“Export as” .tif exports a tif-file showing the background layer only, not the layer-copy with changes.
This happens in Gimp 3.0.6-1, when I export with the “Save layers” option on (tagged).
When the output tif-file is opened in Affinity Photo 2, the changes made to the layer-copy (the upper layer) are gone, and only the background layer is shown in the layers section.
When the same xcf-file (with 2 layers) is exported as a psd-file and opened in Affinity Photo 2, the changes in the layer-copy are shown, and both layers are visible in the layers section (the colors are off in the psd-version, though not the issue here).
This leads me to believe that an error occurs in Gimp in the tif-export-as module (?)
When the same xcf-file (with 2 layers) is exported as a psd-file and opened in Affinity Photo 2, the changes in the layer-copy are shown, and both layers are visible in the layers section (the colors are off in the psd-version, though not the issue here).
PSD is a format that leaves less room for interpretation. There is no doubt which layer is the first or last layer. Plain TIF has pages, but leaves it up to the application to decide what to do with these pages and in what order. That Affinity only loads the last page/layer is something that needs to be reported to them.
That would include Darktable and DxO PhotoLab which interpret the TIF file the same way as Affinity Photo 2 in this case. Though these two developing apps don’t show layers - they don’t show the layer from the tif-file in question containing the changes either.
So, in my amateur opinion the problem still rests with Gimp. What else should we do in Gimp than follow the obvious export directions for TIF-files - when we want it to show - not just the layers - but the changes made in Gimp?
I have used some time to learn Gimp at this point in Oct 2025 when a new Affinity Photo owner is about to release something that I may not want. But this behavior from Gimp is not stimulating a swap.