Unofficial PDF Manual - Expert Guide to Affinity Publisher

[Godzilla]

An excellent resource. Thank you.

[Tarkus]

Fantastic job and amazing dedication. Thank you for taking the time to create this for the community.

[D-AP]

Thank you so much for making this available to us.

[Rodi]

Thanks so much!!

Just a quick look around and I am already being helped out.

I do have to comment (positively) about the fonts, Postscript Type 1! Yay, try that in that other program!! I really think that is one thing that makes me happy to use Publisher even with it's little issues, Pantone Libraries and Type 1 fonts!!

[MikeTO]

I updated my Affinity Special Characters chart. There are only minor changes so if you have it printed out I wouldn't bother printing it again, but I added a Dutch version of the chart.

https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/176386-special-characters-in-affinity-quick-reference-chart/

 

[PaoloT]

The best simply goes better! Thank you Mike!

Paolo

 

[AffinityMakesMeWonder]

Really great manual for Affinity Publisher!

Professional Look made by a true professional craftmen!

Thanks!

This may not learn me much, but, my dear wife have bought Affinity Suite universal license - she will be more than happy!

[MikeTO]

New version available for Publisher 2.5: I have uploaded a new edition of my unofficial Publisher manual to the first post of this thread. This edition covers variable fonts and is updated for all of the many minor interface changes in this version of Publisher. The new Getting Started chapter provides an overview of the interface and includes setup instructions for those who use the English interface but write in another language. There's also a new Dutch, Polish, and Ukrainian terminology dictionary in the appendices.

Now 335 pages.

Most of the features are the same for Designer or Photo so you will find it useful for Designer and Photo, too.

Cheers

[MikeTO]

Thank you to @anto for correcting my many mistakes in the Ukrainian terminology dictionary!

To avoid turning this thread into a terminology language discussion, please direct message me for suggestions to the terminology dictionary.

[PaoloT]

Thank you again! I can't wait to read what you say about the use of Variable Fonts!

Paolo

 

[MikeTO]

1 hour ago, PaoloT said:

Thank you again! I can't wait to read what you say about the use of Variable Fonts!

Although variable fonts are complex, they're easy to describe in the manual because they just work and there isn't a whole lot to say. I explained the most common axes that you'll encounter to show what they do.

A key tip which isn't in the manual is don't install both the static and variable versions of the same font, it's just asking for trouble.

[AffinityMakesMeWonder]

Thanks Mike for such a great job with Affinity Publisher manuals!!!

[Hilltop]

On 5/23/2024 at 6:51 PM, MikeTO said:

A key tip which isn't in the manual is don't install both the static and variable versions of the same font, it's just asking for trouble.

Thanks for the latest version, MikeTO! Very useful information added.

Could you expand on your observation that a mix of static and variable versions of the same fonts causes trouble?

I noticed a problem -- not sure if it's related to this issue -- whereby a document that I created using 2.4 had all sorts of problems when opened in 2.5 and after I had downloaded and installed the variable font version of the main font used, EB Garamond. It may also have been caused by the fact that in the download the static fonts were possibly updated versions and overwrote the old ones. 

[walt.farrell]

1 hour ago, Hilltop said:

Could you expand on your observation that a mix of static and variable versions of the same fonts causes trouble?

I think he's just reporting a fact of life. Having multiple versions of the same font installed is known to cause a variety of problems when using the Affinity applications, and possibly other applications, too.

[MikeTO]

Apple's Font Manager is smart enough to prevent you from installing two versions of the same font, but not if one is static and one is variable. If Affinity has to match the static font you used in 2.4 and previous versions with the variable font you now have installed, having both installed is going to present a challenge because it wouldn't know which one to use. Others have reported issues so it's best to just avoid the problem.

I'm not changing any of my static fonts to variable until the day comes that I want to change an axis. If the font is otherwise identical and is working, there's no need to install the variable version now. For example, EB Garamond. I don't use it in my own work but I used it in my manual for some OpenType examples. It's a complicated font and there are multiple versions of it floating around. If I replaced the static version with the variable one, I'd really want to check each use of the font in my manual to ensure I didn't break the examples. Since I don't need the variable version, I left well enough alone.

[Hilltop]

2 hours ago, MikeTO said:

For example, EB Garamond. I don't use it in my own work but I used it in my manual for some OpenType examples. It's a complicated font and there are multiple versions of it floating around. If I replaced the static version with the variable one, I'd really want to check each use of the font in my manual to ensure I didn't break the examples. Since I don't need the variable version, I left well enough alone.

Complicated font, indeed. And I guess my  issues originated with the fact that there're multiple versions of it and they got mixed up when I installed the set with the variable font. I should have paid more attention but it was late at night and I was excited to try it out. 

I agree with you that it's not all that useful if the static font comes with variations and I can just select the one(s) I need. Perhaps it's useful for titles and headings and such.

[TheOtherRoland]

Thanks as always, Mike. Just downloaded your latest manual.

I have an off topic question that you would probably better understand than most and if I post it elsewhere I may just wind up being offered workarounds or excuses.

Q. Has there been any development that you know of concerning the indexing of multiple separate chapters in a book project format?

I'm just finishing another book which I began by splitting it up into 20 separate chapters only to realize that the primary index would only index one of those chapters.

Has any of this changed or is any of this being addressed during development that you know of? Any feedback is appreciated.

 

[MikeTO]

2 hours ago, TheOtherRoland said:

Q. Has there been any development that you know of concerning the indexing of multiple separate chapters in a book project format?

I'm just finishing another book which I began by splitting it up into 20 separate chapters only to realize that the primary index would only index one of those chapters.

Has any of this changed or is any of this being addressed during development that you know of? Any feedback is appreciated.

The index feature already works with Books made up of separate Chapter documents. There's very little you need to do. In the "Adding references to a Book" section of my manual, I recommended creating an End Matter chapter and inserting the index into it. The scope of the index will always be for the full Book, so Publisher will then index all the markers in all of the Chapters. But you must do this while the Book is open. If the Book is closed, Publisher won't know that it should look in the Chapter documents. If you need more assistance, let's move this discussion over to the desktop questions forum. Cheers.

[TheOtherRoland]

Thanks Mike. When 2.0 came out, I believe that feature was not working yet. Will try it again with my next book. No sense jinxing myself. As it stands, the index is in its own section in the end matter.

[wizox]

You solved my Paragraph Decorations problem!

 

It's a great manual and I thank you very much!

 

 

[PeterBreis2]

Thanks very much for your Unofficial PDF Manual for Affinity Publisher. 😀👍

I am diligently reading through it now.

Do you know of any similar manuals for Affinity Photo and Designer?

P.

[MikeTO]

6 hours ago, PeterBreis2 said:

Do you know of any similar manuals for Affinity Photo and Designer?

I don't know of any free ones but there are third party manuals available for purchase through sites such as Amazon. I haven't read any of them but others might be able to recommend one.

Cheers

[ErikJon]

Thank you, MikeTO!!

[Catherine M Evans]

Mike, what a star! Thank you for this - I've only had a quick scan through so far, but it already looks a hundred times more helpful and user-friendly than Affinity's own help pages. I love the Affinity suite, but I get soooooo frustrated with the manuals, as I rarely find a complete answer.

So thank you thank you thank you! 👌

[Tapestrysuzy]

Thank you so much for this. As a 73 yo newbie, trying to transition from Corel and Microsoft Publisher (with an Adobe detour I never mastered), this is just what I’ve been searching for! I would have paid for it gladly. My 2025 calendar of original art may actually get printed with this new program and your help. I’m truly grateful for this.