Affinity products for Linux

[SaulGoodman]

Affinity for Linux would be the best thing on LInux beside Blender. Affinity seems to care more about trends and less about community and I hope that will change soon. I am not sure why anyone is worshiping WIndows OS, what can you do there and you can't on Linux?

Now Affinity have studiolink, the next logical step for me is to bring this masterpiece on Linux. For the good of all mankind. 

[tills]

1 hour ago, SaulGoodman said:

I am not sure why anyone is worshiping WIndows OS, what can you do there and you can't on Linux?

Use Affinity 😜

[wonderings]

On 12/5/2020 at 11:59 AM, SaulGoodman said:

Affinity for Linux would be the best thing on LInux beside Blender. Affinity seems to care more about trends and less about community and I hope that will change soon. I am not sure why anyone is worshiping WIndows OS, what can you do there and you can't on Linux?

Now Affinity have studiolink, the next logical step for me is to bring this masterpiece on Linux. For the good of all mankind. 

Where do you get that Affinity is caring more about trends and less about the community? They are doing great things and improving their software regularly all still under V1. Many of the things they have added I assumed and wrongly predicted would be in the V2 paid release. To my surprise they are coming out in V1 or out already. They are definitely listening to the community... just not the Linux community. 

Not sure why everyone is so down on Windows these days. They have a spotty past and some bad releases but they have been doing quite well lately. Windows 7 was good, Windows 10 even better. It is not the doom and gloom, sky is falling, world is exploding as many seem to make out when referring to working in Windows. I prefer Mac myself, but use Win 10 regularly and find it a good user experience. 

[Rp2patilrahul]

Count me too… please, Linux version.

I will pay extra money for it

[raptor]

37 minutes ago, wonderings said:

Not sure why everyone is so down on Windows these days. They have a spotty past and some bad releases but they have been doing quite well lately. Windows 7 was good, Windows 10 even better. It is not the doom and gloom, sky is falling, world is exploding as many seem to make out when referring to working in Windows. I prefer Mac myself, but use Win 10 regularly and find it a good user experience. 

It is simple. Windows 10 is privacy and user control nightmare. Appart from 24/7 spying (and no, it is not "telemetry", it is just plain spying/surveillance), someone else (read MSFT) can remotely control anything on your computer, change or force some settings and updates, install, unistall whatever they want. You are no longer in control of your computer and your data. For some people this is unacceptable and they will not put up with that. Not sure why some people are surprised by this backlash or even mocking it.

Windows 7 was good. I agree with that. At least until they started with the "telemetry" updates.

[Renaud Denis]

Hello everyone.

I don't feel too much like reading the 56 pages of this thread, but count me in for Linux Support.

I've just fell in love with Affinity Designer and I'm gonna buy it. Would love to use it on Linux too.

+1

[nikolain95]

Please, count me in too.

Edit:

Oh no, don’t count me in, I am a little broke right now.

I am just happy to see Affinity products on Linux.

Edited December 23, 2020 by nikolain95
Remembered an important detail

[Yak28]

I was just going to purchase Affinity Publisher but since I've almost migrated to Linux, I'm disappointed that Serif has no plans to make a Linux version or better still, a platform independent web version. I guess I'll have to look elsewhere.

Case in point:

I needed professional PDF software for work but since Adobe Acrobat is not natively supported on Linux, I purchased Qoppa PDF Studio Professional which supports Linux and I've been using it happily for over 2 years now.

[zeknoss]

I currently own Designer, Photo and Publisher and would pay for an extra license if they released it for Linux.

My humble two cents on why it makes sense on publishing Affinity suite on Linux is:

1. Affinity's approach of being affordable, independent and the alternative to a number of competitors
2. Less strict, more trust-based approach on licensing (in my eyes, they are the CDPR of graphics design / manipulation software industry)
3. The huge lack of proper graphics design / manipulation softwares on Linux platform

How it could be done?

• Steam Store + Proton
• A little help with the guys who make Wine or WinApps, or even maybe some minimal collaboration

Yes, Linux usage is very minimal, but it's growing. Steam had a big role in it. Now is the time to invest into it.

Kind regards and happy new year!

[raptor]

On 12/25/2020 at 11:15 PM, zeknoss said:

• Steam Store + Proton

Please no another software tied to Steam. I appreciate what Valve is doing for Linux and I have bought a few games and a software from their store. But I still prefer a software that doesn't require regular online check. Standalone and independent (on any app store) programs are best.

[zeknoss]

56 minutes ago, raptor said:

Please no another software tied to Steam. I appreciate what Valve is doing for Linux and I have bought a few games and a software from their store. But I still prefer a software that doesn't require regular online check. Standalone and independent (on any app store) programs are best.

I can agree on this one. My only reason to bring up the Steam Store + Proton was to make the devs' lives a bit easier with some sort of corporate support, that's all.

[jtriangle]

5 hours ago, zeknoss said:

I can agree on this one. My only reason to bring up the Steam Store + Proton was to make the devs' lives a bit easier with some sort of corporate support, that's all.

I'd take it however they wanted to do it honestly.

Steam/proton is a decent enough platform, and, I'm more than willing to jump through any hoops that they decide are necessary (likely for anti-piracy reasons).

[SanJacobs]

Add me to the list. I would buy all of Affinity's software if it available on Linux, but I'm not buying it until it is. Because as long as I'm stuck on Windows, I might as well use Adobe software. I don't care much about price. Whoever gets a quality vector graphic software and After Effects alternative to Linux first gets my money. I despise Windows and want to get out of this train-wreck of an OS as fast as possible.

Nuke, the industry standard compositing software for film has been available on Linux for a long time. And when you talk to VFX industry-heads, that's what they'll tell you. Get used to Linux. It's stronger, more stable, more efficient, faster, more customizable, more secure, has better support offerings, as seen with Red Hat Enterprise Linux. For all industry applications it is the OS of choice.

I know design students with Macbooks may not be nerdy enough to want to use Affinity software on Linux on their own, but the industry-level people are. If Affinity wants to take it to Adobe, that's an easy way to beat them, and grab market-share where Adobe is completely missing out.

[SrPx]

Quote

Whoever gets a quality vector graphic software and After Effects

Have you tried Fusion 17 from BlackMagicDesign ? I've read some pros on the field saying they have been able to adapt to it...

[manumanu]

Hi, I bought Affinity Publisher in September and just get my new computer. I only run Linux Ubuntu 20.04 on it.

Is there at least a tutorial to use it with a virtual machine such as Wine in order to use the product ? Thanks

[walt.farrell]

7 hours ago, manumanu said:

Is there at least a tutorial to use it with a virtual machine such as Wine in order to use the product ?

Wine is not a virtual machine.

The Affinity applications should run (though probably slower) in a true virtual machine that is running a full installation of Windows. I don't recall seeing any reports of having the applications running under Windows emulators such as Wine, but I don't keep track of that closely.

[Isolus]

Count me in for Linux support too. I own Publisher, Designer and Photo. They are the only reason I still have an extra Mac. I would buy all three again for Linux and even pay in advance (like on Kickstarter or so).

[Pandorino]

I too would love to be able to work on Linux. Currenly I'd have to install Windows in a virtual machine but that's a complex solution that would steal power from a computer. A native linux solution or a solution working with WineHQ (or maybe Steam's Proton??) would be good as well. As long as Affinity works with WineHQ to maintain the compatibility layer.

[manumanu]

On 1/10/2021 at 7:17 AM, walt.farrell said:

Wine is not a virtual machine.

The Affinity applications should run (though probably slower) in a true virtual machine that is running a full installation of Windows. I don't recall seeing any reports of having the applications running under Windows emulators such as Wine, but I don't keep track of that closely.

Waow !  I´m so surprised there isn´t any solution for Linux  in 2021. Not even a tutorial 

For those who have a ¨real¨emulator : Do you know which one is the best in order to preserve ressource for this software please ? TY 

[Pandorino]

@manumanu the only option to date  is a virtual machine. Which means that you need to install windows inside Linux and run the affinity products inside that. Like a matrioska.

Also, Wine Is Not an Emulator (Wine's name is exactly this acronym 😉), it is a compatibility layer and currently doesn't work with the affinity software.

 

[Yak28]

OK, have you guys heard about VivaDesigner? It looks like a great alternative to Adobe Indesign, has been around for a while and has Linux versions!

https://www.viva.de/en/products/desktop-publishing/vivadesigner-desktop-version/download

They also have a free edition and a platform-independent web version.

 

[VanessaS]

OMG I wish I could use Affinity Photo on Linux. I'm not a developer, I'm just a photographer. I would pay even a higher price than I've payed for affinity on windows. Affinity is the only reason why I still use windows. I know there are options to edit images avaliable for Linux but none of them satisfy my needs. Affinity is the only true alternative to PS when it comes to my work, but unfortunately it keeps me stuck to windows. Not all people who use Linux are nerds or developers and no, we don't use Linux just to give a longer life to old computers. My computer is pretty new and powerful. 

[Snapseed]

4 hours ago, VanessaS said:

OMG I wish I could use Affinity Photo on Linux. I'm not a developer, I'm just a photographer. I would pay even a higher price than I've payed for affinity on windows. Affinity is the only reason why I still use windows. I know there are options to edit images avaliable for Linux but none of them satisfy my needs. Affinity is the only true alternative to PS when it comes to my work, but unfortunately it keeps me stuck to windows. Not all people who use Linux are nerds or developers and no, we don't use Linux just to give a longer life to old computers. My computer is pretty new and powerful. 
 

 There's no shortage of competent RAW editors for Linux, e.g. Darktable, Rawtherapee, Lightzone and Aftershot Pro.

The problem lies with the next step of image editors, i.e. Gimp 😮 and nothing else. If you dig a bit deeper though, there are some more useful options such as Pixeluvo (a Photoshop Elements equivalent that I like and use a lot) and Fotoxx (I think it is easier to use than the standard Gimp menu).

The professional PhotoLine works very well with Wine and certain versions of Photoshop, Photoshop Elements and Paintshop Pro can also work well with Wine. WineHQ is the place to go to find out what Windows software is compatible with Linux + Wine. For all I know, Serif's older PhotoPlus products might turn out to work well with Wine too but I haven't personally investigated that matter.

Finally, it is worth pointing out that Gimp itself can be civilised with the addition of the the PhotoGIMP patch for Gimp 2.10+ created by developer Diolinux that mimics the tool organisation and shortcuts of Adobe Photoshop. Just search online for Diolinux / PhotoGIMP.

 

[Snapseed]

On 1/10/2021 at 10:27 PM, Isolus said:

Count me in for Linux support too. I own Publisher, Designer and Photo. They are the only reason I still have an extra Mac. I would buy all three again for Linux and even pay in advance (like on Kickstarter or so).

Unfortunately, none of the good Affinity products are coming to Linux because of Linux's small market share that just makes it uneconomic to develop their three main products for all three PC operating systems. That might change if Linux's market share significantly grows though.

Until that happens, the Serif Affinity group is quite rightly working on other priorities such as recompiling their softwares so that they work well on ARM Apple Silicon Macs where there will be a guaranteed large user base to sell their products to.

[Snapseed]

On 1/10/2021 at 4:23 AM, manumanu said:

Hi, I bought Affinity Publisher in September and just get my new computer. I only run Linux Ubuntu 20.04 on it.

Is there at least a tutorial to use it with a virtual machine such as Wine in order to use the product ? Thanks

What you would have to do is install either the VMware or Virtual Box virtualisation software, then install a Windows operating system inside that virtualisation software and then install Affinity software on that virtual copy of Windows and go from there. Depending upon the age and specifications of the computer concerned, it could be resource intensive operation.

Just type in 'Run Windows on Linux' in the Youtube search box to get relevant tutorial results.