Automate Affinity Designer?

[PeterPanino]

I need to automate Affinity Designer to execute the following batch process (in this order):

 

1. Load a specific SVG file

 

2. From Affinity Designer, print the loaded SVG file to a specific PDF printer to a specific location

 

3. Wait for the PDF file to be created

 

4. Load the created PDF file in Affinity Designer

 

5. Export the loaded PDF file to a specific SVG file in a specific location using a specific SVG export preset

 

Is this possible via command line or with a macro?

[gdenby]

No command line at present. There's been mention of a scripting language. No ETA

 

Out of curiosity, might I ask why you want to start w. an .svg, change it to a .pdf, and then back to an .svg? Seems like any variations introduced by the conversion process would just multiply until there were multiple files all w. slight but perhaps noticeable differences. 

[PeterPanino]

No command line at present. There's been mention of a scripting language. No ETA

 

Out of curiosity, might I ask why you want to start w. an .svg, change it to a .pdf, and then back to an .svg? Seems like any variations introduced by the conversion process would just multiply until there were multiple files all w. slight but perhaps noticeable differences. 

 

I expected this question. Printing an SVG from AD to a PDF printer driver eliminates all SVG transformations like e.g. clippings. I.e. the resulting PDF looks like it is displayed in AD but without using inherent transformations. This process is called "FLATTENING". At the end of the whole batch process, the result is a flattened SVG file which is not achievable directly in AD.

[gdenby]

I expected this question. Printing an SVG from AD to a PDF printer driver eliminates all SVG transformations like e.g. clippings. I.e. the resulting PDF looks like it is displayed in AD but without using inherent transformations. This process is called "FLATTENING". At the end of the whole batch process, the result is a flattened SVG file which is not achievable directly in AD.

 

Thanks for the explanation. I learned something new. Makes sense to do the operation.

[Alfred]

At the end of the whole batch process, the result is a flattened SVG file which is not achievable directly in AD.

 

Wouldn't it be better to have a 'Flatten' option for SVG export from AD?

[PeterPanino]

Wouldn't it be better to have a 'Flatten' option for SVG export from AD?

 

Sure, that would be much better.

 

PS: Don't confuse this with the SVG Export "SVG (flatten)" which is totally different:

 

 

This kind of "flattening" saves an encoded PIXEL IMAGE in the SVG code!

[Flacito]

First off, LOVE Affinity Designer.  LOVE IT.  I'm SO much more productive than with the Adobe tools.

 

Here's a use case / workflow for a command line utility (I'm a devops guy and use tools like GitLab to publish from source control to pages).

1. Use Affinity Designer to create original artwork
2. Check in AD file to source control (probably via Git)
3. Continuous Integration job kicks off
4. Job runs a new command line utility (on Linux) that converts the original AD file into another format (SVG, PNG, Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator as first candidates in that order)
5. If the Photoshop or Illustrator files are updated by older school Adobe users, they convert back to Affinity Designer if checked in

Further context:

1. A cross functional team works on a website
2. Graphic designers have older school Illustrator and Photoshop users that a minimum can import and export SVG. 
3. Later versions of command line utility would directly convert AD to Photoshop and Illustrator and vice versa.

Consider adding to ImageMagick instead of making a native Affinity thing.

 

Thanks!