Affinity Publisher crash after write text in font line

[MarekM]

Hello, I have a problem, as soon as I open the line with fonts and select it manually, everything is fine, but if I want to write any text or name in the font line, the program crashes after as I type the first letter.

[srpohl]

Same problem here. This problem goes back Mar 2021, over a year ago. The "known issue" and work around does work sometimes (have found). However the work around is NOT a fix! Removing a MS update is ESPECIALLY not a fix. The programmer who says this a "feature" not a problem (that's a joke among programmers) should be fired along with the head of QA, since this appears to be a year old problem.  Windows 10 21H2 build 19044.2130.

[walt.farrell]

10 minutes ago, srpohl said:

Same problem here. This problem goes back Mar 2021, over a year ago. The "known issue" and work around does work sometimes (have found). However the work around is NOT a fix! Removing a MS update is ESPECIALLY not a fix. The programmer who says this a "feature" not a problem (that's a joke among programmers) should be fired along with the head of QA, since this appears to be a year old problem.  Windows 10 21H2 build 19044.2130.

Welcome to the Serif Affinity forums.

If you were seeing it a year ago, I think you were seeing a different problem.

This one really does seem to be caused by this set of Windows updates, and is likely to be (in my opinion, given the number of different programs this set of updates has affected) a Windows bug.

[lacerto]

Obsolete.

[momsthewordus]

So, for those of us who are not programmers, is there a fix? I am working on a project for a client, and I am having this same problem with a little more added. When I try to change fonts, only a limited number of my fonts show up (maybe 1/8 of my fonts). When I try to search for the font by typing it in, then my program crashes. It looks like my windows was updated on Oct 14, but the fonts were working fine yesterday. I haven't tried Photo yet, but the problem is happening in publisher and designer.

 

I can see all my fonts in photo, but the favorites list is not working right, and it also crashes when using the font search bar. (but not as quickly as the other two programs)

[lacerto]

Obsolete.

[momsthewordus]

Thanks lacerto. I hope Windows fixes whatever is causing the problem, because it sure is making my work take a lot more time!

[Leigh]

On 10/19/2022 at 12:16 AM, lacerto said:

In case this information is considered inappropriate to exist on the user forum and is estimated to possibly cause more harm than good, I apologize for posting it, and hope the moderators will remove it. The intention was nevertheless good, and due warnings were given.

As usual @lacerto, your help is very much appreciated. We don't recommend this workaround but I don't see why users can't be given this information so that they can make their own decision on how to get around this issue and get their apps working again. I've added a link to your workaround in this FAQ with a disclaimer - hope you don't mind.

[lacerto]

Obsolete.

[Mustazy]

• I feel like this needs a serious solution instead of
=> only deleting the new Windows Updates

the software team on Serif should provide a real fix to this issue and as soon as possible...

[Leigh]

On 10/22/2022 at 4:37 AM, Mustazy said:

• I feel like this needs a serious solution instead of
=> only deleting the new Windows Updates

the software team on Serif should provide a real fix to this issue and as soon as possible...

I don't have much more information to share at the moment, sorry. When I do, I will let everyone know.

[srpohl]

Someone suggested that it's a Microsoft issue. Unless this is effecting a LOT of programs, MS won't do anything about it. As for Serif, they are probably concentrating on Windows 11. Be ready for Serif to say "this version has been deprecated and will no longer be supported". "We will be coming out with a new and better version for Windows 11 that can be purchased soon." 

[K Mori]

I'm glad I'm not the only one having this problem -- for me, so far it is every time I try to change the font style by typing in the dropdown box and using the active search feature to narrow down my list. I thought my software revision (Affinity Designer 1.10.5.1342) might be terribly out of date, and couldn't even find where we used to be able to see all the recent updates avail for download (ps - where the heck is that? Or where is the menu item in the program to check for updates?? Even the Help files didn't find it for me).

I, for one, do not feel comfortable rolling Windows back. They add security releases and all kinds of things in there and it is well outside my wheelhouse. This has slowed my workflow to a crawl, just hoping a fix is on the horizon. Thanks,

[j.king]

Ditto. I'm with K Mori, srpohl and Mustazy on this. Hoping Serif is able to address this very quickly. I'm also not real comfortable tinkering with the Windows updates and whatnot. These are the sort of things that have kept me away from upgrading to W11. Quite frustrating now that the apps are being affected while still running in W10.

[Dolly Levi]

I've tried deleting the updates, without success, so as a temporary measure, I have found a solution to work round this problem. It's a rock-solid, bulletproof programme called Serif PagePlus X9!

[lowerider]

I use all three Affinity apps (Designer, Photo, and Publisher). The crashing when typing in font names happens in all the apps. It seems to be connected with updates that include .NET 3.5 and 4.8.x.

I'm running Windows 10 Home (21H2, Build 19044.2193).

I've found two ways to avoid these crashes.

METHOD A

1. Position the cursor at the beginning of the current (highlighted) font name.
2. Enter the name of the font needed or to be searched for.
3. Then press and hold the "delete" key to remove the current font name (to the right of the cursor)
4. A list of new fonts will be presented and the app does not crash.

METHOD B

1. Uninstall the update(s) that contain .NET 3.5 and 4.8.x.
2. Reboot (restart) the PC.
3. After rebooting the system, "hide" the uninstalled update(s) from Windows so these updates do not automatically show up again in the future.

With Method B, I can overwrite the current highlighted font in the drop-down menu as before with no crash. If/when the issues with .NET 3.5 and 4.8.x are fixed (either by Microsoft or Serif), the hidden updates can be "unhidden".

I went with Method B. Now I can work as I have with no crashes in any of the three Affinity apps.

[nathabonfim59]

For those of you running Windows 10/11 and bought the program using the Microsoft Store.

Here is a solution. Again, not advised, but it worked for me.

 

1. Enable the option to open explorer in a separate process

Quote

Windows Button > Explorer Options > Launch folder windows in a separate process

Detailed guide here: https://www.onmsft.com/how-to/how-to-open-file-explorer-windows-in-a-separate-process-to-the-windows-ui

2. Install the "Get ownership" context menu

Quote

When you install something from Microsoft Store it is stored in the "C:/ProgramFiles/WindowsApps" directory and by default you cannot change anything in this folder. The regscript mentioned adds a simple option in your context menu that gives you the ownership of the file, meaning you will be able to alter them.

Windows 10: https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/3841-add-take-ownership-context-menu-windows-10-a.html

Windows 11: https://www.elevenforum.com/t/add-take-ownership-to-context-menu-in-windows-11.1230/

3. Open your CMD as an administrator

Quote

1. Right click the Windows Icon with SHIFT pressed
2. Select "Terminal/CMD (Administrator)"

4. Go to the WindowsApps folder of your application

Quote

1. Type the following command. (this command makes your CMD open the WindowsApps folder)

cd C:\Program Files\WindowsApps

2. Now depending on the app you have installed, the command changes a little bit. Choose the one you use.

Quote

Affinity Designer: 

 cd *Affinity*Designer*

Affinity Photo:

cd *Affinity*Photo*

Affinity Publisher:

cd *Affinity*Publisher*

 

>> Hang on, we are halfway there! 😁

 

5. Now the "Take Ownership" of the Designer/Photo/Publisher.exe.config

Quote

> If you are using Windows 11, you'll need to click the "Show more options" in the context (right click) menu.

1. In the CMD you have opened and navigated to the appropriate folder, type:

explorer .

2. Find the "Designer/Photo/Publisher.exe.config" and right click

3. Select the option "Take ownership" (It will open an admin pop-up and a CMD window. It is normal)

6. Open the file with notepad or other program and make the changes suggested by @lacerto 

7. Save the file and you are done! 👏 👏

 

Common errors

Quote

I can't change the file. It shows the message "...being used by another program..."

I did the tests in two computers. One running Windows 10 e another running Windows 11. To the latter, it showed this message, and I couldn't change at all. I just deleted it and, so far, didn't notice any changes (except that my program does not crash when I search for fonts). 

            BEWARE: this can cause problems, but for me, it worked fine. Make a copy and store-it somewhere safe before deleting.

 

Hope this helps someone, and you don't need to waste 4 hours searching and combining solutions from random places on the internet. 😅

[Catshill]

"After rebooting the system, "hide" the uninstalled update(s) from Windows so these updates do not automatically show up again in the future."

Can someone explain how to do this with Windows 10? The websites I have seen refer to wushowhide.diagcab  and this cannot be downloaded in Edge or Chrome on my PC.

 

[wrandyr]

As a field report, Publisher 1.10.5.1342 running on Windows 10 Pro 22H2 build 19045.2251 was crashing when I tried to add a new section to a document. I applied the modification suggested by @lacerto and the problem went away. I was comfortable doing this because the modification is easily reversable. I'll report back if any side effects turn up.

[Emagineer]

As someone who developed in .NET for several years, the workaround by lacerto looks like a minor change with no downsides as long as it's applied just as described.

Edited November 10, 2022 by Emagineer

[aff2022ca]

Is this still an issue in V2?

[lacerto]

Obsolete.

[lacerto]

Obsolete.

[Phillip Mannion]

Is this likely to be the cause of Publisher crashing when users try to add pages, manually of via autoflow?

 

 

[eoaaeo]

Just make the fix. I start to think cause in the V2 it doesn't happened you did for pourpose.

I bougth the V2 but I go back to the V1 is so much more smoothed and nicer to use.

MAKE THE FIX PLS.

The problem is also on Photo and Designer!