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Default location for Save As (and Export)


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There I was with Affinity 1.10... Hoping...

From within my own little organised folder structures. I open a simple jpg in affinity...
..."save as" and "export" completely ignores the source path for that simple little jpg - as if it is completely unimportant.

If Affinity made a car, it would be a fantastic drive, efficient.... economic... 
....but you'd have to clamber in and out through the boot every time.

*Sigh*

 

Web Dev/Designer mostly in the non-profit sector & maker community - Moved from Adobe in 2020 to all Affinity Publisher, Photo & Designer (+Beta)
On the whole enjoying Affinity SW - Plugging Gaps with:  Inkscape - GIMP - Image Vectorizer - Davinci Resolve 
Hardware:  Intel Mac (Catalina)  /  Sony Cam  /  GWEIKE Laser 

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Version 1.1 and Affinity is still using this wired absolutely unmaclike save as... and no its not a guideline from Apple, because Apple is using a normal behavior by them selfs. 

To the day this ERROR in all Affinity Apps exists, I can't recommend any Affinity Apps to professional users. It just takes too much time to save. Ridiculous!

P.S. Even Adobe listens more to their customers than you do! 

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Hi guys, I spent some time communicating with them on this subject and what I found out is very disappointing, but not surprising at all. Just look how old is this post. When I asked support to talk with somebody that can influence change then I got explanation that this is not their policy. Very long story short, they are not consumer oriented business but self serving company. They operate in such manner that business and programming are separated "undisturbed" by users stupid requests, comments, etc. 

If they have a designers in the company, they are worst of the kind or have no word in any decision making, either way as non existent.

But, this is just one issue, there are other issues in essential user experience which unfortunately confirms how bad, arrogant and self-centred this organisation is. 

I would forgot about Affinity as a valid business solution. Potential is there, but if you are serious about business you are running, there is no financial validation to compromise your organisation with this pure Trump style circus. 

I will try to use them for my personal projects where I don't have to depend on their sadistic user treatment and unfortunately pay Adobe when things are serious and I don't want my or my team members heads to explode on elementary human centricity.

How long I will last.... not sure. 

 

 

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In the mean time for mac users.... a work around:

1) keeping a finder window open in your working folder

2) any save, save as, export in Affinity, then 

  • Select the export or save and bring up the location save dialogue.
  • CMD tab to the finder working folder.
  • Click drag a folder and CMD tab to Affinity save location window
  • Drop and the location is updated.
  • SAVE!

I actually getting very good at this now! - Not sure of a work around for Windows. 😞

 

Web Dev/Designer mostly in the non-profit sector & maker community - Moved from Adobe in 2020 to all Affinity Publisher, Photo & Designer (+Beta)
On the whole enjoying Affinity SW - Plugging Gaps with:  Inkscape - GIMP - Image Vectorizer - Davinci Resolve 
Hardware:  Intel Mac (Catalina)  /  Sony Cam  /  GWEIKE Laser 

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13 hours ago, damir said:

[...] and unfortunately pay Adobe when things are serious and I don't want my or my team members heads to explode on elementary human centricity.

You might also look at Corel, they are back at the Mac OS market!

You can even BUY their products, as an alternative to the subscription - which I think is very fair.

I tested Corel Draw on the Mac about a year ago: It looks different, but all the settings / templates are very intuitive and clear - e.g. showing what is inherited from a default and what is different for each item!

If I would not be caught by having so many Affinity files, I would instantly go for Corel. The price is higher, it is a professional and complete product.

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  • 5 months later...

+1 for more convenient, auto-set save + export paths.

On 2/7/2016 at 9:39 AM, p10n said:

2.) Export (pdf etc, but also for palettes): Default to the folder where I last exported the respective file type when the current document was open.

(Maybe its not a good idea to store file paths in documents (like the export paths necessary for 2.).

I wonder which of the required info / data would be managed by and stored in the operating system, as described e.g. for mac OS X (2017):

https://eclecticlight.co/2017/08/10/recent-items-launch-services-and-sharedfilelists/
 

On 12/11/2019 at 12:12 PM, p10n said:

There is no way to drag it from the window title (as other apps can do), either. There is just the "File --> show in Finder" menu, but the menu item is disabled once any Save dialog is open. Even more stupid. So no easy workaround here, either.

+ 1, this missing UI option should be fixed, as it is a common behaviour on mac.

macOS 10.14.6 | MacBookPro Retina 15" | Eizo 27" | Affinity V1

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I waste a lot of time looking for save as files and exported files because they don't go into the same folder as where the source file was opened from. If my other apps can save as or export to the same location as the source file opened, I really don't understand why Affinity can't do the same. I've been on Macs since 1990 and this is the first instance that I'm seeing this sort of behavior. It's baffling why an enhancement request that been opened since 2016, that's FIVE YEARS can't be accomodated.  

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Ok... so i got annoyed today and made myself an AutoHotkey Script that automatically selects the currents file's Folder as default for Export.
Not sure if i am allowed to upload the script here...?

Basically, it works like this:

  1. File->Show File in Explorer.
  2. Copy address from navigation bar of file explorer window to variable.
  3. Close explorer window.
  4. Back in Publisher open File->Export.
  5. Adjust your Export settings.
  6. On "Save As" window it pastes the variable with the file path in the navbar.
  7. Lot of time saved! 

Edit: Link to the Windows AHK Script: Here

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15 minutes ago, StainX said:

Not sure if i am allowed to upload the script here...?

Yes, you are. It would be better placed as a new topic in the Resources forum, though,. rather than here :)

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

    Laptop:  Windows 11 Pro 23H2, 32GB memory, Intel Core i7-10750H @ 2.60GHz, Intel UHD Graphics Comet Lake GT2 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Laptop GPU.
    Laptop 2: Windows 11 Pro 24H2,  16GB memory, Snapdragon(R) X Elite - X1E80100 - Qualcomm(R) Oryon(TM) 12 Core CPU 4.01 GHz, Qualcomm(R) Adreno(TM) X1-85 GPU
iPad:  iPad Pro M1, 12.9": iPadOS 18.1, Apple Pencil 2, Magic Keyboard 
Mac:  2023 M2 MacBook Air 15", 16GB memory, macOS Sequoia 15.0.1

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  • 3 months later...

+1 for this feature. All of my music software does this. My video editing software. Pretty much everything. Affinity is fantastic, but why not get even better? Would love to have it default to the folder I originally saved it in and then choose a new folder later on if need be since I easily do 2-3 different projects at a time in Designer or Publisher and much more often save in project folders than I do in some new folder I navigate to.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I completely agree!
I have the same problem.
It would be enough if they grouped the saving options (different formats) in the "save as" command, as almost all other software do.
Using a double "save" and "export" command only creates complications.

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  • 1 month later...

+1 from me 
The unconventional and unintuitive file-saving behaviour is a constant source of frustration and misplaced files. Especially when I'm working on multiple projects for different clients in the same day/week. I'm astonished we've all been putting up with this for years now. Publisher is so good in so many ways, it's a pity that a flaw like this causes unnecessary friction when, it seems to my non-developer eye, it would surely be easy to fix.
 

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On 6/1/2022 at 7:23 PM, Raff said:

It would be enough if they grouped the saving options (different formats) in the "save as" command, as almost all other software do.
Using a double "save" and "export" command only creates complications.

Wouldn't agree with this. Saving and exporting are two very different functions and it's appropriate and useful to keep them distinct, as in fact does Publisher's major competitor, InDesign (if you're comparing with other software).

Saving is related to the working .afpub file as a whole. (Ditto saving to a package.)

Exporting on the other hand is not "saving in a different format" so much as pushing out specific versions or portions of that file for particular use cases, e.g. 
• selected high-quality PDF pages/spreads for client proofreading and approvals 
• PDF edition for online publication
• PDF print-ready file for a printer
• JPEG/PNG/TIFF files of selected pages for use as images in different contexts, e.g. for a portfolio or presentation
• etc. 

When I export I'm assuming that the saved source/working file that I have open is not changed in any way.  

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On 2/9/2022 at 6:32 PM, DesertDenizen said:

I waste a lot of time looking for save as files and exported files because they don't go into the same folder as where the source file was opened from. If my other apps can save as or export to the same location as the source file opened, I really don't understand why Affinity can't do the same. I've been on Macs since 1990 and this is the first instance that I'm seeing this sort of behavior. It's baffling why an enhancement request that been opened since 2016, that's FIVE YEARS can't be accomodated.  

This.

Come on, Affinity, how hard can it be? I've jumped ship for more minor inconveniences than this.

This problem is disrupting my workflow on a daily basis. Get on it already!

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Several people already recommended DefaultFolderX as a solution to this problem (on macOS only). Let me add my vote for this excellent utility. You have NO IDEA how useful it is (not only for Affinity apps) until you really give it a try. It has saved me a lot of time when dealing with the Open/Save/Export dialog windows.

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3 minutes ago, tudor said:

Several people already recommended DefaultFolderX as a solution to this problem (on macOS only). Let me add my vote for this excellent utility. You have NO IDEA how useful it is (not only for Affinity apps) until you really give it a try. It has saved me a lot of time when dealing with the Open/Save/Export dialog windows.

Tudor - please don't try and promote a plastic sheet as a solution to a bucket with a hole.  Several people have also commented in response to your suggestion to the effect that this is treating the symptoms. Default folder X does a real-time SCREEN CAPTURE and RENDERS AN INTERFACE AROUND THAT WINDOW! - It is a hideous patch. - If you like it then fine, enjoy, but stop distracting from the root issue here. 

Web Dev/Designer mostly in the non-profit sector & maker community - Moved from Adobe in 2020 to all Affinity Publisher, Photo & Designer (+Beta)
On the whole enjoying Affinity SW - Plugging Gaps with:  Inkscape - GIMP - Image Vectorizer - Davinci Resolve 
Hardware:  Intel Mac (Catalina)  /  Sony Cam  /  GWEIKE Laser 

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27 minutes ago, Wood Kit said:

Default folder X does a real-time SCREEN CAPTURE and RENDERS AN INTERFACE AROUND THAT WINDOW!

I have no idea where did you get that information. What screen capture? DefaultFolderX only adds an overlay with some useful commands on the regular Open/Save dialog window. It's like a plugin for Finder, nothing else.

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In order to add its overlay to the existing native OSX finder window, it needs to do a realtime screen capture in order to render its clunky interface in the right location. It's far from ideal! and it is not a good solution to this problem.

Web Dev/Designer mostly in the non-profit sector & maker community - Moved from Adobe in 2020 to all Affinity Publisher, Photo & Designer (+Beta)
On the whole enjoying Affinity SW - Plugging Gaps with:  Inkscape - GIMP - Image Vectorizer - Davinci Resolve 
Hardware:  Intel Mac (Catalina)  /  Sony Cam  /  GWEIKE Laser 

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26 minutes ago, Wood Kit said:

In order to add its overlay to the existing native OSX finder window, it needs to do a realtime screen capture in order to render its clunky interface in the right location. It's far from ideal! and it is not a good solution to this problem.

Yeah, that's not entirely true. Read the FAQ on their website. A screenshot is used in some circumstances only as a cosmetic effect, to hide a menu for a fraction of a second. This can be disabled by revoking the screen record permission and the app will still work. There is nothing hideous or clunky about that.

I was also a nonbeliever, until I tried it years ago, before the Affinity apps existed. Now it's the first app I install on a new macOS system.

Of course, to each their own.

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I've tried DEFAULT FOLDER X! Besides I don't like the app it doesn't really solve the problem! I just want the Affinity Apps to follow the macOS behavior! If the developers are so in love with their wired solution they could make a setting

(X) Mac OS saving behavior

( ) Affinity saving behavior

Implementing something like that should be a matter of hours. 

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I work with many other apps that save an exported file to the same folder as the source file. While I like the Affinity Suite, the fact that it doesn't do this drives me NUTS. I waste a lot of time trying to find the file exported and it has resulted in the wrong file having been uploaded for a book or sent to a customer. If other apps can save back to the source file's folder as a default on a Mac, I fail to see why Affinity can't do this.

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Hi Marcus, when I bough the Affinity, I though it was a bug. Contacted support, I was politely BSed to eternity and when I asked to talk to a person that is responsible for that segment, I was told that developer don't communicate with common people, schmucks that are paying for their arrogance. As a designer that has quite a bit of experience with developer based environments this did not surprised me, it just disappointed me to the core. A company that was supposed to be above Adobe, actually was bottom. 

Can't conclude anything else but that they are just one of those companies with company culture where they are above everybody, God chosen people that report to nobody. So if they decide that we should have all commands written backwards this is what will be and we can't change that. They have power over everybody and they are making sure to prove that at every point.

They simply don't care, even more so probably sadistically enjoy your suffering. Absolutely nothing in their communication and behaviour demonstrates anything remotely opposite to that.

 

As you said, this should be normal, not even and issue to waist time on and in my company it would be solved instantly with huge apologies to our users.

Furthermore, you will find much more evidence in overall UI deficiencies that point to lack of proper leadership as well as lack of Designers or they don't have any power in decision making. These are fundamentals that don't have any functional or business reasoning.

However, for the rest of you guys I hope I am drastically wrong and they eventually do come out as a human beings.

 

 

 

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