praise for publisher

[2mi]

I just wanted to pass on my praise and thanx for creating Publisher (completing the trio - layout, vector & pixel) that most designers use each day). I can't imagine the amount of work that goes into creating a piece of software from scratch. But i appreciate it.

And my 2 cents worth about making it being able to open InDesign files: I don't see the necessity that some people feel it is. InDesign couldn't open Quark files. You needed to buy a third-party plugin. Quark can't open InDesign files (last i checked). The design studio i worked for made the switch from Quark to InDesign some years ago and the transition was awkward at first for large jobs created in Quark that we then needed to edit/update in InDesign. But we simply started creating new files in InDesign from scratch sometimes, despite having the Quark file. So, i think if you're changing software, it's to be expected there's a bit of extra work to be done at first, but in end it's worth it...especially in this case, if it gets up Adobe's nose.

My only request for Publisher in a future release is if you could have more than 2 pages facing each other. I create a brochure which is 3 x side-by-side A4 pages, double-sided, as a roll/C fold. I output one PDF as spreads to go to the printer and one PDF as single A4 pages for online use. It's nice to be able to have a single Publisher file that will do both.

Once again, thank you for creating Publisher, Designer and Photo.

Edited July 18, 2019 by 2mi
typo and for better explanation

[Bad_Wolf]

I completely agree with 2mi about Publisher. Very nice job done for the Affinity team. A colleague of mine told me that in her opinion, Designer and Photo are for professionals, Publisher is for hobbyists. She cannot be more wrong. The integration with Designer and Photo makes the whole suite very powerfull. With Publisher, we have a complete graphic studio at our fingertips to create our documents and artworks.

Do I have other wishes? Yes, I do have. But for the moment, I am still too busy to learn the ins and outs of Publisher. If I can make some suggestions myself these are  the ones :

Graphics, illustrations, photo's, icons which are flowing with the text. However, pinning them works fine for me.

A knife tool in Publisher, Designer and Photo.

Mailmerge based on a database (SQLite or XML)

Saving directly to the cloud (Google Drive, OneDrive,...)

I am glad I am an Affinity user from the first second. No other application let me do what Affinity let me do. It is a pleasure to use and I do not look back to the Plus range. I am sure in the years to come, we will see a lot of innovations and improvements in the Affinity range.

Nice work Affinity Team! A job very well done.

Chris

[MikeW]

11 hours ago, 2mi said:

...And my 2 cents worth about making it being able to open InDesign files: I don't see the necessity that some people feel it is. InDesign couldn't open Quark files. You needed to buy a third-party plugin. Quark can't open InDesign files (last i checked)...

A little correction.

InDesign has always had the ability to open QuarkXPress 3.3–4.1x (& Adobe PageMaker 6.5–7.0 up to CS6) documents directly in InDesign. While not so important these days, it was very important when ID was first introduced...it was a huge advantage for migration from Q and that fact was highly touted at the beginning. QXP, by common accounts, had a 95% share of the market and ID, while all but given away, needed that incentive to encourage users/business to switch.

That motivation is no different back then with ID than APub today.

QuarkXPress can natively open IDML files. Viva Designer can both open & save IDML file.

[2mi]

Thank you MikeW for the correction. I honestly wasn't aware of that.

We must've been working with later versions of Quark files, because InDesign would not open them (despite our subtle cursing). We needed to buy Markzware Q2ID plugin for InDesign to open them.

I still think Publisher though is something Affinity should be proud of - especially being a first release - even if it can't (yet) open IDML files.

[MikeW]

No worries! 

fwiw, the other direction, ID2Q, is a more faithful conversion. 

[Old Bruce]

15 hours ago, 2mi said:

InDesign would not open them (despite our subtle cursing)

Ah, there is the problem. The cursing needs to be full on Malcolm Tucker style (from The Thick of It).