Photo and Graphic Designer MX & Designer Pro X Released

**rpc9943** · 14 May 2012, 08:26 PM

Originally Posted by gwpriester

rpc - You can also create some simple white shapes and send them behind the eyes.

Well, yeah I know. I was just wondering if we had a "contiguous" "non-contiguous" kind of switch

**gwpriester** · 14 May 2012, 09:29 PM

Well the mask as Rich suggested is another way to do this. Or you could use a white that was not completely white for the eyes, but that would probably be spotty at best.

**tonylondon** · 14 May 2012, 09:59 PM

Have signed up to the new Pro X and everything is working brilliantly. The paragraph and character styles, the embedded graphics and the graphic bullets work a treat. Once there is automatic pages numbering and automatic contents generation I'll have everything I need for creating long documents and will be able to ditch Indesign. Incidentally, when I carefully logged into the Xara UK site and clicked the button to buy (£79) I was automatically sent to the US site. This might account for some of the pricing confusion raised in this thread. Anyway must return to play with the new software.

**gwpriester** · 15 May 2012, 01:08 AM

Well, Tony, I would add to this list, hyphenation and support for Glyphs. I recently purchased a beautiful font called Aire that has some extremely elegant glyph swash caps and ligatures that I have to break down and open my copy of Illustrator CS5.5 to access. And you cannot even copy and paste into Xara.

**tonylondon** · 15 May 2012, 09:17 AM

Originally Posted by gwpriester

Well, Tony, I would add to this list, hyphenation and support for Glyphs. I recently purchased a beautiful font called Aire that has some extremely elegant glyph swash caps and ligatures that I have to break down and open my copy of Illustrator CS5.5 to access. And you cannot even copy and paste into Xara.

Ah! Good job someone's checking!

**Antspants** · 15 May 2012, 12:04 PM

Well I got over my little tantrum after a sulk and purchased the upgrade to XD pro X. Never had a copy of the 'pro' version before so a first for me. It's much faster than any of my previous versions and it's great to be able to do everything in one program. The new tools look excellent and I can't wait for the first run of videos/TUT's to appear as i'm sure there are loads of uses for these tools that I haven't thought of.

Sorry for being short and snappy with you PeteS-rough day for me but that's no excuse really I know.

**mwenz** · 15 May 2012, 01:41 PM

Originally Posted by tonylondon

...Once there is automatic pages numbering and automatic contents generation I'll have everything I need for creating long documents and will be able to ditch Indesign...

Don't forget running headers/footers, indexing, ebook and other interactive PDFs, and, and, and...

However, if you wish to dump ID and can live without running headers/footers (though there is a cludge of a work-around) pick up PagePlus. The problem for me with dumping ID, even though I far prefer to use PP whenever possible, is that I have too much work that the customers need to obtain the ID version. This also applies to that moderately useful AI piece of garbage from Adobe. But if I do have control over what I use for such work, PP it is.

All that said, if there is something I can produce in Xara, Xara it is. And I think the new version just extends that capability / usefulness.

Take care, Mike

**tonylondon** · 15 May 2012, 01:57 PM

Originally Posted by mwenz

Don't forget running headers/footers, indexing, ebook and other interactive PDFs, and, and, and...

However, if you wish to dump ID and can live without running headers/footers (though there is a cludge of a work-around) pick up PagePlus. The problem for me with dumping ID, even though I far prefer to use PP whenever possible, is that I have too much work that the customers need to obtain the ID version. This also applies to that moderately useful AI piece of garbage from Adobe. But if I do have control over what I use for such work, PP it is.

All that said, if there is something I can produce in Xara, Xara it is. And I think the new version just extends that capability / usefulness.

Take care, Mike

An interesting point. I have problems with Indesign which Adobe couldn't solve but have work-arounds for them. I'll limp on with ID where functionality requires it, but hope for that day finally when a X upgrade allows me to bin it.

**katemoir** · 15 May 2012, 02:00 PM

For anyone wanting to find out a little bit more about the new version, Gary B has now published Gary P's 'First Look' at the new Designer Pro on the Xara Xone @ http://www.xaraxone.com/tutorials/xa...-x-first-look/

**mwenz** · 15 May 2012, 02:12 PM

@Tony

A follow-on to the AI comment. Even when I have to turn over art in an AI format, it almost always is fully created in XDP and at the end, exported and saved out in AI. Even when there are elements I have to do in AI, the art begins life in XDP. There are some features in AI I hope eventually work their way into Xara--mostly the appearance panel stuff.

Xara is to me the fastest means to an end.

@Kate--thank you. Already gone through it and kudos to Gary P!

Take care, Mike