Affinity v2 separate mode

[HombiE]

Hi, affinity. Is my favorite separation mode missing in v2? Is this temporary? Or are you not going to add it back? I have customised my most convenient position. After I bought the universal license, I opened the affinity designer and found the window option, but I didn't find the separation mode. If I didn't find it, please correct me.

[thomasp]

Yeah it's gone according to the FAQ:

 

[HombiE]

thank you for reply me!👍🏼

[velarde]

Is this temporary...? Can somebody form Serif please confirm this...?

Will separate mode not longer be an option for the Affinity apps... or will it be added on a future update..?

Thanks,

fjv

[Pro in HartfordCT]

I'd definitely like true Separated Mode back as an option along with a movable toolbar (with two-stack option). I never liked the integrated, full-background interface when it came to Adobe Photoshop, and I don't like it in Affinity.

[gricko]

On 11/9/2022 at 5:45 PM, thomasp said:

Yeah it's gone according to the FAQ:

 

"If for some reason you need this specific functionality, please continue to use Affinity V1 apps."
that is a bulls#@t answer

"separated mode" is a basic apple mac functionality since the beginning. after 30 years of using all my apps without background covering my view of desktop, folders and other windows/apps, please do not tell me you are that vain to call it "specific functionality" and instructing buying customers to downgrade.

[BartonFink]

It's true. 
""separated mode" is a basic apple mac functionality"

I bought Version 1 from the beginning and only use separate mode as a professional grafic designer since 25 years. In the beginning the Affinity programs were mac-like and extremly comfortabel and fast to work. But in version 2 I think Affinity looking only to Windows Users (which I don't mean in a bad way) but under Windows people seem to be used to always working with one window. This has never been the case in the professional Mac environment. That was a decisive advantage for using the screen optimally with several programmes. Unfortunately, this has now been switched off. For whatever reason. This is - in my opinion - one of the biggest mistakes Affinity could have made. I hope they will reconsider and bring back the separate mode. Please, please please ...

I bought the suite version 2 and will not apply for a refund, as Affinty Serif is in my opinion the only company that can finally break the Adobe monopoly. But to simply remove a fundamental Mac functionality with all its advantages I can't understand.

[StigHeisenburg]

I agree that not having this feature makes the Affinity products a complete non-starter. Even my mom who is a complete novice is ready to uninstall Pixelmator after recently getting a new computer which has the same misguided setup. In my search for a Photoshop and now Pixelmator replacement for my mom Affinity Photo was at the top of my list but after discovering this limitation I'll need to look elsewhere, maybe just settle for the built in Preview app.

 

I've also been using Adobe apps professionally for many years and need the ability to work on multiple documents at once on screen. If I wanted to pretend I was using a Windows PC or iPad, I would just use... a Windows PC or iPad. The way native mac apps work with multiple document windows separated from the app gives it a productivity advantage that other platforms can never match unless they eventually switch to the mac model of the window/app relationship.

[johnrpenner]

Affinity Photo 2 ditching Separated mode is a downgrade for me. 🙄 

2cents

jp

[johnrpenner]

On 11/9/2022 at 11:45 AM, thomasp said:

Yeah it's gone according to the FAQ:

 

this is a horrible response to what is otherwise a superior product — ditching Separated mode makes affinity photo less usable than v1 in every way. it removes the ability to see and work on documents side-by-side. it forces macOS users into a more limited windows way of working, and you're going to get push-back for the macOS community. windows users, who never knew any different, will be like, 'whats the problem?' — macOS users will be annoyed — and to tell users that they should downgrade to v1 is just an awful response. ugh. why affinity — when everything else you do is so good?

spend your developor time getting basic functionality (i.e. Separated mode) back instead of on new features we dont actually need. 🤷🏼‍♂️ 
(or why did i upgrade to v2 to gain less a less functional system). 

jp

 

[walt.farrell]

9 minutes ago, johnrpenner said:

it removes the ability to see and work on documents side-by-side

No, that's still possible. But as you noted it's being done in a Windows way, which you're free to disagree with as a Mac user.

[bluearch]

I am a music theory instructor using Affinity Designer to mark up assignments for students on a shared screen on Zoom. Separated Mode allowed me to only share the document window, not the entire workspace. My students don’t need to see my pens colours and layers, and with some of them on iPad screens it uses up valuable screen space for no added value to them.

It is a great product that many people use in many different ways. Design changes as significant as this should be optional rather than enforced.

Please return this feature, I will be only able to use V1 until separated mode returns.

[Pete1234]

Been awhile since anyone has posted here- any luck on repairing the Separate Mode problem in Affinity Photo 2?

[Komatös]

7 hours ago, Pete1234 said:

Been awhile since anyone has posted here- any luck on repairing the Separate Mode problem in Affinity Photo 2?

No. If you have read carefully here, the separation mode will not exist in V2 and it will not come back either.

[Pete1234]

4 hours ago, Komatös said:

No. If you have read carefully here, the separation mode will not exist in V2 and it will not come back either.

That is unfortunate, thank you for your response.

[Mollymarie]

Wow. Removing the ability to have 2 windows open at once is hostile to professional designers who work this way on a Mac. I am in shock that Affinity would treat a significant number of users this way.  It should not be that hard for software engineers to fix this.  So it just seems disrespectful to a whole market segment.  I hope Affinity reconsiders.  

[walt.farrell]

14 minutes ago, Mollymarie said:

Removing the ability to have 2 windows open at once

You can have multiple document windows open, but it's done differently than with Separated Mode.

E.g., from the Designer Help: https://affinity.help/designer2/en-US.lproj/pages/Workspace/workspaceModes.html

[nbmalin]

I just went from v1 to v2 (bundle package) and searched here for a way to turn on separation mode in APhoto. Negatively surprised that the feature is not in v2.  I probably would not have upgraded if I had known this before 

[walt.farrell]

3 hours ago, nbmalin said:

I probably would not have upgraded if I had known this before 

If you purchased directly from Serif, within the last two weeks, you can request a refund by contacting affinityreturns@serif.com

 

[nbmalin]

26 minutes ago, walt.farrell said:

If you purchased directly from Serif, within the last two weeks, you can request a refund by contacting affinityreturns@serif.com

 

Yes, I purchased the package directly from Serif (summer bundle offer). Just bought and downloaded it today. If it is possible, yes I think I will ask for a refund. Thank you so much for taking the time to inform me about this. Appreciated.

[Steve2004]

I am trying V2 out. After reading this I don't think I'll buy V2.

[alessandra]

On 6/26/2023 at 10:02 PM, Mollymarie said:

Wow. Removing the ability to have 2 windows open at once is hostile to professional designers who work this way on a Mac. I am in shock that Affinity would treat a significant number of users this way.  It should not be that hard for software engineers to fix this.  So it just seems disrespectful to a whole market segment.  I hope Affinity reconsiders.  

Even procreate allows you to view Pinterest on one side and the drawing area you are going to run on the other. It is inexplicable that a software like Affinity has such a lack. I hope the developers keep this major limitation in mind and work to allow for more professionalism.

[cydonia195]

You can still have floating windows of each open window, but it appears you can't get rid of the solid back interface, which I hate. I often drag things from my desktop to use. With this entire interface completely covering my desktop, Serif is doing nobody any favors. I bought both V1 and then later v2. Please allow everything to float separately again. This smack of Microsoft windows applications, instead of a Mac app.