Image rights: Serif.
Knock complex information into shape with the table editor.
instead of switching to an image
editing app and trying to guess color
and placement without the page in
view. It’s something Adobe and Quark
have tried to an extent, but here it
really works. You can even open
Publisher files in the other apps to
edit relevant items.
Serif’s modern code base uses
Apple’s Metal 2 to deliver exceptionally
smooth performance on the latest
Macs and iPads in Photo and Designer,
as well as supporting Retina and
DCI–P3 screens. But layout is less
processor–intensive, and Publisher
shows off even on older machines. On
an ageing iMac that’s regularly used
here for magazine pages, it put
InDesign to shame, zooming smoothly
in and out to further extremes than
Adobe allows, and reflowing text
around objects as we moved them.
The user interface matches the
other Affinity apps, but will also feel
quite familiar to those who’ve used
InDesign or QuarkXPress. For file
compatibility across the Affinity suite,
it treats every item as its own layer,
which makes for a lot of layers, but is
ultimately logical.
Based on our all–too intimate
knowledge of commercial publishing
requirements and pitfalls, we fully
expected to run up against limitations,
but a long public beta programme
seems to have ensured all the core
features are both present and correct.
An exception is digital publishing:
there’s no ability to add interactivity
other than hyperlinks, no delivery
platform, and no EPUB export. But
we’re OK with that. A page layout app
isn’t the best choice for regular EPUBs,
fixed–layout ebooks are a small
market, and interactive app publishing
never really took off.
We did miss InDesign’s access to
Adobe Fonts (formerly Typekit):beyond the fonts supplied with macOS,
you’ll need to buy your own to use with
Publisher. And Affinity’s docked panel
interface is a mixed blessing, making
some settings visible that rivals hide in
modular dialog boxes, but in other
cases doing the reverse, splitting up
status info that should be in one place,
and lacking clear labelling for sets of
options that aren’t easily distinguished.
Many InDesign key shortcuts are
reproduced, but some important ones
aren’t, and there are minor failings like
being unable to detach individual items
from master pages.
But with full typographical controls,
grids and guides, columns and text
flow, transparency effects, effectively
infinite undo (with history saving) and
more, this is a real DTP rival at last
— and at a fraction of the price.
THE BOTTOM LINE. Minor glitches
and omissions are inevitable in an app
this ambitious, but it’s streets ahead
of any other desktop publishing
contender, and an absolute bargain.
The iPad version should be another
milestone. ADAM BANKSAFFINITY PUBLISHER
Heavyweight tools
Great performance
Fully integrated suite
No interactive/EPUB
AWESOMEIf you have Affinity Photo installed, you can
use its tools directly on the page; as is the
case with Designer.
maclife.com SEP 2019 43