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Suggesting my readers to avoid Affinity Publisher?


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I am going to add a warning like this to my books (they are very large and don't allow to change manually the page references).

Never buy Affinity products

I used Affinity Publisher to create this book. Besides weeks lost for continuous crashes, after two major versions I am not still able to add page references or hyperlinks as any desktop publishing software allows.

I apologize for the trouble it will bring you, it was my fault having not checked when I started using.

Do you think that I am wrong? It is not ironic, it's a real question, I don't want to write it if I am wrong.

More than 30 Macs, from 1984 Mac 512K Plus to 2020 iMac 27" i9

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You're certainly wrong [Edit: in my opinion, of course] if you make a general statement about not being able to add hyperlinks. So I would think about rephrasing that to more accurately describe the problem you had.

It's also possible to add page references. So you should be more careful in how you word that, and describe the problem accurately.

 

-- 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 
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36 minutes ago, Gianni Becattini said:

Besides weeks lost for continuous crashes

I have not experienced this myself, either with the V1 or V2 apps - this, despite using them regularly.

I have had an occasional Affinity app crash. But I have not lost weeks or even days. I have lost a few hours in total over several years with two things: 1. Inexplicable TOC weirdness. 2. Problems exporting to PDF where EPS/SVG images are resized to 0 by 0 due to some bug (suitable workaround found).

There is no general problem with Affinity apps in my experience. 

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Thanks Walt, as I said I accept gladly different opinions. Unfortunately the instability problem is a matter of facts, I really lost weeks and if you want I can publish a video to show the last one systematic crash (V2.0.3 is a little more stable however).

But I would be very happy if there is a turnaround. I try to be pragmatic and what I want is just to solve problems.

On the topic, I read a lot but (surely my fault) I didn't understand how to add simple page references (see page...) among chapters of a book or anything else (hyperlinks? (keeping in mind that my book is 600 pages long and with ton of photos - going to book structure was not a choice, without it I was completely stopped for continuous crashes, even one every one-two minutes).

Any help is welcome.

Thanks anyway

More than 30 Macs, from 1984 Mac 512K Plus to 2020 iMac 27" i9

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10 minutes ago, Gianni Becattini said:

On the topic, I read a lot but (surely my fault) I didn't understand how to add simple page references (see page...) among chapters of a book or anything else (hyperlinks? (keeping in mind that my book is 600 pages long and with ton of photos - going to book structure was not a choice

So you're talking about making hyperlinks between Chapter files when using the Book panel? And, presumably, page references in that same situation?

For that specific situation, I think you'reright, and Publisher does not have that function yet.

-- 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, Gianni Becattini said:

I am going to add a warning like this to my books (they are very large and don't allow to change manually the page references).

Never buy Affinity products

I used Affinity Publisher to create this book. Besides weeks lost for continuous crashes, after two major versions I am not still able to add page references or hyperlinks as any desktop publishing software allows.

I apologize for the trouble it will bring you, it was my fault having not checked when I started using.

Do you think that I am wrong? It is not ironic, it's a real question, I don't want to write it if I am wrong.

I'd say that's pretty spiteful. 

iMac 27" 2019 Somona 14.3.1, iMac 27" Affinity Designer, Photo & Publisher V1 & V2, Adobe, Inkscape, Vectorstyler, Blender, C4D, Sketchup + more... XP-Pen Artist-22E, - iPad Pro 12.9  
B| (Please refrain from licking the screen while using this forum)

Affinity Help - Affinity Desktop Tutorials - Feedback - FAQ - most asked questions

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14 minutes ago, firstdefence said:

I'd say that's pretty spiteful. 

Agreed. That's the kind of thing I'd be inclined to post (or email) and then regret it the next day. Rather than just stating that you experienced these problems creating a very large book using Publisher, you are advising people to stay away from all Affinity products unconditionally. 

If the book relates to desktop publishing or graphics, then it seems fair game to point out the deficiencies you experienced and mention the software by name, assuming your experience and information is accurate (as @walt.farrell questioned). But if the book is about another topic, it seems less appropriate.

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Yeah, I'd even say this post makes you seem very inexperienced with any type of design or publishing software. I use all 3 Affinity programs for a wide variety of things and I have some issues here and there, but no more than other companies, video software, music software, the internet, Windows, Mac, etc.

Publishing software doesn't really like more than 400 pages in a single document in my experience, and I have some of the most powerful computers I could ever need to run way more than a simple publishing doc. In InDesign, I used to use the books compiling feature to keep files under 30 or so pages (based on chapter lengths), and so Affinity was a shock at first when I had V1 and docs over 350 pages. Massive slow down and scrolling loss.

V2 now has the chapters feature, and it seems a little buggy/crashy since it is brand new. Hoping it gets fixed as quickly as issues arise, but today is my first time trying to get it set up. I've already learned that how you save the main book file vs the chapters is very important, or yes, you will lose some things. It hasn't been difficult to get back though.

As far as the hyperlinks part goes...what do you need them for in a massive print file? (Side note, if you plan on publishing yourself or on behalf of a self-published author on Amazon, hard cover copies have a limit of 500 pages). If you are publishing a digital copy to Amazon, they need an ePub anyway, which Affinity doesn't do. Though you could probably get away with exporting a WebP file to Amazon still (how Microsoft Word users used to have to do it). Most authors use Google docs for Kindle copies, set up their basic formatting there, export the ePub, and then let Kindle take care of the rest since it has so many formatting restrictions. Hyperlinks work great. Using Publisher for something like that definitely wouldn't be my recommendation unless they worked together with Amazon to create some sort of awesome, seamless export style.

 

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10 hours ago, Gianni Becattini said:

I am going to add a warning like this to my books (they are very large and don't allow to change manually the page references).

Never buy Affinity products

I used Affinity Publisher to create this book. Besides weeks lost for continuous crashes, after two major versions I am not still able to add page references or hyperlinks as any desktop publishing software allows.

I apologize for the trouble it will bring you, it was my fault having not checked when I started using.

Do you think that I am wrong? It is not ironic, it's a real question, I don't want to write it if I am wrong.

My view?

That kind of verbiage is unprofessional and immature sounding. If in fact the troubles are real then they're real. If you want to write, for example, a blog entry outlining the issues you've had that's certainly your prerogative. In fact, it might even be useful to other potential users. But do it factually, professionally and without spite. After all, your readers buy your books for their content, not because of the tools you used to create them. I mean, how many music lovers say, "I'm not listening to that guy -- He's playing a Fender!!🙂  Besides, saying "after two major versions I am not still able..." just raises the obvious question: "Then why are you still using it?"

As much as we might get invested in the process (been there myself) customers aren't. They just want the product. If you can't create the product you and your customers want with Tool X, then use something else. End of story.

It's tempting to vent (again, been there myself) but it's something you'll immediately regret.

Len
Affinity Photo 2 | QCAD 3 | FastStone | SpyderX Pro | FOSS:  ART darktable  XnView  RawTherapee  Inkscape  G'MIC  LibreOffice
Windows 11 on a 16 GB, Ryzen 5700 8-core laptop with a cheesy little embedded AMD GPU

Canon T8i / 850D | Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4.5 DC Macro | Canon EF 70-200mm f/4 L USM | Rikenon P 50mm f/1.7
...desperately looking for landscapes in Nolandscapeland        https://www.flickr.com/photos/14015058@N07/

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3 hours ago, lphilpot said:

"I'm not listening to that guy -- He's playing a Fender!!🙂  B

I agree 100% with that statement. Must be playing Gibson, but more specific, a Les Paul!!! That's why Eric Clapton, IMHO the best!! What? He plays Fenders? 😲😂😂

Affinity Photo 2.4..; Affinity Designer 2.4..; Affinity Publisher 2.4..; Affinity2 Beta versions. Affinity Photo,Designer 1.10.6.1605 Win10 Home Version:21H2, Build: 19044.1766: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-5820K CPU @ 3.30GHz, 3301 Mhz, 6 Core(s), 12 Logical Processor(s);32GB Ram, Nvidia GTX 3070, 3-Internal HDD (1 Crucial MX5000 1TB, 1-Crucial MX5000 500GB, 1-WD 1 TB), 4 External HDD

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2 hours ago, Ron P. said:

I agree 100% with that statement. Must be playing Gibson, but more specific, a Les Paul!!! That's why Eric Clapton, IMHO the best!! What? He plays Fenders? 😲😂😂

Martin D28 all the way, also have a budget DX1 that I got for a steal, all I need now are Eric Claptons fingers and some talent lol!

iMac 27" 2019 Somona 14.3.1, iMac 27" Affinity Designer, Photo & Publisher V1 & V2, Adobe, Inkscape, Vectorstyler, Blender, C4D, Sketchup + more... XP-Pen Artist-22E, - iPad Pro 12.9  
B| (Please refrain from licking the screen while using this forum)

Affinity Help - Affinity Desktop Tutorials - Feedback - FAQ - most asked questions

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16 hours ago, Gianni Becattini said:

I am going to add a warning like this to my books (they are very large and don't allow to change manually the page references).

Never buy Affinity products

I used Affinity Publisher to create this book. Besides weeks lost for continuous crashes, after two major versions I am not still able to add page references or hyperlinks as any desktop publishing software allows.

I apologize for the trouble it will bring you, it was my fault having not checked when I started using.

Do you think that I am wrong? It is not ironic, it's a real question, I don't want to write it if I am wrong.

I fully share your pain about lack of quality, stability, essential basic functionality available everywhere else, and countless UI inconsistencies. But writing such a paragraph into a book, eventually created with help of an Affinity App, is childish and would only demonstrate lack of moral maturity. It will poison your otherwise valuable work.

Mac mini M1 A2348 | Windows 10 - AMD Ryzen 9 5900x - 32 GB RAM - Nvidia GTX 1080

LG34WK950U-W, calibrated to DCI-P3 with LG Calibration Studio / Spider 5

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Special interest into procedural texture filter, edit alpha channel, RGB/16 and RGB/32 color formats, stacking, finding root causes for misbehaving files, finding creative solutions for unsolvable tasks, finding bugs in Apps.

 

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4 hours ago, Ron P. said:

Must be playing Gibson, but more specific, a Les Paul!!!

I shouldn't have sold my Paul Reed Smith 20 years ago. Recently I bought a used Les Paul and I actually hate it. Or rather, my back hates it. But hey, I also play a fretless Fender Jazz Bass and I love it! :D 

Anyway…

19 hours ago, Gianni Becattini said:

Do you think that I am wrong?

Honestly: I do.

If you were an architect, would you also tell your client: "Sorry that your house doesn't have a proper bathroom but I couldn't figure out how to draw it with the architecture software I was using so it's all their fault!"

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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6 hours ago, lphilpot said:

I mean, how many music lovers say, "I'm not listening to that guy -- He's playing a Fender!!"

In the context of this thread - how many musicians say "Never buy a Fender, I can't play it".

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49 minutes ago, Pšenda said:

how many musicians say "Never buy a Fender, I can't play it".

A serious question!
I literally can't play a Stratocaster physically because my short "baby fingers" just can't wrap around its flat wide neck. Hence I always was a "Gibson neck" guy, used to play Ibanez, Yamaha and PRS, all with a Gibson type neck. Also have a 1983 Epiphone Emperor which is just lovely to play, but not necessarily suitable for rock sound. Hence I bought a used Les Paul (cheap because it has a broken neck, although very well repaired) when I was asked to join an afro-rock band as a guitarist a few years ago.
Same for bass guitars, that's why I only play basses which have a Fender J-bass type of neck profile, like my Ibanez SR1200 – which is also waaay lighter than a regular Fender J-bass. The Fender P-bass type of neck is just too wide. Not to speak of 5-string or even 6-string basses!
I. Just. Can't. Play. Them.
But that doesn't mean they are "bad" per definition.

Which brings us back on topic:

If you don't get along well with Affinity software, simply don't use it. 
Heck, been there done that myself in the early days of APu. Can't find the thread right now, but back in the day I was also bitching here that I had to recreate a simple 1-page A4 layout with InDesign because I couldn't figure out how to do it in APu without RTFM… ;) 

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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Gianno Becatinni should think twice before putting such crap in the front section if his book. When I read such things at the beginning of a book, that book and the author will immediatelly loose my interest... forever! The only conclusion coming from that paragraph is the frustration with the software and temperament of the author.

Many other authors successfully, create and publish books made in Affinity Publisher. They struggle from time to time, have to find workaround but in the end they deliver their masterpiece to their audience.

Like Loukash already perfectly said, if you are not happy but the Affinity Suite, then use something else. There are other alternatives which will let you do the same thing, even for free. But Gianno Becatinni, don't put that kind of message in your book, it only shows you are a very short tempered person. Instead, just use another application which gives you better results. Maybe Affinity is not a good tool for you and another will deliver perfect results for you. Such things happen.

I hope you learned a wise lesson  today.

Chris

 

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30 minutes ago, Bad_Wolf said:

Like Loukash already perfectly said, if you are not happy but the Affinity Suite, then use something else. There are other alternatives which will let you do the same thing

Or again drawing an analogy on music instruments:

As already noted, I can't play 5-string basses. But a few years ago when I (unsuccessfully) applied for a bass guitarist job, I was meant to replace a 5-string bass player. To literally work around that, I tuned my bass to D-G-C-F instead of the standard E-A-D-G tuning, so that I could play at least the low D when required, and I learned how to play a couple of the band's songs like that. Eventually I liked the new tuning so much that I still continue to play the bass in this tuning to this day! Especially in jazz, where you have lots of songs to play in keys like C, F, B flat, E flat, D minor, G minor etc., with the low D tuning it's in fact much easier than with the regular E tuning. Only in rock/blues cover bands I sometimes use a capo on the 2nd fret for a few songs so that I can play some typical bass licks that were designed to be played with open E-A-D-G strings.
Similarly with the aforementioned afroband (that unfortunately broke up last summer), we had a balafon player, and the balafon was tuned in E flat minor pentatonic scale. Not really great for guitarists who simply love to play in E "not flat" minor pentatonic. So for that band only, I would always tune the Les Paul a half tone down, in E flat. And I was "home" again.

In that very sense, back on the Affinity topic:

"Workarounds" are also valid parts of a personal workflow. Be brave to use them! Or at least try. They can give you totally new ideas and possibilities. :) 

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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19 hours ago, Gianni Becattini said:

Do you think that I am wrong? It is not ironic, it's a real question, I don't want to write it if I am wrong.

Yes, you are wrong; on two counts.

Firstly you are wrong because this is just your experience/opinion, it is certainly not the experience, nor opinion, of many other users.

Secondly you are wrong because many readers will wonder why an author who dislikes the software they use continues to use it, and willingly (in the author's opinion) inflicts problems on their readers! (If, indeed there are problems!) It's on a par with saying to readers, "I'm sorry this book is inaccurate, but I couldn't be bothered to get it right."

Acer XC-895 : Core i5-10400 Hexa-core 2.90 GHz :  32GB RAM : Intel UHD Graphics 630 : Windows 10 Home
Affinity Publisher 2 : Affinity Photo 2 : Affinity Designer 2 : (latest release versions) on desktop and iPad

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Although I can partially understand the frustrations with Affinity Publisher, aka when individuals have a number of issues with APub and then say "Avoid Affinity Publisher". That's one thing (app), but then making it the blanket statement "never buy Affinity products" is a pretty bad generalization here.

☛ Affinity Designer 1.10.8 ◆ Affinity Photo 1.10.8 ◆ Affinity Publisher 1.10.8 ◆ OSX El Capitan
☛ Affinity V2.3 apps ◆ MacOS Sonoma 14.2 ◆ iPad OS 17.2

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My book is free and I will not lose credibility for such a warning. You earn credibility in decades of work, not in DTP but in the matters you write about, and I dare to believe I have got it.

It is funny that the problem seems to be me, and not an unstable software that in its second release lacks features that even old DTP MS-DOS software had.

If you think that it is right so, well, it means I am wrong. 

Without resentment...

 

More than 30 Macs, from 1984 Mac 512K Plus to 2020 iMac 27" i9

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53 minutes ago, Gianni Becattini said:

It is funny that the problem seems to be me, and not an unstable software that in its second release lacks features that even old DTP MS-DOS software had.

I don't think anyone is implying the software is perfect, nor that you're totally at fault. It's the type of reaction and how it will be received / perceived. I can understand the frustration -- I've been there many times (in this case not with Affinity but certainly with others), but to complain in this manner will just look like whining. At best your readers will wonder why you continue to use such "bad" tools. Or even worse they may wonder whether they can trust your expertise when you're "obviously" having issues using the same tools others apparently use without problem. I'm not saying that's literally true, but it's the perception.

Part of being professional is dealing with problems and moving on. The problems are real, but they're not your customers' fault so there's no reason to complain to them. 

Len
Affinity Photo 2 | QCAD 3 | FastStone | SpyderX Pro | FOSS:  ART darktable  XnView  RawTherapee  Inkscape  G'MIC  LibreOffice
Windows 11 on a 16 GB, Ryzen 5700 8-core laptop with a cheesy little embedded AMD GPU

Canon T8i / 850D | Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4.5 DC Macro | Canon EF 70-200mm f/4 L USM | Rikenon P 50mm f/1.7
...desperately looking for landscapes in Nolandscapeland        https://www.flickr.com/photos/14015058@N07/

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Even when you give me money, I will not read a book which start with such a warning like yours.

I also fail to see were you readers experience problems caused by Affinity because it is a printed book. Earned credibility by decades of work, can easily be destroyed by such remarks you intend to make in your book. Leave that stupid remark out and just use another tool which makes you happy.

Look deep inside into your heart. Now after a day, are you still behind that remark or start to ask yourself if that was such a good idea? Only you Gianni Becattini, can answer that question.

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1 hour ago, Gianni Becattini said:

My book is free and I will not lose credibility for such a warning. You earn credibility in decades of work, not in DTP but in the matters you write about, and I dare to believe I have got it.

It is funny that the problem seems to be me, and not an unstable software that in its second release lacks features that even old DTP MS-DOS software had.

...

The price of the book has nothing to do with the potential of losing credibility. 

There are two aspects of your warning that might cause people to doubt your credibility. The first is that you decided to write a book using software that had (what you believe to be) an insufficient tool set. Someone might think, "Why should I trust the judgement of someone who would start writing a huge book without even researching or testing the software to make sure it had the features he needed [those "old DTP MS-DOS" features]?" 

The second is that you extrapolated your particular problems with Affinity Publisher into advice to avoid all Affinity products used for any purposes. This is a big leap. Speaking for myself, yes, sometimes a company does something that bothers me so much that I refuse to use them ever again, and I advise other people to avoid them as well. But I only do this when I feel that the company has made grave mistakes, such as intentionally cheating me, failing to provide promised support, or donating money to unseemly political causes. Only in those cases do I want to punish the company.

But in your case, you are clearly seeking to punish Serif because of lack of features (that you could have known about before getting far into writing your book) and because of bugginess. So it comes across as petty, lacking in judgement, and suggests a spiteful temperament.

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While I LOVE Affinity Designer & Photo, I have had enough problems with Publisher where I cannot use it for serious production and printing which involve outside prepress RIPs and High End Press providers to produce. I need to sleep at night and not eat hundreds of dollars in wasted paper and ink when I wake up in the morning.

I still use Adobe InDesign and Acrobat Pro as my Production Tools since I have the least amount of headaches from them even though they too are not perfect. Doing so certainly helps me avoid making stupid remarks in the Preface of a book going to press not even written by me!

Note to Guitarists... Funny you mention Guitar Makes that all have had Decades of Builds, Testing and Successful Performances on Live Gigs.

NOT SO with Affinity Publisher!!!!!

Now, Let's see what kind of Snarky remarks I get here!

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