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Management and saving studio presets - Reinstalling macOS


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Hello,

very satisfied with the update to version 2 of the Affinity suite... despite having purchased version 1 of the suite at the end of May 2022!...

I'm running macOS Monterey 12.6.1 on mac Mini M1 16 GB.

I haven't encountered any problems with this recent update so far.

I allow myself this topic concerning the management of studio presets in the three software. For each software, and for each Persona, I created specific studios allowing me to find identical palettes and tools in the same places on my screen (an old habit with Adobe).

My intention: I intend to reinstall macOS Monterey (macOS ventura is not going to bring me much and it is still too young and full of inconsistencies and gaps...), in Clean Install in order to start again on a good base (annual cleaning).

Question 1: how can I be sure that I will find all my interfaces by reinstalling the three software programs in the suite?...

Question 2: is it enough for me to replace a previously made backup of the 3 preference files (com.seriflabs.affinitydesigner2.plist - com.seriflabs.affinityphoto2.plist - com.seriflabs.affinitypublisher2.plist) as well as the 3 folders located in Home –> Library –> Application Support (Affinity Designer 2 - Affinity Photo 2 - Affinity Publisher 2) to find my interfaces and studio presets?...

Question 3: by opening with a text editor the 3 preference files (com.seriflabs.affinitydesigner2.plist - com.seriflabs.affinityphoto2.plist - com.seriflabs.affinitypublisher2.plist), I was able to find references to the studio presets that I created for each software (see screenshot below): should we and can we copy these lines of specific code in the 3 new preference files created after the reinstallation of the suite for, finally, find my studio presets?...

Thank you for your insights and good luck to you...

 

code.png

Mac Mini M1 16Go – macOS 13.6.4

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I've done such things last year while using v1 public betas:

I don't remember all the details though.

Eventually I tried a completely different approach, as I don't necessarily switch between different studio presets, occasionally I only need to restore my basic one instead. So I figured it's likely faster to just rebuild it manually, rather than copying parts of plist files back and forth.
Recently I did the same thing with v1>v2 migration, rebuilding each of my basic studio presets manually. After a few years with Affinity I already know what needs to go where, so it was relatively fast.

As a side note, last year, for v1 I've programmed a relatively simple MacOS service plugin "Activate All Affinity Studio Panels" that will… well… activate all available studio panels so that you don't have to go to the Studio submenu a hundred times:
 loukash.com/download 
It will work with Affinity v1 only. I already have a very rudimentary fix for v2 compatibility, but it's not ready for release yet.

MacBookAir 15": MacOS Ventura > Affinity v1, v2, v2 beta // MacBookPro 15" mid-2012: MacOS El Capitan > Affinity v1 / MacOS Catalina > Affinity v1, v2, v2 beta // iPad 8th: iPadOS 16 > Affinity v2

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Hello Loukash and thank you for your attention.

The idea is just to return to a “basic” interface built according to my needs, not to juggle between several studio presets. And here not having to rebuild my dear interfaces during the future installation of the Affinity suite in a freshly reinstalled macOS.

Regarding question 3, the code to paste is quite easy to identify: it is located between two tags with the name of the preset studio at the top.

I'll take a look at your "Activate All Affinity Studio Panels"... 😉

Mac Mini M1 16Go – macOS 13.6.4

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1 hour ago, sansnom said:

Regarding question 3, the code to paste is quite easy to identify: it is located between two tags with the name of the preset studio at the top.

Of course.

But if you want to be fiddling with plist files, I strongly recommend using tools like apps.tempel.org/PrefsEditor. Editing plist as text with a text editor might not always work as expected. 

1 hour ago, sansnom said:

I'll take a look at your "Activate All Affinity Studio Panels"... 😉

It's "open source", so feel free to edit it in Automator/ScripEditor as you see fit. 

MacBookAir 15": MacOS Ventura > Affinity v1, v2, v2 beta // MacBookPro 15" mid-2012: MacOS El Capitan > Affinity v1 / MacOS Catalina > Affinity v1, v2, v2 beta // iPad 8th: iPadOS 16 > Affinity v2

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  • 1 month later...

I ask my (simple) question again: after installing the Affinity 2 suite on a new Mac or with a new system (clean install), how can I "easily" find the Studio presets that I saved previously, with the positions of the palettes and icon/function layouts of both toolbars?... Thanks for your answers.

Mac Mini M1 16Go – macOS 13.6.4

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  • 2 weeks later...

It's a joke!... Version 2.0.4 of the three software (on macOS Ventura 13.2 - Mac Mini M1 16Go) recently updated does not correctly memorize the choice of the user on the interfaces (Studio) that he prepared and saved: the icons of the horizontal bar at the top and of the toolbar on the left are not taken into account!... So, each time you open the software, you have to choose from the Window menu –> Studio... the previously and patiently built preset!...

It's a joke!... It's not serious!...

If not, when will Serif enlarge the Quicklook preview in order to have a more readable visual?...

Mac Mini M1 16Go – macOS 13.6.4

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21 minutes ago, sansnom said:

So, each time you open the software, you have to choose from the Window menu –> Studio... the previously and patiently built preset!...

Are u saying the presets you saved do not work for you when you select them?

2017 27” iMac 4.2 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7 • Radeon Pr 580 8GB • 64GB • Ventura 13.6.4.

iPad Pro (10.5-inch) • 256GB • Version 16.4

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@Seneca

Thank you for replying to my post, it is very much appreciated.

In fact, they work for palettes and their layouts, but not for horizontal and vertical two-bar icons.

Sorry to be so harsh. I wrote a post here asking about how to get your presets back after a fresh install of macOS, but got no feedback. I just did a clean install with macOS Ventura (13.2) and had a really hard time getting my old settings back (without having to rebuild them manually). I then copied the old preferences files “com.seriflabs.affinitydesigner2.plist” and also the .preset files.

Moreover, these .preset files are not recognized when I place them in the myhome –> Library –> Application Support –> Affinity Designer 2 –> presets

Mac Mini M1 16Go – macOS 13.6.4

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29 minutes ago, sansnom said:

In fact, they work for palettes and their layouts, but not for horizontal and vertical two-bar icons.

Any chance of posting a screen grab of that misalignment.

My personal take on copying all presents to a new system is that you may end up wasting more time trying to figure out why things don't work rather than just recreating them from scratch.

2017 27” iMac 4.2 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7 • Radeon Pr 580 8GB • 64GB • Ventura 13.6.4.

iPad Pro (10.5-inch) • 256GB • Version 16.4

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@ Seneca

You're absolutely right... but what a waste of time having to see and work around settings that used to work and no longer work properly. Yes, it's not that serious, but it can still be seen as the nose in the middle of the face... if you test correctly.

Finally, I also did the test to save the studio with the right settings and under a new name: after leaving the application and reopening it, the bug was still present. Forced to go through the menu Window –> Studio –> myPreset

I'm going to create a macro with Keyboard Maestro in order to do this manipulation automatically when opening the software (and the other two software from the Serif suite as well).

NB: It could also be due to my configuration, but the macOS Ventura system has just been installed in clean install, from scratch!... Or to a new preference of this update that I don't would not have seen.

Mac Mini M1 16Go – macOS 13.6.4

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1 minute ago, sansnom said:

It could also be due to my configuration, but the macOS Ventura system has just been installed in clean install, from scratch!...

This is unfortunate because I too am on the latest MacOSX 13.2 Ventura and I can't say I have that same problem.

 

2017 27” iMac 4.2 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7 • Radeon Pr 580 8GB • 64GB • Ventura 13.6.4.

iPad Pro (10.5-inch) • 256GB • Version 16.4

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  • Staff

@sansnom (and @Seneca)

the announcement post is not the best place to discuss individual problems so I have branched your discussion into your original thread. I will have someone see if they have any suggestions for you next week.

In the meantime, sorry for the difficulties you seem to be experiencing, they aren't generally true for all users in terms of having to load presets each time, so hopefully a solution can be found.

Patrick Connor
Serif Europe Ltd

"There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man. True nobility lies in being superior to your previous self."  W. L. Sheldon

 

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@Patrick Connor

No, no problem... this situation is just a little restrictive.

I work with version 2.0.4 and I haven't encountered any other problems: using the suite is always a real pleasure. As for the bug I mentioned here, I got around it with a Keyboard Maestro macro, by invoking my preset from the menu when starting the software, automatically. 😉

Mac Mini M1 16Go – macOS 13.6.4

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