Any compelling reason to keep renewing Pro X annual licence??

[Acorn]

I have earned more money than I have paid out to Xara so in my case I reluctantly buy in; I have even gone Pro Xara Cloud!

I believe my subscriptions, my ongoing use of the products and TG contributions entitle me to raise issues with the current set-up.
My full-on hate is the roll back to your purchase version on Update Service expiry and the loss of on-line access. I have offered up alternatives to bypass these irritations; Xara remains in a niggardly mindset over these.

I look on this festive season for some enlightenment.
Xara is suggesting that Version 17 will be a storker. I read into this adaptive websites and the removal of the tired pixel-placement fudge of multiple SPANs for multi-line text. Do note, I have no evidence for this and that is is all from a web perspective so I may be doing Xara a disservice or even building hope on a whisper.

I have held back from jumping across to Nicepage.
I have PineGrow PRO with WordPress and Pinegrow is now offering up Pinegrow Interactions (using the very, very powerful Greensock); something Xara almost does, but badly.
I have the Affinity range.
I hand-code as I need to interact with data.

For most, the answer your two questions - No & No.

Xara is losing the battle.
Until something concrete, Bah Humbug from Xara to All.

Acorn

[handrawn]

I think the software is worth supporting, so I do.

agree, but sadly, that software is no longer XARA in my case, both because of the direction it is crawling in re desktop, and because even donations should go where they are most effective...

[gpholman]

Thanks to all who replied. Hope you all had a good Christmas :-)

I'd not used Xara for an extended period this year (I last fired it up around June I think) and when I did get round to running it in October, a message popped up telling me I'd run out of subscription (this expired end of October) and wouldn't be getting any further updates. This includes TWO updates WITHIN the period I'd paid up to (July and October)! I think this is the final nail in the coffin for me.

[browj2]

I can understand your frustration, but it's always a good idea to keep track of programs that have a similar type of expiry date and, in the case of Xara, make sure to have updated and downloaded everything that can be downloaded. Then you can sit it out for a year or two until you either need some new feature or you need to reinstall.

I'm sitting it out, but mainly due to the problem with the interface between Xara and Magix' video programs. The XAR object gets emptied when the video editor project is restarted. Not good. Other than that, there is nothing new that I need, so I'll wait. I've also been trying to get off of the upgrade merry-go-round with other programs; too expensive for little gain.

[gpholman]

I've sent a compaint to Magix support. I've paid for all unpdates released to end of October 2019 and to miss out on two out the three issued before that date simply because I didn't check in to the update service is totally unacceptable.

[handrawn]

I hope they listen

But it does say in the end user licence agreement that you only have access to the updates whilst your update service is current, so they might not

[Acorn]

...in the case of Xara, make sure to have updated and downloaded everything that can be downloaded...

John, don't you find it petty of Xara not to offer a total local download of assets from the OCC as opposed to vaguely mentioning it in a obscure section of the Support site? I do. The application is then deprived of access to quite basic components when the Update Service expires. Any consequential roll-back to a version that may no long support your published sites is madness. Again, this all comes without very explicit advice.

Those who follow TG may be lucky if they are sufficiently technically savvy. Xara claims it has a very large customer base; there must be a lot of confused and frustrated (ex-)customers out there.

I no longer ensure over any Xara releases.
Acorn

[handrawn]

its petty

but it helps their cash flow

go figure

[Acorn]

its petty
but it helps their cash flow
go figure

I try to. My "ensure" was a typo for "enthuse". Chasing new customers and no looking towards retention is folly.

Acorn

[browj2]

John, don't you find it petty of Xara not to offer a total local download of assets from the OCC as opposed to vaguely mentioning it in a obscure section of the Support site? I do. The application is then deprived of access to quite basic components when the Update Service expires. Any consequential roll-back to a version that may no long support your published sites is madness. Again, this all comes without very explicit advice.

Those who follow TG may be lucky if they are sufficiently technically savvy. Xara claims it has a very large customer base; there must be a lot of confused and frustrated (ex-)customers out there.

I no longer ensure over any Xara releases.
Acorn

@Acorn

I've been sick for the last week, great start to a new year. Happy New everyone!

I don't know if I would use the word "petty," but Xara/Magix could do a slightly better job of explaining things to people who don't bother to look at the details behind the asterisks.

The Magix.com website under Xara DPX states, "Worth a million: The Online Content Catalog Discover the Online Content Catalog* with over 1 million freely available stock photos, graphics, illustrations and SmartShapes that you can easily access and use at any time." I find this misleading because: 1) you cannot use at any time after the 1 year period unless you renew; 2) you have to look at the reference to see, "1 full year of access to the Online Content Catalog." This could and should be mentioned right up front, not as an asterisk. It's only 10 words!

Update Service is described near the bottom of the page. "Includes the Update Service for one full year. Every day. Today, tomorrow and for the next 365 days, your website will always have the latest look! Our Update Service is included for free and offers you one full year of automatic software updates with brand new features.***" More asterisks. Look slightly below for the fine-print definition, "With the update service you will receive one full year of new features and updates for free, which can be used indefinitely. If you reinstall the program after one year, you will have access to the basic version without Update Service. After the one-year update service has expired you can extend it for a discounted price." Again, this could simply be put with the main text as it is fundamental to understanding the update service. Furthermore, "If you reinstall the program after one year.....access to the basic version without Update Service" is vague, in my opinion. It should be rewritten as "access to the version that was available when you last purchased or paid for the Update Service..."

The third problem is with getting the complete definition of the Update Service. There is an "i' beside "Update" that shows a reference to the web page definition of Update Service. However, a new user is likely not going to click on this and won't see the definition. Under the big black box that says Update Service, there should be a "See definition of Update Service" link. Right now, there is nothing.

For new users, the email with the activation code should specifically state that you have one-year update service, one-year access to the OCC, and what happens if you have to reinstall after the update service has expired. The same should be stated on a start up nag screen under a heading - Please read this carefully! I don't know what the email says for new users. Perhaps someone can tell us.

Lastly, we get a nag screen a month before the end of the update service period warning us. This should include the warning that there will be no access to the OCC beyond that date and that you may want to download the content, and that should one have to reinstall after update service period has expired the reinstall will revert to the version available when last paid, and any updates during the update service period will be lost.

That said, one way or another, this information was and is available, but the user has to actually read it. I think that even if Xara/Magix did what I suggest, there would still be complaints. Why? Because there are always users who just don't bother to read what is in front of them. Believe me, I see it all of the time on the Magix.info forum. Example, install Movie Edit Pro Plus/Premium, and you are presented with a screen advising you to download and install the additional free content by clicking on the button. You have to click on the box to not show this screen again. You would be surprised to know that we get users on a regular basis who upgraded, turned off this warning box without even bothering to read it, and then complained on the forum that there was no content that they had before or that they were promised and that they've been defrauded by Magix, etc.

Back to Xara. For the history, prior to the introduction of the Update Service, you purchased the version that was available, there was some free content available, but most of the on-line Content was for purchase. I purchased a few website templates and widget packs. If a new version came out 2 months later, you would have to pay to upgrade. With the Update Service, you suddenly got access to all of the OCC - for FREE! All you had to do was download it and you had a year to do so. You also got an advance on any new features/versions that came out during the Update Service one-year period. You did not pay for these; you paid for what was available at that time. If you used any of the new features/versions that came out after the start of the Update Service period, no problem, unless you let the Update Service period expire and then had to reinstall. If you don't have to reinstall, then no problem; just keep on going, which is my case. I know fully well that if I have to reinstall Xara, it will revert to when I last paid, July 2018, not the end of the Update Service. If that should happen, then I can either accept that or simply pay up for a year.

So, for @pgholman , you did not pay for Updates to the end of October 2019. You paid fully for what was available when you paid the year before. You were allowed to get updates/upgrades during the year, subject to the terms of the Update Service, which you should have read and understood. If you did not bother to get the updates before the end of the Update Service period, that is your problem, not Xara's, not Magix'. Sorry to be rough, but that is the way it is. The program still works, doesn't it? On the other hand, if you ever have to reinstall, it is likely that you will not have used any of the new features, so you won't be "forced" to renew. You can now comfortably continue using the program without having to renew. The only problem is that pesky nag screen at start up advising you that your Update Service period expired.