Xara modules

Not sure if anyone has raised this as a possibility -- "search" showed lots of threads containing the word "module" and I confess I didn't look through all of them, but those I did, did not seem to suggest this.

There have been loads of requests for this or that capability, and a tongue-in-cheek thread poking a bit of fun at people who absolutely cannot do without a weather forecast built in to Xara, etc., etc. :)

Well, since Xara has such a fabulous drawing engine, what about making an API or something available so that the really clever people out there could write modules (add-ins?) to do various other drawing tasks, using Xara's functionality and wonderful user interface to make the job a pleasure.

For example, a street map drawing module, which can do roads of different widths, with or without road markings, caters for "overs" and "unders", and so on -- all stuff you can do very nicely with Xara, but rather laboriously, and not everyone wants to draw maps -- but for those who do, it would be nice to have some programmatical help with the humdrum bits. Such a module may also be able to read map files, such as those used by TomTom, and let you edit them and resave them.

There must be quite a few other things that some people would like to use Xara to do, and I would imagine that there might be quite a growth of such add-ins, or modules, or extensions -- look at Firefox, and Google. <tongue-in-cheek>And those who simply have to have a weather forecaster built in, can have it!</tongue-in-cheek>

Or is this a totally off the wall suggestion?

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Originally Posted by AntonM

Or is this a totally off the wall suggestion?

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No, it's often discussed here under the subject of a "scripting engine" within Xara Xtreme (the Xara people need to design a API, include a Scripting language and the possibilty to load/play/record/save script actions). But there is no progress with this task (since years). So, don't be too hopeful...

Remi

The problem is, there are very few Xara users who do programming.
Drawing art and programming art are very different, that's why you'll find few people who do both ;)

If there were a scripting engine, users could create (or use) functions to draw a bar graph or a pie chart (with or without 3D optic). Another idea could be to enhance Xara Xtreme with new functions, like including the OpenSource Vectorizer Potrace, which is also included in Inkscape. Or a macro could build a webpage/webform after going through some short questions/answers (together with a new export filter which is able to export the drawing with modern HTML/CSS code instead of the "old" table code). Or a simple macro could create a glass button or some circular patterns or simulate the functions in Dmitry's Spray Tool or could insert a table with columns and rows in different layouts or ...

A scripting engine allows users to enhance a graphics editor with new functions. I'm sure, that a lot of macros would be available here at talkgraphics.com for download and free use.

But as I mentioned before, unfortunately I have no further realistic hope in seeing this within Xara Xtreme.

Remi

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Originally Posted by The Alien

Drawing art and programming art are very different, that's why you'll find few people who do both ;)

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Agreed. Adobe had a script module for Pagemaker which found little use. Corel had (maybe still has) scripting for Photopaint, which despite a smattering of free scripts went nowhere.

There is a ton of macro capability built into Macro Express. But before long, when you move past recording via wizards, it gets just about as complex as real programming...http://www.macros.com/

Actually there are tons of free scripts on the internet:D
Here is just one sample:
http://www.cedesign.com/cefx/paintscripts.html

Oops, aridzone, my bad. I dropped out of the Corel world when I "up"graded to 10 from 8, forgetting the Even Numbered Release Curse*... 2 times in a row... I bought 9 on ebay and use it, but only very infrequently.

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* for those who never sent their ships into the Corel Draw black hole, almost every Corel Draw release with an even number (4, 6, 8, 10...) contained some sort of gotcha. Can't remember the one(s) in 10 -- think it was a crash a day.

Adobe Illustrator owns a scripting engine since version 10.

• Scripts for Adobe Illustrator CS
  
  • for example a script which creates metaball drawings
  • round any corner - for each shape, not only rectangles
  • a script to draw trees
  • ...
• JavaScript Macros for Adobe Illustrator
• Another page with JavaScript Macros for Adobe Illustrator

Remi

Inkscape owns a scripting engine:

• Inkscape Calendar Generator
• Macro to draw a bar code
• Convert an mathematical formula from LaTeX format to SVG format
• Sudoko Generator
• Inkscape Extension Repository

Remi

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Originally Posted by The Alien

The problem is, there are very few Xara users who do programming.
Drawing art and programming art are very different, that's why you'll find few people who do both ;)

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Regrettably true -- but I'm thinking about the likes of Dmitry (AccessD), and there must be others. If Xara made a really easy to use system (and Xara has a history of using RISC OS and its modules and SWI calls), there would be more. I live in hope! :)

Doh!

I've banged on about this a lot, so I'll try and be brief here.

I was told, by one of the team that a script or action/macro function would be a big job to put into place and should not expect one soon, but it occurs to me that if the hot-key functionality could be extended to ALL Xtremes tools, menu items, options and functions (including gallery buttons and numeric input to various fields - sizes etc.), this would go a long way towards making third party scripting software easier to use with Xtreme.

I've tried several macro recorders, but they run into trouble when they cannot access a function with keyboard short-cuts and have to rely on mouse recording. When a mouse recording macro goes wrong (say you move a tool panel or change the interface in anyway) it can be a real pain, so is not worth using in my opinion.

Would it be possible to extend the hot-key commands to all functions and options or is that another pipe-dream?

I may be all wrong as I have not kept up with programming over the years.

For a scripting functionality to be included into a program the underlying code must be written to expose the 'objects' in a specific manner.

This is most easily done by using a high level Object Oriented language. High Level means further away from the processor's native language.

Xara Xtreme achieves it's amazing speed by being written in a very low level language that does not easily lend itself to exposing 'objects'.

Scripting support adds additional code to the program and additional work for the processor.

If I am totally incorrect, I'm sure one of the programmers can provide more accurate information.

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Originally Posted by AntonM

Regrettably true -- but I'm thinking about the likes of Dmitry (AccessD), and there must be others. If Xara made a really easy to use system (and Xara has a history of using RISC OS and its modules and SWI calls), there would be more. I live in hope! :)

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Dunno, drawing and programming are really worlds apart :\ I have nothing against such a scripting engine, but it simply doesn't seem doable. Look at how XaraLX is progressing...:(
Don't expect though that programmers like Dmitry are waiting for all the requests from other users who say Gee, it would be cool if we had this or that effect :)
Programming takes time. If people started requesting these things all the time, those programmers might go away from TG in order to avoid mass requests :D

Just wondering, are many, here, using Macro Express? Thanks

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Originally Posted by Hwy101

Just wondering, are many, here, using Macro Express? Thanks

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I use it for extremely specific needs, and not all the time.

For example, I once had to vette a 1,200 item product catalog to ensure that a new product numbering system had been implemented correctly. Excel macros wouldn't handle the complexity, but Macro Express did, though it took me several iterations of tweaking (not Macro Express's fault -- my macro writing skills were put to the test and found somewhat lacking).

When my RSI flares up, I use it for some voice recognition needs with Dragon Naturallyspeaking. The $40 investment for Macro Express saved me from ponying up $400 for Naturallyspeaking Professional with a less-capable macro utility.

There are ways to reach into (some) window controls that can handle the problem of dynamic windows or toolbars mentioned in MarkMyWords' posting (#12), but I haven't tried them on Xara. Xara's windows may well be non-standard. I generally use macros that depend on keyboard shortcuts, as MMW suggested.

Dave