Since there's no NODE TOOL, how do you select multiple nodes

**gwpriester** · 14 July 2019, 12:43 AM

Not really the same thing Egg. If I remember correctly, and it has been over 20 years since I used CorelDRAW, if you did a series of actions to a selected object or group, let's say, change an object's fill, resize, and rotate the object, then selecting another object and hitting Ctrl R would do all those things. It has always been a very powerful command. If you selected a line and rotated it around the base 12 degrees, then you could hit Ctrl R 29 times and create a circular object.

**IcyPRO** · 13 July 2019, 09:51 PM

Originally Posted by Fred C

Shape tool (F4)

Two more questions, if you can help me out please:
Why does copy and paste throw my item way across the canvas?
And is there a repeat past action type of shortcut in Xara (like there is in Corel)?

**Boy** · 13 July 2019, 10:14 PM

You can use Edit/Paste/Paste in place (Shft+Ctrl+V).

Repeat last action is unfortunately not available in Xara.

**IcyPRO** · 13 July 2019, 10:54 PM

Originally Posted by Boy

You can use Edit/Paste/Paste in place (Shft+Ctrl+V).

Repeat last action is unfortunately not available in Xara.

Thank you for that tip.
Anyway, here's a post from 2001 asking about repeating last action:

Originally Posted by Mark Goodall

This is on our to do list.

Mark Goodall
Xara Ltd

Well, I guess it wasn't on their to-do list then..

**Promidi** · 14 July 2019, 03:05 AM

From Xara, Press CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+B to bring up the Control Bars dialogue.

Look to the bottom of the list to select "Button Pallete"

A dialogue box with a plethora of buttons will appear. Look for the icon to the left of the Rectangle tool (near the top). It's called the "Pen Tool" (Mouse over it to confirm the name)

This tool, I believe, may be the closest to what you're after.

If you wish to add this tool to a tool bar (may the side tool bar for example), hold down ALT while dragging it to where you would like it to be placed.

Experiment with this tool for a while to see if it is indeed what you're after.

Hope this helps.

**IcyPRO** · 14 July 2019, 07:09 AM

Originally Posted by Promidi

From Xara, Press CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+B to bring up the Control Bars dialogue.

Look to the bottom of the list to select "Button Pallete"

A dialogue box with a plethora of buttons will appear. Look for the icon to the left of the Rectangle tool (near the top). It's called the "Pen Tool" (Mouse over it to confirm the name)

This tool, I believe, may be the closest to what you're after.

If you wish to add this tool to a tool bar (may the side tool bar for example), hold down ALT while dragging it to where you would like it to be placed.

Experiment with this tool for a while to see if it is indeed what you're after.

Hope this helps.

Thanks for the advice, though I already knew about the button palette and yesterday I created my custom palette for tools I want to use and added the pen tool you're talking about.

I was kinda surprised that it wasn't included in the main panel already..

Anyway, I don't want to give up on this program, just because there are few things working differently than I'm used to, I'm just asking to understand it better and to figure out what it can and cannot do. That's all.
Thanks for all your help so far, I appreciate that.

**IcyPRO** · 15 July 2019, 03:27 PM

Originally Posted by Promidi

From Xara, Press CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+B to bring up the Control Bars dialogue.

Look to the bottom of the list to select "Button Pallete"

A dialogue box with a plethora of buttons will appear. Look for the icon to the left of the Rectangle tool (near the top). It's called the "Pen Tool" (Mouse over it to confirm the name)

This tool, I believe, may be the closest to what you're after.

If you wish to add this tool to a tool bar (may the side tool bar for example), hold down ALT while dragging it to where you would like it to be placed.

Experiment with this tool for a while to see if it is indeed what you're after.

Hope this helps.

I've added this tool through the button palette to my custom bar and it keeps disappearing every time I restart Xara. Any idea what could be the cause of that?

**handrawn** · 15 July 2019, 08:07 PM

as I recall you need to edit the registry to get that tool to persist - when it will appear on the flyout bar with the other 'drawing' tools

the registry key is:

Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Xara\XtremePro HB x64\15\Options\FlyoutBars\\ShowPenToolOnFlyout

[changing 'XtremeProHB x64\15' for your version of the program]

modify the value of the key from 0 to 1

[do this with the program closed of course]

it should then persist on the flyout:

Click image for larger version.

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this will then enable you to place it on other bars and have it persist there too [I think]

why do you have to do this? - because Xara deprecated the tool - it is left there for compatibility with abobe users

**browj2** · 16 July 2019, 02:14 PM

For the pen tool, an easy way is to create a shortcut for it. You just have to remember what the shortcut is.

**Acorn** · 16 July 2019, 02:56 PM

It was kind of Xara to deprecate the Pen Tool that designers have been using from the off.
It might also a poor UI idea that allows the Pen Tool icon to be Alt-drag added to the Toolbar and then vanish it on restart.

The notes are equally vague:

Note: Although it is not in the Drawing Tools toolbar, you can also use the PEN TOOL to create precise shapes. It has limited functionality and works like the line
tool of other drawing programs. To use the PEN TOOL, choose CONTROL BARS
from the WINDOW menu and click the BUTTON PALETTE checkbox. Then click the
PEN TOOL icon in the Button Palette.

If I recall, the trick is to create a new Control Bar and Alt-drag the Pen Tool to that to achieve some persistence.

The Pen Tool is quite happy burbling along in v11 & v12.

Acorn