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Photo & Graphic Designer MX + Designer Pro X (v8)
V8 is ready! The new versions are called Photo & Graphic Designer MX and Designer Pro X. Pro has all the new web features from Web Designer Premium MX, but other additional highlights include a new Color Select & Erase tool, and the Shape Eraser and (in Pro only) Shape Builder tools - but discover all for yourselves right now @ http://www.xara.com/products/designer/whatsnew/ and, coming soon, Gary Priester’s ‘First Look’ on the Xara Xone.
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Re: Photo & Graphic Designer MX + Designer Pro X (v8)
Thanks Kate
Great release! Feel like we've been here before with the 'X' version...
Rich
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Re: Photo & Graphic Designer MX + Designer Pro X (v8)
Thanks Rich. Deja vu on the name is a free bonus feature!
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Re: Photo & Graphic Designer MX + Designer Pro X (v8)
Hello Kate--I think despite my previous grumblings about slow addition of vector tools and or enhancements, I am pretty pleased with what y'all have done with this update.
I'll be counting my pennies and upgrade as soon as possible. A thank you to yourself, Charles and company.
Take care, Mike
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Re: Photo & Graphic Designer MX + Designer Pro X (v8)
shape builder tool and shape eraser tool eh ? well I'll be @"* :D:D
who says you don't listen, thanks :-bd
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Re: Photo & Graphic Designer MX + Designer Pro X (v8)
I unlocked the trial, but as far as I can tell there is no PDF manual included.
Is there an online link to it somewhere?
I really don't want to wait until the cds start shipping before having access to the new manual. (eta is second half of June - according to the Xara website)
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Re: Photo & Graphic Designer MX + Designer Pro X (v8)
Quote:
Originally Posted by
katemoir
Thanks Rich. Deja vu on the name is a free bonus feature!
:) Looking forward to Designer Pro X1 this time next year.
Features worth the upgrade price for me:
» Colour select/erase tool.
» Link handling on iOS devices
» Alt text on images
» Resizable Color Editor
Everything else is a bonus.
Rich
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Re: Photo & Graphic Designer MX + Designer Pro X (v8)
looks like the paste problem when using 'make all layers editable' button has been sorted
svg import too a nice 'extra'
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Re: Photo & Graphic Designer MX + Designer Pro X (v8)
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Re: Photo & Graphic Designer MX + Designer Pro X (v8)
As Mike says the inclusion of new vector tools is great to see. I still see & use Xara as firstly a vector program and it is a very pleasing to see the addition of new tools.
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Re: Photo & Graphic Designer MX + Designer Pro X (v8)
is there a way to turn off the optimisation of 24bit bitmaps ['photos'] when importing? - I can suppress the message about 'import reduced /import original' [on a session basis], but the message about 'this image would be better compressed as a JPG file' is not helpful to someone who don't use JPG files at all when drawing .. and worse, it appears to come in at 96dpi like it or not - the utilities > options > view 'import at dpi specified in the image file' does not seem to overide it - so I get greyscale [and index] still coming in at my standard 300dpi but 24bit resized to 96dpi - out of sync :(
I maybe can set all to come in at 96 dpi, but that is then going to make things out of sync when I export at 300dpi
this is not helpful [I think I already said that] - but maybe I am just missing something - any fixes to the program or my understanding gratefully received...
edit: I really do not want to have to manually resize in the program everytime....
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Re: Photo & Graphic Designer MX + Designer Pro X (v8)
No, I don't you're missing anything. I've been running into it, too.
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Re: Photo & Graphic Designer MX + Designer Pro X (v8)
glad it's not just me :)
so, a registry fix mabye ......:think:
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Re: Photo & Graphic Designer MX + Designer Pro X (v8)
I have not seen the alert but I don't import high resolution pngs because I don't ususally have them around.
My bitmap import settings are as shown in the attached.
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Re: Photo & Graphic Designer MX + Designer Pro X (v8)
Thanks for the Color Selector -- SO easy now to knock out a photo's sky, or change its color!
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Re: Photo & Graphic Designer MX + Designer Pro X (v8)
Isn't that so cool! You can create dramatic skies by adjusting the hue of the blue sky then do a second colour selection and give the clouds a bit of extra sharpening to make them pop
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Re: Photo & Graphic Designer MX + Designer Pro X (v8)
Hi Bill
same settings as mine - further use shows it does not always happen, so it may be to do with the info in the file [which will depend on how it was created I guess]
I see we can now lock the page resize :cool: - not a headline feature maybe but the end of a real pita :) - flyout bar operation better too
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Re: Photo & Graphic Designer MX + Designer Pro X (v8)
The Shape builder tool can be used as a Pen!!!! In the info it looked like you had to have an existing shape to start with.
You have made me very happy indeed. This will be a godsend for all those Illustrations with small details that previously really aggravated my RSI with all the point pushing.
Many, many thanks!
Huge Regards
Dave
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Re: Photo & Graphic Designer MX + Designer Pro X (v8)
Just installed it, I am VERY happy to see Text Styles included with this release (if only I'd had that about 8 months ago when first doing the layout for Spookybeans), as well as the resizable Color Editor window, and the problem I was having getting guides to snap to a grid in Version 7 has thankfully disappeared. I'm sure I'll find many other nifty new things as I play around with it. And I'm glad to see there's finally an end to the endless Eraser debate. :)
One nitpick: Since version 7, I have not been able to manually enter a value in the Line Width field in the Line Gallery. The Line Width field on the Standard Toolbar works fine, but I'd like to be able to use either one to edit line width.
-- Ben
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Re: Photo & Graphic Designer MX + Designer Pro X (v8)
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Re: Photo & Graphic Designer MX + Designer Pro X (v8)
Ron I'm afraid your post is not making much sense to me.
Your company should purchase separate licenses for their machines. There is a multi-license option for businesses. Contact Sales at Xara.com.
I'm not aware of any backwards compatibility issues, please explain.
What do you mean you have accepted the raster/vector difference?
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Re: Photo & Graphic Designer MX + Designer Pro X (v8)
Never mind, we do have our own license for the business. I wasn't sure if we needed to upgrade yet.
Thanks!
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Re: Photo & Graphic Designer MX + Designer Pro X (v8)
Here I am asking the same question as I did last upgrade:
Is there any easy way to migrate my settings (options, key shortcuts, control bars, screen layout, palettes, etc) from v7 to v8?
Surely I'm not alone in wanting to do this? Having to do so manually takes the shine off every new version for me.
Ever hopeful,
matt
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Re: Photo & Graphic Designer MX + Designer Pro X (v8)
Key shortcuts, yes. Look at the Load and Save options in the Shortcut utility. Note that you'll be missing any new shortcuts that have become available in the new version.
Control bars, yes, via XaReg, although it hasn't yet been updated to work with the current version.
Options, some, again via XaReg. Screen layout, no.
Palettes, just copy over from the previous version.
As per the Key Shortcuts, if you want to retain your old settings on these items, you won't see any new additions. Re the color palettes, for example, the Pantone palettes have been updated in the new version.
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Re: Photo & Graphic Designer MX + Designer Pro X (v8)
Thanks, sounds like I need to wait for a new version of XaReg
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Re: Photo & Graphic Designer MX + Designer Pro X (v8)
I did migrate my keyboard shortcuts successfully from v7, you have to adjust them to new functions though.
Marc
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Re: Photo & Graphic Designer MX + Designer Pro X (v8)
Quote:
Originally Posted by
gingerbeardman
Here I am asking the same question as I did last upgrade:
Is there any easy way to migrate my settings (options, key shortcuts, control bars, screen layout, palettes, etc) from v7 to v8?
Surely I'm not alone in wanting to do this? Having to do so manually takes the shine off every new version for me.
I gave up asking for this several versions ago.
I gotta say I can't see much reason to fork out $99 for this upgrade. That's a big fraction of the full cost, especially considering its incremental nature. It seems to me that Xara's loyal users are, at least to an extent, being taken advantage of. I thought I'd be a loyal user for life, upgrading without even thinking about it, but I don't think I am even going to bother with the demo this time around.
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Re: Photo & Graphic Designer MX + Designer Pro X (v8)
no one's being taken advantage of - you don't have to buy it - you don't even have to try it, as you appear to have decided
I don't think I'd call the shape builder/eraser tools 'incremental' and, like the new text features, they are things members have been asking for for a while... though obviously not your good self :)
I'd personally put them way above migrating settings - which is just a one-off exercise and a good opportunity to review and patch in the new stuff to your layout [given you can migrate the dictionary apparently]
it's not giong to please everyone - nothing ever does.... if you are not going to find any of this useful no reason to fork out...
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Re: Photo & Graphic Designer MX + Designer Pro X (v8)
Quote:
Originally Posted by
handrawn
it's not going to please everyone - nothing ever does.... if you are not going to find any of this useful no reason to fork out...
Xara is probably the only software I have upgraded every upgrade. They usually sneak something in there that makes my work life a little easier or more pleasant (not always the obvious stuff either). I stopped upgrading my Adobe products like that years ago. I'm still on CS3 as nothing since then particularly improves my life (And I can't get over the sinister idea that I am just there to be harvested).
No one should upgrade just for the sake of it, particularly in the current economic climate.
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Re: Photo & Graphic Designer MX + Designer Pro X (v8)
Quote:
Originally Posted by
handrawn
I don't think I'd call the shape builder/eraser tools 'incremental'...
It is just extending an existing feature, an alternative to existing means of achieving the same thing. I can't see myself ever using it, although I can certainly see that some would. Adding in website publishing was a new feature, one well worth paying $99 for. This stuff seems pretty lightweight by comparison. In fact, I'd suggest it is more the stuff of a .5 update, not a full version.
Quote:
...like the new text features, they are things members have been asking for for a while... though obviously not your good self :)
Actually, I think this is a massive step backwards. I've had to deal with this kind of thing in other applications and I always hated the way it complicated simple things. Is it optional?
Quote:
I'd personally put them way above migrating settings - which is just a one-off exercise
Really? I think I have had to do it dozens of times over the years and it often takes me ages to get things just how I want them again.
But my main issue is with the cost of upgrading, which seems very high. To put it in perspective, it is twice what I paid for Xara in the first place. Sure, it has grown up massively since then but $100 a year is asking a lot and in this case seems to be delivering very little. If the "intro offer" was $49, I wouldn't even think about it but I put this in the same basket as Adobe CS upgrades - don't need it - and this is the first time I have ever felt that about a Xara upgrade. Maybe it is just a sign of the product's maturity but it has actually come as a bit of a shock to me, I have to say.
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Re: Photo & Graphic Designer MX + Designer Pro X (v8)
Quote:
Originally Posted by
BONES
It is just extending an existing feature............
Actually, I think this is a massive step backwards................
$100 a year is asking a lot and in this case seems to be delivering very little.
Then don't upgrade. Move along now.
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Re: Photo & Graphic Designer MX + Designer Pro X (v8)
Bones - do you remember the dialog we had a while back where you were adamant that layers in xara were something you did not see the need to use? :eek::eek:
says it all really :p
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Re: Photo & Graphic Designer MX + Designer Pro X (v8)
I still don't use them and when I work with documents that import with multiple layers I find it hugely frustrating, to the point that I now routinely copy/paste everything down to one layer, then delete the rest. The ability to edit groups, introduced in the last version, makes them even less necessary than ever. On top of that, the changes to the Layer gallery make layers more annoying to work with, to boot. Of course, I only use Xara to earn a part of my living, for UI design or when clients require website or print work, and wouldn't have it open more than 4 or 5 hours a day, so I probably have no idea what I'm talking about.
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Re: Photo & Graphic Designer MX + Designer Pro X (v8)
I am sure you have a complete understanding of both why you need xara and why you don't need to upgrade, that's the point and no ones arguing against it - if the upgrade had been all web stuff I would not be upgrading I have never built a website with xara, or at all myself for 5 years or so, that's currently someone elses's job
[BTW: I believe you can tell xara in options to import everything into the same [active] layer: options > general tab > importing layers drop down menu - and select 'import layers into the active layer']
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Re: Photo & Graphic Designer MX + Designer Pro X (v8)
Yes, but Im really disappointed that after waiting this long for this feature I still have to use Serif Draw X5 for doing true vector painting as it looks as if this does not allow painting with pen pressure which is really what you need for vector painting. Argghhh!! However it's something I guess and there are some other cool features here so I'll prob upgrade but miss the days when features came out that were better than what the competition has.
***Well after downloading the demo I see that pressure capability has been indeed included with this feature which is not shown in the example video or the "whats new" page for Pro X 8 so nice job Xara. So just ignore that previous rant.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
handrawn
shape builder tool and shape eraser tool eh ? well I'll be @"* :D:D
who says you don't listen, thanks :-bd
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Re: Photo & Graphic Designer MX + Designer Pro X (v8)
On board with the new version to Designer Pro X. Still no twain module after upgrade, after upgrade, after upgrade, after upgrade. It's the convience factor I'm after. I say the same thing about Illy. Still missing an easy curve tool, like the one in Corel Draw. I also ordered the manual for $30.00 plus shipping of $5.00 to the USA. More later, I'm just a user during nightime hours, on the golf course otherwise.
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Re: Photo & Graphic Designer MX + Designer Pro X (v8)
Hi Sgiff
it works with pen pressure for me - both builder and eraser - you need to activate it on the info bar, [just like with the freehand brush tool], by clicking on the 'enable/disable pressure recording' button [also make sure 'live drag is not disable if you want to see it in real time]
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Re: Photo & Graphic Designer MX + Designer Pro X (v8)
Yes, I corrected my post right after I wrote it see above.
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Re: Photo & Graphic Designer MX + Designer Pro X (v8)
I've installed the trial but in the page and layer gallery I'm missing the layers. None of the layer operations is there. See the attached screenshot.
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Re: Photo & Graphic Designer MX + Designer Pro X (v8)
Hello joto, I had a look at your .xar file and the layers all show and work for me. you mentioned a screenshot?? Anyway did you click the little arrow to the left of the thumbnail to expand to layer view?