Xara Designer Pro X and Photo & Graphic Designer Updates

We’ve just released an update to Xara Designer Pro X and Photo & Graphic Designer, available now.

You can find full details on what’s new in the Release Notes @ http://releasenotes.xara.hosting/designer-pro/ and http://releasenotes.xara.hosting/pho...phic-designer/ but the key additions are basic table support and text flow within shapes, and there are some examples of both in the Online Content Catalog. Both have been frequently requested so I’m sure they will be welcome! Fyi we will continue to develop the table support in upcoming Update Service releases.

If you have an active Update Service then this update is free. If you already have the November 2017 update installed (v15.0, you can check in Help > About) then this new update will download automatically. If you a version older than 15.0 then you will need to re-download the software, there is no auto-update. You can uninstall your current version or run it alongside if you prefer, and it uses the same serial number. Note though this news is hot off the press, we haven’t updated the downloads on our website yet, so you can either download 15.0 from our site now and it will auto update, or you can wait for the new downloads, due soon.

If your Update Service has expired or you have v11 or older then you can renew your Update Service / upgrade in order to access this and all the other updates since your version. Go to the Designer Pro or Photo & Graphic Designer page on magix.com and click Upgrade – but note my comment above about the downloads not being updated yet.

I hope you enjoy the new updates,
Kate Moir

In one word;humbug

Hi, I'm a bit confused if I am eligible to update?

I have Xara Photo & Graphic Designer 15.0.0.52382 DL x64 Dec 1 2017 but don't currently have an active update service.

An auto update isn't happening and checking manually for updates via the help menu doesn't do anything other than make an advert for Xara Cloud popup.

Thanks

I guess you aren't eligible - no service, no updates is how it works, right?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jonopen

Hi, I'm a bit confused if I am eligible to update?
I have Xara Photo & Graphic Designer 15.0.0.52382 DL x64 Dec 1 2017 but don't currently have an active update service.
An auto update isn't happening and checking manually for updates via the help menu doesn't do anything other than make an advert for Xara Cloud popup.
Thanks

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When did your Update Service expire. If it was not that long ago, ask Xara for a temporary licence to access the Update and while there download any and all designs.

Acorn

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jonopen

Hi, I'm a bit confused if I am eligible to update?

I have Xara Photo & Graphic Designer 15.0.0.52382 DL x64 Dec 1 2017 but don't currently have an active update service.

An auto update isn't happening and checking manually for updates via the help menu doesn't do anything other than make an advert for Xara Cloud popup.

Thanks

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When I asked to check for updates I got the cloud ad. But when I closed it the update available showed.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gracehjs

When I asked to check for updates I got the cloud ad. But when I closed it the update available showed.

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The Cloud ad appears regardless of where you are in cover or not - that's just marketing.

In XWDP, wich I have let go out of cover, by choice, you get the ad (a different one) then absolutely nothing. Almost every other link that touches the Internet jumps to the Magix site.

You must still be in cover.

Acorn

Although I am subscribed for another 19 days to PGD365, I get the same as Jonopen when I check manually for updates via the Help menu; it's certainly not updating automatically. This is on Windows 7 64 bit.

Is anyone else having this happen, please? If so, any solution offered?

All sorts of weird things have happened to my various Xara installations today - I've sent a request for help to Xara support, and my Magix login doesn't work either. Very odd. I just wondered in the meantime if it was just me or if many people were having a bad Xara day...

Thanks.

Cheers,

David.

Looks great that we can stretch photos now! However I see that if we skew vertically it is still "broken" in how it works with the image. Needs another fix!

After re-reading Kate Moir's post again, I realised I missed the vital detail (in bold!) * If you have an active Update Service *!!! I was then thrown off-course when nothing happened after closing the Xara Cloud popup advert. In the past I'm sure it used to say my Service Update had expired (which it did, 2 Dec 2017). It probably got fed up with me ignoring it.

It does seem a bit mean though, to have to pay for an update, that fixes a major issue (bitmap and text resizing) that the version I previously paid a licence for, suffered from.

I note the Magix website says to expect continual "innovative, new functions and useful improvements to the program". We'll see, let's hope so, but based on recent evidence it's not looking hopeful.

HIGH QUALITY DRAWING TOOLS/BRUSHES AND INOVATIVE VECTOR PLUGINS PLEASE

Meanwhile back to the old version for me.

Selecting Help|CheckForUpgrades with my Xara P&GD 12.7.0.50257 DL Jun 7 2017 takes me to an upgrade which morphs into offering an upgrade to to P&GD-365.

What version is this?

Looking at my Magix Service Center page trying to check which products I have shows me that ALL my products from Xara Xtreme 4 down to a P&GD 12 Trial were apparently bought on 11/24/2017 . I presume that this is 24th Nov 2017

Apart from the fact that it doesn't show my (pretty much consecutive) products back to Xara Studio OR the fact that I have an actual version 12 - not a trial - how do I upgrade (any of the products I have) to the latest version of P&GD ?

TIA

[Edit]
I have found a Trial version of 15.0.0.52382 DL x64 Dec 1 2017 If I register that, is that the latest version ?

(No, this Trial doesn't allow resizing of bitmaps, but I presume the real version will, yes?)

Hi Kate,

I for one appreciate the tables so thank you.

= Steve

Quote:

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Originally Posted by brianlj

I have found a Trial version of 15.0.0.52382 DL x64 Dec 1 2017 If I register that, is that the latest version ?

(No, this Trial doesn't allow resizing of bitmaps, but I presume the real version will, yes?)

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I had version 15.0.0.52382 DL x64 Dec 1 2017, but this allows updating to the may 2018 version of DPX15

The version I have is DPX version 15.1.0.53605 dated May 3 2018. With this version, if you right click on the Lock Aspect Ration button (when visible), you can deselect "smart Transform". Once you do this, you can stretch bitmaps vertically and horizontally.

I am pretty sure that eventually the trial page will be updated to contain the May 2018 update.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Promidi

I am pretty sure that eventually the trial page will be updated to contain the May 2018 update.

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Yes! So, Xara please let us known when the latest version is available for download!

I don't know... it's all starting to make me take a serious look at Affinity Designer. Slow updates and subscription to get hardly anything.

The new trials are now live on the Xara website - Designer Pro, Photo & Graphic Designer and Web Designer - so if you need to re-download you can now do so.

Just to re-iterate, the main additions are text inside shapes and table support but you can find more details on what's new in the Release Notes. For Designer Pro they are at http://releasenotes.xara.hosting/designer-pro/ for Photo & Graphic Designer they are at http://releasenotes.xara.hosting/photo-graphic-designer/

Kate Moir

I have just updated to xaraDP 365 I would like to bring in my offline content Where is it located

Quote:

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Originally Posted by wallace

I have just updated to xaraDP 365 I would like to bring in my offline content Where is it located

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If you are referring to downloaded content from an earlier version, look at https://www.talkgraphics.com/showthr...365#post594365. Change (username) to your logon and 10 to 10, 11 or 12.

Once found, you can use the Local Designs gallery > Disc designs button.

It makes more sense to right-click on each Local Designs gallery Folder adn pick the Download all option.
These downloads will then be in .../15/...

Acorn

I too would love to see better brushes and cool plugins/effects or compatibility with AI/PS plugins, but Magix doesn't seem to know that Designer is used for more than just creating documents and calendars. (Ooooh! New smart shapes!)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MadTropic

I too would love to see better brushes and cool plugins/effects or compatibility with AI/PS plugins, but Magix doesn't seem to know that Designer is used for more than just creating documents and calendars. (Ooooh! New smart shapes!)

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Sadly, MagiXara appears to be completely out of touch with its traditional customer base and it is patently obvious that they no longer have any interest in what is posted in the ¨Dear Xara¨ thread, which contains oft-repeated requests for real improvements to the vector drawing and open type support, which continue to remain unanswered. They seem to have no appreciation for the valuable input from TG members therein. It is a bloody shame.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MadTropic

I too would love to see better brushes and cool plugins/effects or compatibility with AI/PS plugins, but Magix doesn't seem to know that Designer is used for more than just creating documents and calendars. (Ooooh! New smart shapes!)

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But Xara, conveniently, dropped the Calendar templates it was always delivering a year late anyhow.

Acorn

Quote:

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Originally Posted by iamtheblues

It is a ... shame.

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I no longer Post in Dear Xara..., I Pest. I have looked over, in fair detail, all the current offerings Xara considers to be updates and new features and, frankly, few measure up to the hype that MagiXara pumps out.

Acorn

xara hype:

https://www.talkgraphics.com/showthr...156#post596156

you have my admiration for all you have done acorn there is only so much Attachment 121538 one can take

Quote:

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Originally Posted by handrawn

xara hype:
https://www.talkgraphics.com/showthr...156#post596156
you have my admiration for all you have done acorn there is only so much Attachment 121538 one can take

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Xara does occasionally dip into these Threads so if we nag enough it might sink in. It is a sad state that collectively TG member have a wealth of experience we are happy to share and we see no acknowledgement that things have been noted, let alone acted on.

Acorn

you were not a TG member back in 2010 when Steve L decamped to xara-users, but I am sure you were/are aware...

at the time xara said it mattered not, the forum [TG] would continue regardless, some members would go, new members would replace them

I think xara tske it for granted... and as has been said elsewhere, shame

Quote:

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Originally Posted by handrawn

you were not a TG member back in 2010 when Steve L decamped to xara-users, but I am sure you were/are aware...
at the time xara said it mattered not, the forum [TG] would continue regardless, some members would go, new members would replace them
I think xara tske it for granted... and as has been said elsewhere, shame

---

Steve L (sledger) was a prolific contributor as are many others.

I think Xara only keeps TalkGraphics around as it would have to change its program coding to jettison it or invent a replacement for the Help > More Xara <Desktop application> > Online forum link.

Acorn

I often see complaints here that Xara does not reply enough to the threads and that feature requests are ignored. However, I do see many times where Xara employees do intervene, comment and help out, but it is, obviously, not enough. Compare this to Corel (Paintshop Pro) where intervention from Corel employees is almost non-existant, and support is limited to 1 month after purchase - pitiful.

On the other hand, below is an example of what I think is excellent intervention by a software company on its forum - BluffTitler. The BluffTitler guy is Michiel and he replies to most threads and takes suggestions for improvements and new features to heart. Magix/Xara should take heed. I know that Magix/Xara do not like to announce what they are working on, or even comment on suggestions in Dear Xara, but they should. Here is one of Michiel's latest threads; judge for yourselves:

"Today we jump to version 14.1.

Not because it's a major new version, but because we need a nice number for the Sea Monsters pack, planned for release later this week:
www.outerspace-software.com...

By request of Jeep35, the show duration is no longer rounded off to whole seconds. You can now, for example, enter 2.5 in the FILE > SET SHOW DURATION... dialog.

By request of Kauzito, a new effect is introduced: Special/NormalMapper. This can be used to normap map a model that has no UV coordinates, similar to what Special/UVMapper does for colourmaps.

By request of lightads, the old ReflectiveWater_CubemapDDS effect has been converted to CFX.

Also inspired by lightads, the SETTINGS > OPTIONS... dialog now has a MAXIMUM TEXTURE RESOLUTION option. This can be used to prevent out of video memory issues when using lots of super high resolution photos. For example, set this value to 1920 and your 8K photos are automatically scaled down to make them fit into the video memory of your graphics card.

Lots of effect thumbnails have been redesigned..."

Like most internet forums, this is full of negativity but I just dropped by to thank the Xara developers for fixing a long-standing gripe I've had (and mentioned here a few times). I bought a new laptop last week and downloaded the latest version of Xara (which I had assumed I was running on my old machine anyway) and discovered, to my delight, that the application now starts far more quickly than it has in years. It is now on -par with all the other software I use so thanks, Xara, it makes a big difference to me.

I have removed three posts which do not meet our community standards for civility.

Just figured I'd add my voice to the chorus. I use xara everyday at this point. it is a great application. it is quick and convenient and stable, for the most part. however, there has been little quality improvement or feature expansion in the last few years. i know a lot of pre-made content has been added, but that is not useful to me. Support for layered tif, exr, and psd files would be useful. ability to handle larger dtp documents would be useful. improvements to brushes would be useful. performance improvements for filters would be useful. being able to reference other image/graphic files without importing them would be useful. a general sense that the desktop programs are being actively and aggressively developed would be reassuring.

in the last few years, it seems most effort has gone into the online tools, and the desktop tools have gotten just barely enough development to avoid mutiny among maintenance subscribers but not really the kind of attention that a company puts into its feature products. I'm not judging. I'm sure that xara had to make tough decisions to get its online offerings off the ground. but now that the online offerings are off the ground and now that xara recently sent a survey to subscribers indicating that it intends to continue developing the desktop applications and asking us for input on development priorities, it is time to follow through on this promise to develop the desktop applications.

at this point, i'm not abandoning xara. it is useful and i enjoy using it and i use it daily. but i don't believe that i've seen enough development in the last three years to warrant paying the subscription fee each year. i'll take a wait an see approach over the next ten months, til my subscription is up for renewal. but if the only updates to designer pro in the next 10 months are more free content in the online catalog and a smattering of bug fixes with one or two minor, incremental feature improvements, it will not be enough to justify the $120 annual maintenance fee. $120 is also the annual maintenance fee for photoshop and in comparison to xara's desktop products, photoshop appears to have received far more development in the last few years. though i mostly left adobe over their new pricing structure and increased cost, i have had to maintain some access to and use of their tools on occasion and have been pleasantly surprised at how aggressively they are developing them. similarly, affinity's development in the past few years is astounding, and there is no annual cost for access to those improvements. in comparison, xara's desktop app development efforts appear disconcertingly pedestrian these past few years.

In summary, xara is a great program and was a good investment as i transitioned from adobe cc. importantly, xara is just a fun and easy but also powerful program to use, which makes it enjoyable in a way that some of its competitors' products are not, in my opinion. But the maintenance fee that i've paid the last few years has not been worth the paltry improvements the desktop programs have seen in that time. if xara does not develop designer pro more aggressively, it will not make me question my investment in the software nor will it make me cease using designer pro in the short-term, but it will make me stop paying a subscription fee when it is not at all clear that there are sufficient benefits for the cost of the subscription.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jmanganelli

Just figured I'd add my voice to the chorus. I use xara everyday at this point. it is a great application. it is quick and convenient and stable, for the most part. however, there has been little quality improvement or feature expansion in the last few years. i know a lot of pre-made content has been added, but that is not useful to me. Support for layered tif, exr, and psd files would be useful. ability to handle larger dtp documents would be useful. improvements to brushes would be useful. performance improvements for filters would be useful. being able to reference other image/graphic files without importing them would be useful. a general sense that the desktop programs are being actively and aggressively developed would be reassuring.

in the last few years, it seems most effort has gone into the online tools, and the desktop tools have gotten just barely enough development to avoid mutiny among maintenance subscribers but not really the kind of attention that a company puts into its feature products. I'm not judging. I'm sure that xara had to make tough decisions to get its online offerings off the ground. but now that the online offerings are off the ground and now that xara recently sent a survey to subscribers indicating that it intends to continue developing the desktop applications and asking us for input on development priorities, it is time to follow through on this promise to develop the desktop applications.

at this point, i'm not abandoning xara. it is useful and i enjoy using it and i use it daily. but i don't believe that i've seen enough development in the last three years to warrant paying the subscription fee each year. i'll take a wait an see approach over the next ten months, til my subscription is up for renewal. but if the only updates to designer pro in the next 10 months are more free content in the online catalog and a smattering of bug fixes with one or two minor, incremental feature improvements, it will not be enough to justify the $120 annual maintenance fee. $120 is also the annual maintenance fee for photoshop and in comparison to xara's desktop products, photoshop appears to have received far more development in the last few years. though i mostly left adobe over their new pricing structure and increased cost, i have had to maintain some access to and use of their tools on occasion and have been pleasantly surprised at how aggressively they are developing them. similarly, affinity's development in the past few years is astounding, and there is no annual cost for access to those improvements. in comparison, xara's desktop app development efforts appear disconcertingly pedestrian these past few years.

In summary, xara is a great program and was a good investment as i transitioned from adobe cc. importantly, xara is just a fun and easy but also powerful program to use, which makes it enjoyable in a way that some of its competitors' products are not, in my opinion. But the maintenance fee that i've paid the last few years has not been worth the paltry improvements the desktop programs have seen in that time. if xara does not develop designer pro more aggressively, it will not make me question my investment in the software nor will it make me cease using designer pro in the short-term, but it will make me stop paying a subscription fee when it is not at all clear that there are sufficient benefits for the cost of the subscription.

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Thank you for your balanced assessment. It is nice to recall that the Xara Desktop applications are "fun and easy", but appear to be in a backwater.

I should advise that you need to read Xara's https://www.talkgraphics.com/showthr...ting-Explained where Xara refutes its Upgrade Service is a subscription model:

Quote:

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Note: The Update Service isn’t a subscription, and there won’t be an automatic recharge. You will make a choice as usual about whether to upgrade your copy and extend the Update Service for another 365 days.

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While one can continue using the Xara Desktop application in perpetuity (almost), I still strongly disagree with Xara that it is a subscription, as without it, bug fixes, features and on-line content can can be removed from one's repertoire.

(I agree the Xara desktop apps are great and I use Pro fairly regularly. I upgraded every version of Pro from v6 (when I discovered it) to v12 because each annual release brought significant new features. Upgrading was actually something to look forward to and exciting when details on the new version popped up. Now smaller updates are drip fed out over the year and nothing really stands out, it seems to be mostly forgettable content updates and on top of that the price went up, nagging popups were apparently introduced and marketing wise the desktop programs that we are so fond of were moved aside in favour of the cloud version on the main xara site and on their social media channels. It's just been dissapointing for the last year or so. Maybe it's now a matter of waiting a longer time for a worthwhile upgrade but with all the attention and promotion the cloud gets and the progress(?) of the desktop app it leaves me doubtful. I mean you just have to visit the xara.com website and ask yourself what to expect? Just more cloud by the looks of it. And the content updates aren't really desktop app updates, they're probably initially intended for cloud and are just convenient to release for desktop users.

Anyway I know this is yet another negative post but the reason people are posting negative comments in relation to this kind of thing is because they like the program but don't like the direction it's going. I'm sure it's hard/impossible for the team to keep everyone happy and also make the money doing so but it's also important that users give their feedback. It's when users go quiet and stop giving the feedback it's probably too late, they've moved on. Sometimes I wonder if leaving behind old users for new ones that don't know any better is some kind of acceptable losses marketing strategy. Probably is. Anyway I better go make a cup of tea and cheer myself up before I get any more pessimistic. :)

Hi All, happy holidays.

Figured I'd reply to this again. Some thoughts that I hope are useful for xara/magix. I continue to find xara essential, and as noted in original post, as a kind of 'one note on steroids'. But over time, and as I learn xara better and better, I still find myself going to other graphics editing programs frequently because they do things that xara cannot do or does not do as well, so I do not think that xara designer pro 16, as it is now, is a comprehensive, advanced solution --- or at least, it is falling behind. I do not see this as a problem, necessarily. It is a very useful, convenient program. But, I have a suggestion and a comment.

My suggestion is that if xara designer pro is to serve as a great creativity tool (like one note, brainstorming, sketching, note taking, conceptual layout, etc), and only a great creativity tool, but not its own competitive, comprehensive suite of graphics editing tools, then it would be enhanced by greatly increasing its interoperability with the tools to which the files must be transferred to complete the development of the graphic or document or website.

My comment is that I have upgraded to release 16, and to each release the past few years, and I really don't see what I get for the money each year. I will take a wait and see approach before upgrading anymore. Assuming 'development' continues as it has these past few years, I don't see enough effort going into designer pro to justice the upgrade price.

Most of all I hate that think I'm an idiot.
I'll just leave this here:
Attachment 123026
"$129 вместо $647" ? Such a huge discount?
Throw money at the monitor ... of course not)). Dear Magix, you can keep ASEOPS to yourself - for an even more aggressive marketing in the Internet.
And happy new year to you. I hope that someday you will go broke, and the developers of Xara will appear on the sponsor, not friends-marketers.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by maksimon

Most of all I hate that think I'm an idiot.
I'll just leave this here:
Attachment 123026
"$129 вместо $647" ? Such a huge discount?
Throw money at the monitor ... of course not)). Dear Magix, you can keep ASEOPS to yourself - for an even more aggressive marketing in the Internet.
And happy new year to you. I hope that someday you will go broke, and the developers of Xara will appear on the sponsor, not friends-marketers.

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This is only marketing.

The full cost is $299. The upgrade cost is $129. This is a "saving" of $170.
If this "saving" didn't exist, you would have to buy the full product and no one sensible would even consider this.

Next, Magix throws in an unnecessary free gift. Here it is ASEOPS, "worth" $384.
No software product has an intrinsic worth and the cost to Magix to offer it is in the low dollars.
The web page then conflates an essential discount with an imaginary need to achieve a miracle saving of $647.

If you can suffer the loss of not upgrading for a time, do so.
Buy in when the offered software is worth it to you.
It then becomes a game of chicken; the more Customers who hold back, the less Magix gets and the more aggressive the marketing becomes.

For those who are interested, we passed the first anniversary of the release of v15.0.
Those who are in the Update Service have had a buggy v15.1 update and a buggy v16.0 release. Xara promised 3 to 4 regular updates a year. I would like a bug release for v16.0 so I can retire v15. I still have websites edited in v12 as I will not go to v16 until the bugs are reduced.

Acorn