Threaded text boxes in AD please!

[Buck Manhands]

When creating a highly complex one-pager that uses lots of text boxes integrated with graphics a DESIGN program really requires threaded text. It takes a lot of extra work to go from box to box to be sure my text flows properly without threading. If AD was just for illustrations I would not see a need, but seriously this is a DESIGN program and text layout is a massive part of a DESIGNER's workflow. Save us from embarrassing mistakes that can lead to bins and bins of printed material wasted with this simple request.

I would also prefer doing a small multi-page booklet or brochure in AD (especially if there is a lot of vector art and embedded raster images) rather than opening a full-blown book making program now that there are multiple artboards in a single document. Threaded text boxes make perfect sense for AD, it would allow for complete small document making in a single program.

[dominik]

49 minutes ago, Buck Manhands said:

When creating a highly complex one-pager that uses lots of text boxes integrated with graphics a DESIGN program really requires threaded text. It takes a lot of extra work to go from box to box to be sure my text flows properly without threading. If AD was just for illustrations I would not see a need, but seriously this is a DESIGN program and text layout is a massive part of a DESIGNER's workflow. Save us from embarrassing mistakes that can lead to bins and bins of printed material wasted with this simple request.

I would also prefer doing a small multi-page booklet or brochure in AD (especially if there is a lot of vector art and embedded raster images) rather than opening a full-blown book making program now that there are multiple artboards in a single document. Threaded text boxes make perfect sense for AD, it would allow for complete small document making in a single program.

 

Linked text boxes is a feature that is planned to be part of Affinity Publisher. This will be an additional program especially dedicated to page layout., currently in development.

There is a statement about this by @MEB here. He also says that it is not clear at the moment, if the feature will be introduced into ADe afterwards.

 

So, they are aware of the task and perhaps at some point we get this 

 

d.

[Buck Manhands]

1 minute ago, dominik said:

Linked text boxes is a feature that is planned to be part of Affinity Publisher.

I don't want a book publishing program. I want a design program. Hopefully they make this part of AD and not make me purchase an entire extra program with less "design" abilities just to handle text layout and design on a poster or trifold.

[Alfred]

18 minutes ago, dominik said:

There is a statement about this by @MEB here. He also says that it is not clear at the moment, if the feature will be introduced into ADe afterwards.

 

That thread is nearly two years old. More recent discussion makes it pretty clear that this is one feature which Serif are not currently planning to add to the other apps in the suite.

[dominik]

2 minutes ago, Alfred said:

 

More recent discussion makes it pretty clear that this is one feature which Serif are not currently planning to add to the other apps in the suite.

 

Thankyou @Alfred. I was not aware that Serif has provided this information in the meantime.

This will be a dissapointment to the OP.

 

d.

[Buck Manhands]

13 minutes ago, dominik said:

This will be a dissapointment to the OP.

yep. total disappointment. Especially with their website touting things like this:

 

Les revolutionary and more like devolving in so many basic ways.

[Petar Petrenko]

If they add this feature to Designer (and Photo) then what will be the difference between them and Publisher? There would be no need of it.

[Alfred]

1 minute ago, Petar Petrenko said:

If they add this feature to Designer (and Photo) then what will be the difference between them and Publisher?

 

There will be proper pages instead of artboards, with master pages and pagination features.

[MikeW]

3 minutes ago, Petar Petrenko said:

If they add this feature to Designer (and Photo) then what will be the difference between them and Publisher? There would be no need of it.

 

If Serif adds text features to Photo, there would be no need for AD...

If Serif adds a pixel persona to AD, there is no need for APhoto...

If ...

If ...

 

Sorry, there is a need for linked text frames in AD. There is a need for proper pages in AD. There is a need for ________ in _______ (fill in the blanks) .

 

Artificial separation of features is also not good in any application.

[Petar Petrenko]

It looks like that all 3 apps will have the same features.

[MikeW]

Just because there is certain overlap doesn't mean they lose distinction. With APub, there can be (will be) features that make sense to it and not to AD or APhoto.

 

Petar, do you think one will be able to create graphic elements in APub? Circles, rectangles and possibly a pen tool? Sure those things would be overlap, but they make sense in all 3 applications.

 

Master pages makes little sense to include in APhoto, just like running headers, merge capabilities, etc.

 

There can be smartly done distinction.

[Petar Petrenko]

Most users want all tools in one app because they don't like to swap apps. They want to work quick and efficient. They don't want to ask themselves: "Oh, were was this tool -- in Photo, Publisher or ...". You can say this if you read the comments, feature requests. All of them want some specific feature to be in the app they are used to work with, because it was there in the app from a different vendor they owned. Adobe goes this way. They started long time ago to include features from AI <-> PS <-> ID.

I will stop here because I already repeat myself and don't want to make the Affinity team angry because of my way of thinking.

[Buck Manhands]

I can see a need for a true page layout program to make books and stuff. AD will never be easily able to handle that, nor should it. Pagination is much more important there. But It is annoying to have to design a pamphlet or trifold with text that flows using a book/magazine layout program. IT is much better suited to AD and having threaded text boxes can make the design workflow much more accurate and enjoyable.

I wouldn't worry about making the serif guys angry Petar. A few of them love to say things to make their users angry. I have never seen such behavior from staff in a forum before. They can be pretty surly.

[Petar Petrenko]

21 minutes ago, Buck Manhands said:

I can see a need for a true page layout program to make books and stuff. AD will never be easily able to handle that, nor should it. Pagination is much more important there. But It is annoying to have to design a pamphlet or trifold with text that flows using a book/magazine layout program. IT is much better suited to AD and having threaded text boxes can make the design workflow much more accurate and enjoyable.

I wouldn't worry about making the serif guys angry Petar. A few of them love to say things to make their users angry. I have never seen such behavior from staff in a forum before. They can be pretty surly.

 

You are wrong about this Buck. I've made hundreds of trifold brochures and other advertising materials and I asure you that it is breeze to do it in InDesign or Quark.

 

About the second part:

They got angry because I am convinced that having one app is much better the 3 separated... but they said (and a lot of users) it was out of question. So, I don't want to push this any more. Let's see what the future will bring to us. Maybe it would be better to make a poll on their FB page to see what users wants more -- swiss knife or separated apps.

[Buck Manhands]

Who are you to say how I prefer to work? Opening inDesign is painful and gets more painful every day. Nothing about it is a breeze. Their current version is so bug ridden and terrible I can't even... SMH

When I design something with more than 4 leaves then I use inDesign, but if it has less, then artboards in Illustrator allow for a much more creative process that ends with a much higher quality output.

I am fine with having three apps to do my work, it keeps the bloat of any one program to a minimum, but I am looking at how AD is marketed and it is for DESIGN much more than ILLUSTRATION and I hope that all the tools I need to do what they advertise it will do are there. Either they need to stop falsely advertising or provide the necessary tools. AD is already a swiss army knife if you believe their hype:

 

[Petar Petrenko]

Sorry if I offend it anyhow. It was not my intention. I said that about InDesign and Quark because I have 25+ years of experience in this field. I've tried and own a lot of apps, but I found that using only one app for my job is much better then switching from one to another.

[Buck Manhands]

No worries. Assumptions are difficult. I am not offended. I too have 20 years in this game and I like having the overlap that adobe has in their products to make single-app designing the main workflow, but some things are better focused in an app that specializes in some things.

Examples:

- Making a poster in Photoshop or Illustrator is a nice overlap. Depending on the project I might open one or the other depending on needed graphics (raster heavy or vector heavy). Both have the text tools I need if there is just a tiny bit of text.

- Using inDesign to make a pamphlet can be done in Illustrator too and might make sense if it is nearly all text with a couple of static graphics provided by the client.

- It is nice to have some vector drawing tools in inDesign if a book is text heavy but just needs a couple quick vector illustrations.

---

I like having the three different apps and choose the "main" app to design the project based on the need to open less apps and have less dependent files. I have a hard time seeing an app that could do all of what inDesign, Illustrator, and Photoshop do in a single place. It could be overwhelming.

[Petar Petrenko]

I avoid bitmap apps as much as I can. Only if there is something that it can't be done in vector or layout app. And if their is no special need for vector effects or so, I prefer to choose a layout app. Which one it will be (Quark or ID) it depends on what should be done. I prefer Quark because I can do a lot of easy bitmap manipulations vs ID which can't vectorize its own PDF files and can't even manipulate with PSD layers.

[Minimumsix13]

Keeping the need alive  Yeah I'll add that Affinity has made it stupid simple to switch between apps. There's always the "edit in" command in the file menu that lets you instantly switch your doc between Designer and Photo. I imagine the same will be true for Publisher. Adobe has always worked with links, which can be great for huge files with tons of content. Layout with InDesign, click to edit photos or vectors in Illustrator/PS, everything updates live in InDesign. But I much prefer Affinity's spin on things—core options are available in both apps and if you need to get intensive then just switch apps altogether. And the common file format is like a dream. It's really just a shift from an established way of doing things to a more streamlined one. Why build apps on different frameworks (Adobe) when you can build them all on the same one (Affinity) with dedicated feature sets?

[dotheDVDeed]

Well I'm another who wants threaded text boxes in Designer.  If I'm doing a poster with plenty of graphics I want to edit.

It might have three or four text boxes I want to look balanced (equal depth, etc). It's much easier when the text flows from box to box as I vary the size of the boxes all without leaving the Designer app.

TIM

Edited August 16, 2018 by dotheDVDeed
It's

[Alfred]

27 minutes ago, dotheDVDeed said:

Well I'm another who wants threaded text boxes in Designer.  If I'm doing a poster with plenty of graphics I want to edit.

It might have three or four text boxes I want to look balanced (equal depth, etc). It much easier when the text flows from box to box as I vary the size of the boxes all without leaving the Designer app.

TIM

It doesn’t look as though we’ll be able to create linked text boxes in Affinity Designer, but the shared file format means that all you’ll need is the help of someone who has a copy of Affinity Publisher in which to create three or four linked text boxes for you, leaving you free to edit them to suit your particular purposes.

[Mithferion]

On 8/12/2018 at 4:37 PM, αℓƒяє∂ said:

It doesn’t look as though we’ll be able to create linked text boxes in Affinity Designer, but the shared file format means that all you’ll need is the help of someone who has a copy of Affinity Publisher in which to create three or four linked text boxes for you, leaving you free to edit them to suit your particular purposes.

Just like when people need Artborads in Photo but don't want to purchase Designer, I guess.

Best regards!

[toupee]

That is so weird, I never realized that APhoto can't create artboards since they introduced it. I think what threw me off is that if you already have at least started making artboards in Affinity Designer, you CAN use the same command-drag to make new ones in APhoto too! So ... weird.

[Mark Oehlschlager]

Threaded text frames is a feature that really must be incorporated into an update to Affinity Designer. Even for a one-page event poster, it would be useful to be able to thread text through multiple frames.

Please incorporate the threaded text frame feature into Designer once you've perfected it within Publisher.

Thank you.

[Petar Petrenko]

11 hours ago, Mark Oehlschlager said:

Threaded text frames is a feature that really must be incorporated into an update to Affinity Designer. Even for a one-page event poster, it would be useful to be able to thread text through multiple frames.

Please incorporate the threaded text frame feature into Designer once you've perfected it within Publisher.

Thank you.

They already exist.

The only problem is text frame(s) inside master page(s).