My Assets Panel is totally blank, all gone

[Wellnifty]

Hoping that someone will be able to help me out on this. A bit long winded but I tried to explain everything that occurred. I use affinity designer & photo to make card fronts. I have lots of different assets panels with sub categories, which I use on both programs. I normally export and import them as I need them, with no problems.  I was using affinity photo 2.6 but I was still on the 2.5 version of designer, didn't get round to updating it. I had added  some graphics which I created using ai prompts to a page in designer, I added them to a sub category in my assets panel. I wanted to remove the background on one of the graphics, so I clicked on pixel persona in designer hoping to find the owl tool(Object selection tool) that was new in photo 2.6 but it wasn't there, so I opened affinity photo and put the graphic in there by opening a new page and dragging the graphic onto it from the assets panel. I played around with the tools trying to remove the background, but it wasn't very successful, so I was trying various things, using refine, which was refining too much, using cntrl z to undo things and trying again, swapping back to designer and and dragging off the image to see what it looked like in that. Then all of a sudden I realised that my assets panel was totally empty. Every one of them gone! I have no idea what I could have done to cause that. After clicking on a few things turning it off and on, still nothing, I closed both photo and designer and rebooted. Opened up both programs but still no assets panel. I updated designer hoping that would bring it back but nothing.  I have always made sure I back up things, so I had exported all my assets to a separate partition on one of my hard drives. I thought I'd try and import the assets again. I had exported them in the categories I set up. So I imported one to  designer and they all appear there with the link icon next to it. Worked fine, then I opened photo but they weren't there. So I went back to designer and right clicked to try and link them again, but the link category was dimmed out. I am at a loss now on what to do next. Can anyone tell me how to link them again as I have quite a few assets categories and sub categories to import into the programs again and what I could have done to wipe them all out, thanks for any help you can give. 

[Komatös]

Hello @Wellnifty and welcome to the forums.

Like many others, you have inadvertently downloaded and installed the MSIX installer version of the Affinity programmes.
Click on the Windows Start icon, select Apps
You should see two entries for each programme, each with a different installation date. Uninstall the version with the newer date.

Now download MSI/Exe versions. On the download pages, please click on the pointing downwards.
Select MSI/Exe. After installation you should now be able to access your assets again.

Download Affinity Photo 2.6

Download Affinity Designer 2.6

Download Affinity Publisher 2.6

[Wellnifty]

Hi Komatös, thanks for your reply.  I've just double checked in my downloads folder for the installation files that I used and they were both affinity-msi-2.6.0 exe files, I always use the msi exe files. I could try and uninstall photo and reinstall it as a test  to see what happens, unless you have any other ideas that I could try first, thanks

[SarahB]

All my assets have disappeared today too, they were there on Friday. I haven't made any change to Affinity software since then, although I did update my operating system over the weekend. I'm on Publisher V2.6, macOS Sequoia (I was on Ventura on Friday).

[Meliora spero]

I really hope you haven't lost your assets due to updates; that shouldn't be possible regardless of which installer you choose.

[Komatös]

13 hours ago, SarahB said:

All my assets have disappeared today too,

I am not yet familiar with MacOS, as I have only recently started using this platform.

 

6 hours ago, Meliora spero said:

that shouldn't be possible regardless of which installer you choose.

That's right! Depending on which installer version you use, shared directories are created.
MSI/Exe: %appdata%\affinity\common\2.0\user
MSIX: %userprofile%\.affinity\common\2.0\user

However, none of the additional content is deleted when the Affinity programmes are updated.

As a suggestion for the future:
I have got into the habit of backing up the directory 2.0 to an external storage drive after adding additional content. This saves time after reinstalling the OS.

You can find more information here:

 

 

[walt.farrell]

10 hours ago, Meliora spero said:

that shouldn't be possible regardless of which installer you choose.

If users have installed the MSI/EXE version on Windows, their user options/preferences and content (brushes, assets, etc.) are stored in a particular set of directories/files.

If they then install the MSIX version, which uses a different set of directories for the user options and content and then run the MSIX versions, they won't have the same set of options nor see the same content as they see when using the MSI/EXE versions. But they haven't truly "lost" anything as the data is all in the other directories, still. All they need to do is run the other version of the programs, which are also still installed.

But none of this applies to macOS users, as it's only for Windows. On macOS, the content is stored in a consistent location, though the options/preferences are in separate locations depending on where you installed the applications from.

[Wellnifty]

5 hours ago, Komatös said:

I am not yet familiar with MacOS, as I have only recently started using this platform.

 

That's right! Depending on which installer version you use, shared directories are created.
MSI/Exe: %appdata%\affinity\common\2.0\user
MSIX: %userprofile%\.affinity\common\2.0\user

However, none of the additional content is deleted when the Affinity programmes are updated.

As a suggestion for the future:
I have got into the habit of backing up the directory 2.0 to an external storage drive after adding additional content. This saves time after reinstalling the OS.

You can find more information here:

 

 

Thank you for all the info, I tried importing an asset exported backup file  that I had, and after shutting down my win 11 and restarting it was back with the link working. Rather than go through it all individually, I tried to find the file you were referring to  MSI/Exe: %appdata%\affinity\common\2.0\user but I think as I don't instal to the default folder I couldn't find it, but I did a search for it and found the folder in C:\Users\Chris\AppData\Roaming\Affinity\Common\2.0\user
which contained an assets propcol file backup, dated the date I lost them all. So I deleted the current file, renamed the backup one, shut down pc.  Don't know if I replaced the file correctly but it all worked once I opened photo and designer, I have everything back as it was, without having to import all the separate assets. So thank you so much for your help.

[PaulEC]

%appdata%\affinity\common\2.0\user   should take you to the same place as the other address you used, but you need to either enter it in the address box (not search) in File Explorer, or open the run box (Windows Key + R) and enter it there. If you just type  %appdata%  it takes you to the parent folder which contains the Affinity folder, along with app data folders for most of your other software.

[TinaT]

@walt.farrell I am on an iMac running Sonoma 14.7 and have experienced the loss of everything in my Designer asset library after updating to 2.6. I'm praying you have a suggestion for me as well.  I always install the updates when prompted, but it never gives me the options mentioned in this thread. I'm assuming that is only a Windows thing. Regardless, my assets are no longer there.  I'm all ears for suggestions.  Thank you so much.  Again, this happened after updating to 2.6.

[markw]

@TinaT Do you keep regular system backups like, Time Machine or via another similar app?
If so then you can easily retrieve a copy of your previous “full” Assets folder from before the last Affinity update that “shrunk” it.
This actually happened to me too with this latest Affinity update. No idea how it can happen, but it did.
Sometimes strange things happen with computers which is why everyone should keep regular system backups!
But an easy fix for me thanks to Time Machine.

[Meliora spero]

11 hours ago, walt.farrell said:

If users have installed the MSI/EXE version on Windows, their user options/preferences and content (brushes, assets, etc.) are stored in a particular set of directories/files.

If they then install the MSIX version, which uses a different set of directories for the user options and content and then run the MSIX versions, they won't have the same set of options nor see the same content as they see when using the MSI/EXE versions. But they haven't truly "lost" anything as the data is all in the other directories, still. All they need to do is run the other version of the programs, which are also still installed.

But none of this applies to macOS users, as it's only for Windows. On macOS, the content is stored in a consistent location, though the options/preferences are in separate locations depending on where you installed the applications from.

Try to listen carefully. I am well aware of the background. Anyone who has spent five minutes with engineers from the 1990s already knows this. But this scenario simply must not occur. It happens as a direct result of yet another one of Serif’s countless ill-conceived design choices and sudden changes. The architectural decision behind it is clear, but the crude situation that cuts users off from their own data is an absurd Serif invention and should never happen.

Data is effectively lost when customers can no longer access it without jumping through hoops. They are not supposed to suddenly grasp the difference between EXE and MSIX files or "just install the other one." Do you have any idea how many people lack this kind of technical knowledge? How many do not spend their lives lurking on forums or tinkering with operating systems like forum users do? How many simply encounter the problem and start over? This forum is like a Gollum-esque retreat into mental isolation.

Serif had ample opportunity to ensure data was stored in an intelligent, accessible way for both versions or to implement controlled installation mechanisms that accounted for this scenario. Yet, as usual, Serif shifts the burden onto users, either through workarounds or outright design failures. The MSIX chaos - completely unforeseen by the company - was a world-class demonstration of Serif’s chaotic and impulsive decision-making, utterly blind to its consequences.

So, yes, I am fully aware of the background, but this is a problem created by Serif, sustained by Serif, and guaranteed by the remarkably nerdy installation chaos on their website. 

Instead of churning out these predictable, robotic technical explanations, it would be far more appropriate for fanboys, loyalists, and Serif devotees to read, read, read about customers’ frustration - and take real steps to prevent this and other issues from happening again. That means initiative, empathy, professionalism, hiring usability experts, and finally stepping into the right side of the 21st century.

[TinaT]

@markw Thank you so much for your response.

YES! I do back up every day using Time Machine on an external hard drive. However, I have never had to use it to restore anything until now. I have no idea how to go about correcting/reloading from Time Machine. Do you have a resource you could share to walk me through it step by step, or perhaps you can recall the steps you took to restore your assets when you experienced this?  Of course, I respect your time, so if it isn't a quick share, I can try to poke around YouTube and say a prayer.  ; ) 

[walt.farrell]

11 hours ago, Meliora spero said:

They are not supposed to suddenly grasp the difference between EXE and MSIX files or "just install the other one." Do you have any idea how many people lack this kind of technical knowledge?

Users who have installed the MSI/EXE version have intentionally done so, as it is not the default option they are given. I will expect them to remember that choice, and to continue to make it in the future, and I do not think that expectation is unreasonable. And most non-technical users have no need of using the MSI/EXE, and will not have chosen to use it.

[markw]

@TinaT 

Here is the path* to the assets.propcol file you will need to replace with Time Machine on your Mac: /Users/your_user_name_here/Library/Group Containers/6LVTQB9699.com.seriflabs/v2/user/assets.propcol
*I bought all three apps direct from Serif, so I can’t say if this path is the same for people that have purchased the apps via the Mac App Store.
Steps:
1: Open a Finder window and navigate to the assets.propcol file you currently have. Open a Get Info window for the file and note it’s current MB size.
2: With the current assets.propcol file still selected enter Time Machine by clicking on it’s icon in the Menubar* at the top of your screen and selecting; ‘Enter Time Machine’.
*If you don’t have it’s icon showing in the Menubar by default you can go into System Settings first, find Time Machine and tick the box; ‘Show Time Machine in Menubar’.
3: Once in Time Machine you will see a 'Time Line' down the right hand side of the screen where you can choose a past point in time to go back to.
The small Arrow buttons just to the right of the Finder window will let you step back or forwards one backup at a time. Between these two buttons you will see a Date stamp which changes as you navigate through the backups.
Get as close to when the file was changed as possible.
4: With the assets.propcol file highlighted check it’s size via Get Info against the one you currently have. You will be looking for one probably considerably bigger*.
*(Mine before the 2.6 update changed it to only a few KB was and is again now 114MB).
5: Once you have located the original sized assets file you have two choices;
A: Click the button on screen saying ‘Restore’. This will restore the file directly to where the current one is. You will get a small info window asking if you want to; Keep Original, Keep Both or Replace. Click, ‘Replace’.
B: If you Right click on the target file in Time Machine you can choose to have the backup restored to a different location. Like for example your Desktop. You would then have to manually swap out the retrieved assets file with the current smaller one.

For more info on retrieving Files and Folders via Time Machine see here*: https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/mac-help/mh15136/mac
*At the top left of this page you can select your particular macOS version as details may differ depending OS version.

Hope you are successful in restoring your previous Assets and do ask if you have any further questions etc...

[SarahB]

@markw

This is incredibly helpful, thank you! I had to go back to a backup from November to get (some) assets to repopulate, choosing the assets.propcol files from earlier in March still meant my Assets in Publisher were blank, even though they were 1MB in size. So my assets are not completely up to date, but it's better than nothing.

The latest (empty) assets.propcol file was created on Friday afternoon, before I upgraded my OS, so it's nothing to do with that.

 

[TinaT]

@markw I cannot thank you enough for all of this. I have been out most of the day, so I will give this a go first thing in the morning. I truly appreciate you for all of this. I will certainly reach out if I hit a snag, but I am feeling very hopeful.

@SarahB I am relieved that you were able to repopulate your through your backups. Your success is giving me hope that all will be well.

Thanks again, Mark.

[Granddaddy]

It seems a bit unfair to blame users for problems caused by the confusing situation with Affinity on Windows. It is, after all, the responsibility of Affinity product managers to make their products easily usable by people who have neither the interest nor time to become technical computer gurus. 

The confusion began within minutes following the release of Affinity 2 in November 2022. It became obvious that a significant fraction of users could not even install Affinity 2 on machines that had been running Affinity 1 for many years.

It took about three months for Serif to begin to resolve the confusion caused by Affinity 2 on Windows. The technical support staff at Serif had never been trained to support the new product architecture, most likely because management did not recognize the implications of what they had done. As we see regularly in these forums, confusion still reigns.

Of all the hundred or so Windows applications  currently installed on my home computers, and the dozens of others I supported during my working years, not one has ever caused the installation and update problems that are common with Affinity.  

For those interested in the history of the Affinity MSIX turmoil, I started threads on the topic on November 14 and November 16, 2022, at
https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/172405-affinity-2-beta-testing-failures-stopped-users-cold-in-first-five-seconds
and at
https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/172819-justification-by-faith-in-microsoft-really-the-msimsix-kerfuffle/

 

[walt.farrell]

15 hours ago, Granddaddy said:

It seems a bit unfair to blame users for problems caused by the confusing situation with Affinity on Windows. 

If that was directed to me or my comments above, I am not blaming the users for the problems.

I am suggesting, though, that if a user chooses to use a particular installation method, that they should be able to remember to continue to use that same method. On the other hand, I was also (I think) one of the first users to complain to Serif that clicking Download during the update process for the MSI/EXE version should either perform the download automatically (without taking the user to a web page) or should take the user to a page that offers just the version they need. The current situation needs to be improved more than Serif has done thus far.

[R C-R]

6 hours ago, walt.farrell said:

On the other hand, I was also (I think) one of the first users to complain to Serif that clicking Download during the update process for the MSI/EXE version should either perform the download automatically (without taking the user to a web page) or should take the user to a page that offers just the version they need.

OK, but consider that some users might want to transition from the MSI to the MSIX version for better security or some other reason, so perhaps instead of automatically downloading either version, when the download is requested there should be a message advising users of the consequences of downloading the other version?

[Iltirtar]

I don't think users need to remember if they installed the MSI or the MSIX version. I also don't think they have to know the implications of installing one or the other. And I think that the fact that one or the other is the default changes nothing regarding this matter. Affinity has the ability to inform the users of important features and changes through documentation... if they wanted. But they don't want —the same they didn't want to inform about a document format change in 2.6.0 that makes it incompatible with previous versions. Affinity's «documentation» and «changelogs» are not proper documentation and changelogs (i.e. aimed to inform); they are just marketing tools.

Nevertheless, I have a question: can somebody here point to any other (professional) Windows program that has this MSI vs. MSIX controversy ongoing? I don't, and I use several since many years, so I reached the conclusion that something is very special about Affinity... But I might be wrong, of course.

[R C-R]

2 minutes ago, Iltirtar said:

I also don't think they have to know the implications of installing one or the other.

Why not? It is Microsoft  -- not Affinity -- that is promoting the new MSIX installer for two primary reasons; one that its sandbox increases security (an important consideration these says of increasingly capable malware), & because of its higher installation success rate.

As for pointing this out, there is FAQ about it & well as info about it on the installer download page. Surely the user needs to take at least some responsibility for knowing what implications there are for installing any software on their computers.

[PaulEC]

48 minutes ago, Iltirtar said:

I have a question: can somebody here point to any other (professional) Windows program that has this MSI vs. MSIX controversy ongoing? I don't, and I use several since many years, so I reached the conclusion that something is very special about Affinity... 

The thing is that originally v2 was only available as MSIX, it was due to requests from users that Serif also supplied the MSI/EXE versions of Affinity software. So, yes there is "something is very special about Affinity": they listen to customers (sometimes!) and give them a choice, whilst most other company's do not! 

MSIX is the default installer, preferred by Microsoft, but many users (including myself) prefer the older MSI/EXE installers. 

 

[Iltirtar]

50 minutes ago, PaulEC said:

The thing is that originally v2 was only available as MSIX, it was due to requests from users that Serif also supplied the MSI/EXE versions of Affinity software. So, yes there is "something is very special about Affinity": they listen to customers (sometimes!) and give them a choice, whilst most other company's do not!

Could be a valid argument. But I have another point of view on this: I use several professional applications, especially in the field of music production, but also in graphic design and document preparation. All of them, except Affinity, use MSI/EXE installers. Why? One option is that they know better what their customers' needs are. In that case, the special thing about Affinity would be that Serif doesn't know what their customers' preferences are —or maybe they do, but think users are mistaken— and later they have to rectify —not without generating some mess in the process. 

Trying to fix a problem is honorable; fixing a problem properly is diligent; preventing problems before they happen is professional.

[Iltirtar]

1 hour ago, R C-R said:

Why not? It is Microsoft  -- not Affinity -- that is promoting the new MSIX installer for two primary reasons; one that its sandbox increases security (an important consideration these says of increasingly capable malware), & because of its higher installation success rate.

Microsoft can promote whatever they want, but I'd say it is Serif's responsibility to make the appropriate choices in order to provide the best user experience. The fact is that most professional software uses MSI/EXE installers —at least to my knowledge.

 

1 hour ago, R C-R said:

As for pointing this out, there is FAQ about it & well as info about it on the installer download page. Surely the user needs to take at least some responsibility for knowing what implications there are for installing any software on their computers.

I totally agree with you. However, I think Affinity information is very incomplete in general. The notes in the download page advice to not to install a mixture of MSI and MSIX versions, but says nothing about potential problems of moving from MSI to MSIX or the other way around. I understand that the problem of missing data arises from the latter. Or am I wrong?

In any case, I still think that it is Serif's responsibility to anticipate these kind of technical problems, even if the cause is user error, and make the appropriate decisions to prevent them to happen. In this particular case, maybe they should have only one kind of installer, as most other companies seem to do so far. But even if they want to offer both MSI and MSIX, they could have a single installer for all three applications, so that you cannot mix them by mistake. And even better, they could check what you current version is, and warn you if you try to install the wrong one. This cannot be that difficult, right? But well, that's just my opinion.