Freehand tool problems with Xara X1

[infoneer]

I just received Xara X1 (upgrading from Xara X).

I really like it, but it seems that the freehand tool no longer displays anything using a brush until I release the mouse button. I verified that Xara X DID do this... even the movie tutorial for Xara X1 seems to allow this.

Have I uncovered a bug? This is really disappointing because I just bought a new tablet with pressure sensitivity and now I can't seem to get any realtime feed back when drawing.

Help!

-joe

[infoneer]

I just received Xara X1 (upgrading from Xara X).

I really like it, but it seems that the freehand tool no longer displays anything using a brush until I release the mouse button. I verified that Xara X DID do this... even the movie tutorial for Xara X1 seems to allow this.

Have I uncovered a bug? This is really disappointing because I just bought a new tablet with pressure sensitivity and now I can't seem to get any realtime feed back when drawing.

Help!

-joe

[infoneer]

This seems to be related to Steve Newport's question about real-time lines... sorry to create two threads... I did a search for "freehand" and didn't catch this post.

If this has manifested itself on two machines, I'd guess it's a but (or a preference option we've missed).

Any clues out there. Xara X was really solid, so I never had to worry about support questions, but now, I'm kinda vexed!

TIA,
-joe

[Soquili]

Hi Joe,

Welcome to the forum. Sorry about your problem. Are you using one of the download versions or have you received your CD?

I haven't received my boxed version yet, but the download shows real time lines as I draw them.

[Egg Bramhill]

Hi infoneer and welcome.
I don't think this has anything to do with Steves inquiry.
If you're using the brush tool you should see the brush in real time. If your not, I would suggest you uninstall XaraX1 and reinstall it. See if that clears the problem. My brushes show up in real time.
If you're still having problems, get back to us.
Egg

[infoneer]

Hello Soquili,

I'm using the version from my CD. I did mess around with the download version, but to be honest, I don't know if the freehand stuff worked there or not.

-joe (aka infoneer)

[AndFarr]

Hi Infoneer,
I tried to re-create your problem on my computer but wasn't able to. Xara X1 freehand tool worked perfectly, and without any lag time.
I suspect your problem my be from a lack of memory (Ram), or processor speed. What are your computer system specs? -Andrew

[infoneer]

I have a 256M machine with a pentium 4 @ 2.39ghz.
This same machine ran Xara X just fine. This is a new problem with Xara X1.

Thanks for all the feedback. I'll try un-installing and re-installing to see if that helps.

-joe

[infoneer]

Well, I just un-installed Xara X1 (and Xara X) from my machine and used the online one to re-install (too lazy to go downstairs to get the install CD).

The results are the same... when choosing a custom brush (the chain links, for instance) and using the freehand tool, I see no trace of the drawn curve until I release the mouse button (or in the case of the tablet, remove the stylus from the tablet).

Strangely enough, the line DOES show during drawing when I don't have a custom brush selected, but it is rendered in blue rather than the actual line color selected (in this case, black) until I release the mouse button (or lift the stylus).

Crap. I hate being a pioneer. Don't get me wrong, I really like Xara, this just bums me out.

I guess the next step is to share OS and hardware details. I hope this the right forum to report this kind of stuff to.

My machine has:

MS Windows XP Home Edition Version 2002 Service Pack 1
Pentium 4 @ 2.40GHz
256 MB of RAM
Intel 82845G/GL/GE/PE/GV Graphics Controller
Wacom Graphire 3 Tablet.

Any other detail help? Feel free to contact me via the email address in the forum, as I'll be at my daytime job the rest of the week.

Om, shanti, peace!
-joe

[AndFarr]

Using the custom brush will quickly swamp your Ram and force your computer to swap out to your Paging file. Make sure your paging file is large enough.
- Right click on the "my computer" icon on the desktop.
- Click on "Properties" at the bottom of the menu.
- Click on the "Advanced" tab, then on the "Performance Options"
- Choose to optimize performance for Applications , then make sure the virtual memory size is at least 500MB .
If it is not, click on the "Change" button, highlight your drive, and type in at least a minimum of 500 in the "Initial size" window, and whatever amount you want to allocate for the maximum size. ( all depending on how much spare drive space you can afford, of course)
I have lots of drive space so my initial paging file size is 2000 MB!
Hope this helps -Andrew