Affinity products for Linux

[Snapseed]

22 hours ago, FeWa said:

I really think it's a pity that Serif refuses to develop a Linux-version or even just making it work with wine.

But: Thanks to the answers above I tried VivaDesigner out now and I really think it is quiet an astonishing alternative!
I think I would even buy a copy - in the end we have to support companies that (still) develop native Linux software!

While I get that porting over the Affinity products isn't yet an economically viable option due to Linux's relatively small current market share, I don't think it is being unreasonable to ask the Serif Affinity team to have some initial informal discussions with the Codeweavers developers to see if it is possible to make the Affinity softwares run reasonably well with Crossover/Wine. The answer might still be 'No' but at least they will have tried.

The Windows-only PhotoScape image editor does work well with Wine so much so that there's now an Ubuntu Snap version. If, for example, Affinity Photo also came in a bundled Snap, then I would have already bought it and it would already be running on my desktop PC.

PS l should add that the PageStream desktop publishing software is also available for Linux. It has an old school interface a bit like Serif's own PagePlus software and l have not tried it out. 

[zer0aster]

I would love a Linux version of Affinity apps, or a version of Wine that could load them. I am far too technologically promiscuous to say I would commit to Linux, but if I could reduce my reliance on macOS/Windows it would be a step in the right direction.

But one of the reasons that this is so hard is that unlike with office document formats, there are really no standard formats for graphic source files. I know there are image file formats, but source file formats used by design applications are not readily transferable between suites. I guess a .psd file is as close as it gets, may be .svg for vectors, but certainly not much that is transferable for page layout. It amuses me that the reason we have fairly standard office file formats is actually the market dominance of Microsoft. On the face of it, very un-Linux. That Libreoffice and other office suites can hitch a ride (dare I say it?) on these ubiquitous formats means that Linux is now very viable, if these office apps are all you need. Not so graphic design. What chance Affinity file formats becoming open enough to be imported/exported by other software? Not great I guess.

Edited February 13, 2021 by zer0aster

[stingray21]

Graphic design is currently the main reason for my Windows partition. Inkscape/Gimp/Krita are pretty capable and good enough for many jobs, but Affinity running on Linux be amazing.

[Andylarc]

Hi, im linux-windows user, but i use windows mostly for desing, i'll be very happy if Affinity apps running on Linux

[wonderings]

On 2/13/2021 at 9:19 AM, zer0aster said:

I would love a Linux version of Affinity apps, or a version of Wine that could load them. I am far too technologically promiscuous to say I would commit to Linux, but if I could reduce my reliance on macOS/Windows it would be a step in the right direction.

But one of the reasons that this is so hard is that unlike with office document formats, there are really no standard formats for graphic source files. I know there are image file formats, but source file formats used by design applications are not readily transferable between suites. I guess a .psd file is as close as it gets, may be .svg for vectors, but certainly not much that is transferable for page layout. It amuses me that the reason we have fairly standard office file formats is actually the market dominance of Microsoft. On the face of it, very un-Linux. That Libreoffice and other office suites can hitch a ride (dare I say it?) on these ubiquitous formats means that Linux is now very viable, if these office apps are all you need. Not so graphic design. What chance Affinity file formats becoming open enough to be imported/exported by other software? Not great I guess.

I would say there is a standard and that is Adobe. For page layout the standard is Indesign, for vector Illustrator and photos Photoshop. The vast majority of creative professionals are using Adobe (at least for print and publishing). I do not think there is any perfect conversion even among Office programs. I know in Microsoft Office word files can open differently for me then someone who sent me the Word file, which is why I always ask for a PDF as I will then get a file that looks how they see it on their end. Sure some are better then others but I think as things get more complex so do the issues with a standard file format that will work  with multiple applications from different developers.  

[wout]

I'm now almost three years on Linux. I have no plans to move back to macOS, and certainly not to Windows. At the moment, I'm getting by with Glimpse for Photo editing and Gravit for vector graphics. Both for which I pay (£75/year for Gravit and $10/month for Glimpse). At the time, I also paid for Affinity Photo, Designer and Publisher, on both macOS and Windows. I really wouldn't mind paying for it again to get it on Linux. I would even pay for to get a working version of the apps on Wine.

I know Serif isn't keen on to releasing a Linux version. But a bit of support to get it working on Wine would be very welcome.

[Evangelos]

I am waiting Affinity 😍 for Linux 😍

[Jon1]

 I find it  a bit strange that Agriggio who is making ART ( a fork of Rawtherapee , with advanced local adjustment ) is doing all the job by developing the prog  himself, and porting it to Linux. He's getting help from Gaaned92 with porting it to Windows and Carmelo_DrRaw porting it to Mac ...

These guys is doing  a heck of a good job.....

 

https://bitbucket.org/agriggio/art/wiki/Home

https://discuss.pixls.us/t/art-new-releases/16500

[artjourney]

On 2/16/2021 at 2:05 PM, wout said:

I'm now almost three years on Linux. I have no plans to move back to macOS, and certainly not to Windows....

I started out with Windows, and switched to macOS, and now looking to switch to Linux for life. Haven't switch yet, but preparing and making plans to. I really like macOS but I have a feeling they will go evil in the future, so I’m jumping ship. Blender and Krita, two big apps for me and Linux supports it. Only Affinity is missing. Was hoping that I could use it via Wine or Crossover, but from what I'm reading on here it doesn't work.

Right now I got all three Affinity apps for macOS, but looks like I will have to get the Windows versions for 2.0 when it’s out and dual boot it. OR keep my macbook and use it for Affinity. Tough choice...

[Jorgen]

I switched completely from MacOS to Linux 2 years ago. My reason was, that the hardware becomes more and more buggy (for such expensive hardware);
(and more critical for me) the OS drops more and more open standards and try to engage a more strict proprietary ecosystem...
Me as developer and designer is important to have a system that is fast, secure and customizable.
But what I saw, that the quality of the OS becomes really bad after Steve Jobs dies - the new focus was only on mobile business (which brings the most profit for Apple);
so they only put effort into iOS, but not on MacOS    

I think this is the reason why they push their own silicon and will move iPadOS to Macs in near future.
This means, you have to install apps ONLY by app store which dictates the prices and can choose what apps will run on your Mac

I really love to use Linux as my daily friend. It is so much easier to use nowadays;
but the big players still did not migrate their tools to Linux (yet)

Hope Serif and Adobe migrate their tools soon - MacOS becomes more and more less important to the market (now 3rd place of OS market share) and Linux is growing fast also in private sector... 

[Renzatic]

I ran into a situation where I had to use GIMP today, and...

...oh GAWD!

[Seneca]

On 2/24/2021 at 9:35 AM, Jorgen said:

This means, you have to install apps ONLY by app store which dictates the prices and can choose what apps will run on your Mac

I've never heard such nonsense in my entire life.

This goes for your entire post.

[Jorgen]

52 minutes ago, Seneca said:

I've never heard such nonsense in my entire life.

This goes for your entire post.

They try several times to enforce the app store, same as Microsoft did. Both did not succeed in that practice. 

One point which make me think they will enforce it in future is:

1. They already added a notary service to signatures 3rd party apps (not coming from app store). This service costs money and only afterwards it is on list of trusted apps (otherwise you can't run it out of the box)

2. They want to make it more secure and save money, so bundle the desktop os with them mobile os (iOS)

 

Btw this is not nonsense this is the terrible future 😂

And please use next time more friendly words...

[Snapseed]

1 hour ago, Renzatic said:

I ran into a situation where I had to use GIMP today, and...

...oh GAWD!

You can understand why even today why some people prefer to use the old Adobe Photoshop CS2 + Wine rather than use Gimp (hence the logical desire for Affinity Photo).

That said, have you tried out any of Krita/Pixeluvo/PencilSheep/Fotoxx depending upon your requirements? All of those softwares are available either from the Ubuntu app store (the first three) or Synaptic Package Manager (the last one).

[Renzatic]

28 minutes ago, Snapseed said:

You can understand why even today why some people prefer to use the old Adobe Photoshop CS2 + Wine rather than use Gimp (hence the logical desire for Affinity Photo).

That said, have you tried out any of Krita/Pixeluvo/PencilSheep/Fotoxx depending upon your requirements? All of those softwares are available either from the Ubuntu app store (the first three) or Synaptic Package Manager (the last one).

I actually use and rather enjoy Krita, but it only supports 8 bits per channel. That's normally not a problem, but for those occasions when I start hammering the gaussian blurs on a vignetting spree, you'll see tons of color banding if you're working in a lower bit depth.

Krita gave me some pretty janky results. GIMP? Despite the fact that it claims to support 32-bit float, and despite me converting my image to such. it still had some pretty terrible color banding when I ran my layer through a blur. I ended up having to go back into Krita, and airbrush in my shadowing. It looked good, but it still took me about 10x as long.

It's moments like this when I really, really miss Photo.

[Bez Bezson]

Okay, so Serif aren't keen on giving us a dedicated Linux version, but lets see if we can get it Wine compatible.

If you go here;  https://appdb.winehq.org/  and create a login, then you can vote on what apps you want Wine fixed to work with.

Once you're logged in, search for Affinity and if you go into either of those there should be a 'vote' button. You have three votes, and you can give multiple votes to the same app if you want.

The more votes we can give Affinity, the more likely it is to get fixed for Wine.

[Renzatic]

Done for Photo. Though there doesn't seem to be an entry for any recent versions of Designer.

[Snapseed]

3 hours ago, Renzatic said:

I actually use and rather enjoy Krita, but it only supports 8 bits per channel. That's normally not a problem, but for those occasions when I start hammering the gaussian blurs on a vignetting spree, you'll see tons of color banding if you're working in a lower bit depth.

Krita gave me some pretty janky results. GIMP? Despite the fact that it claims to support 32-bit float, and despite me converting my image to such. it still had some pretty terrible color banding when I ran my layer through a blur. I ended up having to go back into Krita, and airbrush in my shadowing. It looked good, but it still took me about 10x as long.

It's moments like this when I really, really miss Photo.

In view of the issues that you've mentioned, I'd suggest looking at the krita-artists(dot)org website to if you can pick up any useful tips and good luck there.

For anyone who has no option but to use Gimp, then I suggest heading over to Youtube and the Davies Media Design channel where they have loads of free Gimp tutorial videos.

[Redsandro]

 

6 hours ago, Bez Bezson said:

Okay, so Serif aren't keen on giving us a dedicated Linux version, but lets see if we can get it Wine compatible.

If you go here;  https://appdb.winehq.org/  and create a login, then you can vote on what apps you want Wine fixed to work with.

Once you're logged in, search for Affinity and if you go into either of those there should be a 'vote' button. You have three votes, and you can give multiple votes to the same app if you want.

The more votes we can give Affinity, the more likely it is to get fixed for Wine.

Let's give this a try. Cast votes for the latest reported version. We only need 407 votes to be at the top of the list.

[bor]

Overall thinking, this is a shame, there is no really good software (beside Krita and Blender) that can produce print ready results.

I understand, linux users would love to have an open source alternative, and that Serif as a company need to make money, as they develop great apps, and neet it to get company running, and earn - this is perfectly fine.

I understand standpoint that *some* of Linux users whoes says that on that system souldn't be any paid software (or at least commercial in any form), in the end this is fully opened source envirioment (beside some examples like enterprise solutions etc.). Just look at problems with graphic card drivers, You need to install *proprietary * drivers alone in some distros, and on some this is just impossible to do, cause the open-source nature.

I also understand, that Serif is worried about small Linux userbase that would buy software on Linux, and that they cannot get back money and reources invested to port their software. And also that, there is so many Linux flavours, hardvare combinations etc. that would have negative influence on porting software. Just imagine situation when users buys software and it's laggy or evend to not run, on system just because there is some differencies in kernels/x-driver or something else.

But I cannot understand that *any* of big players on graphic design software companies field, cannot  at least try to make Linux users life easier, trough a ports or at least improve usage by helping Wine team.

Personally I think that would give only good PR, and first company that step inside Linux world, would be for first a pioneer, and for second *winner* on that field, which could be a perminent trend, an maybe which some time earn new userbase. I know many fellow indie gamedevs, working strongly in Linux space, and having only second partition with Windows for graphic workflow, and they would love to play around only on Linux.

And now Me, for most time I'm a proffesional graphic designer (working in this industry over 15 years), but in recent time as a hobby rather than a job, I'm building mobile apps and games, mostly working on them on Linux, and this would be perfect when i wasn't forced to reboot to second os every time when i need to modify or make new assets. So - yes, I would love to see Affinity software on Linux platform.

Sorry for a long post, but this is only my thinking about this case.

[zer0aster]

15 hours ago, Bez Bezson said:

Okay, so Serif aren't keen on giving us a dedicated Linux version, but lets see if we can get it Wine compatible.

If you go here;  https://appdb.winehq.org/  and create a login, then you can vote on what apps you want Wine fixed to work with.

Once you're logged in, search for Affinity and if you go into either of those there should be a 'vote' button. You have three votes, and you can give multiple votes to the same app if you want.

The more votes we can give Affinity, the more likely it is to get fixed for Wine.

Well it got my 3 votes. And I added an appeal for the whole suite.

And as to the discussion re App Stores and the way Apple is going... yes, macOS treats software from sources other than the Store with a load of suspicion. Security supposedly justifying this suspicion. Why then, if that were really the problem, would Linux not be riddled malicious software? And then I think, perhaps for the same reason it isn't riddled with an abundance of good graphics software ;-)

[gnx]

On 2/25/2021 at 6:57 PM, Bez Bezson said:

Okay, so Serif aren't keen on giving us a dedicated Linux version, but lets see if we can get it Wine compatible.

If you go here;  https://appdb.winehq.org/  and create a login, then you can vote on what apps you want Wine fixed to work with.

Once you're logged in, search for Affinity and if you go into either of those there should be a 'vote' button. You have three votes, and you can give multiple votes to the same app if you want.

The more votes we can give Affinity, the more likely it is to get fixed for Wine.

We are in the top 10 already 👍

Do you think this list has some kind of real impact?

[Renzatic]

2 hours ago, gnx said:

We are in the top 10 already 👍

Do you think this list has some kind of real impact?

At the very least, it'll help grab the Wine dev's attention. Whether they do anything about it or not is up in the air.

[msdobrescu]

Would you say Adobe is a major software developer in the graphics and design field?

In the last years, did you see some attempt to make it work reliably on the Wine side?

Lately, since Affinity Photo 1.9, could not even be installed with Wine, I expect it to never be fixed or maybe too late to matter.

Give up your hopes and find alternatives or stick to Windows/MacOS!

[emmanuel31]

i work on linux mint latest version.

If tomorow i can work with affinity product i take licence tomorrow.

We have figma for ux ui  but no realy good tool like photoshop or illustrator. krita or gimp doesn't have a good workflow.

You have a realy good oprtunity with linux user  in professionnal teams. we have big pc with nvidia card : my linux conf : gpu 12 cores, 48GO ram, rtx 3080. Today i have a subscription on adobe, and yuouir product are very good, why don't you go on linux market ?

i 'm ux ui Professional and web developper. i'm working for development only with linux and docker container, and always need to switch on windows to work for design.

Hope we can have a good solution soon .... and always stay on linux.