Which version?

[Seagull]

First, saying hello to everybody and thanks.......your all family you know.

I have downloaded both version and when I find a bit of time, I am trying to play with them both. Am having difficulties getting a mind wrap around the opacity masks and will look forward to some tutorials. I see Frances is getting a grip on it.

I will probably (if I do upgrade), just stay with the cheaper version since it does all I want. I have bought almost all of xara's software as toys, and in all the years have never made one red cent with any of it, I just use them to relax with.

I bought web designer 6, so why do I need the pro version. I find it is getting over loaded with options on the right click menu's, the menu's on top are over charged, making everything a bit too confusing for me.

Also, while the new interface looks really great on the screen shots, I have to revert to the old style, the font is larger and the icons are much easier for me to see. If and when Xara stops us from changing to the old style will be the day I will stop upgrading, not as a threat to the company but simply the new interface is too hard for my eyes, I can not get the enjoyment if I am squinting all the time to read the menu's.

Also, I would like more control of my program. I want to be able to change the interface, I want to be able to stop that stupid pop-up window when I click on the colour bar, I want to be able to go back to the old space bar short cut that allowed me to switch between the tool I was using and the selector tool, and then back to the original tool. There are serveral things that I want to do but can not unless I download the XaReg program and I am sure that there are many, many more that are downloading this excellent addition to the program, which only exist because of some short comings in the program.

Out side of a few minor complaints (I suppose most people have them) I am a loyal fan of Xara and hope to remain that way till the end, even if someday I decide to stop upgrading and just rest with what I have. Every one of the programs I have bought are still up and running in one computer or another, even if the computer is sitting in the discard pile, and the truth is I can still do almost everything I don now in the origianl Xara and XaraX as I can do now. The vector tools have remained basically the same, the only big advancement for myself was with dealing with photographs and plug-ins............anyway, will let you know in a while whether I decide to upgrade or not and which program I eventually choose..........frank

[ajreed]

Frank - your interest in Xara seems very parallel to mine - most of my Xara stuff is for leisure or personal web sites.

I have just upgraded WD5 to WD6 to get all the new web bells and whistles.

Did not want to spend big pennies going for DP6 as excluding the web features (obtained via WD6) there's little else that seems worth paying the extra for. I probably will upgrade from XX5 to PGD6 as there is quite a few interesting extras I might make use of, and at £29 its not going to break the bank.

I bought web designer 6, so why do I need the pro version.

you probably don't!

[ss-kalm]

I was the opposite way, I didn't buy WD6 waiting for the next version of Xtreme, and went for the pro. I figured that buying Pro was a better option than WD6 and Xtreme 6 (whatever the acronym is now).

[JimR]

[Geek mode] You sig should read: "There are 10 types of people, the one who doesn't understand binaries and the one who don't" [/geek mode]

JimR

[ajreed]

or - "There are two types of people in the world, the one who understands binary and the nought who don't"

[JokeArtist]

JokeArtist - I'm really surprised that you don't see value in some of the new features this time around, or at least in the layer gallery changes, which make things a LOT easier in a lot of non-web ways.

That's one thing I found annoying in version 5 - I really hated that I didn't need the extra clutter of having groups and objects. If I put something on a layer I know where it is ... that's what layers are for!

[amoore]

Hi Seagull

Nice to have you back.

I want to be able to stop that stupid pop-up window when I click on the colour bar

Utilities | Options | View tab | 'Right-click on color' in the bottom segment

I want to be able to go back to the old space bar short cut that allowed me to switch between the tool I was using and the selector tool, and then back to the original tool.

In the Pro version, Utilities | Customize key shortcuts | All | Toggle to Selector Tool.

I don't have the non-Pro version. However, there used to be an external utility included with it that enabled you to manage your shortcuts. I would assume that it's still there, although I could be wrong.

There are serveral things that I want to do but can not unless I download the XaReg program and I am sure that there are many, many more that are downloading this excellent addition to the program, which only exist because of some short comings in the program.

A shortcoming to one is desired behavior to another. I'm extremely* grateful to Bill for providing the excellent and much-appreciated XaReg. Would you prefer that we go back to the days when you lived with the app as is or hacked the registry directly?

Allison

*pun intended

[Seagull]

Morning Allison

My mind is made up, but I will respond to you
1. "Utilities | Options | View tab | 'Right-click on color' in the bottom segment"
I will try this........thanks for the hint

2. (second quote) Yes, but this was a small program Bill wrote. I have never had the pro version and have decided not to upgrade to it but upgrade to just the regular (later)

3. I don't know how you did it but you completely misread my statement. I am saying Bill and Steve did a fantastic job with the small utility program and that Xara or somebody should continue the same idea. I state it exists because there are limitation with Xara that people can bypass by using this program. If enough people are downloading it, that should tell Xara that they should include more options to allow the user to change more things to their individual tastes.

Okay, when my money train comes in (unfortuantly it was built the reverse of a big truck, having 18 speeds in reverse but only one forward speed) I will upgrade to the regular version, which is more affordable for me as a hobbiest.

As Joke Artist says, the pro version for me is getting too cluttered, but he is a very talented artist and I am but just a big mouth clutz.

Interface....a lot of debate there. Personally, the new interface does not look bad in the screenshots but personally I find it just too difficult for my eyes. The best thing for Xara would probaly be to continue to offer the user the choice.

Opacity Masks....wow, having trouble getting my head around this one but it is coming gradually. Finally have done Xhris's circles but it is more difficult than Xhris shows on his video.

Regular mask....was playing with this a bit and like it. Will take a while to get used to but it is defintaly okay.

Flyout tool bars....not so keen on them. Last night I was in the photograph section and selected the crop tool. Then after using a different tool I tried to go back to the camera but couldn't find it, the icon was replaced by the crop tool. Not saying bad to Xara but it will take getting used to on my part.

Not long ago Bill started a thread talking about a simpler version of the program. I agree to a certain point, which is the reason I will stick to the regular version. If I want to modify my html site I will stick to the html editor I have, or rebuilt it using Web designer, but I want my Xara just for drawing and photo manipulations.........by the way, it is the only photo maninuplation program I have used in years and years.

The long and short......I think they did okay and when I get the chance shortly, I will upgrade to the regular version, so thank you Xara team (or maybe I should say Team Xara). But I really do feel that under the option section you should really give the user a few more choices on the appearance and other choices, like the space bar. There should be no reason for me to go and download outside software to modify your program............frank

[Xhris]

...Finally have done Xhris's circles but it is more difficult than Xhris shows on his video...

Hi, I may have time to re-address that video. What were you finding was more difficult than appeared, to help guide me? Thanks

[Seagull]

I'll go through the steps as I did it in the non pro version

1)create the three circles, personally I created an ellipse, cloned and downsize, then subtracted....no difference over what you did
2)After positioning the circles, copied to pasteboard.....again......same
3)Did the intersection and changed colour to black
4)After experimenting several times, decided to pull black shapes to one side
5)Using control, shift, v, pasted circles in place
6)Now, have to reselect the black intersected items and copy them to the pasteboard
7)Now, click on the right circle (very confusing as to which is the right one by the way) and then I have to go into the edit menu and then paste the mask in place and then drag it to the right position.
By the way, I just wrote a thread about larger thumbnails(?) and mentioned that we need more examples of how to use this new tool. I can't personally think of any so anybody that can come up with ideas and are not afraid of having your work stolen please post them for the benefit of all members........frank

p.s. Last sentence is a bit of sarcasm on my part......I apologized for it but will leave it in because of a few remarks the last few days of June 2010

double p.s.: if anybody is wondering how come my spelling has improved so much the last few days, it's because I am now creating my replies in Open Office with a spell check, but it also gives me time to reflect on what I have written and modify my posts if I feel it inappropriate.............may be a lesson here for some people that are responding too quickly in a heated thread.