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Open PagePlus (*.ppp) files


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I suppose it's not that big a deal, in that I'll still have my license for PagePlus X9, but it would be nice if I could open those files in Affinity Publisher so I don't need to use two programs. We publish 6-12 books a year, so I have quite a few files and templates in PagePlus (ppp) format.

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The suggestion to continue using Page Plus on the face of it sounds ok. The latest version X9 will probably work quite well for some considerable time until Microsoft decides to move on from Windows 10. As Page Plus is no longer supported the time will probably come when it will no longer work.
I use  statistical sports analysis software with over 20 years of data. It was designed for XP continued to work until Windows 7, but doesn't work at all on Windows 10.
My solution is to buy up old laptops with older versions of Windows that are now, you guessed it. no longer supported by  Microsoft.
So my advice, bite the bullet and go with the new software. Page Plus has served us well for years , I'm sure Affinity Publisher will be even better.

 

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On 9/3/2018 at 4:00 PM, stephisaur said:

It would be a shame to have to move over to a different software due to a lack of backwards compatibility!

The different software almost certainly wouldn't support .ppp files either, so you'd be in the same position.

In this instance, the best thing would be to stick with PagePlus

Any spelling or grammatical errors found in the above post are deliberate and included to boost the self-esteem of those who spot them.

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I have been a user of PagePlus since 1995 with the Home & Office Win3 version.  You can imagine the number of ppp files I have amassed over the years.  Frequently need to go back and open some of these for tweeking and redesign.  We greatly need an import tool to bring all of our workable layers into the new Affinity Publisher.

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If Serif is going to do away with Serif products and introduce new ones, it seems only sensible to provide backwards compatibility. Importing from a pdf file does not provide the same manageability, such as automatically linking text boxes across pages. Not impressed, and have sworn by Serif products for many many years.

 

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55 minutes ago, MJWHM said:

If Serif is going to do away with Serif products and introduce new ones, it seems only sensible to provide backwards compatibility. Importing from a pdf file does not provide the same manageability, such as automatically linking text boxes across pages.

There’s no reason for us to assume that a purpose-built PPP importer would do any better than the current PDF importer. The ability to import WritePlus *.stt files would enable us to keep the content of each PP ‘story’ together, but it doesn’t look as though such a facility is going to be added to Affinity Publisher.

13 minutes ago, UweJ said:

maybe is it possible to write an update for PagePlus to export ppp files into Apub :)

Development of PagePlus has stopped altogether. It’s unrealistic to expect that Serif would reverse that decision for something like this.

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On ‎8‎/‎30‎/‎2018 at 5:35 PM, janlagendijkdelft said:

I have installed your new program (beta) and tried to open it as a user of Serif for years. Unfortunately without success, so the program is removed again. Is not very customer friendly to Serif users for many years to experience that in a new program to replace Serif Pageplus years long users just be forgotten. Apparently Serif has forgotten that by these users they may now have the possibility to make a better and newer program. Opening other formats without a problem, but ppp files are not important enough and have to go through a detour. A nice way apparently to appreciate your old users.

I've been with Serif PagePlus from almost the beginning. I ditto the sentiments. I felt almost as family when I registered my updates. I would have thought that transfer from one program to another would have been in the works from the beginning. Maybe Serif has just gotten too big.!!! (adines 9-4-18)

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I would also like to see a .ppp import option, most of my documents have been edited in version PagePlus X9. Having worked in the Software industry for most of my career the companies I have worked for have always provided a migration path for customers who moved from one version of software to any new one that fulfil an equivalent function. This was seen as an important part of the commitment to the customers of the companies involved. I have exported one document to PDF and then imported it to Affinity Publisher and it did a good job but from what I have seen I think there is quite a lot of structural information missing. For example footer page numbers are just text so adding new pages in the document does not result in the new page having the footer and the document page numbers being adjusted to make allowances for the new page. I have only just started looking at Publisher so I may have missed things that would result in a better transfer or it could be this sort of facility is not in Publisher yet, after all this is a Beta and there may be more functionality to come. As Alfred said there is no guarantee that a targeted importer would produce a better result but I would be disappointed if it didn’t as the knowledge of the format should be complete and the information is obviously in the ppp file.

My first impression are positive and I like the look of Publisher so far.

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A feature by feature comparison between AP1 and PPx9 might reveal some significant loss of functionality. Having paid for it once,  in PP upgrades, we are now expected to pay for it again in each round of AP updates. Of course the Apple users will just be pleased to receive it, being unaware of the history.

(Pocket) Informant did this too when they rebuilt using 'modern' coding 

 

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I have used PagePlus since the beginning. Recently I "re-created" from scratch a document originally created in PP X9, a four pages flyer for a furniture store. This has forced me learn Aff Publisher, and I can tell that, as much I liked PPX9, I will not go back. When Photo and Designer will be up to version 1.7 and compatible with Publisher.... It will be awesome, even though I miss some features like the visible bleed marks (that will be available soon). I am sure that templates are not too far away.

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It seems that many of us who have used PagePlus really would like an import for .ppp files. I tried transferring my .ppp files to PDF. then import that into AP Yes it works but it takes time and now I have three files for the one .ppp I had before. My computer will soon be full of files. I don't get the replies from Serif/Affinity staff 'to keep using PagePlus'. I find my X9 version seems to crash more, lately and I have always updated the version when this happens. It won't last forever - nothing does. What happens when Microsoft updates from Windows 10 and PagePlus doesn't work anymore? Better,          Serif/Affinity staff,        to look after your previous loyal customers now, rather than loose us altogether. I like Affinty P, even though at the moment I can't print anything but blank pages. So please if you don't build a .ppp import into the programme, lets have a bolt on that can import these files even if it costs a little extra for us loyal customers. I know it might not import everything we want as explained in some of the posts, but it will speed up the import process and keep our computers free of hundreds of unnecessary old .ppp files and PDF's.

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Quote

Chocolatier

So please if you don't build a .ppp import into the programme, lets have a bolt on that can import these files even if it costs a little extra for us loyal customers. I know it might not import everything we want as explained in some of the posts, but it will speed up the import process and keep our computers free of hundreds of unnecessary old .ppp files and PDF's. 

I entirely agree. I don't mind paying more. Turing PP+ files into PDFs, then into AP is cumbersome and doesn't work very well. As can be seen from this conversion, the text is wrong - both text frames used the wrong font, size and spacing.

Dan Birthday 2016 0903 ng.afpub

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On 8/30/2018 at 5:36 PM, Patrick Connor said:

@Medwaymike

Welcome to the Serif Affinity forums :) 

We do not plan to support the legacy file formats (.PPP, .DPP or .SPP) in the Affinity range, sorry. The latest versions of those programs continue to work and we would suggest you continue using them for projects you have already invested a lot of time in, and use the Affinity range for your new projects going forward, or import PDF where you want new functionality provided by the Affinity software.

There are features in PPXX9 which are sadly lacking in the AP beta. Do you envisage a writeplus type of add on? I also asked about converting shapes to text boxes and picture holders. I was expecting some awesome features in AP but I find PPX9 far superior...

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Ok, so I've been tinkering and find that shapes can be converted to text boxes and picture holders under the layers tab. Resizing/positioning can be achieved by selecting the picture in it's shape and clicking on the picture frame tool icon on the left hand side. PPX9 does this so much better and contrast/brightness can also be adjusted in PPX9 as well as a cutout studio which I imagine would be through a link to Affinity Photo (eventually). So far, there's not a lot that AP can do any better than PPX9....

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I have been thinking in terms of small booklets that I produce and have done so in PP for several versions, but I had forgotten that I have produced a 570-page heavily-illustrated and indexed book using the program. If I were to have to mess about importing the pdfs for that and then explaining that the text (which seems to appear in numerous disconnected boxes) is continuous, I might just as well start again.
I have been a seriously loyal Serif supported over the years and have only recently recommended PP9 on a forum, but I am not happy about these changes, especially if as people are saying, not all that is in PP9 is in the new (and I may say less intuitive) program.

NOT good enough!

 

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1 hour ago, soundmanbrett said:

I have noticed that once you convert a shape into a text box you can no longer edit the shape, except to change the size. In PP you can still edit the shape.

You can still edit the shape in APub, too. You just need to have the Node Tool or any of the Shape Tools active when the shaped frame is selected.

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Affinity Publisher seems not too different from PagePlus in its use so should not be too difficult to learn.
However, I have been using PagePlus since the 1990s, currently on X9 which is excellent and more stable than its predecessors, and consequently I have created thousands of ppp files -  single page posters, numbered event tickets, merged membership cards, small publications (up to 44 page booklets), etc. All done without charge for various small local and national organisations and charities. I use many of these ppp files as templates for new work so not being able to open them directly in Affinity Publisher is quite a blow.  Yes the pdf route sort of works but the result takes a lot of editing time to achieve my original layout, especially where I have applied a lot of effects which seem to come out as curves in AP rather than text. If Affinity could support the import of ppp files more faithfully I'm sure it would attract many more PP users but for now I will probably use it only for brand-new work and stick to PP for my regular work.

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On 8/30/2018 at 5:36 PM, Patrick Connor said:

@Medwaymike

Welcome to the Serif Affinity forums :) 

We do not plan to support the legacy file formats (.PPP, .DPP or .SPP) in the Affinity range, sorry. The latest versions of those programs continue to work and we would suggest you continue using them for projects you have already invested a lot of time in, and use the Affinity range for your new projects going forward, or import PDF where you want new functionality provided by the Affinity software.

It seems to me that this is spitting in the faces of loyal Serif supporters. If the users of PagePlus (and other original programs from Serif) are to remain loyal to Serif, Serif should reciprocate. I doubt if the effort involved in making ppps or other so-called legacy (not much of a legacy if it is worthless, is it?) files transferable is worth the potential loss of users to other more responsible programs. Why, for example, buy a Serif photo-imaging program when Photoshop stays consistent and has vastly more usable add-ons such as brushes? I I have only just realised I did not reinstall PhotoPlus when my computer crashed some time back.
I don't know when I first bought a Serif product, but over the years I have bought many, many of them. If Serif wants me to stay loyal, they have to play fair.

 

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Hi MJWHM,
Welcome to Affinity Forums :)
As you probably have read by now the Affinity suite is being developed from scratch - it is not intended to be an upgrade or direct replacement to the Serif Plus line. This was done because Serif's Plus software codebase was starting showing its age and imposing limitations on its expansion. Affinity apps were developed with cross-platform in mind from beginning, a common file format that can be opened in any of the suite apps and to take advantage of the latest technology/API available on modern hardware/OSs. Since there's no feature parity between the old and new suite some of its features don't have yet an equivalent function/match in the new Affinity line or were implemented in a different way so even if there was an importer a few things would be lost anyway. Exporting the documents from the Plus line as PDF (SVG, PSD where applicable etc) isn't certainly an ideal solution as it also leads to some loss but the difference from a dedicated importer isn't probably that big to justify the time spent developing it. So what we advise is to keep using the old line for projects you have started there (it still works as usual as long as the OS supports it) and slowly transition new work to the new Affinity suite whenever possible. Hope you understand.

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52 minutes ago, MEB said:

Hi MJWHM,
Welcome to Affinity Forums :)
As you probably have read by now the Affinity suite is being developed from scratch - it is not intended to be an upgrade or direct replacement to the Serif Plus line. This was done because Serif's Plus software codebase was starting showing its age and imposing limitations on its expansion. Affinity apps were developed with cross-platform in mind from beginning, a common file format that can be opened in any of the suite apps and to take advantage of the latest technology/API available on modern hardware/OSs. Since there's no feature parity between the old and new suite some of its features don't have yet an equivalent function/match in the new Affinity line or were implemented in a different way so even if there was an importer a few things would be lost anyway. Exporting the documents from the Plus line as PDF (SVG, PSD where applicable etc) isn't certainly an ideal solution as it also leads to some loss but the difference from a dedicated importer isn't probably that big to justify the time spent developing it. So what we advise is to keep using the old line for projects you have started there (it still works as usual as long as the OS supports it) and slowly transition new work to the new Affinity suite whenever possible. Hope you understand.

 

You should never had retired PagePlus if as you said is true (especially as it has epub3 support this doesn't).

You share nothing with adobe but allow their file imports with best endeavours, because you want to capitalise on their users, but not your own!

 

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