Affinity Publisher is a great layout designing program, but like other tools,
it isn't easy to use. In this tutorial, we will learn to use this program. So, let's get started.
When you open it, you see this tutorial window. We can click on this new document
button to create a new document. One of the cool things about Affinity Publisher is that
it comes with many presets. We can change the category here and choose one of the sizes.
You can import downloaded or exported templates in this section.
The right side shows layout settings with color options. You won't need those in most
cases because the presets automatically fill those. Let's start with the A4 size. This is
the main interface. We have the toolbar to the left and panels to the right. Here is a list
of those panels and their job. The toolbar has the important Affinity Publisher tools.
Let's add a shape. You see this little icon. This indicates that this feature has multiple options;
when you right-click on it, it displays all the tools. Let's select the circle tool. If you hover
over the design, you will see those lines to help in drawing. Let's draw one with the mouse.
Now, you see that I can move around freely. This is fine, but sometimes you want a perfect circle.
To do that, hold down the shift button and then draw. This also works with other shapes. Now,
if I move it, you will see the same grid lines to help you place it nicely.
There are two anchor icons in the toolbar. The top one is for selecting the whole object,
while the bottom one can select a node of a vector object. For example, If I draw something here,
I can change its size and position, but to select each node of the shape, I will be using
this anchor. I can also add extra nodes with the mouse or delete them with the delete key.
Let's talk about fill and stroke options. The fill option is for filling colors into something. This
option is like the bucket tool on Windows Paint. The stroke is the border and border thickness of
an object. It has cap, join, and align options. You can play with those to see what looks good
for your shape. On the top row, you see the fill and stroke colors to see and change at any time.
When an object is selected, those options are enabled to arrange that object.
These buttons change the layer's position, and this button is for aligning the object
horizontally and vertically. Finally, these two are flip and rotate options.
Of course, you can flip and rotate using object points, but these quick options can come in handy.
Alright, let's add some text. First, you need to draw the text area and start typing. The text,
by default, is tiny, but we have this paragraph menu and the top
row to style the text or change values. Let me give it some style.
This stroke option can be used to add the text stroke. You can add the background color in
the paragraph menu as well. Those four sections here let you manage the size of the background.
Affinity Publisher supports adding tables. We click on this table icon and draw the table. Now,
as you draw, you see the total columns and rows. Leave the mouse button when you are
satisfied. Then we will adjust the table's size. To add text, click on a cell. You can
set the text style of each cell or select all cells and modify the styling altogether.
It's time for images. There are three ways to add images. This first one is adding an
image by itself. To do that, click on this image icon and choose the image, and then
click anywhere you want to add the image. The program will automatically adjust the resolution.
Once added, we can change the position and size by dragging the image corners.
The other two are called image frames. What you do is draw the image area
and then click on the image button to add the image. Publisher automatically
adds the image to the selected frame. We can then move it around and resize it.
Now, let's explore the vector crop.
Although the tool's name is vector crop, it can crop almost anything in the design.
You can create a half circle, square, and other different kinds of shapes using this tool.
Alright, this bottom transform section sets the precise position and rotation of an object.
So when I move an object, it moves in blocks. This is because snapping is enabled.
Snapping lets you move objects by a specific value.
It also sticks objects with the grid lines. You can manage the snap settings in this menu.
Now, if you right-click on an object, you see many options.
Some common ones are: arrange, alignment, copy, and geometry. We already get those on the top row,
but it's nice to have those options. When you paste something, Affinity Publisher
pastes the object in the same position, so you may not see it until you don't move it.
Moving on, we have layers to manage. The layer menu gives us all the data.
You can move, disable, and enable layers and right-click on them to duplicate, delete, lock,
hide, and do other stuff. Let's lock the image layer, so we don't accidentally click on it.
To see what the design looks like, we can go to View and click on Preview Mode.
To save the project, we press the CTRL and S keys. You can save or export the
project in this menu as well. The export menu includes PNG, JPG, and PSD formats.
Each has specific options, and you and adjust those according to your project's requirements.
The document can also be saved as a template to open again and again to use in designs.
So, this was the basic tutorial of Affinity Publisher. Remember, there is a lot to learn,
and that can be done with practice. So, keep practicing, and you will only get better. Anyway,
thanks for watching this tutorial. Please let me know what you think of Affinity Publisher and
click on the like button if the video helped. I will see you another time. Until then, take care.