What do you like best about Xara Designer Pro X?

[masque]

I earn my living using Xara for 95% of all I do. I spend all day producing work for product labelling, signage, web sites and web graphics. I use it for vector illustration as well as photo manipulation and if I can't produce something with Xara Designer I usually use Xara Designer to find a way around and do it anyway.
It's my living as well as my interest that I turn to Xara to help me with. If they had computers on desert islands this is the software I'd take along with my 8 mp3s.
Derek

[MarcT]

Hi,

It shows in Xara that a lot of attention was focused on core interaction first instead of adding endless gadgets on loose ground.
I find it easier to do more with less complicated tools.

Some features and innovations that set apart Xara from other vector programs and make my life easier:

• General responsiveness and speed.
• Consistency across tools and command behavior.
• Most tools have on-screen live controls in the graphic window.

• SpaceBar toggle of last tool used <-> selection tool.
• Right click on swatches to set line color.
• Right-click + Drag to copy objects

• Large flexibility of keyboard assignments

• Select objects inside fence.
• Force fence selection without selecting what's directly under the cursor (shift+drag).
• Select inside groups, cycle between sub-groups.

• Name Gallery is definitely one of the most powerful selection method I've seen

• Selecting based on visibility instead of bounding box or stacking order.

• Stacking order changes based on whats "touching" the objects instead of considering every single object in the drawing.

• Amazing transparency tool.
• Transparency that can be assigned to a group, sub-group, sub-sub-group, etc..

• Direct bitmap linking to bitmap editor.
• Contone bitmap combined with the profile editor is incredibly flexible.

These are the major reasons I prefer Xara, I surely missed a couple and there is a lot of other small details that would make this list very long.

The latest additions adds very much in functionality, especially the eraser and live copies.

Marc

[MarcT]

I almost forgot another quite important:

• It's not possible to select point of unselected objects.

This seems trivial but it's a major irritation in other software.