Publisher Beta?

[SaucyWeeTart]

Hey,

 

I was just wondering when you guys think a Publisher Beta will be released, and how to sign up to it. I'd be very interested in doing just that.

 

I had a quick look through the forums and couldn't see anything related to that.

 

Thanks!

[anon1]

-

[SaucyWeeTart]

On ‎02‎/‎05‎/‎2017 at 10:13 AM, MBd said:

https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/9285-will-there-be-a-page-layout-program-comparable-to-indesign-or-quark/&page=3

https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/28123-affinity-publisher/&page=7

https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/25059-affinity-publisher/&page=11

 

cheers 

 

Thanks for that. So I take it that no Beta has been announced yet?

 

Ta!

[anon1]

-

[cmarshall]

When is Affinity Designer likely to be available? Beta and/or Full version?

[stokerg]

When is Affinity Designer likely to be available? Beta and/or Full version?

 

Affinity Designer is already available for both Mac and Windows.  

 

Affinity Publisher is still with the Devs at this stage and we currently don't have a release date for the Beta.

[SaucyWeeTart]

Affinity Designer is already available for both Mac and Windows.  

 

Affinity Publisher is still with the Devs at this stage and we currently don't have a release date for the Beta.

 

Hey dude,

 

So do you guys think that eligibility will be restricted to a certain amount of people? Or will it be free for anyone to trial?

[Alfred]

Hey dude,

 

So do you guys think that eligibility will be restricted to a certain amount of people? Or will it be free for anyone to trial?

 

I would expect it to be open to everyone. The whole point of having a public beta instead of just a private one is that you ensure exposure to a much wider range of hardware and OS configurations.

[stokerg]

Hey dude,

 

So do you guys think that eligibility will be restricted to a certain amount of people? Or will it be free for anyone to trial?

 

I suspect we will go the same route we did with Designer and Photo, which was an open Public Beta.  

[SaucyWeeTart]

Sweet, that would be nice  B)

[Tia Lapis]

Sweet, that would be nice  B)

 

If, a really big if, it arrives at all. Personally I don't believe that there is any Publisher at all at the moment, not even in pre alpha.

[MikeW]

If, a really big if, it arrives at all. Personally I don't believe that there is any Publisher at all at the moment, not even in pre alpha.

Which would mean one of two things that I can think of. One is you are effectively stating that Serif is flat out lying. Or perhaps you simply desire to manipulate Serif to in some way demonstrate that APub exists.

 

Either way that is pretty sad.

[SaucyWeeTart]

If, a really big if, it arrives at all. Personally I don't believe that there is any Publisher at all at the moment, not even in pre alpha.

 

Any evidence to suggest that it doesn't exist in any form? I'm tempted to think that you're only writing like that to prompt a response from Serif in some way.

[MikeDuf]

Having publisher or at least a way to import CSV files in designer to get the variables and automate certain task would make me and maybe my company switch from Adobe to Affinity.

 

Can't wait for it to happen. I prefer affinity's interface.

[R C-R]

I think part of the reason for the delay may come from a vicious circle effect: once it was announced that there would be a third app added to the suite, people started asking about all the features they hoped would be a part of it. As time wore on with no news about a firmer beta release date, that list got longer & more involved.

 

So it is possible the developers are feeling the pressure of those ever increasing expectations, worried that a beta that does not include most of those features, even in imperfect beta form, would be a such a disappointment that few people would be interested in beta testing it. Adding those features to the beta "to do" list increases the delay & around & around we go.

 

Another related reason may be the expectation that unlike three years ago, betas for the Mac & Windows versions will be released at about the same time. Trying to meet that expectation would also increase the delay.

 

The only way I see to end this is for them to release something, perhaps emphasizing that it is a very early beta meant only for testing the most basic features?

[MikeW]

...

The only way I see to end this is for them to release something, perhaps emphasizing that it is a very early beta meant only for testing the most basic features?

 

Dave Harris (I think) once stated that it would be released for beta once it is functional enough for some people. Whatever that actually means to Dave.

[Alfred]

Dave Harris (I think) once stated that it would be released for beta once it is functional enough for some people. Whatever that actually means to Dave.

 

"As with our other products, we tend to release when it has enough to be useful to someone, and that someone may not be you."

[IanSG]

The only way I see to end this is for them to release something, perhaps emphasizing that it is a very early beta meant only for testing the most basic features?

I don't think doing that as a public beta would work - people would completely ignore all the caveats and just generate bad publicity.  I've seen a *company run a beta test system where the testers pay for a test license!  This seems to work well - the product is later purchased at a discounted rate so there's no financial penalty, the testers are serious about their desire to see a marketable product, the testers, in effect, have a hot line to the developers, and the rest of the world can see that there's a product on its way. 

 

*I wasn't thinking of Microsoft, even though some people say they've been doing that for years ;)

[R C-R]

"As with our other products, we tend to release when it has enough to be useful to someone, and that someone may not be you."

While I agree with that in principle, because of the much longer than expected delay, I am not sure that approach remains the right one for the Publisher beta. They can tell people about its limited usefulness all they want but it is unlikely to be as remotely as effective in getting that point across as a very basic, minimally featured beta release would be.

 

I do realize that a lot of people will ignore any & all caveats about using betas, & there are several significant drawbacks with my suggestion to consider because of that, but I think it is a question of which is the lesser evil.

 

They will, of course, do whatever they think is best, & I do not have any problems with that.

[SaucyWeeTart]

So it is possible the developers are feeling the pressure of those ever increasing expectations, worried that a beta that does not include most of those features, even in imperfect beta form, would be a such a disappointment that few people would be interested in beta testing it. Adding those features to the beta "to do" list increases the delay & around & around we go.

 

I would certainly hope that they're not feeling too much pressure. The programs they have developed so far, and in that short a time, are bloody brilliant. I'm always a bit hesitant when posting in the 'Feature Requests' forums because I fear of exactly this.