If you've been using both PaintShop Pro and Affinity, you've likely run into a frustrating roadblock: transferring vector shapes between the two programs used to be difficult or unreliable.
Affinity doesn’t open PSP files. PaintShop Pro might save in PSD format, but doesn’t retain vector properties in that format. Similarly, even though Affinity can export PSD files, PaintShop Pro cannot handle the vector properties, and your file will be rasterized.
But here’s the good news: after some testing, I’ve discovered that both PaintShop Pro and Affinity support the WMF (Windows Metafile) format — and it works in both directions!
With this method, you can carry over your vector shapes, regardless of which program you're using.
Next, save this file as a .wmf file. You can do so by going to File > Save as... and selecting Windows Meta File (*.wmf).
Then, go to your Affinity app (Photo or Designer) and open this file. Notice that, in the Layers panel, the individual shapes are showing as separate Curve layers.
You might notice an additional layer at the bottom. This could be the empty raster layer you might have had in PSP. If you don't need it, you can just delete it.
Those elements keep their vector properties, and you can edit them as you wish. You can create the shapes using the Pen tool, a Shape tool, or even the Text tool. And yes, text will still be a text element once opened in Affinity.
If the shapes are grouped when you save them in PaintShop Pro, they will be ungrouped when you open them in Affinity. Here is an example of shapes that included "groups" in PaintShop Pro.
And here are the same shapes, once you open them in Affinity.
This might be annoying, but it is not a big issue since you can "add" the shapes together, using the Geometry toolbar.
You might notice that the shapes/layers didn't retain their individual names. If those are important to you, you will have to rename them manually.
Now, you can transfer all your old preset shapes to use them in Affinity. If you want to save them as Assets, you can keep them at your fingertips.
<h2">How to Transfer Vectors from Affinity to PaintShop Pro
Since Affinity offers a smoother and more flexible way to create shapes, you might prefer that program to generate them. However, you might need them in PaintShop Pro for specific projects. Luckily, the same process works in the that direction too.
Use the Pen Tool, Shape Tool, or Text Tool to add your shapes/elements to a blank canvas.
Since Affinity only save in its native format, you will need to Export your file. Choose the WMF format in the drop down list on top.
Watch out: Affinity may switch to EMF instead of WMF. That format will not retain vector properties in PSP — double-check before exporting.
Back to PaintShop Pro, open that WMF file. You will see this dialogue window.
You can choose any dimension for the file, especially since vectors are scalable. Once you click the OK button, it will open in your PSP.
Oh! It looks like something is missing! Where are the shapes? Although the image looks blank, the shapes are still somewhere. You can see that in the Layers palette.
But where are they? Well, I discovered one little "oddity" to explain this. For some reason that I don't understand, the shapes are HUGE, and the canvas only shows the top left corner of the file. Weird, right? Let's test this. Let's resize the layer (not the canvas) with Image > Resize... with these settings:
In the Resize dialog, uncheck “Resize all layers,” and apply the resize only to the selected vector layer. This will reduce the size of the shapes without changing your canvas. Here is what I get:
Surprise! You can see a part of the shapes, proving they are there! They are still too large for the canvas. This means that I could have started with a much larger canvas, OR I can still resize it again. I found that if I resized to 3% instead of 10% initially, I would get this:
Just like when transferring from PSP to Affinity, you will notice, in the Layers palette, that the names of the individual layers/elements will change to default names. So you will have to rename them, especially if you want to export them as preset shapes.
One instances that will NOT work is if you are exporting text from Affinity to import it in PSP. Although it will still open in vector format, it loses its text properties, so you cannot edit it like text, with font, kerning, etc. But you can still edit the fill, stroke, size, etc.
Why WMF Works
WMF is an older vector format, but it’s supported by both programs. It doesn’t carry over every advanced feature (like layer styles or effects), but for clean paths and shapes, it does the job remarkably well.
- Affinity handles WMF imports better than EMF
- PaintShop Pro can open and manipulate WMF vectors with some resizing
- No rasterization or tracing needed
Final Thoughts
It’s rare to find such a simple cross-program solution — especially when the answer lies in an old format like WMF. But in this case, it just works. Strangely, this solution does not seem to be common knowledge.
If you use both Affinity and PaintShop Pro, give this method a try next time you create a shape or design element. It’s a simple trick that can save you hours.
Have you tested this? Did it work well for your content? Share your experience in the comments!
1 thought on “Transfer Shapes between PSP and Affinity”
This is the first I learned about this, although I know that WMF is an old format but I have never used it. You have found a great way to use vector shapes across both programs. I have a lot of vector shapes and will give this a try in the coming days and when I do I’ll report back here. Thank you so much for this handy information!