ETA on next version of XaraX ?

[jonjon]

Hi,

I've tested the demo version of XaraX1 and was quite impressed with what I saw.

However I'm not ready to purchase the full version as it doesn't feel as comfortable as I'd wish, unfortunately.

I don't have all the things in mind but I haven't found a list of all the objects in my canvas for easy access for example. Something like layers but automatically created ALA fireworks.
Besides, I don't like the floating windows and some other things didn't feel the best. Such as the fill and stroke for example. What a pain in the a** to go to the fill tool, open an unintuitive combo box and change the value... once again, you should probably go the "macromedia way" on this one: far more intuitive even if it's still not the best. At least we have those information easily accessible for the selected object(s). I guess more experienced users are extensively using the shortcuts but I'm not quite there yet http://www.talkgraphics.com/images/smilies/smile.gif

On the plus side, I love the color links: its an amazing feature. It's still a little rough on the edges though but its wonderful. What would make it far better would be some kind of a real color manager which will be empty when the project starts and will only be filled with parent colors when a tint/shade/link is created. That way, we'd have an easy access to the basic palette (all the parent colors) and change them easily in that manager. Also, it would be cool to set various favorites colors for those parent colors. For example, let's say I want to create a folder icon. I create my "default" parent color which would be yellow and all other colors are linked to it. Now I'd like to create a blue version, a green one and another red one. All I'd need to do is to associate favorite colors to this parent and I could easily switch among them without loosing my original yellow one... fast, easy and amazingly powerful.

There is a lot more to say but my main question is: when will the next version be released ? I know you can't tell exactly but would that be weeks, months, years ? Is Xara3D the new flagship product and will XaraX be neglected ?

I'll hold my order till the next version so I'd appreciate any information regarding to it such as expected features and improvments.

Meanwhile, kudos for the great work!

Regards,
jonjon.

[OklaEd]

Hello jonjon,
Welcome to TalkGraphics! I can't speak for the good people at Xara ... but I can tell you that the last release XaraX1 just came out last May and there hasn't been any recent discussion of a new release (although you can bet they are working on one http://www.talkgraphics.com/images/smilies/wink.gif)

Sorry you didn't find what you were looking for. Many of us use a variety of software packages ... and XaraX1 has become a very important tool in our box. Sure, it won't be everything to everyone ... but nothing else is either.

Xara3D version 6 is a nice upgrade to a neat product ... but it is far from the flagship. XaraX1 (and presumably X2?) when it IS upgraded will continue to be the major thrust of Xara Ltd.

I'm sure they will be happy to take your order when and if ... until then feel free to download the trials and peruse this forum for everything Xara related. You will find the strengths and weaknesses of the software just by looking at what the regular users have done with ... and said about the software.

You might also visit www.xaraxone.com for tutorials and featured artists.

Regards,

-Ed.

[gwpriester]

Hello JonJon

X2 is in the works but there is no ETA for the release. My guess is sometime in the second half of the year.

As for new features, Xara does not announce these until the new product is released.

That said, I would not expect any major changes such as you have described as most of us who use the product do not have the same issues that you have mentioned and are reasonably comfortable with how things work.

As with any product, new users frequently expect it to work the way other products which they are familiar work. But as with any graphics software product, once you learn how things work and how the product flows, the issues become non-issues.

I suggest you visit the Xara Xone TIPS section. Here you will find about 90 useful and often undocumented tips submitted by a variety of users. It will give you a good idea of the power of Xara X.

One of the best things about Xara X1 is that it has a tremendous amount of power for a graphics application that is under 9MB in size.

The reason Xara can keep the product so compact is by not trying to be all things to all people. This makes Xara very fast and responsive. Especially when dealing with large bitmap files and multiple levels of transparency.

Gary

[masque]

jonjon
I second what Gary says with a plea to leave well alone.
I can't speak for everyone but leaving Xara as it is, is a good idea in my book, it's uncluttered and many have gotten used to how it is. Changing it would only make things worse.
Everyone has different ideas of what they would like to see implemented but it's important that Xara stays the master of what it does rather than the 'jack of all trades' it would become if every wish list was acted upon.
As Ed says we all have different tools in our boxes, as it happens my box doesn't have that many tools in it as I don't like many bits of software, however I do have Xara and I would like to stay as it is rather than get clutttered up and slowed down with 'features'
Derek