Confused on new web publishing feature.

I know one of the new features in X9 is the web publishing feature where you put page numbers and those with tablets can flip through the pages. I have an Android and went to the pages that were designed using this new feature but saw nothing but a website that I had to scroll down like any other except there was page numbers on the bottoms as I scrolled. In fact, I had to left and right scroll to see the full pages before scrolling down. What am I missing? How is this feature any better than just normal scrolling?

Richard

This topic should probably be moved to the Web design chat section.

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I know one of the new features in X9 is the web publishing feature where you put page numbers and those with tablets can flip through the pages.

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You mean like a 'flip-book' ? That's news to me.

I figured it belonged here since this is now a feature in XP9. The impression the new features article gave me is that there was some benefit to tablets by using web pages with page numbers. But when I viewed the pages, it was worse than a regular web page because I had to scroll left to right AND down. I am trying to figure out what benefit this new feature is and what I am missing.

DPX9 has all the features of the child apps (Web Designer, Photo & Graphic Designer, Page & Layout Designer).
The pro version has exported websites since version 4.
The web chat section is for Xara web related topics, not just the Web Designer application.

The point of the DTP for the web feature introduced in version 9 is to allow devices to view DTP style publications as a continuous webpage rather than a PDF file which may need a special app installed.

ok, but the necessity to have to left and right scroll to see the page? I never have to left and right scroll to view a PDF on my tablet or Kindle too for that matter. If my choice is to have to left and right scroll AND scroll down to see pages, I will choose PDF in a heartbeat.

That depends on the device's browser default zoom view and screen size I should think.
But yes, you may chose to use PDF instead if you wish.

@richinri

The benefit is you can publish a multi-page print document to the web.

And as I remember when I tested this feature, you can swipe to the next page instead of having to navigate using buttons. So you can scroll quickly up and down the document.

On a desktop browser you can scroll though the document with a scroll mouse.

I just previewed a web document with my Nexus 7 tablet. In portrait mode I had to resize the page but in landscape mode the page fit to the width. I would have to resize a website as well. I suspect that the page size has something to do with it as well.

It does seem to me that the 'web document' format might have some real advantages for creating 'web books' with multimedia integration because of the potential of using placeholders to embed content from web services such as YouTube, ProfProfs, (Quizmaker) etc. Can you embed these in a PDF? (as opposed to linking). I am afraid I am not very familiar with what you can do with PDF other than create clickable/touchable links. If not then the Xara web document does seem to have some real advantages. I have authored a book in Apples iBooks Author (all graphics created in Xara Designer Pro) and it is an excellent program as it does allow a multimedia approach to authoring but the final product is limited to being played in iBooks but a Xara web book would largely be platform neutral. I am aware that epub (without Apples extensions) does also offer a pretty generic format and I was kind of hoping that Xara Designer Pro X9 would have a fixed layout ePub export but it wasn't to be. Maybe the Xara web document route offers a real alternative for mulitmedia books?
Pwalder

Gary, when you use the term swipe when speaking of tablets, I think of a side to side movement. When you say scroll, I assume up and down movement. I believe most that hear you can publish a document where you can swipe in tablets, they will assume the page view will be one page on the screen and you swipe left or right to get to the next page. Apparently this is not the case. I am just trying to see why this was considered a major new feature when all I see the program do is a typical web page that scrolls up and down but shows page numbers.

I tend to agree. But to create an app that you can advance from page to page by tapping is a major bit of work. I created three stereogram apps for the iPad and it was not an easy thing to do. The apps also display a different version of the page when the device is rotated. I created these in InDesign with Adobe's Digital Publishing Suite.

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Originally Posted by richinri

I am just trying to see why this was considered a major new feature when all I see the program do is a typical web page that scrolls up and down but shows page numbers.

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You can't create such a continuously scrolling multi-page html document without this new feature.
If it's of no use to you then you've no need to use it.
Personally I don't think I'll need it either, there are certain restrictions when choosing this format of a regular website.

Can I ask what the restrictions (over a 'normal' web site) are when choosing this web document format?
Pwalder

Web Properties available are cut down to allow linking only.
No head and body placeholders, no popup highslide photos, no link colours, no mouseovers, no meta data.. etc..
Just links...
You can convert to normal web doc, but then you will lose the continuously scrolling numbered pages.

Oh!Thank you for this I was really hoping that placeholders could be used as it did seem that this format could then be used to create multimedia webooks that would be compatible on all web devices. This is something that looks as if it is becoming available via sites such as Pressbooks.com which seem to use Wordpress based plug-ins to create web books.
I understand that I can use a standard web site approach but to my naive eyes I thought this might offer an advantage over pdf but it doesn't look like it does now.
Thanks again for clarifying,
Pwalder

Actually, I think I might be misleading you a little.
Until your post I hadn't considered the web gallery and dragging in (some of) the web widgets, which seem to work fine! No warning about it being a print document..
If this is intentional then it makes no sense for Xara to have cut down the web properties dialogue because the widgets are effectively creating a placeholder!
More investigation needed.. Sorry Peter..

Hmm. Seems that a widget from the designs gallery only works on page 1, dragging one onto any other page fails to even show up in preview or when published.
Smelling a bug here..

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Originally Posted by peter walder

Can I ask what the restrictions (over a 'normal' web site) are when choosing this web document format?
Pwalder

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I think that the restrictions unnecessarily limit the potential of "print documents" in web format as noted here.

Thanks for the speedy update. I actually retired from lecturing in a UK University last week and the impact of online learning is going to be massive in Higher Education in the very near future. Increasingly students are going to want to learn from online resources (even those student who are studying onsite as well as via distance learning). eBooks and web books are likely to be important element in providing students with the opportunity of studying at times and places that suit them but the 'book' resources need to be interactive and media rich. iBook Author on Mac OS can certainly do this and apps such as Book Creator on the iPad can as well ...may be Calibre on the PC platform can too (not tried this) but the workflows offered by Xara when placeholders are used to link into Web2.0 services allow this kind of interactivity to be built in. Of course this approach does usually need an internet connection to deliver the interactive services but for most students this is increasingly available. The appeal of the web doc format is ironically the linear format which can be scrolled (would be nice if it could be flipped) on mobile devices.....another major change in Higher Ed!

I'd be interested in any further musings on the possibility of place holder issue in the web document format.
Thanks again,
Pwalder