PSD and layer effects

[Zack Black]

Could someone please explain why layer effects don't save reliably with .psd files? Sometimes it works perfectly and I can re-open and edit them with no problem. Sometimes I re-open the .psd and the effect has been hard applied - ruining my work. How can I prevent this (other than abandoning the .psd file format)?

[Ldina]

@Zack Black PSD is Adobe's proprietary format that supports all Photoshop features. AfPhoto is Affinity's proprietary format that supports all AfPhoto features. PSD does not support all Affinity features, and likewise, AfPhoto does not support all PSD features. Some features are mutually interchangeable and those features usually translate from one file format to another. PSD, for example, doesn't handle some AfPhoto features, like Live Filters or some FX. So, those features that don't translate from one proprietary format to the other, are either reconfigured (hopefully correctly) or ignored entirely. 

I no longer use PSD, so others may be better able to explain which features are safe to use in Affinity if your desired file format will be PSD. You could always rasterize your file first, then export to PSD, but you lose your layer structure. Perhaps better yet, Merge Visible and with that set as your top layer, hide your layers beneath to preserve them for future edits, then export only that Merged Pixel Layer to PSD. I'm sure there are probably better solutions, but I'll leave that to others to suggest.

[Zack Black]

I get that there are compatibility issues. What baffles me is that it's the same layer effect that sometimes works and sometimes doesn't when saving. It just seems to be random. I REALLY wish in cases like this there would be a warning that says "Hey you are about to save with destructive changes to layer X because reason Y". The real rub here is that as a developer using Unity, .psd files are supported as a readable graphics format - and AfPhoto files are not. I keep hoping that Affinity will update their software to support Unity. (as an example, Blender does the same thing but they have an importer for their file format so Unity can read them directly.)

[Ldina]

Perhaps if you upload a AfPhoto file that is giving you trouble when exported to PSD, someone can look at it, your layer structure, filters, masks, FX, etc, and suggest a solution. It's pretty difficult to offer meaningful suggestions or solutions (if possible) without an example file. Also, if you choose to upload a file, include a screenshot of your PSD export settings. 

[mopperle]

19 minutes ago, Zack Black said:

What baffles me is that it's the same layer effect that sometimes works and sometimes doesn't when saving. It just seems to be random.

so even better to post 2 examples, one where the layer works and one where the same layer doesnt work.