Affinity Designer Welcome Screen

[MaryLou]

On the AD Welcome screen, there are images made by various artists.  There is a little "cloud" next to each one so you can download them and take a better look at see how things were done.

I have clicked on several different ones to download.  When I do, the rim around the image turns purple, the little "cloud" disappears.  

My question is, to where are the files downloaded?  There is no pop-up message asking where to save them. They are not in my download folder, and they are not in another folder where most of my downloads are. I can't do a search because I don't know the file name.  So, where do I find these files on my hard drive?

 

 

[DWright]

Hi MaryLou,

 

The samples are downloaded into the hidden AppData folder, to view these files open Run dialogue box and type %appdata% then click OK, in the new window that appears browse to Affinity\Designer\1.0\Samples 

[R C-R]

On a Mac, after opening one of these files you can use the File menu > Reveal in Finder item to open the folder where they are stored. That should be in one of the normally hidden /private/var/folders/. Those folders are emptied when the Mac is restarted so they won't fill up the hard drive over time.

[MaryLou]

10 hours ago, DWright said:

Hi MaryLou,

 

The samples are downloaded into the hidden AppData folder, to view these files open Run dialogue box and type %appdata% then click OK, in the new window that appears browse to Affinity\Designer\1.0\Samples 

Thanks!!!   I found the files.   My AppData folder is not hidden.  When getting a new computer, the first thing I do is unhide that stuff.  Didn't think to look there.   There are 3 folders under the AppData - the files are in the Local folder.  To use them, all I have to do is click on the file which opens AD automatically.    That seems like a strange place to put those files because as you said, the AppData folder is hidden.  It would be nice if Affinity added a little note on that screen as to where to find them.

Again, thank you!   Now, I'm going to explore!  I'm sure I'll learn a lot just by viewing some of these files.  

[MEB]

Hi MaryLou,

You shouldn't needed to look for them on your drive. If you click the thumbnail of the project in the Welcome Screen it should open it for you immediately (unless the file still has to be downloaded first). With the project opened you can also go to menu File ▸ Open folder in Explorer to open the respective folder where it's stored.

[MaryLou]

OH my gosh, that is so simple!!   Thanks, MEB!  I just tried it and it works perfectly.   Why on earth don't they put that information on the Welcome screen?  How would anyone know to do this?  

[R C-R]

19 minutes ago, MaryLou said:

OH my gosh, that is so simple!!   Thanks, MEB!  I just tried it and it works perfectly.   Why on earth don't they put that information on the Welcome screen?  How would anyone know to do this?  

If you mean File ▸ Open folder in Explorer (or the equivalent File ▸ Reveal in Finder on Macs), it isn't limited to the Welcome screen files: it works for any saved file that is open in either Affinity Designer or Affinity Photo, including JPEGs, PNGs, & so on. It can be very useful for doing things in Explorer or Finder like duplicating a file, checking the current saved file size or other properties; or opening other files in the same folder in an Affinity or another app.

 

If you have never done this before, it might be a good idea to take a few minutes to open each menu (File, Edit, View, etc.) just to see what is listed on each of them. It is a great way to discover features & functions you might otherwise never know are available. I do this with every app when I first get it & periodically after that.

[DianeF]

R-C-R, I do not have a Reveal in Finder command on my file menu in Finder. I'm on an Imac with Sierra. I wanted to try your suggestion, but couldn't find the command. Is this command specific to a particular OS or is it in all of the Mac operating systems?

 

Thanks.

[R C-R]

8 hours ago, DianeF said:

R-C-R, I do not have a Reveal in Finder command on my file menu in Finder.

It is on the File menu in the Affinity app, not in the File menu in Finder.

[DianeF]

Oh, I see. Thanks for the clarification. That looks like a useful command, one that would be nice to have in other applications as well.