Affinity for Professionals - what is needed

[Designer_George]

Dear Affinity Team
First of all, I would like to thank the entire Team for the fantastic work you do creating software under the Afiinity brand. You provide tools for people who use your software to earn a living. There are a lot of people around the world who support Affinity. Many of them are professional in what these programs are created for. However, these programs are still far from professional level.
For example, Publisher is suitable for relatively convenient work, but it lacks a few very important functions. I am talking about the work of a professional who requires efficiency and certainty from the program, among other things. My suggestions result from many years of professional practice.
Publisher is basically used to create multi-page publications, so you need to make it easier to create them, not harder. Currently, many mechanisms seem to interfere with effective work and seriously disrupt workflow.

1. One Layer System (Publisher)
To be able to work there MUST be One Layer System - that is, leyers independent of pages. Which means, after adding the layer it appears in the entire flexible document - both on main and normal pages. The same after deleting it - disappearing from the entire document. The same applies to layer’s parameters - for example its color. In one place in the document on the page in example 128 I change the color of layer no. 2 to green and in the entire document layer no. 2 has the color green.
The sense and power of One Layer System comes out when designing multi-page publications. If I HAVE TO add the necessary layers every time I add a new page, my work becomes very inefficient. Another example, very common when designing large and complex documents. I have two layers with only prices. One layer is the prices in USD and the other is Euro. I want to prepare a PDF in USD, then I turn off the layer with prices in Euro and turn on in USD - simple and effective.
The current division into master and normal layers makes absolutely no sense and is very disruptive to effective work. I do not understand the point of Master layers at all. What are they for and what is their purpose? From my point of view, instead of making work easier - they make it much harder.

2. Working with tables (Publisher)
Publisher tables do a lot of what they should do. But they lack two important features when it comes to typesetting large publications.
2.1. Paste a specific range of cells from a spreadsheet directly into cells in a table in Publisher with a single copy-paste action.
I select a specific range of cells in the sheet (for example 5 rows and 4 columns), press copy, go to Affinty, select a range of 5 rows and 4 columns in the table and press paste. And I have all the selected rows and columns filled with the appropriate values copied from the sheet.
Currently, you have to paste each cell separately, which makes no sense at all. Of course, you can insert the entire sheet into a table in Publisher, but this is not always the optimal solution. For example, I have a document with dozens of tables and I need to update them. I have the current data in one sheet. To use the current solution, I would have to create dozens of new .xlsx files and then drag them to the appropriate tables. It is very easy to make a mistake and it is also necessary to divide the sheet. Many .xlsx files, many names, chaos and mess.
2.2. Linked tables (like frame text)
I create two tables, link them by clicking the small triangle on the right at the bottom like in frame text and click the next table. Then a new option appears in the table frame - changing its height. By reducing the height of the first table in the chain, its overflowing content flows into the second frame with the table.
Why is it needed? We have a price list consisting mainly of tables. Entire pages filled with tables. On each page there are, for example, 4 columns with tables. Content flows from the left table to the next one on its right side. In the document, a new chapter must be created at a specific place on the page. Tables ending a given chapter must end evenly at one height. In the current Affinity, this is a totally murderous battle. Please try...

The image at the end of the post explains what I mean.

3. Swatches (Photo, Designer, Publisher)
In current versions of programs, working with the Swatch palette is very difficult. Some functions in the programs do not work (such as adding a Swatch from the context menu), some are unintuitive. For example, it is very difficult to add the color of a selected object from the context menu. I click on an object, I want its fill color to be added to the Swatch palette as a global color, I choose "Add to Swatches - Fill Frfam As Global" from the context menu and nothing happens. So what is this function for? Did someone forget to program it? It sometimes works, but it works when it wants to, not when I want it to. A program trying to be a professional program cannot behave as it pleases.
In Photo, Designer, Publisher, colors on the Swatch palette should automatically have a name created that matches the color profile of the current document. Currently, the new color is called "Color 1" or "Global Color 1". Who needs a name that doesn't refer to anything and has no meaning? If someone wants to create a name like "pinkish cloud shade on a purple sky" they can change the default name - no problem.
In Publisher, the main way to add a new color should be the Swatch list. If I give a color to an object, this color should automatically appear on the Swatch list as a global color and have a name consistent with the color palette selected for the document (e.g. C10 M18 Y20 K0). Why is this so important? If the document has 300 pages and the red color is created separately on each page, changing it to another requires individual correction on each page in all places where it appears. If red appears 30,000 times in the entire document, then you have to perform 30,000 operations to change it. But that's not all. Because to make this change, you first have to search for this specific color in the entire document, and this may already be impossible - I know from experience.

4. Precise dimensions and position (Photo, Designer, Publisher)
The thickness of the outline, the dimensions of the object, the position of the object, the size of the artboard, etc. These data are displayed by the programs to one decimal place. You can enter values with greater precision, i.e. the side of the square can be 3.45 mm wide. And in fact it will be that wide. However, its dimension in the W field in the Transform tab will be displayed as 3 mm. Apart from strong magnification and visual inspection, the user has no way of knowing this value. This causes a lot of problems in precise design.

5. Trim function (Photo)
The Trim function is supposed to crop the image by default, removing margins in areas where there is nothing.
Generally, it works, but why doesn't it work when the image has a mask? For the Trim function to work, the image must be rasterized. But I would like to keep the mask for some reason. In addition, the algorithm should be able to detect an area without content even when there is a mask. The algorithm should perform the Rasterize & Trim operation for its needs. So everything is for the Trim function to work correctly.

 

Comment and express your opinion so that the Affinity Team knows what is necessary for work and what should be removed or improved from the programs.

[werfox]

Hi @Designer_George,

thank you for the detailed explanation of some functions APub should indeed have (global layers, better colour swatch handling and overflowing tables for me).

 

As for 3.:

13 hours ago, Designer_George said:

If red appears 30,000 times in the entire document, then you have to perform 30,000 operations to change it. But that's not all. Because to make this change, you first have to search for this specific color in the entire document, and this may already be impossible

I had to change the colour of a vector element embedded in a multipage document recently and was astonished by the ability to just Select -> Select Same -> Fill Colour
and voilá: all occurances on all pages got the new colour!
I don’t know if this was always possible in a multipage document, but this is really a very helpful functionality.

Nevertheless: colour swatches should get a name with the colour values of the according document colour profile automatically.

 

As for 4.: there is a setting for this:

 

 

Best regards

[Designer_George]

Hello @werfox

As for 3:
I know and use this function and it is really powerful. However, it is not the same as automatically created swatch. It may not be important for small projects like a leaflet (although in this case the speed and reliability of work is much greater) and that is probably why there is so little talk about it on the forum. People simply do not use APub to create large publications. Perhaps they use inDesign or QuartXPress (which is developing very strongly).

As for 4:
Thanks a lot for making me aware of this setting. I somehow missed this information in the instructions. The fourth point can therefore be considered solved. The ability to choose the precision of displaying information about dimensions up to 6 decimal places is amazing!

[Pšenda]

14 hours ago, Designer_George said:

I do not understand the point of Master layers at all.

I recommend getting familiar with the concept of Master Pages. Since it is the basic concept of creating multi-page documents with a uniform look, there is a lot of material on the Internet about it - for example, InDesign currently calls it Parent Pages:

 

14 hours ago, Designer_George said:

These data are displayed by the programs to one decimal place.

I recommend getting familiar with the basics of the application, such as its settings in preferences (Decimal Places for Unit Types)
https://affinity.help/publisher2/English.lproj/pages/Workspace/preferences.html

 

14 hours ago, Designer_George said:

For the Trim function to work, the image must be rasterized.

I recommend getting acquainted with the basic concept of Affinity, which is the non-destructiveness of the editing performed, which affects many functions of the applications. For many users it is a welcome and desirable concept, for many it is an unusual - and therefore rejected - concept.

[Designer_George]

Hello @Pšenda

Master Layers
Thank you very much for this material. It seems that I worded my sentence incorrectly. I understand the meaning of Master layers, I used them in InDesign for many years. I can't imagine a professional Desktop Publishing and Page Layuot software without this function properly implemented. I should write that I do not understand the solution of Master layers implemented in Publisher.

Precision of dimension display
I already know that in Affinity you can set the required precision of dimension display.

Trim Function
As for the trim function itself, I'm right. Maybe it should simply be called differently - Trim Canvas. I often use photos with the background removed using a mask. I don't aply the mask in order to be able to edit it later. However, I would like the photo to have the same dimensions as its visible part. This does not conflict with non-destructive editing.

[Jamie Miles]

Just joining Designer_George and others above that I find the Swatches panel somewhat opaque and difficult to use, across all the apps. Here are some suggestions:

• Add a "Delete all unused swatches" command.
• Allow user to display swatches in the color format of their choice. For example, when using the default "Colors" palette, I can only seem to view the list in HSL, which is not a common one for many print designers to use, as we strongly prefer CMYK values (or RGB values if designing for devices).
  • When hovering over the recent color swatches, display their CMYK values (or whichever color format/model the user currently has selected, see above).
• Add a default "paper" swatch, to intuitively imply "reversal" of ink to pure, blank paper. The only workaround I know for this is to manually set up a C0/M0/Y0/K0 swatch.
• If an item with color is selected on the canvas, and I use the "Add Global Color" command, pre-populate the dialogue box with the values of the selected item's colors. (This would echo, sort of, the "Add current color to palette and a global color" button.)
• If a user double-clicks a Global swatch, open up the Color Chooser dialogue to allow the use to edit the Global Color. (Seems the default on double-click not to to set a tint, a far less common activity.)
• Allow multiple swatches to be selected at once, to make mass deletion a lot faster. At least in Windows, this doesn't seem to be possible now.
• Add "New Swatch" and trash icons to panel.
• When one R-clicks a swatch, the contextual menu mentions "Delete Fill," even though the swatch could also be used as a stroke color. Maybe just say "Delete Swatch."
• I love the Create Palette from... commands. Super useful, and a lot less fussy than the Adobe interface for these ideas.
• Also love the Chords commands. Well done.

Thanks for making awesome software at prices we can afford. Here's hoping these suggestions help make it even better.

[Emilio R]

Hi 🙂 ! I'd also like to make some suggestions.

I'm from Spain and English isn't my native languaje. I opologize in advance for any error in my text. I'll try to make myself understood as best I can. 

My contribution:

AFINITY PUBLISHER

1. In the right-click drop-down menu, add an option to copy the effects added to an element/layer and paste them to another element/layer, as well as another option to delete them. I know all this can be done by dragging the "FX" icon, but it wouldn't hurt if it could also be done from the drop-down menu.

2. A supposed bug? When I draw an image frame rectangle and add a fill and stroke color, if I place an EPS file inside the frame, the fill color disappears (it becomes a transparent background) but the stroke and its color remain. I'm trying to reset the fill color manually, but even though I can choose a color using the corresponding window or picker, the frame color doesn't appear; it remains transparent. This is a problem that prevents me from working with image frames the way I think they should (like in InDesign).

3. When I export a document to PDF and select Include Printer's Marks > Include Page Information, non-English characters and other diacritical marks used in many languages are not represented correctly: they appear after their corresponding letter, above or below it, as they should. This is primarily an aesthetic issue, but I urge Serif Labs to investigate and resolve it.

4. I urge Serif Labs to add the option to add a parameter to the document to add an annotation area after the bleed, as Adobe InDesign has. Those of us who work for print shops often find this very useful for providing the printer with fold lines, ink and finish information, etc.

5. Add (to all Affinity applications) real support for working with 1-bit bitmap images (pure black and white). Adobe InDesign calls them "monochrome." Their nature and basic colors (black and white, nothing more) should be respected when they are placed or opened in the three Affinity applications. Currently, their colors are converted to composite values in CMYK or RGB depending on the document settings. I wish it were possible to work with this particular type of image the way it is in Adobe applications: for example, in InDesign, they are placed in the document with the "white" (background) transparent, and you can assign (if desired) a color to both the "black" and "white" parts (this can also be done in Illustrator). Working this way allows for many creative possibilities with this type of image.

6. I wish that when we open a document, it would immediately display the palette with the colors we are using in that document or have saved, just like Adobe InDesign does. I don't want to be critical, but I think the color management and use of these palettes in the application is overly confusing and unintuitive. I think it lacks immediacy when working with colors.

7. I would like Affinity Publisher to have an option to hide pages so they don't appear in exports. I would also like to see sections assigned a color and have this color displayed next to the page thumbnail in the "Pages" panel. I think this would greatly improve the experience when working with long documents such as catalogs, books, or magazines.

8. In the Pages panel, add the option to change the name that appears below the thumbnails (Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, etc.) to a custom name (for example: cover, credits, advertisement, etc.). The page number could still appear in a simple way as a simple number next to it (just an idea).

9. This time I might go too far 😂: If it weren't too complicated to implement, I would like to see, in addition to a tool for generating QR codes, a tool for generating barcodes or Data Matrix codes, which are commonly used on packaging for consumer products such as food, beauty products, books, and other publishing products, industrial products, etc. Codes such as EAN-8 and EAN-13, GS1 codes, ISBN-13, UPC-A, etc. Even if it were a simple implementation to generate and add them to Affinity Designer and Affinity Publisher, it would be more than enough for me. Adobe applications don't have this feature natively (if you want it, you have to resort to expensive third-party plugins), and incorporating it would be a plus that would differentiate Affinity software from the competition. It would be very useful because we almost always have to add a vector barcode when designing product packaging or a book cover, for example, and the client doesn't always provide us with such a code with the appropriate quality or resolution.

10. In addition to being able to create overprint colors (I personally don't like this method very much), I would like to see a new palette added where we can simply select whether an object and/or its border overprints regardless of its color, just as you can choose in Adobe applications. This (I think) seems more logical and straightforward, and would make things much easier for those of us working with designs that will be printed.

AFFINITY DESIGNER

I always have enormous difficulty selecting objects with the cursor in wireframe mode 🙁.

[Old Bruce]

2 hours ago, Emilio R said:

9. This time I might go too far 😂: If it weren't too complicated to implement, I would like to see, in addition to a tool for generating QR codes, a tool for generating barcodes or Data Matrix codes, which are commonly used on packaging for consumer products ...

I believe most people use barcode fonts for this.

Other than that I kind of agree with the other items, with the exception that #3 really sounds like a bug to me.

[carl123]

8 hours ago, Emilio R said:

2. A supposed bug? When I draw an image frame rectangle and add a fill and stroke color, if I place an EPS file inside the frame, the fill color disappears (it becomes a transparent background) but the stroke and its color remain. I'm trying to reset the fill color manually, but even though I can choose a color using the corresponding window or picker, the frame color doesn't appear; it remains transparent. This is a problem that prevents me from working with image frames the way I think they should (like in InDesign).

In the context menu for the Picture Frame make sure the icon called Clear Fill on Populate is not active

[Guest]

On 4/11/2025 at 10:25 AM, Designer_George said:

...a nd that is probably why there is so little talk about it on the forum. People simply do not use APub to create large publications. Perhaps they use inDesign or QuartXPress (which is developing very strongly).

That is why way back there was a lot of pushback on people demanding Global Layers (I think the topic died down) most people on here are not really full-fledged DTP people, and it flies over their head. But they still want to voice an opinion telling us we don't need Global Layers.. yeah for simple work, brochures that are not too long etc 🤣 I would NEVER do a magazine using AP.

 

PS: I think you were talking about Global Layers when you said Master.. which are obviously NOT the same.. something many people have a hard time understanding here.

 

Edited June 23 by ianstudio

[Designer_George]

13 hours ago, ianstudio said:

PS: I think you were talking about Global Layers when you said Master.. which are obviously NOT the same.. something many people have a hard time understanding here.

@ianstudio, thank you very much for your comments.

Yes, I meant Global Layers. This is a very serious mistake in my comment because it can cause unnecessary confusion for people who do not understand the subject.

It is thanks to Global Layers that you can paste elements with remembers layers, which is very much lacking in APub. Additionally, correctly implemented Master Pages in combination with Global Layers create a powerful tool without which professional creation of publications is impossible. If we lived in times when DTP software was just being created, such an error in operation could still be accepted. However, in the year 2025, it is not only a serious deficiency that excludes APub from professional applications but also indicates a great deal of ignorance or lack of knowledge of those responsible for designing APub.

I think that Affinity Suite has great potential to become a great software. It is already very easy to use, it has many interesting and convenient functionalities that the competition either does not have or has slightly worse implementation. However, it also has many serious gaps and shortcomings that make work very difficult.

[Guest]

However, in the year 2025, it is not only a serious deficiency that excludes APub from professional applications but also indicates a great deal of ignorance or lack of knowledge of those responsible for designing APub.

2 hours ago, Designer_George said:

However, in the year 2025, it is not only a serious deficiency that excludes APub from professional applications but also indicates a great deal of ignorance or lack of knowledge of those responsible for designing APub.

They first released Designer (2014) then Photo (2015). Publisher only in 2019. Publisher is based on Designer when it comes to layers, so as to keep their apps compatible between themselves and as it was likely easier that way. Difficult to imagine what their discussions might have been, but had they developed Publisher first they might have approached layers in the conventional tried and proven DTP way.

Now it may be very complex for them to add Global Layers. Unfortunately they never really communicate on here. They never addressed all the questions around that on here, just as they are not addressing the current PDF export issue (bug in version above 2.6.0 logged under AF-6599). That is how companies operate, they let people talk it out, often in circles and on the dark, to other users on Forums.. Apple and Google are masters at this kind of 'Let them eat Cake Crime against Humanity'.

Edited June 24 by ianstudio

[Ali]

@ianstudio Are you at all familiar with Serif as a company before they started developing their Affinity range? If not, then you may not be aware that their flagship title in the original Plus range was PagePlus, a DTP product (launched in 1991). I think it highly unlikely, therefore, that the addition of Publisher to the Affinity range was not thought about from the outset, in fact I am pretty sure that they said at the outset that there would be an Affinity Publisher, just not straightaway. Just for your information.

[Guest]

24 minutes ago, Ali said:

 I think it highly unlikely, therefore, that the addition of Publisher to the Affinity range was not thought about from the outset.

I try not to 'think in the place of others' 😇 In any case back to topic.. the lack of Global Layers is a real issue.

[Ali]

Wasn't just a thought. I said:

Quote

in fact I am pretty sure that they said at the outset that there would be an Affinity Publisher,

The only reason I can't share the forum discussions with you from that time is that it was a different forum back then, one that no longer exists. 

[Guest]

11 minutes ago, Ali said:

Wasn't just a thought. I said:

The only reason I can't share the forum discussions with you from that time is that it was a different forum back then, one that no longer exists. 

All that matters is the past few years to me since AP came out, and Affinity NEVER took the time to explain why they decided not to provide Global Layers, they let users on here debate it out Ad aeternam. For those who even understand why they are so important. They could have done press releases, blog entries, a podcast, who knows, they could have shared their process, explain if it were ever to come or not.. but no they prefer SILENCE. I accept it will never come. But I also know I only make fairly short  one-off layouts these days max 40 pages, more commonly 8-12. If I were to return to complex and regular issue layouts (Magazines, I've done a few) I would NEVER EVER use AP for that.

 

Edited June 24 by ianstudio

[Ali]

Quote

I accept it will never come.

Quote

I try not to 'think in the place of others' 😇 

🤣

Seroiusly, though, I do understand and appreciate your frustration and hope that what you want will be introduced at some point in the future. It wouldn't do Serif any harm to be just a bit more open about their future plans, even if they don't want to share a full road map. 😊

[Designer_George]

1 hour ago, Ali said:

Are you at all familiar with Serif as a company before they started developing their Affinity range? If not, then you may not be aware that their flagship title in the original Plus range was PagePlus, a DTP product (launched in 1991).

Many thanks @Ali for bringing this up. I had no idea Serif produced PagePlus. You can even still buy the X9 version. Therefore, ignorance can be ruled out as a reason for the lack of Global Layers in APub. However, it would be better for Serif if ignorance was the reason.

[Ali]

Quote

However, it would be better for Serif if ignorance was the reason.

This sort of comment won't help: it's merely inflammatory. It would be better if everyone just stuck to the facts.

The best thing that Serif could do is to stop the speculation by saying whether or not this is likely to be considered for a future version or not. Then those who see it as a deal-breaker could move on.

I was regularly using PagePlus X9 until quite recently: improvements in PDF output in Affinity have now allowed me to switch to Publisher.

[Designer_George]

13 minutes ago, Ali said:

This sort of comment won't help: it's merely inflammatory. It would be better if everyone just stuck to the facts.

Very valid point. However...

I didn't mean provocation but motivation. As I wrote in the first post, I am grateful to Affinity Team for creating their software. However, Affinity Team does not conduct honest communication with its customers, which, despite the best intentions, causes greater or lesser frustration. It is known that both Affinity Team and their customers are interested in this mainly to earn money. However, not informing their customers about the software development plans must cause frustration. After all, we invest our money in the development of Affinity, but not only money. We also invest our time helping Affinity improve their products. The fact that we live in strange times, instead of cooperation, force is starting to play a dominant role does not mean that I cannot pay attention to issues that are important to me and call them by their name - at least from my perspective.

Please note that we, the customers, are the real bosses of Affinity because we are the ones who pay them. Let's try to make this a fair and equitable arrangement that will be beneficial to both parties.

[Guest]

20 minutes ago, Ali said:

improvements in PDF output in Affinity have now allowed me to switch to Publisher.

Until this 😂
known bug post 2.6.0 logged under AF-6599

[Sam Neil]

I am sorry but Serif has been rather pathatic on the communication front and rather than coming up with childish memes - communicate with the users - Without them they have nothing. It is not politics - It is basics rules of any company! 

Very disappointed with Ash & his team - to have such a promising product and yet so bad at communicating and worst of all the silent treatments.

I would not be surprised if Canva wrap up Serif operations soon...

[Ali]

15 minutes ago, ianstudio said:

Until this 😂
known bug post 2.6.0 logged under AF-6599

That bug won't affect me, fortunately. 😜

[Designer_George]

I am sure that the Affinity Team employs people who have an idea of what properly functioning graphic software, including DTP, should look like - mainly discussed in this thread. There can be no doubt about it. They are certainly educated people who understand the current trend in design software. It is all the more surprising and worrying that there is no clear information about whether the important functionalities mentioned by many users will be added.

However, I also understand that if, for example, a message appeared that Global Layers would not be introduced in the near future, many customers would give up buying their software and use alternatives.

[Designer_George]

2 minutes ago, Ali said:

That bug won't affect me, fortunately.

Lucky 🙂