Warnings / error reports while opening documents ...

[jweitzel]

When opening some of my documents, AFPub shows different (error) messages for about 3 seconds. These then disappear before I have had a chance to read them carefully. (Missing fonts, ressources, color profiles etc.)

My question: Is it possible to look up/call up again these messages later in the corresponding Affinity software?

My second question: Which programmer would have the idea of drawing his users' attention to potentially serious problems in this way? It's like a fire alarm only for 3 seconds. Grotesque.

Best wishes,
Johannes

[GarryP]

Information on missing fonts is available in the Font Manager dialog (menu “Window → Font Manager”).

Information on missing resources is available in the Resource Manager dialog (menu “Window → Resource Manager”).

I don’t know about colour spaces/profiles so I'll let someone else answer that one.

I’m pretty sure that having problems like this reported in a more persistent/visible way has been requested before in the forums. You would need to do a bit of searching to find out where.

[jweitzel]

Hello Garry, thank you for your answer and informations!

As a regular observer and contributor (more questioner...) in this forum, I am aware that this requirement has existed already for a long time.

To respond to your answer: Do you expect me - after opening an (older/foreign) document - to now search in all kinds of menu items and dialogs to see if anything is wrong, outdated or incorrect at any point? That would be grotesque. Of course I know the menu item “Resources”. Missing/wrong/different color profiles are just as significant as a missing font.

I think, it should be possible to create a central dialog that does not close irretrievably after 3 seconds, all showing all the “ifs and buts” of the document just openend.

I've said it many times in the past: The Affinity Suite is great! I'm happy. And I hope we all look forward to a peaceful (not necessarily "for free") future of update models etc. ! - but the programmers of the suite don't seem to me to be practitioners.

Johannes

[GarryP]

4 minutes ago, jweitzel said:

Do you expect me - after opening an (older/foreign) document - to now search in all kinds of menu items and dialogs to see if anything is wrong, outdated or incorrect at any point?

I don’t expect you to do anything; I just told you how to find (some of) the information you wanted to see in the only way that I know is possible.

I agree that it would be nice if this sort of ‘missing stuff’ was more-easily accessible but I have no way to change/influence that because I don’t work for Serif.

[carl123]

3 hours ago, jweitzel said:

When opening some of my documents, AFPub shows different (error) messages for about 3 seconds. 

...

My question: Is it possible to look up/call up again these messages later in the corresponding Affinity software?

Look in the Preflight panel, it will show you all the important stuff

[Pšenda]

1 hour ago, jweitzel said:

I think, it should be possible to create a central dialog that does not close irretrievably after 3 seconds, all showing all the “ifs and buts” of the document just openend.

Why invent something new when you can use principles already established and proven over the years. Personally, I am completely satisfied with the solution in Windows - the message/warning pops up, disappears after a while, but the possibility remains to view the message/messages again, of course there is the possibility of settings and customization.

[Pšenda]

1 hour ago, jweitzel said:

Do you expect me - after opening an (older/foreign) document - to now search in all kinds of menu items and dialogs to see if anything is wrong, outdated or incorrect at any point?

It could also be interpreted as - that these pop-up messages are actually not needed at all, because everything can be found in the relevant manager or in the Preflight dialog. One message "Houston, you have a problem" would be enough, and let the user find it himself 🙂

[jweitzel]

I apologize, but I think many here in the forum “tinker” with Affinity, but don't work with it professionally. Maybe Gen Z. If you have to open, change or finish 65 book designs or ads a day from the server, you don't have time to look anywhere and call up “Manager”. It has to run smoothly and you don't have to “search”. Period.

In any case, I have the impression that there are always people who think they have to gloss over criticism. You can do FastFourrier analyses with Affinity - but it's difficult to stand in production.

That's how I see it. I have already mentioned also the extremely positive aspects above.

 

Johannes

[GarryP]

I don’t think anyone here has been “glossing over criticism”.

You posted this in one of the sections of the forums that is for asking questions and you asked two questions in your original post.

Your first question:

7 hours ago, jweitzel said:

Is it possible to look up/call up again these messages later in the corresponding Affinity software?

...has been answered, in various ways.

Your second question:

7 hours ago, jweitzel said:

Which programmer would have the idea of drawing his users' attention to potentially serious problems in this way?

...has not been answered because we users don’t know what happens in Serif, and I think the question was rhetorical in the first place.

If you want to make a suggestion for improvement then I might suggest putting it in the “Feedback & Suggestions“ section instead.

[Pšenda]

On 9/11/2024 at 2:34 PM, GarryP said:

...has been answered, in various ways.

In fact, these answers were not related to the question, because "these messages" simply cannot be displayed again later. The alternative solution of searching for different managers, from which it could perhaps be deduced - what "these messages" probably contained (perhaps they also contained something else/fundamental, which can no longer be ascertained even this way), certainly cannot be considered optimal and dignified solving the problem.

[jweitzel]

23 hours ago, Pšenda said:

In fact, these answers were not related to the question, because "these messages" simply cannot be displayed again later. The alternative solution of searching for different managers, from which it could perhaps be deduced - what "these messages" probably contained (perhaps they also contained something else/fundamental, which can no longer be ascertained even this way), certainly cannot be considered optimal and dignified solving the problem.

Psenda sums it up better than I can: That's exactly how it is, and what I meant. Thank you.

Have a nice weekend!

Johannes

[GarryP]

On 9/13/2024 at 5:19 PM, Pšenda said:

In fact, these answers were not related to the question, because "these messages" simply cannot be displayed again later.

I can’t say if it would be more useful to be able to see the same messages about the problems again or to be able to see what the problems actually are in some way that's better than what we have now.

Either way, as I said earlier, I don’t have a problem with this information being easier to access in all the Affinity applications (including those where the Preflight isn’t available.)