make PDF default file format

[dandyse]

no other software uses Affinity's file format(s)

almost all customers, print services, ad companies never used / will never use Affinity file formats

I found it very annoying to always use Export to get my work in usable file format

is there an option to set Designer's default file format to PDF (or whatever is needed)?

please

thank you

 

[MikeTO]

Hi, PDF is a file intended for document distribution, not for saving, and doesn't support the full feature set of Designer. You would lose so much. This is the same reason that Adobe Illustrator doesn't save in PDF, users would lose so much when re-opening their files.

For example, PDF doesn't support text styles, so all paragraph and character styles would be lost. PDF doesn't support text frames, so every line of text would be separate. Design does attempt to join lines of text into paragraphs and put them in frames but this isn't perfect.

[dandyse]

well, if someone doesn't want to "lose so much" they can choose Affinity's format

me (and I really think the majority of users) would be fine with the capabilities of PDF

so, I guess the answer to my question is: no?

 

[Bit Disappointed]

What Miketo states is that it is neither technically feasible, practically sensible, nor at all meaningful from any perspective to use PDF as a native file format in Affinity. And he is absolutely right.

[dandyse]

understand and I thank you both for telling me

but ... it is not necessarily an answer to my question, is it?

 

[dandyse]

btw: this "style" of answers is very common on german forums: not answering questions, but questioning the author's ideas / intentions / way of working.

hope you understand that this is why I am not so happy with your answers

although I am very pleased about your efforts

 

[Bit Disappointed]

2 minutes ago, dandyse said:

understand and I thank you both for telling me

but ... it is not necessarily an answer to my question, is it?

Yes, I think it is. Programs that allow saving in file formats as a default other than their own usually have different prerequisites for this. Take for example LibreOffice and Word. Both formats are intended for the same use in word processors, and LibreOffice is largely synchronized feature-wise with Word to ensure compatibility, so the program is developed as a clone of Word under the hood; that's the prerequisite for full compatibility. It's still no easy task to implement. Things that are not supported in PDF will be rasterized or omitted, and all these many, many deviations you would have to understand. There is such a great distance between the formats and the support that it would not make sense at all for Serif to make it possible.

DPF and Affinity store completely different things from entirely different engines, and the file formats are completely different for different purposes. It would be an export every single time you saved, and an import every time you opened in the midst of your work.

Inkscape saves in SVG because it's designed for it, and even Inkscape had to create an Inkscape SVG variation to support the features Inkscape had beyond the SVG specification.

It's a long story, but you can't set it in Affinity for that reason, and the reason is complex. 🙂

[Dan C]

Hi @dandyse,

1 hour ago, dandyse said:

is there an option to set Designer's default file format to PDF (or whatever is needed)?

I can confirm that File > Save in Affinity apps will create a document using the native Affinity file format (.afphoto, afdesign, .afpub). If you wish to create a PDF file, you'll need to use File > Export.

Unfortunately there's no option to change the default Save behaviour at this time, many reasons for thus are covered above.

I hope this helps

[GripsholmLion]

To receive a different answer may require a different question to be asked.

34 minutes ago, dandyse said:

[...] not answering questions, but questioning the author's ideas / intentions / way of working.

You made a suggestion and received fair minded explanations of why that suggestion may not be very sensible.

56 minutes ago, dandyse said:

[...] I really think the majority of users would be fine with the capabilities of PDF

That is a bold and very probably inaccurate assumption. I am often very supportive of feature requests, but I cannot support this one.

[Bit Disappointed]

1 hour ago, dandyse said:

btw: this "style" of answers is very common on german forums: not answering questions, but questioning the author's ideas / intentions / way of working.

hope you understand that this is why I am not so happy with your answers

although I am very pleased about your efforts

Ah, please read what I wrote once more. I fully answered the question from the perspective that in every aspect, it is difficult, impractical, and virtually impossible, regardless of one's preferences. On that basis, Serif cannot accommodate the way customers work. Not with PDF.

[PaulEC]

2 hours ago, dandyse said:

no other software uses Affinity's file format(s)

Most similar software uses it's own native file format, just like Affinity does!

2 hours ago, dandyse said:

I found it very annoying to always use Export to get my work in usable file format

It doesn't really matter if you call it "Save" or "Export". Affinity files have very few options, so can be saved without needing to change settings. On the other hand, there are many varieties and options for PDF files, so you need to open a dialogue box to make sure you are using the correct settings.

It's also worth remembering that an Affinity file can easily be reopened and then "saved" as a PDF. It is not possible to reopen a PDF file in Affinity and regain all the original features and settings.

 

[wonderings]

Even with Adobe you are always exporting to a PDF to send for pretty much most types of print jobs. Very rarely does anyone actually give me native files and rarely do I ever request them, unless I need to do serious fix up work to their files. So my work is saved and packed in Indesign, the file I use for printing be it wide format or digital presses is PDF. Not sure any RIPs would even support native Adobe files, or the majority of them anyways. 

[PaulEC]

PDF is obviously better for sending to clients/printers etc than the Affinity native format, but it's pretty useless if you need to save the file to continue working on the project, or to keep to edit or reuse later! As such (IMHO) the best default format to save files is the Affinity native format, then export as PDF (or, depending on the project,) another common file format, when sending to clients etc.

[Petar Petrenko]

Saving to PDF is meaningful only for apps like Adobe Acrobat, PitStop and similar. Not for any other.

[Pšenda]

On 1/31/2024 at 3:35 PM, dandyse said:

I found it very annoying to always use Export to get my work in usable file format

You can try to use the Export persona, set the export to PDF in it, and select the Continuous option. So the PDF file will be created automatically every time you change the document, and you won't have to keep repeating it manually/annoyingly.

https://affinity.help/designer2/English.lproj/pages/ExportPersona/slicesPanel.html

 

P.S.

On 1/31/2024 at 4:12 PM, dandyse said:

btw: this "style" of answers is very common on german forums: not answering questions, but questioning the author's ideas / intentions / way of working.

hope you understand that this is why I am not so happy with your answers

Be aware that you didn't post your "question" in the forum for "questions" - where you would most likely get the "answer" you wanted (sounds "NO"), but in the forum for "requests". Therefore, the arguments presented here were rather of the type - why the request you mentioned will most likely not be accepted and implemented, because not only is it completely against the concept of Affinity, but it is probably also an unnecessary investment of development capacities, since there will not be many users who would use such a thing at all (even though you think otherwise).

[Alfred]

33 minutes ago, Pšenda said:

Grammatical error reported here: