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Re: x9 - no new drawing tools
Word document import doesn't import Word tables correctly, but as stated here in the release notes:
http://xaragroup.magix.net/designer-pro/notes/
Note there are some Xara features not supported by Word and vice versa, so there will be documents that cannot convert. However most normal Xara documents and Word document should convert with good fidelity.
Note: The Word import / Export is work-in-progress, and we will continue to improve both. If you have a Word document that doesn’t work, please submit a support ticket...
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Re: x9 - no new drawing tools
Have you sent the Word doc you tried importing to Xara support, Steven?
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Re: x9 - no new drawing tools
Quote:
Originally Posted by
PeteS
Have you sent the Word doc you tried importing to Xara support?
Sure, but since there is the strongly worded caveat I assumed this was a known issue. You can test yourself by creating a new Word doc, insert any simple table, save and import into XDPX9 to see that it will not render properly. My test table had 3 columns and several rows, text only, no formatting and nothing else in the Word doc.
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Re: x9 - no new drawing tools
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Know1
Simplicheck. It's basically spam Magix/Xara decided to bundle with the trial version in order to make more money by giving us bloat.
So the software will run well without it. Correct?
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Re: x9 - no new drawing tools
William--Xara does not need it...in fact, don't install it. It is spam-ware.
Mike
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Re: x9 - no new drawing tools
Quote:
Originally Posted by
mwenz
William--Xara does not need it...in fact, don't install it. It is spam-ware.
Mike
OK. Thanks!
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Re: x9 - no new drawing tools
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Know1
I understand the 32/64 bit difference; the thing is you can't open 64-bit plugins in Xara Designer Pro X9 64-bit at all.
All you get is a message saying you should use the 32-bit version of Xara if you want to use Photoshop plugins.
So just to clarify then. If I upgrade to the 64 bit version I can't use the Eye Candy 4000 plugin (the one I use the most), even if I bite the bullet and stump up for the Eye Candy 7 64 bit plugin.
As a matter of interest, is it still possible to change the UI using Ctrl+AlT+Shift+ whatever it is that used to switch it?
Can anybody tell me if there is any benefit to going 64 bit? Aside from losing the annoying "Out Of Memory" messages, is it actually any faster?
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Re: x9 - no new drawing tools
Hi Jimi
You get both versions and you can have both versions installed on your computer, as well as any older versions.
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Re: x9 - no new drawing tools
You can have 32bit and 64bit on your computer with the same license key. EC4000 and a lot of other PS compatible plug-ins work in 32bit XDP9 as in previous versions.
There is a workaround for bitmaps in 64bit though:
Quote:
if you have any bitmap editor that can use Adobe type plugins, set that up as your bitmap editor in DPX9 64bit.
In this way you can apply a plugin effect to a bitmap in DPX9 64bit from Utilities>>Bitmap Editor, which will open your set Bitmap Editor where you can apply the effect and save. The bitmap will then update in DPX9 64bit complete with the effect!
If you don't have 32bit Photoshop installed or another bitmap editor that can use Adobe plugins, there are several freeware programs available that can.
Or you can install PhotoShop CS2 for free from Adobe.
Courtesy of Sledger http://board.xara-users.info/viewtop...p=39289#p39289
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Re: x9 - no new drawing tools
Thanks guys. Pardon me saying so, and I don't wish to be a party pooper, but an upgrade that makes me jump through several hoops to get what I had before in one easy step is not really an upgrade.
Since I use that plugin a lot, it would seem that I must just as well forget about the 64 bit version and install the 32 bit one. So, can one still switch the UI back to standard Windows? And is the 64 bit version any fasterfaster?
Also, by any chance is the facility to remember the previous export folder for web projects in the new version?
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Re: x9 - no new drawing tools
You do not have to use a 64 bit version if you're using a 64 bit OS, the 32 bit version will work just as well (except for access to the 64 bit memory address space).
The 64 bit version is no faster, that's not what 64 bit programs mean. What it does mean is that it has access to the full memory address space that 32 bit programs do not have access to, which means that Windows will allow the program to use more memory to complete memory intensive operations (such as exporting exceptionally large websites) that are limited to around 3.5GB for 32 bit programs.
Yes you can still use Ctrl + Shift + Alt + S to switch the UI to the light grey interface.
You do not need to export your website any longer when publishing from Designer, the publish operation has been streamlined so it just publishes the document without needing to ask you where to export first.
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Re: x9 - no new drawing tools
Quote:
Originally Posted by
zaphodeist
You can have 32bit and 64bit on your computer with the same license key. EC4000 and a lot of other PS compatible plug-ins work in 32bit XDP9 as in previous versions.
There is a workaround for bitmaps in 64bit though:
Courtesy of Sledger
http://board.xara-users.info/viewtop...p=39289#p39289
Steve, John thanks for that. I was not aware that the PS CS2 is free actually
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Re: x9 - no new drawing tools
Hello Pete. Any chance for a fix for the always changing gallery width issue?
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Re: x9 - no new drawing tools
The CS2 products are not free. While adobe let too much water under the bridge, the intention was to allow anyone with CS2 or earlier to be able to install the CS2 product. One was suppose to actually have a license for the CS2 or earlier product.
But they messed up the whole thing and it went viral within hours.
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Re: x9 - no new drawing tools
Thanks Pete. That's all a great help.
Actually, looking at the what's new page it would seem that there are a few new features I could make use of, and the lack of export on the web stuff is also very much needed too.
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Re: x9 - no new drawing tools
Quote:
Originally Posted by
zaphodeist
You can have 32bit and 64bit on your computer with the same license key. EC4000 and a lot of other PS compatible plug-ins work in 32bit XDP9 as in previous versions.
There is a workaround for bitmaps in 64bit though:
Quote:
f you have any bitmap editor that can use Adobe type plugins, set that up as your bitmap editor in DPX9 64bit.
In this way you can apply a plugin effect to a bitmap in DPX9 64bit from Utilities>>Bitmap Editor, which will open your set Bitmap Editor where you can apply the effect and save. The bitmap will then update in DPX9 64bit complete with the effect!
If you don't have 32bit Photoshop installed or another bitmap editor that can use Adobe plugins, there are several freeware programs available that can.
Or you can install PhotoShop CS2 for free from Adobe.
Courtesy of Sledger
http://board.xara-users.info/viewtop...p=39289#p39289
if you follow the link to xara-users given you see sledger give a link for for 'photoshop cs2 free from adobe' - this link is actually to snapfiles and clearly stated there is:
From Adobe: The serial number below should only be used by customers who legitimately purchased CS2 and need to maintain their current use of these products.
now whilst it may be technically 'free' it is totally wrong of xara users to visit this forum and give the impression that anyone can download and use this program for free
both john and steve should know better [ they can do what they like on XU I guess, but even so they should still know better..]
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Re: x9 - no new drawing tools
PSP could be used too. A number of programs could be used. The main point was the 64bit workaround Steve
Quote:
it is totally wrong of xara users to visit this forum and give the impression that anyone can download and use this program for free
That was not, as you must be aware, the reason I "visited" this forum.
How about the issue I posted about? If you don't like the idea fine. If you do like the idea even finer.
I posted hoping to help people, to suggest otherwise is odd. You should know better Steve.
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Re: x9 - no new drawing tools
Quote:
Originally Posted by
mwenz
Hello Pete. Any chance for a fix for the always changing gallery width issue?
Not sure if this addresses your issue, but have you tried pulling the tabs down to the bottom of the gallery pane? Pin your galleries out and then drag each tab to the bottom. The overall window then stays the same width and I personally think it's a lot easier working with the galleries. It is especially nice if you're using a dual monitor setup.
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Re: x9 - no new drawing tools
First of all, sorry for the bad English.
Im a hungarian freelance graphic designer Xara products in use for many years (Xtreme X, Designer).
Unfortunately, I've noticed with the new product is that Xara does not give sufficient emphasis to the fact that he got to like being.
It is true that the new version still shows up in a lot of new features, but the novelty of these, only a small part of really useful for professional graphic design, vector work, other printing methods.
The new version also includes a number of useful new features, such as multi-weight fonts, easy color change, columns, etc..
But, now why I wrote here, is because many people celebrate the 64-bit version, but this is not enough, and that's why I'm disappointed the most.
I often drawing and editing giant size printing works, so in January I bought an expensive machine with brutal video card, 16GB RAM, etc, but the program still can not export more than 16000px 300dpi resolution files.
What I miss in the program, it is not possible to simple export CMYK jpg or png file, Greyscale file, not a rectangle rounded corners one by one, are not always accurate "snap", etc.
There are many useful features and easier to work with the program, but it could have been a lot of recent development is for programmers.
Maybe the company should look into the opinion of the users, I've read a lot of requests, but what has been achieved, it is not too much.
The long Xara Designer is an innovative and professional software for graphic designers and was always renewed.
Now it seems to me that moving towards a hobby and amateur drawing / photo program.
I hope you are not angry because in my honest opinion.
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Re: x9 - no new drawing tools
Quote:
Originally Posted by
zumwalt
Not sure if this addresses your issue, but have you tried pulling the tabs down to the bottom of the gallery pane? Pin your galleries out and then drag each tab to the bottom. The overall window then stays the same width and I personally think it's a lot easier working with the galleries. It is especially nice if you're using a dual monitor setup.
Yep, tried it and didn't like them at the bottom. Fact is, it worked as it should before version 8. It should have had a patch for that version and certainly be fixed in this version.
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Re: x9 - no new drawing tools
Welcome to TalkGraphics D.A.S. Good points. Support for larger sizes would be great.
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Re: x9 - no new drawing tools
After working with DP9 a bit I have to say I'm pleased about some things and disappointed about others.
For me the new columns feature will save some time but I think it would be better if we could set the column width instead of the gap width
Like others have said the new healing tool is great it combines the magic erase with the shape builder and saves a lot of time.
The new background eraser is awesome, there will always be some photos that I'll probably use the shape tool intersect method for but there will be a lot that the background eraser will take care of faster and easier.
As others have said I am disappointed that there are no new vector tools. And yet again the brushes are ignored! The lack of proper brushes that stretch along a path has been a long standing complaint on these forums!
All in all a worthwhile upgrade though.
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Re: x9 - no new drawing tools
My 2 major highlights of v9 are:
64bit - THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!!!
Font Families - finally! We're only 6 years too late but hey, thank you.
Again, I would have liked new vector drawing tools like non destructive interactive Arc and Spiral drawing tools.
I'm surprised to see the columns are destructive (instead of being non-destructive). Instead of converting, it would have been nice to keep the settings interactive at all times. Usually, this kind of stuff is non destructive in Xara, e.g. the curvature of a rectangle can be changed at any time = non destructive.
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Re: x9 - no new drawing tools
Quote:
Originally Posted by
angelize
As others have said I am disappointed that there are no new vector tools. And yet again the brushes are ignored! The lack of proper brushes that stretch along a path has been a long standing complaint on these forums!
I think better communication with the XDP users and involving more people in beta testing could have made a big difference.
I don't want to sound negative, but as a new user of XDP I was looking forward to these additions and improvements. This is why I just recently invested in this software. I am an illustrator and cartoonist.
I wonder why these drawing improvements were ignored? Isn't XDP, for the most part, a vector drawing tool? Shouldn't these drawing tool improvements be a priority?
I would love to see someone from the Xara company address this here so that we can understand their vision for XDP?
Would they get on this forum and talk about this?
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Re: x9 - no new drawing tools
To add something to the Free Adobe CS2 thing...
You CAN get this directly from Adobe (not just some snapfish-y download), including the software and the keys, but the Adobe verbiage basically says that it is for legit customers with real purchase history of the product - still not supported anymore but not just for "free download for all". You also need an Adobe ID to login to download these and "accept" the verbiage (though the account is easy to sign up for):
Adobe has disabled the activation server for CS2 products, including Acrobat 7, because of a technical issue. These products were released more than seven years ago, do not run on many modern operating systems, and are no longer supported.
Adobe strongly advises against running unsupported and outdated software. The serial numbers provided as a part of the download may only be used by customers who legitimately purchased CS2 or Acrobat 7 and need to maintain their current use of these products.
Hope this helps to clarify without inflaming.
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Re: x9 - no new drawing tools
Just to stick my tuppence worth in I would have to say that Xara have 'dropped one' a bit here. Just by the few reactions on here, and I appreciate that they are only a small snapshot, there does seem to be more of a feeling of discontent with this update.
Certainly I cannot remember such a big and negative reaction to an update/new release since I have been using Xara.
For the record I have downloaded the trial and having used it for my work in the last couple of days I cannot really see any reason for me to upgrade. Primarily I always thought this particular product was a more affordable version of Adobe Illustrator (certainly the reason I originally bought it) so, for me, the upgrade operates in the same style as the last version.
I don't really want to manipulate too many photos and what I do can be done in the 'old' version so the £79.99 stays in my bank account.
I am not angry or upset or any of these extreme reactions, I'm just underwhelmed and will carry on as normal.
It will be interesting to see what happens next summer - if the next version goes toward the more Adobe Photoshop direction we know where Magix is taking the product.
All is my opinion of course - other opinions are available!
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Re: x9 - no new drawing tools
To be perfectly honest, as a long-time customer, I was going to upgrade regardless unless the new version introduced a host of show-stopping bugs. No issues there!
The 64 bit version is awesome. I've already noticed lots less strangeness with my extremely large documents. The plug-in issue is problematic. I understand not supporting 32-bit plugins, but not supporting 3rd party 64 bit plugs (if that's actually the case) is not a good thing.
Like others, I agree that there doesn't seem be be much attention being paid to what long-time users are asking for. The new features are fun in a 'that's cool' sort of way, but obviously the focus seems to be on wow-factor 'bullet point' additions for casual users as opposed to what those of us in the trenches who use the program for hours every day are looking for. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure many of the updates will prove useful, they're just not what we asked for. Many of the 'quiet' behind-the-scene things like smarter dialog boxes, better ftp support, robust drawing tools, etc. seem to be overlooked upgrade after upgrade. And at some point, the 'we're a small company' line wears a bit thing when new features are piled on while important core functionality is overlooked.
I believe this growing sense of a lack of connection between the Xara developers and their core users is troubling. We obviously love Xara, but at some point you look at the overall direction and are forced to do some pondering. It won't take much to convince me that Xara is still committed to it's vector-slinging core, but I need to see something. Please don't make me spend more time in Illustrator. ;)
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Re: x9 - no new drawing tools
Downloaded the designer pro v9 trial and discovered I can remove the right edge galleries, found I can also remove them from previous version so there you go. Never been much good at reading instructions.
Touch on my Surface Pro is good, at first glance much the same as the previous version which is already good. I only use Xara for drawing which means I use it a lot and the sketch button for shape builder and eraser in prev version seems to be missing on the v9 upgrade or am I missing something? Only see it there for pen tool. Hope it's not dropped as I use it a lot. Xara is already great on this tablet and I'll download the non-pro trial next to try as I don't use a lot of the features in the pro version. I was hoping to see the new illustrator vector export format as adobe seem to be moving away from ai but I transfer drawings to illustrator for some of my work
Q
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Re: x9 - no new drawing tools
Quote:
Originally Posted by
angelize
For me the new columns feature will save some time but I think it would be better if we could set the column width instead of the gap width
To me, Xara's method for the columns seems intuitive. Wouldn't want to specify the column width but am concerned to get the gutters right. Guess you can't please everybody!
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2 Attachment(s)
Re: x9 - no new drawing tools
The splash screen topic of another thread made me compare the one for DPX with the one for DPX9. I noticed something that might be quite telling with regards to the subject of this thread, " X9 - no new drawing tools". Version 8 has five icons representing its main functions (although I am confused as to what the right and the third to the right ones are really representing) but version 9 only four. Guess which one is missing.
I hope that I am reading too much into it and hope that the drawing tools will get more attention in the next version.
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Re: x9 - no new drawing tools
Quote:
Originally Posted by
WilliamHere
I think better communication with the XDP users and involving more people in beta testing could have made a big difference.
I don't want to sound negative, but as a new user of XDP I was looking forward to these additions and improvements. This is why I just recently invested in this software. I am an illustrator and cartoonist.
I wonder why these drawing improvements were ignored? Isn't XDP, for the most part, a vector drawing tool? Shouldn't these drawing tool improvements be a priority?
I would love to see someone from the Xara company address this here so that we can understand their vision for XDP?
Would they get on this forum and talk about this?
I think it fair to say that this has been a long-running gripe on this forum. Xara must be fully aware of opinion by now. I can only assume that developing the non-graphic features is more cost effective.
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Re: x9 - no new drawing tools
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Boy
Version 8 has five icons representing its main functions (although I am confused as to what the right and the third to the right ones are really representing) but version 9 only four. Guess which one is missing.
Interesting!
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Re: x9 - no new drawing tools
An incremental update with lots of handy little features and 64bit support. It's Xara so I'm upgrading. :-)
The lack of updated drawing tools is a little disappointing but no deal breaker. I dearly love XDP and it is my go to program for pretty much everything else especially web development. Over the past few years I have found that vector illustration aggravates my RSI and, really, it takes too long to produce a complicated illustration for the shrinking budgets Currently I am looking at Manga Studio 5 as a bitmap alternative for illustration as computers are much more able to cope with print rez bitmaps nowadays.
XDP seems to be moving towards web based publishing and taking time to think about it. That's fine with me :-)
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Re: x9 - no new drawing tools
I think you're right qmr, I can't find the sketch mode for the eraser tool or the Shape Builder tool in X9.
This is the first time I'm actually thinking of not upgrading, there are some features that would make my life easier (64-bit, page numbers, font families and the like), but the publishing of a perfectly accurate WYSIWYG web version of your print documents seems to be the best reason to upgrade for me at the moment. Other than that, there is nothing in this upgrade that will greatly improve my workflow.
X8 had Text Styles which made working with documents so much easier, also better rotation control when you hold down the CTRL key, straight edges in version 8 now snapped to the nearest horizontal or vertical. This is something I use all the time now, and it's a core feature that got better. You had pasting of images directly into text (and probably some other useful features I can't think of right now).
I'm using the trial for X9 and there just isn't anything new that I wouldn't want to work without on projects. It feels exactly the same as X8. Plus there is no plug-in support for the 64-bit version, I use Vertustech Fluid Mask all the time while in Xara for masking so I'd still be using the 32bit version. There is stupid spamware bundled with the installer, and the awesome upgrade policy that I had praised is gone. The Text Tool STILL has that annoying fly-out menu introduced in version 8 by default; it is not at all user friendly to hide basic text tools behind a fly-out menu. Sure you can fix that with a regedit fix or XaReg, but to me it says that Magix/Xara is not spending a lot of time on actually making the software easier to use, and that's a shame.
For €89 I could easily get a brand new copy of Serif DrawPlus X6 on Amazon and have money left over, or finally get a copy of PaintShop Pro, Manga Studio, or find out what PhotoLine is all about. I'm most likely still going to upgrade... because I use the software so often, but this seems more like an 8.5 release. And will we get 64-bit support for plug-ins in THIS version as an update?
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Re: x9 - no new drawing tools
Quote:
The Text Tool STILL has that annoying fly-out menu ... Sure you can fix that with a regedit fix or XaReg
You can fix it in XaReg2. Two of the icon options for text - columns and strike through - are missing when this is applied but this is not a registry problem and is being addressed by the developers :)
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Re: x9 - no new drawing tools
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Boy
The splash screen topic of another thread made me compare the one for DPX with the one for DPX9. I noticed something that might be quite telling with regards to the subject of this thread, " X9 - no new drawing tools". Version 8 has five icons representing its main functions (although I am confused as to what the right and the third to the right ones are really representing) but version 9 only four. Guess which one is missing.
I hope that I am reading too much into it and hope that the drawing tools will get more attention in the next version.
This is not good. You are right, where is the DRAWING icon?
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Re: x9 - no new drawing tools
And how is it possible that after all these years we still have no inner shadow option?? Using clipping masks is not an acceptable workaround for such a basic feature.
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Re: x9 - no new drawing tools
Quote:
Originally Posted by
David Strover
It will be interesting to see what happens next summer - if the next version goes toward the more Adobe Photoshop direction we know where Magix is taking the product.
All is my opinion of course - other opinions are available!
That's what I was looking for. More illustrator and Photoshop type of improvements and additions.
I did not invest in XDP for web design. My understanding is that it's primarily an illustration app first that happens to also have some document creation and web design capabilities. I am very confused about the future of XDP. Is it no longer a key illustration and drawing app?
We need someone from Xara or Magix to get in here and clarify these issues for us.
If someone at Xara or Magix is reading this, please talk to us. We need your involvement now more than ever.
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Re: x9 - no new drawing tools
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Know1
And how is it possible that after all these years we still have no inner shadow option?? Using clipping masks is not an acceptable workaround for such a basic feature.
The inner shadow a very good idea.
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Re: x9 - no new drawing tools
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Know1
And how is it possible that after all these years we still have no inner shadow option?? Using clipping masks is not an acceptable workaround for such a basic feature.
I agree. This is a much needed feature.