Migrating from WYSIWYG7

**Pitboss** · 15 March 2011, 03:37 PM

I am migrating from W7 and so far think Xara WD6 is the best bang for the buck. There are some definite differences to sort out though.
1. W7 generates its own xml sitemap on publish, does Xara do this also?
2. Can I insert a table from Word?
3. How hard is it to insert a Word Press Blog on a page? An iFrame maybe?
4. What are the basic differences (for Dummies) between Xara 6 & Xara Pro?

That ought to keep someone busy for a few minutes anyway.
Thanks for any input you may have.

**mwenz** · 15 March 2011, 04:04 PM

Hello Pitboss--welcome.

I do wonder why the switch? W7 is fairly extensible, though perhaps a bit more complex than WD6. That said, I only played with it for the trial period and so "I don't know what I don't know." And seeing how I haven't done anything other than a few test sites in either, I'm afraid I cannot answer the questions well.

I would encourage you to download the XDP6 trial and give it a whirl if you haven't already. While not handy, I also suspect Xara has a comparison on their web site between the two programs (#4). I have XDP6 and am rather taken by it having been a CorelDraw user for years.

#3 would be an iframe.

Take care, Mike

**Soquili** · 15 March 2011, 04:14 PM

Welcome to Talkgraphics.

I'm not a builder of web sites so the following is very basic information.

1. Xara does not create any site maps.
2. Yes you can copy and paste a table from Word into your project. Copy from Word then right click in your Xara project and select Rich Text format from the popup menu.
3. An iFrame would be best. Use a placeholder and use the Replace with HTML option to define the iFrame.
4. Not sure which Xara applications you want to compare. Xara Web Designer 6, Xara Designer Pro 6, or Xara Photo & Graphic Designer 6?

Xara applications are primarily Vector Graphics drawing applications. In 2009 Xara introduced Web Designer 5 as a new variation of their drawing application that is intended to be a WYSIWYG web creation tool (not an html editor). You place your text and images where you want them as if you are building a design layout in Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro, or any other drawing program. The advantage is you can export to a fully functioning web page(s). The target demographic is people that do not know html, javascript, css, etc. In 2010 Web Designer 6 was released with many improvements to the initial release in 2009.

Xara Designer Pro 6 is the flagship Vector Graphics drawing application that has seen many updates in it's 15+ year history. All the Vector drawing tools are included along with support for Pantone colours, PDF/X export, and all the features of Web Designer 6.

Xara Photo & Graphic Designer 6 has all the same drawing tools as Designer Pro 6 but without Pantone Colours, PDF/X export, and Web Designer 6 features. P&GD6 does have the same web export features as the original Web Designer 5.

**bjornkn** · 15 March 2011, 04:25 PM

1. Xara does export a txt file with path/name of all the exported files, which I guess could be called a site-map?
2. I've found that copying from a spreadsheet table to Xara works best with EMF pasting.

**Pitboss** · 15 March 2011, 05:26 PM

Originally Posted by mwenz

Hello Pitboss--welcome.

I do wonder why the switch? W7 is fairly extensible, though perhaps a bit more complex than WD6. That said, I only played with it for the trial period and so "I don't know what I don't know." And seeing how I haven't done anything other than a few test sites in either, I'm afraid I cannot answer the questions well.

I would encourage you to download the XDP6 trial and give it a whirl if you haven't already. While not handy, I also suspect Xara has a comparison on their web site between the two programs (#4). I have XDP6 and am rather taken by it having been a CorelDraw user for years.

#3 would be an iframe.

Take care, Mike

After looking at Xara Web designer 6 and comparing it to W7 I would really like to take the best of both and combine them (I know, not possible). Each program has good and bad points but none are "deal killers" just aggravations.

W7 is a bit cumbersome and outdated in some of it's graphics & templates where X6 lacks a bit of the built in sophistication of W7, ie: the self generating XML file when published.

At this point I really like both. I guess I'm a bit tired of the same ol' template design and drawbacks of W7 and just looking for a change. I have so many sites up with W7 I couldn't possibly abandon it but the grass always looks greener you know.

Thanks for the input, everyone!
Pitboss

**Pitboss** · 15 March 2011, 05:36 PM

Originally Posted by Soquili

Welcome to Talkgraphics.

I'm not a builder of web sites so the following is very basic information.

1. Xara does not create any site maps.
2. Yes you can copy and paste a table from Word into your project. Copy from Word then right click in your Xara project and select Rich Text format from the popup menu.
3. An iFrame would be best. Use a placeholder and use the Replace with HTML option to define the iFrame.
4. Not sure which Xara applications you want to compare. Xara Web Designer 6, Xara Designer Pro 6, or Xara Photo & Graphic Designer 6?

Xara applications are primarily Vector Graphics drawing applications. In 2009 Xara introduced Web Designer 5 as a new variation of their drawing application that is intended to be a WYSIWYG web creation tool (not an html editor). You place your text and images where you want them as if you are building a design layout in Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro, or any other drawing program. The advantage is you can export to a fully functioning web page(s). The target demographic is people that do not know html, javascript, css, etc. In 2010 Web Designer 6 was released with many improvements to the initial release in 2009.

Xara Designer Pro 6 is the flagship Vector Graphics drawing application that has seen many updates in it's 15+ year history. All the Vector drawing tools are included along with support for Pantone colours, PDF/X export, and all the features of Web Designer 6.

Xara Photo & Graphic Designer 6 has all the same drawing tools as Designer Pro 6 but without Pantone Colours, PDF/X export, and Web Designer 6 features. P&GD6 does have the same web export features as the original Web Designer 5.

I am trying to compare the Xara WD6 to the Xara WD6 pro (sorry for the confusion)
Do I need PDF/X and Pantone colors for normal web site publishing?
What else is in Pro that would be helpful in web publishing?
Thnx
Pitboss

**Soquili** · 15 March 2011, 06:02 PM

The Pro features of Designer Pro are for graphics, desktop publishing. All the web features are the same in Web Designer and Designer Pro.

**mwenz** · 15 March 2011, 11:08 PM

Hello Pitboss,

That explanation makes sense. While not a complete import, you can also import the generated html from Xara (and WebPlus) into W7 if needed to port one design to another. From solely a template aspect, this work OK.

If you do a lot of design/illustration or small publication design, I would go for XDP6. If you don't need those features, go for WD6.

Take care, Mike

**pauland** · 15 March 2011, 11:44 PM

Originally Posted by mwenz

you can also import the generated html from Xara (and WebPlus) into W7 if needed to port one design to another. From solely a template aspect, this work OK.

Given the structure of the HTML that Xara produces, I would have thought it would not be suitable in another system like W7. Have you used Xara's web export to make a web template for another system, Mike?

**mwenz** · 16 March 2011, 12:55 AM

Hello Paul--W7 doesn't figure out anything Xara produces except layout, images and their respective placement. Menus and links are not respected. From a borrowing of template design, though, this is fine.

W7 does respect just about everything about WebPlus on the WP generated site I imported (one page at a time). All links were valid, placement of elements were pretty spot on, etc.

The reason I have jumped through a few hoops over these types of programs for web creation is I have toyed with the idea of restarting my design business. The design, technical writing stuff is already moving forward. For web creation, I would be offering more complex sites using Drupal, Joomla and WordPress (already experienced with these), but also quick and easy, lower-cost sites using one or more of these software titles.

Take care, Mike