Affinity Publisher: Index page number separator

[Pyanepsion]

Hello, everybody,

I was reporting a bug that appeared in the public version v 2.0.3.1688. Spaces are removed in the index after the comma between two page numbers.

It was declared corrected on 23 January 2023, but it is not.

This is how I got the bug:

1. I created a test index on Windows 10 with beta v2.1.0.1706. On Windows 10, everything appears correctly.
2. I open the Windows file in Windows 11 on another computer. The preflight on Windows 11 detects an error.
3. Correction. The good spaces are removed!
4. I go back to Windows 10. The preflight wants to put the missing spaces back.

Could it be a problem with corrupted Affinity Publisher settings files? How do I know?

index.afpub

[walt.farrell]

For what it's worth, your file opens fine for me, on both Windows 10 and 11, using 2.1.0.1706.

[Pyanepsion]

In fact, for the first time, the file created on the Windows 10 computer with version 2.1.0.1706 opened correctly on the Windows 11 computer without detecting any errors.
I opened another file on Windows 11 with a problematic index, pasted 3 lines of this index into the test file and the preflight of the test file then detected that the index should be updated. And since then, there is the behaviour I detailed above.

That’s why I think it’s a corrupted file in the settings.

Before uninstalling and reinstalling everything, I’d rather be sure, and also better know which files are affected.

[MikeTO]

I actually experienced this or a similar issue this morning while testing another report. I've been doing some testing and found issues with the Index panel not being refreshed correctly.

Here are are some test documents, steps to reproduce this issue on macOS, and a screen recording. The documents each have a single index marker but one has a Separator of *** and the other has $$$ to make it obvious what's happening.

1.afpub2.afpub

1. Open the Index panel if it's not already open. It doesn't matter if it's docked or undocked. Restart Publisher.
2. Open document 1. Normally the Index panel will not update for me. If it updates quit and try again.
3. If I dock/undock, tab to another panel and back, or tab to another document and back, the Index panel will then update correctly. Do one of these so the panel is updated.
4. Open document 2. Normally the Index panel will not update and show the information for document 1. Click in the Separator field and press Return. The separator from document 1 will be used to update document 2.

 

 

[Gabe]

This seems to be fixed in our latest internal build. Please check it again in next week's build

[Pyanepsion]

v2.1.0.1732.

This is not corrected. Commas and numbers are not spaced. Here is an example from 2000 entries:

Réunion p. 23–24,68,90–91,105,116,254,271,277

We should have got something like this:

Réunion p. 23–24, 68, 90–91, 105, 116, 254, 271, 277

[MikeTO]

On 3/10/2023 at 5:21 AM, Gabe said:

This seems to be fixed in our latest internal build. Please check it again in next week's build

It's changed but now there's a new problem. Using the same two test documents I posted above on Feb 15:

1. Open the Index panel if it's not already open. It doesn't matter if it's docked or undocked. Restart Publisher.
2. Open document 1. Normally the Index panel will not update for me. If it updates quit and try again. This is fixed.
3. If I dock/undock, tab to another panel and back, or tab to another document and back, the Index panel will then update correctly. Do one of these so the panel is updated.
4. Open document 2. Normally the Index panel will not update and show the information for document 1. Click in the Separator field and press Return. The separator from document 1 will be used to update document 2. This is fixed.
5. Alt tab between the 2 documents a couple of times and all seems well. But then edit the separator for one of the two documents, it doesn't matter which. Add a space so it's now "*** " or "$$$ " as appropriate. Press Return to make the change.
6. Alt tab to the second document. The separator from the document you changed will now be applied to this document, making them both the same.

[Gabe]

Thanks. Issue logged. 

 

[Pyanepsion]

v2.1.0.1736.

It isn’t solved.

There is always a space missing after the comma.

This leads to layout problems, as can be seen here with the break after the hyphen on pages 90 to 91 instead of 105. This lengthens the total index of the book by 1–2 pages unnecessarily.

This malfunction has been announced several times as solved. It appeared after version 2.0.0.1640 where the spacing is still correct.

[MikeTO]

26 minutes ago, Pyanepsion said:

v2.1.0.1736.

It isn’t solved.

There is always a space missing after the comma.

This leads to layout problems, as can be seen here with the break after the hyphen on pages 90 to 91 instead of 105. This lengthens the total index of the book by 1–2 pages unnecessarily.

This malfunction has been announced several times as solved. It appeared after version 2.0.0.1640 where the spacing is still correct.

1736 fixed the problem I provided steps for above, switching between two open documents confused the separator.

Now that it's fixed let's look at your issue which I'm unable to duplicate in 1736. Try opening the attached document and refreshing the index. There are references to the same index topic on pages 1 and 2 and an index on page 3 with the two entries.

2.afpub

It looks like this on macOS for me:

[Pyanepsion]

This does not work either on Windows 11. I haven't tried it on Windows 10.

 

[MikeTO]

3 hours ago, Pyanepsion said:

This does not work either on Windows 11. I haven't tried it on Windows 10.

You're getting a pre-flight error for the index being outdated when you open the file? That's an issue right there, the index isn't outdated and shouldn't raise an error. Something is going on for you on Windows.

[Pyanepsion]

The bug that appeared with 2.0.4 may have been fixed on the Mac, but not yet fully fixed on Windows. I can't test it on version 2.0.0, because the 2.1 betas are incompatible with all previous versions (including 2.1!).

[walt.farrell]

Your file works fine for me, @MikeTO, on Windows 10.

I'll try to check it on Windows 11 later.

And if I do update the Index, the spaces are kept.

2 minutes ago, Pyanepsion said:

because the 2.1 betas are incompatible with all previous versions (including 2.1!).

There is no 2.1, yet. There is only a 2.1 beta. And it was expected that 2.0 would not be able to read 2.1 beta files. 2.1 will be able to read 2.1 beta files.

[Pyanepsion]

@walt.farrell, 😄 You are playing with words. You have understood very well what I wanted to point out and which is implicit in my formulation speaking of beta versions: it would not be necessary for the public versions 2.1 to be incompatible with each other 2.1.

[walt.farrell]

6 minutes ago, Pyanepsion said:

it would not be necessary for the public versions 2.1 to be incompatible with each other 2.1.

Somewhat playing with words, perhaps. Somewhat pointing out what may have been a typo in your post.

But also: 2.1.0 (when available) will be able to read 2.1.0 beta files, but also 2.1.1 betas, or 2.1.2 betas, etc.

But it will not be able to read 2.2 beta files. This is the way V1 worked, and the way I (and I think Serif) expect V2 to work.

[Pyanepsion]

@walt.farrell, you're right: I'm no more informed about the developers' intentions than you are. My aim was simply to raise the issue of incompatibility between the different 2.1 betas to avoid this happening again in the public 2.1 releases. I'm glad to see that we are on the same page on this issue. Let's hope the developers take this on board. Let's keep sharing ideas on this forum!

[Pauls]

Think I've managed to recreate the issue and have logged another issue to hopefully get it sorted for you @Pyanepsion

[Pyanepsion]

Version 2.1.0.1799.

Hello everyone,

I originally reported this major bug in version 2.0.3.1688. We are now in version 2.1.0.1799 and, unfortunately, this problem persists. This is not a minor malfunction. Its persistence has a significant impact on the user experience of the feature.

It is important to remember that this bug appeared after an update of Publisher and that it makes the production of indexes unprofessional. Its resolution should be a priority in your efforts to improve the quality of the software.

If necessary, I can provide with a file illustrating this bug in strict confidence.

[MikeTO]

I think that the test file I provided earlier is sufficient - your screen recording shows you opening it, refreshing the index, and the space after the comma disappearing. I can't reproduce that on macOS but if my document does that for you on Windows that's a very easy test file to use for figuring out the issue.

I agree this is a serious issue for you.

The only workarounds I can think of to help you avoid this until it's fixed are arduous.

1. Replace the commas with comma+spaces after each index update. The inability to limit the scope for search will require being careful.
2. Or duplicate the font using a font editor, call it FontName2 or whatever you want and pad the comma with a lot of space on its right side. Modify the index styles to use FontName2. Ugh.

The Index feature is fairly limited compared to newer features like footnotes, tables of contents, and cross references. I hope that it gets some TLC in a future 2.x update. The separator between page numbers (comma + en space) should be customizable like in ID - I don't like the hardcoded en space. The Style Override feature also needs to be fixed because it's unusable with facing pages documents which rules out most books.

[walt.farrell]

1 hour ago, MikeTO said:

Replace the commas with comma+spaces after each index update. The inability to limit the scope for search will require being careful.

First, for what it's worth, your 2.afpub file you provided earlier works fine for me on Windows in .1799.

Next: You can limit the scope of the search for your workaround. Just specify the character text style Index Entry Page Number to filter the text that will be found/replaced.

[Pauls]

@Pyanepsionwe think we'll get this fixed for 2.2

[Pyanepsion]

The bypass is easy, but its impact in front of the final customer appears however rather negative. He can't help, like Forest Gump and his orchard fruit factory, to refer to the product of a manufacturer specialized, however, in the construction of sun-baked bricks.

[Affinity Info Bot]

The issue "Index - Incorrect out of date message and doesnt refresh correctly" (REF: AFB-7577) has been fixed by the developers in internal build "2.2.0.1857".
This fix should soon be available as a customer beta and is planned for inclusion in the next customer release.
Customer beta builds are announced here and you can participate by following these instructions.
If you still experience this problem once you are using that build version (or later) please reply to this thread including @Serif Info Bot to notify us.

[Pyanepsion]

The malfunction seems to have been resolved. Thank you. 🙂