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Serif Affinity Publisher - Any news ?


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Hi, i've bought, and i'm using Affinity Designer and Affinity Photo, and i'm using them every week with a lot of pleasure.

 

The Affinity DesignerWorkbook is really impressive too.

 

But, do you have any news about the Affinity Publisher software ? 

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P&LD is a joke. It may be dead-ware, like PP...but at least PP was fairly mature.

 

Look, there is Viva Designer and QXP for good, actively developed layout software. Quark still has their competitive upgrade running, I think.

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I have both Page Plus X9 and Xara Designer Pro.  Both are great programs.  I like Designer Pro because I can do both DTP and Web Design with it.  Since Serif dropped WebPlus this is also another good alternative.  But if your just wanting a DTP program while your waiting on AP than either of these programs will do.

 

http://www.xara.com/us/page-layout-designer/features/

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As mentioned in the other thread, I am an XDP user. I do not use it for web crap, nor is this thread about web crap. I do not like to use a fixed-layout web application, though I have been hired in the past to do web work with both XDP and WebPlus.

 

In any case, as regards real layout work, the alternatives are as I mentioned. And at the price of XDP--which is severely over-priced for what it is--one can get into QuarkXPress for but a few dollars more compared to a new license for XDP.

 

P&LD designer has not been updated since version 11 (current versions are the 365/12 versions)--and from threads about it on TG from Xara employees, it may not be. So it likely is a dead product.

 

Notable omissions in XDP as regards layout work are master pages, real running headers/footers, indexing, TOCs that truly work, page numbering limitations, OpenType feature support, linked images, start on right-hand pages, sections, etc., etc., etc. All of which are fairly important.

 

If one desires to do a brochure, which is technically layout work, use AD and ship the added cost of XDP. If one desires to do a book, even a simple book, use a word processor (such as LibreOffice) or a real layout application while awaiting APub...which, APub, will not be reasonably functional for years.

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Oh, so long ?

"Reasonably Functional" means something different for ever user, so don't sweat it Larsene … nobody knows what version 1.0 will do and won't do yet. Just wait and see and decide for yourself if it does what you need it to do when it's released.

 

Serif have stated that they certainly need time to catch up with other professional DTP software, but I am sure Publisher will do a lot of things right for a lot of people when it comes out.

 

Again: Wait and see, nobody knows anything at the moment, except that Publisher is being worked on feverishly and there's a chance it might go into Beta some time this year (no guarantee though).

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Jens,

 

You're right, of course. "Reasonably functional" does mean something different to most every use case. And that's all I am, a use case.
 
A little definition and clarification is in order, then. First, APub may well be usable for me for certain work where I have the luxury of decided what I use and what I turn back over to the client. This issue is the same with AD as well. I may well choose to use AD in whole or in part, deciding upon the task at hand and what I need to turn over at the end of the job, if anything. I used AD for a small series of ads before Christmas, for instance. None of the work was needed to turn back over to the clients. Else I would have needed to decide whether to do all or part in AD and port it to say AI to turn back in. I did some posters. Same deal.
 
And I suspect the same will apply to APub—I may well have some work I can do in it where I have control over what I turn back over and for which fits APub's capabilities. But that doesn't mean that even if I had the choice to use whatever I want to use that I could just turn to APub and do everything I create.
 
For APub to be of even moderate use to me, it will need to support running headers/footers and likely other document variables. It will have to handle tables elegantly and likely multi-page tables. And tables will have to be to have table styles for both the look of the table and the type contained within. And a cleaner approach to paragraph & character styles than is currently in AD. And a better color palette system.
 
APub will eventually need spanning of columns but would be nice soonest. Hyperlinks. Image captions and indexing and TOCs. And figure lists. It will have to have bleed indication, pages will need to be separated for inside bleed, paghes that can be rearranged to be beside each other, and master pages that work well. 
 
APub will need to support scripting and, it would be beyond nice if it supported a plug-in architecture. Smarter merging than mere "mail merge." It should support non-verbose tagged text and/or XML importing.
 
APub will need to do spotless PDF generation (which even AD as of yet is a hassle). It will need better import filters for EPS files coming in, and PDF pass-through is an absolute must (and which will not arrive in 1.0).
 
The above is not an exhaustive list. To me most (but not all) of the above are basic requirements for a so-called professional layout application. Like I mentioned, there will be some work I can probably use APub for through the iterations as it matures. But just the above will take some years to implement.
 
Mike
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  • 2 weeks later...

Reviving an old thread...

 

Due to the fact APub will be a bit & the fact that for more involved work it will not be as capable as some will want, Quark earlier in the week had made an offer to its closed Facebook group. I should have considered this post at that time, but was hesitant. Still am actually.

 

However, my desire to see people get out from monthly payments and or have a viable layout application until Serif releases and improves Affinity Publisher, I decided to post this anyway. And it is late as today is technically the last day of the Quark offer. Here it is...

 

You can purchase a 2 version back copy of QuarkXPress for 79 dollars OR Euros. So it is QXP version 2015.

 

There's a catch. This offer was made to participants of Quark's closed Facebook group. However, if you send me a Personal Message with your name & your email address before midnight tonight my time zone (midnight PST), you will be able to receive the offer. I'll collect the names and email addresses and they will be forwarded onto my contact at Quark and from there he and/or Quark will contact you.

 

Mike

 

 

capture-001269.png

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  • 3 weeks later...

Haven't been up here a lot lately (Hi Jens!)...but am still loving Designer and Photo. Working them into my Fusion, Natron and Blender workflows. Been trying of late to get more of my Motion Graphics on (Btw, if you save your Designer/Photo files out as layered PSD, Blackmagic Fusion will import them and you can animate the separate layers...just a tip ;) ).

 

Saw this thread and decided to jump in because sadly I bit the bullet and bought Quark a couple of months ago when QX2017 came out. Like many Affinity users, I understand that Serif is taking their time to get it right for version 1.0 (or even for a public beta, at this point) but could realistically see the likelihood increasing with the passage of time as it's been four years that I would either have to sell my soul and subscribe to *nD*s*gn's cloud version (right now, I'm still on CS6 for which a perpetual license was purchased), keep Freehand MX on life support for multipage layout, or purchase a perpetual license of Quark while waiting for APub. I love Freehand but--all things being equal--I can't use Freehand on my Macs without having to partition the drive for Snow Leopard and the current Pantone and OpenType support on FHMX, due again to the passage of time, are nonexistant. I do have licensed copies of the last two versions of PagePlus (X8 and X9), but neither of those will install natively on my Macs (they ARE kept around on my PC though, as Quark--without the purchase of some pricey plug-ins--will not do data/mail merges from CSV files as *nD*s*gn or PagePlus will. MikeW also mentioned Viva Designer...tried out their free version...from what I can tell, also a solid choice in terms of features and functionality.

 

I say that "sadly I bit the bullet" because I really wanted to wait for APub, but there are some things going on behind the scenes here where I may quickly need something with the most stability that can be had at the moment without selling my soul.

 

I'm using AD and APhoto alongside Quark at least until APub arrives and/or shakes out the bugs. Sorry guys, I tried.

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6 hours ago, Quarian said:

...as Quark--without the purchase of some pricey plug-ins--will not do data/mail merges from CSV files as *nD*s*gn or PagePlus will. ...

 

Yes, and Quark also removed XML import with version 10 (I have one client I still need that capabilitiy for which I leave Q9 installed. All others have been moved to using tagged text). It is possible XML in a new way will be reintroduced (and while stricter than ID in that one had to use a DTD, it was better than ID's XML support anyway).

 

As regard data merge, I suppose it depends on what one needs. I use Em Software's solution (XData) for several reasons (and it is spendy. And I use their tagged text as well versus Q's inbuilt tagged text support--both of which are superior to ID's). ID's data merge is like PP's, which is far too simplistic for my needs. However, JoLetter is similar to ID/PP's data merge with some important differences which makes it more flexible. JoLetter in both its regular and Pro versions are the least expensive options in Q. The regular is what I use (I'm on a PC and it is the only JoLetter option). I think the regular version is a bit over $100 USD.

 

But if your merge needs rise above what ID/PP is capable of, there's nothing quite like Em's solution.

 

While Patrick stated that AD will not get merging in the first AD version, I really hope that when they do introduce merging, that they don't simply replicate what PP had. It isn't flexible enough. They really ought to investigate how Em does it.

 

Mike

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Q's native tagged text is far less verbose than what ID requires. I output tagged text from Word documents even. Strips away all the dross of Word weirdness. All the books I do usually arrive as Word documents. 

 

As well, most of what comes to me from CMS systems and other data sources is tagged text.

 

For the Word documents I've lately been using a low-cost add-in versus the macro I wrote. Spits out tagged text the native Q tagged text import likes.

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14 minutes ago, Fixx said:

CS6 is just fine as long as you can stay with OS that supports it.

Not that you were replying to me...But yes, it is. 

 

Excepting when for a client I need to use a particular newer version. Then I rent for as long as I need the newer version which is typically a month, sometimes 2 months if it drags on. The cost to do so is built into the price I charge. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

I (like many) can't stand Ad*be bloat so -- having purchased ADesign and APhoto -- have been waiting for a year and a half or two years (whatever it's been since I discovered Affinity) for the Publisher. I respect Affinity must develop this according to their general business plan and to their standards. 

That being said, I feel I must make a leap to *something* within the next several months. As my product is books, I'm thinking of Vellum.

Just spotted > https://selfpublishingadvice.org/production-how-to-format-illustrated-ebooks-with-vellum/

Their site > https://vellum.pub

Any Vellum users browsing?

#AffinityFanForever

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  • 2 months later...

MikeW,

After following your posts, I have purchased Quark in Education version at a very good price. I have been a Ventura user for a very long time and PagePlus was my second choice, as far as Ventura is too old for some projects. Now, with QXP, for the first time in a very long time, I am perfectly at ease (I can't resist the InDesign interface). It's obvious that Affinity Publisher will need years to arrive close to the set of features QXP offers. Thank you very much for your suggestion.

Regards.

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15 minutes ago, eph said:

Just out of curiosity: which software was used for the layout of the 2 Workbooks? :3_grin:

 

Patrick Connor supplied the answer in this post a few months ago:

 

Alfred spacer.png
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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