Affinity Designer missing files

[luca0204]

 

Sometimes it happens that when I open a .afdesign document, the link to the file is not found. (see image attached). I thought that all the images inserted in Affinity Designer were incorporated in the document. Where can I find the Resource manager?

[Callum]

Hi luca0204,

As far as I'm aware this is only possible in Publisher, was this file ever opened in Affinity Publisher?

Thanks

Callum

[luca0204]

No, the file was only managed with Affinity Designer.

[carl123]

2 hours ago, Callum said:

As far as I'm aware this is only possible in Publisher, was this file ever opened in Affinity Publisher? 

 

It's quite easy to invoke the error message just using Designer

1. Place an image in a Designer document
2. Click Replace image in context toolbar
3. Select the same image but choose Link rather than Embed
4 Save/Close document

5 Delete (or move) the image on your computer

When you reopen the document Designer will give the warning message the OP posted

If you click on Resource Manager at that point only, you will get the normal Resource Manage screen and can "Replace" the image from your computer.  Once you replace it, it will still be linked but the Resource Manager is still open so you can now Embed it (if so desired).

Once you close the Resource Manager I know no way to reopen it from within Designer

[Callum]

23 minutes ago, carl123 said:

It's quite easy to invoke the error message just using Designer

1. Place an image in a Designer document
2. Click Replace image in context toolbar
3. Select the same image but choose Link rather than Embed
4 Save/Close document

5 Delete (or move) the image on your computer

When you reopen the document Designer will give the warning message the OP posted

If you click on Resource Manager at that point only, you will get the normal Resource Manage screen and can "Replace" the image from your computer.  Once you replace it, it will still be linked but the Resource Manager is still open so you can now Embed it (if so desired).

Once you close the Resource Manager I know no way to reopen it from within Designer

You're quite right my mistake! I thought placed images were always embedded in Designer! Id imagine this issue is being caused by the linked files being moved in this case.

Thanks

C

[walt.farrell]

5 hours ago, Callum said:

I thought placed images were always embedded in Designer!

They are, unless one uses the technique that Carl mentioned.

Note, by the way, that we've been told by Serif staff for some time now that the presence of the link/embed options on the Replace Image dialog of Photo and Designer is a bug, and that capability would be removed in Photo and Designer. The options were even there in 1.6, before Linking was supposedly possible in any of the Affinity applications.

[R C-R]

7 hours ago, carl123 said:

Once you close the Resource Manager I know no way to reopen it from within Designer

Where is this resource manager in Affinity Designer? I can't find it in the Mac version.

[walt.farrell]

1 hour ago, R C-R said:

Where is this resource manager in Affinity Designer? I can't find it in the Mac version.

It is available only from the popup you get when you open a file which contains linked images but one or more are missing. The OP showed it in the first post of this topic.

[R C-R]

47 minutes ago, walt.farrell said:

It is available only from the popup you get when you open a file which contains linked images but one or more are missing. The OP showed it in the first post of this topic.

Ah! OK, I can duplicate that ... sort of. On the Mac version, the Replace Image dialog has a button at the bottom named "Options." Clicking that reveals a dropdown menu that is always closed by default with two options:

Sometimes, the Link Picture option works, & sometimes it does not, leaving the replacement as an embedded file.

So I think this is indeed a bug of some sort.

[walt.farrell]

54 minutes ago, R C-R said:

So I think this is indeed a bug of some sort.

The fact that the options are present both for Windows and Mac would tend to argue they are intentional, not a bug.

But their existence in 1.6 (at least on Windows) where Linking was not even a concept that was supposed to exist at all (as far as I can tell), leads me to argue they're a bug. And the Serif staff who have commented in the forums seem to agree.

They may have resulted from an early experimental implementation of Linking that was supposed to remain private, and never gotten into the retail version, but which somehow partially escaped.

[R C-R]

1 hour ago, walt.farrell said:

But their existence in 1.6 (at least on Windows) where Linking was not even a concept that was supposed to exist at all (as far as I can tell), leads me to argue they're a bug.

I will have to check later when the Mac with 1.6 on it is free, but I do not remember this ever being a part of those Mac versions.