Xara Designer Pro 8 - new options

Dear Xara Developers,
I would like to offer a number of functions (options) which it would be great to see in the next Xara Design Pro version.

as for the text:
1. change tex case.
2. hyphenation
3. align to baseline grid - there is a similar function in InDesign, it really helps in text layout.
4. tables (charts) designer

Attachment 88413

Thank you. I am sure the next version of Xara Design Pro will thrill us all, and hope that with some of my suggestions the programme will develop at substantially new level

Any addition to DTP features gets a big +1 from me.

-- Ben

Great suggestions.

You can toggle the case from upper to lower with a keyboard shortcut. With the character or characters selected, press Ctrl + w.

As Gary said you already can toggle between uppercase and lowercase.
+1 for all the rest plus full opentype support

They should add the change uppercase/lowercase option to right click menu when text is selected. It's hard to remember all the keyboard shortcuts.

+1
Auto hyphenation would be great for both DTP and Web Design

I would like to see a little more effort on DTP generally. It is frustrating to see so much effort going on web design. Particularly long documents: Automatic page numbers, text para styles, contents generation for a start.

I'm with you on DTP-type features, Tony. FWIW, I asked Kate Moir in her thread about WD MX whether the new Text Styles feature would have an equivalent in the next Designer Pro version, and she said yes. Now this could mean that - as we would expect - the web-design aspects of Designer Pro 8 (MX?) will include this feature, OR that there will indeed be a paper-focused text style feature. I'm hoping for an InDesign or Ventura-type paragraph tagging tool which would get us nearer to a DTP-type workflow. Fingers crossed!

Jon

I would love to see some effort put into the DTP end of Xara. Tables that work like tables and not as a resizeable image would be great. Longer document handling - YES! But right now - I am struggling with tables in Xara.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by thegitksan

Tables that work like tables and not as a resizeable image would be great.

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Agreed. Lack of tables in a modern day app that wants to compete in web and DTP document creation is a glaring omission. Vote here.

I too would appreciate tables being included in at least XDP.

However, I don't consider XDP "DTP" software anymore than I think of Illustrator in that category. I look at design applications as adjuncts to actual, purposeful, page layout software. The style capability is certainly welcome for short brochure work and such. Even so, I look at both of these additions as being mainly more beneficial to web work (which I don't do) that laying out even a small brochure.

My main hope is for more drawing capability additions--ones which have been requested for ages from reading past threads.

Likely everyone (myself included) will get something that makes XDP "that much better."

Take care, Mike

The following would be greatly appreciated (seen from my work perspective):
- Creation of tables with possibilities of table line and cell formatiing
- Import of Excel files
- Automatic page numbering
(funny nobody thought about this. It would improve document making a lot)
- When exporting black color to PDF/X use Pantone black C and not CMYK
This avoids fuzzy text when color is not correctly aligned

But let's admit: it must be d.... hard to improve an already beautyful program!!!!

the most necessary and vital function which designers need is Gradient Mesh (as in Illustrator) and full support of formats eps & ai - which will allow interaction with other programmes and cooperative work with other designers :rolleyes:

I'd like to see the toggle be able to work on and entire selection of text regardless of mixed case letters that are present. Right now, if I am doing it right, Ctrl-W reverses every character. All uppers become lower and all lowers become upper. I'd like to be able to toggle all of those character to either upper or lower in their entirety. Hope I explained this right :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gwpriester

Great suggestions.

You can toggle the case from upper to lower with a keyboard shortcut. With the character or characters selected, press Ctrl + w.

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So if I am reading this right you are asking to be able to toggle the behaviour of the ctrl+w shortcut to enable you change a word or words typed like this: aBCdeFg to this:AbcDEfG ?

Thanks Frances.

No, I believe that's the way it works now.

Steve

More like these options from UltraEdit

Attachment 89019

Take care, Mike

I second the request for better handling of formats like eps, ai before adding any wordprocessing features, excel import or webdesign stuff.
Personally I would love a feature that helps me to find a matching web color for a pantone color.

Dear Developers,
The ability to work with CMYK palette is absolutely essential,however it needs some changes:
1 the possibility to make Create Bitmap Copy in CMYK;

2 unproblematic export of TIFF into CMYK; because now it is just like this (pic)

Attachment 89026

3 in Simulate Print Colours mode colours need to be more similar to those in Photoshop or Illustrator

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Aciden

...
2 unproblematic export of TIFF into CMYK; because now it is just like this (pic)

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Have you checked the CMYK output in a bitmap editor? I usually get extremely close to exact readouts and they do print precisely as designed. Usually any deviation from the CMYK values I get are due to slight rounding differences that will not affect print.

I only quickly made an XDP drawing that resembled yours. But in the screen shots below, the print will be as vibrant as CMYK allows and the values are a near exact match.

Take care, Mike

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mwenz

Have you checked the CMYK output in a bitmap editor? I usually get extremely close to exact readouts and they do print precisely as designed. Usually any deviation from the CMYK values I get are due to slight rounding differences that will not affect print.

I only quickly made an XDP drawing that resembled yours. But in the screen shots below, the print will be as vibrant as CMYK allows and the values are a near exact match.

Take care, Mike

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I'm not speaking about colours. Look at patch of light, what happened to it after export

When is the DP8 release scheduled? I'd like to see everthing
in DP7 and MX8 merged into DP8 along with some Magix Magic :)

Xara never leaks release dates for a new product. We will only know when they release a new version.

Historically the Web Designer version is released in early spring, which has happened with the release of Web Designer MX and Web Designer MX Premium.

The Designer Pro version always contains all the features of the Web Designer version released that same year. This mean the next release of Designer Pro will also have all the Web Designer MX Premium features.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by UnmeteredIIS

When is the DP8 release scheduled?

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Based on the last several releases of the "pro" version with all of its various name changes, it looks like May/June would be a good guess...

Hello everyone, I apologize now for the bad translation :)
If XDP8 there was the possibility to change the html code interacting with programs I'd be glad, because I always update me the other sites because there is no possibility to do so with programs like dreamweawer or directly through the browser.
I would be very helpful, so anyone who wants a site with a news page you can update the site directly from the browser, now you can not in any way.
Sites created with the new XDP8 can be modified and or updated as sites created with other programs, where you can edit directly through the browser or html programs enabling them to make them more dynamic?
This option allows anyone to manage and update content with a few simple steps. Each web page becomes editable directly from Internet Explorer, Firefox or Safari.
But with sites created with XDP7 is not possible!! :'(

Greetings Milena

Xara Designer (or Web Designer) are not CMS creators or HTML editors.
You could download the trial of Web Designer MX to test the new features of version 8 right now.. These new web features will be included in the next version of Xara Designer.