Eye Candy 7 released with demo for download

[angelize]

Hi Adam, Thanks for this information! And Welcome to Talkgraphics ! Your post was there, it went into moderation because new users are not normally permitted to post links, and Gary must have missed that the post was moderated. I have approved the post so everyone can now see it

What I did was to install the plug in into a folder on my hard drive and point Xara to it

To do this, after running the Alien Skin custom install open your Xara program and open the options box (arrange> options) on the plug ins and effects tab click the set up button and in the plug in locations box that opens click add folder.

Browse to the location where you installed the plug in open the alien skin folder and select the Eye candy 7 folder, click OK

Click Ok in the plugins locations box (it's always a good idea to make sure host specific plugins is enabled first)

Click Ok on the main options box.

And yes I have encountered the same issues as Mike has mentioned. Best I can suggest is to lock the effects and keep them locked. If you are preparing graphics for Print you can set Xara to render live effects at any resolution ( I have mine set to render at 3oodpi) you can do this in the same plug ins and effects tab of the options just below the set up button set the default resolution for both default live effect and locked effect to your desired resolution (you can type any amount in these dropdown boxes)

[adammhaile]

Ah, it was probably moderated because you posted a link in a first time post. But it has been approved and is now visible to all.

Perfect, thanks! Hopefully my post will help

[Tomahawk Kid]

Adam,


Have you any idea why the EC7 plugin should crash when you try and unlock a locked effect after resizing a graphic? Also crashes if you try and change resolution from that which was first applied?

It's a great UI but these niggles are a bit of a distraction. SuperbladePro is also a great plugin but I hardly use it now because of it's annoying niggles. Of course I'm only referring to when Xara is the host program!



Mike

[Robertl]

Adam,


Have you any idea why the EC7 plugin should crash when you try and unlock a locked effect after resizing a graphic? Also crashes if you try and change resolution from that which was first applied?

It's a great UI but these niggles are a bit of a distraction. SuperbladePro is also a great plugin but I hardly use it now because of it's annoying niggles. Of course I'm only referring to when Xara is the host program!



Mike

Hi,

My name is Robert. I handle technical support for Alien Skin Software. Since Xara is not a supported host program for Eye Candy 7 there may be crashes like the one you described. If you ever have these issues when using Elements, please let us know by submitting a support ticket.

Thanks,
Robert Lounsberry

[angelize]

Hi Robert, Welcome to Talkgraphics Thanks for that information. Is there any possibility of Xara becoming a supported host?

[Barbara B]

Welcome to TalkGraphics Robert. I appreciate you reaching out to the Xara community with support. I'm sure the Xara community would love to work with you and help you make Xara a supported host program for Eye Candy and other Alien Skin products. Xara and Alien Skin products do have long history of working well together.

[Tomahawk Kid]

It's a real shame that EC7 is so unstable with Xara especially when EC6 works so robustly with Xara DPX. You can throw prettly much anything at the EC6 and it works well, even stacking several effects.

EC7 won't even let you cancel the plugin without crashing Xara - you need to Ok the effect once EC is open. Also making any edits is more miss than hit.


I'm certainly no programmer but the effects and controls in EC7 seem to operate in a very similar way to EC6, all be it via a much more attractive UI. Could it be a relatively fix for the Alien Skin and Xara programmers? Please guys, get together. If it turns out to be something straight forward it's a win, win. If not, at least you tried!

I'd buy EC7 in an instant if it worked as well as EC6 does in Xara but as it stands it's far too clunky for me. Ho Hum! :0(



Mike

[Mart]

I thought I'd try installing the trial version of Eye Candy 7. The 32-bit plugin installed directly into 'C:\Program Files (x86)\Xara\Xara Photo Graphic Designer 2013\Xara Picture Editor\PSplug-ins' and appeared to work OK. I applied a lightening effect to some text.

The problem comes when the saved graphic is re-opened after closing Xara P&D. The graphic takes a long time to open. A message eventually comes up saying 'Unknown plug-in error has occurred'. The graphic will then open but without the effect applied.

[angelize]

Hi Mart, I had a chat with one of the Alien Skin support techs a few weeks ago and it seems that at this time they have no plans to address this issue anytime soon as their main customer base at this time are Photoshop users.

However if they were to get enough requests they may reconsider. They have a live chat support on their website. It certainly can't hurt for others to ask!

In the meantime you can apply the effects at a high resolution (at least 300dpi or higher) and then lock them. As for me I am sticking with version 6 of the Eye Candy plugins that I already have, I won't be upgrading as the hassle isn't worth it for me.

[Mart]

Hello Angelize - I don't really need Eye Candy, so probably won't pursue the problem. It's just that thought I might treat myself to the plug-in pack after all this time of using only what comes with Xara. A pity it didn't work properly but it does say what the program requirements are. I guess the money from non-Photoshop users wouldn't amount to enough for the company to worry about it too much.