You can put it back by setting registry key ...\Options\ShapePainterTool\ShowSketchModeButton = 1
XaReg 2.4 added this as well.
(Standard caveat about registry edits apply.)
Printable View
Hm maybe the drawing icon has been removed as drawing tools for a graphic design program are taken for granted?
However, I would have thought we would have at least some of these tools by now:
http://astutegraphics.com/products/vectorscribe - Vectorscribe
http://vimeo.com/41237505 - Spiro
The Vectorscribe tools alone cost a significant proportion of the cost of Xara software. So, would you pay another US$75 to get that functionality?
The bundle of vector tools that go with Vectorscribe will set you back US$175.
The illustrator market has people with more cash to splash than the Xara market and it's bigger.
I suspect Xara would need to charge more money to get the same return on their effort.
The tools do look impressive and Xara's drawing toolset is a bit stuck in the 1990's.
Largely what the VectorScribe add-in does is make Illustrator more Xara (and other apps) like.
The concept of opening the architecture to plug-ins and scripting has been made in the past. That would alleviate some of the pressure on Xara for new functionality and enhancements.
Mike
Personally, I would be happy pay double the cost of Xara Pro to have toolsets like these available. I can justify this by the time I would be saving. I am subscribed to CC as well and use all tools on daily bases but somehow always have Xara included. If someone doesn't need it, there are smaller Xara versions available - or use Inkscape with spiro for free.
I would be happy pay double the cost of Xara Pro to have toolsets like these available.
They are available to you already - you have illustrator, so why with illustrator and Vectorscribe available would you still pay double the cost of existing Xara software to have the toolset available on the Xara platform?
I'm not sure that you're representative of the Xara userbase in general, while illustrator users, by virtue of the higher product price, are a group that are generally more likely to be able to afford expensive (compared to Xara) add-ons.
Indeed, though it might provoke new criticism of the internals of Xara software or the API it would require. The development of an API if it doesn't already exist, might be expensive and could be a total waste of money and effort if nobody used it (better for developers to write for illustrator with a bigger user base with money for useful tools). Additionally, Xara software might be destabilised by a badly written add-on.
Badly written add-ins destabilize whatever they are written for. That's a given.
Much of the scripting available for Illustrator and InDesign is freely available. It's the plug-ins that extend and or change functionality that typically cost (though there are a few free ones as well). VectorScribe/DrawScribe/WidthScribe are examples of changing Illy's functionality and they don't cost an arm and a leg...depending on one's point of view. They are examples of picking up the managers of the programmers' at Adobe lack of vision and care about changing Illy to suit its user-base.
In any case, Xara ain't gonna do it. Cannot/will not even fix the damn gallery width changing issue.
Take care, Mike
I don't use Illustrator for drawings but for putting elements exported from Xara (or other illustrator users) together. So I can't justify a Vectorscribe license. I constantly hear from co workers how I seem to like to make my life harder in some regards when using Xara, then I show them some tools that makes illustrator blush and that's the end of the discussion. But it works both ways in many other regards. Who *is* representative of the Xara userbase? What does the profile of a Xara user look like?
that's a very good question
it was definitely me a decade ago
that's why one of their people came to my office for usability research
i'm pretty sure it's no longer me
i should know when i'm beat
but i prefer my cheese strong distinctive with character
i hate to see it become bland mass manufactured processed muck
cmon xara
give us back the strong stinky stuff!
LOL! ;) I think Magix would have the final say of all product feature development. Magix seems to be sure web features are the selling key (based on sale reports?)?
The 64bit update would have been a massive job by itself and very often requires a complete rewrite of most of the core. If that was the case, Xara might have planned for future integration of new tools? Who knows, it's my wishful thinking out loud.
Those look great. (Spiro for Inkscape starting at 6:20)
I'll add Colliderscribe to this list. It would be lovely to have some of those controls directly in Designer Pro.
http://astutegraphics.com/products/colliderscribe/
Or how about DynamicSketch:
http://astutegraphics.com/products/dynamicsketch/
Repeat sketching (1:12) - Intelligent path joining (1:28)
Or check out some of the features of Livebrush:
http://livebrush.com/
I'm with Nostaw on this, I'd pay more for functionality like this directly in Designer Pro. You had Designer and you had Designer PRO. Now you have basic spin-off programs like Layout Designer/Photo & Graphic Designer/Web Designer.
In general I find Designer Pro a lot easier to use than other software, the basic features are implemented in a way that's intuitive, easy and fast. There are still a lot of things Xara can improve upon, and that's just not happening. Not a single improvement to the core vector tools. A real shame.
wow - livebrush looks nice - just brushed around a little bit with the free version. how good is vector export with the pro version?
things like drawing aids in vectorscribe i hope to see some day in xara. like the rounding corners tool. or some of the vector filters in illustrator. eg generate a waveline or add some distortion or roughen a line.
bb,
Fly
I agree with you Frances.
A few have suggested that you can drag the tool you want from the 'flyout' bars.
The problem with that, is that when you now select this tool, the 'flyout' changes to this tool as well.
So, now you have two indications of the tool.
Not good in my opinion.
As an amateur and casual user of Xara (but an owner of every version since X1), I have one comment and one confused observation:
The observation: Several comments have been made about the missing FX button on the flyout bar, well, I have installed the 32 bit version and the FX button is available on the Photo flyout along with the clone/red eye removal, etc. What am I missing on this discussion?
The comment: Once installed (the 32 bit program on a Win7/64bit system) the desktop icon is the same as XaraProX. Is that to be expected? I would have thought that it would have been different. Likewise, if I decide to install the 64 bit version I would like to think that I could distinguish between the two versions due to them having different icons.
Thanks for the program. So far, I am having a great deal of fun with it.
Bob
They are different, Bob ;)
Attachment 97129
Bob - The concern with the FX tool is it used to be on the main tool bar.
The 64-bit version icon has a small 64 in the lower right corner.
Still no support for dpi > 300 and pdf-export of my images still doesn't work (gets stuck on the old 28% barrier). And not much news in the vecor drawing department. Oh well, maybe next time...
Fred - Have you filled a support request at Xara.com. And can you explain what you mean by no support for dpi > 300? Do you mean resolutions that are higher than 300dpi? If so, highlight the number and key in the resolution you want.
Well, I'm a happy customer :-)
I have been around since the Corel days and have always upgraded and will continue to do so.
My attitude about upgrades is you need to support the program. There will be some years where you might not see as many improvements as others, but it's important to keep the program going. I am happy to see the 64-bit version and the addition of Google fonts. I still use Photoshop for bitmaps, but now that Xara has added features to its photo imaging, I might start using it. (Especially now that Adobe is going the subscription route.)
I use Xara almost exclusively to design web graphics and logos.
I don't see any reason to complain or feel disappointed. I use Adobe Illustrator CS6 at work and I cannot find anything that I can do in Illustrator that cannot be done in Xara. I find that Xara is faster and easier to use because it isn't filled with tons of features. Xara Designer Pro 9 is an amazing program, especially when you consider the price.
The vector export is limited.
From the FAQ: The Pro version add's over 60 more brush styles, the ability to customize the canvas size, and add's vector export *.
* Vector export is only for lines drawn in Livebrush. Vector decoration export is not supported at this time.
I've made a quick image to illustrate this and also added the SVG file: Attachment 97140
Attachment 97139 Attachment 97137 Attachment 97138
1, 3, 6, 7 only the lines are exported.
2, 4, 5, 8 export just fine. (Edit: number 5 also has missing bits, those floating triangles. I hadn't noticed that before)
9 and 10 are pure decorations so nothing is exported.
2 and 5 also have their transparency levels intact as you can see when you import the SVG in Xara.
Livebrush needs some work here and there, and I don't think we'll see an update for it anytime soon. But for 10 bucks this has been one of my better purchases. It's like a sandbox environment for brushes where you can just experiment and go crazy.
Several times. They send me some solutions to try out, that didn't work. After sending some examples images and my results - on their request - I didn't get any response but for an e-mail several weeks later that my ticket was closed due to me not taking any action. :\ Figured out a way myself to export my image in parts and stitch them all together using iview.
I already knew you can fill in higher values in the dpi box, but that doesn't work for me either. Guess it's the 30000 pixel barrier. My images sometimes need to printed very huge (even several meters wide) and since the pdf-export doesn't work, I have to resort to digital stitching.
My images sometimes need to printed very huge (even several meters wide)
I'm confused by this, since usually large prints of several metres are usually printed at a lower DPI rather than a larger one. I think I have heard people recommending low DPI requirements for billboards and the like, simply because nobody is viewing that image close-to so a dense DPI is a total waste.
Perhaps someone else actively printing large banners may wish to contribute.
I don't print for billboards but make thangka's. These are highly detailed images, that also need to be perfect up close. For most sizes, 300dpi is ok but I did have a commission once for a thangka of 3 meters (10ft) wide. And they can be even bigger.
See http://outsider.xara.com/art/november12/
Quite detailed and ornate work - impressive.
Still no better with the 64 bit version?
Fred if you have Photoshop 64bit and lots of memory try this:
Open up your artwork in Xara. Place rectangles over the artwork, for example 3 columns, 2 rows, to cover the entire image. Best is to use a calculator and place and size rectangles to ensure you don't have any gaps in between and they are perfectly aligned next to each other. Do not use any line color when placing rectangles, just any fill color (e.g. black).
Then select all rectangles and set them all to no color, no fill, no line.
Now select the very first rectangle (change to wire mode temporary to select it) and press CTRL+SHIFT+E and export a crazy resolution like 7000 pixels width (Color depth: "True Color"!). Do this for each rectangle until they are all saved. Then open Photoshop and import each slice and stitch them back together. You can export any artwork with insane high resolution by placing and exporting rectangles and stitching them back in Photoshop.
Whilst on the subject of the Illustrator plugins from Astute Graphics, I see that they are releasing new ones thick and fast. The latest is MirrorMe which is a must have for me (and probably all of you who have voiced an interest). I urge you to watch at least some of the videos presented by Astute Graphics director Nick van der Walle, who is a joy to listen to. Those with Illustrator CS5 or later will be sorely tempted, even at $58 / €45 / £39.
@Pauland: thank you. And the 64bit version didn't help. I hoped it would allow allocating larger chunks of memory to use for calculating higher dpi images. But alas.
@Nostaw: that's exactly what I do ;) and I use the anchor tool to 'glue' them together. I don't have Photoshop but iview has some neat functionality that does the same trick.
But thanks for the reply anyway :)
Does someone has experience with the function can be read on http://www.xara.com/uk/designer-pro/whats-new/
"Windows 8 touch compatibility
v9 is now compatible with Windows 8 touch devices."
So independently from the hardware the V9 should work on tablets with Windows 8? Which we have is Fujitsu Stylistic M532
"So independently from the hardware the V9 should work on tablets with Windows 8? "
Yep works fine I'm now using win8.1 on a Surface Pro and it works fine too. X the previous version works well on my tablet as well but the pen interaction is a bit funky at times, full width strokes occasionally. This v9 update seems to have fixed that. But removal of the sketch mode button on shape builder and eraser is a bad look. C'mon Xara...
Q
Shape Builder is now known as the 'Shape Painter'.
You can return the sketch mode button using XaReg2.4