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Any plans for PDF form editing?


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Just trying out the Beta, and looking good so far.

However, one of the most used features (for me) of PagePlus over the years was the ability to create fillable PDF forms.  I'm often asked by clients to create these fillable forms, and PP does everything I need.  Single and multi-line text boxes, check boxes, drop boxes, list boxes, date boxes (with calendar), and much more.

Will the final version of Publisher have these options?

A computer once beat me at chess.  Turns out, however, it was no match for me at kickboxing...

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Don't hold your breath..  there are still things missing in Designer that DrawPlus has, one especially, although i love working with Designer.. PNG export.. i have to export to PNG in Designer and then open them up in DrawPlus X8 so i can use the extra PNG export options (compression optons and super sample) not available in Designer.. just so i can reduce the file sizes without loss of quality for web.

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4 minutes ago, Dave Harris said:

The final version of Publisher 1.7 won't have forms, but a future version might.

Excellent, Dave, looking forward to it.  This is a primary selling point for me and my needs...

A computer once beat me at chess.  Turns out, however, it was no match for me at kickboxing...

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2 minutes ago, GreyEyes said:

Don't hold you breath..  there are still things missing in Designer that DrawPlus has, one especially, although i love working with Designer.. PNG export.. i have to export to PNG in Designer and then open them up in DrawPlus X8 so i can use the extra PNG export options (compression and super sample) not available in Designer.. just so i can reduce the file sizes without loss of quality for web.

Funny you mention that, GreyEyes.  I've also been waiting for the Affinity apps to catch up to the Plus apps in options and abilities.  Especially one that I used for years (I won't mention the name here) that doesn't (and won't) have an Affinity version and was left behind.

But I do like where they're going with the Affinity apps, just going to take time I guess...

A computer once beat me at chess.  Turns out, however, it was no match for me at kickboxing...

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13 minutes ago, CodeDog said:

Funny you mention that, GreyEyes.  I've also been waiting for the Affinity apps to catch up to the Plus apps in options and abilities.  Especially one that I used for years (I won't mention the name here) that doesn't (and won't) have an Affinity version and was left behind.

But I do like where they're going with the Affinity apps, just going to take time I guess...

There are even free sites that allow you squash the size of PNG's for web better than Designer does, as i've tried the options in designer (256 colours etc) and get aliasing issues when trying to reduce file sizes, compared to using DrawPlus and free sites...  they've forgotten about the web developing community that use their packages.. would be nice if they could improve or bring in the missing export options that drawplus has or even go one better with improved export.

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  • 4 weeks later...
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  • 2 weeks later...
3 hours ago, bowen192 said:

Incredibly, even today as a legacy program, nothing else even comes close to PP's abilities in this area.

But this means you have a working solution to create PDF forms? I am not familiar with PP, that's why I'm asking.

Cheers,
d.

Affinity Designer 1 & 2   |   Affinity Photo 1 & 2   |   Affinity Publisher 1 & 2
Affinity Designer 2 for iPad   |   Affinity Photo 2 for iPad   |   Affinity Publisher 2 for iPad

Windows 11 64-bit - Core i7 - 16GB - Intel HD Graphics 4600 & NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M
iPad pro 9.7" + Apple Pencil

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47 minutes ago, dominik said:

But this means you have a working solution to create PDF forms? I am not familiar with PP, that's why I'm asking.

Cheers,
d.

A working legacy solution. That's why he is asking.

Windows 10 Pro x64 (1903). Intel Core i7-9700K @ 3.60GHz, 32 GB memory, NVidia RTX 2080
Affinity Photo 1.7.2.471, Affinity Designer 1.7.2.471, Affinity Publisher 1.7.2.471

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45 minutes ago, dominik said:

But this means you have a working solution to create PDF forms? I am not familiar with PP, that's why I'm asking.

Cheers,
d.

The problem is, though, dominik, PagePlus is now outdated, and can no longer keep up with any changes or updates to PDF formats.  The PDF format has changed and updated over the years, and we need to be sure any PDF forms we create will be usable in any modern PDF reader.  Adobe isn't the only PDF reader anymore, there are many out there.

The key is to be using a system that can output files in any PDF format/version, including the latest.  We're hoping that the new Publisher will do that, and be updated whenever a new format/version shows up.

A computer once beat me at chess.  Turns out, however, it was no match for me at kickboxing...

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2 minutes ago, Steps said:

A working legacy solution. That's why he is asking.

A working solution. That's why I was asking.

d.

Affinity Designer 1 & 2   |   Affinity Photo 1 & 2   |   Affinity Publisher 1 & 2
Affinity Designer 2 for iPad   |   Affinity Photo 2 for iPad   |   Affinity Publisher 2 for iPad

Windows 11 64-bit - Core i7 - 16GB - Intel HD Graphics 4600 & NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M
iPad pro 9.7" + Apple Pencil

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1 minute ago, CodeDog said:

The key is to be using a system that can output files in any PDF format/version, including the latest.  We're hoping that the new Publisher will do that, and be updated whenever a new format/version shows up.

Dave Harris gave an answer to this at the top of the thread. It is optimistic but without any promise or time schedule. We all have to settle with the fact that this feature will not be available any time soon. Personally I do understand that this is of low(er) priority because there are alternatives available that get the job done already.

Cheers,
d.

Affinity Designer 1 & 2   |   Affinity Photo 1 & 2   |   Affinity Publisher 1 & 2
Affinity Designer 2 for iPad   |   Affinity Photo 2 for iPad   |   Affinity Publisher 2 for iPad

Windows 11 64-bit - Core i7 - 16GB - Intel HD Graphics 4600 & NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M
iPad pro 9.7" + Apple Pencil

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4 minutes ago, dominik said:

Dave Harris gave an answer to this at the top of the thread. It is optimistic but without any promise or time schedule. We all have to settle with the fact that this feature will not be available any time soon. Personally I do understand that this is of low(er) priority because there are alternatives available that get the job done already.

Cheers,
d.

That's true, d, there are alternatives out there, but most are missing some of the basic features for building fully functional forms.  Such as a popup calendar for date type fields, etc.  I've tried all available PDF programs, and only found one (aside from Adobe) with this feature, and that was just added by request.

The nice thing about PagePlus was, and could be about Affinity Publisher, is that you can have all features in one program.  Which is not only very handy and saves having to use multiple programs to create what you need, but also saves the expense of purchasing additional software for that option.

I understand it's not considered a priority option for Publisher at this time, but I also know it could be a great selling feature.  Which can be seen from previous posts here, and other places.

Already having the base code from PagePlus to start with, I can't see it being a major production issue to add this feature to Publisher.  But, I do also understand it's up to Affinity to create their own software.  I just hope they take this into consideration at some point.

A computer once beat me at chess.  Turns out, however, it was no match for me at kickboxing...

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3 minutes ago, CodeDog said:

Already having the base code from PagePlus to start with, I can't see it being a major production issue to add this feature to Publisher.

The issue is that Publisher is using a very different code base than PagePlus (and the same applies to Designer/Photo vs DrawPlus/PhotoPlus). So even if the code is available it is probably not really feasible to transfer it into Publisher for compatibility reasons, it will most likely require a complete rewrite of the functionality in the new code base. This is also one of the reasons why the Affinity applications cannot read the xyzPlus file formats because of the major differences in code and it taking too much effort at this time to fix that. (and it may never get done as indicated in the past for that reason).

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29 minutes ago, CodeDog said:

The key is to be using a system that can output files in any PDF format/version, including the latest.  We're hoping that the new Publisher will do that, and be updated whenever a new format/version shows up.

It would be nice if Publisher would support all PDF formats/versions but there is not much of a point to support all the latest formats for export if there is no functionality to export that would only work in the latest formats/versions. Then supporting the second latest format will still do quite well. For importing PDF files it would be good to support the latest PDF formats/versions though.

Some clients  I work for often require the use of older PDF formats for compatibility reasons so that the PDFs can be opened by older PDF readers as well. (Corporations often tend to be one or more versions behind the latest versions of software, I've even seen some using 4 or 5 versions older than the current version of some programs.) So I'd rather have Affinity get as much right as possible for the current tools and other essential things that are not yet implemented than focus on supporting the latest PDF format/version for exporting if there is no functionality yet that would require those formats/versions.

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3 minutes ago, Arte said:

The issue is that Publisher is using a very different code base than PagePlus (and the same applies to Designer/Photo vs DrawPlus/PhotoPlus). So even if the code is available it is probably not really feasible to transfer it into Publisher for compatibility reasons, it will most likely require a complete rewrite of the functionality in the new code base. This is also one of the reasons why the Affinity applications cannot read the xyzPlus file formats because of the major differences in code and it taking too much effort at this time to fix that. (and it may never get done as indicated in the past for that reason).

You're absolutely right, Arte, and I know that the Affinity apps are using a different code base.  But I wasn't really clear when making that point.  Even though it's a different codebase, the PagePlus code could be used as a reference.  Such as creating a Spanish document from an English document by using the same words but simply translating to Spanish.  I've been coding since the 70's, and I know it's not exactly the same, but close.

In any case, I don't want to keep harping on this topic, and as I said it's completely up to Affinity.  We'll just see where it goes from here...

A computer once beat me at chess.  Turns out, however, it was no match for me at kickboxing...

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56 minutes ago, CodeDog said:

there are alternatives out there, but most are missing some of the basic features for building fully functional forms.

There you are ahead of my experiences and insights.

As this is the suggestions forum everyone is free to submit one's ideas.

My perspective is that the Affinity team first needs to bild a solid foundation on basic functionality before they can add more features over time.

d.

Affinity Designer 1 & 2   |   Affinity Photo 1 & 2   |   Affinity Publisher 1 & 2
Affinity Designer 2 for iPad   |   Affinity Photo 2 for iPad   |   Affinity Publisher 2 for iPad

Windows 11 64-bit - Core i7 - 16GB - Intel HD Graphics 4600 & NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M
iPad pro 9.7" + Apple Pencil

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  • 5 months later...
3 hours ago, Annabella_K said:

 

Yes, forms would be awesome! People want interactive PDFs and fillable workbooks these days.

It would be awesome, Annabella, but it's been released now and still doesn't have PDF form editing.  I own Photo and Designer, and would like to purchase Publisher, but will wait till it has this feature.  They said it could be added in the future.  I hope so, but I'll wait and see.  Publisher is a great program, just really needs this feature.

A computer once beat me at chess.  Turns out, however, it was no match for me at kickboxing...

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