Affinity Photo 2 Installation directory + plugins. Windows system

[mcribble]

Hi,

 

I've just installed V2. The installation did not give me the option for a desktop shortcut (I've tried reinstalling to check this). While I can find the app in the apps list and pin to the taskbar I like to keep shortcuts to all my photo applications in a folder. The requires that I know the .exe file location. I was expecting to find the V2 .exe file in C:\Program Files\Affinity\Photo which is where V1 is located. After a lot of searching and (maybe just my system) fiddling about with permissions on the folder I found the V2 .exe file in C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\SerifEuropeLtd.AffinityPhoto2_2.0.0.1640_x64__3cqzy0nppv2rt\App. Given the effort to find the file I'm wondering why the V2 .exe file was put in this location.

And. If I may. I have a number of plugins (Nik, DXO Filmpack, Topaz, On1) which work fine in V1 so wondering if the V2 .exe location will make plugins problematic.

Thanks

Martin

[walt.farrell]

45 minutes ago, mcribble said:

The installation did not give me the option for a desktop shortcut

There's a FAQ for that:

 

46 minutes ago, mcribble said:

And. If I may. I have a number of plugins (Nik, DXO Filmpack, Topaz, On1) which work fine in V1 so wondering if the V2 .exe location will make plugins problematic.

If you're talking about plugins you've added to Photo, you'll see that Photo 2 uses a different plugins folder in the Preferences. You could copy the plugins to that folder, or change where it points. (But I would not recommend simply pointing to the folder that Photo defaulted to, as it might disappear if you remove Photo).

If you're talking about invoking Photo 2 from another application, the applications provide App Execution Aliases. But I created a helper .bat file to use them, for example:

 

 

start /b affinityphoto2.exe %1
exit

I named mine LaunchAffinityPhoto2.bat and saved it. Then I point to that bat file from the other programs that need to invoke Photo 2.

 

[walt.farrell]

51 minutes ago, mcribble said:

Given the effort to find the file I'm wondering why the V2 .exe file was put in this location.

They've switched to using Windows MSIX technology to install/update the applications. I'm not sure of all their reasons for doing that, but it's largely the same way that applications from the Microsoft Store are handled in Windows 10/11. And Windows chooses where to put the application.

In theory you should not need to look inside that folder at all, and should not need to change any permissions.

[mcribble]

Walt - many thanks for the responses. Yes - with your help I've managed to both point Affinity to my plugins and get my other apps to invoke Affinity.

Martin

[Komatös]

Hi @mcribble

This info may help!

Third party integrations: 

App Execution Aliases for all apps have been added, these names will work from anywhere, e.g. Run dialog, command line, etc.:

If you need to browse for a physical file, they are located in 

%LocalAppData%\Microsoft\WindowsApps

called:

• AffinityDesigner2.exe
• AffinityPhoto2.exe
• AffinityPublisher2.exe

They can be enabled (default) or disabled in Windows Settings (search for "App Execution Aliases")

[soterios]

@Komatös Thank You Very Much for this information. 

 

There really should be specific instructions available for these shortcuts.  I don't regularly use the windows start menu for much of anything, and this has been an hour-long hassle for me to get my shortcuts back (including breaching the recommended security on the WindowsApps folder looking for the Affinity installs (which did not result in acquiring working shortcuts)).  I am very disappointed by this oversight.  Hopefully the new features will be worth all this stress.

 

[djudd]

Same problem. I have spent the past several hours attempting to get my command lines that worked fine with Affinity Photo V1 to work with V2. I have several programs that allow me to launch an external editor and none of them like the new alias system. Specifying %LocalAppData%\Microsoft\WindowsApps\AffinityPhoto2.exe or C:\Users\Dan\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\AffinityPhoto2.exe  ends with an error message that says "AffinityPhoto2.exe the file can not be accessed by the system". I can launch V2 at the command line with C:\Users\Dan\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\AffinityPhoto2.exe or just AffinityPhoto2.exe so I am not sure what to think.

Is Walt's batch file work around the only solution or am I missing something?

[bildbaendiger]

Unfortunately the .bat file does not work with programms like Photo Mechanic Plus. Photo Mechanic Plus only accepts .exe files to invoke a programm.

When I point direct to the AffinityPhoto2.exe file (I found under the hidden Folder AppData/Local/WindowsApps/SerifEuropeLtd.AffinityPhoto2_...) I got the Error: "The system cannot access the file".

[Dan C]

Please see my post regarding this here - 

 

[mcribble]

Hi,

This a follow up and a bit of clarification since my response to Walt has been picked up. 

Firstly clarification - I've not used Walt's batch file to invoke from a 3rd party application. I'm using DXO and ACDsee and, as far as I can see, I can only invoke .exe files rather than .bat files.

So, now for a bit of follow up. And apologies but the precise order of what I've done is lost in the mist of exploration and button presses. I started this morning by starting from the desktop shortcut I'd created yesterday.

I then moved on ...... When I came to explore V2 this morning I tried to invoke V2 from DXO but got a message along the lines of (sorry - I've been fiddling for a couple of hours so can't remember exactly) "can't access". Or something like that - the upshot is I couldn't invoke V2 from DXO. Since I now know where the V2 app is I went to the folder to find I didn't have permissions that I had set up yesterday - so I think I couldn't start V2 by double clicking the .exe in that folder - even though the desktop shortcut I'd created yesterday worked fine. I've now regiven myself permissions and am getting V2 to invoke via DXO and ACDsee but - I have now had a couple of requests to re-enter my licence/account details. I have no idea why my permissions changed overnight. anyway, I've done a couple of restarts and things seem to be working OK at the moment.

As far as Walt's batch file is concerned - I can confirm it launches V2 from my desktop.

Hope this helps and apols if earlier lack of clarity has confused.

Regards

Martin

[mcribble]

Another follow up. I've done a shut down and restart in case there's anything odd about that process in respect of permissions but the system appears to be as prior to shutdown.

DXO - Although the drop down list only shows .exe files I manually typed the name of my batch file (Walt's batch file) into the box and I appear to have launched V2 from DXO using the batch file.

ACDsee - I've tried the same trick but it hasn't worked. The screenshot is from my attempt at getting the trick to work for ACDsee rather than DXO but the process is the same.

Regards

Martin

[djudd]

Regarding ACDsee I was able to get Walt's batch file work around to work. Instead of typing out the name of the bat file, enter *.bat and then select it from the file list. Only difference is I'm using the 2022 version and it looks like your using 2023.

[Steve Ballard]

Perhaps I'm being a little dim, but none of the above advice has helped me locate the Version 2 files. I have two applications that provide a library facility, Adobe Bridge being one and they require Affinity Photo to be linked. Photo 2 doesn't show in the dropdown list and therefore requires a "Browse" to locate the .exe. I have located the Photo 2 folder in Users... etc but it doesn't contain the .exe file. Any help appreciated.

[GodOfWar]

Hello,

so it is not possible to install Affinity Photo 2 into a directory of my choice? What if i dont want it to be installed on C:?

[Dan C]

15 hours ago, GodOfWar said:

so it is not possible to install Affinity Photo 2 into a directory of my choice? What if i dont want it to be installed on C:?

Welcome to the Forums

Please see the following FAQ regarding this -

 

[Keith Palmer]

On 11/9/2022 at 3:33 PM, walt.farrell said:

I have tried the Walt workaround. But my antivirus software (AVG) disabled Photo's launch and removed the bat file from my PC. This is not for the faint hearted or PC illiterate.

I really hope Affinity's designers address this major gaff in functionality and quickly. Version 2 is useless to me unless it runs easily from 3rd party DAM and other programmes - in my case DXO Photolab 5 and Adobe Bridge, but I can see it is across the board. I've been a great advocate of Affinity up to now, but have recommended friends not to upgrade at present. Very disappointing.

 

 

[mcribble]

Hi @djudd

Tried your workaround which I managed to get working - many thanks for the tip.

On 11/10/2022 at 3:52 PM, djudd said:

Regarding ACDsee I was able to get Walt's batch file work around to work. Instead of typing out the name of the bat file, enter *.bat and then select it from the file list. Only difference is I'm using the 2022 version and it looks like your using 2023.

There was one wrinkle - after typing *.bat the bat file didn't show up - but I clicked on open anyway and it then did show up in  the file list. So all OK. Thanks again.

One file thought - in attempting to solve the issues I now have ownership of the file with the .exe file sonot sure whether these workarounds are because I've changed the permissions or whether I can revert the permissions backto their original stae which I feel I'd like to do as which in other threads some users in other threads have expressed some concern over.

Regards

Martin

[Canon10d]

I am not a computer programmer and have no interest in becoming one. I am a photographer who has been very satisfied with Affinity V1 and had no problems installing it some years back. I have now bought V2 and expected it to install and work just as V1. Affinity seems to have made a major error in selling a program that can not be called from "Fast Raw Viewer" and similar programs. I have advised all of my friends in various camera clubs that I go to, not to update until a fix has been made. Affinity, you should have realised this before you released V2. It's up to you to fix it, and soon as it's no use to me as it is.

 

[Dan C]

Welcome to the Forums @Canon10d, we're sorry to hear you've had trouble with Affinity V2!

Our developers have since confirmed that we're working on a traditional '.MSI' version of the installer for V2, which should function in the same way as V1 for external editing applications etc. 

Please see the following FAQ for more info here -

I hope this clears things up!

[Mark Ingram]

As well as doing our best to work around the problems (such as providing MSI installers, or launcher apps) with other applications such as "Fast Raw Viewer" it would be a good idea if customers could also contact them to let them know of the bug in their software that prevents the "App Execution Alias" from being launched. 

[Granddaddy]

Not to be too picky or pedantic, but I do think we require extreme precision in the use of words to avoid end-user confusion. 

@Chris B told me the other day that 
"We define a bug as something that isn't working the way the code intends it to."
https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/171185-search-box-in-preferences-does-nothing/&do=findComment&comment=982783

 

Under Affinity's definition, I think the fact that Faststone Image Viewer requires a work-around to launch APhoto2 is not a bug. Faststone's external editor feature is working as designed in that it calls Affinity Photo from any normal location on the system. The function is merely incomplete under the new methods of installing Affinity 2.

What Faststone and other applications need is a new or upgraded feature that enables calling Windows Apps from their hidden system folder. It needs a feature to execute the App Execution Alias or to access the zero-byte .exe file through a path to Windows Apps.

While researching this problem and benefiting from the comments of many others, I learned the following, which may be of interest to others. Various users have reported these various approaches to configure Affinity 2 as an external editor in various other programs. Why it works this way is beyond my meager, end-user knowledge of Windows. I wrote the following just to make things clearer to myself. Perhaps it will be useful to others. As so frequently happens, I find that everything is far more complicated than I ever imagined.

(I'm running on a local Administrator account with Hidden files viewable to do these various operations.)

1.)
Using Task Manager while Affinity Photo 2 is running, in the section of Task Manager under Apps, open the folder Affinity Photo 2 (2), right click Affinity Photo 2, left click Open file location to see in a File Explorer window:
C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\SerifEuropeLtd.AffinityPhoto2_2.0.0.1640_x64__3cqzy0nppv2rt\App\Photo.exe   [3,924 KB]

Close APhoto2. Use File Explorer to navigate to the Photo.exe file in the path you found in the previous step.

Double-click Photo.exe. APhoto2 fails to launch but produces the error:
"Windows cannot access the specified device, path, or file. You may not have the appropriate permissions to access the item."

Neither can Photo.exe be executed from a Command Prompt window despite the file being in the Windows Path environment variable.

At this point I learned that launching a Windows App is quite different from launching a traditional Windows application. 

2.)
In Windows File Explorer, navigate to
C:\Users\[UserName]\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps

Double click the file AffinityPhoto2.exe  (0 KB) to launch APhoto2

You can copy the file and paste it as a shortcut on your desktop to launch APhoto2. The shortcut will be represented by a Windows system icon unrelated to Affinity 2, but you could assign a different icon as some have reported doing. 

Trying to add this file as an external editor in Faststone Image Viewer returns the error:
"AffinityPhoto2.exe
The file cannot be accessed by the system"

3.)
In Windows File Explorer, navigate to
C:\Users\[UserName]\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\SerifEuropeLtd.AffinityPhoto2_3cqzy0nppv2rt

Double click the file AffinityPhoto2.exe  (0 KB) to launch APhoto2 

Trying to add this file as an external editor in Faststone Image Viewer returns the error
"AffinityPhoto2.exe
The file cannot be accessed by the system"

 4.)
Open a Command Prompt window and type the command AffinityPhoto2. 

APhoto2 will launch because AffinityPhoto2.exe is in the Windows environment Path variable. 

People report that some applications accept 
AffinityPhoto2.exe
as the external editor with no path to the file. 

Faststone fails to add this file as an external editor. Apparently Faststone's external editor feature needs to point to an actual file using the full path.

[Mark Ingram]

On 11/17/2022 at 9:49 PM, Granddaddy said:

I think the fact that Faststone Image Viewer requires a work-around to launch APhoto2 is not a bug.

We aren’t responsible for Faststone’s code. We can’t change it, and if they fail to launch our app, then the bug is in the code they have written to launch the app. We have code that works, such as the “Edit In Designer/Photo” capability, or the “aflaunch” app I provided. 

It should also be noted that other DAM applications do correctly open our apps via App Execution Alias. RawTherapee is one such example.