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[FORUM] We need separate sections for AP and AD


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Despite what others have said regarding the shared feature of two OS's I firmly think, and wish, that there could be some way of making clear which OS is being used in any post.

 

There is a way, if only people would use it! You can, and should, add topic tags when creating a new thread.

 

some of the 'advanced members' (and I'm not even sure what that indicates)

 

As on the vBulletin forums that Serif used before they created CommunityPlus, on these IP.Board forums you become an 'Advanced Member' automagically when you reach a certain post count. Unlike the vBulletin forums, where only a forum admin can change the designation, you can change your own here (as I have done).

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Affinity Designer/Photo/Publisher 2 for Windows • Windows 10 Home/Pro
Affinity Designer/Photo/Publisher 2 for iPad • iPadOS 17.4.1 (iPad 7th gen)

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As for people who do not arrive through the 'front door' not being aware of there being more than one forum there is the simple solution of the addition of "s" (Forums) indicating the existence more than one forum.

Maybe I am just being dense but I do not understand where you are saying "Forums" should appear or how it would help guide users unaware that there are different Affinity apps & versions for (so far) two different OS's to the correct forum.

 

As it is, every page has a "bread crumb" trail (like Affinity | Forum  → Affinity Support  → Questions & Feedback) near the top to indicate that there is more than one forum, but that is easy to overlook. If you are suggesting that changing the first part of that to "Affinity Forums  →" I doubt that would make much difference. If you mean something else, could you elaborate a bit more on that?

All 3 1.10.8, & all 3 V2.4.1 Mac apps; 2020 iMac 27"; 3.8GHz i7, Radeon Pro 5700, 32GB RAM; macOS 10.15.7
Affinity Photo 
1.10.8; Affinity Designer 1.108; & all 3 V2 apps for iPad; 6th Generation iPad 32 GB; Apple Pencil; iPadOS 15.7

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It's been what 27 months since AD 1.0 was released.  For the first year I found I was able to read every News and Information, Questions & Feedback, Feature Requests, Bugs, Beta Support entry and even peruse a few of the Learn and Share.  At that point I decided that either I would read all these issues or I would use the software.  There wasn't enough time to do both.  Now days I find I go a week or three without reading a single issue.  Then I scan down the list of New Content and pick a few that sound interesting.  I know I have missed some valuable information and have spent time struggling with something that someone else already posted the answer to.  I do almost all my time in AD, so unless I can tell the issue is about AD I won't spend the little time available selecting, opening, reading and reopening the New Content list.  

 

With even more applications coming the issue is going to get even more complicated.

 

Apparently the Moderators must be having the same problem we are, in early days most posts had input from a moderator or two.  Now many (most?) posts go without any input from a Moderator.  It seems that they would benefit the most of all if the forums could be segregated better.

 

The forums were a great tool for learning the Affinity software.  But now not nearly what it was.  Let's make the forums great again!  :P

iMac (27-inch, Late 2009) with macOS Sierra

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Shiver

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Patrick Connor
Serif Europe Ltd

"There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man. True nobility lies in being superior to your previous self."  W. L. Sheldon

 

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Ha! That is the first thing I thought of when I read "make the forums great again" ... & I believe it just about as much as I do for one as for the other. devil_smiley_059.gif

All 3 1.10.8, & all 3 V2.4.1 Mac apps; 2020 iMac 27"; 3.8GHz i7, Radeon Pro 5700, 32GB RAM; macOS 10.15.7
Affinity Photo 
1.10.8; Affinity Designer 1.108; & all 3 V2 apps for iPad; 6th Generation iPad 32 GB; Apple Pencil; iPadOS 15.7

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There is a way, if only people would use it! You can, and should, add topic tags when creating a new thread.

 

 

As on the vBulletin forums that Serif used before they created CommunityPlus, on these IP.Board forums you become an 'Advanced Member' automagically when you reach a certain post count. Unlike the vBulletin forums, where only a forum admin can change the designation, you can change your own here (as I have done).

As we both well know Alfred "what you can, and should do" is often very (obviously) different to what people will do, as others have said.

If there was some 'mandatory' box, where the OS had to be checked before a posting could be made, this would alleviate any possibility of an 'inconsiderate' disregard to state OS being used or tag.

 

Thank you for the clarification of how 'status' can be/is gained, solely on an automatically reached post count, irrespective of content.

I will refrain from commenting on the ability to 'self adjudicate', although your designation is well deserved ;) :).

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I will refrain from commenting on the ability to 'self adjudicate', although your designation is well deserved ;) :).

 

Just to be clear, I didn't 'self adjudicate' (or even 'elf adjudicate'): I simply changed the spelling of my designation. ^_^

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Affinity Designer/Photo/Publisher 2 for Windows • Windows 10 Home/Pro
Affinity Designer/Photo/Publisher 2 for iPad • iPadOS 17.4.1 (iPad 7th gen)

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Maybe I am just being dense but I do not understand where you are saying "Forums" should appear or how it would help guide users unaware that there are different Affinity apps & versions for (so far) two different OS's to the correct forum.

 

As it is, every page has a "bread crumb" trail (like Affinity | Forum  → Affinity Support  → Questions & Feedback) near the top to indicate that there is more than one forum, but that is easy to overlook. If you are suggesting that changing the first part of that to "Affinity Forums  →" I doubt that would make much difference. If you mean something else, could you elaborate a bit more on that?

I was not meaning to imply that you were being dense any more than I am sure you meant to imply that I was being.

Your post that I was replying to stated (copy/paste) "so they may not be aware that more than one forum exists", it did not mention guiding 'backdoor entrants' to different Affinity apps or versions, on different OSs, only that their method of entrance might leave them unaware of a 'multitude of forums' - which the addition of the plural "S" would (hopefully) bring to their attention.

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Just to be clear, I didn't 'self adjudicate' (or even 'elf adjudicate'): I simply changed the spelling of my designation. ^_^

OK, now on closer inspection, I discover yet another disadvantage of old age - that along with my failing memory and ability to keep-up with program, oh sorry, app development I also need to get new stronger glasses.

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If there was some 'mandatory' box, where the OS had to be checked before a posting could be made, this would alleviate any possibility of an 'inconsiderate' disregard to state OS being used or tag.

Something to consider about that is a lot of posts to the Questions & Feedback forum are not OS specific, or for that matter specific to either existing Affinity app. Very often, the topic is of the "how can I do this?" type, so users of either OS may be interested in it.

 

It also may be that the current site software does not have any provisions for mandatory tagging or the like, or it would be very difficult to add that without a major overhaul of the site.

 

Regardless, it seems to me that the number of topics where knowing the OS is important & that isn't obvious is actually decreasing; it just seems like it is increasing because the overall number of new topics started has mushroomed, mostly because the Windows retail versions are now available.

All 3 1.10.8, & all 3 V2.4.1 Mac apps; 2020 iMac 27"; 3.8GHz i7, Radeon Pro 5700, 32GB RAM; macOS 10.15.7
Affinity Photo 
1.10.8; Affinity Designer 1.108; & all 3 V2 apps for iPad; 6th Generation iPad 32 GB; Apple Pencil; iPadOS 15.7

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Something to consider about that is a lot of posts to the Questions & Feedback forum are not OS specific, or for that matter specific to either existing Affinity app. Very often, the topic is of the "how can I do this?" type, so users of either OS may be interested in it.

 

It also may be that the current site software does not have any provisions for mandatory tagging or the like, or it would be very difficult to add that without a major overhaul of the site.

 

Regardless, it seems to me that the number of topics where knowing the OS is important & that isn't obvious is actually decreasing; it just seems like it is increasing because the overall number of new topics started has mushroomed, mostly because the Windows retail versions are now available.

I now completely see and agree with your first point.

As to the second, who knows if it is possible, or if it were whether it would be deemed necessary to introduce.

 

There is no doubt that the increase is due to the release of the retail Windows version because Windows was the OS that was used by the loyal purchasers of Serif products over many years, when the more 'professional' Mac users did not have access to them, or even want it.

This Windows user base is a base that was, let it be admitted, not given the consideration that Mac was in the development of the Affinity apps, hence the increase in the number of topics started on the subject and the number of questions that still cannot be answered. Because of this lack of consideration of the Windows users many long time loyal member of the 'Serif Family' are left still having to have Legacy apps installed alongside Affinity, and maybe/possibly now feeling 'the poor relations'.

The previous is not meant to belittle in any way the hard work that the Serif developers put into the Affinity products, nor to lessen any my good wishes for Serif's continued success in their increasing inroads into the Mac market.

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I can't agree that Windows users were not given the same consideration as Mac users during the product development of the Affinity apps. You may not be aware of this but in the now no longer available Affinity Review #1 there was an interview with the head of Serif Labs in which it was explained that the Affinity line started as just a research project headed by Andy Somerfield, with the goal of creating a high performance memory management system capable of high-end photo editing, using an iPad with only 80MB of memory available to the app.

 

This was so successful that it eventually grew into the commercial development of the Affinity apps, but that required a "clean slate" approach & leaving all the old Serif code behind. Yes, Mac users got Designer first, but they also got an app with far fewer features & less refinement than the current version or anything Serif's Windows customers already had in the Plus range. In a sense, Mac users were guinea pigs, a test market for an unproven product.

All 3 1.10.8, & all 3 V2.4.1 Mac apps; 2020 iMac 27"; 3.8GHz i7, Radeon Pro 5700, 32GB RAM; macOS 10.15.7
Affinity Photo 
1.10.8; Affinity Designer 1.108; & all 3 V2 apps for iPad; 6th Generation iPad 32 GB; Apple Pencil; iPadOS 15.7

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Hi

 

I can't agree that Windows users were not given the same consideration as Mac users during the product development of the Affinity apps. You may not be aware of this but in the now no longer available Affinity Review #1 there was an interview with the head of Serif Labs in which it was explained that the Affinity line started as just a research project headed by Andy Somerfield, with the goal of creating a high performance memory management system capable of high-end photo editing, using an iPad with only 80MB of memory available to the app.

 

This was so successful that it eventually grew into the commercial development of the Affinity apps, but that required a "clean slate" approach & leaving all the old Serif code behind. Yes, Mac users got Designer first, but they also got an app with far fewer features & less refinement than the current version or anything Serif's Windows customers already had in the Plus range. In a sense, Mac users were guinea pigs, a test market for an unproven product.

Hi RC-R

To clarify what I meant by saying that Windows users were not given the same consideration as mac users let me explain.

I have used every Serif product since  the days when they were given away free as 'floppies' on magazine covers.

Like every one their programs (when they were called programs) these were for use on Windows OS and therefore Windows user were the mainstay of Serif's business and the source of their revenue. Obviously this included every issue of their photo programs, along with which they would (re)sell third part plug-ins, mainly but not exclusively Topaz. I was sold/purchased six of these less than a month before AffinityPhoto for Windows was released. Now though when trying to find out the suitability of all these previously purchased plug-in for use with Windows AffinityPhoto there is no information available and no indication of when it will be other than a vague "soon". There is a list though of plug-ins suitable for use with AffinityPhoto for Mac.

As Serif have been (re)selling plug-ins to their loyal customers for many years for use with their Window photo programs I feel that 'consideration' should have been given to this when/before they issued Windows Affinity, and a list of their suitability for use already prepared.

 

Whilst Mac users may have (initially) been guinea pigs it does appear that only their needs were taken into consideration and they now have two brilliant products that can compete with anything on the market, but Serif's loyal Windows customers who helped finance these apps are now having to slowly play catch-up.

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Slightly off-topic here, but the use of the word "Program(s)" here made my brain instantly go back to 1981 - whereby I was sitting at my dining table typing the following into my Sinclair ZX81 (with 16k Ram pack):

 

10 Print "Richard is Cool"

20 Goto 10

 

Excellent, PeanutsA - thank you for that memory :)

High-End Photographic Prints

 

 

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PeanutsA,

 

Regarding the PS plugins, for Mac users only recently has there been much support for them in Photo -- if I remember correctly the Topaz ones did not work at all until about the time we finally got v1.5. Worse, more than a few of the PS plugins crashed Photo, which is one of the reasons MEB started his unofficial list of what we could expect from the ones he was kind enough to test on his own Mac.

 

Another contributing factor is many of the dozens (hundreds?) of available PS plugins are OS specific, & more only work with Windows than only with Macs, so there are fewer to test for Macs than for Windows. Plus, since Affinity is an entirely new code base, there is nothing that can be applied from the plugin compatibility of the Serif Plus range to the Affinity range.

 

Basically, everybody is playing catch-up on this, including plugin developers.

All 3 1.10.8, & all 3 V2.4.1 Mac apps; 2020 iMac 27"; 3.8GHz i7, Radeon Pro 5700, 32GB RAM; macOS 10.15.7
Affinity Photo 
1.10.8; Affinity Designer 1.108; & all 3 V2 apps for iPad; 6th Generation iPad 32 GB; Apple Pencil; iPadOS 15.7

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10 Print "Richard is Cool"

20 Goto 10

Didn't you need a line feed or at least a space in there somewhere?  ;)

All 3 1.10.8, & all 3 V2.4.1 Mac apps; 2020 iMac 27"; 3.8GHz i7, Radeon Pro 5700, 32GB RAM; macOS 10.15.7
Affinity Photo 
1.10.8; Affinity Designer 1.108; & all 3 V2 apps for iPad; 6th Generation iPad 32 GB; Apple Pencil; iPadOS 15.7

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  • 11 months later...
Le 13/12/2016 à 23h34, Patrick Connor a déclaré:

............. Les postes existants prennent le temps pour se déplacer, ............ les déplacer dans les sous-forums que le temps permet. Réfléchissons à cela, ............

Bonsoir.

Peut-être pourriez vous faire appel à certains membres volontaires (de confiance) du forum, leur accorder un droit occasionnel de modération minimale.

Ils ont pour mission de déplacer les sujets.

Cette mesure pourrait faciliter votre travail, rendre plus léger.

Cordialement.

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On 2016-12-13 at 11:27 PM, Samoreen said:

Hi,

 

The Beta Support section has separate sections for Affinity Photo and Affinity Designer and the Mac and Windows version are also separated but strangely enough, it's not the case for the Affinity Support section. Things are becoming very confusing here since users are using the term Affinity for both products. We now have a Mac and a Windows version for each product and, at least for Affinity Photo, both versions are at this time different. Many posters do not specify whether they are posting about the Mac or the Windows version.

 

I vote for a new forum structure.

 

Anyone supporting this idea ?

Yes. Its confusing.

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