AP for most photoshop-like usecases too!

however both lack real, good vector: tools, rendering and manipulation so AD is still necessary for my workflows..

also, if you need to do advanced text work Af Publisher is pretty much irreplaceable..

 

9 hours ago, Aethernir said:

[wine] is somewhat complicated and if achieved it will not be reliable enough to use professionally.

it's sadly not really.. because:

9 hours ago, Aethernir said:

Without the support of the developer I don't think you can achieve much.

:^)

[Chills]

21 hours ago, Aethernir said:

As they have answered, Linux is a kernel, whereas GNU/Linux is an OS.

Codecs are not a problem, there is a multitude of professional software available in GNU/Linux, for example DaVinci Resolve,

I believe the Linux Resolve is missing some Codecs that are in both the Windows and Mac versions.

Also Resolve does not support "Linux" but only one specific distribution.  All others you are on your own.

The reason why Resolve supports one Linux is because several major Studios were going to buy not only multiple seats of Resolve Studio but full sets (ie £50K a go)  of the BMD hardware consoles.  Had BMD not been selling several £million of hardware they would not have done a Linux version.
What is he model for Serif to support a very small number of people whop are not going to spend even a small percentage of he development costs with Serif?

 

[Wanesty]

On 9/24/2023 at 9:26 PM, Chills said:

Had BMD not been selling several £million of hardware they would not have done a Linux version.

Resolve was first developed for linux tho

 

also it overall seems that you didn't read my post fully as you seem to don't know about flatpak,

to save you the trouble of a google search : it's a packaging system that allows the developers/publisher to package/use precise versions of libraries, codecs, any kind of dependencies really; this makes the publishing process way easier since you do not have to package and distribute for every distribution.

 

As i mentioned on this topic:

Bitwig is now distributed though flatpak and i wouldn't be surprise if Resolve also get distributed this way in the future :)

[Chills]

9 hours ago, Wanesty said:

Resolve was first developed for linux tho

This is not correct.

It was first on SGI machines and AFAIK was developed on a POSIX compliant OS.

[Aethernir]

On 9/24/2023 at 9:26 PM, Chills said:

What is he model for Serif to support a very small number of people whop are not going to spend even a small percentage of he development costs with Serif?

The number of GNU/Linux users is not small at all, it may seem that way because there is no real data, but it is far from being small.

Following your argument, I do not understand what Valve's business model is to invest millions of dollars and have more than 100 developers on staff to support GNU/Linux.

On the other hand, the use of GNU/linux is found among a large number of professional users, who are also the ones who buy licenses.

Sometimes companies have to be bold.

[Chills]

On 9/26/2023 at 12:27 AM, Wanesty said:

Resolve was first developed for linux tho

I did a bit more digging.  Resolve was first done for a BSD based UNIX.  Not LINUX.  The two are very different, even if some Linux are largely POISIX compliant.
Later there was a custom Linux version that only worked on the computer supplied with the Hardware desks supplied and the Dongle.
There were less than 100 Resolve users, and they were paying over $100,000 a seat.

Then BMD got hold of it and in 2010 The first SW only version was for Mac OSX at $995, the Linux-HW version at $20,000 to $150,000

In 2010 there was Version 8 for both Mac OSX and Windows (without hardware). This is when the user base exploded from 100 users to over 2, million users over the next few years.

It was not until 2017 that Resolve was made available for a standard Linux without HW

So Resolve was developed for UNIX. As UNIX is POSIX compliant, they were able to do a custom OS based on Linux for <100 users.
After a MaC OSX, also BSD based POSIX compliant UNIX,   and Windows versions were released, the user base went to 2 million.

 

 

[R C-R]

4 hours ago, Aethernir said:

The number of GNU/Linux users is not small at all, it may seem that way because there is no real data, but it is far from being small.

The issue for Serif is if the number of Linux users who would buy the Linux versions of the Affinity apps is large enough to justify the development costs, & the ongoing costs of supporting it.

[Wanesty]

46 minutes ago, R C-R said:

The issue for Serif is if the number of Linux users who would buy the Linux versions of the Affinity apps is large enough to justify the development costs, & the ongoing costs of supporting it.

some people proposed them to make a crowdfunding type move to know and gauge the amount of people interested by a linux version, to have actual data

but i don't think it was ever considered by Serif's higher up(that we know of) and thus their response was, too little userbase(they don't really know) then "no linux version stop asking"

 

and even then, with a crowdfunding, they wouldn't even have the real picture for the reason i stated before:

On 9/23/2023 at 7:32 PM, Wanesty said:

Linux's userbase is small yes but again, growing, and non/small pro users are the ones asking for it because : companies that are already using linux will see and that serif, adobe, etc are distributing a linux version and they know that it's useless to waste company time trying to convincing them to port it.

tldr, passionate users will participate in a crowdfunding, not medium to large companies.. and that would make the number lower anyway

 

from my perspective, unless a big vfx/game company that uses linux shows up to Serif with briefcases full of cash and ask them to support linux, it won't happen x)

[R C-R]

7 minutes ago, Wanesty said:

some people proposed them to make a crowdfunding type move to know and gauge the amount of people interested by a linux version, to have actual data

And Serif responded to that, saying they were not interested in crowdfunding. I believe this in part is because it doesn't seem like a very reliable way to gauge how many people would actually buy the product if it came to market.

[v_kyr]

Partly Unix History till 2010, after that a bunch of Linux based flavors discovered and nowadays do dominate the Unix world.