Remember asset category

[DarkClown]

Unlike AP V1 the version 2 does not remember the last selected asset category. This can be a real pain because each time you start AP you have to reselect you working asset category over and over again.

 

Cheers, Timo

[Chris B]

Hey DarkClown,

I absolutely see your point and it feels like an unnecessary change. But you have to see it from the other PoV - if you have a primary category that you tend to use in the majority of projects and it always defaulted to the last used category, you could argue that would also be annoying.

I think the win here would be to make the app (if possible) remember the category used with each document as oppost to the 'last used'.

If that's not possible, my preference would be to have it how V1 did it. I'll get this logged for you.

[DarkClown]

5 minutes ago, Chris B said:

I absolutely see your point and it feels like an unnecessary change. But you have to see it from the other PoV - if you have a primary category that you tend to use in the majority of projects and it always defaulted to the last used category, you could argue that would also be annoying.

Thanks for your answer, Chris.

Don't you think in case you have a primary category which you use predominantly in a majority of projects this category would most likely also be the one you used last? The way AP V2 currently works it is ensured that the default category 100% will be the one you don't need.

Of course saving settings with the picture could be a start - but in case you mostly work with new pictures (e.g. you get a watermark from you assets) you again will have a 100% wrong selection as long as new files come up with default settings.

I still perceive the "last selected" as a program wide saved preset as the best solution. But even if you could set a default category in the program settings this could be helpful.

Cheers, Timo

[Chris B]

Well, to make this all very simple, I've checked macOS and that does remember so it is indeed a bug  It's logged anyway  

[PetervL]

How about a toggle check box or button to choose between option 1 and option 2

[DarkClown]

11 hours ago, PetervL said:

How about a toggle check box or button to choose between option 1 and option 2

That's probably a bit of "over-engineering" ... we should be very happy if Affinity Products start remembering settings at all!

[walt.farrell]

3 hours ago, DarkClown said:

we should be very happy if Affinity Products start remembering settings at all!

But sometimes when they do, users complain about that, too.

I think I've gained a better appreciation for how difficult application development can be.

[Chris B]

I think we avoid having endless tickboxes for different options in Preferences when possible. I think the behaviour just needs to go back to V1 which is what the bug report suggests. 

[DarkClown]

1 hour ago, walt.farrell said:

But sometimes when they do, users complain about that, too.

I think I've gained a better appreciation for how difficult application development can be.

Hi Walt,

I don't think users complain about additional options and features (they probably complain about the way they are implemented since it's not what they expect or need them)

Since I've been working in graphical SW development & support for many years I'm well aware how difficult the situation ist. Customers with different levels of knowledge and needs/requirements and personal wishes (giving a shit on sw concepts or product categories) on the one side. Developers, marketeers, sales and distribution - each of them with their own goals (each keeping an eye on their interest the is hardly ever in sync with customer requirements). You face features that sell excellent to the press and therefor getting prioritised while basic product care (aside bug fixing) can hardly be sold and create a significant workload. Developers would have done everything totally different anyhow ;-). Of course topics like "workflow" only affect existing cutomers. They hardly generate new revenue while new features attract new customers. But this concept seems to be put in place so strictly by serif, that even afer 6 years many basic workflow hickups have still not been adressed. Of course most customers only realise this after they bought the product (within the 30 days of testperiod you hardly use the product in productive environments). It seems to be forgotton that a good product needs to keep all different aspects of a product in spec.

So my criticism is fully taking the difficulty of sw creation and design into account. But even considering the twisted situation it's hard to accept that productive customers are of least concern.

[walt.farrell]

49 minutes ago, DarkClown said:

I don't think users complain about additional options and features (they probably complain about the way they are implemented since it's not what they expect or need them)

No, sometimes they complain when tools remember their settings. For example, when they draw a new Text Frame and it defaults to the same font as the prior one. Or they draw a rectangle and it has the same stroke/fill as the last one when they wanted something different.

The developers really can't please everyone all the time.

[DarkClown]

On 1/27/2023 at 4:45 PM, walt.farrell said:

The developers really can't please everyone all the time.

Abslolutely true - but that's not the problem. This is just a killing argument for any sort of criticism and justifies basically every (not) taken program development decision! There are a multitude of program improvements that have been mentioned for many years that constantly get ignored because (and this is my personal perception) they are just workflow improvement and less sales aspects. Most of them undoubtfully just significant improvments and not discussion worthy program behaviour.

[debraspicher]

Just a thought: For situations opposite a "last used" situation (which I agree works best here as a default), a "saved default" situation is what Window > Studio presets could apply to. I checked and it doesn't appear Studios will currently remember the category selected in panels in its preset. For example, if it's "wireframe", then that asset category can be loaded with the studio preset by the user to have ready to drop those UI elements in.

I agree with @Chris B in not allowing the Preferences panel to get out of hand. That's why I think including it with an existing feature could work. It certainly would make a lot of sense for something like swatch libraries.

No solution is perfect, which is what I think the argument for "can't please everyone" is pointing to. There's pros and cons to every choice. Affinity has their hands full with 3 programs, 3 platforms now. They can't get too far in the weeds.

Edit: And Serif has done a good job with ideas like this, so I'm not too concerned with us eventually getting more QoL workflow related things in that method. It's more implementation (i.e. bugs, occasionally UX), but the ideas are there.

[Catshill]

The most frustrating and illogical setting is the one in the export dialogue preset that reverts to All Spreads. That one has haunted me from V1 through to V2.

[DarkClown]

8 hours ago, Catshill said:

The most frustrating and illogical setting is the one in the export dialogue preset that reverts to All Spreads. That one has haunted me from V1 through to V2.

True! The export dialog itself is a sad example .... aka "unfinished symphonie" and for people who do a lot of exporting a real nightmare ...