What are you hoping to see in the next version of Designer Pro?

[MEB]

Font handling was improved in Xara Web Designer 9 (support for multi-weight otf fonts). I would like to see this expanded with full support for open-type font features. This seems particularly appropriate for the PRO version now that the OTF fonts are the standard, higher quality fonts are becoming available trough Google Fonts and single font weights available for free from commercial font foundries. This will give us access to features like:
Small Caps
All Small Caps
Case Sensitve Glyphs
Ligatures
Old Style Numerals
Old Style Tabular Numerals
Lining Numerals
Tabular Lining Numerals
Small Cap Numerals
Small Cap Tabular Numerals
Pre-Built Fractions
Stylistic Alternates
etc.

Hyphenation would be a good addition too.

[Jonopen]

My Personal hope is Xara focuses on its core strengths as a graphic design and illustration tool, and any new improvements are to the existing tool set and interface, rather than adding too many new 'bells and whistles' (for the marketing dept!).

Some things I would like to see:

• option to customise guides and grids, particularly to help with the construction of perspective drawings
• an option to reduce the complexity/simplify (reduce number of nodes) of curved lines that have been converted into shapes
• any improvements to do with using text - hyphenation, a new text control panel? etc

[Michael]

On my wishlist:

- Classic UI (no dark grey, for Pete's sake. And I put it on the shortlist just to signal that there are people who love the original interface)
- editable dash patterns and line endings/arrowhead. (more or less like Illustrator's dash feature.)
- cheap update from very early versions (I will update from Xara ??, but I don't want to break the bank. There's a crisis, you know...)
- connectors and CAD-like labels which show the dimensions of a line, arc, circle or area (like CADtools in Illustrator)
- Fill tool (like Inkscape)
- Prezi-exporter
- a Killer feature (but which....?)

Producing this list I started Illustrator and Inkscape. And working in them to find the missing parts of Xara I couldn't resist the feeling that, though Xara misses some features, it absolutely has one feature that can't be beaten: a fluid and intuitive interface that responds very friendly. Xara will stay my first program of choice but sometimes I need to produce in other programs for compatibility reasons. I'd love to stay with Xara for it's the best vector art program for people who love to draw!

[Rik]

Something as simple as actually telling us the name of the file that has the problem?

Considering the programme allows multiple files to be open, remain open when closing, and be open when restarting - then surely, the name of the file would be helpful.

[pauland]

Doesn't that error only occur when a file is newly opened? Doesn't that narrow it down a bit?

[Rik]

Doesn't that error only occur when a file is newly opened? Doesn't that narrow it down a bit?

No.
The error will come up every time you close DPX and start it again.
You will need to go to each and every open file and find the problem and fix it.

For me, it's not about narrowing it down. The name of the file should be in with the message. You can then quickly go to it, and fix the problem.
In my opinion, it's half a message when it should be a complete message.

[pauland]

The other way to think about it is if you don't know what file you're working on, you have a problem.

DPX seems no different in this respect to other software that I have.

[Rik]

The other way to think about it is if you don't know what file you're working on, you have a problem.

DPX seems no different in this respect to other software that I have.

It has nothing to do with knowing which file you're working on, or not.
I have a number of files open, doing this that and the other.
We all have different ways of working.
Being able to have multiple files to be open at the same time is a very good feature, for me.

There are many times I will have a number of pdf files that I have opened in DPX, to be able to use parts of those files to produce a new file.
As well as other drawing files I am working on.
So you see...

But, the point I am trying to make is that the message is an incomplete message.

[pauland]

We're just having an interesting discussion - you're opportunity to try and convince me that the filename is necessary.

If I open an Adobe product and have missing fonts, the software tells me fonts are missing and allows me to see what they are (and do something about it). I don't need to know the filename because this error can only happen when I open a file and I should know that because it's the filename I just typed in or selected. If I have four files open, the error can only be caused by the file I just opened, so I don't see the need to be reminded what it is once again. It's the file I am working on now.

It's exactly the same with Xara software isn't it?

I can't quite grasp where the possible confusion is.

[steve.ledger]

It's exactly the same with Xara software isn't it?
.

Not quite.
If you have 8 documents open (therefore 8 tabs) when you close DPX, then all 8 will reopen next time you launch DPX (unless you have this feature disabled in Options). If one of those documents has a missing font, the error dialogue will popup without any indication as to which document it is referring to.
In order to discover which document is using a font (or fonts) which are no longer installed, you must open the Names gallery then click each document's Tab until the one with the missing fonts is revealed.