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Just Released: Xara Photo & Graphic Designer 11
Xara Photo & Graphic Designer 11 has just been launched.
As usual you can find an overview on our website @ http://www.xara.com/photo-graphic-designer/whats-new/ and more detailed information in the release notes @ http://xaragroup.magix.net/PGD11releasenotes/ but the highlights are:
• A big step forwards for the Brush Tool, with new Art Brushes and enhanced Scatter Brushes
• New industry standard blend / transparency modes
• Lots of new & improved text features including abbreviation expansion
• Document sync with Dropbox or GDrive
• Significant PDF and Word import improvements
• An extension of the Shape Editor Tool (Liquify Tools).
Gary Priester has done his traditional first look which you can find here http://xaragroup.magix.net/PGD11/
Fyi the Liquify Tools and latest SmartShapes (check out the new spiral) are the first quite simple examples of what can be created with our new plug-in technology, for which we intend to publish an API so that third parties can add features, tools and SmartShapes. The API isn’t ready to be released yet, but if you’re a JavaScript developer and this sounds interesting, send us a ticket via support.xara.com to register your interest and we’ll keep you posted. In the meantime I hope you enjoy the new features, they will of course all be in Pro 11.
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Re: Just Released: Xara Photo & Graphic Designer 11
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Re: Just Released: Xara Photo & Graphic Designer 11
Good job Xara!!!
The most interesting:
Art brushes - Finally. Great!
New Blend Modes - Overlay, Hard and Soft Light are very very useful options!
Liquify Shape Editing Tools - Not sure. But the possibility of expanding (via JavaScript if I understood correctly) sounds intriguing.
Font Replacement - Good!
The rest we'll see. Hopefully a couple of extra pro-goodies will be added to the XDP version ;)
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Re: Just Released: Xara Photo & Graphic Designer 11
just to say an issue has occurred:
my wacom will not produce rendered strokes when program set to pressure recording - it does when pressure recording is off
also there is a crash if a custom brush type is selected by the wacom without leaving pressure recording first
this has been reported to xara
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Re: Just Released: Xara Photo & Graphic Designer 11
Wahey... new vector tools for 'artistic' strokes and for vector deformation. Can't wait to try this out on a Cintiq when I return from hols.
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Re: Just Released: Xara Photo & Graphic Designer 11
ok the new art brushes are seriously cool - more on that later
the liquify shape editing is quick and easy
the 'intersect all shapes' is a sort of 'enhanced slice' and useful
however the new blend/transparency mode/types don't really add anything for me [just 'trying to be photoshop'] and worse, apart from STAINED GLASS, the ones I used most are gone: LIGHTEN, DARKEN, HUE
very quick subtle changes to colouration, whilst maintaining black/white tone highlights was possible with these, can't seem to get it to work the same way at all with the new set, so no reason to upgrade there and it could well be an issue for files where backwards compatibility is not available
some examples:
Attachment 108521
top left - original
top right - original with pale yellow rectangle and HUE
bottom left - original cloned and DARKEN applied to the clone
bottom right - original cloned and LIGHTEN applied to the clone
EDIT - still get left and right mixed up, now put right... [just as well I can afford to pay someone to drive me around :D]
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Re: Just Released: Xara Photo & Graphic Designer 11
oh and the darn TG board has reduced the image to a fuzzy jpg [why does the thumbnail still say PNG?]
so here is the .XAR - but it won't work if you open it in ver 11 of course, since the transparencies used are not there :D:D
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Re: Just Released: Xara Photo & Graphic Designer 11
Version 11 loads and displays files that use the old deprecated transparency types. In such files the old transparency types will appear in the transparency tool dropdown menu.
Phil
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Re: Just Released: Xara Photo & Graphic Designer 11
Hi thanks Phil
actually I was more thinking about having to go back to ver 8 to apply the 'non-PDFsafe' transparency modes to ongoing work, because I can't do this in ver 11
whilst I'm here - great work on the art brushes; so good in fact I have only found one quibble so far.. a tendency when working very fast and free in sketch mode for the freehand brush to suddenly switch to line tool - guess it's catching nodes, cause there are still some there even in sketch mode; maybe tweaking the hit radius will help, still looking at that
incidentally - did you fix the 'ctrl+A' problem; not seen it so far..
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Re: Just Released: Xara Photo & Graphic Designer 11
Hi,
If you're working in a file that uses the old transparency types then you can apply them without restriction and, of course, you can create a template file that contains them, just like you would for a set of colours or brushes that you want to be present in all new documents.
Thanks for the kind words. We worked very hard on the art brushes to make them smooth and and give high quality feedback while you're drawing (unlike some other programs). As a drawing gets more complex, of course, it takes more CPU power and more time to draw it and so eventually the program has to give up on live feedback and draw the simple "spine" instead. You can help the program to keep up by grouping things or putting things on layers so that it can cache them.
Do you mean it switches out of the Freehand tool to the Shape editor tool? If so, that's almost certainly because you have accidentally double-clicked on a line while drawing. I can see that we might have to do something about that!
Note sure what Ctrl+A problem you're referring to...???
Phil
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Re: Just Released: Xara Photo & Graphic Designer 11
Hi again,
I said above,
Quote:
Originally Posted by
PhilM
If you're working in a file that uses the old transparency types then you can apply them without restriction and, of course, you can create a template file that contains them, just like you would for a set of colours or brushes that you want to be present in all new documents.
Well, sorry, but that's wrong. In fact, the old transparency types are only shown when an object that uses them is selected. Maybe I need to talk to my colleagues and persuade them to make it work the way I /thought/ it did! ;-)
Ho hum,
Phil
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Re: Just Released: Xara Photo & Graphic Designer 11
The team did a great job of making the art brushes 'fluid' and smooth; one in the eye for anyone who says you never listen [and for the doubting thomas handrawn who has been making an issue of this since the last decade]
So far I have only tried it on the laptop, and even on that [relative for graphics] slower computer it does very well - sometimes there is a delay in the rendering reaching full resolution [ie becoming 'sharp' rather than 'blurred'] but that has been mostly on opening an existing file, and this will be CPU dependant as well...
I like to draw fast - it's a real-time transfer of thought process to art, almost at a sub-concious level.. a bit of an antithesis to the usual vector/CAD approach, having to stop can unsettle this; maybe I could try slowing down a tad, or hopefully the win7/win10preview desktop which has far more CPU power will be better; I'll try that today - grouping, using layers, good advice; thing is for me reaching a point at which I can say to myself 'pause, take a breath, consolidate' :D
the switching issue is to shape editor, my bad [very sloppy terminology:o] - one example of it happening is when sketching a lot in a small area [building-up the line in a painterly sense]; double clicking is almost certain to happen every now and then, so thanks for picking up on that
Sorry - the 'control+A' problem mentioned came up a while back - it does not always select everything - I put up and example file and the problem was logged - basically some objects that are 'too far out' get left unselected - currently I am using an A0 page size for testing, so I'm zoomed way out, maybe that means it is less likely to happen, I don't know
thanks again to everyone :-bd
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Re: Just Released: Xara Photo & Graphic Designer 11
This looks pretty amazing. When is the Pro version coming out? I'm excited for that :D
I don't think the pictures in what's new do the features justice. You really should add short videos that demonstrate how the new tools work :cool:
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Re: Just Released: Xara Photo & Graphic Designer 11
Quote:
Originally Posted by
PhilM
the old transparency types are only shown when an object that uses them is selected. Maybe I need to talk to my colleagues and persuade them to make it work the way I /thought/ it did! ;-)
but it appears you can paste attributes across from a selected HUE/DARKEN/LIGHTEN transparency object in ver11, so that is a good enough workaround for me as things stand; I happy to live with that rather than divert resource from higher priority stuff
:)
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Re: Just Released: Xara Photo & Graphic Designer 11
Quote:
Originally Posted by
handrawn
however the new blend/transparency mode/types don't really add anything for me [just 'trying to be photoshop'] and worse, apart from STAINED GLASS, the ones I used most are gone: LIGHTEN, DARKEN, HUE
Do you think it's bad if Xara will have more compatibility with Photoshop? New transparency types have been on my wishlist. For all who combines Xara with Photoshop. It's an incredible facilitation.
Xara is incredibly convenient and fast for easy operations. But without Photoshop today is not enough.
Of course, I would like instead of the "web design" more graphical and typography tools. Sure. I always repeat. Xara has driven itself into a corner with a "web design" feature. Xara has more and more time to invest in the development of this feature. Today the market dozens of similar software and frameworks(many more professional as Xara).
But good graphics software can be counted on the fingers. Xara is still in the top ten. But already not in the top three. :(
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Re: Just Released: Xara Photo & Graphic Designer 11
sure - I have no problem with the new transparency types as such; just that, for me, not a reason to upgrade [because I would use PS anyway]; the only actual problem I had with this feature was with the removal of the old types, but Phil has very kindly pointed me in the direction of a work around for this, so I am happy
there are those I am sure who are scratching their heads and wondering what use 'art brushes' are.. now for me they are a reason to upgrade..
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Re: Just Released: Xara Photo & Graphic Designer 11
Quote:
Originally Posted by
handrawn
there are those I am sure who are scratching their heads and wondering what use 'art brushes' are.. now for me they are a reason to upgrade..
No doubt this is a very cool "thing".
I read something about CMYK PNG. Now Xara support CMYK transparency? You've already experienced it? It would be a "gift", too.
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Re: Just Released: Xara Photo & Graphic Designer 11
Quote:
Originally Posted by
digitalphaser
Xara has driven itself into a corner with a "web design" feature.
The Champ's corner, I would say, but I am glad to see that the photo and graphics tools (finally) get updated and expanded as well. I hope the DTP tools will receive an equal share of attention.
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Re: Just Released: Xara Photo & Graphic Designer 11
@philm
ok - just been running the program on windows7 home [amd fx6300 six core 3.5gh] and so far no issues with pressure recording, no crashes...
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Re: Just Released: Xara Photo & Graphic Designer 11
Wow!
First kick in the tires impressions :
The warp tool appears to be very well implemented. The node count stays decent and deformations are fluid.
The shapes along a path brush is one thing I wished for a long time and it seems to work great!
I can't seem to explode them into a path though, is that normal ?
I/m not sure about the flashing infobar, I find it a bit annoying.
Marc
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Re: Just Released: Xara Photo & Graphic Designer 11
Hi Marc, can you elaborate a bit more about what you mean by explode them into a path?
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Re: Just Released: Xara Photo & Graphic Designer 11
Hi Frances, I mean using "Convert line to shapes" on an Art brush object.
I get a clipped bitmap as a result.
Marc
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Re: Just Released: Xara Photo & Graphic Designer 11
yes - basically they are 'live effect' of a kind; plugin effects - this seems to be way it is even if you create your own from pure vector
it's a pity
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Re: Just Released: Xara Photo & Graphic Designer 11
Think about what the art brush does, though, folks... It distorts the shapes and fills in an arbitrary way, so for any fill type other than flat fills, they can't be represented by any existing fill geometry. The only way to capture them is as a bitmap.
At the moment even flat fills return bitmaps from Convert Line to Shape but we hope to be able to return flat filled vector shapes in those cases soon (it's on the list).
Phil
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Re: Just Released: Xara Photo & Graphic Designer 11
I'll welcome the flat fill = vector. But for myself I have never been afraid of bitmaps in vector work. The main issue to me is resolution. As long as the brushes are of sufficient resolution, I pretty much could care less.
Why? Because when I do brush work additions in Art rage or Twisted Brush, guess what the result is? ;)
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Re: Just Released: Xara Photo & Graphic Designer 11
that's good news Phil, and yes, I understand it can only be done for the flat fills I wasn't really expecting any more than that to be honest [though you can always hope :)]
meanwhile for a monochrome flat fill, can work around by bitmap tracing it as black and then assigning whatever colour is required afterwards
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Re: Just Released: Xara Photo & Graphic Designer 11
@Mike - sure no problems with bitmaps per se, I love em too - but there are things you can do with vectors you cannot do with bitmaps afterwards
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Re: Just Released: Xara Photo & Graphic Designer 11
Quote:
Originally Posted by
handrawn
@Mike - sure no problems with bitmaps per se, I love em too - but there are things you can do with vectors you cannot do with bitmaps afterwards
The same is true of a bitmap--there're things one can do with them that cannot be readily done with vector.
I'm fairly happy with the current progress. It's a bit of live toward the illustration side of things. And as long as there is momentum for the illustration aspects, hopefully it continues into the future.
Mike
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Re: Just Released: Xara Photo & Graphic Designer 11
I could say vector to bitmap is an 'eyes-closed' operation, whereas bitmap to vector is often rather fraught.. but hey there is nothing to debate really because yes they both have their 'uses' and this is real progress and very welcome indeed
the implementation is very effective, impressive
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Re: Just Released: Xara Photo & Graphic Designer 11
Quote:
Originally Posted by
PhilM
Think about what the art brush does, though, folks... It distorts the shapes and fills in an arbitrary way, so for any fill type other than flat fills, they can't be represented by any existing fill geometry. The only way to capture them is as a bitmap.
Phil
Yes, this is indeed quite an amazing engine while remaining simple.
It didn't occur to me at first that you could use gradients and bitmaps.
Attachment 108554
Quote:
Originally Posted by
PhilM
At the moment even flat fills return bitmaps from Convert Line to Shape but we hope to be able to return flat filled vector shapes in those cases soon (it's on the list).
This would be most appreciated.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
handrawn
the implementation is very effective, impressive
Agreed !
Using the brush tool made me think that a simple point-based pressure profile editor would complement it very well.
Marc
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Re: Just Released: Xara Photo & Graphic Designer 11
Anything (or any one) can be a brush.
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Re: Just Released: Xara Photo & Graphic Designer 11
In regards to the vector conversion issue if you simply keep the vector artwork used to create a brush in the file and do this when sharing brushes too then it's always there and can be tweaked and new brushes created from it.
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Re: Just Released: Xara Photo & Graphic Designer 11
Quote:
Originally Posted by
MarcT
I/m not sure about the flashing infobar, I find it a bit annoying.
changing the registry key value from 1 to 0 should fix that:
.....Options/Bars/FlashInfobar
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Re: Just Released: Xara Photo & Graphic Designer 11
Quote:
Originally Posted by
angelize
In regards to the vector conversion issue if you simply keep the vector artwork used to create a brush in the file and do this when sharing brushes too then it's always there and can be tweaked and new brushes created from it.
so how does that help me draw something with an art brush and then break shapes [for example]
I think I know what you mean, but that is not what I was talking about
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Re: Just Released: Xara Photo & Graphic Designer 11
Quote:
Originally Posted by
handrawn
changing the registry key value from 1 to 0 should fix that:
.....Options/Bars/FlashInfobar
Thanks Steve, good to know!
Alternately, it doesn't occur with the pale UI
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Re: Just Released: Xara Photo & Graphic Designer 11
Have just treated myself to the new version, a birthday present to moi, yippee.
Well timed Xara team.
:-)
Grenou
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Re: Just Released: Xara Photo & Graphic Designer 11
Quote:
Originally Posted by
handrawn
just to say an issue has occurred:
my wacom will not produce rendered strokes when program set to pressure recording - it does when pressure recording is off
also there is a crash if a custom brush type is selected by the wacom without leaving pressure recording first
this has been reported to xara
Have the very same issue.
That makes me wonder - since this is a critical bug for my work (I constantly use pressured brushes), so it doesn't make any sense for me to continue testing the new version, is there a way to freeze the trial period until the bug is fixed?
To be honest I had to skip a number of version of Xara Designer for the same reason... installed a new version, some critical bugs occurs that prevents from using the software, and than the trial expires before the bug is fixed, and as a result I choose not to risk it and wait until the next version.
Thanks!
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Re: Just Released: Xara Photo & Graphic Designer 11
Quote:
Have just treated myself to the new version, a birthday present to moi, yippee.
Happy Birthday to Vous. :)
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Re: Just Released: Xara Photo & Graphic Designer 11
Merci beaucoup Emeritus Dude/Sir :-)
Grenou
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Re: Just Released: Xara Photo & Graphic Designer 11
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Centaurus
Have the very same issue.
That makes me wonder - since this is a critical bug for my work (I constantly use pressured brushes), so it doesn't make any sense for me to continue testing the new version, is there a way to freeze the trial period until the bug is fixed?
To be honest I had to skip a number of version of Xara Designer for the same reason... installed a new version, some critical bugs occurs that prevents from using the software, and than the trial expires before the bug is fixed, and as a result I choose not to risk it and wait until the next version.
Thanks!
have you extended the trial? if not you should be able to leave it until the bug fix is ready and then extend the trial at that point