Export from XPGD 6, Import to Flash CS4, Problems With Every Format

**ToddS** · 24 August 2010, 08:59 PM

Here's what I'm trying to do:

Create graphics with Xara Photo & Graphic Designer 6 and export
Import into Flash CS4 Professional to be edited and animated

I have tried exporting from Xara as SWF, AI, and EMF. Flash can import all of these formats, but there is something wrong with every one of them. For testing I used the file Plan.xar from Example Xara drawings 2 in the Designs gallery.

SWF: Many objects import with the fill or stroke changed to white. Some objects come in with the wrong strokes altogether. For example, instead of a 1pt tan stroke, some elements of the pergola come in with 28.8pt white strokes. Other objects lost their strokes entirely, such as in the compass rose. Arrowheads don't work but that's very minor. Text paragraphs break down to one item per line, but that's minor as well.

EMF: Many shapes were converted to bitmaps. Some shapes are just missing. Some lines of text are in three parts.

AI: Almost perfect. Even the arrowheads work. The big issue here is that overlapping objects with flat transparency (the trees) all became clipping paths with bitmap contents. Completely unnecessary! Just to be sure the problem wasn't unique to Plan.xar, I made a simple drawing with overlapping transparent circles and the same thing happened.

What is the best way to get static Xara content into Flash? I cannot do the animation directly in Xara because Xara's animation capability is extremely limited. I need to add advanced animation, audio, controls, and scripting inside Flash Professional.

Thanks.

**handrawn** · 24 August 2010, 09:10 PM

will flash import pdf?

if so you can try that

assuming here your drawinigs are all pure vector...

different programs tend to handle things like transparency differently - there is no guarantee that you can port across 100% no matter what file format you use for the purpose - you need to establish what does and does not work in each case...

**ToddS** · 24 August 2010, 09:38 PM

Flash doesn't import PDF. All of my elements are vector.

**ToddS** · 24 August 2010, 09:41 PM

I may have figured out why the SWF import brings in a lot of white objects. Xara seems to be exporting white objects and then tinting them at runtime. But on import something is lost. A solid-colored object will import to Flash as white. A linear-gradient object will come into Flash as a movieclip with an advanced color effect. This fixes the fill but not the outline.

Still no closer to a working solution. I really don't want to have to use Illustrator.

**Albacore** · 24 August 2010, 10:56 PM

What do you expect from a programme made by a different company! Flash does things to Illustrator even with Smart Objects. In that drawing you have circular fills and transparencies all don't export into Flash. Flash treats outlines as vector shapes and that is why you are having problems. I would try cutting & pasting you will get far better results so long as it is plain vectors.

**ToddS** · 25 August 2010, 01:20 AM

Originally Posted by Albacore

What do you expect from a programme made by a different company! Flash does things to Illustrator even with Smart Objects. In that drawing you have circular fills and transparencies all don't export into Flash. Flash treats outlines as vector shapes and that is why you are having problems. I would try cutting & pasting you will get far better results so long as it is plain vectors.

I only expect it to work as well as it did a few years ago. Xara X worked better for me. I expect that Xara wants their software to work with other programs. If they didn't, they wouldn't have so many export/import options. Copy and paste does not work, even for simple objects with flat fills. Nothing pastes. I know very well that Flash and Xara both work with Vector shapes, and I know the stated limitations (complex fills, complex pen shapes, etc). That drawing (Plan.xar) has very little that should cause trouble.

Years ago we used to export from Xara X to SWF, and import the SWF into Flash, and everything was great. Apparently Xara has changed their SWF output so that it's no longer appropriate for graphics transfer. It may be better for final output, but it's worse as an intermediary.

So I'm asking the community for help. Surely I'm not the only one who wants to draw with Xara and animate with Flash. What works best for everyone else?

**tovokas** · 25 August 2010, 02:21 AM

One roundabout solution is to:

1) Export the file as a pdf
2) Open the file in Illustrator CS4, release the clipping path and ungroup to taste.

At this point you can either save the file as .ai to import to flash, or copy and paste from within Illustrator.

I haven't rigorously tested this... but is seems to work.

Tovokas

**Egg Bramhill** · 25 August 2010, 03:06 AM

Hi ToddS,

Your quite correct, something got broke in XX5 and lines and shapes mysteriously turned white and/or very thick.

Here's and example of that drawing exported from XX4 via swf into Flash

And the same but from XWD6. White lines & missing shapes and ugly black blobs.

Arrow heads have never imported. You'll need to change these lines to editable shapes to get them to import with their arrow heads.

In fairness though the swf is fine as exported from Xara, it's just the importing into Flash that's now messed up.

**ToddS** · 25 August 2010, 05:10 PM

There are many nice features in the newest Xara that I'd love to use, but it would be better for my workflow to use the older version since it exports to Flash more cleanly. Is it available?