Version 23.7 Blocks

[Chris M]

Good stuff:
Setting a header, menu and footer on the first page in both variants allows you to copy and paste that particular Block, and it will paste the Block to suit the variant.
Block backgrounds are full width by default, just colour the background instead of adding a rectangle.
Arranging symmetrical objects is a breeze with Flexible Blocks once you climb the gentle learning curve to understand how the padding stuff works.

I keep going hot and cold on Blocks, but the cold sections are warming up slightly.

[Acorn]

@Chris M, again thank you for persevering. No Badge though!

One small point.
"Group As Single Item" is Web Properties > Image > Group web export.
This is for rendering only; it will do nothing for group work in design.

My gut is telling me Xara is still getting JavaScript counting wrong.
In JS, 0 references the first item in an array, e.g., Month 11 is December.
Get this wrong, as has happens many prior times, and things go wacky.

Acorn

[handrawn]

In JS, 0 references the first item in an array, e.g., Month 11 is December

isn't that hardwired into programmers at an early age ?

maybe they don't actually use programmers, after all, they do produce design software pitched to those who are not designers

blocks seem a good example, maybe they work really well if you have no previous experience to compare them with..

[Acorn]

isn't that hardwired into programmers at an early age ?
maybe they don't actually use programmers, after all, they do produce design software pitched to those who are not designers
blocks seem a good example, maybe they work really well if you have no previous experience to compare them with..

We had a recent hiccough where sub-menu items were going astray. The Image Filename is poorly handles and adding links to SmartFields is still mega-wrong. All involve loops and counting. Nest loops incorrectly with a variable assigned a value too deep, output from the completion of the wrong loop, conditionality checks changing over and under the meant change, thinking you understand someone else' class construct and get the parameters wrong - all are weaning actions, yet they still occur. We may never know.

Acorn

[handrawn]

the butterfly effect... plus, no matter how hard you try, documentation nearly always assumes some intrinsic knowledge that the reader may not have...

[bwood]

no matter how hard you try, documentation nearly always assumes some intrinsic knowledge that the reader may not have...

That’s a very, very good point. Way back, Acorn stated that you really have to have a working knowledge of Xara before entering the “block world”; and he’s correct. When something goes south one should know why, or one chases down rabbit holes.

Regarding documentation there are many, many things that a user learns from this forum and not the documentation. Certainly a testament to the software. Documentation can’t keep up.

[Chris M]

When something goes south one should know why, or one chases down rabbit holes.

You should see my pelt collection!

Strangely enough, I was wandering through Block World when my foot slipped into a rabbit hole. "Good job I brought this shovel with me" thought I, "or I wouldn't be able to dig into this rabbit hole clearly marked 'Groups Do Not Enter'"

I made a rectangle. Added a photo of Grace and then a text area.
I grouped all 3 objects, copied the group and threw both groups into a Flexible Block.

CTRL click a rectangle and changed colour of one rectangle.
CTRL click Grace and move her in any direction, by any amount, and she will behave like the diva she once was and promptly leave the group.
CTRL click the text, it too will leave the group. However, not to be outdone by Grace, it will also chameleon into Times New Roman and increase size to appear more threatening. Interestingly enough, hitting the undo button will pop it back in the group, but not revert the font or size. It remains TNR 21.33 instead of Montserrat 16.