Xtreme Suggestions

[steve.ledger]

I believe software should fit the way people work, not the other way around.

Clearly this would be a mammoth task for developers to accomodate given the huge diversity of users and their workflow modus operandi.

Even Windows file management is approached differently as we are seeing.

Ease of use and features to help work faster, logical and intuitive layout, tools that actually do what you expect them to do - yes I'd agree with that. But then to me Xtreme has all those things, which is why the more expensive copy of CorelDRAW sits on my computer gathering virtual dust.

[Jimi King]

Ease of use and features to help work faster, logical and intuitive layout, tools that actually do what you expect them to do - yes I'd agree with that. But then to me Xtreme has all those things, which is why the more expensive copy of CorelDRAW sits on my computer gathering virtual dust.

Well to me Xtreme has nearly all those things, hence my original suggestions.

And yes CorelDRAW is becoming more redundant for me too as Xtreme improves. I've used Xtreme as my design tool of preference for web graphics for some time. Thanks to improved PDF export and CMYK handling, it's becoming my tool of choice for print design too. It's a heck of a lot quicker as well.

[PatentGuy]

Clearly this would be a mammoth task for developers to accomodate given the huge diversity of users and their workflow modus operandi.

Even Windows file management is approached differently as we are seeing.

Do not confuse file management (or file storage) with document management. Windows does not have a document management system. MS was trying to get one out with Vista, but it wasn't ready.

It is not so mammoth a task when software makers follow accepted industry practices. And, there are industry practices and standards for document management. Unfortunately, many individuals and small businesses do not understand document management as used with computers, which is why many users cannot find documents from just a few years back.

To paraphrase the old saying, if you have a hammer, everything looks like a nail. If I need a screwdriver, I go looking for one and won't use the hammer.

Sure, Xara has the clipart gallery, but it is like the hammer, good for what it does. This thread is for suggestions on improving the capabilities of Xara, not on how to use a hammer to turn a screw.

[handrawn]

This thread is to discuss the issues raised in the OP

Odat's suggestion re bitmap editors is a good one IMO

I can't get worked up about the other issue - it seems neither here nor there to me...

[amoore]

[*]The File>Open dialogue to default to .XAR files rather than All Files. Small thing I know, but it annoys me. The amount of times I open anything other than a .XAR file is minimal.

I second that emotion. I've always found it frustrating to have to weed through all those non-xar files.

I get around it by opening files via doubleclick from:

- my file manager (Explorer+, which allows me to either sort by extension or filter for an extension).

- an image browser such as Dmitri's XTVd or STE Thumbnail Explorer, which will also filter for xar files.

Like PatentGuy, I'm managing thousands of files, only a fraction of which are xars. My xar files are stored in project folders on four drive partitions. While I can see its value for other people, My Documents is nothing but wasted time and gratuitous mouseclicks for me.

[handrawn]

hell yes who keeps anything in my documents?

as an option you can type in *.xar hit return and there are the xar files only..... it usually work just *.x

[Jimi King]

Well you can just click the arrow to the right of "All Files" and the option to show just XAR files is there anyway. But I'm lazy and I didn't want to have to do that.

And like somebody said earlier, most programs default to opening their own file extension anyway so...

[handrawn]

true - but if you are super lazy you then have the bother of looking in the file types to find it

actually I like it the way it is - [I think I already said that] - I often open image files - but that's the way I work - and I often know the name of the file I want so I just type it in

often the little things that irritate isn't it - I find it really irritating that the bitmap copy always defaults to 96dpi, even within a session - I hardly ever work at 96dpi.....

[steve.ledger]

I find it really irritating that the bitmap copy always defaults to 96dpi, even within a session - I hardly ever work at 96dpi.....

The default DPI for creating bitmap copies can be set in this key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Xara\XtremePro\4.0\Opti ons\Filters\CreateBitmapDPI


*Usual caveats apply when editing the registry

Example shown set to 150dpi

[pauland]

If ever there was something that would make almost all users happy - Xara to collect these register keys together and make them accessible perhaps as an advanced user configuration setting.

Having users hack the registry to get around simple configuration issues seems completely at odds with the "ease of use" mantra of Xtreme.

Paul