No hinting.. ..tired UI?

**pauland** · 16 January 2006, 12:21 PM

OK, I think this might be a bit controversial, but here goes.

<soapbox>

We all love the Xara interface but it's hardly changed very much over the years, but even so I just keep finding out new things - either from using the software, or the great advice you get on these forums. All well and good.

My charge is that Xara stopped innovating with their UI and just gave up on it. The things that could and should have gone into the UI just hasn't happened. Did Xara just get lazy or decide to follow the herd with the bitmap support?

What I'm talking about is not destroying the interface we all know and love, but making it work better. Nor is what I'm asking about rocket science - others have already done it. I can't really comment about too many of Xaras rivals but there are illustration design programs out there that are really much better to use because of this.

OK, preamble over - what on earth am I talking about? In short intelligent hinting and feedback.

If I draw a box in xara and want to draw a line to connect to it, I have to eyeball it. Did it really meet? Have I drawn right up to the line? Is my point right over the other point that's part of another polygon?

When I draw a line I'd like to be sure it's at right angles to another. I'd like to know if it's at a tangent to that circle. You get the drift.

If I draw three boxes and they're out of line I'd like Xara to allow me to move a box and tell me when an edge aligns with the edge of another box.

Those are the kinds of things that would make me happy.

You might say that program XYZ doesn't do it so why should Xara? I would say that program ABC *DOES* do it and so should Xara. Not every program implements these ideas completely, but at least they try.

Examples:

Macromedia Flash (www.macromedia.com - now Adobe :-( ).
Sketchup 3D (www.sketchup.com - 3D drawing software which has one of the best user interfaces I've ever seen - check out the tutorials).
Ashlar Vellum (www.ashlar.com) - software that made me drool when I first saw it.

Xara is still my favourite illustration software. I own Flash (and Studio) and would own Sketchup 3D and vellum (If I could afford and justify them).

This isn't a suggestion to go out and buy these other programs - they differ from Xara in terms of price point and main funtion - but to consider how helpful this hinting would be on a day-to-day basis in Xara. Look at the Sketchup videos and drool.

OK, they might not be to everyones taste and might slow the UI a bit. if that's the case make then an option so you can choose to have hinting or not.

</soapbox>

Mmy apologies if this is an old idea for the community (I'm not even sure if I've done this before - some time ago).

What do you think? Is Xara in a rut?

As for OpenSource - this is the kind of fundemental behaviour I can't really see opensource development helping.

Paul

**eobet** · 16 January 2006, 01:07 PM

Many programs have surpassed the GUI of Xara these days. Drag and drop rearrangement and properties editing through a tree list of elements in a drawing is sorely missed, for example.

I've mentioned SketchUp before. That's the most innovative app in recent years.

Also, now that Adobe & Macromedia joined, they won't have to sue each other over their GUIs, so it will be very interesting to see what the next version of Illustrator will look like. It might even be usable!

**gwpriester** · 16 January 2006, 02:15 PM

Paul

I know what you are getting at. CorelDRAW 12, which for the most part is just too busy and has too many gimmicky features, has a snap to and alignment function that is pretty incredible. When ever you drag or resize an object you get a series of alignment lines that help to align the action to something. It's a bit of overkill but there are times when it comes in handy. For example, I'm working on a 24 page brochure and I have decided to do it in DRAW 12 instead of Adobe InDesign because I am more familiar with DRAW and it has excellent linked paragraph and wrap around text capabilities and can also do some image editing and color mode converting on the fly.

I have vertical rules between the paragraphs and the bottom of the rule needs to align to the bottom of the text block.

To do this in Xara, I drag a guideline to the bottom of the text then resize the rule to the giudeline. In DRAW 12, as I resize the bottom of the rule, a snap line that gives constant feedback calls out all the various things to which I can snap the resized rule. When it gets near the text it tells me to snap to the baseline of the text. I kind of feel like I am at the cockpit of a F-16 fighter plane with all the screen prompts but it is very efficient and precise.

On the other hand, one of the reasons that I prefer to do most of my work in Xara is because it is fast and streamlined. It is simplicity personified. It does not try to be all things to all people which is what CorelDRAW has tried to be. And it is much more direct and easy to use than Illustrator which is still doing things the way it did back in version 1.0 for the most part.

This is not to say that there are not features that would be great to have, but I guess you just learn to work with what you have. And for me, Xara works.

Gary

**Scotty** · 16 January 2006, 02:50 PM

Hi All,
I agree with Gary's comments and would like to add that CorelDraw12 installed is 120-200 MB install.
Gary that might be a topic for XaraOne workbooks for new users (and some old Xarians) do a series on shortcomings and the work arounds people incorporate to adapt XaraX/Xtreme.
JIm

**pauland** · 16 January 2006, 03:08 PM

Gary & Scotty - The fact that CorelDraw 12 is a monster and has snapping doesn't mean that Xara need become a monster if it did have snapping. I think that many illustration tools will have snapping before too much longer and Xara will look very tired indeed.

This isn't to say that Xara usn't a very capable tool - it's still my favourite for making illustrations, but it's a bit frustrating knowing that there's a simpler way of doing things (especially when Xara is so easy to use in so many ways) and that the effort that went into the bitmap stuff might have given us this functionality.

Never mind, we use what we have and wish for what we'd like..

Paul

**gwpriester** · 17 January 2006, 01:14 PM

This is not to say that Xara is not able to snap. Here is a series of pages from WebXealot 27 that addresses Xara's Snapping functions.

Circles, for example, have 4 snapping points and one in the circle. Rectangles have 8 snapping points and one in the center.

You just have to get the feel for it. Text and paths can snap too.

In Page Options, you can fine tune the Magnetic Snap Radii settings.

If you want to snap an end of something, drag the end. If you want to snap the center, drag the center of the object.

Gary