Strange Error Message — Is that a known bug?

[A_B_C]

Publisher 1 document, opened in version 2. Or rather, not opened in version 2. Instead, I get the following error message, when I double-click the document in Finder:

What? — I’m trying to open an .afpub document here, not an application. How comes macOS Ventura to think that this document is an application that must be scanned for malware?

After clicking OK on this dialog, I get the following notice:

 When I open the document from within Publisher 2 (File > Open), it just opens correctly. Very strange. 😳 

[A_B_C]

The first text reads: “*.afpub cannot be opened because the developer cannot be verified. macOS cannot verify that this app does not contain malware.”

The second text reads: “The Application ‘Affinity Publisher 2.app’ cannot be opened.”

MBP 16'' 2019; 2,6 GHz 6-Core Intel Core i7; Intel UHD Graphics 630 1536 MB; 16 GB 2667 MHz DDR4; macOS 13.1 (22C65); Affinity Publisher 2.0.3.

[walt.farrell]

Can you open Publisher 2 yourself?

Is it properly installed?

[A_B_C]

Yes, everything works fine, save for this message. I can even open the document from within Affinity Publisher, but not by double-clicking in Finder. Hmm.

[walt.farrell]

Sorry; no more ideas from me.

[MikeTO]

I think the clue is in the date in the first screenshot - it's trying to open in Publisher 2.0.0 because that's the version that was released on November 21 and which you likely downloaded that date.

I assume you have upgraded to 2.0.3 by now so perhaps you have two versions of Publisher 2 installed and double clicking is opening in a different version than you are normally using.

Please right click the document file and mouse over Open With - what is listed in the menu? I have nine choices, including the three v1 apps and and the three 2.0.3 beta apps that have been surpassed by the final version of 2.0.3. Do you have two Affinity Publisher 2 non-beta items listed?

If so, it might be because:

1. You installed 2.0.0 from the Mac App Store and 2.0.3 from Serif, or vice versa - did you ever install from the Mac App Store? If so, you should decide which version to keep and which to uninstall.
2. You installed both versions from the Serif site but you're running 2.0.0 from Applications and 2.0.3 directly from the mounted DMG (disk image) file, or vice versa.

If it's the latter situation, go to Applications and see which version is there. You should be able to tell if it's 2.0.0 from the date (Nov 21) but if not right click it and choose Cmd+I and Finder will show you the version.

• If the copy in Applications is 2.0.0, drag it to the trash. Then find the mounted DMG in the left sidebar of a Finder window, click it, and drag Publisher 2 to Applications to install it. Then unmount the DMG by hovering over it in and clicking the eject icon. Then find the DMG file (likely in Downloads or your Desktop) and delete it.
• If the copy in Applications is 2.0.3, find the mounted DMG in the left sidebar of a Finder window, and unmount it by hovering over it in and clicking the eject icon. Then find the DMG file (likely in Downloads or your Desktop) and delete it.

After doing this, right click the document file again and hold down the Option key. Then choose Publisher 2 from the list of Always Open With options to associate the afpub file type with your real Publisher 2.0.3 application.

If none of this is applicable to your situation, I'm out of ideas. 🙂 

[A_B_C]

Wow, thank you so much for sharing your thoughts. This is very appreciated, and I feel truly honoured that you spent so much time on trying to find out what’s going wrong, Mike. 😊

Unfortunately, and I hate to say this, none of your ideas applies to my situation. Sure, I had the Beta versions installed, but when the release versions became available, I removed all Beta-related stuff from my hard drive. Including preferences, application support files, et cetera. I can’t find a trace of an earlier version besides version 1 on my computer. So I take it that my issue is very special and probably limited to a few particular files. I’ll keep an eye on the problem, and if it happens again with other files, I’ll report back. It’s very mysterious. With new files, it doesn’t happen, so there’s a chance that it will simply be a transition problem. 🙂

[MikeTO]

11 minutes ago, A_B_C said:

Wow, thank you so much for sharing your thoughts. This is very appreciated, and I feel truly honoured that you spent so much time on trying to find out what’s going wrong, Mike. 😊

Unfortunately, and I hate to say this, none of your ideas applies to my situation. Sure, I had the Beta versions installed, but when the release versions became available, I removed all Beta-related stuff from my hard drive. Including preferences, application support files, et cetera. I can’t find a trace of an earlier version besides version 1 on my computer. So I take it that my issue is very special and probably limited to a few particular files. I’ll keep an eye on the problem, and if it happens again with other files, I’ll report back. It’s very mysterious. With new files, it doesn’t happen, so there’s a chance that it will simply be a transition problem. 🙂

Oh well, that's too bad, but it is related to 2.0.0 because of the Nov 21 date in your screenshot. Do you have 2.0.3 installed? If so, I think you also have 2.0.0 installed somewhere unless I'm misunderstanding the auto translation of that alert.

[A_B_C]

Well, that November 21 detail could be a mere coincidence. I know for sure that this document was created in Publisher 1, not in a Beta of Publisher 2. The additional message reads: “Affinity Publisher created this file on November 21, 2022.” — I can only say, version 2.0.0 is installed nowhere on my system. “Find any file” doesn’t find any application file. Hmm.