Why must we still contend with this

[amoore]

As covoxer says, using templates enables you to set different default units for different types of documents.

My default template is US Letter with units set to points. I also have a US Letter template with units set to inches, three generic custom page size templates with units set to pixels, a PowerPoint slide template with units set to inches, and a fourth custom page size template set to pixels for a specific project. Those are the templates that display on the File | New menu. (Well, Animation and Blank Photo do, too, but I rarely use them.)

I have another set of 10 templates for our web banner ads (pixels) that I access through either the Design Gallery or my file manager.

Having the units set in the template is vastly preferable in my workflow. I'd go nuts having to change them back and forth all the time.

Oh, something else that's very useful: you can have multiple documents open with each set to different units. Aside from making it possible to work on, say, a print flyer and an associated email image at the same time, it's a handy tool for checking meaurement conversions.

[covoxer]

This is not the same as being able to set the units in 'option' and for that to stay the way you have set it.

Please explain the difference as you see it.

[Rik]

Hi Covoxer.

I don't remember saying anything was hard. 4 clicks or 40 click... I think I can mange that.

The way I see 'options' is a place where I can go and set things and things then stay that way.

That's my understanding of the use of 'Options'
Then when I open Xara, it always then opens according to the options I have set.

If I then create something else and use different units, I am then likely to save that document and that document will save those different units anyway.

But, you may want to look at what highfrontier has said.
I think he makes a lot of sense and he is also describing the reason why the new users (I am a relatively new user) may be having trouble with this.

[covoxer]

Sorry Rik, what you say makes no sense to me. Sure, dialogs may be redesigned and renamed as highfrontier suggests, but there's no need and actually no reason to change the way it works.
There is no unit settings if there is no document currently opened (you can't even open Options dialog). So no matter what, there is no such situation when some sort of the global setting would be used instead of the document setting.
When you start DP it always opens default template unless you've had some opened designs last time you closed it. So setting your "global" settings to the default template will work exactly the way you want it to. If not - describe situation in which the global setting would work differently than default template.

[highfrontier]

I think that what Rik's after (sorry if my understanding is wrong Rik ) is for it to be obvious and accessible how to permanently change the standard settings.. and that's something that could easily be incorporated into the templates approach by just including a 'save as default template'.
The only problem is with that way, you can't change a single setting across many templates.. hmm.

[Soquili]

It has been available since Xara X in 1999.

[covoxer]

The only problem is with that way, you can't change a single setting across many templates.. hmm.

That's the whole point of having templates, isn't it?

[highfrontier]

That's the whole point of having templates, isn't it?

guess so.. for better in most cases and for worse in a few.

[Alan]

Sorry guys i did not mean to stir the pot.

I myself work strickly in pixels and in the course of a project may create 10 open documents for one project and i like to be able to click the new document button paste and go on my way, I don't want to have to filter through the dropdowns to pick a template to keep my format, i just could not understand why we couldn't just set our units of measure and keep it that way no matter what i was doing. However since all that info is kept with the document instead of the program settings it makes since, but i don't have to like it.


I just set it up as my default template as in Bill screenshot and i should be good to go.


Thanks guys

[highfrontier]

It has been available since Xara X in 1999.

Sorry, meant to say having a save as default tempalte button within the options themselves rather than having to go to 'save template' and saving as default template.