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Photo and Designer


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I'm new to AP and am having fun learning this cool tool. In watching videos and perusing the forums I've noticed that a lot of the features seem to overlap between Photo and Designer.

Although images are my main interest, I think some of the features of Designer would be useful. I doubt that I would buy Designer for these features because I don't want to have to switch programs to access them. But a 'Studio' that combined the features of both would be  very attractive.

Has there been discussion of creating such a product? 

Windows 11 Pro, XP-Pen Deco 03, AP, AD & APub

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Has there been discussion of creating such a product? 

I very much doubt it since it is as easy as one click to "Edit in Designer" from Photo and "Edit in Photo" from Designer!  Similarly, Publisher will, in the not-too-far-distant future, allow rapid access to either Photo or Designer!

IOW, you don't need to "switch programs" in the way that I think you are suggesting; using the "Edit in.." route opens the program concerned, with your file already in its workscreen and any changes you now make to that file are updated in the program you were originally working in! (I hope that makes sense!!  :/)

Jeff

Win 10 Pro, i7 6700K, 32Gb RAM, NVidia GTX1660 Ti and Intel HD530 Graphics

Long-time user of Serif products, chiefly PagePlus and PhotoPlus, but also WebPlus, CraftArtistProfessional and DrawPlus.  Delighted to be using Affinity Designer, Photo, and now Publisher, version 1 and now version 2.

iPad Pro (12.9") (iOS 17.4) running Affinity Photo and Designer version 1 and all three version 2 apps.

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1 hour ago, emmrecs01 said:

I very much doubt it since it is as easy as one click to "Edit in Designer" from Photo and "Edit in Photo" from Designer!  Similarly, Publisher will, in the not-too-far-distant future, allow rapid access to either Photo or Designer!

IOW, you don't need to "switch programs" in the way that I think you are suggesting; using the "Edit in.." route opens the program concerned, with your file already in its workscreen and any changes you now make to that file are updated in the program you were originally working in! (I hope that makes sense!!  :/)

Jeff

Yes, that absolutely makes sense. I didn't realize that I could do that. Can I then leave the file open in both programs and switch between them to avoid the time required to open the other program?

Windows 11 Pro, XP-Pen Deco 03, AP, AD & APub

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3 hours ago, casterle said:

Can I then leave the file open in both programs and switch between them to avoid the time required to open the other program?

You can have both programs open, and the file open in one of them. When you choose, for example, Edit in Photo while you're in Designer, the file disappears from the Designer window and appears in the Photo window. When you need to go back to Designer, you choose Edit in Designer from Photo, and the file disappears from Photo and reappears in Designer.

-- Walt
Designer, Photo, and Publisher V1 and V2 at latest retail and beta releases
PC:
    Desktop:  Windows 11 Pro, version 23H2, 64GB memory, AMD Ryzen 9 5900 12-Core @ 3.00 GHz, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 

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It is not ideal, but switching is quite fast.

Ideally, there would be one Affinity Suite, that would have available the Personas by the purchased licenses.

Affinity Store (MSI/EXE): Affinity Suite (ADe, APh, APu) 2.4.0.2301
Dell OptiPlex 7060, i5-8500 3.00 GHz, 16 GB, Intel UHD Graphics 630, Dell P2417H 1920 x 1080, Windows 11 Pro, Version 23H2, Build 22631.3155.
Dell Latitude E5570, i5-6440HQ 2.60 GHz, 8 GB, Intel HD Graphics 530, 1920 x 1080, Windows 11 Pro, Version 23H2, Build 22631.3155.
Intel NUC5PGYH, Pentium N3700 2.40 GHz, 8 GB, Intel HD Graphics, EIZO EV2456 1920 x 1200, Windows 10 Pro, Version 21H1, Build 19043.2130.

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17 hours ago, walt.farrell said:

You can have both programs open, and the file open in one of them. When you choose, for example, Edit in Photo while you're in Designer, the file disappears from the Designer window and appears in the Photo window. When you need to go back to Designer, you choose Edit in Designer from Photo, and the file disappears from Photo and reappears in Designer.

Thanks, that will work!

Windows 11 Pro, XP-Pen Deco 03, AP, AD & APub

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15 hours ago, Pšenda said:

It is not ideal, but switching is quite fast.

Ideally, there would be one Affinity Suite, that would have available the Personas by the purchased licenses.

I would prefer that, but as long as I can get from one app to the other as easily as Walt describes I can live with that.

Windows 11 Pro, XP-Pen Deco 03, AP, AD & APub

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2 hours ago, casterle said:

I can live with that

If you skip from one application to another often, it will stop you soon :-)

Affinity Store (MSI/EXE): Affinity Suite (ADe, APh, APu) 2.4.0.2301
Dell OptiPlex 7060, i5-8500 3.00 GHz, 16 GB, Intel UHD Graphics 630, Dell P2417H 1920 x 1080, Windows 11 Pro, Version 23H2, Build 22631.3155.
Dell Latitude E5570, i5-6440HQ 2.60 GHz, 8 GB, Intel HD Graphics 530, 1920 x 1080, Windows 11 Pro, Version 23H2, Build 22631.3155.
Intel NUC5PGYH, Pentium N3700 2.40 GHz, 8 GB, Intel HD Graphics, EIZO EV2456 1920 x 1200, Windows 10 Pro, Version 21H1, Build 19043.2130.

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3 hours ago, casterle said:

What do you mean?

I speak for myself here not @Pšenda . I get confused and therefore frustrated by things not being available in Designer because I think I am in Photo. And vice versa.

Mac Pro (Late 2013) Mac OS 12.7.4 
Affinity Designer 2.4.0 | Affinity Photo 2.4.0 | Affinity Publisher 2.4.0 | Beta versions as they appear.

I have never mastered color management, period, so I cannot help with that.

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Continuous skipping from one app to other for every little thing, simply fatigue over time. For example skipping due to frequent merging of selected layers, that AD does not do, etc.

Affinity Store (MSI/EXE): Affinity Suite (ADe, APh, APu) 2.4.0.2301
Dell OptiPlex 7060, i5-8500 3.00 GHz, 16 GB, Intel UHD Graphics 630, Dell P2417H 1920 x 1080, Windows 11 Pro, Version 23H2, Build 22631.3155.
Dell Latitude E5570, i5-6440HQ 2.60 GHz, 8 GB, Intel HD Graphics 530, 1920 x 1080, Windows 11 Pro, Version 23H2, Build 22631.3155.
Intel NUC5PGYH, Pentium N3700 2.40 GHz, 8 GB, Intel HD Graphics, EIZO EV2456 1920 x 1200, Windows 10 Pro, Version 21H1, Build 19043.2130.

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31 minutes ago, Pšenda said:

Continuous skipping from one app to other for every little thing, simply fatigue over time. For example skipping due to frequent merging of selected layers, that AD does not do, etc.

Yes, I see your point. I guess a Studio product would be a better solution. 

Windows 11 Pro, XP-Pen Deco 03, AP, AD & APub

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1 hour ago, Old Bruce said:

I speak for myself here not @Pšenda . I get confused and therefore frustrated by things not being available in Designer because I think I am in Photo. And vice versa.

Yes, I can see where that would happen to me, especially if the UI's are very similar (I haven't tried Designer yet) which I would guess they are.

Windows 11 Pro, XP-Pen Deco 03, AP, AD & APub

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1 hour ago, SHADIYATSI said:

Although images are my main interest, I think some of the features of Designer would be useful. I doubt that I would buy Designer for these features because I don't want to have to switch programs to access them. But a 'Studio' that combined the features of both would be  very attractive.

I agree 100%. I'd gladly pay 50% more for a product that combined the features of both. I bet there are many AP- or AD-only users who would do the same.

Windows 11 Pro, XP-Pen Deco 03, AP, AD & APub

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2 hours ago, casterle said:

pay 50% more

I personally think, that the price for Affinity applications is so low, that it allows users to buy second tool, if they use it.

Affinity Store (MSI/EXE): Affinity Suite (ADe, APh, APu) 2.4.0.2301
Dell OptiPlex 7060, i5-8500 3.00 GHz, 16 GB, Intel UHD Graphics 630, Dell P2417H 1920 x 1080, Windows 11 Pro, Version 23H2, Build 22631.3155.
Dell Latitude E5570, i5-6440HQ 2.60 GHz, 8 GB, Intel HD Graphics 530, 1920 x 1080, Windows 11 Pro, Version 23H2, Build 22631.3155.
Intel NUC5PGYH, Pentium N3700 2.40 GHz, 8 GB, Intel HD Graphics, EIZO EV2456 1920 x 1200, Windows 10 Pro, Version 21H1, Build 19043.2130.

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On 2/27/2019 at 10:00 PM, Pšenda said:

Continuous skipping from one app to other for every little thing, simply fatigue over time. For example skipping due to frequent merging of selected layers, that AD does not do, etc.

 

16 minutes ago, Pšenda said:

I personally think, that the price for Affinity applications is so low, that it allows users to buy second tool, if they use it.

It sounds as though you’re in favour of combining all the functions of AD and APh into a single app which costs twice as much as either one on its own.

Alfred spacer.png
Affinity Designer/Photo/Publisher 2 for Windows • Windows 10 Home/Pro
Affinity Designer/Photo/Publisher 2 for iPad • iPadOS 17.4.1 (iPad 7th gen)

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47 minutes ago, Pšenda said:

I personally think, that the price for Affinity applications is so low, that it allows users to buy second tool, if they use it.

I don't disagree about price, but I don't want two programs. At first this seemed like a reasonable solution, but reading the comments here and elsewhere has changed my mind.

Windows 11 Pro, XP-Pen Deco 03, AP, AD & APub

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34 minutes ago, Alfred said:

It sounds as though you’re in favour of combining all the functions of AD and APh into a single app which costs twice as much as either one on its own.

Speaking for myself here, I'd pay $100 for a Studio product. I mentioned paying 50% more above which I though was reasonable given the existing overlap between both products, but if Affinity included all features from both products in one I'd pay more.

Windows 11 Pro, XP-Pen Deco 03, AP, AD & APub

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10 hours ago, Alfred said:

It sounds as though you’re in favour of combining all the functions of AD and APh into a single app which costs twice as much as either one on its own.

No, definitely not.

I think,that two/three separate apps are the right way, because they allow users to buy exactly what they need for their specific purposes. They are only interested in photography, they buy only APhoto. If their interest is wider, they buy both or all three apps.

I would, however, like to customize the application according to the purchased licenses. Already today, the applications can do everything else with other applications - ADesigner can apply filters to photos created in APhoto, APhoto can draw vector shapes drawn in ADesigner (like text on path), etc. This is a big advantage of a common format and common engine applications (bravo, I say this as a developer). So just make it available to other applications is editing and entering specific parameters - make them modular to adapt their skills/Personas according to the licenses (Draw Persona in APhoto, Photo and Develop Persona in ADesigner, etc.). When buying two or more licenses, ASuite application would be created instead of a individual APh/ADe/APub applications, between which you need to switch.

Perhaps I wrote it understandably :-)

Affinity Store (MSI/EXE): Affinity Suite (ADe, APh, APu) 2.4.0.2301
Dell OptiPlex 7060, i5-8500 3.00 GHz, 16 GB, Intel UHD Graphics 630, Dell P2417H 1920 x 1080, Windows 11 Pro, Version 23H2, Build 22631.3155.
Dell Latitude E5570, i5-6440HQ 2.60 GHz, 8 GB, Intel HD Graphics 530, 1920 x 1080, Windows 11 Pro, Version 23H2, Build 22631.3155.
Intel NUC5PGYH, Pentium N3700 2.40 GHz, 8 GB, Intel HD Graphics, EIZO EV2456 1920 x 1200, Windows 10 Pro, Version 21H1, Build 19043.2130.

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18 hours ago, Pšenda said:

No, definitely not.

I think,that two/three separate apps are the right way, because they allow users to buy exactly what they need for their specific purposes. They are only interested in photography, they buy only APhoto. If their interest is wider, they buy both or all three apps.

Sorry, but I disagree. I combine images with other graphics as a hobby to create art. This involves the functions generally associated with photography as well as those generally associated with illustration. I want a product that addresses that need. Switching between products to work on a single project is not an answer as I have found out.

A combined product would not prohibit you from buying AP or AD separately, but it would allow me to have what I want - the full function of both apps in one program.

18 hours ago, Pšenda said:

So just make it available to other applications is editing and entering specific parameters - make them modular to adapt their skills/Personas according to the licenses (Draw Persona in APhoto, Photo and Develop Persona in ADesigner, etc.).

I hate Personas. They prevent me from, say, checking for blown-out pixels while I'm working in the Photo Persona (only available in Develop). I believe they exist now because of the program's architecture (the Clipping tools in Developer do not work in Photo even if you make the tools available on the toolbar). 

I hope this will change over time. Perhaps there should be a Photo module, Designer module and Publisher module with a common UI. But this would have to be done in such a way that when I add the Designer module to my AP app, the drawing tools are added to the Photo Persona rather than adding a Draw Persona that I have to switch to if I want to access what Designer adds to the mix.

Windows 11 Pro, XP-Pen Deco 03, AP, AD & APub

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