Looking for latest XAR format documentation

[Suvek]

Probably due to upgrade of Xara website link to docs at http://www.xaraxtreme.org/developers/documentation.html leads to 404 Not found
Anybody knows where to get it?
I have version updated 9th January 2007 but anything newer would be better. This version contains some information that doesn't seem to be correct - for example TAG_REGULAR_SHAPE_PHASE_2 is marked as deprecated and therefore lacks description (well just Flags are not commented, everything else can be found elsewhere), current Xtreme uses it though to represent all ellipses.

[Charles Moir]

http://site.xara.com/support/docs/webformat/spec/

[Suvek]

Thanks a lot

[sculptex]

hi, is this likely to upgraded for version 4 soon?

[Charles Moir]

It's on the job list to do when we get a second. But I have to say I'm not aware that anyone, other than our own developers or contractors, uses this documentation anyway. We should keep it up to date, but I have to ask - why do you need this information? Just curious.

[sculptex]

I was developing a couple of utilities to automate some tedious tasks.
One task was labels, I wanted to take a xara file and replicate it onto standard label formats in an automated way. (We have hundreds of label files in Xara format).
My first task however, was to parse existing files so that I could identify the actual drawing data for replication. I was most of the way through this when someone here advised of a key combination to reveal this within Xara itself. Though I couldn't utilise this directly, the novelty was taken away at the time!
I fully intend to revisit this project at some stage and would of course like to have the up-to-date format to work from. I also have a few other ideas but thats all they are at the moment.

[sculptex]

actually, looking back through the stage I was at, I remember coming across some potentially cool 'features' that AFAIK cannot be accessed through Xara normally.

I have attached a file as an example of one 'feature' I found. Move the circles around but don't try to change the fill though as it gives an error. this seems to be preserved through saves aswell!

[Suvek]

I have attached a file as an example of one 'feature' I found. ...

Maybe I dont get the point... you're talking about that fill applied to layer as whole, right? Groups behave the same, their gradient fill also remains editable Cool feature it is, that's true

[Charles Moir]

There is something wrong with that file (it's corrupt in some way), but the feature of moving objects and keeping the fill static is a known and deliberate feature - been there for years.

You can drag, resize or rotate any object and keep the fill static. Just press the Numeric - (minus) while dragging and the fill doesn't move with the object, which is what is happening here.

Copy one of those circles to a new document, zoom out, now drag it around and press numeric - key.

[sculptex]

thanks for the tip Charles. excuse my ignorance (I did say AKAIK!), I keep discovering new gems in Xara all the time!