Quality Issue

[Ben_Drake]

I purchased X3D6 today. I made a text file and am frankly, not at all happy with the quality. when I see the examples Xara has on their site, I expected more. The edges of the finished product are all jagged. Bumpy. Not at all smooth like the examples. I have tried saving in both GIF and PNG because I desire clear backgrounds. I've tried about every type of setting there is within the program.

I have enclosed a image. If this is as good as it gets I can't use it. Would love some input please.

[James Allen]

Hi Ben,

It’s just a matter of getting used to the tools. Go into ‘Extrustion Options’ and click the Outline width symbol (two O’s inside each other). At the moment you have it pressed on, so only the outline of the letters is showing. Then try different fonts, colours and lighting. Press the lightbulb symbol at the top menu bar to see the different lights. Move these around and double click them to change the colour of the lights. Right click text to change text colour. Change the face colour this way too.

Minimize text when possible. A couple of words is much better than five. If you find the main heading for a presentation has too much text, handle it as normal text. Use the 3D image for some other part of the presentation, with fewer words. When you do use lots of text, take it easy on the extrusion. A very shallow extrusion is often easier to read than a deep one, when there is more text.

Play around with the program and you will gradually get better.

[zakkiromeo]

Trying in Extrustion Options... a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl bm bn bo bp bq br bs bt bu bv thank you

[Ben_Drake]

I've tried it with mixed results but do believe I'll get it now that I see where to start. Thanks for the help. I don't know if I can ask this James, would you kindly send the x3d file to me? I could play with that and nail down my issues. Thanks again, Ben

[iamtheblues]

James has kindly attached the file in his post #2 above. Just click on his link to download HotelCompany21.X3D.
Saludos,
Bob.

[Ben_Drake]

Thanks everybody. I didn't catch that James had already attached the file. MUCH appreciated. I have created a few different things, nothing that equaled finished quality yet. I do now believe I have purchased the correct program and that all will work out. I DO have an issue. I thought it was cured, but no. The PNG James put up for me has the nicest smooth edges and the PNG file has a checkerboard background which is clear in HTML use. I loaded his X3D image, then exported it to PNG without making any changes to it. The background is black, though it is clear in HTML use. However, the edges are like a saw blade. Really unusable. It is located here: http://www.hotel-marines.org/work/ Maybe if one of you guys or gals would be so kind as to look at it you may be able to advise me how to smooth the edges. James PNG is located there for you to see the difference. Remember, I made no changes, Just loaded his, then exported it. I'm about ready to ask for a refund. But I can see it works for James. Thanks, Ben

[mwenz]

Hello Ben,

I took the liberty of making a temporary page to place the graphic sample on my web site.

http://www.wenzloffandsons.com/temp/hotel/hotel.html

The program I used was Designer Pro, but the output is the same as with the program you are using as far as I can tell comparing to James' example.

Click on the graphic to make it pop-up larger.

As for your issues, make sure of a couple things. One is the font you might be using. Make sure to use an OpenType or a TrueType.

For the export settings, perhaps play with the quality settings and the anit-aliasing.

Take care, Mike

[simsmj]

Hello, Ben, there is a setting you can reach by typing ALT-Q, called Quality settings. The third item is Export Quality, what is that set at? It runs from lowest to Highest through five intermediate levels. Try it at Highest if it isn't already. Also, is your image being resized when displayed in the web page? When I export James's text as a png, it looks fine and smooth. If you have a particular x, y size in mind for the image in the web page, set the same frame size in Xara3D, and export from that.

Mike

[Ben_Drake]

First, to the several of you who have written with help, THANK YOU. I just now was about to ask for a refund. Then, on Xara's site, I saw the answer.

"Why does my exported Xara3D image look all jaggy around the edges?"

Solution The edges of an exported transparent GIF are anti-aliased to the background color. This smoothes the edges of the GIF when it is displayed against that color. However, it also means that you should change the background color in Xara3D to match that of your Web page as closely as possible before exporting (right click on the background to change the color). You can set a background texture as well as a background color in Xara3D.

That's it...all done and all better. I love this program but they should not have kept how to do that such a secret. Thanks again to all, Ben

[mwenz]

Hi Ben--very good.

Also, you may want to check the PNG export. Transparent background but in my experience I usually get better results.

Best regards, Mike