Affinity Photo2, Designers and Publisher 2 not launching

[MilJ]

I have only been a user of Affinity for 2 weeks and it was working fine until I decided to add the plugin for Topaz Photo AI.  I did what was suggested in their instructions by checking "Allow Unknown plugins to be used" in the Settings - Photoshop Plugins.  I could not see the Name Topaz Photo AI appear under the Detected Plugins, Name so I searched under by C drive User/....../AppData/Roaming/Affinity/Photo/2.0/Plugins and tried to point to this folder. I did this using the "Open Default Folder in Explorer" check box at the top of the Photoshop Plugins Settings area. This still did not show the Topaz plugin so I closed Affinity Photo 2 and then tried to reopen.  From then on, I have not been able to launch Photo2, Designer and Publisher 2. I have attached a photo of the message I get when trying to launch either of the 3 apps. 

I have uninstalled all 3 of the apps and reinstalled them but this has not helped.  I am not the most technical minded person so I need whatever help I can receive.

[NathanC]

Welcome to the forums @MilJ,

This issue can arise due to certain folders in the affinity local app data on your system being "hidden" which is preventing communication between the affinity apps. I would recommend following the instructions below to disable the "hidden" folder attribute: 
 
To find this folder, please open Windows Run (Windows Key + R), paste the following string and press OK: 
 
For MSIX installations:
%USERPROFILE% 
 
For EXE installations:
%APPDATA% 
 
In the Explorer dialog that opens, select the ".affinity" (MSIX) or "Affinity" (EXE) folder. If you can't see the folder, you may need to adjust your Windows Explorer settings to show hidden files/folders. 
 
Once it is visible, right-click on that folder and select Properties. In that dialog box, uncheck the "Hidden" option under the General tab and then click OK. You may see a “Confirm Attribute Changes” dialog box. Make sure Apply changes to this folder, subfolders, and files is checked here and then click OK again. 
 
-------

If “Hidden” was already unchecked for the folder, try checking the “Hidden” setting, press “Apply”, make sure “Apply changes to this folder, subfolders, and files” is checked and then press OK again. Once that’s done, repeat the above process one more time but this time uncheck the “Hidden” setting and apply the changes to all subfolders and files before trying to open Designer 2 again.

[MilJ]

On 2/7/2025 at 9:44 PM, NathanC said:

Welcome to the forums @MilJ,

This issue can arise due to certain folders in the affinity local app data on your system being "hidden" which is preventing communication between the affinity apps. I would recommend following the instructions below to disable the "hidden" folder attribute: 
 
To find this folder, please open Windows Run (Windows Key + R), paste the following string and press OK: 
 
For MSIX installations:
%USERPROFILE% 
 
For EXE installations:
%APPDATA% 
 
In the Explorer dialog that opens, select the ".affinity" (MSIX) or "Affinity" (EXE) folder. If you can't see the folder, you may need to adjust your Windows Explorer settings to show hidden files/folders. 
 
Once it is visible, right-click on that folder and select Properties. In that dialog box, uncheck the "Hidden" option under the General tab and then click OK. You may see a “Confirm Attribute Changes” dialog box. Make sure Apply changes to this folder, subfolders, and files is checked here and then click OK again. 
 
-------

If “Hidden” was already unchecked for the folder, try checking the “Hidden” setting, press “Apply”, make sure “Apply changes to this folder, subfolders, and files” is checked and then press OK again. Once that’s done, repeat the above process one more time but this time uncheck the “Hidden” setting and apply the changes to all subfolders and files before trying to open Designer 2 again.

Thank you NathanC.  I have now got my Affinity programs to work.  Not sure if you can help with this one but I am now not able to get the Affinity plugins to work in Filter Forge 12 or PaintShop Pro 2023.  Any ideas? 

[GarryP]

3 hours ago, MilJ said:

Not sure if you can help with this one but I am now not able to get the Affinity plugins to work in Filter Forge 12 or PaintShop Pro 2023.

It’s best (and requested by Serif) to keep questions about separate topics in separate threads so that there’s less ‘cross-talk’ between answers in a single thread. It also makes it easier for other people to find answers if they have a similar question.

Note: There are all kinds of "Affinity plugins" so it might be good if you can give the names and sources of the plug-ins that you are having trouble with so people have a better idea of what you are trying to do.

[MilJ]

Thank you GarryP  for your advice. 

I am a new user and also new to this forum.  I often have problems with reading and writing sometimes because of an issue, so when I get on a run, I find it hard to explain when I am trying to ask. My main issue is that I am trying to add plugins into Affinity Photo 2.  I have read the explanations of how to do this but unfortunately it does not happen for me.  I guess the main one I would like to add it Topaz Photo AI.  It looked so easy to do but I just cannot get the plugin to populate.  I have made sure that the "Allow Unknown plugins to be used" is checked, then restarted, but nothing happens.  I am using Windows 11, the latest Topaz Photo AI and the latest Affinity Photo 2.

[GarryP]

Thanks for the extra information.

Some people have reported problems with getting the Topaz Photo AI plug-in to install depending on the operating system, the Affinity Photo version, the plug-in version, and machine configuration.

Some plug-ins are not specifically designed to work with the Affinity applications, and those that are don't always work for everyone because they are usually designed primarily to work with Photoshop and Serif have little-to-no control over their development.

If you search these forums for topaz photo you will see various threads which mention this.

If you try looking at those threads you might find some information which is useful.

A moderator might split this thread to make the information easier for other people to find so don’t worry if this part of the discussion gets moved elsewhere.