Export

General settings

The following general settings can be adjusted:

• Format—select the format for your exported file.
  Export formats include PNG, JPEG, GIF, TIFF, EXR, PSD, and PDF.
• Preset—sets predefined export options for the selected file format.
  As well as the default application presets, this pop-up menu may report 'custom' if any preset has been modified.
• Filename—Tap and edit to define a new file name for the exported file.
• Pixel format— the colour space of the exported file; this can either inherit the document's colour format or choose a different format at export time.
• Area—instead of exporting the whole page, you can export the currently selected layer content, with or without its background using the Selection Area or Selection Only options.
• Embed metadata—when selected, any raster image's original metadata is preserved in the exported file. If this option is off, all original metadata is removed.
• Preview—(raster file formats only) when tapped, displays a preview of the file to be exported. A two-finger pinch will zoom in and out of your preview. Double tapping will zoom your preview to 100%.

Additional settings

For PNG, JPEG, GIF, TIFF and EXR file formats:

• Dimensions—by default, displays the native dimensions of your image. Type value(s) to set an alternative width and/or height for your exported image.
• Lock aspect ratio—when enabled (default), the image's native aspect ratio is honoured. If this option is off, exported image width and height can be set independently.
• ICC Profile—by default, this is set to the ICC profile of the project (document). However, the project's ICC profile can be overwritten for this export area.
• Embed ICC profile—when selected, the ICC profile is included within the exported image's data, allowing the image to be viewed using the correct profile on any device. If this option is off, the viewing device must possess the ICC profile otherwise a substitute profile is used.

For PNG, JPEG, GIF, TIFF, EXR and PSD file formats:

• Resample—select which resampling method to use if the image is to be upsampled or downsampled on export.
  • Nearest neighbour—simple resampling which has the fastest processing time. Use for hard-edge images.
  • Bilinear—algorithmic resampling for use when shrinking images.
  • Bicubic—algorithmic resampling for use when enlarging images. Resampling is smoother than Bilinear but has a slower processing time.
  • Lanczos (separable)—complex Lanczos 3 algorithmic resampling gives the best results but a longer processing time than the above.
  • Lanczos (non-separable)—As for separable but gives marginally better results, albeit slower, than separable.

For TIFF and EXR file formats:

• Compression—determine a compression format to use for a reduced file size. Compression may also be disabled entirely.

For JPEG file format:

• Quality—sets the resulting quality of the exported image. Higher quality may result in significantly larger file sizes.
• Progressive—when selected, the exported image is progressively compressed for optimised viewing when downloading.

For SVG file formats:

• Text as curves— when selected, the text in the resulting file will be drawn as curves (therefore displaying precisely as intended, even if viewed on a device without the used fonts installed). If this option is off (default), text will be exported as text and the viewing device will need the used fonts installed for it to be viewed correctly.

For EPS file formats:

• Postscript Level—sets the version of the exported postscript file.

For TIFF file format:

• Save Affinity layers—Layers in the document are preserved in the exported TIFF image.
• Compression—by default, this is set to ZIP. Options to apply LZW compression or no compression are available.

For PDF, SVG and EPS file formats:

• Rasterise—select an option for rasterizing design elements which are unsupported by the file format. Select from the pop-up menu:
  • Nothing—no elements within the design are rasterized on export, therefore unsupported elements are not included in the exported file.
  • Unsupported properties—only unsupported elements are rasterized in the exported file.
  • Everything—all elements within the design are rasterized for a resulting exported file which perfectly matches your original design.
• Use document resolution—when enabled, the export is the same DPI as the current document's setting. When disabled, you can set an independent resolution to override the document's resolution.
• Allow JPEG compression—when enabled, rasterized design elements will be compressed to decrease exported file size, according to the Quality setting. If this option is off, rasterized design elements will be exported as uncompressed.
• Downsample images above—when enabled, raster images greater than the accompanying DPI value are downsampled on export. If disabled, images are exported at their native resolution.

For PNG and GIF file formats:

• Palettised—when selected, encodes the exported image by mapping it to the Palette and Colours settings set below. (This option cannot be switched off for GIF images.)
• Palette—by default, this is set to be automatically determined. However, you can specify an encoding palette yourself.
• Colours—selects the number of colours available in the palette.

For SVG and EPS file formats:

• Relative coordinates—when selected, objects in the exported file have relative positions for maximum editability. If this option is off, object positions are fixed to create a file which is optimised for viewing.

For PSD file format:

• Rasterise all layers—when selected, layer content is rasterized in the exported file (the layer structure is retained). If this option is off, no rasterization takes place on export.
• Compatibility mode—when selected, the exported file will be compatible with other applications which do not support some features (file size may also increase). If this option is off, the exported file may not be readable by other applications (depending on the features used in the image).
• Smallest file sizes—when selected, the exported file will be compressed where possible but may not be readable by other applications. If this option is off, no compression will take place for the exported file.
• Gradients, Adjustments, Layer effects, Lines, Adv blending—set the way to export specific project attributes. Select from the pop-up menu.
  • Preserve accuracy—the listed attribute will be rasterized to preserve its intended design.
  • Preserve editability—the listed attribute will be exported with its original settings to allow for easy editing.

For PDF file format:

• Colour Space—choose whether to use the document's current colour space or export using a selected colour space.
• ICC Profile—choose whether to use the document's current colour profile or export using a specific colour profile.
• Embed profiles—when selected (default), the chosen (or document's) colour profile will be embedded in the exported file. If this option is off, the exported file will not have the colour profile embedded with it (the viewing device will need to have the appropriate colour profile installed to view the exported PDF accurately).
• Compatibility—sets the version and type of PDF to be exported.
• Embed fonts—select an option for handling fonts used in the document.
  • Text as Curves—all text is converted to curves. This ensures the resulting exported file will display correctly regardless of the fonts installed on the viewing device.
  • All Fonts—any fonts used in the document are embedded in the exported file. This ensures the resulting exported file will display correctly regardless of the fonts installed on the viewing device.
  • Uncommon Fonts—fonts used are only embedded in the exported file if they are not part of the fonts traditionally installed on most devices. The viewing device must have the expected fonts installed to view any common fonts in the exported file.
  • No Fonts—no fonts are embedded in the exported file. A viewing device must have all the used fonts installed to accurately view the exported file.
• Subset fonts—when selected, embedded fonts will only include the glyphs used in the document. If this option is off, all glyphs for the used fonts are embedded in the exported file, regardless of whether they appear in the document or not.
• Allow advanced features—when selected, all design features supported by the PDF file format are exported as vectors. If this option is off, depending on the nature of these features, they are rasterized or converted to curves on export. These features include:
  • Artistic text which has been horizontally or vertically stretched.
  • Text which has an applied stroke.
  • Linear and radial gradients.
  • Non-solid transparencies.
• Honour spot colours—when selected, spot colours within the design are exported as spot colours. If this option is off, spot colours are converted to an equivalent colour within the exported file's colour space (see above).
• Overprint black—when selected, design elements which use CMYK black are set to overprint. If this option is off, CMYK black elements are set to be indistinguishable to other colours during printing.
• Include bleed— when selected, the bleed area of your document, if set, will be included in the PDF output. (Primarily used when working on Affinity Designer documents in Affinity Photo.)
• Printers marks—when selected, the PDF output will show printer marks around the page edge. All printer marks are added by default. However, particular types of printer marks can be switched off, depending on your preference. These include:
  • Crop marks
  • Registration marks
  • Colour and greyscale bars
  • Page information

For SVG file format:

• Text as curves—when selected, the text in the resulting file will be drawn as curves (therefore displaying precisely as intended, even if viewed on a device without the used fonts installed). However, this option will increase file size, and text won't be editable as text or available to "text to speech" in other apps. If this option is off, text will be exported as text and the viewing device will need the used fonts installed for it to be viewed correctly.
• Long text spans—when selected, text is placed relative to previous lines of text (therefore producing smaller file sizes and simpler file structures). If this option is off, text is placed with absolute coordinates.
• Hex colours—when selected, colours in the exported file are expressed as RGB Hex values (therefore reducing file size but less human-readable). If this option is off, colours are exported as standard RGB values.
• Flatten transforms—when selected, transformed objects are 'fixed' in the exported file. This allows for the file to be viewed more accurately across applications. If this option is off, objects remain dynamically transformed to allow for more flexible editing.
• Use tile patterns—when selected, rasterized areas may be converted to a vector shape with a filled bitmap to give smoother, sharper edges. However, this might not be supported by some apps. If this option is off, objects will exist as singular elements within the exported file.
• Set view box—when selected, the exported file includes coordinates and dimensions which define the view box of the image. If this option is off, no view box data is included in the exported file. The export area is used to define the view box.
• Add line breaks—when selected, the code in the exported file will be optimised for human viewing and reading. If this option is off, the image will be exported with code on a single line which will make the file size significantly smaller.

For EPS file format:

• Postscript Level—sets the version of the exported postscript file.
• Minimise size—when selected (default), the exported file will be compressed to create the smallest file size possible.