iPad: I cannot open *.afpub files stored on Google Drive. The option is greyed out

[Sapaka]

Good morning,

I switched from Affinity 1 to Universal Licence Affinity V2.

When I use Affinity publisher on my iPad I cannot open a file stored on google Drive. I just cannot tap on it to open it.

But if I move the file to the Affinity publisher folder stored locally, then it works! Why? 

Not being able to work on afpub files stored online defeat the purpose of working seamlessly between Mac and iPad

How can I solve that?

Thank you very much 

Sapaka

[Brian_J]

I have the same issue and same question.

[StudioJason]

9 hours ago, Sapaka said:

Good morning,

I switched from Affinity 1 to Universal Licence Affinity V2.

When I use Affinity publisher on my iPad I cannot open a file stored on google Drive. I just cannot tap on it to open it.

But if I move the file to the Affinity publisher folder stored locally, then it works! Why? 

Not being able to work on afpub files stored online defeat the purpose of working seamlessly between Mac and iPad

How can I solve that?

Thank you very much 

Sapaka

This is a known issue with Google Drive. They are still trying to figure it out and find a solution (if not relay to Google for them to fix even).

‘All other Cloud Services like Dropbox, OneDrive etc are working fine without any issues.

[Sapaka]

Thank you @StudioJason! Had no idea.

So basically, there is nothing that I can do, right? 😕

It's really sad, to be honest. I wish I knew before, but, well... that's life.

Have a good day every one!

Sapaka

[StudioJason]

3 hours ago, Sapaka said:

Thank you @StudioJason! Had no idea.

So basically, there is nothing that I can do, right? 😕

It's really sad, to be honest. I wish I knew before, but, well... that's life.

Have a good day every one!

Sapaka

Well…transfer any Files from Google Drive to your iCloud, as one option…or simply to your iPad, then create a Free Dropbox Account, for another. Heard that One Drive was useable. I use Dropbox all the time, have Google Drive…use several if free, use whatever works!

[DavidaK]

Any news on this topic? I have all my publisher files for a choir I belong to on that choir’s Google drive. I really don’t want to have to copy them, creating duplicates in the process. This runs the risk of using wrong versions at some point. I only bought the iPad version so I could make changes on the move. It seems I’ve wasted my money. 

Edited April 11, 2024 by DavidaK

[Paul Mudditt]

On 4/11/2024 at 9:44 AM, DavidaK said:

Any news on this topic? I have all my publisher files for a choir I belong to on that choir’s Google drive. I really don’t want to have to copy them, creating duplicates in the process. This runs the risk of using wrong versions at some point. I only bought the iPad version so I could make changes on the move. It seems I’ve wasted my money. 

Google likes to track everything you think and everything you do so it can push advertising your way. It won't like that it can't open affinity files to inspect the contents unlike the more common data file formats hence greyed out. Because of this it is the worst cloud service, change to a proper cloud service like iCloud, Dropbox or Onedrive is the only advice I can give.

[walt.farrell]

By the way, I remembered that another user found a workaround for this problem, which apparently affects more than just the Affinity applications: https://www.vernier.com/til/15164

You might give that a try as it might let you continue to use Google Drive with the Affinity apps on the iPad.

[DesignDex]

That worked for me Walt, thank you for suggesting it.

Aside from using iCloud, it seems opening G-Drive .afpub files through iOS's Files app is the only solution so far.

Though I'm glad that the file is opened instead of imported so that I can sync my saves with Google Drive. The downside is, no matter which cloud service is used, I still have to close the file from Affinity Publisher to download edits made from other devices.

I wish I could skip that step somehow. 

[Paul Mudditt]

5 hours ago, DesignDex said:

That worked for me Walt, thank you for suggesting it.

Aside from using iCloud, it seems opening G-Drive .afpub files through iOS's Files app is the only solution so far.

Though I'm glad that the file is opened instead of imported so that I can sync my saves with Google Drive. The downside is, no matter which cloud service is used, I still have to close the file from Affinity Publisher to download edits made from other devices.

I wish I could skip that step somehow. 

It is not possible because of the way iPadOS handles multitasking to prevent data loss.
The files inside the sandbox on the Affinity Home Screen are similar to tabs on a desktop application.

They are all effectively like open files so you must name, save and close your files whether you are on the desktop version or the iPad version to ensure all of your document is written and finalised properly.

If you don’t close the file on the iPad you risk at best having two different versions of the file or at worst a corrupt file that can’t be opened on the other device.