AD v DP8

[jackamus]

A few weeks ago I was bemoaning the fact that DrawPlus8 had a few features and tools that AD has not yet implemented.  Someone suggested that I download 'Parallels' which would allow me to run DP8 from Windows on my Mac. This I did however it left an incompatibility between AD files and DP8 files.

I was able to get round this by saving as a pdf in AD and then importing into DP8 to use its non-AD features. This is working quite well. 

[stokerg]

2 minutes ago, jackamus said:

however it left an incompatibility between AD files and DP8 files.

That would be correct, DrawPlus can't open .afdesign files and Designer can't open .dpp files.  I very much doubt Affinity will ever be able to open a native dpp file and DrawPlus certainlly won't be able to open .afdesign files, as thats no longer being developed.  So PDF, as you've found out, is the best route to take.

[jackamus]

I do realise that there may be times when a pdf may not work between platforms. The main feature of DP8 that I use is the Dimension tool. I do the  drawing in AD but use DP8 to add dimensions.

[stokerg]

5 minutes ago, jackamus said:

I do realise that there may be times when a pdf may not work between platforms.

For those cases, then you can always use one of the other export to another formats, EPS/SVG both are vector formats and will open in Designer just fine.  But PDF is a universal format which should have no really problems between Windows and MacOS.  I've got a Mac and Windows PC on my desk here and often swap PDF files between the operating systems and haven't ran into any issues yet  

[Alfred]

1 minute ago, stokerg said:

I've got a Mac and Windows PC on my desk here and often swap PDF files between the operating systems and haven't ran into any issues yet  

The main issue that users are likely to encounter is that filter effects (in both DPX8 and AD) are rendered as bitmap rather than vector.

[jackamus]

I haven't got that far yet with experimenting between platforms. I do not expect every feature of either AD or DP8 to be compatible, just enough to do the required job for me.