Affinity Designer Customer Beta (1.5 - Beta 11)

[MattP]

Status: Beta Release

Purpose: New features, fixes

Requirements: Purchased Affinity Designer

Mac App Store: Not Submitted

Download: 1.5 Beta 11 Here

 

 

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PLEASE BE AWARE - If you have not already run Beta 9 or 10, this version will reset all your settings. If you have already run Beta 9 or 10 then it will not. Please make sure that if you have created any palettes, styles, assets, brushes, etc in the current beta that you export them in the current version first BEFORE installing this beta otherwise you will lose them. This was unfortunately necessary for the Beta 9 build and should hopefully not be required again.

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This is a beta of a substantial change to our codebase and as much as we have tried to ensure the quality of the code, it should be considered to be not suitable for production use. This means that you should not attempt to use it for commercial purposes or for any other activity that you may be adversely affected by the application failing. In addition it is definitely worth noting that files created in Affinity 1.5 cannot be opened in 1.4 so always make a copy of your important documents before opening them in 1.5 to ensure you do not accidentally overwrite them and are unable to open them in your 1.4 version.

 

To use this beta, simply download the file from the link given above and double-click on the file to open the installer. Follow the instructions to install the beta version. The beta sits alongside the Mac App Store version and will not interfere with it.

 

Fixes/Improvements:

• Hopefully resolved issues relating to document's reporting they are already open or have a restore file available
• Improved hit testing for text objects, plus clicking in text tools will now always prefer text objects when selecting
• Fix for text wrapping behaviour with unclosed frames
• PSD import/export improvements
• Improved performance for 32bit HDR document format
• Fixed raster painting on transformed pixel layers
• Re-enabled ability to export metadata in File->Export->More
• Assorted macOS Sierra visual fixes
• Added 'Paste FX' menu item
• Enter Node Tool after hitting the 'Convert to Curves' button
• Slice names now update when Artboard names change
• Document palettes are now available from the fill flyout
• Fix for export using incorrect aspect ratio if an artboard is selected and the size of the output is modified
• Fix for Pencil tool leaving artefacts if 'Use Fill' is selected
• HSL slider mode in the Colour Chooser now correctly updates the colour box to show the chosen Saturation level
• Vector export improvements relating to composites and PDF printers marks
• Fix for lines with square caps invalidating the wrong area and leaving trails on the screen
• Deleting a node in the Node Tool can now use the old method (by pressing Delete) or the new method that maintains shape by pressing Alt/Option + Delete
• Miscellaneous other small fixes

[krollian]

Hello!

 

I did not used any Beta version to print, but 1.4.2 version have an strange behavior when printing. Say I have 2 artboards and if I want to print the 2 pages, I have to delete one artboard to be able to print the second page.

[evtonic3]

 

Fixes/Improvements:

• Fix for text wrapping behaviour with unclosed frames

 

 

To what extent is Designer's Text Wrapping capable of?  I know its not like a publishing app's functionality right?

[evtonic3]

Also, I know the same line gets added in all the time with the new betas here, but will we ever know what you did when you post: "PSD import/export improvements". I seriously would like to know what you did, is it even worth mentioning without specifics?

 

THANKS!

[Dave Harris]

To what extent is Designer's Text Wrapping capable of?  I know its not like a publishing app's functionality right?

 

This change is about wrapping inside irregular text frames created via Layer > Convert to Text Frame.

[retrograde]

Cheers gang! I didn't know about that option+delete on the node feature... cool!

[krollian]

Retrograde:

 

I have a text document with all the trips & tricks that I am interested in and I read in this forum. I do not believe that even the creators of this apps could manage and know the 100% of the all the features available.

 

That's how all the the good apps work. Because of the all the options available. The key is that most of the diary routines have to be clear, intuitive and transparent. Is a real art of intentions, perspective, code and interface. And I imagine a lot of things more...

[retrograde]

Retrograde:

 

I have a text document with all the trips & tricks that I am interested in and I read in this forum. I do not believe that even the creators of this apps could manage and know the 100% of the all the features available.

 

That's how all the the good apps work. Because of the all the options available. The key is that most of the diary routines have to be clear, intuitive and transparent. Is a real art of intentions, perspective, code and interface. And I imagine a lot of things more...

krollian,

 

I agree, plus everyone has a different reason for using the app. I am mostly interested in illustration, not so much UI or layout type work so I gravitate to those features that tick the boxes I'm interested in...  The important thing I see and what makes Serif a little different than most, is that the guys and gals doing the hard work are listening to their users and creating something that ticks their boxes as well, creating something that is more than the sum of it's parts.  :)

[Zabrah]

On Beta 10 I just realised, that there is a problem with the guides manager. This problem only appears on Artboards created since the second one.

If I type a value, I get an other highly different negative value. If I delete the "-", I get the value I've typed before, but also negative. Its not possible to get the right value, except I create the guide with the rulers and my cursor, without the guide manager.

 

Since Beta 11 this problem does not appear on horizontal guides again, but still on vertical guides.

[krollian]

retrograde:

 

Totally agree with you!!!

 

I mean when I was writing about the interface I talked about the interface of the application. Not the possibility to design interfaces ;)

[anon1]

I hope everyone has realized that you can drag the opacity label to change the opacity of a layer  :P  :D 

apart from that I still wish the light grey parts here  get implemented but hm yeah everyone else has wishes as well  ;)

 

- ​the alt + delete of a node was certainly a quick and good fix!

- going through some fixes/ bug reports at the moment anyway huh?  :lol: cheers Patrick Connor

[A_B_C]

Hi Matt and everybody,

 

I love the new symbols …  :)

 

Well, but I have one question I cannot find an answer to myself. Suppose you create a complex object (group, layer) A, containing certain instances S_0 and S_1 of a symbol S as children. Now suppose further, you want to create another version of object A, call it B, within the same document. So you duplicate A to create B. Then the instances S_0 and S_1 of S will be duplicated to this new object B. And when you change one of the four instances of S, while Sync is active, all other instances will change as well. When you disable Sync on the other hand, only the active instance will change.

 

Now I wonder, if it is possible to detach (or unsync) the duplicates of S_0 and S_1 that belong to B from their originals that belong to A, while keeping these duplicates themselves in sync?

 

Practically spoken, when you create a duplicate of the heart shape A below which consists of two instances of a symbol S, is there a way to create a duplicate B of A, such that a change to the right side of the heart shape B will only affect the left side of B, while affecting neither the left nor the right side of A?  :unsure:

 

I don’t know, whether this is already possible, and if not, whether it would make sense to implement such a function. I can only imagine that a workflow which relies on creating object variants would benefit from the availability of such a function. It could work, for example, as an option “Duplicate symbols when duplicating instances,” but I admit this is not sufficiently well thought-out …  :unsure:

 

Hmm … 

Alex

[JackofDiamonds]

 

• Deleting a node in the Node Tool can now use the old method (by pressing Delete) or the new method that maintains shape by pressing Alt/Option + Delete

 

• The new pathfinding behavior of the Opt-Delete pleases me in ways that cannot be suitably expressed by a mature adult.

[Hokusai]

MattP,

 

Thanks for all the hard work. I know it is late (as it was probably added in the first or second 1.5 Beta when symbols were added) but I wanted to tell you that I like and appreciate the Symbol indicator in the Layers Panel. It is subtle but effective. It is a nice little touch. There are many nice little touches to be found in Designer. Things that make you say "Wow that is clever, and useful". I also appreciate having two ways to delete nodes and I greatly appreciate the fact that you left them both in for us to choose which one is best for us. I do have a few requests. Of course my number 1 request is the same as always:

 

1) Hide/Show All command with a shortcut so I can hide objects without having to go to the Layers Panel.

2). An "Unlock All" command and shortcut to go with the Lock command.  

3). My last request is for a preference to let me select which zooming behaviour that I want to use. I have been waiting for this since the scuzzy (not a typo) zoom first showed up. I can understand and appreciate that it is tough for you guys as some people like it, some "tolerate" it and others (like me) despise it. So for me, having a choice seems to be the best solution. The current way isn't ideal. Sure it works but not with all the tools and it seems clumsy. I'd love a preference so I can decide which one works best for me. 

4). Would it be possible to make it so that if I grab a colour swatch and drag it on to an object it would change the object to the colour of the swatch? I'd also like the reverse to be true. If I have an object, if I drag it to the Colour Palette, the colour of the object should be added to the Colour Palette. 

5). I have asked before but my question was never answered. Why is there a "Fill" command (and shortcut) in Photo but not in Designer? I know that there is a fill with nothing (which is awesome) and a fill with Black but why not just a "Fill" command that would fill an object with the last used fill (whether it be a colour or a fill of nothing)? I don't use the fill command in Photo as much as I would in Designer. It would save me so much time if there was a "fill with the last used colour" command and shortcut. 

 

I always download and "kick the tires" of the latest betas but, as I mentioned before, because of my dislike of the scrubby zoom I still use Affinity Designer 1.2.1 to get any real work done. I love all the new things that have been added and the program keeps getting better and better. I'd love to be able to use the newest features minus the scrubby zoom. Thanks for all the effort. I'm looking forward to seeing how the program develops.

 

Hokusai

 

[retrograde]

MattP,

 

Thanks for all the hard work. I know it is late (as it was probably added in the first or second 1.5 Beta when symbols were added) but I wanted to tell you that I like and appreciate the Symbol indicator in the Layers Panel. It is subtle but effective. It is a nice little touch. There are many nice little touches to be found in Designer. Things that make you say "Wow that is clever, and useful". I also appreciate having two ways to delete nodes and I greatly appreciate the fact that you left them both in for us to choose which one is best for us. I do have a few requests. Of course my number 1 request is the same as always:

 

1) Hide/Show All command with a shortcut so I can hide objects without having to go to the Layers Panel.

2). An "Unlock All" command and shortcut to go with the Lock command.  

3). My last request is for a preference to let me select which zooming behaviour that I want to use. I have been waiting for this since the scuzzy (not a typo) zoom first showed up. I can understand and appreciate that it is tough for you guys as some people like it, some "tolerate" it and others (like me) despise it. So for me, having a choice seems to be the best solution. The current way isn't ideal. Sure it works but not with all the tools and it seems clumsy. I'd love a preference so I can decide which one works best for me. 

4). Would it be possible to make it so that if I grab a colour swatch and drag it on to an object it would change the object to the colour of the swatch? I'd also like the reverse to be true. If I have an object, if I drag it to the Colour Palette, the colour of the object should be added to the Colour Palette. 

5). I have asked before but my question was never answered. Why is there a "Fill" command (and shortcut) in Photo but not in Designer? I know that there is a fill with nothing (which is awesome) and a fill with Black but why not just a "Fill" command that would fill an object with the last used fill (whether it be a colour or a fill of nothing)? I don't use the fill command in Photo as much as I would in Designer. It would save me so much time if there was a "fill with the last used colour" command and shortcut. 

 

I always download and "kick the tires" of the latest betas but, as I mentioned before, because of my dislike of the scrubby zoom I still use Affinity Designer 1.2.1 to get any real work done. I love all the new things that have been added and the program keeps getting better and better. I'd love to be able to use the newest features minus the scrubby zoom. Thanks for all the effort. I'm looking forward to seeing how the program develops.

 

Hokusai

Some nice requests Hokusai, I would also love a hide/unhide all and lock/unlock all either as a shortcut or a right click menu option, ideally as a preference. I also would prefer a preference on the zoom behaviour. It's currently also a little strange that in order to do a marquee zoom you have to invoke the "zoom out" key short space/command/option and drag... but I think this is either an unfinished behaviour or an oversight.

 

Good ideas on dragging either a colour swatch to an object or vice versa.

 

I noticed as well that command "d" does nothing in draw mode even though its listed in the draw mode shortcut as "deselect"... it works in pixel persona though, that as well seems unfinished or unaddressed to me.

[MattP]

MattP,

 

Thanks for all the hard work. I know it is late (as it was probably added in the first or second 1.5 Beta when symbols were added) but I wanted to tell you that I like and appreciate the Symbol indicator in the Layers Panel. It is subtle but effective. It is a nice little touch. There are many nice little touches to be found in Designer. Things that make you say "Wow that is clever, and useful". I also appreciate having two ways to delete nodes and I greatly appreciate the fact that you left them both in for us to choose which one is best for us. I do have a few requests. Of course my number 1 request is the same as always:

 

1) Hide/Show All command with a shortcut so I can hide objects without having to go to the Layers Panel.

2). An "Unlock All" command and shortcut to go with the Lock command.  

3). My last request is for a preference to let me select which zooming behaviour that I want to use. I have been waiting for this since the scuzzy (not a typo) zoom first showed up. I can understand and appreciate that it is tough for you guys as some people like it, some "tolerate" it and others (like me) despise it. So for me, having a choice seems to be the best solution. The current way isn't ideal. Sure it works but not with all the tools and it seems clumsy. I'd love a preference so I can decide which one works best for me. 

4). Would it be possible to make it so that if I grab a colour swatch and drag it on to an object it would change the object to the colour of the swatch? I'd also like the reverse to be true. If I have an object, if I drag it to the Colour Palette, the colour of the object should be added to the Colour Palette. 

5). I have asked before but my question was never answered. Why is there a "Fill" command (and shortcut) in Photo but not in Designer? I know that there is a fill with nothing (which is awesome) and a fill with Black but why not just a "Fill" command that would fill an object with the last used fill (whether it be a colour or a fill of nothing)? I don't use the fill command in Photo as much as I would in Designer. It would save me so much time if there was a "fill with the last used colour" command and shortcut. 

 

I always download and "kick the tires" of the latest betas but, as I mentioned before, because of my dislike of the scrubby zoom I still use Affinity Designer 1.2.1 to get any real work done. I love all the new things that have been added and the program keeps getting better and better. I'd love to be able to use the newest features minus the scrubby zoom. Thanks for all the effort. I'm looking forward to seeing how the program develops.

 

Hokusai

Then I'll try my best to at least get an option for zoom preference in there :) Thanks again, Hokusai - and sorry that Hide/Show all is still missing... :(

[MattP]

Hi Matt and everybody,

 

I love the new symbols …  :)

 

Well, but I have one question I cannot find an answer to myself. Suppose you create a complex object (group, layer) A, containing certain instances S_0 and S_1 of a symbol S as children. Now suppose further, you want to create another version of object A, call it B, within the same document. So you duplicate A to create B. Then the instances S_0 and S_1 of S will be duplicated to this new object B. And when you change one of the four instances of S, while Sync is active, all other instances will change as well. When you disable Sync on the other hand, only the active instance will change.

 

Now I wonder, if it is possible to detach (or unsync) the duplicates of S_0 and S_1 that belong to B from their originals that belong to A, while keeping these duplicates themselves in sync?

 

Practically spoken, when you create a duplicate of the heart shape A below which consists of two instances of a symbol S, is there a way to create a duplicate B of A, such that a change to the right side of the heart shape B will only affect the left side of B, while affecting neither the left nor the right side of A?  :unsure:

 

I don’t know, whether this is already possible, and if not, whether it would make sense to implement such a function. I can only imagine that a workflow which relies on creating object variants would benefit from the availability of such a function. It could work, for example, as an option “Duplicate symbols when duplicating instances,” but I admit this is not sufficiently well thought-out …  :unsure:

 

Hmm … 

Alex

Hi Alex,

 

I don't think it's possible to achieve what you're after with the current features - I think you'd need the additional 'duplicate' option you mentioned... I'll have to have a think about it...

 

Thanks my friend!

Matt

[A_B_C]

Hi Matt,

 

well, I had an idea … what would happen if I copied my object to another document, and then back to the original one? Indeed, that works! It detaches the instances just in the way I want.

 

But … there is an issue that looks like a bug. Copying an object that contains instances of symbols to the target document does not copy the symbol to the symbol panel of that target document, though these instances remain synced and show up as “symbol” entries in the layer list of the target document. See my screen shot below. It shows the target document with the missing symbol.

 

Hmm …  :)

Alex

[R C-R]

Assorted questions & comments:

 

• MattP, the 'already open' bug does seem to be fixed. Thanks for that.

 

• What is/where do I find the "Document palette" with the fill flyout?

 

• Hokusai, I give up. What is "scuzzy zoom" mode?

 

• retrograde, Command+D deselects pixel selections (marching ants marquees). The Escape key deselects objects. This is how it has always worked, as far as I know.

[Wiredframe]

 

• PSD import/export improvements

 

 

I really hoped for editable text when I read this ^^  :wub:

[Dave Harris]

I really hoped for editable text when I read this ^^  :wub:

 

I doubt we'll even attempt editable text in PSD export until long after Publisher is released. It will take months to do, and that time would be taken from the Publisher budget, so Publisher would be delayed by (further) months. I'm sorry, but Publisher has been delayed enough already and we don't want it to be any later than it needs to be.

[Seneca]

I doubt we'll even attempt editable text in PSD export until long after Publisher is released. It will take months to do, and that time would be taken from the Publisher budget, so Publisher would be delayed by (further) months. I'm sorry, but Publisher has been delayed enough already and we don't want it to be any later than it needs to be.

 

We need Publisher ASAP, thanks.  :)

[Tekikou]

Guys, could you please fix the crash when adding a compound shape into a constrained group?  :(

[MattP]

Guys, could you please fix the crash when adding a compound shape into a constrained group?  :(

I will do! :)

[Hokusai]

Then I'll try my best to at least get an option for zoom preference in there :) Thanks again, Hokusai - and sorry that Hide/Show all is still missing... :(

MattP,

 

Thanks for the response and thanks for listening. Thanks as well for all the hard work! I would absolutely love a zooming preference, it would make my day. I am looking forward to the day when I download a new beta and I see a "Hide/Show All" command!

 

Hokusai