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  1. #21
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    Melfort, Saskatchewan Canada
    Posts
    994

    Default Re: Designer Pro + vs Designer Pro

    @acorn. You nailed it!

    “ I still believe TGers need your explicit endorsement that Xara XDAs (XDPX, XWD(P)), XP&GD) are still in your sights for substantial upgrades.”

    Yes. We. Do !
    Bill Wood
    Charity Web Design
    XARA Pro+. WD17, Designer 17. Premium packages.
    IP

  2. #22
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    Melfort, Saskatchewan Canada
    Posts
    994

    Default Re: Designer Pro + vs Designer Pro

    Quote Originally Posted by Rob-H View Post
    This is all very confusing! I currently have Designer Pro X via Magic and I have been fairly disappointed with them since they took over the sales and support. Upgrades are more complex than they were before and their support is very poor. The one bug report I submitted via them was completely misunderstood and I have not bothered since. I use Designer constantly and want to keep up to date with the latest features and would welcome some better support. However, I have no interest whatsoever in the cloud version. I've just had notice of my renewal for the update service through Magix for £99 and if I use the discount code mentioned earlier here then I could change to Xara Cloud and Designer Pro Plus for approx. £101 for the first year so it is very tempting to switch. However, in future years presumably I'd have to pay the full cost of the Cloud service which at over £200 for a year seems very expensive when I have no interest in the cloud part of the service. I really don't know what to do!
    With you on this one Rob. I’m completely confused. I have no financial reason to move to Cloud. But continually use XDP XWD.
    Bill Wood
    Charity Web Design
    XARA Pro+. WD17, Designer 17. Premium packages.
    IP

  3. #23
    Join Date
    Apr 2018
    Location
    Barnes, London
    Posts
    947

    Default Re: Designer Pro + vs Designer Pro

    In the last few days I had the opportunity to trial Pro+ HiDPI Beta1 and Beta 2 and compare both against Pro v16.3 and Pro v17 on two different high-resolution displays 3840px x 2160px x 150% magnification 26in (Dell AIO Desktop) and 3200px x 1800px x 225% magnification (Dell XP13 Laptop).

    To be objective, I started with the v16 release notes (noting the dates added on the Contents page) http://releasenotes.xara.hosting/designer-pro-x16/; similarly I went through the same for v17 http://releasenotes.xara.hosting/web-designer-17/

    From there I headed over to the Xara website pricing/ product comparatives. Line-by-line, I reviewed the marketing message/capability with my functional understanding of Pro X (specifically as a stand-alone desktop product as Pro v17 is today).

    Everyone can make their own judgement by doing their own analysis, but to help, I extracted the Xara comparatives and added my own assessment of what is today possible with the current Pro v17. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...1pA/edit#gid=0

    In some cases it would require some thought, but by example if you wanted to create a library of assets, it is easy to do this with own host service /cloud provider.

    Summary Conclusions:

    1. Functionally, in stand-alone mode, there are a few real differences between v16.3, v17 and Pro+ (for now); most have work-arounds even if you have to use a little HTML/CSS.

    2. Where you do not have a requirement for Cloud, one has to trust Xara will not unnecessarily limit the inclusion of enhancements, that under their current agreement, would be provided by Magix.

    3. As said in various other threads on the the same subject, I would prefer to track the product author and contract direct, but I can live with the alternative, if the former becomes commercially unacceptable.

    There will never be a better time to unravel the marketing myths with some reality - however without a clear product published roadmap we are all left second guessing what the outcome will be.

    Gary
    IP

  4. #24
    Join Date
    Jun 2013
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    32

    Default Re: Designer Pro + vs Designer Pro

    Thanks for the interesting comparison but the detailed version at that spreadsheet link gives access denied.
    IP

  5. #25
    Join Date
    Apr 2018
    Location
    Barnes, London
    Posts
    947

    Default Re: Designer Pro + vs Designer Pro

    Should have hit share: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...it?usp=sharing

    Hopefully this works OK?
    IP

  6. #26
    Join Date
    Jun 2013
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    32

    Default Re: Designer Pro + vs Designer Pro

    Quote Originally Posted by Initiostar View Post
    Should have hit share: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...it?usp=sharing

    Hopefully this works OK?
    That's fine now thanks. Very interesting.
    IP

  7. #27
    Join Date
    Jul 2010
    Location
    England
    Posts
    1,129

    Default Re: Designer Pro + vs Designer Pro

    Quote Originally Posted by Initiostar View Post
    Should have hit share: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...it?usp=sharing

    Hopefully this works OK?
    Thanks for the comparison spreadsheet.

    Do you (or anyone) have a list of the actual components Xara have removed in their supported version?

    I ask this because when testing the beta version, I tried opening a file from June 2016 and it reported several live FX were missing which I wasn't expecting.

    The 'Pro+' beta version didn't keep me awake all night, but did display without the blurriness that the current versions do. To be honest I don't think the ability for a program to display correctly should be a selling point, it just should be (and for all versions).
    Jon (Jono) Xara Photo & Graphic Designer 19.0.0.64329 DL x64 May 19 2022
    IP

  8. #28
    Join Date
    May 2002
    Location
    Canada
    Posts
    3,338

    Default Re: Designer Pro + vs Designer Pro

    So, Do we report bugs to Magix or Xara? I feel there is some information that is withheld back from us users. The clarity of all this is foggy at best. My guess is that Magix contract with selling Xara will come to an end and Xara will remain with the cloud. So people like myself who are using Xara pro 17 will be left high and dry. This is why I use other tools in my box, never rely on one software, they all look after their own interest and not their users. Sorry but after decades of using Xara I have all the right to express myself here.
    IP

  9. #29
    Join Date
    Apr 2012
    Location
    SW England
    Posts
    17,743

    Default Re: Designer Pro + vs Designer Pro

    Quote Originally Posted by behzad View Post
    So, Do we report bugs to Magix or Xara? I feel there is some information that is withheld back from us users. The clarity of all this is foggy at best. My guess is that Magix contract with selling Xara will come to an end and Xara will remain with the cloud. So people like myself who are using Xara pro 17 will be left high and dry. This is why I use other tools in my box, never rely on one software, they all look after their own interest and not their users. Sorry but after decades of using Xara I have all the right to express myself here.
    Magix sees the Xara Desktop Applications (XDA) as a Cash Cow so Matt Bolton is contracted to deliver 3 to 4 version updates a year, ensuring one is a "major" release so Magix can market the XDAs all over again, catching the unwary in its shoddy marketing strategy. The XDAs will therefore continue.

    Xara will develop against its flagship Pro+ (& Cloud+) first off so updates will be more frequent and comprehensive. Ultimately as all are derived from the same code base there cannot be too much variance as that would cascade development, testing and delivery issues. Each XDA & Pro+ is effectively the same underlying engine with the User Interface pared back: any .XAR / .WEB file is editable in all XDAs, it is just the functionality to do so has been crippled out.

    You report XDA faults through Magix - https://support2.magix.com/customer/.
    You report Pro+/Cloud+ faults through Xara, probably using Intercom on the web is better than https://xara.com/contact-us/.

    Acorn
    Acorn - installed Xara software: Cloud+/Pro+ and most others back through time (to CC's Artworks). Contact for technical remediation/consultancy for your web designs.
    When we provide assistance, your responses are valuable as they benefit the community. TG Nuggets you might like. Report faults: Xara Cloud+/Pro+/Magix Legacy; Xara KB & Chat
    IP

  10. #30
    Join Date
    May 2002
    Location
    Canada
    Posts
    3,338

    Default Re: Designer Pro + vs Designer Pro

    Thanks Acorn, I always wondered if you work at Xara, cause you have so much insight into their working plans.
    IP

 

 

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