Daniel: I couldn't agree more. It does have pro features, but poor/no EPS is certainly more than a little ommission.

Serif Tech Support just claimed to me that the poor import is because PagePlus9 does not have very complex fills available. What?! The poor lad doesn't have a clue what he's talking about...

wW: Yeah, Illustrator has some lovely features and superior print capabilities, but XaraX remains more intuitive and much more productive. It's integration with InDesign is a huge plus point too.

Anyway, appreciate all the replies. I will stick with XaraX1 and PagePlus9 and use TIFF for now, as Gary suggests.