Frustrating Product Limitatations? Backgropund Image and Frame Sizing

As with all great products, especially those that are easy to use and generally inexpensive, I seem to have hit the wall on functionality. I need to size the background image, as it is too tall to fit in the design window (even with Display Frame turned off). I have a multi-monitor with monitors of different size (my main monitor is a 32" TV (niiiiiice). Unfortunately it is not 1080p (1360x768 - saaaaad), so the aspect ratio is wider than tall. My side monitors are regular 17" VGAs with 1280X1024 resolution. I really need to be able to develop graphics on the big monitor due to eyesight limitations.

I notice that when I drag the main product window from my big monitor to any of the smaller ones, all the object size settings in my Xara session go haywire (not nice at all - bad product design).

That being said, I need to know if there is any way I can resize the background image to fit the Xara main window inside the Xara product.

The other real pain, is that I added a border to the design, and I want to use it to border the background image, not the text. Stretching the border works - sort of - When I initially added the border, it automatically sized to border the text, and whereas I can make the text larger and smaller inside the frame, I can't seem to grow the border to fit the background image

How can I easily size the BORDER in both the horizontal and vertical axis?


Just for grins, I will add that since I have a four monitor setup, and one of the monitors is configured to be "above" my main monitor, I can size the Xara main window beyond the top of my main monitor and get the image to fit in the window that way. That is both cheezy, and would not be available to most users, as few have four monitor setups like mine.

Thanks for any help

You can resize the application by dragging on the sides to make the window wider, or longer, or narrower, etc.

Also you can save your image to a specific size and resolution.

Hi

so you got four monitors - I got nine [course they're not all on the same computer like...:D]

anyways...

I only have the previous version but I don't think the fundamentals have changed [could be wrong...].. so

the background image is just that a background image - the border is a border for the text which is why it defaulted to the text, and why you can't get it to apply to the background since its part of the foreground... simple eh?

Quote:

---

all the object size settings in my Xara session go haywire

---

in what way do they do this? 'haywire' is not a very helpful terminology...

"the background image is just that a background image - the border is a border for the text which is why it defaulted to the text, and why you can't get it to apply to the background since its part of the foreground... simple eh?"

No. It can act independently of the text. Just not independently enough, and in a non-intuitive way

"in what way do they do this? 'haywire' is not a very helpful terminology... "

Try it on two of your nine monitors, with one of them set at a different resolution. Perfectly aligned text, background and borders are completely misaligned when dragging the product's main window from one monitor to another.

Better yet, don't bother answering if you don't have as much experience with the product as I do. I have been using it for two days.

Hi,
Well I only have a 24" monitor and only one hooked up to my computer, but I can tell you this if you enlarge Xara 3D seven to maximum, and add background by selecting color properties then scroll to background color you get option of using a background image but when exported the background image is the sames size as the animation size.
Hope that helps.
What I do for my animations is created a solid colored background, export my animation as a avi file then use a video editor to mask out the background.
Jim

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by dxthomas

...when I drag the main product window from my big monitor to any of the smaller ones, all the object size settings in my Xara session go haywire (not nice at all - bad product design).

---

I see, so you're saying Xara ought to have considered that their application UI may be dragged from monitor to monitor in a multi-monitor setup with various resolutions and probably windows scaling changes? Yes, that was bad planning indeed.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by dxthomas

...I will add that since I have a four monitor setup, and one of the monitors is configured to be "above" my main monitor, I can size the Xara main window beyond the top of my main monitor and get the image to fit in the window that way. That is both cheezy, and would not be available to most users, as few have four monitor setups like mine.

---

You are correct, this is indeed unusual and quite a unique setup therefore no-one here will be able to repeat the problem you're encountering or offer you a guaranteed resolution [pun intended].
Have you thought to contact xara support and run it past them for comment? http://support.xara.com

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by dxthomas

"the background image is just that a background image - the border is a border for the text which is why it defaulted to the text, and why you can't get it to apply to the background since its part of the foreground... simple eh?"

No. It can act independently of the text. Just not independently enough, and in a non-intuitive way

---

read again what I said :D... of course the background texture and foreground elements can act independently - but as they are indeed totally independent, you cannot constrain the background within a foreground element - this is not 'non-intuitive' it just isn't what you seem to want/expect ..

Quote:

---

"in what way do they do this? 'haywire' is not a very helpful terminology... "

Try it on two of your nine monitors, with one of them set at a different resolution. Perfectly aligned text, background and borders are completely misaligned when dragging the product's main window from one monitor to another.

---

to be honest, I don't see a problem here, unless as steve [sledger] mentioned you have windows scaling differences.. and that's outside of xara's control...

Quote:

---

I have been using it for two days.

---

that's probably long enough to start to see where the program meets your requirements and where it doesn't...

....

but you can make the border solid and apply a ['board'] texture to it - perhaps that it what you would like?

[edit: - see I downloaded a trial of the latest version just for you -- not much real difference as far as I can see to the core functionality...]

"I see, so you're saying Xara ought to have considered that their application UI may be dragged from monitor to monitor in a multi-monitor setup with various resolutions and probably windows scaling changes? Yes, that was bad planning indeed."

I work in a company with over 900 IT staff. In the sub group I work in for intranet and Business Intelligence design, there are about 20 people all of whom have multiple monitor setups. I find it unusual for people, especially in graphic arts, to not have multiple monitors. Sorry if you don't. You should try it.

Yes, it is poor prioduct design. Does Photoshop react this way? Does Corel, MS Word, or any of the video or audio tools I work with? No. I find this pretty much unique to Xara. To have a graphics program that is dependent on screen resolution for consistent content positioning, is unusual to say the least.

I want this border to extend completely to both sides.

Attachment 95112

oh steve has multiple monitors alright :)

I still do not really understand what the problem actually is regarding the multi-monitor issue , because so far I haven't been able to see one

well you do have the option of importing your own custom made rectangle vector shape [if you have access to a compatible vector editor]

Handrawn,

Let me demonstrate:
Attachment 95119Attachment 95120

The image on the left is Xara on my 32" monitor, the one on the right is what the project looks like when I drag the application to a 17" monitor. No other graphic product I use does this.

Quote:

---

No other graphic product I use does this.

---

Xara 3D is not a raster editor like any other graphic application. It's a fairly specific 3D text and animation app.
Xara 3D Maker is solely designed to create the highest quality 3D text and graphics, such as headings, logos, titles and buttons.

I see nothing wrong with your examples. The canvas size is determined by the window size rather than a fixed 'page size' (in a similar way as tiled webpage background would be) and the frame + text graphic is centred relative the background size. So to export a static graphic with the background at the size you need (such as the screenshot on the left) you need to reduce down the X3D7 window to that size before you export. The export options also allows you to set a specific size.
It is not really intented to be a full screen application unless you are aware of the effect it will have on your background texture tiling and the poisition of your 3D text etc..
Perhaps you'd be better off with Xara Photo & Graphic Designer because what you seem to be doing would be better suited. Grab the trial version and have a play.

following on from what steve has just said:

xara 3D is an extruded text editor, everything else is just 'trimmings' - in your examples the text remains the same, [as does its border], which is what you are actually 'editing' - the background is provided for you as a handy way of designing the text over the same background it will have on the website it is not part of the 'drawing' as such - ok you can incorporate it into the animation, but you need to be aware that it will tile [because it is really intended for seamless textures and not pictures] - and under these circumstances what you show is not a problem - its not what you get in PS, but it's not PS, as steve pointed out in so many words....

this is touched on in the help file

so you need to either look at it the other way round and resize your background image so that it is the same size as the border you want, and then position it so it tiles accordingly.... or indeed, use another app

go to design option and hover the cursor over "stretch"
you can change the percentage . Put the cursor to the left of the last 0 in 100% and backspace the 10. enter 9 and look at the difference. etc