Version 5.1 Launched

[ss-kalm]

It should help, there is an option to upgrade from XWD and Pro 4 - that will at least save a little extra .....

[BONES]

Just a bit of feedback after a day with XXP5. At first I thought it was pretty underwhelming for Au$100, considering that's more than I paid for my first full version of Xara, until.....










....... I discovered how much bloody faster it is! It's absolutely bloody brilliant! Even my most complex drawings are easy to work with now. I can nudge away to my heart's content without having to wait ages for it to update. That alone is worth every penny. It's also why I think Xara are the best software developers on the planet [perhaps in the entire galaxy].

On the ever-so-slightly negative side, why-oh-why did they have to change the "Duplicate" hotkey? Who cares what Photoshop does!?! And why go against convention with "Discard" instead of "Don't Save"? It's confusing, at the very least.
It would also be nice if the spell-checker only did it's red underline thing when the text tool was active. As it stands, most of my virtual instrument UIs now display red underlines all over the place, all the time.
Last but by no means least, why did they have to remove the "Move" button from the Layer[Object] Menu? Something that used to be simple is now a bit of a pain to do. It actually makes me less inclined to use layers than I was with the old system. Even moving the visible/editable toggles to the other side of the panel seems stupid to me.

[steve.ledger]

It would also be nice if the spell-checker only did it's red underline thing when the text tool was active. As it stands, most of my virtual instrument UIs now display red underlines all over the place, all the time.

Agreed

However you can disable (remove tick) Check Spelling As You Type until you are ready to spell check the document, then simply select the text tool and enable spell checking again.

[ankhor]

Am I correct that Xara Pro 5 makes Web Designer obsolete? That Pro 5 is essentially a combination of Web Designer and Xara Pro 4 with a few added bells & whistles? BTY, I've been asking for a spell checker in Xara for many years and I am happy to see that it's included here. But I do wonder why Web Designer was released not so long ago when 5, if I'm correct about it, was in the works.

Well I don`t mind that they gave out a seperate LE version, but when the people
asked if this would be added or a part of XX5(PRO) they didn`t answer, while they
knew it was going to be in XXP5(PRO). Now I find this a bit dubious, like if they
wanted to sell the standalone to make extra cash. And yes you get a discount
when upgrading, but still.

[steve.ledger]

Though I cannot find the post, I do believe Covoxer did mention that the next version of Xtreme (before Xtreme 5 was released) would include Web Designer's HTML features .

[covoxer]

...but when the people
asked if this would be added or a part of XX5(PRO) they didn`t answer, while they knew it was going to be in XXP5(PRO).

The decision to include all the functionality within Xtreme was made much later, after WD release, so we didn't know it at that time.

I do believe Covoxer did mention that the next version of Xtreme (before Xtreme 5 was released) would include Web Designer's HTML features .

No I didn't. I believe the Xhris did, but he actually couldn't know it so it was just his guess.

[steve.ledger]

Yes you're right John, sorry - it was Xhris.

http://www.talkgraphics.com/showthre...592#post304592
and here
http://www.talkgraphics.com/showthread.php?t=37912

[ankhor]

The decision to include all the functionality within Xtreme was made much later, after WD release, so we didn't know it at that time.

So basically, there wouldn`t have been an upgrade from XX4 to XX5
if you hadn`t implemented WD into XX4? Or atleast for a longer time?

[covoxer]

So basically, there wouldn`t have been an upgrade from XX4 to XX5 if you hadn`t implemented WD into XX4?

Sorry, I don't understand what do you mean by this?

[cursor]

So basically, there wouldn`t have been an upgrade from XX4 to XX5
if you hadn`t implemented WD into XX4?

Here is a list of enhancements in this release. For more detail, click this link (and look at the bottom of the page ... click the tab that applies to Pro or standard): reference.

What's New In Xtreme Pro 5

We're pleased to announce the arrival of Xtreme and Xtreme Pro V5. In total there are more than 100 improvements since V4 - here are just some of the more important ones.

Headline New Features

• Content-Aware Scaling.
• Significantly enhanced webpage and website export.
• Spell Check as you type.
• Other Text Tool Enhancements.

Other Enhancements

• A new Object Masking system allows parts of a drawing or photo to be marked for operations such as delete, clip, copy. Or, in conjunction with Content-Aware photo scaling, to protect parts of a photo during a stretch.
• The Transparency Tool now supports multi-stage graduated transparencies (works rather like multi-stage graduated color fills).
• Soft Groups: A new type of object grouping that allows groups to contain objects across different layers.
• Enhanced multi-page support (pages can be different sizes and have different layers, and there's easier page copying, re-ordering and deletion via the Object Gallery).
• Improved EPS and Adobe Illustrator import and export.
• Improved PDF import and export (including support for PDF 1.7, links to pages and anchors, mouseover pop-up titles, default document link color and embedded Flash).
• Improved Flash export
• Copy / paste now retains layers.
• A new photo temperature control (warmer or cooler) and easier photo clipping.
• A new, integrated red-eye tool for removing red-eye from photos.
• Updated RAW photo support for more recent digital cameras.
• Other Photo Tool enhancements
  A new screen capture utility.
• Direct page resize by dragging the page edges, both horizontally and vertically.
• Repeating objects, ideal for headers and footers or repeating logos across all (or some) of the pages in multi-page documents.
• Easier object naming and name handling via a new Name dialog.
• A new sub menu File > Open Recent now displays recently used documents for easy access (default 20).
• File->New menu expanded to allow up to 20 template documents
• Stretching of rounded rectangles now retains the corner radius. Which means no more stretched corners!
• Improved 'rapid sketching' support for the Freehand Tool.
• A large number of new templates including all the Web Designer web themes.