Affinity Photo 2 V2.5.5 Issue of Disappearing Customized Studio View-Mac Sequoia V15.0.1

[MJHecate]

I am fairly new to Affinity Photo 2 transitioning from Photoshop (hobbyist user) and I apologize in advance if this is posted to the wrong forum.  I am really not sure where to post it. I spent hours researching the forums regarding the issue and I haven't found anything related for a solution. Thus, I haven't a clue if this is a User error or a program bug. The number of forum posts are overwhelming! I am finding it very difficult and frustrating trying to answer my questions of find solutions to my issue when they appear. 

As stated in the Topic Subject/Title, I am using Affinity Photo 2 (purchased all but the iPad App) Version 2.5.5 on a Mac.  I have upgraded the system software to Sequoia V15.0.1.  I am running a relatively standard and simple View, which I made into a Studio preset.  Recently, I  started to encounter issues with my all my tool bars disappearing. I don't know if I am hitting some sort of command that I am unaware of or if this is a possible system issue. 

When this issue happens, I go to View and Toggle the UI thinking I hit some type of command I am unaware of.  Toggling the UI may or may not restore my desired view.  If I go to Studio and try to activate my view preset, it doesn't work.  Sometimes, closing the software then restarting it will restore the desired view.  If not, I have to go into Studio, delete my preset, then Reset Studio. Once it is reset, I have to set up the View I am comfortable with then save it again as a preset. 

This doesn't issue doesn't occur all the time but frequently enough it is very annoying and frustrating when I am in the middle of a project. Any solutions or advice on how to stop this issue would be welcomed!

Thank you in advance for your assistance!  

[walt.farrell]

From that screenshot, the Studio is present (at least the Right Studio, which is the only default one in Photo), and Tools and the Status Bar. What is missing is the Toolbar and the Context Toolbar.

Toggling the UI would have removed all of those, so it feels more likely to me that you invoked the View > Show Toolbar and View > Show Context Toolbar toggle shortcuts. But that would take two actions, which seems unlikely. And the Context Toolbar doesn't have a shortcut by default (at least on Windows; haven't checked on macOS).

We would need to see a screenshot before you try to resolve the problem, of course, to be sure what's happening.

[MJHecate]

Thank you Walt for you very prompt reply!  

When the issue occurs again, and I am sure it will, I will make sure I take screen shots and send them in for review.  I simply wanted to make sure there was no known bug issue that might be causing the issue. 

I appreciate your taking the time to review my issue.  It is greatly appreciated!

[walt.farrell]

You're welcome. From what you've shown/said so far, I'm not aware of any known problems that would cause this, but I'm not a heavy Mac user.

[LionelD]

I have similar issues with latest published Designer 2.5.x.x. on M3 MBP running latest Sequoia.  It is very annoying.

I set up dedicated workspaces for Designer and Export Personas (because Affinity info indicated each Persona uses a separate workspace), and created presets for them.

Studios sometimes re-arrange themselves by disappearing, moving or just hiding.  In my case I can usually restore my preferred setup by going to the Window menu, but sometimes that fails too.  The most infuriating behaviour happens with studios arranged correctly, but completely unresponsive to my mouse, and sometimes restoring the preset layout has no effect.  I have noticed that the Studios sometimes start out correctly, and then re-size themselves just enough to be noticeable.

I have not attempted to document this behaviour yet - don’t know if it’s an Apple problem or an Affinity one.  Most of the time I use M3 with a second display, have yet to see what happens with M3 & iPad (from Apple’s point of view this will be the more complicated configuration to implement successfully).

Regards

Lionel

[walt.farrell]

51 minutes ago, LionelD said:

I set up dedicated workspaces for Designer and Export Personas (because Affinity info indicated each Persona uses a separate workspace),

Can you explain what you mean by "workspaces"? I have a feeling that you may be confusing a macOS concept (Spaces?) with a something different in Affinity. Also, please clarify where "Affinity info indicated each Persona uses a separate workspace".

Thanks.

[LionelD]

@walt.farrell Hi there, hope you’re keeping well.

So, I have to confess my terminology was vague.  I was referring to Studio Presets, simply did not remember the correct name.

Your second question first:  In the Help for Affinity Designer on Mac OS there is a section about “Customizing your Workspace”, and if you scroll down to “To save your workspace arrangement as a preset” you’ll see the bit about distinct Studio Presets by Persona.  (As far as I can tell “Studio Presets” is not available on iPad)  In AD2, Designer and Export Personas you access the presets that I complained about by going to Window ==> Studio where you will find a whole menu.  The features in this menu are not completely and reliably functional in my experience.

Now your first question:  Apple has long had a feature known as Spaces.  That is not what I was referring to (I use Spaces all the time, and it’s alive and well under Sequoia).

Under Sequoia (not familiar with its immediate predecessors) some app windows have a green button in the top left corner; if you hover your mouse over it, you get a pop-up menu that includes a “Move and Resize” item.  That’s one of several ways to use the OS facility that enables you to arrange multiple windows on your display.

I have only had Sequoia for about 2 or 3 weeks, there’s a lot I still don’t know so I’m going to be a little cautious, but in every one of the standard apps that are bundled with Sequoia that I’ve looked at so far also has a ”Move and Resize” menu item under “Window” - usually at the top of the screen. Finder has it, and so do Settings and Pages. Apple documentation has a description of what “Move and Resize” does.  Give that I jumped from Mac OS 12.x.x to 15.0.1, it’s my impression this is a new feature.

Judging by the presence of “Move and Resize” in AD2, I would venture a guess that there is an Apple API which Affinity is using.  If so, that will mean new code in Affinity apps to use the OS facilities.

Regards

Lionel

[walt.farrell]

13 hours ago, LionelD said:

Your second question first:  In the Help for Affinity Designer on Mac OS there is a section about “Customizing your Workspace”, and if you scroll down to “To save your workspace arrangement as a preset” you’ll see the bit about distinct Studio Presets by Persona.  (As far as I can tell “Studio Presets” is not available on iPad)  In AD2, Designer and Export Personas you access the presets that I complained about by going to Window ==> Studio where you will find a whole menu.  The features in this menu are not completely and reliably functional in my experience.

Thanks for that clarification. Yes, each Persona has its own Studio layout, and Studio Presets. I personally have not experienced issues with their functioning, but I very seldom have multiple monitors active, and have never used multiples on macOS.

And thanks for the additional info about Spaces, and moving apps between them. That will be useful to me at some point