Just Released: A New Version of Web Designer

**zaphodeist** · 23 April 2016, 11:12 PM

It’s important to note this is not a subscription service. Unlike other products such as Office 365, or Adobe Creative Cloud, the program you purchased is yours to keep, and will keep functioning with no further purchases, but after 365 days you’ll stop getting access to updates, new content, and the online services if you choose not to upgrade.
Note: these updates continue to work after 365 days but if you reinstall the software after the 365 Guarantee expires (and you don’t renew) then it will be the same version as feature set as you originally purchased.

http://releasenotes.xara.hosting/wd365/#xl_Heading-365

It's much more confusing than it needs to be imho. Yes, Xara is trying to tie people in more than before for financial reasons, but I think this will be balanced out by the confusion ... customers old and new will be lost.

**restless** · 23 April 2016, 11:25 PM

Originally Posted by Acorn

Ed, I think we collectively feel your concern.

With XWD365P, I now will have to download all of the content that is being updated through the year so I have a local copy available through my Xara Local Designs gallery.
That access will stop the moment I let the Xara 365 day Update Guarantee lapse.

So from that day on, I will have an updated version of Xara at version 12.m.n and all the content I used when I created any web site material or other content.
So provided I keep my computer working, I can steam off into the sunset, blissfully happy.

Now pauland has suggested a scenario where your computer fails.
I will pose a simpler scenario where you chose to De-active your Xara program to install it on another machine.
At the point of activation, you will only get what Xara considers to be your purchase. In my case, I will be back at version 12.0.0.
At this moment, in my understanding of the licensing terms, were I to extend my cover for 5 years, I believe my re-install action will revert back to version 12.0.0, when the current version could be 17.0.0.

This alone is iniquitous.

Further, Xara has removed the More... > Find... function from the Local Designs gallery that has been present in all prior versions.
This forces you to depend on the On-line Content Catalogue Search.
Your access is also disconnected when to lapse the re-subscription. as all on-line functionality is then voided.

With XWD11P, I have ongoing access to this on-line content, in perpetuity, until Xara gives me 6-weeks' written notice.
When the hoohah over XWD365P has settled, I expect this will be insinuated into our cognizance and effectively we will have to lump it as if we raise objections, Xara can terminate our contract for the product.
Aren't EULAs woderful?

The way ahead:

Restore the Find capability.
Keep Xara On-line access open, locking out new unpaid-for content. This is already done for v10 & v11, so why not v12 onwards?
Allow your valuable / valued (Xara crunch time, your choice) Customers to purchase a CD at termination of the 365 day Update Guarantee with the latest application updates and bug fixes and latest design content.
Guarantee support to re-install an application to the last paid-for update.

Acorn

Thanks Acorn, that makes sense... all of it.

When we have a choice, we choose the company that has the best customer service. Sometimes even those of us who go overboard to take care of our customers, still get caught up in only seeing things from our own point of view.

Hopefully the folks at Xara will look at this from their customers point of view.

I would be happy to pay for each new feature as it is released, or else do without it.

Seems like I recall somebody saying that in business, uncertainty is an enemy. Right now I am still uncertain as to what all of this means.

I'm not sure if I have ever used the online "content" or what it is or how to search for it or anything. I know that when I am using Xara, there is a tab on the right side of the page that has lots of useful stuff - is that the "content" that will be affected?

I hope Xara listens to you, sounds like you have a good approach. I am sure they could build on that and come up with something that won't confuse their customers and won't put us at risk of losing the fixes that were necessary in the software that they sold us - we aren't responsible for the bugs in the new version of the software, we shouldn't have to keep paying year after year for fixes to problems in the software we bought...

That's enough ranting for now... it is time to take a nap.

Thanks again for your explanation.

Ed

**zaphodeist** · 23 April 2016, 09:49 PM

Hi Ed

I had to have it explained to me. What you purchase is an up to date version of the program. The updates during the year are fully functional "previews" which will be in the next version in a years time. If you do not want to continue then your version will revert back to the version you bought, widgets, content library, etc.

Sorry Pauland, didn't know you had posted :-)

**pauland** · 23 April 2016, 09:55 PM

There's a very important differrence between what Xara did pre-subscription.

If you bought version X of the software, you would always have access to all of the updates to version X. Two years after you buy that version you will still have access to all those updates if you need to re-install.

If you buy a subscription, you will be given a disc with the latest major release and have access to updates only while your subscription is active. If you run your susbcription for a year and don't renew, you will no longer have access to updates to the version on your disc if you need to re-install.