u/Impossible_Flower_50

I'd like to keep updating this as I go, but I'm basically just going to list observations and troubleshooting I've done in Affinity since moving from Adobe. Maybe this can help other people also making the switch?

Also open discussion! Anyone can add their own tips, tricks, and tiffs.

VECTOR (this is the primary one I've used thus far)

Auto clipping for artboards

• Auto clipping for artboards
  • This is probably the most frustrating thing I had to get around, I dislike not being able to see pieces that fall off the artboard, as seeing whole assets helps me conceptualize layout and shape, and allows me to quickly clean up edges.
  • Apparently the "clip to canvas" option locks itself (and remains on) when working with more than one artboard. EDIT: I've figured out that this actually applies to "artboards" in general. When you create a document with a single "artboard" (not sure what else to call it), that board is unnamed. But when you create a new artboard/multiple artboards, the white squares get named "Artboard 1, 2, etc.", this is when the "clip to canvas" option becomes grayed out.
    • Why is this a thing.
    • I've heard that starting in publisher with multiple artboards and switching back to vector also mitigates this, but I haven't had any success in doing so.
  • I wish auto clipping remained optional even with multiple boards. Tbh, I don't understand the purpose of the feature when something like "preview mode" already exists, anyway? If I wanted to clip the artboard like that, I just turn on preview, why have an extra step?
• Warp meshes (and other warp options)
  • I don't know if my instance of Affinity is just bugged, but working with meshes in vector is unpredictable at best.
    • Sometimes meshes work perfectly fine, other times I don't get any nodes for editing.
    • Sometimes switching between the vector and pixel work-stations solves this.
• Editing multiple strokes at once
  • It took me an embarrassingly long amount of time to figure out how to edit multiple strokes at once lol.
    • I was so used to editing strokes in the top menu, I didn't even realize there was a "strokes" tab in the same menu as the color and swatch panel.
    • I was definitely used to Illustrator's version of never moving the stroke options away from the right panel.
• General shortcuts
  • I've had to change quite a few default shortcuts so my workflow wasn't impacted too heavily.
    • To edit them, go to the top of the page, Edit > Settings > Shortcuts.
    • Remember to flip through the different groups, some shortcuts are specific to vector/pixel/layout. Most of my changes happened in the "tools" sections (fortunately, most of these remain the same through each work-station).
• Color swatches
  • I can't tell if I just haven't figured this out yet, but I haven't found anything helpful online. But it seems like creating subgroups of color swatches isn't a thing in Affinity.
    • E.g. Having a subgroup for gradients, colors used in one asset versus another, etc.
    • This is a little frustrating because having one giant panel of swatches feels unorganized, but maybe that's just personal preference. I just wish it was an option.

PIXEL

• Hue + Saturation
  • Quick note, if you want to edit hue and saturation, it's labeled under "HSL" in adjustments.

LAYOUT

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