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Posted

I'm wondering if either someone has a neat idea how I might do this, or indeed if there is a feature within Publisher 2 for what I want.

As a board and card game creator I go back and amends files, updating stats or creating new layouts on old cards as better design ideas come to me. What would be useful would be for me to be able to tag a note to a file that says something like 'You will have forget this when you look back at this file but you decided to merge the +1 and +2 terrain effect cards into a single '1d2 roll for strength' card.'

(Yes, that is a real example and I do sometimes leave myself notes like that.)

I suppose I could create a master page that is labelled Updates, or some such and write in there but is there a different way to do this?

Currently, I just archive the old file and put the date or a version number on the new one.

Happy to hear what ideas people have.

Thanks

Stephen 

 

Adventure Cards HMS Brutus and Moon Crash 2025.jpg

Posted (edited)

There was a repeated request for "Notes" - i.e. a specific layer that would not print with the document (or would, if the user wished), in which notes could be written and drawn. In your case, if you use APublisher, you could use a specific Master page (pages can have multiple Master pages assigned), in which you would have a Text frame for text notes. And ideally, give this Note master page the header "Don't forget to turn off/make invisible before printing!" 🙂.

image.png.0ccd1709e144fe84364b80661b5ef4d9.png

 

Edited by Pšenda

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Posted
34 minutes ago, Pšenda said:

There was a repeated request for "Notes" - i.e. a specific layer that would not print with the document (or would, if the user wished), in which notes could be written and drawn. In your case, if you use APublisher, you could use a specific Master page (pages can have multiple Master pages assigned), in which you would have a Text frame for text notes. And ideally, give this Note master page the header "Don't forget to turn off/make invisible before printing!" 🙂.

image.png.0ccd1709e144fe84364b80661b5ef4d9.png

 

Thank you, I will likely do that, also thanks for pointing out the missing period. This is what happens when I run amok and don't have my editor look over what I do!

  • Staff
Posted

It may or may not be what you want but you can right click any object in the layers panel and set a preflight comment.

Once set it will appear in the preflight panel.

By default comments are Errors (ie interrupt export) but you can change the profile for 'User Comment' to make them warnings.

 

Posted

I use various methods, for instance…

  • I prefer not to use a master page for this because it has to be manually brought to the front in the Layers panel and once I hide its contents in the Pages panel, my comments are hidden on all document pages.
  • If I need just a few notes in a document I simply place text frames with an obvious fill colour here or there on the layout pages.
     
  • When I continue within a document with new layouts or corrected content based on the existing, I add an extra page for notes with e.g. client's feedback and at least the current date. If page numbers are relevant I also create a new section which starting with page 1. (I add the 'note' page before the current page 1 and add any new layout pages accordingly before the 'note' page because I prefer scrolling backwards through the documents history with the newest pages at the beginning.
     
  • Another way is placing notes* in the pasteboard of certain pages, with an obvious fill colour on the gray pasteboard background. They are hidden in Preview mode. (* and other objects such as alternative images/text)
     
  • If I want to add notes more subtle and get them exported in a PDF, I type my comment in the bleed area. To ensure text in the bleed gets exported its frame needs to touch the page. If I want to avoid a client to read this comment I set the text colour to 0% opacity. It will be invisible in an exported PDF but may get selected and searched by a reader.

macOS 10.14.6 | MacBookPro Retina 15" | Eizo 27" | Affinity V1

Posted
26 minutes ago, Mark Daniel said:

By default comments are Errors (ie interrupt export) but you can change the profile for 'User Comment' to make them warnings.

It's a shame that the comment type - whether it's an error, warning, or just an informational note - cannot be set directly when setting up a comment. Common settings/categorization for all comments is not very handy and flexible.

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Posted
22 minutes ago, thomaso said:

I prefer not to use a master page for this because it has to be manually brought to the front

This only applies if you are inserting a note master page into a finished document. If you prepare/insert this page when designing the document, then you insert layers as needed (for example, even with Insert behind permanently enabled - it's a shame that this cannot be set as a permanent property of some layers).

26 minutes ago, thomaso said:

and once I hide its contents in the Pages panel, my comments are hidden on all document pages

This is exactly what I need - to turn off comments before printing/exporting with one click, and not to have to go through all the pages one by one, where things have strayed and don't belong in the design.

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Dell OptiPlex 7060, i5-8500 3.00 GHz, 16 GB, Intel UHD Graphics 630, Dell P2417H 1920 x 1080, Windows 11 Pro, Version 24H2, Build 26100.2605.
Dell Latitude E5570, i5-6440HQ 2.60 GHz, 8 GB, Intel HD Graphics 530, 1920 x 1080, Windows 11 Pro, Version 24H2, Build 26100.2605.
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Posted
47 minutes ago, Mark Daniel said:

change the profile for 'User Comment' to make them warnings.

I just noticed that a comment warning assigned to an object offers a "Fix" button, if this gets pressed the comment gets deleted from the document. – Is this the wanted behavior?

macOS 10.14.6 | MacBookPro Retina 15" | Eizo 27" | Affinity V1

Posted
16 hours ago, thomaso said:

if this gets pressed the comment gets deleted from the document. – Is this the wanted behavior?

The concept of "comments" is probably intended only as a single status warning/error (hence the global categorization of all comments, which is completely impractical because it does not allow for flexible setting of their importance), so when the comment is met (error is fixed), the comment becomes meaningless and can be removed. It's a shame, there was much more that could have been done with it. Thus the functionality and usability are considerably limited/single-purpose.

Affinity Store (MSI/EXE): Affinity Suite (ADe, APh, APu) 2.5.7.2948 (Retail)
Dell OptiPlex 7060, i5-8500 3.00 GHz, 16 GB, Intel UHD Graphics 630, Dell P2417H 1920 x 1080, Windows 11 Pro, Version 24H2, Build 26100.2605.
Dell Latitude E5570, i5-6440HQ 2.60 GHz, 8 GB, Intel HD Graphics 530, 1920 x 1080, Windows 11 Pro, Version 24H2, Build 26100.2605.
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Posted
On 1/22/2025 at 1:04 PM, Pšenda said:

to turn off comments before printing/exporting with one click, and not to have to go through all the pages one by one

Wouldn't "States" help with this?

You could give all comment layers a specific tag color or prefix and then turn them off/on with a simple State query

Posted
On 1/22/2025 at 5:22 PM, Mark Daniel said:

It may or may not be what you want but you can right click any object in the layers panel and set a preflight comment.

Once set it will appear in the preflight panel.

By default comments are Errors (ie interrupt export) but you can change the profile for 'User Comment' to make them warnings.

 

I had no idea that was an option, thanks.

Posted
On 1/22/2025 at 5:35 PM, thomaso said:

I use various methods, for instance…

  • I prefer not to use a master page for this because it has to be manually brought to the front in the Layers panel and once I hide its contents in the Pages panel, my comments are hidden on all document pages.
  • If I need just a few notes in a document I simply place text frames with an obvious fill colour here or there on the layout pages.
     
  • When I continue within a document with new layouts or corrected content based on the existing, I add an extra page for notes with e.g. client's feedback and at least the current date. If page numbers are relevant I also create a new section which starting with page 1. (I add the 'note' page before the current page 1 and add any new layout pages accordingly before the 'note' page because I prefer scrolling backwards through the documents history with the newest pages at the beginning.
     
  • Another way is placing notes* in the pasteboard of certain pages, with an obvious fill colour on the gray pasteboard background. They are hidden in Preview mode. (* and other objects such as alternative images/text)
     
  • If I want to add notes more subtle and get them exported in a PDF, I type my comment in the bleed area. To ensure text in the bleed gets exported its frame needs to touch the page. If I want to avoid a client to read this comment I set the text colour to 0% opacity. It will be invisible in an exported PDF but may get selected and searched by a reader.

Thanks Thomaso - your last point is almost secret spy level work! Also, I had never considered using the pasteboard as a place to leave anything. I always scrub it clean if I've left stuff. Interesting thoughts.

Posted
15 hours ago, prophet said:

Wouldn't "States" help with this?

Using notes and comments on a design should be as simple as possible - that's why specific note layers are often required for these purposes. Other alternative solutions always have some shortcomings, and they usually only complicate the design itself and the process of checking/correcting it. For me, therefore, the simplest and most clear is a specific master page, where I have all the notes and comments in one place, and I have more and easier control over them. Searching and filtering notes using search, statuses, keywords and colors is of course also possible, but I always find it too complicated and unreliable.

Affinity Store (MSI/EXE): Affinity Suite (ADe, APh, APu) 2.5.7.2948 (Retail)
Dell OptiPlex 7060, i5-8500 3.00 GHz, 16 GB, Intel UHD Graphics 630, Dell P2417H 1920 x 1080, Windows 11 Pro, Version 24H2, Build 26100.2605.
Dell Latitude E5570, i5-6440HQ 2.60 GHz, 8 GB, Intel HD Graphics 530, 1920 x 1080, Windows 11 Pro, Version 24H2, Build 26100.2605.
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Posted

A question about the 'pasteboard area' that someone mentioned. I've actively avoided leaving stray assets in that space as I wasn't sure if it could cause stability issues (software crashes often enough as it is). Is the area safe to actively use? It might work well for me when communicating with my editor if it is.

Posted
2 hours ago, Stephen - TGF said:

Is the area safe to actively use?

Not that it means much but I have not experienced any instability or other problems I could trace to using that.

But if it is important for you I suggest testing it on copies of a representative sample of your files.

All 3 1.10.8, & all 3 V2.5.7 Mac apps; 2020 iMac 27"; 3.8GHz i7, Radeon Pro 5700, 32GB RAM; macOS 10.15.7
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Posted
14 hours ago, Stephen - TGF said:

A question about the 'pasteboard area' that someone mentioned. I've actively avoided leaving stray assets in that space as I wasn't sure if it could cause stability issues (software crashes often enough as it is). Is the area safe to actively use? It might work well for me when communicating with my editor if it is.

What thoughts (facts, ideas, attributes) let you assume the pasteboard could be an unsafe area? The app itself uses the pasteboard for placing pages/spreads in APub and for artboards in AD (where artboards are optional). If I consider page, artboard or canvas as "just" a layout object with specific attributes (e.g. default white, margin, bleed, ruler position) placed at a certain coordinate in the huge (infinite?) pasteboard of a document then it appears logical that not the question "pasteboard or page" for an objects position may cause your experienced app crashes.

If the pasteboard would cause issues for Affinity its developers would simply limit the pasteboard area or even entirely avoid its existence and accessibility.

You can easily test an intensive use of the pasteboard simply by reducing the page dimensions of an existing document (with content, e.g. a copy of your book layout) but without scaling the layout objects (but 'anchor' them at the spine for instance). – You will notice that this change is executed immediately which points to a low demand for the app's memory and processor and appears more like a switch of display settings (e.g. like 'preview mode' or 'show bleed')

  Bildschirmfoto2025-01-28um11_47_14.jpg.8d07476f329d8ed17c59440f1d85f84e.jpg  Bildschirmfoto2025-01-28um11_44_46.jpg.cb987c4be455fc620a8cd9097aafca7a.jpg

Of course such a change isn't useful for a design project and creates chaos especially in the partially (vertically) hidden pasteboard areas. For normal pasteboard use those areas wouldn't get used but the right/left pasteboard only.

Interestingly reducing the page size this way seems to increase the document's file size: My sample .afpub (~850 pages in A4 size) with 188 MB file size gets saved with 203 MB if I reduce the page dimensions to 10% size (height 210 -> 21 mm), even a "Save As…" with new name produces this increased file size. If that .afpub gets its page size increased back to its initial A4 size then its file size immediately shrinks back to 188 MB. I suppose the increased file size is caused in this special case by multiple masks that are required to display the objects correctly with masks where they exceed their vertical pasteboard on their spreads.

macOS 10.14.6 | MacBookPro Retina 15" | Eizo 27" | Affinity V1

Posted
13 minutes ago, thomaso said:

What thoughts (facts, ideas, attributes) let you assume the pasteboard could be an unsafe area? The app itself uses the pasteboard for placing pages/spreads in APub and for artboards in AD (where artboards are optional). If I consider page, artboard or canvas as "just" a layout object with specific attributes (e.g. default white, margin, bleed, ruler position) placed at a certain coordinate in the huge (infinite?) pasteboard of a document then it appears logical that not the question "pasteboard or page" for an objects position may cause your experienced app crashes.

If the pasteboard would cause issues for Affinity its developers would simply limit the pasteboard area or even entirely avoid its existence and accessibility.

You can easily test an intensive use of the pasteboard simply by reducing the page dimensions of an existing document (with content, e.g. a copy of your book layout) but without scaling the layout objects (but 'anchor' them at the spine for instance). – You will notice that this change is executed immediately which points to a low demand for the app's memory and processor and appears more like a switch of display settings (e.g. like 'preview mode' or 'show bleed')

  Bildschirmfoto2025-01-28um11_47_14.jpg.8d07476f329d8ed17c59440f1d85f84e.jpg  Bildschirmfoto2025-01-28um11_44_46.jpg.cb987c4be455fc620a8cd9097aafca7a.jpg

Of course such a change isn't useful for a design project and creates chaos especially in the partially (vertically) hidden pasteboard areas. For normal pasteboard use those areas wouldn't get used but the right/left pasteboard only.

Interestingly reducing the page size this way seems to increase the document's file size: My sample .afpub (~850 pages in A4 size) with 188 MB file size gets saved with 203 MB if I reduce the page dimensions to 10% size (height 210 -> 21 mm), even a "Save As…" with new name produces this increased file size. If that .afpub gets its page size increased back to its initial A4 size then its file size immediately shrinks back to 188 MB. I suppose the increased file size is caused in this special case by multiple masks that are required to display the objects correctly with masks where they exceed their vertical pasteboard on their spreads.

Specifically you asked 'What thoughts (facts, ideas, attributes) let you assume the pasteboard could be an unsafe area?' the answer is simple, I have autism and one of the ways it manifests in me is a sense of doing things in the 'right way' and not stressing systems in a way they are not mean to be stressed. I press buttons on machines in a way I believe won't stress the springs, gently close the washing machine door (rather than slam it close as others in my family do) and so on. So it wasn't any facts, it was my internal processing that made me worried. AND as I had not come across anything that officially said 'Use the pasteboard as a zone for leaving assets' I had nothing to counter my internal processing.

Now you have, in a very logical way, explained that it can be freely used, I feel that I could try it out. If you were STAFF I would accept your words without hesitation. As it is, I can accept them, and I am grateful for them, but I am still hesitant.

I trust that makes sense.  

Posted
On 1/28/2025 at 2:03 PM, Stephen - TGF said:

AND as I had not come across anything that officially said 'Use the pasteboard as a zone for leaving assets'

If you search for "pasteboard" in the Affinity Help you will at least find a few results that mention the use of the pasteboard, e.g. how to show/hide its display. Although the Help doesn't literally express 'Use the pasteboard as a zone for leaving assets' it may indicate its/this use. Maybe it isn't literally mentioned because it's expected to be known that the pasteboard was developed for this use (otherwise there would not be a reason/need for its existence).

Maybe it helps to imagine the pasteboard as one of various items (aspects, attributes, properties) in the digital (virtual) world that may be 'unlimited' ('infinite'), opposite to attributes of the corresponding objects in the analog world ('real life') like paper/page size, table size, room size etc. for instance. This general difference may make it clear that the pasteboard in a digital document can 'behave' entirely differently than our physical experience of a 'pasteboard' in real life may make us suppose. (This reminds me to a thread some years ago about the maximum page size / max. number of pages / max. pasteboard size in Affinity which may be both an interesting and 'weird' idea not only for an autistic user.)

This site defines and describes "desktop publishing" and the early (!) "PageMaker" application (last century !) for instance with its "pasteboard":

Quote

The pasteboard

A pasteboard is a large blank area where you place text and graphical objects before arranging them neatly on the printable work area enclosed with margins.

https://knecnotes.co.ke/2022/12/14/desktop-publishing-dtp/

Bildschirmfoto2025-01-28um14_59_22.thumb.jpg.09deaa5da1e528057158cf244c3b7d8c.jpg

macOS 10.14.6 | MacBookPro Retina 15" | Eizo 27" | Affinity V1

Posted
On 1/28/2025 at 2:08 PM, thomaso said:

If you search for "pasteboard" in the Affinity Help you will at least find a few results that mention the use of the pasteboard, e.g. how to show/hide its display. Although the Help doesn't literally express 'Use the pasteboard as a zone for leaving assets' it may indicate its/this use. Maybe it isn't literally mentioned because it's expected to be known that the pasteboard was developed for this use (otherwise there would not be a reason/need for its existence).

Maybe it helps to imagine the pasteboard as one of various items (aspects, attributes, properties) in the digital (virtual) world that may be 'unlimited' ('infinite'), opposite to attributes of the corresponding objects in the analog world ('real life') like paper/page size, table size, room size etc. for instance. This general difference may make it clear that the pasteboard in a digital document can 'behave' entirely differently than our physical experience of a 'pasteboard' in real life may make us suppose. (This reminds me to a thread some years ago about the maximum page size / max. number of pages / max. pasteboard size in Affinity which may be both an interesting and 'weird' idea not only for an autistic user.)

This site defines and describes "desktop publishing" and the early (!) "PageMaker" application (last century !) for instance with its "pasteboard":

https://knecnotes.co.ke/2022/12/14/desktop-publishing-dtp/

Bildschirmfoto2025-01-28um14_59_22.thumb.jpg.09deaa5da1e528057158cf244c3b7d8c.jpg

@thomaso I very much appreciate your response. I actually used PageMaker 4 back in art college in 1991 but time has removed any remembrance of how it worked. 

Your explanation, and the links, have explained this perfectly and consider me now comfortable with the concept of a digital pasteboard. I can see it being very useful in my dealings with my editor where we trade files back and forth.

Again, thank you.

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