Feature Request: Linked pictures

[alexbozhenov]

Similar to AI -- very useful, when designing catalogs etc...

[kismert]

Alex,

Could you elaborate, please? I don't think I understand what you are requesting.

-Ken

[alexbozhenov]

OK, the second image -- screenshot of my drawing. In the red curcles -- pictures of product etc.

I have to modify or replace one picture. For example, I have to make color correction. I did it in PhotoShop, then I have to place corrected picture back to my drawing, and then align properly, etc. All images are embedded in Xara file -- that means they are keeping inside Xara file. For example, the second attached image with red circles is about 43 MB on the hard disk. So if you place another image to your drawing, its size will increase.

In AI (Adobe Illustrator) you can have Linked or Embedded images by your choice (see the first screenshot).

Linked image means the original file is keeping outside drawing, somewhere at your hard disk. The program (AI) just keeps the link to this file. So, at first, your drawing will take much less size on your hard disk, and second, I can modify that original file in PhotoShop and when open drawing in AI again it will update image inside drawing automatically -- I don't have to place modified image again.

Then imagine a catalog where a lot of images, in my case -- candies. And usually I have to implement some color corrections or something else to almost all pictures. Having an ability to link to the file on your hard disk is very useful then.

I am not good in English, but I hope you caught idea )

Actually, those who had a deal with AI, should understand me. And I hope, those, who are doing something similar to my catalog in Xara, should support my request ))

[Odat]

Chances of this ever happening may be slim. The Xara file format by it's very definition is supposed to be stream-able. Internally it's even laid out so that you can begin rendering the document while it's still streaming to you so you don't have to wait for the whole thing to arrive.

You can find the gory details of the file format here: http://www.xara.com/support/docs/webformat/spec/

This is why when you insert a bitmap of some kind it's embedded directly into the file. However if you open the bitmap gallery and drag that image onto your drawing 50 times, it's still the same image being displayed each time. What it's actualy doing is creating a fake shape the size of the bitmap and then applying that bitmap as a fill.

I don't work with bitmaps that often, but I'd think that if you inserted the image once at a DPI that will allow it to print well at the largest size you need to use, and then used that same image from the bitmap gallery and sized it down, you'd only have the image in there once. I don't know if color corrections are applied directly to the image in the bitmap gallery or to each individual instance, though.

There are good and bad points for both embedding a file and linking to one. My own personal preference would be something like what Blender (http://www.blender.org) does; By default things are linked, but you can "pack" the file so that everything is in one, and later "unpack". It makes sharing and archiving files a whole lot easier because if you have one file you have all files.

[steve.ledger]

Omega Composer, Gerbers Vector app uses 'linked' files for bitmaps. It's a pain in the b*m because other staff are mostly unaware of this. Even the business owner couldn't figure this out for a long time until I came along and saw immediately what was going on (he and his staff are sign makers, not PC users). He'd be working on a file at home during the evening, bring it to work on his USB key and run into trouble, because you cannot create the file on one PC and bring it to the machine with the Gerber Edge printer attached unless you also bring the bitmap and place it in a similar location so that the linking isn't broken.
Fine if you always compose and print from the same machine. But it's not a transportable file format.

I like Xara's smart embedding thanks

[raynerj1]

I Have to agree with Steve. Linked bitmaps are very, very hard to transfer bewteen computers. Unless you have the identical location in both computers, the linked file will not be recognized/found. Adobe Premiere uses linked files and it is a real pain to archive anything, much less transfer between computers.

It is comparable to transfering .xar files between computers with different font sets installed. More trouble than it is worth.

[David O'Neil]

There is nothing to keep the Xara team from creating a function to 'create a zip file with all linked pics' in it, so you can simply unzip that file to the new hard disk in some subdirectory, and, when the Xar file is opened, the links revert to the file in the same subdirectory as the Xar file is in. Or, a button to pull all the linked pics into the Xar file, so it can be transferred painlessly. Of course, you would have to remember to do so when you transfer the file, but alex's request is a good one.

[steve.ledger]

There is nothing to keep the Xara team from creating a function to 'create a zip file with all linked pics' in it, so you can simply unzip that file to the new hard disk in some subdirectory, and, when the Xar file is opened, the links revert to the file in the same subdirectory as the Xar file is in.

What if you had edited the bitmap via PhotoShop on one PC then took your .xar zip to a PC without PS?

[David O'Neil]

Obviously, you would have to update the bitmap in the zip file. You could do it manually, or reopen Xara and recreate the zip file.

[Soquili]

I guess I'm being dense tonight. I still do not see the advantage.