How to get a designer shortcut icon on my desktop

[Maksimus]

6 minutes ago, iconoclast said:

Don't know if it is of any importance, but I'm on Windows 10 too, and I don't have any problems creating fullsized shortcuts on the desktop, simply dragging them from the Start Menu to the Desktop. But I can't test this Rocket Dock thing, because I don't use it.

All these problems would not have happened if the standard installation had been left in the directory - C:/Program Files/Affinity/ , as it was before.

It just wouldn't create any permission issues and lots of questions about where the hell Affinity apps are now.

I am writing this for the Serif support team. Maybe they will hear feedback and make at least a choice where to install.

[iconoclast]

Just now, Maksimus said:

All these problems would not have happened if the standard installation had been left in the directory - C:/Program Files/Affinity/ , as it was before.

It just wouldn't create any permission issues and lots of questions about where the hell Affinity apps are now.

I am writing this for the Serif support team. Maybe they will hear feedback and make at least a choice where to install.

I'm still exploring too. I opened the Preferences in Photo, clicked on Photoshop Plugins and then on Open Standard Folder in the Explorer (or so - I'm using german language for my apps). So I found a direction where content folders of the apps are: C:\users\yourName\.affinity. Maybe this will somehow help you. But I'm not sure.

[Maksimus]

3 hours ago, iconoclast said:

I'm still exploring too. I opened the Preferences in Photo, clicked on Photoshop Plugins and then on Open Standard Folder in the Explorer (or so - I'm using german language for my apps). So I found a direction where content folders of the apps are: C:\users\yourName\.affinity. Maybe this will somehow help you. But I'm not sure.

Thank you. Yes, I found this folder. But there are no Affinity application executables. Other Affinity system files are stored there.

And the executable (.exe) files are now in a different directory
 

Moreover, they are once again located in separate directories in the same folder.
 

 

[Jeffrie]

14 hours ago, Maksimus said:

Jeffrie, thanks a lot!  

I downloaded app icons.  This is what is needed to solve the problem while the Serif team deals with the causes of these problems and fixes the bug.

 I also wanted to clarify about the advice with the central placement of icon files.  What did you mean?  Do they need to be placed in the root folder of drive C?  Or somewhere in the /Program Files folder?

Sorry for the late reply, but seems you might have figured it out.

Yes, custom icons for shortcuts or folders should be first put in a central location. Then when you assign the art/ico to a folder/shortcut, you navigate to that "home" directory. This is basically teaching Windows where that the home directory for the art files are...which lets you move those customized folders and shortcuts around in the OS without worry. For example, I use "C:\Custom" for my custom folders and icon artwork (ico files).

If you need to extract the icon file again, just change the .msix package name to .zip ending and you'll be able to navigate inside the package with your favorite zip/archive program. Within the archive, you'll need to find your .exe file of interest. The ico file is embedded in the .exe file of interest.

I used a paid program called ICOFx for making icons and it has an ico extraction option.

Anyway, I write too much. Enjoy. The V2 stuff is really cool.

[Mark Ingram]

Details of creating desktop shortcuts are available in my FAQ:

 

[Maksimus]

16 hours ago, iconoclast said:

Don't know if it is of any importance, but I'm on Windows 10 too, and I don't have any problems creating fullsized shortcuts on the desktop, simply dragging them from the Start Menu to the Desktop. But I can't test this Rocket Dock thing, because I don't use it.

Yes, I understand you. I am only writing about the fact that I personally had problems with the new distribution of Affinity Suite V2.

I don't care how it is packaged and where it is installed. But Serif idea to switch to a new type of installation seems to have caused a lot of problems not only for me, but for a lot of users.

Many users, like me (read the forum) also have problems with permissions to Affinity executable files. It's not just me. Now, if I want to launch the Affinity application from any other application, then Windows does not allow me to do so. 😪

[Maksimus]

11 hours ago, Mark Ingram said:

Details of creating desktop shortcuts are available in my FAQ:

Now I figured out how to solve the problem with labels! Thanks for the link to the post. Shortcuts and other applications should use link aliases rather than direct application links. 😀 ⬇️

MSI has easy discovery of undocumented app locations for launching from a third-party. MSIX hides the install location due to the sandbox, but we use App Execution Alias to enable this scenario. You can find the aliases in the following location:

C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\AffinityDesigner2.exe

C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\AffinityPhoto2.exe

C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\AffinityPublisher2.exe

This is the solution to this thread's problem! 👍

[iconoclast]

22 minutes ago, Maksimus said:

Yes, I understand you. I am only writing about the fact that I personally had problems with the new distribution of Affinity Suite V2.

I don't care how it is packaged and where it is installed. But Serif idea to switch to a new type of installation seems to have caused a lot of problems not only for me, but for a lot of users.

Many users, like me (read the forum) also have problems with permissions to Affinity executable files. It's not just me. Now, if I want to launch the Affinity application from any other application, then Windows does not allow me to do so. 😪

I don't doubt it. However, I personally didn't notice any bigger problems with v2 yet. Generally there are many things that changed since I work with computers, and I'm not really glad about all of these "progresses". But there may be good reasons for it. E.G. I invest much more time in maintenance (Updates) than I did in my early computer years. The problem with launching Affinity Photo from e.G. IrfanView for me already existed in v1. I don't think that it is an Affinity problem, It seems to be caused by the security management of Windows. As far as I see, I could launch Affinity from IrfanView in my Adiministration account. But that would make no sense, because, of course, I only use the Admin account for maintenance, not for working.

From my point of view, many things in Windows have become more complicated and annoying during the last years. It may be because Cyber Crime is increasing permanently. By the way, I saw that you are still using AIMP. I did that too for many years and really liked it. But it is a russian app. So I decided to delete it for security reasons.

[Maksimus]

1 hour ago, iconoclast said:

I don't doubt it. However, I personally didn't notice any bigger problems with v2 yet. Generally there are many things that changed since I work with computers, and I'm not really glad about all of these "progresses". But there may be good reasons for it. E.G. I invest much more time in maintenance (Updates) than I did in my early computer years. The problem with launching Affinity Photo from e.G. IrfanView for me already existed in v1. I don't think that it is an Affinity problem, It seems to be caused by the security management of Windows. As far as I see, I could launch Affinity from IrfanView in my Adiministration account. But that would make no sense, because, of course, I only use the Admin account for maintenance, not for working.

From my point of view, many things in Windows have become more complicated and annoying during the last years. It may be because Cyber Crime is increasing permanently. By the way, I saw that you are still using AIMP. I did that too for many years and really liked it. But it is a russian app. So I decided to delete it for security reasons.

Yes, I agree that Windows has a lot of oddities.

I have already found a solution to the problem that was raised at the beginning of this topic. It is necessary to use not direct links to applications, but alias links, as Mark Ingram pointed. That is, you need to write a call to Affinity applications in the system like this:

C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\AffinityDesigner2.exe
C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\AffinityPhoto2.exe
C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\AffinityPublisher2.exe

[John Rostron]

To get a Desiger icon on your desktop:

 

[Maksimus]

22 hours ago, John Rostron said:

To get a Desiger icon on your desktop:

Yes, we already read this a few days ago and figured out the problem.

But the problem was not solved the way it is written in this FAQ.

You need to use not direct links to the location of the Affinity files, but alias links to launch applications (as indicated above in the post).

[urthwild]

Will pinning each one to the taskbar help you guys?

[Maksimus]

16 hours ago, urthwild said:

Will pinning each one to the taskbar help you guys?

Hi! No, I like to use the dock more to call applications. It works like on a Mac. To do this, I use the RocketDock application on Windows. And in the taskbar, I pin only the most frequently called applications, such as File Explorer, Total Commander, Browser and etc.

[markransome]

I would too for Windows 11!

Edited November 25, 2022 by markransome
Add more info.

[iconoclast]

On 11/15/2022 at 8:36 AM, Maksimus said:

Hi! No, I like to use the dock more to call applications. It works like on a Mac. To do this, I use the Rocket Dock application on Windows. And in the taskbar, I pin only the most frequently called applications, such as File Explorer, Total Commander, Browser and etc.

Do you have the newest version of Rocket Dock? As I saw there is a version from 28.10.2022 (v1.3.5).

Edit: You could also watch out for alternatives. E.G. Winstep Nexus. Didn't test it, but it looks interesting. It exists as a free version and a professional version for 19,95 €. It also works with Win 10 and 11, 32 and 64 Bit.

[PixelSK]

 

512x512bb.ico

[Komatös]

@PixelSK

This gives you an icon, but not yet a link to the programme.
It is easier with a system call. Press the Windows key + R and enter Shell:AppFolder. Now you can see all the installed programmes. Click with the left mouse button on the icon you want to have as a shortcut on the desktop and drag it to the desktop.

[PixelSK]

1 hour ago, Komatös said:

@PixelSK

This gives you an icon, but not yet a link to the programme.
It is easier with a system call. Press the Windows key + R and enter Shell:AppFolder. Now you can see all the installed programmes. Click with the left mouse button on the icon you want to have as a shortcut on the desktop and drag it to the desktop.

Yes, that's right, first you need to get the shortcut from the ...AppFolder and then once you have the little icon, this tutorial is for you. Icons included...  

[Komatös]

@PixelSK

Nope: There is no need for an extra icon. For me if I drag & drop, the shortcut shows the right symbol!

[PixelSK]

On 12/5/2022 at 5:39 PM, Komatös said:

@PixelSK

Nope: There is no need for an extra icon. For me if I drag & drop, the shortcut shows the right symbol!

 

Well you're in luck bro, read the whole thread first. Some people, including me, have a problem with the icon being too small, not like yours. Keep calm and have a coffee. Peace brother!

[J.C.]

Hi guys, when dragging the icon out of the AppsFolder (using Run-> Shell:AppsFolder) try right-click dragging instead of left-click dragging. When you release the right-click on the desktop, it will open a context menu and you can choose to "Create Shortcut Here". This is what I did and the icons look as they should. 

I do not use RocketDock nor do I have any comprehension of its mechanisms so I can't suggest anything there sadly.

Hopefully someday we'll see competitor OSs for Windows/Mac that function and don't require users AND devs to jump through different hoops to use it. Adobe:Serif::Windows:??? 😄

[Maksimus]

3 hours ago, J.C. said:

Hi guys, when dragging the icon out of the AppsFolder (using Run-> Shell:AppsFolder) try right-click dragging instead of left-click dragging. When you release the right-click on the desktop, it will open a context menu and you can choose to "Create Shortcut Here". This is what I did and the icons look as they should. 

I do not use RocketDock nor do I have any comprehension of its mechanisms so I can't suggest anything there sadly.

Hopefully someday we'll see competitor OSs for Windows/Mac that function and don't require users AND devs to jump through different hoops to use it. Adobe:Serif::Windows:??? 😄

This problem has already been solved. I wrote earlier about how it was solved. 😉

[Stes]

This is ridiculous

[Smaxx]

The missing icon might be a simple as a small hiccup/cache issue with Windows Explorer's item cache.

Hit Windows+R and enter the following command, then hit Ok:

ie4uinit.exe -show

This will run a small utility program that originally got introduced with Internet Explorer 4 (therefore the name), that will clear/recreate said cache for you.

[Stes]

I've never had such a stupid issue 😠. Also side scroll wheel for zooming in Logitech MX Master 3 does not work with V2 applications. Windows 11.