35 year Adobe User here (Mac & PC).... I have some frustrating issues with Affinity Suite

[namd3]

Evening all,
I have been using Adobe software Professionally(Print and Digital) for 35 years, I have Affinty 2 suite,I'm sure you'll want, many more long term Abode users to able to just Jump in, for the most part you can, but there are few peculiarities of behaviour with the software, which I'm struggling with, the main one currenhtly being right now I'm sure I'll find more... layer drag and drop between documents and overall layer behaviour.

Photoshop behaviour , drag layer to another opened document ...boom layer is present and I can edit and adjust as i see fit.

Affinity (Photo v2.3.1) Behaviour, drag the layer to an empty document, it creates a background layer, it appears uneditable and unable to move it with the move tool (v).... FML..... 
 

it really shouldn't be more complicated than the Photoshop process and  having to internet search every issue or trawling through the online help is Frustrating

 

[MikeTO]

Hi @namd3 and welcome to the forums. Affinity does copy the layer to the other document but I believe you need to select the Move tool (pointer icon). If the View tool (hand icon) is selected, you can't move the layer.

When you change tools in Affinity, you are changing the tool only for the active document because each open document can have a different selected tool. With Photoshop, changing tools changes it for every open document. This is just a difference you'll need to adjust to.

Good luck.

[Komatös]

8 hours ago, namd3 said:

it really shouldn't be more complicated than the Photoshop process

Two different programs, two different approaches to one process. Why do all other programs have to do it like Photoshop? 
Sometimes you have to open yourself up to new things and step out of your comfort zone.
If you only ever do what you can already do, you'll never find out if you can do something you've never done before.

[firstdefence]

It is frustrating @namd3, by default Affinity should change/select the move tool, not the hand tool, to allow for positioning of the added object, it's annoying to have to continually change to the move tool (V), why is the Hand tool selected!!!!!

Logically the move tool should be selected because what else are you going to do with a newly added object?

This is a difference Affinity need to correct, the hand tool, why? this baffles me. 

[firstdefence]

15 minutes ago, Komatös said:

Sometimes you have to open yourself up to new things and step out of your comfort zone.

This behaviour is just nonsensical, Photoshop is logical it makes absolute sense to enable the move tool so you can position the newly added object where you want it, why would the hand tool be selected, when have you ever wanted to move the canvas when initially adding an object. Just another weird UI bafflement that makes using Affinity that little bit more clumsy, Photoshop selects the move tool because it's simply logical to do so, Affinity should do the same, not to be like Photoshop but because it's common-sense. Photoshop does it because it makes sense.

I would love to hear the logic of Affinity's selection of the hand tool in this situation. 

[Komatös]

Maybe it's time for a feauture request? It seems to me that this is a behaviour since V1.

 

[Return]

 

[Dan C]

Hi @namd3,

Welcome to the Affinity Forums

9 hours ago, namd3 said:

Affinity (Photo v2.3.1) Behaviour, drag the layer to an empty document, it creates a background layer, it appears uneditable and unable to move it with the move tool (v).... FML..... 

I suspect the behaviour you're referring to is the 'Background' layer being imported as a locked layer.

You can change this behaviour within Affinity Photo 2 > Settings > User Interface (macOS) or Edit > Settings > User Interface (Windows) by unticking 'Automatically lock background layer on import' - 

14 minutes ago, firstdefence said:

I would love to hear the logic of Affinity's selection of the hand tool in this situation. 

As far as I understand it, the Affinity apps will always open with the 'Default' tool selected - in Photos case it was decided for this to be the Pan (Hand) Tool when the app was originally launched, and I suspect has not been directly reconsidered since.

MikeTO has raised this separately here - 

I'm going to be logging this as a split request with our team - firstly to reconsider the default tool in Photo to be the Move Tool, matching Designer & Publisher and secondly to provide a user customisable option to change the default tool to any other tool, as required.

I hope this helps

[Return]

4 minutes ago, Dan C said:

and secondly to provide a user customisable option to change the default tool to any other tool, as required.

It also has been requested that users should be able to set their own custom shortcuts for every possible option and switch off those not personally needed.
Perhaps you could bump that request again.

[thomaso]

11 hours ago, namd3 said:

Adobe software Professionally(Print and Digital) for 35 years, (…)

it really shouldn't be more complicated than the Photoshop process and  having to internet search every issue or trawling through the online help is Frustrating

Interestingly the internet is full of forum posts & tutorials … especially for Photoshop, … while Adobe quit their printed ~500 pgs reference manual and turned to online help.

Obviously different habits yearn for different solutions as 'the' standard individually … and trigger quite different comparisons. In these cases, years of experience seem to be a disadvantage for those who – "professionally" ? – stick to their known workflows.

On 5/24/2023 at 4:04 PM, ssBLAH said:

As a longtime Serif consumer, the CLEAR functionality within the PLUS software titles (PhotoPlus X8 for instance) was a marvelous help:  (…) Tell us how to do the exact same CLEAR function within the Affinity Photo line of products.

10 hours ago, keithsCADservices said:

This task from zero knowledge to 100% complete in Paint.net (and even Paint Shop Pro back when I was a dumb kid with horrible computer skills) took minutes to learn and seconds to perform every time thereafter.

[loukash]

14 hours ago, namd3 said:

it really shouldn't be more complicated than the Photoshop process and  having to internet search every issue or trawling through the online help is Frustrating

Don't worry, and just take your time.  

6 hours ago, Komatös said:

Sometimes you have to open yourself up to new things and step out of your comfort zone.

Frankly, it took me 4 years after buying Photo in 2015, until I was ready and willing to change my mindset in 2019 and make the switch.  

[loukash]

6 hours ago, firstdefence said:

This is a difference Affinity need to correct

-1

I very appreciate the Hand tool being the default one.

[loukash]

5 hours ago, Dan C said:

secondly to provide a user customisable option to change the default tool to any other tool, as required.

That sounds reasonable to me!  

[loukash]

2 hours ago, thomaso said:

especially for Photoshop, … while Adobe quit their printed ~500 pgs reference manual and turned to online help.

Affinity online help is not necessarily the best one I've ever witnessed, but compared to Adobe's insane online help as I knew it from CS5 and earlier, it's still a joy to use. The main problem on Mac is Apple's pathetic Help Viewer app, not the Affinity help content or structure itself.

[R C-R]

20 hours ago, namd3 said:

Affinity (Photo v2.3.1) Behaviour, drag the layer to an empty document, it creates a background layer, it appears uneditable and unable to move it with the move tool (v).... FML..... 

As @Dan C mentioned above, there is a user-settable option to automatically lock an imported background layer. It's the default but if you do not want them locked, just untick that option. 

For future reference, note that you can tell which layers are locked if you look for the lock icon on the layer in the Layers panel, & if you select a locked layer there when the Move Tool is active, in the workspace window you will see its round control handles have been replaced with x-shaped ones.

[namd3]

 

11 hours ago, Dan C said:

You can change this behaviour within Affinity Photo 2 > Settings > User Interface (macOS) or Edit > Settings > User Interface (Windows) by unticking 'Automatically lock background layer on import' - 

Thats it! -Thankyou.
Is there a quick start guide for Photoshop Users? that might cover these odditys ?
 

I haven't picked up a Adobe Photoshop manual since Photoshop 2.5 circa 1992....
 

Edited February 12 by namd3

[MikeTO]

There is a quick start guide (available from the Help menu) but I don't think it covers that setting. Still, it's worth reading to familiarize yourself with the interface.

[Dan C]

19 hours ago, namd3 said:

Is there a quick start guide for Photoshop Users? that might cover these odditys ?

As Mike mentions, the Quick Start Guides don't cover this specific option, however I've included some links below for the Affinity resources, including our 'Quick Start Guides', video tutorials and online helpfile to help get you up and running: 

Quick Start Guides:
Photo - https://affinity.serif.com/learn/photo/desktop/quickstart/ 
Designer - https://affinity.serif.com/learn/designer/desktop/quickstart/ 
Publisher - https://affinity.serif.com/learn/publisher/desktop/quickstart/

Tutorials: 
Photo - https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/170269-official-affinity-photo-v2-tutorials/
Designer - https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/170248-official-affinity-designer-v2-tutorials/
Publisher - https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/170254-official-affinity-publisher-v2-tutorials/

Online helpfile:
https://affinity.help/ 

Should you have any questions regarding specific functions or features in Affinity, don't hesitate to start a new thread and I'm sure our community can assist

[Affinity Rat]

On 2/12/2024 at 3:01 PM, Komatös said:

Two different programs, two different approaches to one process. Why do all other programs have to do it like Photoshop? 
Sometimes you have to open yourself up to new things and step out of your comfort zone.
If you only ever do what you can already do, you'll never find out if you can do something you've never done before.

This is true, but keeping basics similar to Adobe makes the transition easier and more likely. 

I find developing software time consuming/ frustrating because time already spent learning is sacrificed, requiring more learning. People that are already proficient in an Application realize the cost benefit analysis of changing vs loss of productivity etc. People use these programs to generate income, and time spent learning anew is not only time consuming but delays and money lost that cant be passed on to the client.

 

 

 

[Affinity Rat]

How many users would want to throw away 35 years worth of learning and start over again, almost none.

Expecting experienced Adobe users to switch to a new way of doing things is not realistic.

Money and time lost that would take years to reacquire and recoup,  come on wake up!

People that can afford Photoshop are high end users it appears Serif not seriously after that market but rather occasional and hobbyists not pros.

This target market will also dictate future direction Serif will follow, not as a PS replacement but as a high end hobbyist sector.

[firstdefence]

On 2/12/2024 at 8:01 AM, Komatös said:

Two different programs, two different approaches to one process. Why do all other programs have to do it like Photoshop? 
Sometimes you have to open yourself up to new things and step out of your comfort zone.
If you only ever do what you can already do, you'll never find out if you can do something you've never done before.

Because Photoshop makes sense, it's not about comfort zones, it's about practical application and common sense workflows, it drives me bonkers when the hand tool is selected, it's one of my biggest bugbears with Affinity apps because the imported/placed/dragged in layer or image is never sited just right, consequently, immediate adjustment is needed, either by resizing or repositioning, so, to have to select the move tool instead of it being automatically selected is an annoyance.

Personally, find no practical use for the hand tool being selected after import of a layer and there should be an option in settings to have either the hand tool or the move tool used, I pretty much guarantee most users will set the move tool because it makes sense. 

 

[R C-R]

3 hours ago, firstdefence said:

... it drives me bonkers when the hand tool is selected, it's one of my biggest bugbears with Affinity apps because the imported/placed/dragged in layer or image is never sited just right, consequently, immediate adjustment is needed, either by resizing or repositioning, so, to have to select the move tool instead of it being automatically selected is an annoyance.

Maybe I have misunderstood what you mean but if I have the Move Tool selected in AP before I drag or place something into it, the Move tool remains selected after the drag. It is just that whenever I open a new or existing document in AP, by default the View (hand) tool is selected.

[Alfred]

23 minutes ago, R C-R said:

if I have the Move Tool selected in AP before I drag or place something into it, the Move tool remains selected after the drag

That’s a big “if”! More often than not, you’ll want to reposition and/or resize newly placed content, so it would be helpful to have the Move Tool activated automagically whenever the Place command is invoked.

[R C-R]

1 minute ago, Alfred said:

That’s a big “if”! More often than not, you’ll want to reposition and/or resize newly placed content, so it would be helpful to have the Move Tool activated automagically whenever the Place command is invoked.

Personally, I would not want the app to automatically switch to the Move Tool from whatever other tool I had selected after I placed an item into my document, because I would find that (or any other 'second-guess-me' automatic tool switch) annoying, but maybe that's just me.

What I would like is a choice to make the default tool the Move Tool when first opening a document.

[Alfred]

1 minute ago, R C-R said:

Personally, I would not want the app to automatically switch to the Move Tool from whatever other tool I had selected after I placed an item into my document, because I would find that (or any other 'second-guess-me' automatic tool switch) annoying, but maybe that's just me.

What I would like is a choice to make the default tool the Move Tool when first opening a document.

Agreed. Both of these are candidates for addition to a growing list of Preferences options.