Older person moving to Affinity Suite?

[RandomMike]

So I've been casually using Serif photo/publishing/graphics software for twenty years and I'm an older person. I've loved the software but moving to win 11 and need something new.

How difficult is it for an older person experienced in the old software to use this new Affinity suite?

Silly question I know, but someone might have relevant experience.

Thanks,

Mike

[mopperle]

Welcome Mike, not sure what you define as "old"

I'm 66 and managed it to move from Adobe Indesign to Affinity Publisher. To make it easier there are a lot of good tutorials Like this:

Same applies to Affinity Photo and Designer.

[Komatös]

24 minutes ago, RandomMike said:

How difficult is it for an older person experienced in the old software to use this new Affinity suite?

You can download trial versions of the programs and then decide for yourself whether the programs meet your expectations or not.

https://affinity.serif.com/photo/trial 

https://affinity.serif.com/designer/trial

https://affinity.serif.com/publisher/trial

[RandomMike]

Thanks and thanks will check it out. 

[Patrick Connor]

@RandomMike

Welcome to the Serif Affinity forums  

@Komatös

I have changed your trial links as yours were not working (perhaps have not worked since V2 came out)

For those with more than one OS it may be easier to claim a universal trial

https://store.serif.com/get/universal-licence-2/trial/

[RandomMike]

Whew, I downloaded Photo 2. I can hardly read the menus even with a magnifying glass, I see no way to make them bigger. I'm going to see if I have my CD of PhotoPlus X7!!

Thanks

Mike

[walt.farrell]

1 hour ago, RandomMike said:

I see no way to make them bigger.

You can tell Windows to increase your Display Scaling, which may help, though it will affect all applications on the system.

[KarinC]

I started using Affinity at the age of 71 (but I've used countless other graphic software since they first came out). I found that using a large monitor helps - a lot.

[Hilltop]

2 hours ago, RandomMike said:

Whew, I downloaded Photo 2. I can hardly read the menus even with a magnifying glass, I see no way to make them bigger.

If you tried Affinity Photo with the dark user interface you might want to try the light one. In my experience it increases legibility. Go to Edit/Settings/User Interface. There you can find also some other options to suit your preferences.

[bbrother]

Lack of scalability and generally poor UI (contrast in particular) are starting to take their toll on Serif @Patrick Connor

Patric one rhetorical question: Have any lessons been learned from the many complaints about UI?

[henryanthony]

@RandomMike I am 73 and have needed corrective lenses since age 45. My corrective lenses allow me to easily work with AP and AD. Perhaps a visit to the optometrist is in order. 

[mopperle]

TBH, I do not see a problem with the UI. I'm using AF on a 15" Notebook, with HIGHDPi (3840x2160) and a Windows UI default scaling of 250%.

I have set the UI to light mode, with standard contrast. And everything is well readable. IMHO the UI is as good or bad as any other software I use, and there are a lot of them. And in contrary to others, the UI is very customizable.

But as always, you can not please everybody.

[mopperle]

16 hours ago, RandomMike said:

Whew, I downloaded Photo 2. I can hardly read the menus even with a magnifying glass, I see no way to make them bigger. I'm going to see if I have my CD of PhotoPlus X7!!

Thanks

Mike

15 hours ago, walt.farrell said:

You can tell Windows to increase your Display Scaling, which may help, though it will affect all applications on the system.

Correct, depending on the screen size and resolution there is always a recommended setting in Windows. @RandomMike check that out. The recommend value by Windows works in most cases and might be in your case something like 125/150%.

[Twolane]

I'm not sure how or why you can't see the menu items. Even without my corrective lens I can "sort of" plainly see them. Perhaps you need glasses. Perhaps not. I'm not sure why age would be a problem, either, since I "aged out", so to speak, a few decades ago, but whatev. A trip to an optometrist would be recommended, I'm sure, but then, what do I know?

I continue to enjoy learning and using all three programs to do my dirty (no, I don't do porn) job.

Edited to add, if I haven't already said it enough, that I thank the Affinity Serif crew for software that just works for me. When I want to learn something new that I can't do, I simply do a search, and voilà, the video appears - in many cases, more than one.

I've gone from buying covers for my e-books and POD books to doing my own. I do covers/format my print books as well. Open one up, and I challenge anyone to say that it was indie-author produced. So there's all that.

But, as usual, I digress...

[KarinC]

I agree 100% with @Twolane

I'm spending about 5 to 6 hours a day with Designer, creating my masterpiece illustrated book. The only thing I get frustrated with is the problem with the fill or stroke color inconsistently showing in the swatch panel when I select an object. Otherwise, I am having a lot of fun and have no complaints.

[Pšenda]

23 hours ago, Hilltop said:

the light one. In my experience it increases legibility.

Quite the opposite experience - even considering the numerous complaints here on the forum about insufficient contrast in light environments.

[nickbatz]

11 hours ago, mopperle said:

 I'm using AF on a 15" Notebook, with HIGHDPi (3840x2160) and a Windows UI default scaling of 250%.

 

Just out of interest (I use Macs), does UI scaling in Windows affect the font sizes of menus globally, i.e. in all programs?

Because I've been charmed with excellent eyesight - no reading glasses or anything at age 67 - and 4K resolution (3840 x 2160) is way too small for me on a 32" monitor. I run it at 3008 x 1692, which  is about a .235mm dot pitch. 3200 x 1800 starts to get uncomfortable.

No way could I work on a 15" screen at 4K res.

Still, it wouldn't be terrible having an option for larger type in the menus, especially the panels on the right side of the screen (layers, etc.). Occasionally I actually have to sit up straight and stop slouching to see them easily, which is an outrageous indignity!

Seriously, I have no problem using Affinity Photo the way it is.

[bbrother]

11 hours ago, mopperle said:

I have set the UI to light mode, with standard contrast. And everything is well readable. IMHO the UI is as good or bad as any other software I use

This is the joke of the day. And what was done with the light mode is simply a crime.

 

[Pšenda]

1 hour ago, nickbatz said:

Just out of interest (I use Macs), does UI scaling in Windows affect the font sizes of menus globally, i.e. in all programs?

 

 

[mopperle]

9 hours ago, nickbatz said:

Just out of interest (I use Macs), does UI scaling in Windows affect the font sizes of menus globally, i.e. in all programs?

Yes, it does. In Windows you have 2 options: UI scaling, this effects all elements, menus, menu-icons, menu text..... And there is always a recommended scaling depending on the screensize and resoultion. In my case it is 250%.

There is also a text scaling option, which should be left to default, other then disabled persons might need it.

In the past I had a few apps where the UI scaling did not work (blurry text, icons...), because they did not stick to design standards, using outdated libraries or outdated 3rd party tools, e.g. for displaying listboxes. Fortunately they changed their design or I got rid of them.

There is only one thing in AF that I would call a bug: When you choose the light mode in combination with high contrast, menu items not being available are nearly invisible due to a IMHO wrong default slider setting. But fortunately you can change that.

 

[KarinC]

13 hours ago, bbrother said:

This is the joke of the day. And what was done with the light mode is simply a crime.

 

I like light mode. Now that I can change the background on the assets panel it is even better. I have the sliders adjusted to just where I want it. Again, I focus on using the tool, not complaining about it.

[RM f/g]

On 2/2/2024 at 7:56 PM, RandomMike said:

Whew, I downloaded Photo 2. I can hardly read the menus even with a magnifying glass, I see no way to make them bigger

I believe no one pointed out the option to enlarge the font size in Preferences > User Interface. Or is this a mac only feature?

[GarryP]

As you suspect, that’s not available in the Windows version.

[mopperle]

Dont see this in Windows, so it seems to be mac only

[henryanthony]

In Windows 10, try "Settings > Ease of Access > Display" then "Make text bigger" and "Make everything bigger"

I don't employ changes to the default values but might be helpful to other users.