Pixelmator for iOS major update out today

Discuss the latest Pixelmator news.
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2020-04-21 13:14:54

You heard that right, Pixelmator for iOS just got an awesome major update! in Pixelmator 2.5, we’ve added a brand new, Files-based document browser, a new photo browser that makes it easier to browse and open images from your Photos library, and new image size presets along with a new browser.



Read the full entry on our blog.
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2020-04-21 14:58:18

Looks like the update isn't appearing in the App Store a lot longer than usual but it's on its way, we promise!
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2020-04-21 21:06:58

I am very excited for this update! The new Files based document picker is a much needed improvement. I hope that PadOS 13.4 cursor support will be added as well as keyboard shortcuts in a future update. Specifically the ability to zoom and pan around a document using a trackpad.
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2020-04-22 09:52:31

by J M 2020-04-21 21:06:58 I am very excited for this update! The new Files based document picker is a much needed improvement. I hope that PadOS 13.4 cursor support will be added as well as keyboard shortcuts in a future update. Specifically the ability to zoom and pan around a document using a trackpad.
Yep, all that is on the roadmap for sure!
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2020-04-22 17:50:18

Awesome, this is a really great improvement. I’m very eager to hear about PXD file support.
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2020-04-22 19:45:41

I updated without realizing what that meant. Omg! Now it opens and all my files (I can barely understand how Files works to begin with) and photos in alphabetical order, not by date, are ALL appearing on the same screen!! What??!!!

I don't want any files/documents showing up, only the photos I've worked on. Is there anyway to get back to the old screen of just the photos I've edited?

For me this is a very confusing nightmare!!
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2020-04-22 21:13:05

I've been trying to edit my previous post and can't seem to get that to work. Is there time limit. Is there a way to delete posts here? I'm not seeing it...

Basically I want to return to the version before this update. Is that possible?

If not, then please someone help me to find the settings section so I can configure the screen the way I want it, eliminate all the Files items so only my edited images show up, and get those edited images sorted according to date most recently worked on, not alphabetical order.

Is there a pathway to the Photos app where there's both All Photos, and Moments? It is infinitely easier to use Moments to find a particular image when your pics are sorted and referenced by dates, rather than wading through every single photo out of 96,000, in both All Photos and Recents.

(I'm on iOS 11.4 which is probably why I'm experiencing such culture shock. I stick with it because I like being able to insert my photos where I want them in the body of my texts, not all at the top.)

Help!
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2020-04-23 07:35:09

Hello!

How do I open images from Photos from within the Pixelmator app? I can only find what I normally see in Files, which does not include Photos.

Best regards, Niklas
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2020-04-23 13:13:23

Found it! The Files view made me confused, so I didn't think of looking for Photos photos in the ”new” dialog window. 🙂

Best regards, Niklas
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2020-04-23 14:06:45

I'm still completely lost!

All I see when I first open P is what looks like the Files app. I don't see a new dialog window. All that is down below is Browse (which is where I am since nothing changes when I click on it) and Recents which gets me to another mixed jumble of documents and photos I presumably have looked at, not even worked on.

So how do you find the gallery of just the images you've edited?

Where is this new dialog window so I can find the Photos app?

I can't seem to find anything...

Why was a Files format picked? Do the majority of people want all their stuff mixed up like that? I must be completely out of step with how people are using this app...I don't get this at all.

Someone, please help...
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2020-04-23 14:48:20

by Bella 2020-04-23 11:06:55 I'm still completely lost!

All I see when I first open P is what looks like the Files app. I don't see a new dialog window. All that is down below is Browse (which is where I am since nothing changes when I click on it) and Recents which gets me to another mixed jumble of documents and photos I presumably have looked at, not even worked on.

So how do you find the gallery of just the images you've edited?

Where is this new dialog window so I can find the Photos app?

I can't seem to find anything...

Why was a Files format picked? Do the majority of people want all their stuff mixed up like that? I must be completely out of step with how people are using this app...I don't get this at all.

Someone, please help...
Bella, all your files should now be in a Pixelmator folder — this is actually how things used to be before, but Pixelmator would only display that folder and no others. In the Browse view in Files (not Recents), tap iCloud Drive in the Locations on the left, then find the Pixelmator and open it. Do you see your files? To sort them by date, you'll need to scroll up the view until some tabs appear, allowing you to sort documents according to Name, Date, Size, Kind, and Tags (there may be fewer options on older versions of iOS). You can tap Date twice to show your most recent or oldest files first.

To find your photos, after tapping Create Document, you’ll find three tabs at the bottom — Presets, Templates, and Photos. If you tap Photos, you'll be able to import a photo for editing from your library.

As for why a Files-based format was picked, well, it comes with a whole bunch of benefits. You can now search for files by name, sort them in a range of different ways (as mentioned above, you can sort according to name, date, size, kind, and tags), and you can even recover recently deleted files right in the app! Plus, it's easier for us to develop and we can immediately take advantage of any new improvements to the Files app or its design. And it provides a familiar experience to those who use apps like Keynote and Pages.
by Niklas 2020-04-23 10:15:26 Found it! The Files view made me confused, so I didn't think of looking for Photos photos in the ”new” dialog window. 🙂

Best regards, Niklas
Glad to hear it!
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2020-04-23 20:01:30

Thank you for responding!

I did find the gallery of edited Pixelmator images finally and clicked on "date" above and got to a 2/3 page of my edited images. Is there any way to make that full screen? Can you get rid of the Locations column on the left by swiping the way you could do when you were editing?

When I click on Create Document, the photo browser which shows up is NOT organized like the one on my iPad, ie, it has Recents and not the more usueful Moments which is conveniently arranged by date the pics were taken. I do not understand the difference here between the Recents and All Photos...since there is no organization in Recents by dates... What is the difference? How is Recents helpful in finding a particular image -- you have to scroll forever looking for it. ???

Interestingly, when I go to Templates, and click on "+," I can access the old photo browser which has Moments!

Hallelujah!! Oh, wait...

...hmmm. As far as I can tell, you can NOT access the old Photo browser (which has Moments) from Create Document in the current Photos app page in the Pixelmator Folder now revealed to have always been located in the cursed and much reviled (in my opinion) Files App.

So, what happens when I import an image file from the current Photos app? I pick one at random. The image appears and I get the magical "+" at the top of the edit page -- "+" will lead me to the promised land of Moments again! Which seems great until you realize it will superimpose the (easy to find in Moments) image on top of the selected image I imported from the current Photos app using the newer and helpful Recents
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2020-04-23 20:14:41

I was being a bit snarky when I said "helpful" Recents -- sorry! I don't find it helpful or logically organized... Am I missing something?

And don't get me started on the extra steps it takes now to give an edited image a new name!! Good grief!!

Pixelmator was an exceptionally elegant and simple to follow app until this update. I'm very sorry I jumped into it without looking more closely at what files based browser actually meant! You could open in one screen, import a photo, do your edits and then give it a name and save, and finally export.

All from one screen!!

How is this update an improvement on that?

Obviously, I must be in the minority. But it would have been nice to have kept some of the elegance and simplicity of the previous version along with a way to transition more gradually into the more convoluted pathways of doing the same things in this newer version.
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2020-04-23 20:36:27

PS. I had to laugh when I read your comment about Keynotes and Pages. I honestly don't know anyone who actually uses Pages and Keynotes! Almost all of my friends and myself have Apple devices and laptops but no one as of yet has ever bothered with the Word wannabes Apple has created.

I'm coming from a place where Files in my mind equates to documents PDFs, etc. Photos and Pixelmator are images. And ne'er the twain shall meet! So having to tread into Files territory to work with Pixelmator, well, that's just...ugh!

And now I find out Pixelmator has always been located there...in Files...!!! 😳

I really wish in an upcoming update they could somehow put that photo browser with Moments in with the Create Documents so you can easily find the images you want to use there.

Thank you, Andrius, for all your help! I really do appreciate it!!
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2020-04-24 16:42:45

Bella, apologies for not being able to respond to all your feedback in depth — it's been a super busy week! I will say that we're definitely hearing all the feedback and we'll keep it in mind for future updates. The feedback we've had is mixed, some people really are very happy and there are definitely some who aren't quite as pleased with the changes. We want to stick with a Files-based approach for a few different reasons but we'll look into improving the experience too!
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2020-04-24 19:32:49

As usual, Pixelmator team - go home. Losers!!!
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2020-04-24 20:10:50

I guess it all boils down to what's more important: the user or the developer... Usually, the user experience is what sells an app but I can see that doesn't seem to count for as much as it used to to your higher ups in the company. And if your users are split in their wants, that further complicates the issue...

I am very very disappointed at your response that as a user I will be forced to accept the Files App framework. It takes away all the ease of operation and enjoyment of all the wonderful features of Pixelmator because one has to do so many more steps just to get to the app, look all over find the photo you want to work with, and then ridiculous extra steps just to name it after you're done. What a hassle!

Even Photoshop doesn't force you to go through Files!!

How is that framework better? In whose opinion? Did anybody do a survey of the people actually using the app beforehand to get some idea of the reaction? Surely no one is surprised by what is being said. I'm betting the reaction has been very polarized.

I'd suggest making your Files framework with all its unnecessarily complicated pathways as a separate program, Pixelmator for IOS, Files Approach. And leave the last version alone. But, in my experience, the version left alone doesn't get the updates and eventually is abandoned by the company even though it could be kept viable.

I didn't sign up originally for a Files framework. If I had wanted complicated, I'd actually sit down and learn the Photoshop version I own (not rent!).

There should have been a more comprehensive video showing exactly what a Files framework would mean in operation, and how much more complicated it would be to do just the simple basic tasks before you start and after you're finished editing. I really think Pixelmator dropped the ball on this. I dont feel I really had enough information before I made my decision...

I want to thank you, Andrius, for reading all the way through my dissenting opinions! It cant be easy to go through all these responses! 🤪

(So...there's no way I can go back to my Pre-Files version? Guess not... Bummer!! 😢)
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2020-04-28 14:28:00

by Rolan 2020-04-24 19:32:49 As usual, Pixelmator team - go home. Losers!!!
I know feeding the trolls isn't a good idea but... what did we do to make you so upset?
by Bella 2020-04-24 20:10:50 I am very very disappointed at your response that as a user I will be forced to accept the Files App framework. It takes away all the ease of operation and enjoyment of all the wonderful features of Pixelmator because one has to do so many more steps just to get to the app, look all over find the photo you want to work with, and then ridiculous extra steps just to name it after you're done. What a hassle!
You won't necessarily have to get used to a completely Files-centric UI for the document browser. I genuinely meant it when I said we'll think about improving this experience. And despite what it might look like in this specific situation, we do listen to user feedback — my thousands of posts on this forum and the many, many small and big changes we've made to all of our apps based on user feedback here, in the App Store, on social media channels, etc. should be proof of that. :wink:
by Bella 2020-04-24 20:10:50 I want to thank you, Andrius, for reading all the way through my dissenting opinions! It cant be easy to go through all these responses! 🤪
You're right, getting negative feedback isn't fun because we genuinely work hard to create great apps and, while we know we can't make everyone happy, we want the percentage of happy people to be as high as possible. But when the feedback is detailed and more or less thought out, it's useful even when it's negative, so we read it and take it into account nonetheless. On the other hand, comments like the 'losers' guy above generally don't have much of an effect. :smile: