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I bought AP from the Mac Store and I'm not sure whether I can get new releases until they appear in that store - which can take a long time. Is this correct? I'm hoping that the Tool Presets (sometimes called sticky settings) is included in the next release - I've been hoping that since I bought the product last July.

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Hi marble51,

The only way to update the app is through the Mac App Store. If you are willing to try new features/test new releases before they get released on the Mac App Store (MAS) you can install the latest Beta from here (usually pinned at the top). You must keep the MAS version installed to be able to run the Beta. Also note that documents that use new features of the Beta may not open correctly in the MAS version until its updated again.

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If I understand you correctly, you mean I could have two versions installed separately? The "official" MAS version and the beta.  Would I have full functionality with the beta - IOW does it recognise I have bought the product?

 

Thanks for your prompt reply, by the way :)

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  • 3 weeks later...

MEB is there something in the pipeline that is absolutely awesome that is just not working out for Affinity Photo? No new tutorials, no updates, what's up? I am so excited for this product but for some reason I am getting a bit worried.

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Hi p_mac,

The next update cycle will introduce quite a few changes/new features and due to this it's taking more time than usual. It will worth the wait.

Regarding tutorials, James has published new Affinity Photo tutorials - 4 to be more precise on 01 April - and another one on 07 April. Two new ones were published for Affinity Designer yesterday.

You can find them listed on the respective thread in the Tutorials section, or here.

No need to get worried, in this case the additional time just means bigger changes/news  :)

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MEB is there something in the pipeline that is absolutely awesome that is just not working out for Affinity Photo? No new tutorials, no updates, what's up? I am so excited for this product but for some reason I am getting a bit worried.

As MEB says, software development takes time - and sometimes (often) it takes longer than you'd think... There are two schools: Release by date vs. Release when ready. We're choosing to release things when they're ready even if they turn up a bit late - at least it gives developers the time to properly finish the features rather than come out with new things that are just bug-ridden or ill-conceived.

 

Hope that makes sense :)

Matt

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As MEB says, software development takes time - and sometimes (often) it takes longer than you'd think... There are two schools: Release by date vs. Release when ready. We're choosing to release things when they're ready even if they turn up a bit late - at least it gives developers the time to properly finish the features rather than come out with new things that are just bug-ridden or ill-conceived.

 

Hope that makes sense :)

Matt

Bravo.

 

I spent enough time (before I retired) reading crash dumps of and writing fixes for software that was released because of due dates that I prefer having working software. Thank you.

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Thanks for responding MEB and MattP.

 

As I have written software I do know the importance of getting it right before releasing it. I guess that I am just spoiled as I very much like the beta releases so thanks for indulging my impatience.

 

I do keep up with the excellent tutorials that AP, via James, releases but as I have been using LR and PS for many years (until they got really greedy), the April 7th video was very basic. I do understand that you must release videos for beginner and good on you for caring about your customers. As well there are many people in this community that unselfishly share their expertise and I thank them. (I am a little miffed that the forum is being used to advertise for profit tutorials but alas it is a [free] world.)

 

I am aware that there are many new users that have difficulty following some of the advanced videos, but I know that watching once is not the way to learn. If I have difficulty, I will scroll back and watch a part of that I don't get until the light goes on, and reviewing a video again just to reinforce the lesson almost always reveals some new info.

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Just to add my voice to this, I think there must be a balance.  There is no software that is bug-free ( we are not talking about bug-ridden software here).  I believe that Serif Affinity needs to review their strategy on this and you have proven in the past that you are more that capable in this area. I don't know what necessitate the change in strategy but I am sure you have your reasons and I respect that.

 

I watched Andy and his team working tirelessly to address and fix issues in this forum that won my heart  and convinced me to pay more attention Serif Affinity.   There must certainly be a balance on releasing features that address issues that professional users are having with the current release of the software versus waiting to completely fix every possible bug before making a grand release of the software for beta testing.  The whole idea of beta testing, in my humble opinion, is for the community to help identify possible bugs for fixing and because we all don't think alike, there is bound to be a user whose workflow identifies something that may turn out to be a bug in the long run (or may be not).

 

I also believe that Affinity's strength in this area has been with engaging with the community to help fix issues.  From a software engineering perspective, we all can agree that there is no single way of achieving a particular solution (we all have developed our favoured style of coding, as an example).  By the same measure, it's well known within the software industry that how a developer/software manufacturer thinks may generally be out of sync with their users thinking.  That is to say that the workflow steps or processes that some users may employ in utilising certain feature(s) of a software product may not always match the intention of design decision of the developer or software manufacturer.  We have seen several evidence in this forum, as an example.

 

In this light, I believe that since Serif Affinity has managed so well in winning the hearts of professional users who are willing to disconnect themselves from the rule of the Adobe empire and join the Serif family, it is in the best interest (business decision) to address issues or bugs raise with the Affinity product suite not only effectively but in a timely manner so as to continue to grow and maintain their new market share.  Remember professionals designers, artists, photographers and the likes may be relying on your software to earn their daily living. 

 

So whiles generally, it makes sense to wait until every possible bug is identified and fixed before release, please use your willing users (some of whom are these professionals)  to test and identify possible bugs in these new features that you are working on to fix them, make the product rock solid.  In the process, you make your customers most happy and they may be your mouthpiece to grow your customer base through word of mouth and referrals.

 

Nana

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Just to add my voice to this, I think there must be a balance.  There is no software that is bug-free ( we are not talking about bug-ridden software here).  I believe that Serif Affinity needs to review their strategy on this and you have proven in the past that you are more that capable in this area. I don't know what necessitate the change in strategy but I am sure you have your reasons and I respect that.

 

I watched Andy and his team working tirelessly to address and fix issues in this forum that won my heart  and convinced me to pay more attention Serif Affinity.   There must certainly be a balance on releasing features that address issues that professional users are having with the current release of the software versus waiting to completely fix every possible bug before making a grand release of the software for beta testing.  The whole idea of beta testing, in my humble opinion, is for the community to help identify possible bugs for fixing and because we all don't think alike, there is bound to be a user whose workflow identifies something that may turn out to be a bug in the long run (or may be not).

 

I also believe that Affinity's strength in this area has been with engaging with the community to help fix issues.  From a software engineering perspective, we all can agree that there is no single way of achieving a particular solution (we all have developed our favoured style of coding, as an example).  By the same measure, it's well known within the software industry that how a developer/software manufacturer thinks may generally be out of sync with their users thinking.  That is to say that the workflow steps or processes that some users may employ in utilising certain feature(s) of a software product may not always match the intention of design decision of the developer or software manufacturer.  We have seen several evidence in this forum, as an example.

 

In this light, I believe that since Serif Affinity has managed so well in winning the hearts of professional users who are willing to disconnect themselves from the rule of the Adobe empire and join the Serif family, it is in the best interest (business decision) to address issues or bugs raise with the Affinity product suite not only effectively but in a timely manner so as to continue to grow and maintain their new market share.  Remember professionals designers, artists, photographers and the likes may be relying on your software to earn their daily living. 

 

So whiles generally, it makes sense to wait until every possible bug is identified and fixed before release, please use your willing users (some of whom are these professionals)  to test and identify possible bugs in these new features that you are working on to fix them, make the product rock solid.  In the process, you make your customers most happy and they may be your mouthpiece to grow your customer base through word of mouth and referrals.

 

Nana

 

 

I agree with your points Nana. I think Serif has got a LOT on their plate(s). And beta releases will suffer. :(

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As I was the one that started this topic I want to say that we need to let this company do what it needs to do.

 

They have the vision for their products and yes the users of the betas do provide excellent help in development. But they have included on this site a place where people can make their suggestions as to what they would like to see in future releases.

 

My last comment was made for a couple of reasons but none to suggest to this company that I know better then they do. I think that we need to take a step back and take a breath.

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I agree with Advanced member above. They need to proceed at their pace and not be rushed into putting things that Adobe have had years to work on it.

Just be patient they will get there in the end.

 

Keep up the good work, best value for money I have had for a long time.  

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That is the strong point! Indeed, I feel that realistically it will be while before PS/LR is caught but it must already be knocking on the door off stuff like Elements.

Oh, I think AP is well past Elements now. Remember, Elements will only do 8 bit layers and their list of adjustments is very small. The only current advantage Elements has is that it runs plugins.

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Oh, I think AP is well past Elements now. Remember, Elements will only do 8 bit layers and their list of adjustments is very small. The only current advantage Elements has is that it runs plugins.

And Elements has a reasonable RAW convertor. Plugins and RAW, along with a DAM are, imo, Affinity's big weaknesses at the moment but then nobody said this would be a quick and easy path to tread. Take your point re 8 bit though.

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