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Perhaps the wrong forum to ask, because many here are very capable artists and use Xara X for producing great drawings. But I'd like feedback on what you do NOT use Xara X for. What common or day-to-day graphics jobs do you have to use other tools for? And for the graphics professionals or artists here, it's not really what you use, but what do you think the mass-market, average computer user would want. We want to show (or make sure) that Xara X can be used as a general purpose day-to-day graphics tools for performing all your typical, common, photo and drawing work (as well as add high-end drawing features, but that's another list)
What would broaden the appeal of Xara X to a much wider audience?
So a simple question: What are the top four, common, every-day, photo or graphics jobs that you use other tools for?
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Hi Charles,
This is too open aquestion to ask here!
For small print jobs i may use Xara X1 or PagePlus and use the wizards if I feel very lazy.
For easy web graphic resize jobs and quick enhancements I use Xara and XPE but if it rerquires more then it is PS and IR.
If it is for print and client wants PDF the rough out in Xara and then into AI CS for finishing.
For navigation and web page layout for slices not Xara but PS and IR or Flash. I could go go and on but that is not the question your asking you want to know what the average punter wants from their computer in the way of graphics. I would say have a look at what HP offers its printer and camera users at the following address http://h10050.www1.hp.com/activityce.../en/index.html
There many ways to produce all sorts of graphics from downloading PDF files so that you can put in your own text to using a Flash interface upload your own photos into templates and then print them from that interface. I think that this site leads the way and shows the average punter how to get the best from their printer and camera. Most people know that Photo Scrapbooking is becomming so popular and here also this site offers the user various ways to improve their graphics and edit them in online classes. They even have forums where the punters can easily communicate with their teacher.
A lot of people do not like the MS way of suppying Clip Art in Word and leave the rest to the ideas of the user. Most folk prefer to have a template and to use their own photo's like in MS "Picture It" or use the birthday card software programmes to produce quality products without much input. In my opinion if Xara wants to go into this market it should offer software that the user can make their office stationary, Photo Scrapbooking, Card making, CD inserts & labels, Online Albums, Flyers all from wizards and templates and the list is endless. The only thing is that as you can see this is offered already by two very large companies.
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The one thing I would mention would be selections on bitmaps - there are a lot of excellent plug-ins that require a selection and therefore can't be used within Xara.
Also compatability with the latest plug-ins, I have quite a few which do not require selections but are not compatible with Xara.
Christine
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Common graphics/photo jobs for which I do not use Xara:
- Screen captures for documentation
- Any job in which I have to modify specific pixels (such as removing red eye or matching text in a screen capture)
- Web authoring & navbars (create/modify buttons in Xara; assemble in NOF, sometimes via AllWebMenus)
- Flash authoring (create many elements in Xara)
For photos, it depends on the picture whether I use Xara, Paint Shop Pro, PhotoBrush or DCE AutoEnhance — whichever one gives me the best results with the least amount of effort.
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I have never used the Navbar feature in Xara X, preferring instead to use XX to create images to use in my own web page designs.
I don't use Xara X for:
I would love to be able to use Xara X to batch resize photos, but at the moment I use Fireworks for that because I can select the large originals and leave it going.
I have Thumbsplus just for resizing photos, usually product photos, when I need the final images to be specific sizes - eg there may be square, 3x4 and 6x4 aspect ratio photos but the results need to be square. Never seen how to batch this in Fireworks, but THumbsplus can add white (or any coloured) space to the required sides to make the output square.
I don't use Xara X for... opening many files that I'm sent. This has to be a combination of Freehand and Ghostscript to find a file which Xara will import without the dreaded EPS Error Detected message.
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Widen the appeal:
- More extensive quick shapes.
- More textures/fonts/photos etc.
- More automated bitmap editing effect - auto red eye, coloring, noise, selective blur etc.
- Template, templates, templates - Web site, banner, business card, stationary etc.
- Look at MS PhotoDraw 2 for ideas. Yes, it ran like syrup (at best), and missed advanced features to enable a user to go to the next level, but it did have quite a few nifty things.
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I'd like to be able to do frame-based page layout, a la desktop publishing. Is that too over the top? I know that Computer Concepts (which became Xara) did a fantastic job of a DTP program, called !Impression.
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Hmmm... Maybe I misunderstood... http://www.talkgraphics.com/images/smilies/rolleyes.gif I was thinking grandma, and that crazy uncle that still uses MS Paint when it came to "widen the appeal".
Other wise we have a number of "feature wish lists" containing things that will widen the appeal to people already involved... http://www.talkgraphics.com/images/smilies/wink.gif
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Templates and wizards might be a draw to new users.
Gary
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I'm not an artist but these would help me:
editing bitmaps, i.e. swirling.
water effects, i.e. realistic mirroring.
transparencies that will conform to specific shape????
easier to work with molds?
easy texture creating.
ron
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Please don't bog Xara down with templates and wizards. Serif do that to death and it makes people wary of using their software for serious tasks, (even though some of it is capable), because of the perception that it is primarily for producing 'effortless' flyers for the local scout group or a quick card for mothers day to save having to go and buy one.
PDF export maybe. The idea of increasing it's usefulness for page layout appeals, which I already use it for, so long as it doesn't interfer with the basic core program or turn it into coreldraw.
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I can do ANY vector drawing I want in Xara X http://www.talkgraphics.com/images/smilies/smile.gif
Xara is FULL and COMPLETE vector drawing tool, and I have only one vector drawing tool
installed - Xara X.
My pixel works I made in Photoshop. PictureEditor can't substitute it even in 0,1%.
Xara X is professional software, but PE is just 'strange applet', it doesn't fit.
It should stay near other 'strange applets' like Xara3D, WebStyler, ScreenMaker etc.
As for 'what could simple users want' - I think almost all possible is already realized.
Red eya removal could be done simply with two transparent circles;
templates, quick shapes could be substituted by clipart gallery.
IMHO the most breakthrout innovation in XaraX could be multipage support (btw in
ex-FLARE standard such possibility exists) and DTP-like text flow.
In animation it would be great to have keyframe animation, but this is not real,
and there is MOHO for this.
Great would be scrip support like in CorelDraw, eg:
... ActiveDocument.Shapes.AddBox(10,10,100,100)...
So I even don't know what to expect from Xara X, I think it is already good enought.
Just fix old bugs.
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I would like to see X2 being able to create things for Webstyle - that would be a good draw for WS users - and cause them to splash out more cash.
I too am wary of templates etc - too much clutter; unless you could add a **separate** Wizard application which generated a XAR file which you could then tweak in X2.
I would like a TWAIN link in X2 - currently I use PSP, tweak there, and copy and paste into X1.
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You might want to improved Xara's text effects and text editing stuff, I use good old Corel Draw 7 for text work.
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What's up with the un-used Wizard Icon?
How about some connectivity between Xara & x3d. Two great programs like this should be able to transfer back & forth more readily. 3d vectors? Need I say more...
Line profiles with a slider tool for changing the frequency of the Intestine Line in the info bar.
A NAME GALLERY that is actually functional. I frequently have to change RGB effect to CMYK. Being able to select any specific tapered lines of a certain type & or color is a good example. OR I want all green items that are outlines of a certain type. The reason I ask. Often, Exported items to CorelDraw have to be changed in order for them to make it across the pond(so to speak). The main reason is for creating print layers. I can quickly grab, change, items on active layers. Converting screen colors to CMYK & spot is a great example of this. So, In the NAME GALLERY-more category's for; Outlines Used(tapered-solid-brush) or Outline Type, Drop Shadows(type). Better connectivity between groups.
Try this - Select a line of text with a font other than the default. The USED FONTS will hi-light but the default black in the color section will not.
Most Xara projects cannot be printed or separated from the program that created them. Xara's inability to do so, to have to send these jobs to PhotoShop for separating is shameful & un-necessary most the time. Especially when the work is designed within the learned guidelines of successful printing/separation from within Xara. Working Xara's strengths, working around it's weakness. **
An Icon for CONVERTING LINE TO SHAPES. If I had a penny for every time I've had to that, I'd be a hundredaire.... http://www.talkgraphics.com/images/smilies/wink.gif
A FONT GALLERY upgrade. An open box (at the top of the gallery) to change the default letters from AaBbCc to the selected text or letters that will help one match a font easier. Ex- If text & word that has to be matched does not have an ABC in them. It's tuff finding the match.
A font gallery that will allow better organizing or font gallery's - NEW FONT GALLERY FOLDERS. ex- If un-installed fonts are on the HD, a way to put these in a new gallery. Managing fonts would be super easy then. This could be a major selling point. I've got too many fonts installed now (900+) & it takes forever scrolling through them looking for matches.
ENVELOPES - More than 4 nodes! NODES THAT CAN BE NUDGED would be a major improvement. Xara has the best nudge options of any program out here. Why isn't this a part of the envelope tool? Was it forgotten?
I know if Xara put some focus on the print dialog or functions. This program could shake up the Screen Print industry which at this time is dominated by CorelDraw, secondly by Illustrator. We've been showing folks what Xara can do & it's starting to raise eyebrows. I can only imagine if Xara started looking into print a preview for CMYK or spot color printing. Ex-viewing of an individual plate. 1-step further would be overprinting that can be turned off. In other words, subtracting of printed layers. I think the RGB effects hinders or conflicts with this aspect of CMYK print. Often times I can't figure out why projects don't print/Sep from Xara. Often there is No logical explanation why. **
- Let me explain. Often I'll use outlined text.
If you stack text of various color & line thickness. When you try to print them, Xara does not subtract the visible upper items from the invisible lower items. I can send examples of all of the above if needed.
I'm not so sure that Xara should try to be a bitmap editor. Plugin's are a great asset in Xara but if I need a photo edited in a major way. I'll open PSP or PS.
One last thing I'm going to throw out there. If I create a new layer & want this layer to be my print layer. Is there a way that an Icon can be added to the Layer Gallery that will allow everthing on the active layer to be converted to curves/editable shapes - perhaps convert to cmyk? Text, Lines, RGB effects, quick shapes & powerclips included. Bitmaps?
SUMMATION - The new open architecture in Xara will open the doors for all of us to many new things in the years to come. More than perhaps Xara is willing or able to tackle. It's a great thing for this to be happening in Xara. An open door for plugin development.
Whew, this was a long winded. Reminds me of a John Disdale post... I miss that guy!
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I don't do much integration with MS products because of limitation of Xara import/export filters. I would greatly appreciate the capability to import Excel graphics/barcharts (not as ole objects), Project timelimes, Tables and perhaps be able to flow (link) text from MS Word. Currently I use CorelDRAW to pretty things up. I'd love to be able to use Xara to (recolor, scale, and enhance) MS office graphics and text for use in presentations, proposals, and reports.
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I usually would not dare use Xara to do complex Org Charts and flow diagrams which might require extensive or last minute changes. If Xara had smart-connecting lines and could import flow charts, I would.
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I don't do document publication (muliti-page) integrated text and graphics. If Xara could do a bit more sophisticated formatting and text flow between frames and handle multi-page formats, format tabular data, and had a plug-in for spell checking, I could probably use it instead of CorelDRAW or InDesign.
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Better integration with bitmaps... A twain interface, and do something with XPE... It was novel at first, but it is just getting to be a pain when it opens everytime I double click a bitmap. Then it is a pain to open when I want it on a sliced shape... I use PS for Bitmap color adjusting and I hate PS.
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I don't use XaraX for desktop publishing purposes -- that's one of the few times I pull out CorelDraw 9. Granted, I'm not looking for a full-featured program like Ventura (which I also own), but something that can handle columns and be able to wrap text around picture frames or headlines.
.joroho.
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I'm pretty much in line with Allison and Risto on this.
If i were to be more specific to myself, i'd say:
Make the slicing/exporting system more robusk and functional. The current system is clunky and sometimes aggitating (i.e. you can't slice these because you have images overlapping). It would also be nice to be able to tag our slices with specific data ala PS/IR.
If you want to appeal to new/inexperienced users, as well as veteran users, add more custom brushes to the default template. The current template is very cartoonish and hardly useful.
I don't use Xara for navigation design. I find the system somewhat UN-user friendly. But that could just be me. http://www.talkgraphics.com/images/smilies/smile.gif
And last, but not last, is photo editing. Xara needs much better preview capabilities and plugin support.
On a side note... warping via a grid would be a nice touch. http://www.talkgraphics.com/images/smilies/wink.gif
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I actually use Xara X for just about everything, except bitmap editing. The fact that I nearly always have to output to CorelDraw to get my work to the printer, is but a minor inconvenience. (It's just like visiting a slow-witted, grumpy relative - once your there you can't wait to get back home again).
However, I can think of one feature that could increase Xara X's appeal to average and occasionally, perhaps experienced users.
As far as I know, there is not one graphics application that presents a simple, foolproof way of ensuring that one is in the correct colour space for the intended output. Sure, most apps enable the use of RGB, CMYK, ABC, XYZ, but this is often implemented through obscure menus, arcane "Colour Management" utilities, all backed up by confusing help which is littered with colour theory. So, how about having some kind of selectable, rigid colour spaces (only don't call them that - jargon), where everything is geared to ensuring that the correct output is achieved.
I see it this way. If someone is making something that is going to the print bureau, they can click a button/menu item and from then on they working in CMYK. They can choose their colours as they like without worrying (for instance, the Colour Editor will not give a choice), they will be warned if they import an RGB bitmap (and this can be converted on the fly) and so on. All this backed up by a jargonless, helpful, help file. The same could be implemented for an RGB (web graphics) colour space.
Obviously, this amount of hand-holding will not appeal to all, so these would be extra selectable options and not default settings.
I am talking completely off the top of my head and I have absolutely no idea if the above is even possible. But, I do know from experience that many people have problems with this stuff.
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Not wanting to turn XaraX into bloat-ware, here are my two suggestions for simple enhancements that would allow me to use it more often:
1) Text handling - if you added Tab Stops, for example, I could throw away Corel Draw
2) Connectors - if you added connectors, especially smart ones which re-route when an object is moved, I could throw away Visio
(And I agree with the previous poster, !Impression was fantastic)
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EASY ACCESSIBLE LIVE-VECTOR-BRUSHES
& STEAL A LEAD ON EXPRESSION
At the moment I play with ProCreate Painter and it's natural media brushes - it's great fun but becaues it's not vector based there's little chance of editting after. And Expression is bag of crap. There is no tool out there yet which I can Vector Paint with!
Personally I think putting greater emphasis on brushes would definitely broaden Xara's appeal. Even create a brand new tool or gallery. I mean brushes as more obvious thing on the surface - yes I know you can create Brushes but the way that this works at the moment is very fiddly and obscure and more users never delve into using brushes and the ones supplied are pittiful - maybe have brushes that can have multiple layers so that you can get closer to natural media. Get artist on these forums to create them when it's in beta form so there's a massive gallery of quality one's included. Also please let users define there own Stroke Shapes Pressure Profiles!!! In that way you'll end up with Vector Paint as part of the feature set rather than an after thought.
If X2 delivered this I think it would be a great marketing tool. Not all graphic projects are made of boxes and text. X2 - Vector-DESIGN - Vector-PAINT - GOD DAMN Vector-CREATE!
IMPROVED 3D
Common Integrate Xara 3D
Some times I just want to draw something that's 3D to add to my piece of work and I end up having to use Corel Draw and then import it into Xara X.
I know that it's an extra revenue stream for Xara Ltd but you have all the code there - why not bite the bullet and integrate the two apps. When something like Corel Draw has had Extrude features for over 10 years - since version 3 - why doesn't X - especially when you've done the work with Xara3D.
FINALLY
MARKETING
I've been doing a lot of work recently (on Xara X Onbiouvly) for a company called GreasyPalm - they're a referal cash back site and get about 1 million unique visitors a week. Maybe it's an idea to advertise Xara X on here - you already offer a referal payment - why not get them to do this for you and I think there's one in the US as well called Ebates - if it costs noting to set up at your end and you're giving away referal money any way - you should be getting your marketing people on this. A few hours work might get a hell of a lot more people using Xara X.
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I'm sorry ahead if it was already posted.
The reason (in here anyway) Freehand is so popular is because it is a stand alone vector program as well as a desktop publishing app. I deal mostly with desktop publishes (catalogs, books, magazines, brochures etc...).
For this reason Indesign is too heavy and lacks many features which are included in Illustrator, but it's too heavy to run them both together with a large file.
Personaly, it will just make my life easier if Xara would have better text handling capabilities - if it was a desktop publishing software being able to support Middle-Eastern text.
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I agree with James about vector brushes (altho' I do use Expression and I don't have a problem with it) and marketing
Much better compatibility with other vector programs (export/import) and PDF support.
I can understand the desire to increase Xara X's appeal but please don't "dumb it down" http://www.talkgraphics.com/images/smilies/smile.gif
Amanda
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I use Xara for almost everything except bitmap editing. Again, I would much rather have a smoother interface with Photoshop or whatever bitmap program I want than deal with the limitations of XPE. I would like to go into the bitmap gallery and hit 'EDIT' and have Photoshop open with that file as a temp file. When it closes, I would like to see the bitmap in the gallery update. I have seen this before with other apps, and I know it's doable. Editing bitmaps with XPE is like eating soup with a fork.
If Xara had a way to make selections within a bitmap and turn them into shapes, then that would help with using a bitmap program less. A magic wand tool or a color select tool would be handy.
In Photoshop, I often paint shapes that I turn into selections. If Xara had a way of painting with vector brushes that turn into shapes with a toggle, then that would speed up selection accuracy as well as give us a new avenue for painting. If there was a way of actually painting in Xara where unseen objects beneath other painted objects on the same layer would disappear or be added to the current shape. Or if there was a toggle between painting mode and standard Xara mode.
I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to paint with Xara, but the brush system is awkward. It is not designed for a painter. If this feature was added and added in a functionally practical way, you would see a major increase in my personal vector output. It would also need a hot key for color selection that is outside of the color editor.
I still use Xara for printing quite a bit even though, I end up creating multiple single page files. If the PDF solution enables me to export multi page documents, that would be helpful.
Still having true multiple pages within Xara would be much better than faking it in layers as we currently do now.
In terms of web design, I build my navigation graphics in Xara, but I use Dreamweaver to create the actual code. I don't use the navbar function.
What would be nice would be if we could have a toggle to show us what weblinks are within objects when building an image map. That would be handy.
I don't use Xara for figuring things out like perimeter or area. This would be helpful. Import and export of CAD formats would also be a godsend. Also in the infobar at the top, it would be nice to see a readout of RGB/CMYK values.
The option to link to external files would also be a useful addition. This would minimize bloat of Xara file sizes. Also the user could update the external files without having to reimport it back into Xara. After numerous client permutations, there is a tendency to lose track of versions when you reimport similar files again and again. It would be much easier to link to a single outside file which can be updated by an outside program. Please add this feature. Don't leave it out because some people don't know where to find things on their computers.
I would like an update to the existing filters. The one that is most important to me is the AI filter. I would also like an increase in speed regarding PNG files. I would like Xara not to convert my 32 bit files with alpha into 24 bit because it cannot handle that. This is another reason I would much prefer to deal with bitmaps in Photoshop.
This month I will be building a new machine for myself which will be a dual boot 32/64 machine with dual processors and 8 Gigs of memory. I would like to be able to take advantage of all of that using Xara. I realize that Xara is built to work well for lesser machines, but for those of us who have that much memory and such, give us a method for taking advantage of that. Give us a way of specifying where to put Xara temp files, or how much memory cna be dedicated to Xara, etc.
But from a marketing perspective, give X2 a name that makes sense with what it does. X2 can refer to a movie about mutants or new processors from AMD just to name 2 things. If X2 had a name that said what it does, then you wouldn't have to rely on users so much to explain to people what it does.
Regarding bloat, you might give users an option to turn on/off the individual features they do/don't want to use. This might help development in that as you add new features, they can be added as a patch or a plug-in without having to update the whole program.
Give us a method of having more than 9 default templates. Let us make our own templates that can be used with other Xara apps.
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I feel like a kid in sweetshop who's been asked what he'd like to see on the shelves for his next visit! So this may also be over the top...
I'd LOVE to be able to do 3D CAD work with the kind of intuitive ease that Xara has been spoiling us with. At least some of the programming is there already, in XX1 and X3D.
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I would love to see Xara moving closer to the "Impression Publisher of the old BBC/Archimedes days. I am not an artist, and I know that most will consider Xara as an "artistic" program but I would be delighted to see some more input into the idea of frame based text. In my opinion Impression Publisher was away ahead of its' time, and easily beat anything available on the PC at that period and would just love to see it being "revived" through Xara. With linked frames it would be the perfect production tool for jobs ranging from single sheet flyers to more complex Brochures, booklets and maybe even more.
I would also like to see tighter integretation with Xara 3D.
By the way I still have Impression Publisher on my beloved Archimedes A5000
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I have to agree with some of the other posts here. If what you are after is making XX a more appealing product to the average user on the street, then the 2 main things they would probably use it for are Desktop and Web publishing. This is aside from photo touch up which is in the domain of XPE (which will need allot of work to challenge photo shop)
If you can provide users an easy (read templates) interface for producing fliers, banners, business cards, etc. I think that the users will learn the other functionality in the tool, like how to create shapes and drawings.
Also, if you were to provide better integration to Webstyle (where you already have the templates) and allow the users to create new designs for it. I think that more people would be enticed to use Xara for a one stop shop for their graphics needs (except where noted above).
That's my 2 cents...
Eric
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I think Photoshop Elements should serve as a warning for us; I trialled v3 but it loaded and ran like a dog. Yes, it has got a lot of appealling gizmos which, to an occasional user are clever, but it should run quickly on a 2004 PC with average memory. And PE3 didn't.
I wonder if, for the bitmap side, XPE was shipped with a good set of (paid for) plugins, that would give X2 extra home user appeal.
Plus, as I suggested earlier, a Wizard product which will poke its nose into X2. If this was script driven, then the serious user could also write scripts for these repeated actions that various people need. If the hooks are there in X2, then it would not bloat the basic X2 product.
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Xara X is a fine product with its speed, transparency handling and price being its biggest advantages for me. To think that it will one day rule the graphics world is perhaps a pipedream (what a great little programme that was!) so where does it find its niche in the market?
The ability to talk more effectively to its "industry standard" peers in in the graphics world in terms of import/export has to be a priority. Perhaps most annoying is the fact that it doesn't talk to Webstyle, which is a Xara product. A lot of folks out there would like to see these two combine to enable web templates to be easily produced. However Xara's Webstyle templates provide a constant revenue stream and providing this facility could effectively kill off that income.
Xara Picture Editor is fine for a quick fix, Photoshop its never going to be but used in conjunction with Xeus-like enhancement, it would go a long way towards meeting my needs. Basically I use it to produce website graphics, I'm not a rocket scientist.
An improved tracing capability would be really good.
Multi-page documents. My printers use Corel Draw full stop. They marvel at how quick I can produce some effects in Xara but the printshop doesn't do native xara files and it's too much clatting about to get a .xar file into something they can use. Add to that Xara doesn't do multiple page documents, so they'll never entertain it
I've used to use Impression/Artworks years ago and that was the reason why I bought Xara last year... I'd heard of it. The overwhelming majority of fellow IT teachers look at me gone out when I mention Xara, they've never heard of it. A foothold in education is worth a lot and companies like Serif are constantly offering "free trials" of their products to teachers. I don't recall ever having received any promo material from Xara. Does Xara see the education market as a priority but in the long term to be successful, surely the company must address that area.
Charles is a cool cookie, most of the comments that have been posted on this thread, he will have already has thought about long ago, so the question begs, "When will X2 arrive?". If some of the suggestions put forward are to be implemented, then I'd say not for a while yet which is a pity. Then again, it could be just around the corner and Xara will spring it on us out of the blue, saying there you go... we knew what you wanted!
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This turned into somewhat of a wish list. Some good stuff here. I like the brush & vector painting input. Also quite cleaver the idea of working in cmyk mode on a specific drawing with warnings on RGB mode usage.
Why hasn't Xara Ltd. got this program on the store shelves in the US? Marketing & advertising are still needed in a major way if you want to get Xara to the masses. Whom ever successfully mass markets Xara is sure to be the on a "windfall income surpluss curve" once it starts to catch on. I'm 100% sure that this will happen if done correctly. And catch on like a flood too!
C'mon Xara Ltd, step up! I'd be willing to invest or participate in something like this because I know it's a win win situation for anyone involved. A PROGRAM THIS GREAT shouldn't be struggling for recognition!
The educational priority for schools would be a good start. Nice idea w00dy & seems a like a good logical first step to getting Xara out there. You have to get the name out there somehow other than the web bubble.
The point about the name is a good one. I do like the current name XaraX, but it does get old every time you have to explain to someone what your talking about. The current name doesn't really say anything about what the program is, or does. Xara what? You even have to spell it out for folks so they can search the web for it. X A R A not Zara! If I had a penny for every time I've said that, I'd be a 10 dollaraire! http://www.talkgraphics.com/images/smilies/biggrin.gif
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http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y23...oloreditor.gif
The above screen capture has 3 examples of area's that could use some updating.
1 - While in the color editor, if you select line & edit a color. When you want to go back to fill, you have to click the scroll bar to get back to the fill box. Wouldn't it be just as easy if both options (LINE & FILL) were always available? The extra click is most likely a programing oversight? An Efficency item.
2 - See the blue arrow pointing to the scroll bar? It's a Tapered line. It's square at the top. End Caps or Joint corner types would be helpful with tapered lines. Should be the same as working with regular non-tapered ones. Some options perhaps?
3 - If you are drawing a straight tapered line that is .05 or less. If it's straight it will be invisible. Once you make it into a curve it will become visible again. Line Bug Perhaps.
The two faint black lines across color editor are examples of this. The one on the right is stright, left one is curved. Quite a difference between them as they are both .06 Elipse Tapered Lines. If you select as your line a Blip from the Pressure Proflile toolbar, the difference between the curved & straight line more dramatic. Not a mojor thing but something that could be looked at. Nitpicking perhaps...
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"So a simple question: What are the top four, common, every-day, photo or graphics jobs that you use other tools for?" - Charles
1. Scanning Pictures
2. Adjusting color (xara has to have something better up their sleeve than PS histogram thingy)
3. Output for Print shops
4. Input from other programs
I just couldn't resist another idea that just poped in my head... http://www.talkgraphics.com/images/smilies/wink.gif http://www.talkgraphics.com/images/smilies/biggrin.gif
http://img182.echo.cx/img182/5522/1upload8mo.jpg
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That's a very good question Charles.
Recently I have used CorelDRAW for the following projects ... and why.
1) Greeting Cards/ Invitations - Corel has a template built-in for side fold cards that allows for easy creation of these documents without rotating or worrying what is going to print correctly. The multiple page capability not only lets you design the pages easily ... but allows you to create a fabulous .pdf card or invitation that can be e-mailed to someone. Once again this CAN be done in Xara ... but I do it in Corel because it's easier.
2) Multiple Sized print jobs - For an upcoming golf tournament I am printing several one page projects which require printing in large format (36in X 48in), Medium format (12in x 18in), and Letter siZed. In Corel I can design one graphic in large format and using the "print to fit" function can print on a variety of different sizes without resizing the drawing. Once again ... easier.
3) Multiple paged documents - Line Sheets, Price Catalogs, etc. can easily be designed as one multi-page document and exported to .pdf for publication.
4) Large Format Printing - There are still some quirks in Xara's print engine when it comes to large format. Without a "preview" to ensure you're not wasting pints of ink ... Corel just makes life easier.
5) Text handling - Just created a series of logos tonight for a local company. Did the text mockup in Corel ... the rest in Xara.
6) "P" center to page ... "P" center to page ... "P" center to page.
I am NOT on Corel's payroll ... nor their bandwagon. I am not writing this to begin another discussion on how to accomplish these things in Xara through work-a-rounds. I do a ton of business graphics and use Corel every day of the week ... because it is easier on many tasks. I would rather use Xara, and usually use both.
-Ed.
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Hi Charles,
My main concern with Xara is still and has always been the ability to cooperate with other products...
I use Photoshop, Illustrator and Dreamweaver and Flash and some other tools and always do a lot of mixes in between the products!
Whenever I use Xara I almost always end upp finishing upp in Illustrator or photoshop, therefore a more easygoing interchange would be appriciated.
Regards / Roland
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Here is my thoughts about all this...
Regarding bitmap editing subjet i think that what Xara X offers today is more than enought for what a vector application should do. What*s the point in spending resources/bloat an application with more bitmap functions when we all know that it will never can compete with photoshop or the tones of bitmap editing programs already in the market?
Instead just give Xara X the functions to provide an easy way to export our work to one of those bitmap applications out there. For example PSD export with the ability to pick some layers in our Xara drawing and use them as alpha channels when exporting the PSD. This way we will be able to use our images in photoshop keeping all layers intact AND use Xara tools to create the masks/alpha channels based on existing objects on our drawing.
Please don´t try to convert Xara X in a multi-purpose application. WE will end with an application that do a lot of things but without being brilliant in any of them. There´s already other tools in the market that tried that approach and
the results are far from sucessfull. Instead please keep focus on What XAra X is and do best - VECTOR WORK -.
There´s a lot of things/areas that can be done/improved to Broaden Xara X's appeal without loosing it´s focus/vector strenghts.
- Flash
Would be great to use Xara as a Visual tool to create flash animations, because all the tools needed to draw are already there,
and those that aren´t supported by Flash can appeared grayed out (like the diferent transparencies types Xara X manages)
Just add a timeline, tweens and all other "visual/effects options" that flash manages automatically ( like the ease or rotation function for example ) and add a solid/optimized FLA and SWF export options. That would be enought for creating flash animated movies visually. Those who want more control or action scripting would use the export options provided and will continue the work in Macromedia Flash or in any other flash editor with scripting capabilities.
- Desktop publishing
With an improved text support for managing bigger blocks of text inside a given shape with more advanced kerning options, and capability for managing multiple page documents and work with master pages, Xara X would be able to extend his desktop publishing capabilities allowing a broader range of works without entering in the Pro area where inDesign and Quark "lives".
- webdesign
It´s already possible design web site layouts and all graphic elements needed in Xara but would be great
to be able to devellop VISUALLY CSS based layouts and the underlying XHTML structure based on the design we have created with the drawing tools. Again there´s no need go outside the Xara X focus. Just give the users the tools to export their designs as a CSS positioned layout and the BASIC underlying XHTML structure. The rest of the elements (content) will be added with other applications created for that specific purpose (like the webstyle from Xara or dreamweaver depending on the user preferences).
A better integration with webstyle would help a lot specially if webstyle would be able to manage Xara X Css based layouts/templates.
- brushes/painting
Will allow a lot of diferent types of works to be produced. Something in the same line of expression or the brushes in illustrator. Currently it is a little difficult to create stylistic work because of the limitations of the brushes and how they are created in Xara. Currently Xara X just repeats a pattern of vector elements along a path with some variables that allow for some varation. This works if the user just wants to create some "textured type lines" but it´s not very convincent as a real brush since a real brush FLOW along the path (in other words it isn´t based on a repetitive pattern that changes over the path trought some vartiables). A brush should be only ONE object (based on fractal techinques(?)) that flows/extends trought the entire path
- Vector
Finnaly there´s still a lot that can be done in the vector drawing department where XARA X already shines with more adavnced drawing tools like an interactive gradient mesh tool, more transparency types (not shapes), improved layers management and the tones of other sugestions posted by users in the forums to improve some tools that Xara already has.
Miguel B.
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The members in this forum have turned Charles request on what you don't use Xara for into the usual "Wish List". I think there has been a few people who have really tried to answer the question poperly so instead of making it a "whish List" state what you use other software for.
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I don't use Xara for:
<UL TYPE=SQUARE>
<LI>Bitmap work. XPE just isn't that great, sorry. It hasn't lived up to promises/expectations, and is unlikely to ever compete with PSP/PS/GIMP/etc unless loads of development is poured in. Therefore it would be nice to have roundtripping between Xara and a bitmap editor of the user's choice.
<LI>Desktop publishing. Xara has no multipage support, no automatic text wrapping, and no frame-based text support.
<LI>Complex diagrams. It's be a shame if Xara turned into Visio. But it doesn't have connectors or duplicate symbol support which makes complex diagrams harder.
<LI>Published best practices. No offence to Gary who does great work on this, but it'd be nice to have at least one book with nice pictures and things on how to do stuff in Xara.[/list]
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I am probably more typical of a casual/business user than many if not most on this forum. I am not an artist/designer. I mostly use existing clipart (horrors) and scanned or digital images for web and printed work, but Xara is still my tool of preference. (Also, recently, I used it to create a large 36"x24" road sign for my son's farm business.)
The things I see the greatest bang for the buck w.r.t. mass appeal are:
1. Built-in scan capability. (A must!)
2. Simplified or wizard driven red-eye removal.
3. Enhanced cropping via.
a) A magic lasso type tool that gets you close to where you want to be when doing knockouts.
b) Predefined crop "mask" shapes (e.g. heart shaped).
4. The ability to easily change selected bitmap colors (ala Xeus).
5. The ability to quickly set a bitmap color or selected area to transparency.
6. More intuitive bitmap slicing.
7. The ability to create templates for WebStyle.
8. Better integration with Xara LTD's mass market products (Webstyle & Xara 3d).
9. Yes, updated export options.
10. Perhaps macro or scripting ability, depending on how it were implented.
11. Some kind of a configurable "Favorites" feature that would allow users to add links to tutorials and or movies not included by Xara. This would extend the built-in help sytem considerably.
Most, if not all of these, have already been suggested. Contrary to several posts, however, I see great potential for XPE. Many of the items above could be facilitated through an XPE plug-in engine properly done. XPE doesn't need to become Photoshop to become extremely useful. The ability to launch a 3rd party bitmap editor (Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro, etc) could still be done for those who need it.
As one who has done a fair amount of programming over the years, one of the things that gave Microsoft's much maligned Visual Basic mass appeal, was the ease of extendability through add-on globs of program code (known originally as .vbx files, later .ocx). The third party market flourished, lending to VB's incredible acceptance and use. (Please don't turn this into an anti-Microsoft diatribe. Your opinion about MS is irrelavent to this point.) Giving XaraX the ability to be easily extended by 3rd party talent (like some on this forum) will open up huge possibilities (IMO).
Lastly, and again in contrast to many posts here, I don't think turning Xara into Visio, InDesign, or AutoCadd Lite would be wise. While I agree that some features may be helpful for some users, I don't see them being significantly important for the masses. XaraX is first and foremost a graphics program. The items I've identified above are consistent with that fact and wouldn't detract from its use by the many talented artist/designers on this forum.
Regards,
Steven...
P.S. I forgot: More clipart! :-)
Also, I agree with the items in Risto's original post on this thread and that MS PhotoDraw had some cool features. I was sorry to see its development discontinued.
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I agree with Albacore. This has become another Wish List and not a way to broaden Xara X's appeal.
It looks like a lot of people want Bitmap editing instead of vectors. Just my opinion.
Xara X already does everything I need from a vector application and a lot more. I haven't opened Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro in so long that I have forgotten how to use them.