XDPX18 picture resizing frame invisible, drag and drop no go

I'm now using XDPX 18.5.0.62892 on a new PC and am having little luck resizing pictures. When I can drop, or I import, a picture it has a dashed blue and white frame with various handles. As soon as I click on one of the four resize handles the frame and handles disappear and the picture grows slightly, I assume, by the width of the frame. I can then drag the (invisible) handle to 'resize' (I prefer crop) the picture, but I get no visible line showing me where I am. Same problem dragging a corner dot to stretch it. Is this a bug or have the programmers lost their minds? It is totally unuseable in this state! I've been cropping pics this way for years with great accuracy and ease. Now it's kaput!

I'm fully aware that I can use the Clip function. It has a less gaudy, visible frame with grid, as well as showing the full picture with a translucent mask but I want to use the convenient resize+crop function they've provided. Trouble is it seems to be hit and miss as far as accuracy goes. I've scanned the forum looking for a fix without luck. Does anyone know how to overcome this?

I'm also having issues dragging pictures in from Windows Explorer. Sometimes I just get the very annoying little circle with a slash to tell me I can't do it. Dragging and dropping the exact same pics into Affinity Photo or Paintshop Pro works perfectly as does importing the same pics into XDPX18. Very time-wasting, frustrating and disappointing. I have run XDPX18 as administrator with no change in it's bad behaviour.

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Is this a bug or have the programmers lost their minds?

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xara have completlely redesigned the way boundary handles work

for those who don't like it, such as me, there is a registry key change to revert it back to the old handles see Eva-K's post #10 here:

https://www.talkgraphics.com/showthr...436#post628436

you may also need to make sure the [new] show selection bounds handles button, leftmost on selection tool infobar, is clicked

also you may find right clicking the lock aspect ratio padlock on the info bar and deciding whether you prefer behaviour with smart transform on or off helpful

Things no longer snap to objects when resizing either. I miss that a lot, and whinged about it well over a year ago. Nobody else has ever mentioned it though, so it must be me that's just sulky.

you will still be stuck with the new handles in some tools so it's as well to remember that they are now not all doing the same thing

@chris - it still seems to works ok with the new handles off

jaydear, I think you have not grasped the nuances of the new UI. @handrawn has covered most of it and @Chris M missed the toggle trick.

Drop an image onto the design page.
You should get a top-left Blue rounding control, a top-right Rotate control and a bottom-right Resize control.
In this arrangement, the middle control bars disappear when click-dragged and do not snap to anything.
You are also screwed around with the setting Smart transform is at.

You also have a toggle mode.
If you simply click inside the image, you get eight click-drag controls that do snap.
The controls disappear but so did the old-style ones.

I always have Smart transform off and use the Alt key to toggle my required actions.

Acorn

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Originally Posted by Acorn

You also have a toggle mode.
If you simply click inside the image, you get eight click-drag controls that do snap.
The controls disappear but so did the old-style ones.

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Well, that's unbelievable. After all this time, you'd think I would have done that by accident and gone 'hang on a minute' and worked it out.
These handles have been discussed many times, I'll bet this very thing has been discussed and my brain said 'I'll not absorb that. Nothing to see here'.

The amount of times I've eye-balled it, turned off Aspect Ratio, checked the height/width of the adjacent object, manually typed in the same size, then turned Aspect ratio back on again...and all I had to do was click the stupid thing???? I'm going to be petulant for at least a day or two.

Thanks everyone. I'll try all of these, see what works for me and report back. At this point though I still can't imagine how not being able to see the bounds and results of what you're doing, as the default, was even considered - may as well be working with the monitor turned off ;)). I will work through this though - I have to - but it'll take some time to get re-familiarised.

Chris - if it makes you feel better I once moaned at xara about new layers always being placed at the top of the stack only to be told by Gerry that all I had to do was right click a layer in the gallery and click new layer there... doh

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Originally Posted by jaydear

Thanks everyone. I'll try all of these, see what works for me and report back. At this point though I still can't imagine how not being able to see the bounds and results of what you're doing, as the default, was even considered - may as well be working with the monitor turned off ;)). I will work through this though - I have to - but it'll take some time to get re-familiarised.

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I have checked back to XX5 and the bounding box has always disappeared with click drags on shapes and images.
The difference is old-school only showed the eight black square controls, now you have a dashed (or dash it!) fence as well as a stupid picture hook (rotate0 that all disappear.

The resize on click of a control is random is is probably a Bug.

Your other concern about dragging and dropping images from Windows Explorer happens to me sometimes if I am accessing my phone. I think Xara does not recognise some drives. Does it work if you stage onto the Desktop and then into your XDA?

Acorn

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Originally Posted by handrawn

Chris - if it makes you feel better I once moaned at xara about new layers always being placed at the top of the stack only to be told by Gerry that all I had to do was right click a layer in the gallery and click new layer there... doh

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I'm still sulking, so no, no it doesn't make me feel better. Might do in a day or two though. I'll pop back and let you know.

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Originally Posted by Acorn

Your other concern about dragging and dropping images from Windows Explorer happens to me sometimes if I am accessing my phone. I think Xara does not recognise some drives.

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I noticed that too but other apps (such as Affinity Photo) show the same behavior. I suspect it's a Windows issue.

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Originally Posted by jaydear

Thanks everyone. I'll try all of these, see what works for me and report back. At this point though I still can't imagine how not being able to see the bounds and results of what you're doing, as the default, was even considered - may as well be working with the monitor turned off ;)). I will work through this though - I have to - but it'll take some time to get re-familiarised.

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since the blue/white dashes deliniate an object's actual boundary they could be useful if the object is transparent at the edges; other than that they just get in the way

these important changes should be toggled in the UI...

I have the same version and have no problem dragging, dropping, and resizing an image I wonder what the difference is, everything seems normal to me.

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Originally Posted by wizard509

I have the same version and have no problem dragging, dropping, and resizing an image I wonder what the difference is, everything seems normal to me.

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It revolves around dragging to a Snap (Object, Grid, Ruler, Guide (shape)).

Acorn

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Originally Posted by Acorn

Does it work if you stage onto the Desktop and then into your XDA? Acorn

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Yes it does. The drive I was dragging from is a QNAP NAS. Looks like XDPX18 has more bugs than a picnic :D

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Originally Posted by handrawn

since the blue/white dashes deliniate an object's actual boundary they could be useful if the object is transparent at the edges; other than that they just get in the way... these important changes should be toggled in the UI...

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I definitely agree.

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Originally Posted by Acorn

jaydear, I think you have not grasped the nuances of the new UI... I always have Smart transform off and use the Alt key to toggle my required actions. Acorn

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I wouldn't call them nuances, more like nuisances ;))
I have unticked Smart Transform - thanks for that tip. I'll have to wait and see what the effect/s of the Alt key are as I soldier on :rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by Acorn

It revolves around dragging to a Snap (Object, Grid, Ruler, Guide (shape)).

Acorn

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You guys are correct it does not snap, what a dumerasil I is.:)