Pasting AF images into Apple docs

[Rockmud]

When I used illustrator, I could copy the .ai file and paste it as a vector graphic directly into an apple doc such as .pages or .keynote. AF doesn't do that. A png or other format, will pixelate and get blurry in the doc. I tried exporting to an SVG as well, but Apple docs doesn't like it. Is there a work-around for this issue? Will AF be supporting the pasting of AF files directly into Apple docs?

[firstdefence]

Have you tried exporting to PDF and in the More section of the export option (bottom right) you can tell affinity to rasterise nothing.

[Lee D]

If you're using Affinity Designer, under Preferences > General is Copy items as SVG, make sure this is enabled. Objects created in Designer should copy and Paste into Apple Pages fine, based on a quick test of some shapes and lines and brush strokes. If you have images files, instead of opening in Affinity and then pasting into Pages, just use the Insert option in Pages. If some objects paste blurry, it could be the pasted size is incorrect or the document setup such as the DPI is different.

Our developers don't have any plans to open our file format up so other apps can support our file formats.

[R C-R]

6 minutes ago, Lee D said:

If you're using Affinity Designer, under Preferences > General is Copy items as SVG, make sure this is enabled.

In a quick test with Pages, at least for me it doesn't matter if "Copy items as SVG" is enabled or not -- copied Affinity objects are pasted as "pasted-image.pdf" files, whatever that is supposed to mean:

Pasted .ai files show the ".ai" file extension but are effectively treated the same as pdf's -- they can be resized, masked, given shadow styles, etc. but there is no way in Pages to edit their individual vector objects. That makes me think Pages is just pasting the embedded pdf (if the ai file has one), but treats it more or less like Affinity treats Image layers.

[Rockmud]

Thank you for your reply. I did as suggested. I set the SVG Dpi to 192 and checked the "export font as curves" box. Apple pages still say "this image is not supported by this device", which I've never had happen before with any other program. I assume it is something to do with AF export file. 

[Rockmud]

I did change the settings in preferences to enable copy of svg, then I've tried exporting with no rasterization. I get the same message that my device does not support this image type. If I use a pdf or png, the image has to be resized and comes up blurry. Resizing the document does not resize the image. 

[Rockmud]

I tried exporting the image as pdf and it does resize within pages without blurring, so that will work. I am curious though why an af file, or svg file is not pastable? Thanks all for your help.

[firstdefence]

The SVG format can do the same thing in several different ways, so an SVG from one program may not be quite the same "under the bonnet/hood" so to speak. It's how the code is written.

Having said that you will not get svg to work with pages, PDF or EPS are acceptable but a good quality png file will do just as well.

If the shapes aren't complex try using the in-house shapes that pages supply.

[R C-R]

4 hours ago, Rockmud said:

Thank you for your reply. I did as suggested. I set the SVG Dpi to 192 and checked the "export font as curves" box. Apple pages still say "this image is not supported by this device", which I've never had happen before with any other program. I assume it is something to do with AF export file. 

In Pages, I get the same message for any file with a .svg extension, whatever the source. This includes files created & saved in Inkscape with any of its svg save options, svg files I have downloaded from web sources like Pixabay, & so on, so it isn't anything to do with Affinity SVG exports. This is not too surprising to me because Pages does not have an option to export to the SVG format either.

However, as I mentioned earlier, objects copied to the clipboard from an Affinity app paste into Pages documents as "pasted-image.pdf" files. This includes Groups, Layers (the capital L container type), & so on, not just individual vector objects. They appear to be treated as resolution-independent vector objects in Pages, so they can be resized without becoming blurry.

The most interesting (& surprising) thing about this to me is if a document containing these "pasted-image.pdf" files is exported from Pages to the PDF format, the vector object & layer structure is still there (if a bit mangled) if those files are then opened in an Affinity app. So it seems that Pages retains the vector properties of these "pasted-image.pdf" files internally, even if it does not allow editing them from within the app.

BTW, this also works when exporting Pages documents containing its in-house shapes objects to PDF, so those shapes (simple as most of them are) can be used in Affinity apps too. 

[firstdefence]

Pages must be vector aware because it has a rudimentary pen tool see image below.

I've read somewhere you can use a command line app svg2key this creates shapes that can be imported into keynote, I'm not sure but would pages then be able to share keynotes shapes? 

[R C-R]

16 minutes ago, firstdefence said:

Pages must be vector aware because it has a rudimentary pen tool see image below.

It is 'vector aware' but from what I can tell, it does not allow editing (or even displaying) the nodes of pasted vector objects, so there is nothing that can be done with them other than resizing, masking, adding shadow effects, & such. That's what I meant about it treating them sort of like Image layers in Affinity.

Truthfully, I find the UI of Pages & Keynote so wretched & awkward to use compared to the Affinity UI that I almost never use either app for anything. I guess it might be useful for adding hyperlinks, some shadow effects, & a few other things to Affinity documents exported to pdf, but that's about all.

[v_kyr]

8 hours ago, R C-R said:

It is 'vector aware' but from what I can tell, it does not allow editing (or even displaying) the nodes of pasted vector objects, ...

Quote

Adjust curves along the edge of a shape

1. Select a shape.

2. Choose Format > Shapes and Lines > Make Editable (from the Format menu at the top of your screen).

3. Double-click a white handle to change a line from curved to straight.

   Handles represent different types of lines:

   • Square with red outline: Indicates a sharp line. Lines that connect to this point are straight.

   • Circle with red outline: Indicates a curved line. Lines that connect to this point are curved.

     

4. Click outside the shape when you’re done editing it.

To change the default curves to Bézier, choose Keynote > Preferences (from the Keynote menu at the top of your screen), then in the General tab, select “Curves default to Bézier.” When you edit a shape that uses Bézier curves, you adjust the curve using handles on the point.

Adjust the features of a shape

You can change features of any basic shape (from the Basic category in the shapes library) that has a green dot when it’s selected. For example, you can add more arms to a five-point star.

...

...

It offers only few basic things here since it's not supposed to replace other vector drawing tools, but instead offer quick and easy turnarounds for the non IT people. - Personally I used sometimes Yed (Java based) for taking over class and flow diagramm signs etc. since that can export to SVG, PDF etc. instead of using (copy/paste) so you have much more possibilities when reusing vector format stuff.

[Rockmud]

Thank you all. Everything you've contributed is very helpful and much appreciated. 

[R C-R]

2 hours ago, v_kyr said:

It offers only few basic things here ...

It is so basic that the Adjust curves along the edge of a shape feature does not work with pasted vector objects, only with the built-in shapes. For pasted vectors, Make Editable is greyed out. In fact, everything on the Shapes and Lines > Make Editable format menu is greyed out when pasted vector items are selected, so no Break Apart, no node editing, no saving to 'my shapes' or any of the other options. 

There is a workaround of a sort for that: in Pages, you can copy one of these objects to the clipboard & use Affinity's New From Clipboard to open it & edit its vector  shapes there, then copy & paste that back into Pages. It isn't very elegant, but if you only have the Pages version of the pasted item & need to edit it, it will work.

Since Pages has fairly extensive AppleScript support, it might be possible to automate some of this & a few other things, but I haven't tried that & probably won't.

[v_kyr]

Well it's overall concept (NS Pages) is pretty old and stems from 1993 and then it was always more meant as a modul based word processing engine, build around object modules. In former times it only handled the system shared graphics, which nearly every NS software was able to deal with (EPS/TIFF). Though copy/paste of EPS between Apps those days was pretty common and worked flawless, as one would expect from a system running on screen encapsulated display postcript. - Thus I said before it was initially never meant to deal with drawing features for vector graphics at all.

 

[R C-R]

18 minutes ago, v_kyr said:

Well it's overall concept (NS Pages) is pretty old ...

Thanks for the link! It was fun reading about the features of that old app. And 'only' $599, too.