A Little Bit Disappointed...

[Steaming T]

Now that Publisher is finally out I am both happy and a little disappointed! I am happy because I finally can let InDesign go and no longer have to worry about subscribing and never own my software. I am a little disappointed though and here's the reason why: Along with Publisher the concept of StudioLink was also introduced. This promises "Full integration of Affinity apps". Sadly this integration leaves something to be desired. I am currently working on a document with almost 40 portraits in color. These images was first prepared in Affinity Photo by first removing the background and then adding a layer with a new neutral background. This resulted in 40 .afphoto-files, each with two layers. The problem here is that when I place them into Publisher the layers disappears and the result is a single flat image. This would be all good if I just wanted to adjust the image as a whole but in my case I need to adjust just the image without the background being affected. This is where I had such great hopes for using the Photo persona in Publisher but since the layers never follows the image that is being placed this functionality is not what I was hoping for.

I have found a solution though. I have made copies of all the Photo-files without the background layer and then added the background in Publisher instead. Since Publisher has most of the adjustments that are also available in Photo I can then edit my images without using the Photo persona. Not the most elegant solution compared to what I was expecting from the StudioLink but it will have to do for now.

So to the developers of Publisher: PLEASE MAKE IT POSSIBLE TO PLACE A .AFPHOTO FILE WITH ALL THE LAYERS INTACT INTO PUBLISHER FOR FURTHER MANIPULATION!!!

[walt.farrell]

3 hours ago, Steaming T said:

So to the developers of Publisher: PLEASE MAKE IT POSSIBLE TO PLACE A .AFPHOTO FILE WITH ALL THE LAYERS INTACT INTO PUBLISHER FOR FURTHER MANIPULATION!!!

You can already do that:

1. Ensure you are Placing the files as Linked, not Embedded.
2. Double-click on the placed file with the Move Tool.
3. Click on Edit Document in the Context Toolbar, which will open it in a new tab/window.
4. Switch to the Photo Persona, if you want.
5. Do your edits, and close the tab/window when you're done.

[carl123]

1 hour ago, walt.farrell said:

1. Ensure you are Placing the files as Linked, not Embedded.

Linked or embedded works for me

Are you seeing a different behaviour ?

[A_B_C]

Here is a little video that may show you that your initial disappointment is probably unwarranted. 

As the previous posters said,

• make sure to place your .aphoto document, using File > Place … or the shortcut. The placed document must be called Linked document in the Layers Panel. Otherwise, you are going down the wrong route.
• Then you will have the option to edit the linked document from any of the three studio environments of Publisher.
• All layers, adjustments, etc. will be there!
• Note that all your edits within Publisher (sorry for the awful tint in my video!) are entirely non-destructive and do not affect the source image. So, for instance, when you place the image another time, you will get the original source image again.

Does that make sense? 

 

[Steaming T]

You say that "All layers, adjustments, etc. will be there!" but that's not true. The layers in Photo is not transferred over to Publisher.

Thanks for the video but I already know that! The problem here is that I have nine portraits in a row and want to edit the one at a time while seeing the others for comparison. With the method you are showing in your video I am not able to see the changes before I close the edit and returns to the main page. In the enclosed screenshot you can see exactly what I am working on. I want to be able to color correct the images while seeing the others for reference. Also each image is actually two layers, one for the image and one for the background (done in Photo). Once placed in Publisher the layers are gone and when trying to adjust ex. brightness or contrast the whole image is affected, both the image and the background and I don't want that.

[A_B_C]

So as far as I understand, you are basically asking for a Separated Mode or similar, as in your other thread? I am not exactly sure … 

Well, then of course, my video isn’t of much avail, sorry. In that case, I would simply suggest that you create a multi-artboard document in Publisher’s Designer Persona and simply copy the entire document structure from the different .aphoto files to these artboards. This way, you can keep your photos side-by-side in a manageable way. I did that very often in the past.

[Steaming T]

Actually I have found a better solution. I have removed the background layers in all the images and are adding the background on a separate layer for each image in Publisher instead. That way I can edit the images in place using the adjustments in Publisher which are quite similar to Photo anyway - and without using the Photo persona.

See enclosed screen shots.

In Photo:

In Publisher:

[A_B_C]

Another idea. If you group all layers of your Affinity Photo files and copy the resulting group into your Publisher document by Copy and Paste, you can edit all your photos in place. But I don’t know whether you will be happy with that approach.

[Steaming T]

That is not an option unfortunately because I would have to reformat the size of the copied image every time. The best of course would be for Publisher to accept to place a Photo file with all the layers intact.

[fde101]

36 minutes ago, Steaming T said:

I would have to reformat the size of the copied image every time

Every time what?  You need to do that anyway when you originally place the image, so whether the image gets there by copy/paste or by using the "Place Image" feature or by drag & drop that would be the case...  not sure what the limitation is here?

 

33 minutes ago, Steaming T said:

The best of course would be for Publisher to accept to place a Photo file with all the layers intact.

It already does, but the layers are within the embedded document so they can't be expanded on the Layers panel.  Using the "Edit Document" feature opens the embedded document so you can see inside of it.

[walt.farrell]

2 hours ago, Steaming T said:

The problem here is that I have nine portraits in a row and want to edit the one at a time while seeing the others for comparison.

You should be able to have both the full document and the image you're working on visible on the screen at the same time in Publisher, just as you can have multiple documents visible at the same time in Photo and Designer. However, as I'm not a Mac user I can't tell you how to do that, other than that on a Mac I think it will require use of Separated mode. The adjustments you make to the photo in the Photo Persona will show instantly in the full view, as well as in the thumbnail in the Pages Panel.

[walt.farrell]

7 hours ago, carl123 said:

Linked or embedded works for me

Are you seeing a different behaviour ?

With a .afphoto file, no. With an image file (JPG, TIF, ...) there would be a difference, as you can only edit them in a separate tab/window of Publisher if they are linked.

[A_B_C]

3 hours ago, walt.farrell said:

You should be able to have both the full document and the image you're working on visible on the screen at the same time in Publisher, just as you can have multiple documents visible at the same time in Photo and Designer. However, as I'm not a Mac user I can't tell you how to do that …

You can do that (you already mentioned it, Walt) by using Separated Mode on the Mac.

I don’t know what the OP would need besides that, provided that (s)he is using the Mac version. All the layers of the placed .aphoto document are available, and they are available for editing in a separate window that always allows to check the result in the context of the layout itself. 

(Sorry for the somewhat cluttered appearance on my small screen, but taking a screencast from the large one would have ended in a monstrous video file.)

 

[A_B_C]

Hence I asked before:

6 hours ago, A_B_C said:

So as far as I understand, you are basically asking for a Separated Mode or similar …?

I am not clear about whether the OP is on Mac or on Windows … 

[Petar Petrenko]

On 6/20/2019 at 9:01 AM, A_B_C said:

All layers, adjustments, etc. will be there!

No, they are not!!!

[Petar Petrenko]

20 hours ago, A_B_C said:

Another idea. If you group all layers of your Affinity Photo files and copy the resulting group into your Publisher document by Copy and Paste, you can edit all your photos in place. But I don’t know whether you will be happy with that approach.

So, what is the purpose of Photo Persona then?

[A_B_C]

Rather than using three exclamation marks, it would have been more helpful if you had uploaded an example document or a screencast where the system fails, Petar. I just really meant to help the original poster. I uploaded a video to demonstrate how the application works on my machine and how I believe it is supposed to work, and I don’t know how that could have offended you. Did I do something wrong, in your opinion? 

[A_B_C]

Regarding your second post, I never suggested that this is the way to go. But since the original poster said (s)he had copied (or placed) a Photo file without a background to the Publisher document, I just wondered why (s)he hadn’t just copied the entire layer structure of the Photo file instead. To my eyes, that wouldn’t have made much difference. Hence I spoke of an alternative to his (her) approach.

[Alfred]

20 hours ago, A_B_C said:

I am not clear about whether the OP is on Mac or on Windows … 

The OP is a Mac user. 

 

[Petar Petrenko]

14 minutes ago, A_B_C said:

Rather than using three exclamation marks, it would have been more helpful if you had uploaded an example document or a screencast where the system fails, Petar. I just really meant to help the original poster. I uploaded a video to demonstrate how the application works on my machine and how I believe it is supposed to work, and I don’t know how that could have offended you. Did I do something wrong, in your opinion?

Please, download the files and read their names.

[A_B_C]

Thank you, Petar. 

Well, that is the way it currently works, and I didn’t mean to suggest otherwise.

• You create a multi-layer .aphoto file in Affinity Photo, save it somewhere in your file system.
• You place this .aphoto file in Affinity Publisher.
• Each of the Publisher Personas (Publisher, Designer, and Photo Persona) will treat this photo as a linked image.
• None of the Personas will exhibit the layers of the placed .aphoto file, but the layers of your Publisher document.
• In order to see the layers of the placed .aphoto file, you will have to click Edit Document on the context toolbar. You certainly noticed me clicking Edit Document in my videos. 

Again, I never meant to suggest that the Photo Persona would exhibit the layer structure of the original .aphoto file. Maybe that came across in a wrong way. I just meant to say, and I felt I had demonstrated this with my videos, that you can access the original layer structure of your .aphoto file by using the standard Edit Document procedure. Seems we have precisely the same understanding of the matter.

Alex

[A_B_C]

5 hours ago, Alfred said:

The OP is a Mac user. 

So if the OP is a Mac user, I think (s)he could achieve what (s)he wants by using Separated Mode, right? I was slightly leaning towards the assumption that the OP would be a Windows user. 

[Alfred]

1 hour ago, A_B_C said:

So if the OP is a Mac user, I think (s)he could achieve what (s)he wants by using Separated Mode, right?

I should think you might know more about that than I do, Alex!

[Petar Petrenko]

11 hours ago, A_B_C said:

In order to see the layers of the placed .aphoto file, you will have to click Edit Document on the context toolbar.

In that case you see all the layers, but you are back to Publisher workspace.

[A_B_C]

But nothing keeps you from stepping over to the Photo workspace, at least not on the Mac. It just takes one more click. Ideally, the Photo Persona or workspace should be targeted by default though.