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[2.0.3] Moving, adding, or deleting pages with Masters is completely broken


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I don't even know where to begin in describing just how broken moving even the simplest of the pages is. Same for adding, or deleting, a page. There's just too much going on. You'll just have to watch the attached video. I've also attached the file I used, if it helps, although you could create the same in one minute.

Thanks!

EDIT: It may not have been clear in the video, but at the start all page titles match the icon. The page saying "Compass" has a compass icon, for example. By the end of the video, most of the title and icons are a mismatch. If there's an icon, or a title, at all...

test file.zip

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🤢🤮

Hardware: Windows 10 Pro for Workstations (22H2, build 19045.3208, Windows Feature Experience Pack 1000.19053.1000.0), 8 core Intel(R) Xeon(R) W-2145 CPU @ 3.70GHz, 64 GB RAM, NVIDIA Quadro P4000 (driver 528.89), 2 x 1GB SSD. 1 Display set to native 2560 x 1440.
Software: Affinity v1 - Designer/Publisher/Photo (1.10.6.1665), Affinity v2 (universal license) - Designer/Publisher/Photo, v2 betas.
 

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You can't add, move, or delete single pages in a facing page document without running into trouble like this. If you need to do so it's better to use single sided master pages in your facing pages document. It's always been this way in Publisher.

Download a free manual for Publisher 2.4 from this forum - expanded 300-page PDF

My system: Affinity 2.4.0 for macOS Sonoma 14.4, MacBook Pro 14" (M1 Pro)

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9 hours ago, GRAFKOM said:

LCamachoDesign. What program did you record the screen with?

This https://www.microsoft.com/store/productId/9N5MVVBD0TGW

Although soon enough it won't be necessary, as Windows 11 will get Screen recording in Snipping Tool

 

8 hours ago, MikeTO said:

You can't add, move, or delete single pages in a facing page document without running into trouble like this. If you need to do so it's better to use single sided master pages in your facing pages document. It's always been this way in Publisher.

I'm not quite sure what's the point of your message? To say that what's on the video is normal behaviour, or user error?

If splitting master spreads doesn't work, then internally have setting like InDesign's "Allow Document Pages to Shuffle" set to off. Otherwise, ensure that when pages do shuffle, the content moves along appropriately. For a visual reference without forcing me to reinstall InDesign, see here: 

Thanks!

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I've tried replicating this exact scenario in InDesign CC 2023, and it fared much better, icons and names always stuck together. Sometimes pages did get mangled by this shuffling, but to a much lesser extent than Publisher, and it was much easier to recover.

 

On 12/22/2022 at 12:32 AM, MikeTO said:

If you need to do so it's better to use single sided master pages in your facing pages document.

I've tried this, and it worked for this example. Thanks!

But this bug report was a simplified scenario of a problem I encountered on an actual project. That project has full bleed pages, and I noticed something odd on the last page when shuffling. After fiddling a bit with it I've managed to surface a different bug also related to page shuffling. I think they're probably related, so I'm linking it here:

Thanks!

 

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Resolving this may be complex and there is a related issue with different facing-pages masters being applied to different sides of a spread. Publisher even has a challenge with the first page in a facing-pages document, the objects on the left master still exist even though there's no left page in that spread.

I don't work for Serif but I think that if these issues aren't resolved before Serif chooses to add multi-page spreads, then these issues could be resolved at the same time. I hope multi-page spreads are in the plan for someday. InDesign has a very basic approach to spreads and I'd like to see Publisher do better.

In the meantime, avoid adding, moving, or deleting a single page in a facing-pages document. For books this isn't an issue because text is in stories and pages need only be added or removed at the end of a chapter, but for a document such as the one you're working on this can be a pain. It's best to use single-sided masters for this situation.

Good luck!

Download a free manual for Publisher 2.4 from this forum - expanded 300-page PDF

My system: Affinity 2.4.0 for macOS Sonoma 14.4, MacBook Pro 14" (M1 Pro)

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  • 1 month later...
On 12/21/2022 at 6:32 PM, MikeTO said:

You can't add, move, or delete single pages in a facing page document without running into trouble like this.

I ran into a problem today and have spent some time looking around for similar reports before starting my own thread. It appears this thread may be similar to my issue. Mike, I noticed you have mentioned a few times something similar to the quotation above, but do you know whether there is another report where Serif has acknowledged the problem or where a recipe was given to reproduce the issue?

Today I noticed it when I needed to reposition a page and a later I happened to notice that some entries were missing from my table of contents. I backtracked and then eventually discovered the TOC items disappeared because the source text itself was wrongfully deleted in the process of reordering the pages.

In case it may be helpful, I am uploading a cut-down version of the document I was working on earlier as well as a video demonstrating the issue. The video was recorded of Publisher 2.0.4 (release) on a 2019 5K iMac running macOS 13.1.

 

 

Page Moving Problem.afpub

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2 hours ago, garrettm30 said:

I ran into a problem today and have spent some time looking around for similar reports before starting my own thread. It appears this thread may be similar to my issue. Mike, I noticed you have mentioned a few times something similar to the quotation above, but do you know whether there is another report where Serif has acknowledged the problem or where a recipe was given to reproduce the issue?

Today I noticed it when I needed to reposition a page and a later I happened to notice that some entries were missing from my table of contents. I backtracked and then eventually discovered the TOC items disappeared because the source text itself was wrongfully deleted in the process of reordering the pages.

This document is already messed up which is why you lost your story, not that there's any reason that you should ever lose your story. You wouldn't have lost your story if you first re-applied Master A to spread 2-3 but that shouldn't be your responsibility.

The reason you had two left sides applied is due to the way Affinity handles adding, moving, and delete single pages in facing page spreads. Until this issue is addressed, content will continue to be lost.

In this document, spread 2-3 has "Master A - Left" applied to both sides of the spread, there's no Right side applied. A "Master A - Right" text frame is on page 2 (left) and it contains your story (which starts with "Introduction"). A "Master A - Left" text frame is also on page 2 but appears on page 3 (right). That frame is unusable because there isn't a right master applied to that side. The frames are also unlinked which isn't surprising given masters should be applied to spreads and not pages.

I've modified your document to illustrate what is happening.

Page Moving Problem-2.afpub

  • I named the master frames LEFT FRAME and RIGHT FRAME and gave them coloured strokes to make them easier to find after moving, I also made them shorter and top aligned the left one and bottom aligned the right one.
  • In the frame on page 2 (which is a right frame), I typed "Story 1" and embedded an image.
  • In the hidden and unusable frame on page 3 (which is a left frame) I typed "Story 2" in red.

Moving the left page 2 to after the right page 3 has this effect. It's very confusing.

  • Instead of both sides having "Master A - Left" applied to them, they now both have "Master A - Right" applied.
  • Page 3 is of course now page 2 and on the left. It had nothing on it before and still has nothing on it.
  • Page 2 is of course now page 3 and on the right.
    •  
    • The story in its previously hidden left frame (which appeared on the right page before) is now in a right frame - the red "Story 2" I'd typed is now visible.
    • A new left frame has been created and appears on page 2 on the left but is hidden and unusable because there isn't a left master applied to that side. You can tell its new because it doesn't have any story text in it.
    • The story in its previously visible RIGHT frame (which appeared on the left page before) is now gone - it has been deleted from the document. You can tell it's really gone by keeping the Resource Manager open while moving the page - the embedded picture will be removed from the document.

I embedded the picture because I wondered whether the deleted story was really being deleted or was becoming a disconnected object inside the object, a story that wasn't assigned to a frame. I think the fact that the embedded picture disappears shows that the story that contains it is actually being deleted.

Long story short - never add, move, or delete single pages in a facing pages spread.

 

Download a free manual for Publisher 2.4 from this forum - expanded 300-page PDF

My system: Affinity 2.4.0 for macOS Sonoma 14.4, MacBook Pro 14" (M1 Pro)

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@MikeTO Thanks for the information, particularly the observation about the two left masters being applied with no right, which I had not yet noticed.

Other than that it can be interesting, this is ultimately for Serif to figure out. I still have the full document, and I can work around where I must. My intention with my post is to make sure I am doing my part to report to Serif what is happening and offer further files or information if needed.

This is a serious failing of the software, and it should not be left like this. I can appreciate that it may be a difficult problem to solve. But if a fix is not to come any time soon, then Serif should disable the ability to move, add, or delete master spread pages singly until it can be fixed. It is better for the user to be aware he must work around a software limitation than for him to rely on features that are presented as though they work when in fact it can lead to major trouble down the road.

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  • 3 weeks later...
18 minutes ago, Matoko said:

I've been struggling with these same issues on Mac. Any news if this issue is being looked at or resolved?

There are 7 bug tags associated with this topic, so "same issues" may need to be made more specific to answer your question. But I think several of them are resolved in the current Publisher 2.1 beta release. So you could try a copy of your file there and see if it's improved for you.

If you're not currently participating in the 2.1 beta: https://affinity.serif.com/en-us/affinity-beta-program/

 

-- Walt
Designer, Photo, and Publisher V1 and V2 at latest retail and beta releases
PC:
    Desktop:  Windows 11 Pro, version 23H2, 64GB memory, AMD Ryzen 9 5900 12-Core @ 3.00 GHz, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 

    Laptop:  Windows 11 Pro, version 23H2, 32GB memory, Intel Core i7-10750H @ 2.60GHz, Intel UHD Graphics Comet Lake GT2 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Laptop GPU.
iPad:  iPad Pro M1, 12.9": iPadOS 17.4.1, Apple Pencil 2, Magic Keyboard 
Mac:  2023 M2 MacBook Air 15", 16GB memory, macOS Sonoma 14.4.1

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2 hours ago, walt.farrell said:

There are 7 bug tags associated with this topic, so "same issues" may need to be made more specific to answer your question. But I think several of them are resolved in the current Publisher 2.1 beta release.

@Matoko For what it’s worth, the problem I demonstrated in my post above is not resolved in the current beta (I tested 2.1.0.1713 on macOS 13.1).

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25 minutes ago, garrettm30 said:

@Matoko For what it’s worth, the problem I demonstrated in my post above is not resolved in the current beta (I tested 2.1.0.1713 on macOS 13.1).

If you're talking about your report from February 22, it might be good to create a separate topic. You could refer to this one if it seems related, but a new topic would be a good way to ensure it's noticed.

-- Walt
Designer, Photo, and Publisher V1 and V2 at latest retail and beta releases
PC:
    Desktop:  Windows 11 Pro, version 23H2, 64GB memory, AMD Ryzen 9 5900 12-Core @ 3.00 GHz, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 

    Laptop:  Windows 11 Pro, version 23H2, 32GB memory, Intel Core i7-10750H @ 2.60GHz, Intel UHD Graphics Comet Lake GT2 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Laptop GPU.
iPad:  iPad Pro M1, 12.9": iPadOS 17.4.1, Apple Pencil 2, Magic Keyboard 
Mac:  2023 M2 MacBook Air 15", 16GB memory, macOS Sonoma 14.4.1

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 3/15/2023 at 3:13 PM, walt.farrell said:

If you're talking about your report from February 22, it might be good to create a separate topic.

It does seem to be similar behavior; however, I have now tested the original poster’s test file in the latest beta, and it no longer manifests the problem, whereas my test file still does manifest the problem, so I take it that there is some difference. I have therefore decided to take your advice and create a new thread.

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