Web Block suggestions and ideas

I’ve started this thread for folks who are using them, or partially using them, taking them apart, or trying to make their own.
I’ve been messing with them on billwood.ca, my “experimental” mish mash of various approaches. Here are my suggestions and hopefully others may chime in.

- a clear understanding of variant and page sizing. Acorn has documented that one must at the onset set page sizes if not using the 1280/470 split.

- when adding a module, an effect has been added. One cannot tell what the effect actually is until a preview of the block. Please document.

- much attention has been paid to the block section in the catalogue, but nothing has been updated or changed that much in the free form areas.

- for intermediate users, please tell us in the manual how to make our own blocks. I realize Acorn has also mentioned in his block thread. An initial purchaser of Pro+ may have questions and refer to the manual.

- suggestion for the block team to add more navigation variety.

IMO we can either like blocks or not, but Xara has invested resources. As a designer, the first thing I wanted to do was to take the block apart. Some will. New customers will not. The second thing I did was to try a hybrid of my designs and blocks; that didn’t end well.

So, considering the effort that Xara has spent, let’s try to make blocks better by suggestions.

I have not really acknowledged the Modular Website templates themselves.

About half of the current ones are a single splash area of a single Web block.
I appreciate that you then mix 'n' match from the currently limited Web Blocks to create your wundersite.
All these seem to do for me is come with a predefined colour palette.

I would spend so much time deconstructing them as otherwise all you have control over is changing images and text.
The landing page is the most critical design task as it dominates the presentation of all that follows.
Twiddling back and forward across variants is not how you should be engaging.

Every time, Xara fails to document the excellent flexible nature of its toolset by refusing to explain how something is constructed.

The Web Block construct is extremely versatile but highly constrained.

Acorn

As I understand there is a May update coming with a few fixes. Perhaps there will be a fix for folks wanting to use blocks in a variant other than 1280.
As well there has to be far more blocks for navigation.

I’m finding that the gallery modules have the best assortment designs one could use.

As an exercise, I’m doing a simple project with blocks from a site that I already have.

I still don’t understand how calendy can give me a calendar as good as the google calendar. This widget appears to work well for appointments, but full month viewing in a standard calendar view google seems to be the answer but I’m willing to play with the others.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bwood

I still don’t understand how calendy can give me a calendar as good as the google calendar. This widget appears to work well for appointments, but full month viewing in a standard calendar view google seems to be the answer but I’m willing to play with the others.

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Bill, what I would do is create a main Placeholder and add the Google Calendar code into its Body. I usually tweak W&H to 100% rather than pixels but in this case only do it for Width. You get the code from https://support.google.com/calendar/answer/41207?hl=en.
Set to Share with variants and in the Variant set the Placeholder to fit the Variant width.
Now Create Web Blocks for both.
You now have a Google Calendar Web Block.

If you skin a Calendy WB and replace its code with Google's you are still left with the Edit in a Browser link that goes to Calendy.
I have yet to find what Xara includes into the WB structure so it can be altered.

Acorn

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Acorn

Bill, what I would do is create a main Placeholder and add the Google Calendar code into its Body. I usually tweak W&H to 100% rather than pixels but in this case only do it for Width. You get the code from https://support.google.com/calendar/answer/41207?hl=en.
Set to Share with variants and in the Variant set the Placeholder to fit the Variant width.
Now Create Web Blocks for both.
You now have a Google Calendar Web Block.

Acorn

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Thanks Acorn. Clever use of the google calendar which I use often. Great tip I’ll have to play a bit with the calendy to see if there’s any advantage to it. That block intrigues me a bit. I don’t have many who want to actually make an appointment. Maybe to book a tour or something.

Moving forward I’m sure that Xara will show us how to make a block which is very handy.

Blocks are something I didn't know I wanted or needed, however curiosity made me look to see what it was all about etc., and the fact is its just not there. I've updated until my fingers bled, but modular web sites, there are non. How do I access this modern wonder?

you will need designer pro+ which is xara's subscription as a service model and version 23.1

if you are on the old magix, pay every year only when you feel like it, version 19 or earlier, don't hold your breath, sorry

I didn't even know Xara had an alternative version to the Magix one. When did that happen? And more importantly do I need to not renew Magix (spelt wrong) when it expires 7/7/23 and move over to Xara Designer proper, should I want to obviously, or what? I feel as though I missed a boat I didn't know was sailing. Are there any major differences, apart from blocks, which I'm fairly indifferent about, to the Xara Designer pro X whatever it is, I'm currently using?

the new xara version you have to pay for every year or it stops working [reverts to a demo mode which, unlike trial mode, dosn't really do anything useful]

the plus side is that it is updated regularly and you get features like the modular websites; the magix version gets updated once a year, and is way behind the curve; but then if you don't need the new things you can save by not updating; you do not need to move to the new pro+ version, you can always try the trial it is a completely seperate program; if you install that and let it lapse you may get offered a discount to keep it ;)

I let mine lapse

was a year or two now since it was launched; someone like acorn probably has all the details at their fingertips....

june 2020:

http://releasenotes.xara.hosting/des...plus/index.htm

I have downloaded the 14 day trial and there doesn't seem to be a lot of difference on first quick use, apart from the even darker interface. I'll give it a couple of weeks to explore. Not desperate to spend money these days unless I'm getting something new and better.
Thanks.

apart from the UI, it is mostly content, ie online content catalogue and design gallery stuff - xara now seem very focused on corporate branding and website stuff, rather than good old fashioned graphic design

the release notes cover it

you are welcome

[I trust the snails are keeping well :)]

The newest release of Pro+ indicates we can use blocks with our existing websites. Haven’t had time to play with it yet; but will on the weekend.