Any Information about the Chrashes on Windows 10/11 when searching Fonts?

[hashtag amazing]

Please give us any update you have about the crashes when searching Fonts on Windows 10/11.

I didn't even have any of the mentioned updates installed, you mentioned here 

I tried everything, checked if any updates are installed, and also the other way around updated with all available Updates for Windows 10 or Windows 11 to see if its working but it is crashing.

This is causing many problems now because We have started in our office Projects in/with Affinity Designer and Publisher and cant switch to adobe (which we dont like working on that much as affinity  ) to continue the work. 

 

 

 

[Dan C]

Hi @hashtag amazing,

Welcome to the Affinity Forums

1 hour ago, hashtag amazing said:

Please give us any update you have about the crashes when searching Fonts on Windows 10/11.

This issue is logged with Microsofts bug reporting team and we're awaiting a further response from them currently.

1 hour ago, hashtag amazing said:

I tried everything, checked if any updates are installed, and also the other way around updated with all available Updates for Windows 10 or Windows 11 to see if its working but it is crashing.

Sorry to hear this - can you please open Control Panel > Uninstall a Program > View Installed Updates and provide a screenshot of the updates here for me?

Many thanks in advance!

[hashtag amazing]

sure, as requested: 

[G13RL]

On W11.
This morning I got an update (KB5018341).
I tried it out and was able to type normally in the font window.
I then tried again and AD crashed each time. In the end, the problem is not solved.

[Komatös]

Hi @hashtag amazing and @G13RL

As long as Microsoft does not provide a fix for the framework problem, the following solution is available if you still want to install the cumulative .NET updates.

Solution:
Open the directory in which the Affinity programmes are installed. As a rule, C:\Programme\Affinity\(Desinger ...Photo ...Publisher)
Search and open the .exe.config file (for example Designer.exe.config) with a text editor.
Search for "<add key="IsVirtualizingStackPanel_45Compatible" value="true"/>"
Replace the value true with the value false.
Save the file (administrative rights are required to overwrite!).

Now the programmes shoud work as expected.
 

[j.king]

I am having an issue that seems to be related. It just started within the last week. I am still running Windows 10. In both Photo and Designer when scrolling through fonts with arrow keys - watching what I typed change for each font highlighted - when I get to a font that has other available variations (italics, narrow, bold, etc) usually I could hit the Right arrow key to open up that subset and scroll through those as well. Now, every time I click the Right arrow, Affinity freezes then closes. Help?!

[walt.farrell]

8 minutes ago, j.king said:

Help?!

If it's a related issue then the same fix (uninstall and hide the Windows update) or one of the workarounds should work.

[j.king]

Well this is a bit terrifying as I use Affinity for all of my freelance work. Was just reading in another post with an account of Affinity apps no longer opening at all (on W10 or W11). God forbid! Are there any drawbacks to uninstalling the Windows 10 updates? Am I looking for just one of the KB numbers listed or will there be several that need to be uninstalled? Also, I tried typing in the font search bar (not something I ever do) and it crashed just as reported here. So, it does appear the freeze/crash I experienced is related.

[lacerto]

If you want a workaround fo this issue, please check the original instructions that were given in this thread (advise given above related to editing of app configuration files is inaccurate and does not work):

 

[Dan C]

20 hours ago, hashtag amazing said:

sure, as requested: 

Thanks for providing that for me! That's certainly strange as I too cannot see any of the expected updates here.

Can you please open Windows Settings > Updates & Security > View Update History and provide a screenshot of the installed updates here for me? 
___________________________________________

20 hours ago, G13RL said:

On W11.
This morning I got an update (KB5018341).

I can confirm this is one of the known updates, listed in the FAQ - uninstalling this update should stop the crashing behaviour

___________________________________________

18 hours ago, j.king said:

Am I looking for just one of the KB numbers listed or will there be several that need to be uninstalled?

Usually the .NET updates are installed, overwriting the previous update, so you should be able to simply remove the latest .NET KB update (as listed in the FAQ) and this should stop the app from crashing - please do let us know how you get on here!

[PaulEC]

Well, I hope this gets fixed (permanently) by someone soon! I've updated to the latest version of Windows (which someone said solved the problem - it didn't for me!) I tried what Komatös posted above, but although I'm logged in as administrator it didn't work. (I got a message saying to contact the administrator!) I've now uninstalled the offending update three times and the problem is back again! (AFAIK there is no way to stop it reinstalling in Windows 10, as there is in Windows 11.) 

[lacerto]

13 minutes ago, PaulEC said:

I tried what Komatös posted above, but although I'm logged in as administrator it didn't work.

It does not work because the instructions are inadequate. Read the instructions in my longish post in

to see what needs to be done. In a nutshell: you also need to specify 4.8 as the .NET runtime version number since if you leave it as the current value (most probably 4.7.2), the ignore setting related to data virtualization does not work, and additionally it would cause the OS to try to reinstall old 4.7.2 version once you already have the later 4.8 or 4.8.1 version installed. The fix is also different depending on whether the app is purchased from Serif or Windows Store. More generally: It would be better to simply refer to original posts instead of quoting inaccurately (and without testing).

[walt.farrell]

44 minutes ago, lacerto said:

Read the instructions in my longish post in

Direct pointer: 

 

[hashtag amazing]

On 10/27/2022 at 2:11 PM, walt.farrell said:

Direct pointer: 

 

doesn't help at all, this workaround is not applicable to most Users. "Do it at your own Risk". so hell no, and secondly I honestly don't have time to resolve this issue like described, i have to put my time to get my work done which rely on proper working software. 
this Bug sucks, it makes working in affinity currently a pain in the ass because you are playing Russian roulet (Will it crash or not) every time you want to change fonts.
And usually, it crashes and if you did not save your Work every time, you are literally getting angry. Lost already a lot of working time due this bug and im mad at the moment.

 

[carl123]

3 minutes ago, hashtag amazing said:

Lost already a lot of working time due this bug and im mad at the moment.

So would I be if I had not followed one of the simple workarounds given in the forum

Happy to say, no more crashes and lots of dosh hitting my bank account

[hashtag amazing]

2 minutes ago, carl123 said:

So would I be if I had not followed one of the simple workarounds given in the forum

Happy to say, no more crashes and lots of dosh hitting my bank account

glad to hear it you hero

[PaulEC]

Simple solution: Don't search for fonts; scroll to them or add as Favourites! 

(I know, far from ideal, but it works for me and it's better than losing work, due to crashes!)

[hashtag amazing]

Just now, PaulEC said:

Simple solution: Don't search for fonts; scroll to them or add as Favourites! 

(I know, far from ideal, but it works for me and it's better than losing work, due to crashes!)

another hero in this helpdesk forum. ... i dont know about you, maybe you can scroll through your comic sans and times new roman font-sets but this not works for me i have many hundert fonts installed.

[N.P.M.]

1 minute ago, PaulEC said:

Simple solution: Don't search for fonts; scroll to them or add as Favourites! 

(I know, far from ideal, but it works for me and it's better than losing work, due to crashes!)

But then again you cannot place images, add pages or choose the right color profiles either
And some other related issues that may creep up.
 

[PaulEC]

Sorry guys, in no way was I saying the situation is acceptable, it's driving me up the wall too! All I'm saying is, if you know doing something is going to cause a crash, stop doing it until the problem is fixed! It's a bit pointless complaining that every time it happens, you lose work, if you keep doing something that you know will cause a crash!

[N.P.M.]

2 hours ago, PaulEC said:

Sorry guys, in no way was I saying the situation is acceptable, it's driving me up the wall too! All I'm saying is, if you know doing something is going to cause a crash, stop doing it until the problem is fixed! It's a bit pointless complaining that every time it happens, you lose work, if you keep doing something that you know will cause a crash!

But that's just the point.
The .net issue is causing more problems than just the text field alone.

So 4 options:
(well actually 5 but that one that's not recommended)

1. Don't do anything that may cause the crash in the program, the text field issue is known but there are more.
2. Uninstall the latest .net update and suspend all windows updates.
3. Uninstall the latest .net update, run the tool to hide only the .net update from reinstalling.(you may have to do this again after a cumulative update)
4. Don't use the program all together, take some time off, relax, take a cold one, lose the aggravation till it is fixed.

 

[PaulEC]

44 minutes ago, hashtag amazing said:

i have many hundert fonts installed

Me too! But I rarely use more than two or three fonts in the same document (so can use Recent and Favourite font lists) and I also use a font manager. 

As N.P.M. says this problem affects other things, not just searching for fonts, but until Microsoft (or, possibly Serif?) provide a fix, all we can do is either use the fixes/workarounds suggested, or try to avoid doing things that cause the crashes.