printing Booklet style

[mwenz]

Having just tried this "feature" in various configurations for a sample 16-page booklet, I find it (nearly) utterly worthless. It is still a better work-flow to create a PDF in reader-order and use Adobe Reader or another PDF viewer to print as a booklet.

[Albacore]

This question shows my stubbornness not to upgrade until Xara gives and sorts out a few things in the vector field. When did this booklet print option come in? what version, as I did not see it mentioned before in release notes.

[Sadler]

It is obviously meant to be a pro feature since "creep compensation" is only relevant when a perfect result is required on saddle stitch bound booklets. It seems that gutter can be controlled too which, IMHO is also a pro feature. The fact that there is no help for this is definitely amiss and by all accounts so far (in this thread) it is not a professional workflow or results. I'd love to be able to use this if it worked and was more predictable.

[PhilM]

Hi everyone,

I'm afraid that "booklet fit" is an unfinished feature that's been in development on and off for a while. It should not have been released and so we'll remove it in the next patch.

Sorry about that but at least you can see we are thinking about booklet printing!

Phil

[mwenz]

...Sorry about that but at least you can see we are thinking about booklet printing! Phil

Probably a patch doesn't serve version X9...unless there is also a patch for it. But then, patches for other issues would be OK...

Phil,

With all due respect, think harder. Really.

All of the options in the Print Options dialog really ought to be available within a robust Print Preview dialog wherein these features can be turned on and off as seen fit by the end user. The Print Preview needs to display the effects of turning these features on/off in relation to the printer's paper size. I don't think it has to have a live preview of the page(s), but it does need large (non-printing) numbers for each page.

As well, the whole idea of "Double Page(s)" need rethought, reworked in order for the Booklet et al options to really mean something--and please use the terminology that has been used forever (Facing Pages). One should be able to have a right-facing as the first page without needing to think. This requires a New Document set up dialog concept, or ought to anyway. The Page Options dialog where one sets "double pages" is getting crowded as it is.

The "long" document feature list goes on if Xara is really wanting to devote precious time and energy into this. Else it will remain a half-baked attempt like a few other areas of the application (like Styles).

Thank you, Mike

[mwenz]

This question shows my stubbornness not to upgrade until Xara gives and sorts out a few things in the vector field. When did this booklet print option come in? what version, as I did not see it mentioned before in release notes.

Version X9.

[PhilM]

Mike,

With all due respect, you are making assumptions.

Phil

[mwenz]

Mike,

With all due respect, you are making assumptions.

Phil

Assumptions about what? That Printing Booklets needs fleshed out in order to be of value? Or that it should be tied into a robust Print Dialog? Or perhaps that the way "double pages" works needs addressed to be of value? Or would it be about the paragraph controls working the way they do?

I don't see those as assumptions. I see those as input as to make XDP better.

If Xara really cared about input beyond wishful thinking in endless threads, Xara would understand why those features exist in other applications and why they operate within those applications the way they do. Xara would seek out input from people who do this crap for a living and actually listen to, and accept, their advice and criticisms. Then implement those features in a way that is of benefit to the user base (as opposed to how a programmer visualizes the feature(s)).

Mike

[Rik]

Well, having done my tests today, I come home to find that, that option doesn't work.

Can anyone guess what my findings were???
OK. You guessed it.
It doesn't work!