New forum member with some questions

[JJJayhawk]

Hi there,
I've been lurking on here for about a year, have also been using XDPX 12* for the last 11 months. My subscription is coming up on the 24th and I noticed that the tail end of the Steam 4th of July Sale had the XDPX 15 software for $99 for a new license vs $129 for a continuing license.

I went ahead and picked up the $99 license. I have a short window in which to return it, but was wondering whether I made the right choice here. Is anyone else using the Steam version and is it as stable as the non-Steam version? Is XDPX 16 around the corner and have I locked myself into the previous version that I already own?

Also, just for the record I love LOVE Xara's layout for my app dev process and LOVE the ease at which I can plot something out quickly.

What I'm doing now (because I don't see another way to do it) is I'm translating my graphics file in SVG over to Affinity Designer in order to take advantage of all the special effects built into AD. AD doesn't have as nice a gradient setup but the glows and other utilities like multiple-object-corner adjustments are something I'd love to be able to do in Xara.

I really enjoy Xara's ability to export exactly the size PNG for each element. What I am having to do though, is run that through AD where basically I have to create slices and export that way through the Export Persona. Frankly, it's a pain in the posterior and I keep wondering why Xara Pro doesn't have the same easy effects (3 clicks vs layer over layer) that AD does.

Is Magix going to help Xara's toolset mature to the point where I don't feel it necessary to translate my work over to AD every time I want to easily apply button effects and glows?

Thanks!

[JJJayhawk]

Actually, now that I look at it again, it appears that I have version Xara Designer Pro X 12.8.1.50861 DL x64... if it's at version 15 now, why does it say I'm updated fully and there are no more updates? Should I be able to get v15 at this point? My current license is still active.

[JJJayhawk]

You know what, just forget it above. I just re-read the fine print, got sick to my stomach over the ToS saying I couldn't keep my updates, and I am going to stick with the $99 version on Steam for now and then transition either to CorelDraw or entirely to Affinity. At least with the Steam version I can retain a Steam copy of the application folder with all the updates in it and archive it out as needed.

[Acorn]

Actually, now that I look at it again, it appears that I have version Xara Designer Pro X 12.8.1.50861 DL x64... if it's at version 15 now, why does it say I'm updated fully and there are no more updates? Should I be able to get v15 at this point? My current license is still active.

JJJ, try downloading v15.1 and registering with the same purchase email and licence number. I don't have the Steam version so registration may be totally different. The point I am trying to advise is that v15.1 is an "update" to v12 and Xara has been very remiss in failing to pointing this out. That said, this might be why the Steam version is being offered as you have described.
Both v15 and v12 should run on the same machine at the same time.

Also re-read what you have actually bought, particularly around the online content access.

Acorn

[JJJayhawk]

Thank you Acorn for your input.

I checked and it appears I bought a full version of X15 "Steam Edition" on Steam that says it has a year's subscription for updates that will no longer be available a year from now, like the other version. I registered the software and it identifies itself differently from my old "Xara Designer Pro X365" as "Xara Designer Pro X 15 Steam Edition."

The Steam version appears to be missing the Help->Deactivate choice and the Help->Check for Updates choice. Also, I'm not seeing anything about downloading the Content Installer or PanoramaStudio. Although I registered the software, it does not appear to have attached my name to the actual license and there is no included serial number. Instead, it just has that blank. My guess is that the software is licensed to my Steam account, not me individually. I don't see anything at all specifying the system I'm using the software on, nor do I see any limitations to the installation license listed on the account page. That's probably due to the Steam software management protocols.

It does appear to have connections to the online Content Catalog. Beyond that, it looks about the same. I am running into an issue when I open the software where the font manager in Xara is trying to load a 16*-bit version and not a 64-bit version, so it errors and then lets me continue to load the software. The Steam version is shown as Xara Designer Pro X 15.0.0.52648 CD x64.

The error I'm getting on launch is:

"Unsupported 16-Bit Application"

"The program or feature "(path name to my C drive steam library)\steamapps\common\MAGIX\Xara Designer Pro X 15 Steam Edition\_Install\Fonts\Fonts_Package8_en-II_setup.exe" cannot start or run due to incompatibility with 64-bit versions of Windows. Please contact the software vendor to ask if a 64-bit Windows compatible version is available."

It has got to be that one installer because the rest of the application is running in 64-bit just fine.

[JJJayhawk]

Well, it appears that Steam will revert to buggy 15.0 version for eternity, not 15.1, and I see no way to upgrade the Steam version of the software at all. I've placed a refund request with Steam and have explained the bad situation with the updater and the buggy software that apparently Xara isn't going to change on Steam because of their ToS. Acorn, thank you for your posts on the other Web Design forum, I had no idea what I was getting into with this software. I think I'll shift over to Affinity for now and keep my Xara 12 going until the hard drive dies. What a disappointment. I've never seen a software company lease bug patches for a year and then pull them all back at the end of it, until now.

Sorry to sound so grumpy, I'm normally pretty happy, but this whole mess gets me down. I guess I have a few weeks to copy clipart and themes to the drive.

Here's my post to Steam requesting a refund:

"It appears that the installation file is a buggy first iteration and from what I can discern, it is impossible to get the updated 15.1 patch either via Xara or via Steam. Getting a 16-bit installer for fonts packaged with this installer that fails everytime I launch the application. Then once I'm in the application and attempt to update the software, there is no way for me to do so -- the previous standalone version that I own has this but the one that Xara uploaded to Steam does not. Basically the software is unfixed and the company doesn't appear to be maintaining the application with regular patches -- the Terms of Service state that any patches they provide will be removed from the installer after a year. This means that every purchaser of this software on Steam will be downgraded to 15.0 which is a buggy mess.

Steam - you need to land on Magix/Xara for this really bad business practice - the application is a ticking timebomb of bad business that will reflect poorly on your service as well as Xara's. I've been a Steam member for a long time and I would hate to see that happen because Steam rocks. Please refund this buggy software for me and have a great weekend. Thanks."

Thanks again, Acorn, for your responses to me and others as well. Much appreciated.

[Acorn]

I've never seen a software company lease bug patches for a year and then pull them all back at the end of it, until now.

JJJ, thank you for advising with such comprehension. I have never used the Steam Client but I suspected there might be a little mismatch. Being stuck a v15.0 is not at all useful.

At least we have not lost a Xara (v12) user as well.

Your bug patch leasing model is a useful aide memoir.

Do keep coming back and reading and contributing to TG.

Acorn