Save for Web?

[pbolger]

This is a bit mundane, but one of the most used features (for me, anyway) of Photoshop - and Gimp, with the plugin - is the 'save for web' option. If Photo has it I haven't been able to find it.

[Andy Somerfield]

Hi,

 

You can either File -> Export (if you want to export the whole document for web).. or

 

Use the Export Persona (right hand icon of the top left little strip of icons) - they you get slices and loads of other stuff :)

 

Thanks,

 

Andy.

[pbolger]

Oh I see. Didn't know what 'Personas' meant so I ignored it... What does it mean?

 

I can't see a resize option in the export - is it there?

 

On a related topic, it'd be really nice to have a 'Photo for Dummies' mode where all the (often mysterious) icons are labelled. I imagine you'd turn it off after a while, but while you are finding your way around the program it's a bit clunky having to hover over each one and wait for the tooltip to pop up.

[MEB]

Personas are dedicated areas of the application where you perform a particular type of task.

In Affinity Designer there's three different Personas (you can change between them using the three icons on the top left of the application right below the traffic lights):

- Draw persona where you work with vectors;

- Pixel personal for bitmap/raster related tasks;

- Export Persona for preparing assets to export for Web or as assets for applications.

 

Currently there's no way to set custom dimensions in the export Persona other than the 1x, 2x, 3x multipliers available.

You can however define a custom size if you use the general/generic export command from the File menu (File -> Export).

[asdfghjkloiwdjoiioens]

Exporting in Affinity isn't the same as Photoshop's 'Save for Web' feature. The whole point of 'Save for Web' is to optimise images for the web by removing a lot of useless metadata from the images like camera model, time, white balance, etc. This reduces image file size dramatically making it optimal for a web designers and developers.

Exporting JPEG files with Affinity Photo seems to reduce the file size more than Photoshop's 'Save for Web' feature.

But Photoshop's 'Save for Web' feature reduces a PNG file by roughly 30% more than exporting with Affinity Photo.

It would be great to have a similar feature in Affinity so users can preview the image as they're optimising it and get a similar file size to one that's exported from Photoshop using 'Save for Web'.

[jarcon]

I hope i'm not asking for something that already exist, but It will be great if in the export persona there will be a preview of the result, information about the size of the exported file and the chance to resize the exported image.

 

I usually export for web and the size of an image is really important to know, instead to export the file several times until you get something closer to what you need. Even this forum require that your avatar image have max 50k.

 

Affinity could go even further and ask you the max file size in order to give you the best result with that restriction; it can also present a preview of different formats or resolutions, so the export decision becomes visual and with information.

 

That you very much for this great software!

[peter]

The whole point of 'Save for Web' is to optimise images for the web by removing a lot of useless metadata from the images like camera model, time, white balance, etc. This reduces image file size dramatically making it optimal for a web designers and developers.

 

 

This needs to be in the first APh manual.

[billtils]

Won't you get what you need using File > New and selecting Web from the dropdown?  If the main issue is removing the EXIF data you can do it like this.

[anon1]

Yes this tool would be useful but I'd say that we need the option to remove meta data in AP as well. Just more convenient hm? ;)

 

1. I already mentioned this under the aspect of privacy

 

2. Affinity already has the EXIF work done for displaying the information so removing it may be easy

 

2. Easy UI implementation with a checkbox

 

- but I think this feature will especially become more important alongside badge processing

[Dave Harris]

Removing metadata should be available in the next beta.

[Herbert123]

But Photoshop's 'Save for Web' feature reduces a PNG file by roughly 30% more than exporting with Affinity Photo.

 

It would be great to have a similar feature in Affinity so users can preview the image as they're optimising it and get a similar file size to one that's exported from Photoshop using 'Save for Web'.

 

Photoshop's "Save for Web" feature is being phased out in the latest version: it is considered a 'legacy' feature, and will disappear in the next version.

 

As for the PNG optimization in "Save for Web": it is terrible:

- no support for alpha transparency and indexed-based coloured PNG

- no support to reduce the number of colours to 512, or 1024, or an arbitrary number of colours

- a lack of dithering controls, and misc other PNG options.

- resultant file PNG file size for assets with alpha transparency is dreadful compared to other (free) tools.

- in Illustrator the anti-aliasing and downsampling quality is downright useless. Avoid.

 

In short: photoshop's Save for Web function is the worst option out there for PNG optimization and quality control.

 

The best alternative for PNG optimization is currently ColorQuantizer (http://x128.ho.ua/color-quantizer.html). Unfortunately, this is unavailable for Macs. An alternative (with almost no control over conversion settings) would be ImagOptim, but it only supports lossless PNG optimization https://imageoptim.com/

 

Color Quantizer is so good, it is worth running it in a virtual box or Wine environment on your Mac.

[Kevin Day]

What about ImageAlpha?  http://pngmini.com

[Herbert123]

What about ImageAlpha?  http://pngmini.com

 

Also a good one (I forgot to mention that one for Mac) - although keep in mind that ImageAlpha (as opposed to ImageOptim) does a lossy optimization with up to 256 colours.

[Flaz]

I think would be very useful to see the previews of the images in various formats before saving, especially for compressed web images and gifs where you can choose exactly how much colors could have. In my opinion is an essential feature especially for those who work for the web. I saw that there is something like that in the roadmap, I hope to see it soon in betas...

[MEB]

Hi Flaz,

Yes, this is already planned but there's currently other things taking priority.

It may still take a little...

[CFlow]

I use both on Mac too ..Image Alpha + Image Optim. Actually for crunching a whole lot of Photos i also use

LosslessPhotoSqueezer. Might not be the best tool, but for the web ..it's okay. It has issues with PNGs etc,

but it's good for bulk converting jpgs.

 

I'm new to Affinity.. coming from Acorn :-) ..and yes, a decade web export feature could be good. I still use

the Squeezer tool. 

 

Can someone advice me for creating actions in Affinity ? That's what i'm missing a bit ..the PS DropActions.

 

Keep the flow. CFlow

[Flaz]

Can someone advice me for creating actions in Affinity ? That's what i'm missing a bit ..the PS DropActions.

 

…actions not available yet, there will be a new Macro Persona...

[CFlow]

..cool, like to use it then :-)

[tiago1801]

MEB, any update?

[velarde]

A preview in the export dialog or in the Export Persona is really required for professional use. If I make changes to the settings I want to see in real time what the final image will look like (before I export it ) and experiment with the settings and balance file size vs image quality.

 

I've used Photoshop save for web option since it was implemented in v 5.5. It's the best way to work with.

Have no idea of the reasoning of retiring it in the new versions of Photoshop. It actually is still there, but they call it "legacy".

 

Hope something like this get implemented in Affinity 1.5 or 1.6, 1.7 to make it a great app for Professional design.

[nwhit]

We really need this (Save for Web) and the Preview as well. Not using AP (even the beta of 1.5) for our client work for the most part because of this issue. And using an entirely other app isn't a good workaround. We're not as concerned about maximum, super, extreme quality as we are about cost-effectiveness for our clients, and doing photos for a business website works very well and efficiently with PS Save for Web. 

 

Need it in AP ASAP in order to start really using it other than for occasional playing with things. Our clients simply can't afford extra time on every single photo or graphic we prepare for websites again and again. Time is money. And these 2 features are part of a normal everyday workflow. There are a lot of new things in AP 1.5 that we could live without. But we can't do our daily work without Save for Web and preview of the exported file for much of our work.

 

I just really wish these 2 things were a little higher priority.

[Ciberman]

+1 The preview for exporting thumnails for the web is absolutely NECESARY. 
I just bougth Affinity Photo for Windows, and this is the unique thing that it does not have. Please add it ASAP. 

[JokerMartini]

Are there any updates to exporting with more control like Photoshops Save for Web feature, stripping meta data and previewing the optimizations?

[MEB]

Hi JokerMartini,

There will be more improvements here in a future version. You can already strip the metadata and colour profile clicking the More button on the Export dialog and unchecking them.

[Keith Reeder]

Is it still 1980? The only reason to strip Exif out of an image to post online was to help with internet connection speeds measured in double-figure kbps...