Next version of Xara Extreme

**Soquili** · 03 October 2006, 01:57 PM

Why would you want so many raster tools in a vector program?

**Tallis** · 03 October 2006, 02:18 PM

I think the draw of Xara is that it is fast and versatile, and smart. So many things live on the raster side of the tracks, that many people it seems HAVE to deal with raster images-- old logos, photography, scans, catalog items, albums, etc-- that they enjoy the bitmap features built into the program.

Xara has ALREADY built in more bitmap features into the program, we can ask them why they did it as well. All I can say is Im happy that I dont need to open up photosop. I have 1.25GB RAM and a 3000MHZ processor, and although PS works fine, it sucks down ram and slows me down, so subconciously I just dont like to click in the icon really...

. Xara open in a flash and I enjoy not leaving it.....

Anyway, you know more about this than I do, but at least I can give a newcomer's perspective.

**MarkMyWords** · 03 October 2006, 03:35 PM

Well the magic wand and eraser are both very useful and intuitive.

If you create a line drawing in Xara with many areas enclosed by overlapping lines, it is perfectly possible to create solid objects for the enclosed spaces (all at the same time) and keep the lines as individual objects, but that takes much longer and is more complex than selecting the areas with a magic wand.

The operaton can be automated with a macro/action, as can many other useful techniques or repetitive tasks.

I often need to apply clipview and export a series of layers from a single drawing. It would be great if one action hid all the other layers, selected all objects in the layer to be saved, applied clipview, set the export options and saved the layer.

And this is a relatively simple example, I use actions in Photoshop extensively, they must save me hours of repetitive work everyday.

**remi** · 03 October 2006, 10:07 PM

Some previous whislists in this forum (also interesting for Xara's business competition):

I'm not sure, if there are enough developers available to implement all the wishes (the last version of Xara Xtreme for Windows was released 2005).

Regards,
Remi

**MEB** · 04 October 2006, 10:36 AM

Originally Posted by Tallis

I think the draw of Xara is that it is fast and versatile, and smart. So many things live on the raster side of the tracks, that many people it seems HAVE to deal with raster images-- old logos, photography, scans, catalog items, albums, etc-- that they enjoy the bitmap features built into the program.

Anyway, you know more about this than I do, but at least I can give a newcomer's perspective.

I still don´t understand why are people trying to work, and request more features to work with, raster images in Xara Xtreme being the program a vector application...
I know it´s intuitive and easy to learn but that shouldn´t be a reason to use it as a raster/bitmap editing program. And even less to bloat it with tons of raster editing features.

There´s plenty of image editing programs out there, very powerfull (Photoshop), easy to use (Corel Paint Shop Pro), and even free (the GIMP) that not only have all those requested features and more, as well as some vector tools, for precise selection and manipulation of pixels.
So, why not use those instead?

If what people want is mainly work with raster images, then use an image editing application and take advantage of the vector tools included in the software.

If they prefer work with illustration/drawing then just pick a vector application with some basic/complementary raster features. Something that Xara already have.

Why trying to deeply mix features of diferent types of applications with diferent goals and purposes in one same application?
Vector drawings are supposed to be resolution independent (scalable) and precise while bitmap/raster images are resolution dependent (not scalable). So what´s the point in mixing both types of images and loosing some of their advantages?

**Big Frank** · 04 October 2006, 11:08 AM

At Last Somebody On My Wavelength!!!!

**MarkMyWords** · 04 October 2006, 01:09 PM

Well, why shouldn't people request the tools they want? I don't go for the purest principle that says this is what it is, take it or leave it.

Software producers need to respond to their market, just like we all do.

As for the difference between bitmap and vector programs, vector programs are far superior in their output, this cannot be denied, but many of the tools in a bitmap/paint program are more efficient and intuitive. Why not emulate those tools and bring more people into using vector programs?

I understand fully the desire to keep Xara's simple interface and not overload it with 'extras' that would only be used by a few. I (for instance) have only asked for one feature, an actions palette.

As I have said, Xara is capable of emulating many of the tools being asked for and more, but those 'work-a-rounds' tend to be comparatively slow and complex operations.

An actions palette, similar to Adobes, would automate such tasks and other repetitive tasks as well. At the moment I use a third party macro recorder, but that is far from being the ideal solution.

Add, to that increased functionality, the ability to swap actions with other users and it becomes very exciting indeed. There are literally millions of actions available for Photoshop (free) online and that extends that programs capabilities enormously.

**Soquili** · 04 October 2006, 01:32 PM

In Photoshop they have some vector tools, but when you use a rastor tool it informs you that the vector will have to be converted to a rastor layer.

The same would hold true for those type of tools to work in Xara. That would lose the advantages of the vector format for that project.

**Tallis** · 04 October 2006, 01:57 PM

I think the botom line is that the product is already touted and advertised as on ethat can handle bitmaps as well, and it has "powerful" tools and plugin capabilities to handle raster as well as vector. I would assume that this decision came-- to include these features-- precisely due to market reasearch indicating that many people would like some raster capabilities so they would not have to keep leaving Xara to do work and then returning to add some vector items.

So if the product was designed to be equipped with exactly these type of non-vector features, why yearn for the continued exclusion of an updated set of these bitmap features?

I now that a statistics app will never be a 3D drawing program, and shouldn't. I'm only a doctor, not a physician....

**Soquili** · 04 October 2006, 02:54 PM

The problem is that there comes a time when a trade off has to take place. To add those features that raster users want, then some vector features would become difficult or impossible to implement.

Why change an excellent program to make it become a mediocre program that tries to do too much. There are already enough of those available.