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Place Multiple Images at Once? + Gap Tool?


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Hello to Affinity Publishers,

Just tried Affinity Publisher for the first time and am really impressed!

However, I was wondering about the following points:

(A) if it is possible to place multiple images at once, like InDesign (ID) can - if that feature is not available yet, can you please suggest any work around, rather than having to place images one by one?

(B) Alternatively if (A) is not possible,  can I arrange multiple picture frames (at once) across the page at the same time? If that feature is not available, can  you please suggest how to resize multiple picture frames at once across entire page border - for the rapid creation of storyboards?

(C) Are Affinity going working on developing a Gap Tool to adjust the gutter between picture frames like ID?

(D) Is it possible to create a continuous series of A3 pages butting their left page edges up against the preceding pages right page edge (rather like a 3 or 4 page continuous spread), to effectively create one long (continuous) document. I recently had to make a continuous time-line document in ID, and am hoping that feature will be enabled too? I played around with arranging the pages, however I am not able to figure out how to do this?

Thank You ~ Lozza

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Hi Lozza,
Welcome to Affinity Forums :)

A) Check this video tutorial (placing multiple images start at 02:26).

B) You can use Power Duplicate to duplicate a series of objects using the same transforms settings. Check this video tutorial. It's for Affinity Designer but it also applies to Publisher. Note that you can't use the Nudge (cursor keys) functions with Power Duplicate.

C) As far as I know no gap tool is in development.

D) This is not possible at this point.

 

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33 minutes ago, MEB said:

Hi Lozza,
Welcome to Affinity Forums :)

A) Check this video tutorial (placing multiple images start at 02:26).

B) You can use Power Duplicate to duplicate a series of objects using the same transforms settings. Check this video tutorial. It's for Affinity Designer but it also applies to Publisher. Note that you can't use the Nudge (cursor keys) functions with Power Duplicate.

C) As far as I know no gap tool is in development.

D) This is not possible at this point.

 

Ok the Place of multiple images is a bit cumbersome. 

1) If you just use File>Place and select 3 images, you can't place them neatly on the page

2) Pre-setting up image frames is different the File>Place of images, as if you place an image it is not automatically inserted into a Picture Frame. If you place into a frame - it's a different process. 

3) It's not neat at all - placing images into a frame. If you move the image within the frame, then resize the frame, the original size and position of the image iside the frame resets - I've tried all the settings, locked layers, image properties box and all that - nothing works. Seems buggy.

4) It's not efficient - InDesign allows you to use FIle>Place and you can create a grid of images in seconds - https://tinytutorials.wordpress.com/2010/09/30/indesign-cs5-new-feature-grid-mode-gridify/

 

I think this Place feature is great - with the panel on the side - the large thumbnails etc. - but I feel it could do with a few options in the Place panel that appears. Like an option to place all images at once, select 1 row to get all 3 images in a row. Or if you have 10 images - you could select to have 2 rows, which gives a grid of 2 rows x 5 columns. Or alternatively, you could want 12 images placed, and use a grid of 3 rows, giving 3 columns. 

 

Power Duplicate!

That's awesome, didn't know how to do that in Publisher - looks great! Is there going to be a Panel for this, so you could choose offsets, rotation, steps etc. with a preview before committing to adding 250 objects to the page? 

 

Gap Tool

I find this useless, it's a feature from InDesign - I have used InDesign since about 2004 - and Gap tool was introduced in CS5 circa 2010, 8 years ago. I think I have used it about zero times!

However, a quick onscreen option to adjust gaps, alignment, align to margins, spread, page etc. would be very welcome! Or even the control panel to throw up the option when multiple items selected. 

It would be a very powerful feature!

 

Pages - spreads!

Definitely need to have multiple pages stepped up - vital for tri fold, gatefolds etc. to have 3 or more pages in a spread. 

This could also give fold marks on the exported PDF or other file formats. 

 

 

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I will never understand, why multi size pages within a spread is so important. Sure: It is nice to have, but there is no layout which you can’t achieve without this.

I am a graphic designen and every day I create multi fold layouts, or package designs and never ever use this feature in InDesign. I always create one page and set the necessary guides of fold marks manually. For me spreads with multi size pages were and are completely unnecessary –at least all, but no crucial feature.

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5 minutes ago, mac_heibu said:

I will never understand, why multi size pages within a spread is so important. Sure: It is nice to have, but there is no layout which you can’t achieve without this.

I am a graphic designen and every day I create multi fold layouts, or package designs and never ever use this feature in InDesign. I always create one page and set the necessary guides of fold marks manually. For me spreads with multi size pages were and are completely unnecessary –at least all, but no crucial feature.

True - it's possible and was the way for years to create a document at full spread, column guides, and all that. 

For a tri-fold printing, it needs to be short on one panel or it won't fold correctly. It's very easy in InDesign, or other programmes, to set up a 3 page spread, and two pages 2mm shorter. 

The advantages I see are this:

You get 3 pages with the margins set equally on all pages (even the shorter page)
You get automatic trim fold marks on output of PDF with crop marks
 

I also use it for the Spine of a book. 
1 page A4 - 1 page at 10mm - 1 page at A4

Very easy to adjust the spine if the printer comes with a spine adjustment of say 2mm. Or page count goes dramatically up, resize the middle page to 15mm if necessary. 

 

 

Plus - it's easier when they are pages when asked for content, say they want the front cover as an image for social media - it's quite easy to export Page 3 of the layout - rather than cropping pages, exporting etc. It's already done with a 3 spread layout. 

Covers with fold outs - dust jackets etc. all easily done by adding an extra page to the side of the cover - and you can then adjust just this page to get the size of the fold out correct, or the size of the dust jacket. 

 

Yes - it can be done manually - but as a wise person once said to me - "If I'm using a computer, why am I doing it myself!" 

In other words - the computer should do the hard work... :)

 

Anyway - I'm sure there are other uses of multi-page spreads - just my take on it. 

The beauty is, you can use it if you like it, or don't use it - at least you have a choice. 

 

For many people, multi-page spreads are common workflow these days. Essential - maybe not - but it takes the hard work out of it. 

For example, go from a 12 page concertina to a 6 page - I don't know why - client asked for it - just delete the pages.

Done.

 

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Hi Eugene Tyson,
Welcome to Affinity Forums :)

Thanks for your feedback.
1) No, currently you can't place them neatly on the page 
2) You can drop the images independently on the layout (as Image layers) or drop them inside an existing picture frame to have them as picture frames.
3) This is a bug that's already logged to be looked at.
4) It's just the first version. Hopefully more improvements will come as development moves forward.

Power Duplicate:
You can use the Transform panel to insert specific values for X,Y, width, height, rotation etc, or perform the transforms directly on canvas. Note that you can use math operations/expressions in the Transform (and other) panels input fields. Check this Help topic for more details: Expressions for field input. There's no preview for the Power Duplicate operation since it creates the objects as you power duplicate them (one by one). This feature doesn't generate a group of objects at once.

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27 minutes ago, mac_heibu said:

As I said: Nice to have but not crucial! :)

You may not use it - but I get hundreds of files who have used this - and I get files in prepress in this format all the time. 

I am a prepress operator, graphic designer, and typesetter of over 20 years, and I see all types of files. Most of the time we receive files, original artwork setup in spreads.

It's just the way the industry has gone, at least in Ireland. I rarely get a file that is setup as an A4 with guides for a tri-fold. 

But then again - it's nice to have the option to set it up that way and if people are used to that, then they won't be used to doing it the old-fahsioned way! 

25 minutes ago, MEB said:

Hi Eugene Tyson,
Welcome to Affinity Forums :)

Thanks for your feedback.
1) No, currently you can't place them neatly on the page 
2) You can drop the images independently on the layout (as Image layers) or drop them inside an existing picture frame to have them as picture frames.
3) This is a bug that's already logged to be looked at.
4) It's just the first version. Hopefully more improvements will come as development moves forward.

Power Duplicate:
You can use the Transform panel to insert specific values for X,Y, width, height, rotation etc, or perform the transforms directly on canvas. Note that you can use math operations/expressions in the Transform (and other) panels input fields. Check this Help topic for more details: Expressions for field input. There's no preview for the Power Duplicate operation since it creates the objects as you power duplicate them (one by one). This feature doesn't generate a group of objects at once.

Thanks for the welcome! Appreciated! 

4) Defo - first version, very impressed! These are simply my suggestions and feedback on how to make it even better! 

Power duplicate: I get what you're saying. Nice! 

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Thanks Everyone for the input/ help.

Agree with Eugene Tyson that the more features that can be performed by computer the better, rather than doing manually. That said I guess I will be saving much money regarding shifting away from Adobe, so guess some things can be manually laid out without too much fuss.

Anyway appreciate everyones input re alternative work arounds and am sure there will be many improvements introduced overtime to match many of InDesigns features.

Cheers ~ Loren

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Quote

For many people, multi-page spreads are common workflow these days. Essential - maybe not - but it takes the hard work out of it. 

I'd also add that many people using DTP software are not graphically trained. I have learnt to do certain tasks myself because it makes sense not to have to pay someone else to do it. It means I don't have a background of knowledge and experience when it comes to setting up documents for printing. A preset document layout takes a lot of guesswork, angst, and research out of a task, and means I don't make mistakes due to lack of knowledge.

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 1 year later...

This is a fascinating discussion, just what I needed, unfortunately it does not answer my question ...

in InDesign I used to do my book covers as [mac_heibu] does, but a a few years ago I found it much more convenient to use the [Eugene Tyson] 3 page trick  210 – 13 – 210  where adjusting the spine calliper at the last minute for pre-press or as I do working a series titles where spines always vary it's much easier.

Anyway, I see these posts are nearly two years old, I wonder if anything has moved on.

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