StudioLink Workflow with Affinity Apps

[mnh]

Hi All,

I am new to the affinity range (used the Serif DrawPlus, PhotoPlus and PagePlus for many years and love them), so please pardon silly questions.

I have all 3 new affinity apps for Desktop. I want to make sure I understand the "StudioLink" feature correctly.

If I am in Publisher for example, I can click on Designer icon on top left and use the functionality of Designer within Publisher, and "object1" drawn is within Publisher. No need to switch Apps, correct?

If I create a object in Designer, then place (insert) this in Publisher as "Linked source" and want to make changes to that object2, where should I make that change? Should I open Designer, edit object2 and it will automatically refresh in Designer? Or would I edit object2 directly in Publisher and it will refresh in Publisher AND save changes to the original object2 in Designer document?

Thanks in advance

[Old Bruce]

5 hours ago, mnh said:

Or would I edit object2 directly in Publisher and it will refresh in Publisher AND save changes to the original object2 in Designer document?

 

It doesn't "refresh" in Publisher so much as it is changed in theDesigner Layer in Publisher. It is not changed in the original Designer document.

As I understand it If you re-link the Designer file to the Publisher file you will lose the changes you made to that Layer in Publisher.

[mnh]

Thanks for the quick reply. Ok, so I understood StudioLink incorrectly. I thought it might be able to edit the source file e.g. Designer from within Publisher for example, save the source file and update Publisher.

But one can use the features of the individual apps without leaving one app and doing some quick work. Files are maintained differently, e.g. Designer file is save with Designer app, and Publisher uses an export of that file. I thought it might have some super smart way of using the "Link" between the apps.

You can then use resource manager to update changes to files from Affinity Designer that are placed in Publisher (If Linked resources), e.g. Edit fileA in Designer, export as JPEG1, then place in Publisher. Edit fileA, export as JPEG1. Go to Publisher and in resource manager click refresh/update.

Correct?

[Old Bruce]

22 minutes ago, mnh said:

... place in Publisher. Edit fileA, export as JPEG1. Go to Publisher and in resource manager click refresh/update. ...

If you are editing in Designer again then yes. If you are editing in Publisher then yes, but it is a helluva roundabout route filled with chances to go wrong. I would just edit the thing and leave the edited version in Publisher or if I wanted the edits to be permanent I would do that in Designer itself and update the image.

Caveat: JPEG1 has to be exported to the same location, overwriting the first one.

[R C-R]

23 hours ago, mnh said:

If I create a object in Designer, then place (insert) this in Publisher as "Linked source" and want to make changes to that object2, where should I make that change? Should I open Designer, edit object2 and it will automatically refresh in Designer? Or would I edit object2 directly in Publisher and it will refresh in Publisher AND save changes to the original object2 in Designer document?

AFAIK, the link in Publisher is to the version of object2 saved in Designer. So for example, if object2 is reedited in Designer and then saved in that app, the reedited version will be the one Publisher uses.

[mnh]

Hi RCR,

How would you place the Designer file into Publisher in your example? Are you saying I should not export as JPEG file from Designer and then insert in Publisher? Do you mean insert Designer file into Publisher, and then if I make edits in Designer, Publisher will update? How can I make sure the right object (e.g. multiple objects on canvas in Designer page) is inserted into Publisher?

[R C-R]

30 minutes ago, mnh said:

Are you saying I should not export as JPEG file from Designer and then insert in Publisher?

That depends on how the Designer file is constructed & how you want to use it in other documents. A JPEG file exported from Designer will use lossy compression (even at 100% quality) to create a 'flat' raster image, so it won't have any editable objects, & it probably will look at least a little blurry.

That makes it a poor choice for most uses. If you instead link to the Designer file, each object is still editable & retains any vector properties it has. If you edit & save the file in Designer, the link will be or can be updated in Publisher so the edited version in Publisher is the same as the version saved in Designer. Alternately, you can use the Resource Manager in Publisher to change the file from linked to embedded, so that any future edits to the Designer file won't be retained.

If this isn't clear, I suggest creating a test Designer document & a test Publisher one & experimenting a bit.

[mnh]

Hi RCR,

Thanks for that tip. I create a file in Designer, create a logo on a A4 page layout (it only covers a small part of canvas). Then place Designer file in Publisher. It seems to then take the entire A4 page. Then I have to make sure I do not get confused with outlines of that A4 size page which only has a small object in it. I cannot select the object itself. I was able to click on designer persona and it opens embed tab and I guess I could edit it here. That would make good workflow and good quality instead of JPEG exports. But is there a way to select objects instead of entire A4 page insert from Designer? What if I have multiple items on that page that I insert and I only want certain objects in Publisher?

 

[Old Bruce]

21 minutes ago, mnh said:

Hi RCR,

Thanks for that tip. I create a file in Designer, create a logo on a A4 page layout (it only covers a small part of canvas). Then place Designer file in Publisher. It seems to then take the entire A4 page. Then I have to make sure I do not get confused with outlines of that A4 size page which only has a small object in it. I cannot select the object itself. I was able to click on designer persona and it opens embed tab and I guess I could edit it here. That would make good workflow and good quality instead of JPEG exports. But is there a way to select objects instead of entire A4 page insert from Designer? What if I have multiple items on that page that I insert and I only want certain objects in Publisher?

 

Could you maybe try selecting the thing you want and use the artboard tool to make an artboard of that selection. Then place the file into Publisher and choose that artboard? Note you have to place the selection on the new artboard in Designer.

[R C-R]

1 hour ago, mnh said:

I create a file in Designer, create a logo on a A4 page layout (it only covers a small part of canvas). Then place Designer file in Publisher. It seems to then take the entire A4 page. Then I have to make sure I do not get confused with outlines of that A4 size page which only has a small object in it. I cannot select the object itself.

In Publisher, just double-click the object. It will open in a new window or tab titled "<embedded>" (even if it is linked) where you can make edits to its contents. When done with that, close the window or tab (Save & Save As will be greyed out) to apply the edits to the afpub document. This won't affect the .afdesign file saved to disk, nor will it alter its linked (or embedded) size as placed in the .afpub document.

If you plan on using linked or embedded .afdesign files in Publisher, it is a good idea to create them not much larger than needed to contain all their objects. This will make it easier to select other objects in the .afpub document. Alternately, you can lock the linked or embedded item in Publisher until/unless you need to edit them.