Affinity Publisher - Sneak Preview

[AT.HA]

Any news during winter/spring?

[Vaaish]

Will you be able to implement any from of IMDL import/export for Publisher? Like it or not, Adobe is industry standard and being able to convert their files is probably an essential feature. Back when Quark was still king, being able to pull open their files in Adobe made it much easier to switch.

http://wwwimages.adobe.com/content/dam/acom/en/devnet/indesign/sdk/cs6/idml/idml-specification.pdf

[Michelangelo_]

On 2/18/2018 at 7:25 PM, AtelierCunha said:

Any news during winter/spring?

 

we know that it will arrive by 2018, no other official information. They are developing software, there are many variables.

[Rick G]

40 minutes ago, Michelangelo_ said:

 

we know that it will arrive by 2018, no other official information. They are developing software, there are many variables.

They said summer of 2018 so that can be as late as September 20th. But if they run into issue and have to postpone, let's all take in in stride and with a good nature

 

I encourage them however to make sure it can import Pageplus files to save users a lot of work. I remember grumbling about having to reinstall Photoplus so I could export file and then bring them into Affinity Photo. 

[Hokusai]

2 hours ago, Rick G said:

I encourage them however to make sure it can import Pageplus files to save users a lot of work. I remember grumbling about having to reinstall Photoplus so I could export file and then bring them into Affinity Photo. 

Rick G,

 

I'm pretty sure that the developers have stated that they don't plan on Affinity Publisher having the ability to import PagePlus files other than if you export your PagePlus files as PDF files, then you'd be able to do it.

 

Hokusai

[SrPx]

They'd be automatically requested to add support - again- for all other legacy products in the full Affinity line. If there are technical issues to do that, as they explained -if I remember well- I'd be to think same issues would be to add that to APub.  Even if not the case, we are sure there were issues to do so for the other legacy products import into AP and AD.  Would I expect those users to not to complain seeing legacy is indeed supported in Apub for PP but wasn't for their specific legacy product ? Absolutely not, I'd be too naive to think so. So, it'd lead them to a huge global problem, IMO. Don't take me wrong, I'm since always a fan of flexible I/O options, as have used always a lot of apps simultaneously, been like this for ever. I just see these *huge* obstacles for the matter.

[Rick G]

43 minutes ago, SrPx said:

They'd be automatically requested to add support - again- for all other legacy products in the full Affinity line. If there are technical issues to do that, as they explained -if I remember well- I'd be to think same issues would be to add that to APub.  Even if not the case, we are sure there were issues to do so for the other legacy products import into AP and AD.  Would I expect those users to not to complain seeing legacy is indeed supported in Apub for PP but wasn't for their specific legacy product ? Absolutely not, I'd be too naive to think so. So, it'd lead them to a huge global problem, IMO. Don't take me wrong, I'm since always a fan of flexible I/O options, as have used always a lot of apps simultaneously, been like this for ever. I just see these *huge* obstacles for the matter.

Hmmm THey can provide import export for the proprietary Adobe PSD format but providing the same for their own product would be a "huge obstacle"?

All that is needed is to map the fields from one to the other. Will you have to rename layers back to what you want? (Carry that to any other imported fields

Probably

BUt you will be able to get your rewrite of War an Peace\ce into Publisher without retyping ...

[MikeW]

Rick, it doesn't matter what you or I think could or should be possible. Serif has said it isn't gonna happen.

 

And just how well does the psd import and export work anyway? I find it lacking myself. Or, EPS? 

 

In any case, keep PP for work that is better to not bring forward and use APub for newer work. 

[SrPx]

 

Well not retyping, there's ctrl + c or export to other text formats....but yeah, tons of re-formatting and design, I guess.

They have said is technically much more complex that you seem to imagine it is. I kindda believe them.

 

*cough* PSD is quite the main industry standard, of... many, well, all sectors that have anything to do with 2D, from games, movies, science/medical/etc, fashion, Photography, you name it. PS has dominated (shall we like it or not) EVERYTHING, so does its format. As a freelancer i tell you: clients work massively with this format (tend to hand files with tons of ultra complex layers and layer effects).  These things are often decided in terms of % of potential  money (like about making a Linux version or not, or a port of Affinity to Ninetndo 64.) It'd had undeniable advantages (specially the Nintendo case), but is all considered thinking on what has better possibilities to pay employees' salaries, rent, company growth, etc. Companies tend to go for the safest bets, specially with a non PS-sized staff. 

 

Also, PSD import is far from seamless in any software, is not like they have achieved that which you mean in Affinity (I have powers, I can see the future...it'd be changing the situation of pissed off legacy users for not having their import, to legacy users very angry for a ton of issues when importing those(yes, it's their code, but they have stated is a tricky technical situation!)). Specific features like layer effects I've yet to see any package that does it *well*, when importing PSDs. All do a flattening, rasterizing, cr4pping the fonts, or simply ruin the thing. Affinity is one of the best in these imports, but still. They have not gotten a full PSD import. I doubt anyone but Adobe can , is not open source.

 

EDIT:  Had not seen MikeW's post while I posted this.

 

 

[Rick G]

I was able to save all my PhotoPlus files as PSDs and bring them into AP. Admittedly they were not super compiled, just a few straight forward layers

They said it ain't gonna happen? I am saying they should reconsidder

 

I am not invested in this as most of what I have CAN be cat and pasted into a new document. I am certainly not invested to the point I want to suffer one upmanship over it

But including it is call ... ... *****SUPPORT *****. and it allows an end user to puck up an old document and save it out in the new format before continuing.

 

[SrPx]

11 minutes ago, Rick G said:

They said it ain't gonna happen?

 

I think they did, yep...

 

11 minutes ago, Rick G said:

But including it is call ... ... *****SUPPORT *****. and it allows an end user to puck up an old document and save it out in the new format before continuing.

 

 

I believe the issue here is it is technically quite, way, way more complex than you think, from what i read from them in several occasions. Don't think of a python app you create with a relatively small number of lines of code.. until any of us could see the code (and that's FOR SURE industry secret with an army of ninja lawyers behind the legal NDAs and other stuff, or that's always been the case with developer companies even being the poor designer/artist... still needed to sign all those and work like if we were some dark organization, lol) - and be able to understand it - ( I wouldn't in a million years, all I can code (programming code) is a bit of python and a bit VB code, and practically forgotten the 100% of the latter) we can't  know what's going on there, and one needs to trust them, as the other only way is the open source model, but that needs a company redesign from scratch, and I guess leave some hundreds of families without income, under the bridge. (when started from scratch, an open source company can be very profitable, tho, but totally different ball game)

 

Besides, is kind of the butterfly chaos theory, crap multiplies... As said, imports in AP and AD would be required to avoid a fierce revolt of those other users.. and then, import among the other apps, etc. Count on this is starting with a single import from one app to the non legacy one seems to have serious technical issues.

 

I don't "like" that it is so, I just state the obvious from the data we have.

[Rick G]

You win.

[SrPx]

Do I get a cookie? 

 

 

...these are healthy....c'mon, I want one....Plueaaze.

 

[InfoCentral]

4 hours ago, Rick G said:

They said it ain't gonna happen? I am saying they should reconsidder

I think they said a major problem with conversion was features. There are features in PP that are not going to be in AP. It is probably going to take AP a few versions to catch up with PP feature wise. All the Serif training books were produced in PPX9.

[Rick G]

3 hours ago, InfoCentral said:

I think they said a major problem with conversion was features. There are features in PP that are not going to be in AP. It is probably going to take AP a few versions to catch up with PP feature wise. All the Serif training books were produced in PPX9.

I think I was talking about bringing data into the new program. There are some complex documents. Just get them in was the only point I was trying to made

[InfoCentral]

5 hours ago, Rick G said:

Just get them in was the only point I was trying to made

Great then PDF is your bridge. Problem solved.

[Alfred]

3 minutes ago, InfoCentral said:

Great then PDF is your bridge. Problem solved.

 

Text in a PDF is often broken up into small chunks. The Affinity apps do (try to) group lines of text into text frames, but there's no way to automatically reconstruct a 'story' comprising a set of linked frames. The ideal solution would be to allow import of *.stt files saved from the WritePlus text editor within PagePlus, but I don't know how realistic it is to expect that such a facility will be included in Affinity Publisher.

 

[InfoCentral]

You know this has been asked and explained by Serif. You have a document in PPX9 that includes several features not supported in AP yet. What do you do with these in conversion? This is the problem. If you just want to get the document into AP then PDF will do the trick. If you just want to get the document into AP and then be able to...not going to happen in version 1.

Once I read that I completely understood the problem.

[Rick G]

1 hour ago, InfoCentral said:

Great then PDF is your bridge. Problem solved.

 Alfred explained why that is NOT an option. No need to be snotty. It is a simple discussion about bringing legacy SERIF documents into the new offering

Someone said it isn't going to happen

I hope they take another look

I don't expect an import would be perfect. A graphic may need adjusting etc.

But if I have a 20 page Document with a 1st page column spilling to a column on page 13, how do you propose to use PDF to handle that and bring it into a new program and maintain the flow?

 

[InfoCentral]

21 minutes ago, Rick G said:

But if I have a 20 page Document with a 1st page column spilling to a column on page 13, how do you propose to use PDF to handle that and bring it into a new program and maintain the flow?

Hummm...let me see here...REWORK

[Rick G]

11 minutes ago, InfoCentral said:

Hummm...let me see here...REWORK

Do you even understand the discussion? Why are you being so abrasive?

[v_kyr]

2 hours ago, Alfred said:

Text in a PDF is often broken up into small chunks. The Affinity apps do (try to) group lines of text into text frames, but there's no way to automatically reconstruct a 'story' comprising a set of linked frames. The ideal solution would be to allow import of *.stt files saved from the WritePlus text editor within PagePlus, but I don't know how realistic it is to expect that such a facility will be included in Affinity Publisher.

If that's the lowest common denominator (?). - Yes as we all know even PDF isn't always treated the same everywhere and can have issues here and there, thus taking just over a plain unicode text representation and then reformat that might be your best option here (as far as one still has the apps and can extract the text).

[nitro912gr]

I understand that people need access to old files but how often do you need to edit them anyway?

I prefer to sacrifice backward compatibility for a better new program (so they can focus resources on making this new program better) and in that one time in a lifetime that I will need to open that old file, I will reinstall the program just for it. I mean you don't have subscription to adobe here, you can keep using the program for ever

Also I have found it faster to redo something than to try to find ways to make it work in my current workflow and programs. Sure this is not always the case, but...

[Rick G]

21 minutes ago, nitro912gr said:

I understand that people need access to old files but how often do you need to edit them anyway?

I prefer to sacrifice backward compatibility for a better new program (so they can focus resources on making this new program better) and in that one time in a lifetime that I will need to open that old file, I will reinstall the program just for it. I mean you don't have subscription to adobe here, you can keep using the program for ever

Also I have found it faster to redo something than to try to find ways to make it work in my current workflow and programs. Sure this is not always the case, but...

It doesn't need to be backwardly compatible, just be able to import the file which should be saved out immediately in the new format.. This isn't a rewrite, it is a translation table not that different from saving our a PSD file from AP. or importing the same

If they don't do it, I am not going to lose sleep

[Alfred]

1 hour ago, Arun Sarkar said:

I have PagePlus 9.0 and DrawPlus 6.0, can I install it in my win 8.1?

 

Why don't you try it, Arun?  DP7 worked fine for me on Windows 8.1 and it still works on Windows 10: I just ignore the silly error message that pops up when I launch the program.