Affinity Photo Public Beta - 1.5.0.39 (Windows)

[verysame]

Hi,

 

just a general feedback that the stability is greatly improved, I rarely encounter crashes now though I would not say it's production ready yet.

The macros in library still have "development" names, even after resetting macros. Also, resetting macros resets the studios too.

 

All the opposite here, I get more frequent crashes,one almost every time I close AP (it seems it happens mainly when I don't save the image).

But with all the crash log being sent back from my box, I hope they'll figure this out :)

[Tourmaline]

Re: Broken issues - the font family dropdown has been very slow since the first beta release.

 

The problem I think is the time taken to calculate all the font previews, for a number of reasons:

 

1. I have 4000+ font files on my system, many of which are complex fonts with a lot of vector paths.

2. If I change the "All" dropdown to "Recent" or "monospaced" the font name dropdown populates much more quickly, though there is still a slight lag.

 

Are the font previews cached or recalculated on each session?

If you have 4000 fonts in your Windows font folder then it will eat up quite a lot of RAM and slow down things considerably. Better use a tool like Extensis Fusion to activate just the fonts that you need during a job. It has also auto-activation of the fonts used in certain Adobe applications.

 

Never a good thing to have so much fonts in the Windows font folder!

[allcats]

Re: Broken issues - the font family dropdown has been very slow since the first beta release.

 

The problem I think is the time taken to calculate all the font previews, for a number of reasons:

 

1. I have 4000+ font files on my system, many of which are complex fonts with a lot of vector paths.

2. If I change the "All" dropdown to "Recent" or "monospaced" the font name dropdown populates much more quickly, though there is still a slight lag.

 

Are the font previews cached or recalculated on each session?

 

 

I'm also currently having this issue, it gets pretty bad to the point where I've had the program freeze constantly upon clicking of the Font dropdown. I do not have as many as 4000 fonts but probably below 500. If there's any way for me to provide a log file or something please let me know as I really like your work. Thanks!

 

Edit: Is there a way for me to redownload the previous beta version? I'm pretty sure I did not have this issue on the previous beta, would like to hop back on and try it as I cannot work with the freezing going on.

 

Edit #2: Just did a System Restore on my Windows machine back to when I was running 15.0.38(beta) and all my fonts load quickly and normally now. It seems like it was 0.39 that was causing the fonts issue?

[SrPx]

Edit #2: Just did a System Restore on my Windows machine back to when I was running 15.0.38(beta) and all my fonts load quickly and normally now. It seems like it was 0.39 that was causing the fonts issue?

 

 

 Good one with the system restore. But I seriously doubt it was due to .39 install... Could be, though.

Anyway, that's a tad of fonts. With less I've seen non too powerful machines to have issues with PS and Office, in the preview. In those cases I resorted to configure in the app a smaller preview size, listing as text only and instead, using an specific standalone tool to browse my fonts and decide about 4 or 5 suited for the project, then pick'em just by name in the list at the app.Another: just removing a lot that I'd never use, by even just temporarily storing them in some external folder. After all, Is not that I'd use those many fonts, and often, good quality fonts (technically speaking and using other criteria), there aren't so  many....

[SrPx]

In general many fonts do slow down apps.  I believe clearing the font cache might help, I remember having done that in several ways in the very old past. Deleting in windows folder a file called Fntcache.dat will help for that. With PS, you needed to delete another file, Adobefnt(something).lst  (the "something" part is variable, so you can use a search per strings, or whatever. Is a single file, to be deleted.)  Shouldn't break anything to delete those cache files, but just in case, be sure to save in a temp back-up folder outside Windows folder. And then, delete those files (the ps one not for AP, not needed, obviously).  

 

Also, can solve issues restarting the font cache service. For anything for Windows services, you need to bring the window  that handles services in Windows (in a basic way, there are way more complex tools) , by typing in "Run..."  at Start Menu the following :   Services.msc.  (or , optionally: Start Menu->Windows Settings->System tools->Services ) , and stop the service called Windows Font Cache Service , don't forget to start it after that !!! (I believe in some cases is safer than a mere "restart"), and then REBOOT the machine.

 

If stuff happens again, my advice would be trying things like this first, as might be inconvenient to do a restore only for a thing like this. If it goes wrong, you would have ensure a safe point, better if creating one, just before doing this try. And you could roll it back easily.

[allcats]

Hello, SrPx. I ran Adobe CS5 and 6 on the exact same machine without any (font related) issue for a couple of years, did not have any problems with earlier beta versions of Affinity Photo as well. Hence my suspicions that it might be 0.39 that was the culprit. After reading your post, I did realize that I haven't backed up my data for a long time. Going to do it before bed later, thanks for your time and advice.

[SrPx]

You're welcome :)

[Kathy_9]

I've been working with the Beta for 10 days now. I like ability to open RAW files.  

 

I note there is no Undo/Redo symbols in the Toolbar.  I dislike having to do CTL Z or clicking in Edit dropdown to undo actions.  Is this something which can be added?

 

Thanks.  

I'd like to add my voice to this request.

[Mark Ingram]

I'd like to add my voice to this request.

 

You can use the History panel instead. It's much more powerful than a simply undo / redo button.

[carl123]

You can use the History panel instead. It's much more powerful than a simply undo / redo button.

 

Yes it's much more powerful and a welcome addition but that simple undo / redo button is so much quicker and something we have all got used to over the years.  Removing it was like losing a life long friend.  At least consider giving us the option to add it back to the interface under customisation options.  

[SrPx]

Photoshop and many other professional software that high end don't have an undo button. Plus, in my experience, nothing, (and really, nothing is) is as fast as having ctrl+z set on your side button pen. Indeed, I change it when doing a task that requires constant undo and redo: With PS, I often switched to set in the 2 side buttons one for ctrl alt z, another for ctrl shift z  (go back and forward in history) . Like in PS, for many cases, the history panel is super useful, though IMO nothing beats the pen's side button.

[HEC404]

Yes it's much more powerful and a welcome addition but that simple undo / redo button is so much quicker and something we have all got used to over the years.  Removing it was like losing a life long friend.  At least consider giving us the option to add it back to the interface under customisation options.  

 

Most users on the other hand, especially (semi)professional users, work a lot faster by using keyboard shortcuts. To be honest, I know no one that doesn't use undo/redo shortcuts in favor of an interface button. The main reason is that it just works a lot faster to also use your keyboard. And in a world where time is money, working more efficient is key.

 

But, I could think of one valid reason to be able to use a button rather than a keyboard shortcut; a physical disability. If a person has no, or limited, functionality to his or her left/right hand, it could be a blessing to have a button in the interface. I do know one person that fits into that category, but she uses a pen with the undo/redo function under the buttons on the pen. Her mouse has multiple macro's attached to it as well, including undo/redo.

 

I think it would probably be a really good thing if you would start learning to use your keyboard as a part of your workflow. Once you've mastered it, you'll notice how much faster you can work. Win/win situation for you I'd say.

[HEC404]

Affinity Designer has some little shortcomings/incompatibilities in regards to Illustrator, but it does what it does so well (and sometimes better than Illustrator) that I've been able to make that switch in a heartbeat. I purchased it yesterday and I'm only keeping Illustrator for now to be backward compatible.

 

For Photo it's a bit more difficult. Not being able to import my actions (I have quite a few) from PS makes the transition a bit painful. having said that, I'll definitely purchase when Photo becomes available for Windows. Yes, I am that satisfied. And I'm sure that by then, the little slow-fonts-issue will have been resolved :)

What I do miss is the ability to import my PS actions, and I have quite a few. That's the most important thing for me to keep PS installed. Having said that, it won't prevent me from buying AP once it's available. Designer has some little shortcomings/incompatibilities in regards to Illustrator, but it does what it does so well that I've been able to make that switch easily.

[barnettgs]

White Balance picker issue

 

I have just downloaded Affinity Photo beta today and played with it. I see there was an issue with White Balance picker being not saved to layer.  But if I use slider manually, it is saved. But if I choose white balance picker, the photo showed change but as soon as I leave this tool or click elsewhere, it just resetted itself.

[TEcHNOpls]

Hi,

 

what's the estimate for next beta release?

[max tsukino]

Hi,

 

what's the estimate for next beta release?

 

i'm merely an user, but i'm 100% certain that the answer for this question (on Affinity Photo and every beta) is when it's ready...

[Mark Ingram]

i'm merely an user, but i'm 100% certain that the answer for this question (on Affinity Photo and every beta) is when it's ready...

 

Max is absolutely correct. However, there is a new build that is being tested internally for it's readiness right now. So assuming that's OK, it should be released today.

[Mark Ingram]

1.5.0.42 is now available.