Next version of Xara Extreme

[Tallis]

Remi- too bad about autohotkey not working out for you- you stuck to recording menu commands, not mouse, right? I wonder if there's anything else out there that would maquerade as an "actions" or script function in Xara until ( perhaps ) one is built in.

Mark- Macro Maker- I agree, recording mouse actions is tricky as palettes move- have you had success with 100% keyboard/menu's only? I tend to thing that there would be no pallete tools which dont always have a menu equivalent.

Anyone else have more success with other, perhaps more sophisticated macro tools? And what is it that you have had success automating, and what kinds of Xara activities are basically impractical to try to automate using these utilities?

[MarkMyWords]

To be honest, I have to admit I don't know Xara well enough to say if it is possible to do what I want with menus and keyboard only.

Can you choose and move layers with keys/menus?

If so, and I can automate that, then this would go a long way to achieving the things I want.

[remi]

Remi- too bad about autohotkey not working out for you- you stuck to recording menu commands, not mouse, right?

Unfortunately, the Authotkey's macro recorder isn't able to record Mouse-Movements (only simple mouse clicks). And unfortunately Xara Xtreme isn't fully controllable via key shortcuts.

Try it by yourself: Record the drawing of a simple Spline together with the Pen Tool. It's a pain and it's not the right way to do this automation tasks with a extern Macro recorder.

The idea to automate Xara Xtreme isn't a new one and as far as I know, the developers also discussed some details about this, but surely one of the big problem with developing software is, that good developers want to create excellent solutions and don't like to develop a bad solution for this problem. Therefore, this feature seems to be one of the feature, that needs much time to design and to implement. And to be fair enough: Implement such a automation is surely a task, which concerns a lot of parts in a software. I'm in hope, that a clever developer starts to create such a solution in the OpenSource project "Xara Xtreme for Linux" - someday.

Can you choose and move layers with keys/menus?

Here you'll find a List of Keyboard Shortcuts:
Menu "Help" -> "Xara Xtreme Help" -> References -> Keyboard Shortcuts

Regards,
Remi

[MarkMyWords]

That looks interesting, thanks Remi.

[Big Frank]

In 10 years of using Xara in its various guises I have never lamented its lack of a macro tool. I guess I never do repetitive tasks or, if I do, they're not so repetitive as to bore the pants off me. If it had one I wouldn't complain but I certainly wouldn't want Xara to include in a future release a macro recorder and playback facility at the expense of useful drawing enhancements or decent text handling features.

[MarkMyWords]

No doubt there are as many working methods as there are illustrators Frank.

I'm certainly not advocating any degradation in the speed or ease of use of Xara and I'm sure keeping those particular assets intact is uppermost in the minds of the developers.

[MarkMyWords]

I'm no coder, but I've been playing with Xara trying to emulate masks and I was wondering; how big a step would it be from clipview to a 'live' mask?

It is so (frustratingly) close.

The 'window' object can be transparent, so doesn't affect other parts of the image at all and both it and the objects it is clipping can be manipulated independently, resized, recoloured, even have the transparency manipulated, but new objects/lines can't be add 'on the fly'.

[rpc9943]

this would make xara the best prog for me personally:
-corner curve option, it would operate you select a point and tell it to make a smooth curve and then drag handles as you can in box corner curve
-corner curve preservation on box resizing
-line slicer (draw a "cut mark" through lines)
-the ability to have multiple line connections (such as branching a line vector out into two in the same vector object)
-an option to select an object with a fill and creating an identical outline of the filled object for manipulation
-option to combine lines of shapes into a single line(if we can support ability to have multi line connections)
-option to create a "fill" object from multi line connection object... aka you draw thigns out and "create filled object from closed lines" that would be the default fill color you have selected

kind of ideas based on other vector programs as well as experience in trying to create comic graphics... discuss please (i know there are workarounds but they really piss me off)

RonC

[MarkMyWords]

I'm sure others can tell you more than me, but some of those things are possible now, without work-a-rounds.

To cut a line with the shape editor tool pick a node and then click on the breakline button.

As for an identical and editable outline of any shape (with or without fill), simply clone the shape (CTRL+K) and chose 'no fill' (left click) on the palette options (the checked square bottom left of the screen), then right click on the colour you want the outline to be.

[rpc9943]

thanks for a few of those workarounds! but wouldnt it be cool to take your "pen" tool, or itd be knife, and just slice through and it would separate it all?

also i had an idea my gf got a mac (yuck) but she has a program called comic life that has a really neat panel system... more or less it would be cool to set objects that we want to have "drag and drop clipview" ..... just throwing some ideas, totally tell me if theres an easier way!

im going to try out a few of your workflow answers