Export Location Designation

[Slick368]

Here is once HUGE frustration I have and haven't seen anything regarding this previously posted (my apologies if there is and I missed it). I also have the full manual for WD6 and can't find anything there.

Why is it that WD7 does not have anywhere to set a specific file location for the Export function? I have multiple sites I work on and have, on occasion, forgotten to change the Export Location which has created a hell of a mess as I now have content from Site B out on the live server for Site A (and vice-versa). One site is for a newspaper, and the other site is for a medical clinic. Aside from the housekeeping nightmare this has caused, I am concerned about whether any of the crossover will appear in site map, search engine results, or anywhere else that is publicly visible, and not just to me.

WD7 needs to have a place where you can specify a static export path and not simply have the Export process pull up a Windows Explorer open window to prevent any crossover of content from one site project to another. I find it ridiculous that this sort of thing can happen, and happen so easily. When you've been working a site re-design for hours on end, and it's 3AM, something as stupid and non-fail safe as a "Save As" Explorer dialog is a recipe for a total mess and the lack of an export path designation setting for different .web projects is very surprising to me as it would seem a 'no-brainer' that if you are working on multiple projects, you don't want to be exporting content from one project into the export space (and by extension, the web space) of another.

If there IS something in WD7 for this, somebody please educate me. I would be very much in your debt. If there is not, Xara Design Team, you need to get cracking on version 7.05 and make that a priority.

[Slick368]

Only after posting the previous message did I find that others have come up against the same issue, but in previous versions of WD! One suggested that 'it is Windows fault' and I don't buy that for a second. Some sort of Project Profile page where the Export Location, FTP details, etc could be specified is not something that would seem so hard to do. I hesitate to use the word 'lazy' because WD is such an awesome product in most respects and you don't get that via 'lazy', but c'mon, what I, and others over the course of two or three WD iterations have asked for this function and it still does not exist.

One poster said "always be very careful" but, as I said, after working a re-design for 12 hours, 3AM, and running on fumes, sometimes the best effort of 'careful' you can muster is woefully lacking and THIS is where the software should step in and take one less possible point of failure off the table. I intend to be a Xara user/customer for a good long time unless the lack of some simple, common sense features make the work I have to do harder rather than easier.

[ShapeShifter]

Why is it that WD7 does not have anywhere to set a specific file location for the Export function?
WD7 needs to have a place where you can specify a static export path

So, you're asking that xara web designer gives you a default export path within the program itself rather than presenting you with an industry standard Windows dialogue when you export your site, is that right?
Would that not then mean that all exports are going to end up in the one default export path setting location? Which is the same probem you're already having from mistakenly overwriting a previous export anyway yes?

If you mean Xara should save this location to the .web or .xar file on a per file basis, you will still have to specify a new target path each and every time for each and every new file -- so what have you saved here? The other problem with writing an export path to the .web or .xar file is when sharing files or migrating them to another PC. Once again, you will need to respecify a path. I see no gains for you.

[Slick368]

Here's the deal. For my work, I have a Library set in Windows 7 called My Projects. The library then branches off for each client. Each client site has a .web file. The file structure (the applicable parts, anyway) are:

My Projects
»»Project A
»»»Site Content (raw materials received from client to be added to site)
»»»Site Production (this is where my export goes)
»»»Billing (etc... etc... etc...)
»»Project B
»»»Site Content
»»»Site Production
»»»Billing....

So, at least to me, it makes sense to specify that when I have Project A open, and I execute a function that requires an Export, it already knows to do the export to the Site Production folder for Project A, and not Project B. And the same holds for Project B, C, etc.

Aside from my own housekeeping concerns (which is important, as time is money), I know Client A, who is a newspaper, would wonder why there is a video related to Botox on their site, and Client B, who is a medical practice/aesthetician would wonder why there is something pertaining to a plane crash or municipal election from a town in another state on his site if that content appeared in search engine results or was otherwise visible to anyone but me.

What is needed to ensure no crossover is the ability to specify the export folder for that particular project when the .web file is created, or anytime thereafter, to ensure that content intended for one project is not exported into the export space of another and that server-side, you then do not end up having pages, graphics, and other content that does not belong.

Seems like a perfectly reasonable and logical option to have. It would simply be one of the properties of each .web file. If some users did not want/need the functionality, simply leave the value blank and be prompted each time. The problem is that the file tree for each of my projects is identical, except the top level, so it's very easy to export to the wrong folder before you even realize it as the top level of the tree is not visible.

As far as any of the other concerns you expressed, such as moving to a new PC, etc. If the value is part of the .web file, and the same directory structure does not exist, a simple warning that the specified export path does not exist would solve that. Further, the specification would be for the .web file, not for each page contained in it. In my case, I have one .web file for each site (so far), so I would specify the path once, and ensure I don't have a big mess to clean up later.

[xtom]

+1 (again) to have path to export folder stored in .xar/.web file. I was dissapointed it wasn't in v7, seems like it would be an easy to add feature and very useful.

[dejohnny]

+1 (again) to have path to export folder stored in .xar/.web file. I was dissapointed it wasn't in v7, seems like it would be an easy to add feature and very useful.

I agree.