2.6 Features and Improvements
This post is the list of all new features and improvements included in the 2.6.0 release, and the next post is a list of the main bug fixes.
Features and improvements affecting all platforms
- (Photo)Object Selection Tool
Speed up your editing process by using this new Machine Learning tool that automatically selects objects of your choosing in an image. For information on where to find this new tool and how to download and use it, please refer to the online help listings for desktop or iPad.
Please note:This Machine Learning features are optional and require downloading of the relevant model for it to work. It’s installed as a pre-trained model and doesn’t use any of your own data for further training / none of your data leaves your device at any time. For details on system requirements, please refer to ourTech Specs.
The tool is demonstrated here
- (Photo) Select Subject
This new Machine Learning feature analyses your image and selects what it considers to be the main subject of the scene. The operation can be recorded as a Macro to aid setting up foreground/background retouching workflows. For information on where to find this feature and how to download and use it, please refer to the online help listings fordesktoporiPad.
more instructions here
- (Publisher)Multi-Page Spreads
In Publisher, spreads can now contain more than two pages, making it easy to create trifold, gatefold, accordion-fold and other page arrangements. New options include:
- Add Pages:Flow Pages
- Add Pages:Extend Spread
- Add Pages:New Spread
- Dragging to create/change layout
Quote
Please note:The implementation of this feature involved a rewrite of much of the existing page, spread and master code. As such, 2.6.0 cannot support backward compatibility to 2.5 for page operations. Any undo history saved with a document that was created in 2.5.7 or earlier, which involves page or spread manipulation, will be truncated. You won’t be able to undo back past the last page operation you did. If your 2.5.x document was saved with history and it includes any page action, you will be told when you open in 2.6.0 that the history has been truncated. Any changes made using 2.6 will save and load their history going forward, and this restriction only relates to page functions whose history was created in earlier versions. Additionally you should take particular care to backup your old documents when trying them out in the new beta in case there are bugs converting from the old file structure to the new.
This note applies to all these features
- Multi-Page Spreads
- Page Reflow Control
- Page Migration Improvements
- (Publisher)Page Reflow Control
Publisher now has new options to help you manage your pages. These include:
- Reflow Pages – disable or enable automatic reflowing of documents from the Pages Panel
- Reflow Through Spread – disable reflowing for that specific spread even if the document is set up to allow it via the Pages Panel
- Add Pages – new options to add pages in the document flow, to a specific spread or as a new spread
Additional updates to the Pages Panel have also been made, including the addition of new icons that will appear when drag-dropping pages to help demonstrate what will happen when a page is moved.
Add Master 
Apply Master 
Copy Pages 
Copy Pages - Extend Spread (Shuffle Right / Left) 
Copy Pages - Insert Spread (Shuffle Right / Left) 
Create Spread from Master 
Action not permitted 
Re-arrange Pages - Insert Page (Extend Spread Right / Left)
Re-arrange pages 
Re-arrange Pages - Insert Page (Shuffle Right / Left) 
- (Publisher)Page Migration Improvements
In addition to the other advanced page management updates listed previously, new page migration improvements have also been made. These include four new ‘page move’ options as outlined below.
- Split Masters
When moving and reflowing pages, they are preserved exactly as they looked by cutting multi-page masters into individual pages and applying them to whatever page they fall on, even if they end up on the wrong side of the spine. This preserves visual fidelity but may lead to incorrect margins.
This is a good option to use when you intend to make multiple edits that may temporarily push pages onto the wrong side but expect to flow them mostly back to the right place in the end.
- Move Master Content
This is the default and the same behaviour as V2.5. Objects inherited from master pages which have been modified, e.g. a frame that has been populated, are moved with the page along with non master page content.
Master objects that have not been modified are replaced with the ‘correct’ master page content for the spread page that it ends up on.
The app will try hard to preserve content but you may end up with clashes, especially if your masters don’t have symmetrical frames on either side of the spine or have detached edits.
- Reapply Masters
After pages have been moved, the master will be reapplied to every moved page using the smart master migration rules.
This is a potentially powerful option to allow free reordering of pages with confidence that the frames will always fit the margins and any chiral design elements. However, careful master design is important. For it to work well, you need each master page to have left and right design alternatives for each page layout you are using.
Although content will always be preserved, some detached edits, such as colour changes, might be lost.
- Anchor Toward Spine
When a page element moves from one side of the spine to the other (either a page object or a master object that is being moved via Move Master Content) controls whether it maintains its absolute position on the page or its distance from the spine.
If your margins are symmetrical about the spine but different for inner and outer, ‘Anchor toward spine’ is more likely to keep things glued to the margins. However, objects aligned to an outer page edge may unexpectedly move to align to the opposite edge. This can be avoided by pinning the object.
Original Anchor Toward Spine Off Anchor Toward Spine On
- (Publisher)General Advanced Page Management Improvements
Page Thumbnails
- An extra large size for page thumbnails is available on the Pages Panel’s preferences menu.
- However wide you make the panel – perhaps undocked on a second display – thumbnails are scaled so the widest spread pretty much fills its width.
Master Tags
- If you right click on a master you can select a tag colour. The tag colour is displayed as a circle on the master thumbnail and a bar above all the pages where it is used. This makes it easier to identify which master is used where.
- You can hide tags by untickingShow master page tagsin the panel preferences menu.
Bug Fixes / Improvements
- Improvements to auto-flowing of text frames to more consistently add the right number of pages and choose the right template pages.
- Fixes and improvements in consistencies between Add, Delete, Copy and Move page operations.
- Layers panel now hides master objects that are not part of the applied page range.
- Spread Properties now highlights selected page in spread
- (Photo & Publisher):
The SerifLabs RAW engine has now been updated to include additional RAW formats, and we have also updated the Lens Recognition database.
For a full list of supported cameras and corrected lenses, please refer to theUpdated Camera SerifLabs RAW Support and Lens Correction databasepost on the forum.
- (Designer)Pencil, Pen and Node Tool Improvements
Pencil Tool improvementsAffinity Designer’s Pencil Tool now includes several new options on its context toolbar, including:
- Auto Close
Previously, we only offered a proximity-based auto-closing option when making a closed shape from a pencil curve. But we’ve now introduced an Auto Close pop-up menu that offers a choice of options, including:
- Off – the curve is never closed
- Near – the curve is closed when end points approach each other
- Far – similar to Near but the distance between end points is greater
- Always – the curve is always closed irrespective of distance between end points
- Smoothness
Smoothness can be applied in advance of pencil drawing or to pencil curves you’ve just drawn. By design, further smoothing is no longer possible once the curve is deselected.
The feature works by repositioning, adding or removing nodes on the curve to affect the smoothing results. You can decrease or increase smoothing by dragging the slider left or right from the default value (50%), respectively; nodes are removed or added as a result.
Note that this is not to be confused with the smoothing you’ll see when using the Stabiliser option on the context toolbar. It would be beneficial to switch this off while testing Smoothness.
- Use Line Style
Prior to 2.6, the Pencil Tool presented theUse filloption as a check box on its context toolbar. This is now presented as an icon, and is accompanied by a newUse line styleoption, also an icon. This lets you adopt the currently set stroke properties (width, dot/dash, pressure) you have currently set up on the Stroke Panel for new pencil strokes.
- Auto Close
Pen Tool improvements
The Pen Tool also benefits from the newUse line styleoption as described above.
Node Tool improvements
Converting nodes from Sharp to Smooth requires a visit to the Node Tool context toolbar or right-click menu. In 2.6, Affinity now lets you double-click (orAlt-click) a node to cycle between these node types, keeping you more focused on the curve. As another addition, either control handle on a Bézier curve’s node can be removed by double-clicking on its handle; the associated node becomes a sharp (cusp) corner.
- Colour Picker Improvements
Previously when you used the Colour Picker available from the Colour or Stroke Panel it would first add the picked colour to the well next to the picker, and then you would be required to apply the colour manually by clicking the well.
We are now changing this to automatically apply the picked colour to the selected object, so you’re no longer required to select the colour well.
If you would prefer not to apply the selected colour (i.e. the previous behaviour), simply hold downAltor⌥whilst picking the colour on Windows or Mac, or by using the command controller on iPad.
- Reading Order Panel
We’ve introduced a Reading Order Panel in Publisher to improve the accessibility of PDFs produced in Affinity. The Panel gives you control over the order in which screen readers and other assistive technology read PDF content.
- Photo Usability Improvements
A number of usability improvements have been made to Affinity Photo, something especially beneficial for users familiar with other image editors. Updates include:
- Image and RAW layers can now be used with raster selections when deleting and duplicating
- Merge Down / Merge Selected commands now work with Image and RAW layers
- ⌘/Ctrl-click drag with marquee selection now works on Image and RAW layers
- Image layers can now be used to enter the Develop Persona
- Image and RAW layers can now be used to enter the Liquify Persona
- Image and RAW layers can now be used to enter the Tone Mapping Persona
- When using a brush tool on an Image or RAW layer, perform a non-destructive behaviour instead of rasterising
- Inpainting Brush Tool and Patch Tool now remember sampler option between sessions/documents
- Map Live Perspective filter to⌘+T/Ctrl+T(only in Pixel/Photo workspace on Desktop)
- Rectangular Marquee Tool has a “From Centre” option
- Standardise modifiers across selection tools and avoid the need for a quaternary modifier (which was right mouse on Windows)
- Standardise toggle modifier for marquee select intersection (with Move Tool)
- Ctrl+⌥/Ctrl+Altmodifier for brush tools added to hint line
- Antialiasing enabled by default for Flood Select / Marquee / Freehand Tools
- Brush hardness override for iPad removed
- Clear Mask and Fill Mask added to right click mask layer context menu
- Edit>Inpaint can be used with Image and RAW layers
- PDFs with no raster content now import at 300 DPI by default
- TIFF: Unassociated Alpha is now imported correctly, and a toast is displayed informing the user
- Plugins can now be used on Image and RAW layers
- Parameterised macros no longer rasterise non-pixel layers when run
- Prevent non-pixel layer rasterisation when usingCtrl+⌥/Ctrl+Altbrush modifier
- Curves will render greyscale result immediately when colour model is changed to Grey
A demonstration of some of these improvements can be seen here on James Ritson's channel, made before launch
- Other Improvements
There are a few other minor improvements to mention in 2.6:
- Selection Box can now be set for Objects Rotated by 90°, 180° or -90°
- Stroke Width Tool – better handling of size variance and pressures that have profiles or are inverted. Size variance is extended to cater for the range of the control point the user is editing.
- Stroke Width Tool – added 'Reset' button to the context toolbar
- Preflight will now warn if text flows contain mismatched scaling
- Vector and Pixel Brushes are now searchable. A search field is present just above the category selector (only searches the currently selected Category)
- (Desktop) Stroke Width Tool – added a right-click context menu (when you’re not right clicking over the actual curve itself)
- (iPad) Sliders behave like a normal slider (i.e. such as the Opacity and Noise ones on the Colour Panel). A tap/click on the slider will move the slider’s handle to that position. Tap/click then drag will move the handle to match the touch/cursor position.
- (iPad) Quick Shapes: When there is no shape selected apply values to the default shape
- The Tags Panel has been updated to allow users to use Alt Tag and Extended Description XMP tags inside images
In addition to those features on all platforms (above), these are the Windows and macOS features and improvements
- QR Code as a Data Merge Field
QR codes can now be generated using data from a data merge source.
Full feature lists for the applications can be found here
- Affinity Designer Feature List
- Affinity Photo Feature List
- Affinity Publisher Feature List
As well as all those improvements above, listed below is a list of the fixed bugs in this release
