Xara Web Designer 5.0.1 Update

**NeilH** · 17 March 2009, 02:54 PM

We’ve released an update for Web Designer today, version 5.0.1. This update contains some bug-fixes and improvements compared to 5.0, many of which have been discussed on this forum.

To update your installation from version 5.0.7770 3-Mar to 5.0.1.7886 16-Mar, use the “Update program” facility in the Web Designer Help menu. You need to have unlocked AND registered your program for this option to work. If you haven’t, when you invoke the update option you’ll be shown the unlock/register dialog again. Make sure you register using the same email address that you used to purchase Web Designer, because each serial number can only be registered to one email address.

Alternatively you can uninstall 5.0 and re-install using the latest 5.0.1 installer available from http://www.xara.com/downloads/webdesigner/

Here’s a list of changes included in this update:-

Web Designer is now smarter about exporting irregular JPEG images over text. This caught a few people out with 5.0, as discussed in this thread. JPEGs can't be transparent, so if you created an irregular shaped JPEG, perhaps by editing the photo outline or cutting a shape out of a JPEG, and placed this photo over some text, even if you made it repelling, then this often included the text in the background around the outside of the JPEG. With this update Web Designer is smarter about automatically exporting as PNG images when required. Now any irregular shaped or rotated JPEG photo that is placed over text, is automatically exported as a PNG image, instead of as a JPEG, so the transparent parts are really transparent. This should mean that there are fewer occasions when you need to force an object to export as JPEG or PNG using the options provided on the Image tab of the Web Properties dialog, because the default “automatic” option is now smarter.
<head> element support added, as discussed here. This allows HTML code to be optionally inserted into the header section (<head> element) of your Web Designer page. To use this, add the code to a placeholder object on your page, just as if the code was to be inserted into the main body of the page. But then add the special name “<head>” to the placeholder object (using Utilities->Names) to indicate that the code is to be inserted into the header. Only use this where you have some 3rd party HTML code which you know must be inserted into the header.
Some compatibility improvements have been made to help widgets like JotForm work in Web Designer.
Web Designer now allows file extensions other than htm and html, as discussed here. Just set the page name in the Page tab of the Web Properties dialog so the name includes the extension you want to use (eg. "myPage.php"). However note that this only works for the second and subsequent pages of a site. The first page is still always exported with extension htm/html.
You can now change the width of pages by dragging on the right edge of the page, just as you can drag on the bottom to resize vertically in 5.0.
Some small help updates
Various bug-fixes

Thanks for all the interest shown in this new product so far – a lot of the feedback has been very positive! Please let us know if you have any problems updating to 5.0.1.

Regards

The Xara Team

**nickydude** · 17 March 2009, 03:10 PM

<head> element support added

thank you!!

**Soquili** · 17 March 2009, 03:19 PM

The ability to add to the header works great. I added a favorite icon to my test pages and it works very well.

Has anyone seen that you can now change the page width as well as it's length? Simply hold the cursor along the right edge of the workspace when the cursor changes you can drag to make the page wider or narrower (is that a word

).

**NeilH** · 17 March 2009, 03:32 PM

Originally Posted by Soquili

The ability to add to the header works great. I added a favorite icon to my test pages and it works very well.

Has anyone seen that you can now change the page width as well as it's length? Simply hold the cursor along the right edge of the workspace when the cursor changes you can drag to make the page wider or narrower (is that a word

).

Ah yes thanks Soquili, I meant to mention that in my list. I just edited the first post to add this.

Thanks

Neil

BQ · 17 March 2009, 03:32 PM

Thank your very much Xara. Not only was your initial release of Web Designer basically bug free now your including a few additional enhancements at no charge. It's nice to support a company that listens to its customers.

**dogbertbh** · 17 March 2009, 04:41 PM

Originally Posted by BQ

It's nice to support a company that listens to its customers.

I completely agree.

**jclements** · 17 March 2009, 04:57 PM

Hi Bill:

Could you add an example .web file to demonstrate how the header thingy works?

Thanks,
JC

**Soquili** · 17 March 2009, 05:02 PM

Hi John,

Simply use a place holder object. It can be placed on the paste board so it will not export as part of the site design.

See attached image. The name <head> was assigned to the small black square.