Interesting comments from an ex Xara employee.

**Cappbill** · 13 March 2006, 10:30 AM

Interesting comments from an ex Xara employee, dated 13 March - Matt Priestley on this link:-

http://www.serif.com/forum/ViewThrea...=20516&Numb=21

Bill Capp

**eobet** · 13 March 2006, 11:47 AM

Very interesting, indeed.

Is there a demo of this DrawPlus app?

EDIT: Wait, this is some kind of photoshop + illustrator combo app? Ie. it does pixel work and vector work in the same application? No thanks, in that case. You don't try to beat Photoshop. Not today.

EDIT 2: I guess Xara Xtreme also does some pixel work, btw? I've never found reason to upgrade beyond the original Xara X (though Corel Draw is looking mighty good these days).

**Cappbill** · 13 March 2006, 11:54 AM

Originally Posted by eobet

Very interesting, indeed.

Is there a demo of this DrawPlus app?

Only (apparently)
http://www.serif.com/DrawPlus/DrawPlus8/index.asp

Bill Capp

**RickX** · 13 March 2006, 12:03 PM

Shame there is no download version.. without able to try it, there is no buy.
Anybody got experience with drawplus 8? does it look (and feel) like XaraX/Xtreme?

**toffeeman** · 13 March 2006, 03:20 PM

Here's a few low res examples of images from DP8.

Dave

**masque** · 13 March 2006, 03:32 PM

I use DP8 and its very good. If you are as used to Xara as I am then the UI seems a little clunky, but that goes for every application that isn't Xara.
If you draw in Xara you could for instance output as PDF, open the PDF in DrawPlus and carry on with it making use of the wide range of vector paint brushes and produce something far more painterly (if you like painterly things).
I output a section of the old xara drawing attached and made a fairly inept painting from the little aeroplane with just a few brush strokes for a landscape etc. in just a few minuits, I don't like it, I like the harder edged vector results I get with Xara, but I drew the outline of the old man and the tools are very responsive. Serif listens to suggestions about making the program better and is implementing some improvements in the form of a patch, suggested in the thread highlighted here http://www.serif.com/forum/ViewThrea...=20516&Numb=21 from the Serif forum and a couple of emails, regarding the drawing tools, and it is virtualy the XaraX team working on it from what Matt (now from Serif) tells me. I am curently reproducing a drawing I have posted in the Xara gallery http://www.talkgraphics.com/showthread.php?t=20501 in DP8 and its going very well, ie I haven't found anything it won't do. Plus it handles text a lot better which I have been asking xara for since dinosaurs roamed the Earth.
Derek

**toffeeman** · 13 March 2006, 03:49 PM

Hi Derek

I saw your plane in the DP area of the Serif forum - meant to say how good it was but seems I forgot

Serif do indeed listen to it's customers and many of the changes/new features come directly from customer suggestions of course.

Someone was asking about a download trial version? Well, sadly there isn't one. The free Drawplus 6 is available at www.freeserifsoftware.com along with a few other free, older versions of other Serif packages.

All Serif software is sold with a 30 day no quibble money-back guarantee should anyone ever find the software not to their liking. I have been with Serif since 'quite a long time ago' and have never sent anything back yet!!! I think DP8 is the biggest single step improvement I have seen in any Serif program btw.

I have been a Xara customer for a number of years too but still haven't found anything that will make me into an artist!!!!

**rpc9943** · 13 March 2006, 04:02 PM

eh im happy with xara. i dont really see where you can go wrong with it

a couple tihngs here and there but cmon!

RonC

**RedWombat** · 13 March 2006, 04:30 PM

How does it compare with Painter IX? Are they basically competitors to each other?

**NeilH** · 13 March 2006, 06:53 PM

Just to set the record straight regarding Xara X developers. As with most software development teams people have come and gone over the years (and remember Xara X has been around in one form or another since the early nineties!). We still employ the most experienced developers, some of whom have been with Xara for their entire working lives and who worked on the early versions of the tool right back to Artworks. Those same developers produced both the X1 and Xtreme releases and they are of course still working on the product now and will be into the future, to help make it even better.

And don’t forget of course that the main driving force behind Xara X is and always has been Charles, the Xara founder and CEO. Some things never change ;-)

Thanks

Neil
Xara