When you need to repeat a design… say it’s 2 inches by 2 inches and you need an entire sheet of draftboard cut out of it- do you tile it in your vector program of choice and then send that to the GFUI or do you manually do it in the GFUI?
Obviously it would be faster to do it in the program but I know the GF can be quirky and I’m interested to hear what you guys do and why when it comes to a repeating design you need. A lot of.
Design and layout in your vector software. It’s far more accurate.
I like to use the arrange (not align and distribute, though I use those sometimes too) function in Inkscape, and also tiled clones. They both let you lay things very efficiently and quickly. There are no doubt analogous functions in other vector programs.
Alas, no Inkscape for me, I only have an iPad but I can do it manually in my other programs.
Affinity Designer will work beautifully on your iPad. 
I try to do everything in my design software – the GFUI functions are just for sticking things where I want them on the material. Copy/paste/position is just too klunky for me in there!
I’ve always wondered how many people use an ipad only, and don’t have a PC/laptop to use.
@geek2nurse I’ve been using (and been frustrated to hell and back) with Vectornator. I’ve been really thinking hard about getting Affinity for awhile.
@evansd2 I used to do all my illustration and design work on a proper computer with an art tablet (Wacom Intuos) setup but because I also do a lot of art shows and travel a lot it just wasn’t quite what I needed. I had a surface pro for awhile which is an amazing laptop that you can draw on the screen of but not an amazing art device that can compute. Always over heating and glitchy. One day my brother decided he wanted to invest in my business- got me the iPad and pencil and I’ve never gone back. It’s a pain sometimes, things like converting files from png to svg I have to use an online converter for and there are a few other things but overall as a traveling artist I’m pretty pleased with out much I can do with it.
Oh, now that I know you have an Apple Pencil too (I’m assuming it’s that one!) I know you’d be happy with it!
I have an hp Envy that I can draw on the screen but normally just use a mouse and I have a second screen that I keep all the sub windows on to reference or occasionally select or type over there.
As to the OP unless there is a need for precision arrangement I would Copy / Paste in the GFUI particularly if images are involved. That way the whole 2x2 is in the layer image and you can see it. If an image is involved and there are 50 of them they will each be a layer and each need to have the settings done. C/P in the GFUI and there is only the one for all of them. You will also be able arrange them as you copy them.
I have a “business card” design that I cut for all my scrap so I also make them bigger and smaller to best use up all the scrap.
one potentially important reason to do it in the design program.
if you have engraves, especially something that has 90 degree horizontal lines, you want them to line up perfectly horizontally. that will make your engraves run faster because it only engraves a horizontal line where there is something to be engraved. so if you have white space on one copy aligned horizontally with engraved space on another copy, it still has to engrave something on that horizontal row. but if they all line up perfectly, then you know any white space will be skipped on all engraved rows. if you’re doing a whole lot of pieces across, that can save you a lot of time.
Affinity Designer and the Apple Pencil are a pair made in heaven. The app isn’t super intuitive for me when compared to the PC version, but the pencil makes a huge difference.
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