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Hi, I did an advanced search using 'private messages' and got 3,000 ++ dating back to the stone age (lol) of which 99.9% in the first few pages had nothing to do with pm's.
Tried refining the search and organising the results, no real value.
So, please can you help tell me when I will be allowed to pm other members. Thank you :)
The purpose of such pm's is discussion of a topic, specific info that may help them or asking for advice in an area they know about that is not Xara specific.
Or more to the point, when your messages won't be sent to moderation. :rolleyes: This forum does not have a moderator so new messages are automatically moderated until someone stumbles along and approves them.
I'm not sure what the magic number is before you get PM permission. I'm going to guess and say somewhere around 25.
There are non-Xara forums here. It's a bit of a waste to ask people non-Xara questions about other software via PM's when others might benefit on the forum.
It's not what PMs is intended for, is it?
You misinterpreted my intention for non-xara. I'm talking about buying, using, shortfalls with certain types/models, workarounds etc - graphics tablets using Xara. Hope that eases your conscience 'pauland' :) Ref the purpose of pm's, that's too much of a personal question ;)) I have no problem asking what others may think is a stupid question, that some may think "Go and google it" etc. So sometimes to save such members the angst, a pm comes in handy. PM's could be asking "Did you see that program on xyz last night?" PM's take on all manner of forms. But, when it comes to something useful/helpful, that may even arise via a PM, then I 110% agree, get it in a new post!
A typical stupid question about the tablets would be, why do people sketch out on paper, scan it, then sketch over it on a tablet? The initial sketches I see are always very rough and then the tablet sketches are always better. Why not do a rough on the tablet and then make a new layer?
You see pauland, I'm seriously looking at getting a tablet, but all online reference to which one works, all references relate to say PS or CD. Very little, very, very little from Xara users. I would be an unhappy chappie if I got one, only to find I can't use Xara with it and have to go back to the 'drawing board' (like the pun?) and learn an app that I thankfully dropped years back for Xara. Even if I found a post on here with some details about Xara & tabs, it's going to be perhaps too old with the current tablets available.
I would seriously love to make a post asking 'experienced' members for help, advice, recommendations, pitfalls etc - but I came across a post by a member apologising for bringing up the dreaded subject yet again (that apparently "had" been done to death). Back to ANGST and hence PM's of a non-Xara kind of related PM :)
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Thanks Gary :-bd , that was exactly what I was looking for, a rough number idea. I'm sure when signing up I saw a number but can't recall it, but within the FAQ there's no mention of such a number, only 'how to PM'. And there's no "Rule's" sticky that might have this info in it.
:thanks
Paul gets a bit grumpy sometimes. But underneath all that grumpiness, he's really an OK person.
I don't know why you think my conscience is bothered.Quote:
Originally Posted by puw
if you want to talk about using tablets with Xara, do it on the forum publicly. Plenty of people are interested and those that aren't can just ignore it.
people like sketching because the feel comfortable with pencil and paper. It's not the same on a tablet. It's a matter of individual choice.
Commonly sketching on paper is more expressive and throwaway, then people take those rough sketches, scan and refine them on the computer.
Some people like to start digitally.
It's whatever works for you. It's not a question of which is best.
Have your discussions publicly. It's what forums are for.
It's true, but I wasn't grumpy here. It's such a waste to be having a discussion behind closed doors when others would be interested in the subject and gain from it.Quote:
Originally Posted by gwpriester
Paul - when I see a post title that reflects "I came across a post by a member apologising for bringing up the dreaded subject yet again (that apparently "had" been done to death)", that's a big warning sign to me NOT to do THIS subject publicly.
Regardless, if I want to PM someone and I have the access to, I will!!! So please don't lay down a law that you think must be obeyed - and yes, you are coming across as grumpy right now even if you don't think you are :)
Since I came across an amazing post by a member stating he's just got a tablet, unable to pm him, I asked in his post if he could advise me, of which numerous experienced members responded to his post after me but did not in any way give any advice my way. Now in your rule book, you might think that is correct, not to hijack a post and lead it into another discussion - but I've read plenty of posts that go all round the houses, way off the initial topic, and no one breathed down their necks saying you can't do that.
So can Mr Grumpy & Mr Rule Book take a breather for 5 please :)
I was asking a simple question. One Gary kindly gave me the answer to.
I did not ask for a lecture, nor wanted one. I will in the future be happy not to ask you anything if you so like :) I will also reduce any questions I have by 98% for the forum, since I don't particularly want jumping on because you think the question is a bad one :)
Please do note all the smiling faces above, and that they translate into a nice, calm, happy person LOL
There's no rule book and I thought everyone might benefit from the discussion as simple as that. From what you've posted so far, it will do us all a favour if they are PMs.
You'll have to wait a bit longer.
No more pompous, patronising advice is required, even with a smiley face.
When starting to be a member on a forum you should have read the rules.
That way you would have known that pm's are only possible after a fair amount of engaging in the forum itself.
This makes sense,because you need to know the persons on the forum first before addressing them on a personal level.
At least I would.
Hans
On the subject of tablets & Xara, there is a solution called Inkling, by Wacom.
Basically it allows one to draw on paper and import the result into a graphics program as a .jpg, .png, .svg or .pdf file. So, it does both raster and vector and also supports layers.
I'm hoping Santa will bring me one in a couple of weeks, so I'll report back again then.
Bob.
I did know that thanks Hans, because I did see the rules, I just couldn't recall how many posts were required, and whether something was broken perhaps. I'm so sorry I even asked now. It's not the big thing that this seems to have become. It was just a simple question, Gary answered, done deal - I'm happy :)Quote:
Originally Posted by haakoo
We'll see how you get on Bob!
With a pencil you can sketch and rub-out, so it will be interesting to see how that compares with the device.
Of course, if you don't behave Santa might not come at all!
Santa *should* be delivering a Pencil from FiftyThree for use with my iPad. Pity I can't draw. :-(
Quote:
Originally Posted by pauland
Thanks Paul, I do actually appreciate the time you have taken in this topic. Thank you :)
Bob's letter to Santa has I think resulted in a little gem - a link to Wacoms explainer for the product.
Far too often on TG we see the same old websites - they follow the same formula (sure, it works), the wacom shows you can communicate and be different.
Good job Wacom.Attachment 105064
Thank you.Quote:
Originally Posted by puw
Already an interesting conversation has started.
Thanks for the info Bob.Quote:
Originally Posted by iamtheblues
I'm going to open a new topic post, about Gaphics/Pen Tablets, then the info can be focused in one place :)
The mention of it above was purely as an example of what I might quickly ask in a PM of a member, so as not to hijack 'their' topic because I can't PM that member lol.
Quote:
Originally Posted by puw
freehand drawing is usually done by starting out rough and then refining the drawing in stages getting the work tighter as you progress; drawing on a tablet as opposed to drawing on paper is rather like fretting on an electric rather than an acoustic guitar, no matter how sophisticated the tablet, it does not feel like paper nor are the results exactly the same; each artist decides for their self which medium they prefer for which stage: I know artists that rough on computer, print out, and ink by hand using a light box
xara does not support the tilt and pitch features of the upper end wacoms, it just supports basic pressure sensitivity; I do not currently sketch in xara because I think there are far better programs for this - but I do colour work and for this I find xara's 'soft group' feature invaluable as it enables me to link objects together preserving their layer structure and still move them around independently of everything else
Thank you handrawn. This info is invaluable to me in helping me go forward in making a decision.Quote:
xara does not support the tilt and pitch features of the upper end wacoms, it just supports basic pressure sensitivity; I do not currently sketch in xara because I think there are far better programs for this - but I do colour work and for this I find xara's 'soft group' feature invaluable as it enables me to link objects together preserving their layer structure and still move them around independently of everything else
If it is ok with you and iamtheblues, I will include both of your snippets in my new post.
Just to keep you up to date with the delivery of the Inkling, Santa has been having trouble getting Amazon to deliver it to Spain. Attempts have been made at amazon.com, amazon.co.uk and amazon.fr. I have known of other undeliverable items before and have got round the problem by ordering from amazon.co.uk to my in-law's address in the UK,
and then my wife collecting it on her next visit to see her parents. But as it was so close to Christmas I didn't want to risk non-delivery during the period of the Christmas postal panic.
Yesterday I received an email from amazon.com informing me that they can now deliver to Spain, and so I ordered one. Delivery is expected around the 12th. January '15.
I'm a bit puzzled by the non-deliverable aspect of some items, but I assume it must be related to which supplier Amazon uses for postage.
I'll keep you posted. :)...
Bob.
Yes please, looking forward to your review of it Bob :)
Sorry it's been so long. The Inkling arrived as promised on the 12th. and I spent a day setting it up and trying to get it to work. The problem was that the Inkling's software, a Sketch Manager wasn't recognizing the sketches I was drawing. I spent another day ploughing through the troubleshooting section of the user manual and adjusting the pen settings, but to no avail. Then I contacted wacom.eu and left a message on their site. I gave it a week, but answer came there none. Very disappointed at the total lack of customer service, so I've boxed it all up again and returned it to Amazon.
I wasn't impressed with the Sketch Manager either, as it was clunky to use. Looking around at reviews of the Inkling, a common complaint was that rather than the results being curves, they tended to be very short lines with far too many nodes, making the results look like they were produced by a bitmap tracer.
So, in the end I was happy to part with the Inkling and will now look around for an alternative.
Bob.
Thanks for the feedback, sorry it didn't turn out quite so positive including no response from Wacom after a week. That's not good! Good thing you bought through Amazon so you can return.
I managed to locate a basically unused Intuos Pro Large at a 'too good not pass up' price. I would have preferred the medium but beggars can't be choosers as they say lol. I've begun a large project to do with sublimation & textiles/fabrics that requires a lot of detailed work going over non-vectored stuff, so the large size creates a lot of to'ing and fro'ing, but I'm in the learning curve still big time. Getting used to it though - they're a great tool.
For the project I need various other tools like a Pantone colour reference, one of those card packs that fans out. Got in touch with Pantone to ask for the correct one for my purpose as their site doesn't make it easy to decide, and they recommended I choose the Fashion/Home & Interiors which the site states "is NOT ideal for fabrics" (it's for wallpaper, paint for walls, accessories, plastics etc). So another TOP world leader in their field company that doesn't quite marry up to its status. Just a small tale to hopefully make you feel better Bob, as you are not on your own with such fun & games LOL.