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As a new user who is having some difficulty, I am going to make notes about my experience with Xara Photo and Graphic Designer 9 here. Maybe the following will happen:
- I will get some help.
- The developers will learn where improvements can be made.
Hopefully the thread won't get hijacked, but I'll be keeping the content in the first few posts anyway.
After looking around thoroughly in the UI, the help and online I haven't been able to find how to:
- Snap nodes of a new line to nodes to existing objects while drawing the line.
- Centre text vertically in order to avoid having to re-align it after changing the content.
- Automatically view two or more windows side by side. Neither tabs nor the automatic vertical stacking seem very good for working on two documents at once.
- Turn off these lines (See Item #3 in Post #3. I think this is a bug).
Attachment 100260
I consider the following as issues which face all users, not just newcomers.
- Ctrl+- does not function. It should zoom out according to the Help topics. Ctrl++ works fine.
- When viewing multiple windows, it is hard to see which one is currently active as it is only very slightly lighter (in the dark theme).
- When you change the default page backgroud colour you get some horizontal lines appearing. Some are solid green, some are dotted and blue. It seems to depend on the document template.
Attachment 100260
My version of the software is Xara Photo and Graphic Designer 9.2.7.30974 at the time of wring. This is the latest version available for download on the Xara website.
PLACEHOLDER 3
Welcome to TalkGraphics
Placeholder 3? Please explain.
I do not think anybody is going to hi jack this thread as long as you make your comments and questions positive.
Your questions:
1. Snap nodes of a new line to nodes to existing objects while drawing the line.
Do you have Snap to Objects enabled?
2. Centre text vertically in order to avoid having to re-align it after changing the content.
Not sure if I understand the question, but is the text set to Center Justification?
3. Automatically view two or more windows side by side. Neither tabs nor the automatic vertical stacking seem very good for working on two documents at once.Have you explored the options in the Window menu? There are a variety of options that do this including a zoom in close view that you can toggle back and forth from.
4. Turn off these lines (See Item #3 in Post #3. I think this is a bug).
Are you referring to the green rectangle? If so that is a text frame and has been set up so that when the text frame is full that a new page is automatically created and the text flows into a new text frame on the new page. This is helpful for creating multi-page text documents and web documents.
In the Help menu, there is a item, Movies. Please click this link which will take you to the Xara website where you can watch videos on the basic functions. These videos should answer a lot of your new user questions.
Hi.
1. Yes I have Snap to Objects enabled. It only seems to apply to moving things and creating shapes, not creating lines. For example, how would I draw a line from the centre of a circle to the corner of a square?
2. I mean anchor the text dynamically in the centre (or at the bottom). All text is by default anchored at the top and I can't see how to change it. I suspect this feature isn't available?
3. As I said I've looked thoroughly and haven't found a way. I've looked again just now... nothing. Although "arrange icons" seems to be a dead entry with no function.
4. Oh. Yes I think so. Why do they only show up when you chang the background? That can't be the intended behaviour surely?
I'm working through some excellent videos from XaraXhris on YouTube :)
Maybe you could ask Xhris for the answers to these questions then. :)
Can anyone confirm the bugs I posted for PG9?
1. Ctrl+- to zoom out doesn't work.
2. Window > Arrange Icons doesn't do anything.
3. Page boundary lines show up on non-default background colours.
I suppose I'll raise a support ticket.
I think you use Ctrl and the + or - on the numeric keyboard to zoom in or out.
Just updated my copy of Photo & Graphic Designer 9.
1. Ctrl + zooms in. Ctrl - zooms out.(you can also press 1 (100%) 2 (200%) 3 (300%) 4 (400%) and 5 (50%)
2. What do you expect to happen when you press Window > Arrange Icons? I select this and nothing happens, and yet I have not made any changes to the page so I would be very surprised if anything did happen.
3. Not page outline, just the page drop shadow (see attached). In the Page & Layer Gallery, you can unlock the page background layer, select the page with the Shadow Tool, and click the No Shadow icon on the Infobar.
None of these things you have mentioned are bugs as far as I can see.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JurysOut
- Draw a circle.
- Draw a square box.
- Select snap to shapes.
- With the straight line tool, start a line approximately in the centre of the circle and extend it to the require box corner - this will 'snap'.
- Release the line.
- Click on the start of the line and move it about until it 'snaps' on the centre.
- Release the line.
Acorn
P.S. Changing the centre to a tangent is much more challenging.
Yes it does. Windows > Arrange icons does what it states in your Help: it tidies up any icons for minimised windows.Quote:
Originally Posted by JurysOut
You have six windows open and they are all minimised. At some point, you click and drag one to the middle of the window area.
You want to put it back but you can't park it nicely. Use Windows > Arrange icons.
Minor functionality but it does work.
Acorn
My guess is you want text to grow in the same way it does in MS Word table cells. In Xara, we currently have Left, Centre and Right Justify.Quote:
Originally Posted by JurysOut
Do you need Top, Centre and Bottom for vertical alignment? In Xara, we have Top.
As a pure design exercise, with no practical application:
- You can simulate Bottom by placing a near transparent box above the text block and making it Repel text under.
- You then drag the bottom of the box downwards until the text box shows overflow and ease back.
- The squeezed middle is harder - complete 1 and 2 above.
- Clone the box and place vertically under the repelled text.
- Group both boxes.
- Move them upwards to move the text to a position of your choosing.
Acorn
I think you win on this one but the ability to do this would hamper the pinning of the galleries.Quote:
Originally Posted by JurysOut
If I had to do this, I would cheat.
I would open my previous version of my Xara application and my current Xara application and use MS Windows 8's Windows Key + Left/right arrows to present the applications horizontally stacked.
One thing you get with multiple windows (either method) is drag & drop is a copy operation.
Undo is, however, very specific to the Xara files so this can be confusing.
Acorn
So far, I am confident that when the jury returns, there will be a Not Guilty verdict.
I don't find the "blog" approach adds anything as the TG search only locates the Thread and not the specific reply.
If this blog extend to 500 entries, who is going to romp through it to find a reported bug or an answer somewhere on Windows > Arrange icons? I doubt the developers will have the opportunity.
Acorn
P.S. This probably acts as a hijack so I would recommend no direct replies here - raise a new Thread or post me a Personal Message.
you can open two instances of the same xara version with a different document in each [actually with the same document in each if you really want, but this I do not recommend :D]
actually I would find side by side option useful, but I don't usually pin galleries I prefer them floating [two monitors helps]