Persistent flickering using any tools to retouch image

[Anjux3]

Working on a MacBook .High Sierra, AP 1.7.2 

In any photo, using any tool, the image flickers as drag tool onto image 

There is no flicker when the tool is actively being used. 

Once over the image there is a flicker each time the tool is engaged or disengaged (click on click off).

Video attached to show the effect. Image is background - no layers.

Very distracting!

Edited September 24, 2019 by Anjux3
clarity

[MEB]

Hi Anjux3,
Welcome to Affinity Forums
Thanks for your report. I'm also seeing this behaviour here - seems it's more noticeable below 100% zoom (probably due to use of mipmaps to speed up the rendering). I'm checking with the dev team what's going on here.

[Anjux3]

Thanks for the quick feedback. And I can confirm that the behaviour reduces or is unnoticeable above 100% zoom.

I had noticed the issue before, though somehow it is much more intrusive on a black and white image, particularly in this case when I was trying to add tone to specific parts. As the behaviour also quasi changes the tone, it is difficult to separate this shift from the tool changes being applied!

It remains a bit of an issue, as the files I work with are often much bigger than this and seeing the whole while working is important (so zooming in isn't a great work around).

I am hopeful a 'developer fix' will rectify it...it would be an important step for me to be able to finally drop PS

Incidentally, I am really enjoying Publisher...just brilliant.

Thanks again

[MEB]

Hi Anjux3,
I'm still waiting feedback from the dev team regarding a couple points but I'm afraid there isn't much we can do here since this behaviour is due to how the application works - it first renders a low res version of the image (in tiles) then a higher one on a second passage (for performance reasons). You can however reduce the amount of flickering turning Show brush previews off in Affinity Photo Preferences, User interface tab (in the list on the bottom section).
 

[Anjux3]

Many thanks for the update and information.

Turning off the tool tip preview certainly stops the flicker as it is dragged onto the image.

Sadly it doesn't really change anything as the tool is used. In my first post, I mentioned that the flicker occurs when a tool is clicked off and on while using it. However, this isn't the case. Even when the click-drag of the tool is maintained (ie no release), the flicker occurs with every pause and resumption of movement.

Whilst there doesn't seem much hope of the issue being resolved anytime soon if it is an artefact deeply buried core programming processes, I would hope that someone will still be looking at a creative solution.

I am enjoying so much about AP (including batch rescaling) However without a fix for this, colourising and adjusting images is a limited possibility. I can't  see myself breaking away from PS anytime soon. 

The video below shows the flicker during drag pauses.

Again thanks for your efforts.

[MEB]

Hi Anjux3,
Yes, unfortunately the flickering while the tool is being used remains. That's the point I've brought up to dev attention. I'm still waiting their feedback to see if there's anything we can do to improve it but as explained I'm afraid this is a side effect of how the application works.