Download-URLs without need for prior registration / is it okay to use foreign servers or are there direct links here?

[borque]

Hello!

I have bought a V2 license for Designer, Photo and Publisher. Unfortunately simply downloading the installers (not the licenses!) requires a login when I want to get them directly from serifs servers while they are available for "non-registered" download elsewhere.

So my question is, whether it is okay from Serifs point of view to use these external places for download, or whether there is also a possibility to download just the installers directly from serif without the need for an authentication.

Thanks!

[Dan C]

Hi @borque,

Welcome to the Affinity Forums

Just for your information, I have removed the links provided in your post - as I'm not personally aware of this website and therefore I'm uncertain of the legitimacy at this time.

It's certainly possible that they are legitimate downloads, however I would always recommend downloading directly from the Affinity site.

In regards to download links that don't require a sign in, we also provide these on the Affinity site, please see the below links for these:

Windows:

Photo - https://store.serif.com/update/windows/photo/2/
Publisher - https://store.serif.com/update/windows/publisher/2/
Designer - https://store.serif.com/update/windows/designer/2/

macOS:

Photo - https://store.serif.com/update/macos/photo/2/
Publisher - https://store.serif.com/update/macos/publisher/2/
Designer - https://store.serif.com/update/macos/designer/2/

iPadOS apps need to be downloaded through the iPad App Store, as this is the only legitimate download source for iPad apps.

I hope this helps!

[borque]

Hello!

Thanks for that ultra fast reply that perfectly answers my initial question, @Dan C. But may I inquire a bit further about it:

I use winget (Microsofts package manager for Windows) to keep most of my software up-to-date and would like to do also for Affinity software.

Winget does not mirror the software it supports, it just stores URLs to download installers and the installers hash. So it needs static URLs that do not expire. The download links above do not meet this condition, while those in the CDN I referenced in my first post are static and could be used. (Don't get me wrong here I perfectly understand you removed them).

I also noticed (and replied to) a request for winget support here

So if Serif is willing to support installation and updating Affinity software through winget it might be good to know whether (external) static non-expiring URLs could be officially used for that purpose or whether Affinity could provide these on their own servers?!

Edited November 27, 2022 by borque

[Dan C]

No problem at all!

Thanks for the further information provided - as Affinity V2 for Windows is using .MSIX as the installation method, I don't believe that WinGet is compatible with these packages at this time, even with a static download link, my apologies.

I have seen there are various workarounds for this online, however as this is an unsupported update method, I wouldn't be able to confirm if this will work as expected, from a third party link or otherwise. 

However our team have confirmed that we're working on traditional MSI versions of the installer, as some users are having trouble connecting third party applications to Affinity, to use the Affinity apps as an external editor, for example.

Once these MSI versions become available, it's certainly possible that we may be able to provide a static link for downloading - however as we've not yet confirmed how we're going to provide these MSI versions to our users, I couldn't guarantee this at this time.

The current versions of Affinity V2 will update from within the application, due to the new MSIX installation method, and this is able to download incremental updates, rather than the entire application like the traditional MSI method.

I hope this clears things up

[walt.farrell]

10 minutes ago, borque said:

I use winget (Microsofts package manager for Windows) to keep most of my software up-to-date and would like to do also for Affinity software.

The Affinity software will keep itself up-to-date, checking for updates once a day and asking you whether to install the update or not. You shouldn't need to use a function like winget.

[borque]

Hello!

Thanks for your continuous kind help and discussion of my topic!

@Dan C: Indeed, the current version of winget is able to deal with (full) msix-installers, so all that's missing is an officially endorsed static download-url!  
Else if you prefer that winget does not use the current MSIX-installers, is it okay for you if I come back on this topic after the MSI-installers are released?
But I see the advantages of the already implemented method for updates for most use-cases and use it on my main computer (see below).
 

@walt.farrell Thanks for your remark to the automatic update function. I know it exists, though I haven't seen it in action for yet for V2. My scenrio might be a bit special, but I have use for the winget-update-method: I have two devices, one desktop-pc which I use regularly and where the automatic-update-agents of most installed programmes keep everything up-to-date. But I also have a notebook which I only take with me when working mobile. Most time it is switched off and for this device I came to the habit to switch it on befor I take it with me to work and once run winget to update (most) installed programmes instead of starting every single programme to let it check for updates.

Edited November 29, 2022 by borque

[Dan C]

No problem at all, I suspect this would be more likely an option we provide for the MSI builds, if possible - so I'd recommend returning here once these options are available and I should be able to confirm specifically for you at that point

I'm also logging this as a suggestion with our developers now, to be considered before we release the MSI versions 

[Dan C]

@borque, I just wanted to inform you that our developers have brought my attention to the fact that WinGet is already compatible with Microsoft App Store apps, which the Affinity Universal License allows you to use, instead of the Affinity Store version.

If you uninstall the Affinity Store versions, you should then be able to use the following to setup WinGet with the Microsoft Store versions of the Affinity apps, without the need for a specific static download link - 

https://www.ghacks.net/2021/10/15/how-to-use-winget-to-install-microsoft-store-applications/

I hope this helps!

[borque]

Hello @Dan C !

As you have release MSI (or exe) -Installers now, I would like to come back on this topic.

Quote

Once these MSI versions become available, it's certainly possible that we may be able to provide a static link for downloading - however as we've not yet confirmed how we're going to provide these MSI versions to our users, I couldn't guarantee this at this time.

The URLs I have found for these are once again dynamically generated and thus can't be used for winget. So have you decided against offering static URLs or simply haven't considered or implemented these yet?

The suggested way to install MSStore-apps using winget is working, but the necessary cryptic code used to identify the app isn't exactly intuitive for humans. 😉 That's why I am asking again!

[Dan C]

On 2/3/2023 at 8:39 PM, borque said:

So have you decided against offering static URLs or simply haven't considered or implemented these yet?

This is logged with our developers as a requested improvement for a future update, however unfortunately our devs don't tend to specifically confirm such requests before the feature is implemented.

I can however see there has been internal discussion regarding this feature and the upkeep of a separate repository which would be required for the Affinity Store versions - it appears as though our official recommendation it to use the Microsoft Store winget option for the time being.

I will nevertheless provide this feedback to our devs regarding the Microsoft Store winget package, for further consideration