Timings

Dear Xara...

I occasionally use my XWD11P application.
All I can say is it is a joy to use.

Startup - 5.4 seconds; c.f., XDPXv16.3 - 13.8 seconds!
File > Page Options - Instant; c.f., XDPXv16.3 - 5.8 seconds!
Line gallery > Document brushes - 1 second; c.f., XDPXv16.3 - 7.2 seconds.
Utilities > Options - Instant; c.f., XDPXv16.3 - 6.1 seconds.
Online Content Catalogue (OCC) - 1.7 seconds; c.f., XDPXv16.3 - 1 second.
OCC > Delivery van 1 - 1.7 seconds; c.f., XDPXv16.3 - 5.1 seconds.

Test	XWD11P	XDPXv16.3	Disappointment Factor
Startup	5.4	13.8	250%
File > Page Options	<<1	5.8	>>580%
Line gallery > Document brushes	1	7.2	720%
Utilities > Options	<<1	6.1	>>610%
Online Content Catalogue (OCC)	1.7	1	59%
OCC > Delivery van 1	1.7	5.1	300%

Overall, I ought to be disappointed with XDPX's cumulative performance by 112,383% over that of XWDP.
What I ought to be saying is I can be more productive in 95% of my work using a product that is reaching its fourth Birthday in five days.
I could simply port back into XDPX and finish off the last 5% there.

Pundits out there might say the impact is merely additive, so 39 seconds vs. 8.8 seconds, a mere 443% worse.

I say either statistic is damning.

Can we please get back to plaudits similar to "With its amazing speed, small size, reasonable system requirements, moderate price and powerful feature set, it's hard to go wrong with Xara Xtreme"?

Acorn

If you pop across to https://discordapp.com/channels/6419...38234808729613 Scroll back to my post 15/11. Rob has logged an issue which is causing (me at least) a significant startup delay on both desktops running v16.3. Using Dbgview.exe and Fiddler you can see (at least one of the problems) which is now logged. Beyond me how those responsible for startup processes do not check these things.

My DPX 16.3 takes 30 seconds to load a blank page because of the Adding Colors to Document delay. Rob thinks it is because of the Magix updater. So if this is indeed the case then look for load times to significantly increase the next time WD is updated.

heck, my xdpx15.1 is instant... mind you it is blocked in firewall I don't do web stuff....

I'm going to wear my Xara cheer leading skirt for this one. Using XWDP 16.3 and I only agree with the startup and content catalogue. The others are as close to instant as doesn't matter.

I don't understand the delivery van, but if you mean searching for one, then, again, I receive results in a timely manner. Also, the catalogue opens quickly after the initial start; which I presume is the check for license and subscription.

I am trying to point out that a "flagship" product that underperforms against XWDPv16.3 (I am using XDPXv16.3) or XDPXv15.1 or my XWD111P (as tested as yardstick) is showing that there are some issues that are not at all helpful and are being allowed to fester.

The "Deliver van 1" was it being Imported (sorry): basically, the time for an import to just go through the hoops, within the program, has also been extended markedly.

A case in point is the Brushes. Xara could argue that there are heaps more in the later version(s).
Yes, the Art Brushes introduce 5.5MB of files; previously, there was a lofty 25.5kB. Any normal person might assume there might be a transformational impact.
Instead, Xara lefts us wait and we see a lot of flashing churn on the screen.

Xara abandoned local Searches for material as it was too slow and problematic for it to sort out through the addition of 5.5GB of template and other content. There are web solutions in use but no effort to bridge or integrate the loss.
This cannot be timed as it is non-existent now.

Xara seems incapable of scaling.

Acorn

FWIW

my xdpx15.1 start is 3secs, page options takes 1 sec, brushes 2.5 secs, can't test OCC of course... none of this is excessive, but the firewall blocking does help the starup time

To be honest, I am more concerned about how fast the program is in use, a few seconds here and there when loading things is quite normal for the programs I use - Harmony takes 8 secs to the project screen and another 9 secs to load the UI [new blank project]

I take the point about the OCC local search

Quote:

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Originally Posted by handrawn

FWIW
my xdpx15.1 start is 3secs, page options takes 1 sec, brushes 2.5 secs, can't test OCC of course... none of this is excessive, but the firewall blocking does help the starup time
To be honest, I am more concerned about how fast the program is in use, a few seconds here and there when loading things is quite normal for the programs I use - Harmony takes 8 secs to the project screen and another 9 secs to load the UI [new blank project]
I take the point about the OCC local search

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Some of the timings can be taken as one-offs; some non-modal screens can be kept open if you have the real estate;others fragment creative flow.
Overall, timings and workflows are being degraded; every pop-up configuration / affirmation dialog impair the original fluidity.

Acorn

sure... but this is because the program resembles a small house built with lego that has just been added to, and patched into, in an ad hoc manner... until it has become a sprawl

it needs rewriting from the ground up - a year ago almost to the day I got into trouble here for implying that xara did not really care about the desktop any more otherwise they would do something about this; they do care, but it seems they lack the resources, and to me that is more worrying in itself that a few seconds here and there

when I was looking at video editors, one of the things that impressed me about Pinnacle was the integrated and easy to use UI laid out in a logical fashion everything there to hand, as well as the speed of operation [given a video-editing spec computer]

I looked at [Magix] Vegas [originally sony] and compared to Pinnacle it was the proverbial sow's pinna.... just like xara has become.... :(

There have been unsolved issues with many of the loading times over the years. I've had no issue with the adding colours for a few years now but after a disaster with my PC I've had to buy another until I get the main one fixed. With the new one I have the same adding colours delay as I had way back when.

However the worst problem that I had was with the Utilities Options. For over two years it took upto 16secs to open this window and low & behold if I accidentally hit the Internet tab. LINK

Then suddenly on one reinstal it went away and loaded in under a second (on my old now in intensive care PC)

humm.. readings will vary depending on hardware and on background software/settings, such as av

i have at least three programs monitoring proccesses all the time in the background - eset/acronis/defender(win10)

does it happen when computer in flight mode - connectivity issues also podsible

no current issues for me, but i could see it happening

Quote:

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Originally Posted by handrawn

humm.. readings will vary depending on hardware and on background software/settings, such as av
i have at least three programs monitoring proccesses all the time in the background - eset/acronis/defender(win10)
does it happen when computer in flight mode - connectivity issues also podsible
no current issues for me, but i could see it happening

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Again, it is less the absolute timings, which can vary, but the relative reductions I have recorded. These being on the one machine, running concurrently.

Acorn

I was really thinking about what Egg said in that post

Also there is the possibility that the later Xara program[s] interface with the current iteration of windows 10 [which i assume you have] in a different way to the earlier ones

FWIW the attached log shows the delay that occurs in v16.3 which freezes with the message line "97% Adding colours to document" even when the document is blank. The initialisation process was I understand from Rob rewritten between 16.2 and 16.3 and now takes some convoluted path to become "active". In my case around 21 secs.

00000237 5.21115637 [12548] -- OpUpdate called: 0, 0
00000238 26.42596054 [12548] active

It is I understand logged as a bug.

Hi Guys,

I also have the problem with adding colors. Slows terrebly down.

Regards,
Frits

@Xara...

Might be the problem that if there are lots of Colour Palletes in the colour Gallery, start-up is loading all of them into memory?
I have the standard Palette and all the PANTONE ones and a series of others that have hundreds of colours.

It really would be nice to have an update and if a solution is known when that will be deployed.

Acorn