Back again - just wanted to thank everyone, plus ask about erasers

[HayTay]

Looks like I made a big mistake buying Xara - an expensive mistake. Let the buyer beware, I guess.

Say what? Let the buyer beware of what, exactly? All Xara products come with a fully functional 30 day trial and a full 30 day money back guarantee. Almost 60 full days to discover if you like Xara's product(s) and their features/functions. That's more than enough time to discover that there isn't any eraser, which several people have indicated that you really don't need, anyway.

Have you taken a whack at the tutorial that I provided a link for back in Post #22? If you don't like the Rubber Ducky, there are years of excellent tutorials on The XaraXone. Pick one and give it a go. If you spend a little time learning the tools available in the application, instead of spending time lamenting about an eraser that isn't available, the payoff will be huge. Why erase when you can directly manipulate and position the lines & objects? There are thousands of fantastic images made with Xara products posted on TG and, unless they were pre- or post-processed using another application, not one of them has needed an eraser tool to be completed.

That said, not every software application is for everyone. I must admit that CorelDraw frustrates me to no end.

Don't give up,
Harry

[glenngosack]

there's an excellent example (several really) on youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQKIbTIEAwQ that shows one of the Xara members who does sketches completely in Xara. It may offer some insight for you.

[rpc9943]

Toonicorn, you haven't wasted a penny. Listen to these guys. They know what's up.

I make a fulltime living using xara at work. Learn Xara's workflow.

If you're looking for natural media simulation, get artrage.

When you're done making a graphic in artrage, import it into xara, and make precise lines with the mouse and pen tool to finalize your sketches.

If you learn how to use xara properly, you will NOT REGRET your purchase.

[handrawn]

Why erase when you can directly manipulate and position the lines & objects?

well you could say 'why erase and why directly manipulate either' when you could just draw the line right in the first place, though not of course in xara which is not designed for this - either approach takes its own kind of skill and whichever way you choose to do it, in reality the aim should be not to produce lines that need erasing in the first place

you need a pen too for the freehand approach to get pressure sensitive response

also if you are using stroke shapes and you remove part of the line that may not end up as you would wish

The real issue with eraser is ease and speed - remember speed?, its what xara claims to be good at, why should the shape tool have it all?

Harry makes a good point about learning the program first - actually xara is a damn fine program and excellent value for money, but like all programs it does what it does the way that it does it and you need to understand it to get the most out of it, and there are certain things it just cannot do - almost human eh?

and finally Xara is the only, repeat only, major vector editor that does not have an eraser and that should say something to everyone