Why no animated flash support?!!

[Egg Bramhill]

After messing around for a while I have found the following:

1: Graduated fills And transparencies export great in.swf format, given Flashes own limitations within these areas.

2: Unfortunately the shapes /fills export not only appears worse than .ai export but is also very inconsistant.

Maybe someone else would like to reproduce the shape exports just to check it's not an error in my computer. I suggest you do it several times due to the inconstituancies I was finding

Egg

[defunkt]

> Unless Flash is open source. Is it?

The .swf format is open source, anyone can create a program that exports to the .swf format (not, the .FLA format, mind you).

This is why most programs (Illustrator, Corel Draw and Xara) have added .swf export in the last year.

[mrbump]

It's good to see someone else has been doing this as well as myself.

All the above info is about what I have found.

I have noticed one more thing, however, regarding the export. Exporting of filled shapes is inconsistent but try this.

1. Draw two filled circles in Xara X both the same colour.
Leave one with a line colour on the other circle remove the line colour.
Now make sure nothing is selected and Export to SWF.
Load it in Flash and all you should have is one unfilled circle (the one with the line colour in Xara).

2. Back in Xara X this time select all the shapes (i.e. press CTRL+A) and export to SWF again.
Now import in to Flash and both circles should be how they appear in Xara.

This should help a little but again even this is inconsistent and you have to either select none export or select all export to get certain things to appear correctly in Flash.

Mr Bump.

P.S.

I posted a plea to Xara to sort this out in the XARA X FLASH EXPORT thread.

Can everyone do the same.

I just don't won't Xara to miss out. If they get this write (AND THEY SHOULD DO) Xara X won't be just an update to Xara 2 but be an update with proper export features.

I don't want to use Xara X to animate. I use Flash for that but I do want to use the excellent Xara UI and draw my vectors to animate in Flash.

Have Xara missed the point?

Q: What good is a static preview of a Xara file in SWF format?

A: Not an awful lot!

And in case anyone starts, I was around at the birth of ArtWorks so don't start pointing out all the other benefits in Xara X! I know them already, OK!. [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_razz.gif[/img]

[This message was edited by Mr Bump on October 07, 2000 at 04:04 AM.]

[This message was edited by Mr Bump on October 07, 2000 at 04:06 AM.]

[Egg Bramhill]

Mr Bump
Great to see your finding the same problems.

As an Artworks old hand I will take you up on the following tho:

Q: What good is a static preview of a Xara file in SWF format?

A: Not an awful lot!

This is not strictly true. What is the point of .web format files? Surely the point is that if you can get a TRUE export from Xara to Flash you can then produce a vector image that downloads to 90% of browsers without the need for a plug-in. Visitors can then zoom and pan as required.

I agree that I don't expect Xara to let me animate, thats Flashes function. If the export of a good static Xara file crosses to Flash then we will be able to animate it in Flash.

I consider that the export to .swf files exports more elements than when exporting to .ai files. (i.e. no grad. fills, transparencies or bitmap fills.) Unfortunately the .swf export filter appears to get the fundamentals wrong (i.e. the shape fill & blends)

If Xara corrected this, which I'm sure must be a bug, we could then get a great representation of a Xara created file within Flash, then use Flash to animate etc.

I could never use Flash to produce a vector image (Flash 5 has only now introduced bezier points !) so I'm sure like all Xarians we produce a graphic in Xara and export it to Flash. What we desire is a good likeness between the two images, taking regards of Flash's own vector cababilities.

[mrbump]

Egg,

I agree there are some uses for static vector files, particualrly in illustration. Xara has done this for years in the .WEB format.

However, I think what I was trying to say is this:

.SWF does allow animation and I just don't see the point of exporting to .SWF format unless you are able to take advantage of this. Yes, there are a huge number of browsers with the Flash plugin and only a few with the Xara plugin so more people can read the format and look at a static Xara file.

But, I think that we both agree we would love to draw our vectors in Xara X, export to .SWF and then add animation in Flash.

Isn't this the whole purpose of exporting to foreign file formats - to allow the use of the file in another application?

I hope this is just a bug and that it is to be fixed. I can't believe Xara have not seen this potential of their application.

Egg, I guess I am just worried and fustrated. I have always pushed Xara in my workplace.

However, take this example:

Upon showing someone Xara X and me saying look you can export to Flash. You show them a .SWF file in the player and it looks fantastic.

They then say load it into Flash and let's animate it...

The answer is well you can't do that it won't import properly!

Their reply is well what's the point in using Xara X then!

See the problem.

In fact, it's quite unbelievable when you think about it!

It must be a bug!

I hope! [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_confused.gif[/img]

[James Loudon]

Egg, you are a top man. Many thanks from me, and I would suggest from others here for doing some great legwork and research on behalf of us all. It would be good if the documentation for the actual forthcoming product is as useful. Many bits of software attempt to be all things. Xara has a fair stab, and succeeds in many areas. Certainly, no other app has the ability to merge bitmaps and vectors so easily. The .swf export will probably continue to bug people, but everything has it's limitations. With a bit of ingenuity, and using Eggs advice and pointers we can be more productive than before, which is what we are all after. I don't think that the lack of animated support is a big deal at all. It's a good upgrade. I wish Xara luck.

[mrbump]

James,

The fact that Xara does not yet export to .SWF properly is more than a bug. It could be a major selling point for the product.

It obvious people are going to use Xara X for more than just importing stuff into Flash, but I don't think what they have done is sensible from a marketing point of view. It could lose them a lot of potential new business.

I've said all I needed to say to explain myself above so I won't repeat it. However, other people have written applications which export perfectly to Flash and they don't have a set of 'gimmicky' rules to follow for it to work some of the time.

Do you really think inconsistent export is acceptable in a retail verison of the product?

If XaraX can export to .SWF then why on earth can't I import it into Flash properly?

See my point?

You might not think this is a big deal becuase you don't want to use Flash. But I do want to use Flash and I want to use Xara X to export to Flash not GoLive or Freehand9.

Imagine if it was GIF export or any of the others that was inconsistent. Can you see how fustrating this would be! Flash.SWF is important as it is one of the most widely distributed vector formats.

Like I have said above, I am hoping this is a bug and is to be fixed ASAP!

[This message was edited by Mr Bump on October 09, 2000 at 04:56 AM.]

[James Loudon]

Hey Mr Bump
I do use Flash, and I'm not about to splurge out on V5 either. If I'm doing any clever text stuff I use Swish. If I'm doing anything other than basic movements, I'll create a graphic in Designer or Xara and import it as an .ai, then copy it, tween it, and generally kick it around using the Flash engine. So I'd REALLY like to have X live up to it's promise here. As was pointed out, swf is open source, so it must be possible. It is more damaging to a company to offer something - and then not deliver the goods than it is to not even have it on the menu in the first place. However, it appears that Xara are out on a limb somewhat, and with the full version supposedly just down the road, it seems that they have left it a bit late to get these details tied up. Should have been taking user feedback far earlier on in the proceedings. How much of this stuff is getting back to them anyway? It would be good to hear some input from the lab in this very thread.

[mrbump]

James,

Appols if I seemed to be having a go. But it seems we would both love Xara X to export properly.

I guess I am fustrated and disapointed and will have to keep reminding myself this is a beta.

I'll just keep praying they will fix it by the release date.

[ARICEBO]

Thanks to everyone who's added to this thread...

I just thought I'd return to my original post.

I was never suggesting that Xara should have added timelines etc., but I was kinda expecting to use the anim toolbox (used for Gifs) to export simple .swfs...

Surely that can't have been too difficult, bearing in mind each frame is a vector up until the point of export.