print preview?

**Bob C.** · 24 December 2012, 07:32 PM

I can't seem to find a print preview option with this newest version of Xara Photo & Graphic Designer 7. Have I missed it or is there another option to view the fit and position before sending it to my HP Deskjet F4400 series printer. My OS is Windows 8 home....

I did a search with no joy.

Thanks for any advice...

Bob C.

**steve.ledger** · 24 December 2012, 07:57 PM

You can set the print layout in File>>Print Options, but there's never been an actual built-in 'Print Preview' option, but you could export to PDF and preview in your PDF reader first?

**DOAADI** · 24 December 2012, 10:04 PM

Bob, I don't know if it helps, but what I've been doing is exporting the image as a JPG and using the browser preview option from there to see what the final thing will look like before printing.

It doesn't work properly with PNG, as the off-page objects still show (it defaults to using Chrome, and Chrome has a problem with PNGs - I'm sure you must be able to choose the default browser somewhere, but I've not found it yet), but it works fine with JPGs.

Not ideal, but a bit of a workaround.

**steve.ledger** · 24 December 2012, 10:14 PM

@DOAADI: What defaults to chrome?

**DOAADI** · 24 December 2012, 10:31 PM

I'm sure it's just the way my system is/was set up.

When I installed Xara I had Chrome set as my default browser, so it must have picked it up from there. But Chrome has been driving me nuts by eating up my free RAM and not displaying some images properly so I switched back to Explorer.

What I'm referring to is when I go through Export as JPG, and then Settings, under the Browser Preview tab and when I click "Preview", my image opens in Chrome - not IE. For that reason, I have to preview as JPG and not PNG, because Chrome displays all the off-page stuff if you do.

It's no biggie, and I'm not going to worry about it unless there's an obvious setting I can change.

**DOAADI** · 24 December 2012, 10:39 PM

Oh, I just noticed an easier way where I can choose the browser, but it doesn't give a proper preview..

Just choose Preview Website and you can preview it that way, with the option of choosing the approparite browser. But it crops the image because it isn't a print preview, so not ideal.

**steve.ledger** · 24 December 2012, 10:46 PM

Originally Posted by DOAADI

What I'm referring to is when I go through Export as JPG, and then Settings, under the Browser Preview tab and when I click "Preview", my image opens in Chrome - not IE. For that reason, I have to preview as JPG and not PNG, because Chrome displays all the off-page stuff if you do.

Nope, should not do that. Doesn't here (my system browser is set to Chrome Version 23.0.1271.97 m)
The (export) Browser Preview will show all page and pasteboard objects if you don't have any object selected for export whether it's JPG or PNG, matters not.
However, selecting the object for export will force xara to export just that object.

If your copy of Xara is not doing that, then you may need to contact support.xara.com as this is not correct or expected behaviour.

**DOAADI** · 24 December 2012, 10:52 PM

Well, mine does it exactly like I said.

If you choose to export the page, and select the area to save as "page" it definitely doesn't show the off-page objects, so it functions as a print preview in that respect.

The only issue I have, as I say, is that it does it in Chrome and not IE. I would imagine that someone who doesn't have Chrome installed would get the IE preview - or they may be happy with Chrome on the understanding that you DO get the off-page objects if you export as PNG.

**DOAADI** · 24 December 2012, 11:06 PM

Here's the files - the Xara edit window and the preview window:

Attachment 93716 Attachment 93717

Incidentally, if you export it as a PDF you get the same "print preview" without the off-page gubbins, but you get the file as well. With the JPG option you can cancel without creating an output file.

(With thanks to someone who posted some Christmas clipart the other day - I used the holly leaves here.)

**steve.ledger** · 24 December 2012, 11:08 PM

Originally Posted by DOAADI

I would imagine that someone who doesn't have Chrome installed would get the IE preview - or they may be happy with Chrome on the understanding that you DO get the off-page objects if you export as PNG.

Well you can have FireFox, Opera or Safari as your default browser, doesn't have to be IE of course.
Choosing the area to save as 'Page', objects should be clipped at the page edges and so not show any pasteboard contents when PNG type is chosen.
Personally I have never come across any inherent problem with the display of PNGs in google chrome.
If it does for you, then something isn't working correctly with your installation because this is something done by Xara and sent to the browser