No print dialogue after 1st print in Affinity 2.2.1

[InnerOrchardWorkshop]

Bug is affecting all Affinity apps (Designer, Photo & Publisher) and is also replicated in the earlier version 1 applications)

Affinity apps have been fully updated to version 2.2.2.1 (which seems to have caused the problem)

Running on Intel iMac running MacOS 14.1.1 (but issue began prior to updating from MacOS 13).

Open any document or create a new one.  Hit Command-P to print and it will work the 1st time, but any attempt to print again will result in no print dialogue.

Choosing Print from drop-down menus has the same effect - no printer dialogue.

Must quit the application and re-open the document to print again (and still just the once).

Issue only occurs in Affinity Apps all other apps printing normally.

Have deleted the preferences for Affinity apps - issue persists.

Have deleted Affinity Apps and reinstalled - Issue persists

Affinity apps were printing normally prior to the last update from Serif with I installed late last week.

 

[MikeTO]

Hi @InnerOrchardWorkshop and welcome to the forums.

I don't think there are any known issues like this with Affinity v1 or 2 but there is a known issue with multi-monitor setups. Sometimes the Print dialog will open on the other monitor. And if the other monitor isn't connected, it might still open off screen because Affinity thinks the monitor is still there. What is your monitor setup?

[InnerOrchardWorkshop]

Using an iMac with no external monitors connected.  So there's just the one screen.

1st time printing the print dialogue pops up fine.  Subsequent attempts - no dialogue.

The File tab on the Mac menu bar highlights when you press Command-P, so it recognizes that the key combo is being used - but no dialogue results.

Printing from the drop down menu exhibits the issue.

[MikeTO]

You wrote that you deleted your preferences, how did you do that? Did you try starting it with Ctrl held down (press and hold immediately after clicking the icon) and then on the Clear User Data screen select Reset Document & Window States - you can deselect the other two items.

[stokerg]

Hi @InnerOrchardWorkshop,

I can't replicate this on Sonoma 14.1, I've just printed several times, to 2 different printers and got the print window each time.

Did resetting the Document & Window States that @MikeTOmentioned, help at all?

[InnerOrchardWorkshop]

On 11/9/2023 at 6:54 PM, MikeTO said:

You wrote that you deleted your preferences, how did you do that? Did you try starting it with Ctrl held down (press and hold immediately after clicking the icon) and then on the Clear User Data screen select Reset Document & Window States - you can deselect the other two items.

 

On 11/10/2023 at 3:29 AM, stokerg said:

Hi @InnerOrchardWorkshop,

I can't replicate this on Sonoma 14.1, I've just printed several times, to 2 different printers and got the print window each time.

Did resetting the Document & Window States that @MikeTOmentioned, help at all?

Yes, I have done that multiple times and the issue persists.

I have also physically removed the Affinity preference files from the System Library - no change.

I have deleted the Affinity2 apps from the computer and reinstalled from a fresh download - issue persists.

For additional kicks, I've both booted the computer into SAFE mode and reset the NVRAM - neither of which did anything.

All of which has me thinking that the issue may be with some random Affinity support file embedded who knows where in my system, but since there is no actual uninstaller..., I'd rather not go looking for a needle in a haystack.

[InnerOrchardWorkshop]

Further experimentation...,

Opened Affinity in another user and attempted to print a document - worked normally / no issues.

This, to me, seems to reinforce my belief that there is a corrupt support file in my user somewhere.

Changing users is simply not a valid option, so looking for suggestions to resolve this in my current user.

[MikeTO]

These are my grasping at straw ideas

• Choose Print (1st time) and move and scale the Print dialog. Maybe the act of moving or scaling it will stick for the next time.
• Make the app window smaller and choose Print (1st and 2nd times). Drag the smaller app window around and see if Print is somehow behind it.
• Change your screen size with System Settings > Displays. Try the More Space option and see if that makes a difference to get it back.

I'm hoping that once you get it back it will stick.

[InnerOrchardWorkshop]

19 minutes ago, MikeTO said:

These are my grasping at straw ideas

• Choose Print (1st time) and move and scale the Print dialog. Maybe the act of moving or scaling it will stick for the next time.
• Make the app window smaller and choose Print (1st and 2nd times). Drag the smaller app window around and see if Print is somehow behind it.
• Change your screen size with System Settings > Displays. Try the More Space option and see if that makes a difference to get it back.

I'm hoping that once you get it back it will stick.

Good thinking, but no cigar.  Mission Control does not show the print dialogue anywhere, and neither does adjusting the screen size.  It's not hiding behind anything, and modifying the shape and position of the print dialogue had no effect either.

In the realm of needles and haystacks - I've purged all the Affinity files from Application Support, Caches, and Preferences (again) in the User Library file, restarted the machine and the issue persists.

For kicks I even read a malware utility - nada / the system is clean.

[MikeTO]

Two last ideas because with the upgrade to Sonoma there have been lots of problems with the print dialog in many apps.

If you have any printer presets, delete them.

If that doesn't work, try deleting the printer and adding it back.

Good luck and I'll leave you now in Serif's hands because I'm out of ideas.

[InnerOrchardWorkshop]

11 minutes ago, MikeTO said:

Two last ideas because with the upgrade to Sonoma there have been lots of problems with the print dialog in many apps.

If you have any printer presets, delete them.

If that doesn't work, try deleting the printer and adding it back.

Good luck and I'll leave you now in Serif's hands because I'm out of ideas.

Yeah, the thing is, this issue started before i upgraded to Sonoma.  Actually, this issue is why I upgraded - 1st order of business after restarting is "is everything up to date?".

[Hangman]

Hi @InnerOrchardWorkshop,

Could you confirm the make and model of your printer...

From your description, it suggests to me, as you've indicated, a possible macOS issue rather than an Affinity issue. In the user account where you're experiencing the print dialog issue, I would delete your printer from System Preferences and re-install it, then reboot your Mac and see whether or not it makes any difference.

[InnerOrchardWorkshop]

Resolved

Deleting the printer settings may have been the trick, but if so it was only after removing the printer settings twice and restarting the computer a total of five more times while trying other things (mostly deleting and reinstalling the apps for the umpteenth time)..., so there's that.

The printer dialogue has returned from its almost week long hiatus.

Thanks everyone for the assist.

[bluewave]

Hi

I have had the same issue, Mac Sonoma 14.1.2 with epson ET-3750.

Only prints once, then you have to close the apps and re open to print again.

My solution so far was to remove the Apples selected Air Print driver and install the latest from Epson site and use USB connection.

Regards

[v_kyr]

1 hour ago, bluewave said:

Mac Sonoma 14.1.2

The actual Sonoma version is now 14.2.1, which beside security hole fixes also got some other fixes under the hood.

[caseym]

I am also having the same issue. The only "fix"  that has worked for me so far is opening publisher in a guest user to print something. Im on Sonoma 14.0 on an M1 macbook pro. Publisher 2 is up to date. The printer is an Epson 970.

[Swörl]

I have the same issue on Ventura 13.6.3, Designer 2.3.1.

→ I ran system console, filtered by Affinity, traced errors and I think that the dialog is being set with a negative size value, causing an exception:

default    10:05:06.283421+0100    Affinity Designer 2 Affinity Store    attempting to set illegal NSView geometry: width is negative <private>

There is a full printout of function parameters after that, with hints of the printing process. So I think that's the bug. Can somebody at Serif look at the attached log?

error log.txt

[MikeTO]

Try starting Affinity with Ctrl held down (press and hold it immediately after clicking the icon). Then select the option to reset document and window states (the second checkbox) and click Clear User Data. If it's an issue with drawing the window at an invalid size, this might fix it.

Also one question: what is your monitor setup? Do you use multiple monitors? Is it a MacBook and sometimes you use it with an external monitor?

Good luck.

[Swörl]

Hi Mike,

Resetting document and window states did not bring the print dialog back. I'm still seeing the same Console error showing that Affinity is trying to render a dialog with negative width:

default    08:47:10.886250+0100    Affinity Designer 2 Affinity Store    attempting to set illegal NSView geometry: width is negative <private>

I'm on an M2 Mac Studio with 2 monitors, the issue also occurs with no second display connected or with a Studio preset that shows all windows on a single display. 

 

 

[MikeTO]

On 2/5/2024 at 2:48 AM, Swörl said:

Resetting document and window states did not bring the print dialog back. I'm still seeing the same Console error showing that Affinity is trying to render a dialog with negative width:

default    08:47:10.886250+0100    Affinity Designer 2 Affinity Store    attempting to set illegal NSView geometry: width is negative <private>

I'm on an M2 Mac Studio with 2 monitors, the issue also occurs with no second display connected or with a Studio preset that shows all windows on a single display. 

Somebody else asked about this today. Were you able to resolve it as others pointed out above? Deleting your printer settings and restarting macOS?

[Swörl]

Removing the printer in MacOS does bring back the Print dialog in Affinity.

→ This can't be a real solution though: I've printed tons of images with my current printer in Preview, Photoshop and Illustrator without the dialog disappearing... I'm not looking forward to continuously removing and adding my printer!