Two basic things missing

[Madrayken]

There are two things that drive me nuts about Xara Web designer.

1) If you have an image on the page several times (e.g. a graphical bullet-point marker) it creates multiple graphics, even when not resized and over the same colour background. This is unnecessary and expensive.

2) It is impossible to define how your background graphic repeats (not at all, vertically, horizontally, or both). It's an incredibly basic operation, offered by every other editor on the planet.

The work arounds are horrific.
a. Hand alter the css afterward, thus making the 'publish' option redundant.
b. Place a massive rectangle across the area you don't want repeated (wasteful, and ugly, as the sides outside the main page area show the repeated graphics)
c. Make a banner of your own across the top. This goes back to point 1) - the banner saves out as a single MASSIVE image, or as multiple images, despite being identical copies.

This software is so good in so many ways, it's a shame that I find myself looking for other options just because it's so totally inefficient.

Dene

www.fluttermind.com

[covoxer]

There are two things that drive me nuts about Xara Web designer.

Not quite so.

1) If you have an image on the page several times (e.g. a graphical bullet-point marker) it creates multiple graphics, even when not resized and over the same colour background. This is unnecessary and expensive.

To avoid it, make sure that all copies of the object are perfectly pixel aligned. This way, all copies on all pages are exported as a single bitmap.

2) It is impossible to define how your background graphic repeats (not at all, vertically, horizontally, or both). It's an incredibly basic operation, offered by every other editor on the planet.

You can easily control this using XWD Tweakset. Read tweakset manual for these and many more features.

Hope it helps!

[cursor]

I just ran a little test to see what covoxer meant by "perfectly pixel aligned." At first (since Dene was referencing graphic bullets) I thought that perhaps all of the graphic elements had to share an X or a Y coordinate (making them vertically or horizontally aligned). Instead, I found that "perfectly pixel aligned" means that their X,Y Position (referenced on the infobar) must be integer values.

[covoxer]

Yes, by "pixel aligned" I mean "aligned to the pixel boundaries".

[Madrayken]

Thank you so much! That worked (almost) perfectly. You have to be careful with shadowed graphics because (of course) they are saved out with the shadowed segments showing the patterned area. A small block of background colour sorts that out perfectly.

You have no idea how welcome that help was! I was getting complaints from people I knew about the long loading times and... just 'ugh'.

For your information, here's the new site: http://www.fluttermind.com/

ALL my work is done using Xara - I don't know how I'd do without it!

You've given me one more reason never to go anywhere else.

I'll stop gushing now...

[cursor]

You have to be careful with shadowed graphics because (of course) they are saved out with the shadowed segments showing the patterned area.

I don't believe that you have to add the back rectangle, Dene.

It appears that the width and height of the graphic itself doesn't have to be in integer terms, only its position. In the sample above, the squares are 25 pixels wide and 22 pixels high. Out of curiosity, I changed their dimensions to 22.4 x 25.5 (leaving the X,Y positioning as integer values). When I exported the website, it still only created a single graphic file.

As a secondary test, I applied wall shadows to the three boxes (end graphic = 22.4 x 15.5 + drop shadow). Exporting the website still created a single drop-shadowed box. Just make sure that the X,Y position is set to integer values.

[yjs]

But aligning with pixel boundaries would presumably have to be redone whenever the absolute place of a graphic shifts (e.g. because of elements added above).

[covoxer]

But aligning with pixel boundaries would presumably have to be redone whenever the absolute place of a graphic shifts (e.g. because of elements added above).

Please explain what you mean, I don't get it. In WD objects move only when you move them, adding anything anywhere can not change their position.

[yjs]

Please explain what you mean, I don't get it. In WD objects move only when you move them, adding anything anywhere can not change their position.

Right. What I meant was that if you add text above, and consequently need to reposition graphics below, you'll need to take care of pixel allignment again.

To give an example I raised in a different thread: I have a FAQ with 20 questions, each preceded by a graphics bullet which I'd rather not alter. If I add a few lines to a question towards the top of the FAQ, I must now:

a) extend the length of the paper and footer (unless covered by tweaks)
b) reposition each of the bullets so that they are adjacent to the correct piece of text
c) take care that each of the bullets are still pixel-alligned. Otherwise the page will load the graphic 20 times.

[covoxer]

To simplify the last step, turn on snap to grid option and set grid with 1px steps.