Designer Pro + vs Designer Pro

[Acorn]

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

Nope. Never have. I would like the opportunity. Xara might not though.

30 years of long service in bad postings makes one attuned to the mindset .

Acorn

[Panchdara]

Well, XARA. I give up. I downloaded what I thought was an upgrade to XDP17 and it's call Pro+. Worked fine then have to log in to some freakin' website to gain access. This is all within my subscription service. Xara/Magix whatever you call yourselves - you have lost me. I'm now going over to Affinity and will not look back. I am sick of the goal posts constantly being moved, heightened, narrowed and removed. The way you change things, reword things and generally don't give a sh!t about long term users, you should be ashamed. All you care about is the almighty $. XDP is a simple, easy to use program - Affinity has some other challenges, but it is a living, breathing beast - XDP is an old, tired and expensive relic.

I won't even kiss you goodbye - just have to spit out the horrid taste you've left in my mouth.

[Acorn]

Well, XARA. I give up. I downloaded what I thought was an upgrade to XDP17 and it's call Pro+. Worked fine then have to log in to some freakin' website to gain access. This is all within my subscription service. Xara/Magix whatever you call yourselves - you have lost me. I'm now going over to Affinity and will not look back. I am sick of the goal posts constantly being moved, heightened, narrowed and removed. The way you change things, reword things and generally don't give a sh!t about long term users, you should be ashamed. All you care about is the almighty $. XDP is a simple, easy to use program - Affinity has some other challenges, but it is a living, breathing beast - XDP is an old, tired and expensive relic.

I won't even kiss you goodbye - just have to spit out the horrid taste you've left in my mouth.

Pnchdara, you have fallen into the mire around Magix's marketing and Xara's hope of cleaving away from their partner. It is a b***hfest of many years' fester and you are one of the many.

If you want your upgrade go to https://www.magix.com/gb/photo-graph...-designer-pro/ and pick the Free trial button towards the bottom of the page. This allows you to use your current licence number and purchase email address to register, provided you are withing the Update service cover.
If you are not you can repurchase with the Upgrade button.

Xara Design Pro+ & Xara Cloud+ are Xara's alternative route.
For a better understanding, read my notes inhttps://www.talkgraphics.com/showthread.php?83565-Casual-Notes-on-Xara-Cloud-and-Xara-Pro-Combo.
Elsewhere i did a cost-benefit analysis but no point in linking...

TGers will be sorry to lose you.

Acorn

[Panchdara]

Pnchdara, you have fallen into the mire around Magix's marketing and Xara's hope of cleaving away from their partner. It is a b***hfest of many years' fester and you are one of the many.

If you want your upgrade go to https://www.magix.com/gb/photo-graph...-designer-pro/ and pick the Free trial button towards the bottom of the page. This allows you to use your current licence number and purchase email address to register, provided you are withing the Update service cover.
If you are not you can repurchase with the Upgrade button.

Xara Design Pro+ & Xara Cloud+ are Xara's alternative route.
For a better understanding, read my notes inhttps://www.talkgraphics.com/showthread.php?83565-Casual-Notes-on-Xara-Cloud-and-Xara-Pro-Combo.
Elsewhere i did a cost-benefit analysis but no point in linking...

TGers will be sorry to lose you.

Acorn

Thanks Acorn. I too will miss the valuable talent such as yourself, gwpriester, angelize and all the others. I can't express my disappointment - however that being said, look at Inkscape, GIMP, Chasys, Krita, Scribus, Blender and Paint.Net to name some excellent alternative freeware (donations accepted), then there's Photoline, Serif Affinity (Designer, Photo and Publisher - all living, breathing projects) and Resolve (slightly different category). There's a plethora of alternatives. Getting on their bandwagons is just a different way of looking at things and changing workflow slightly. (Plenty of help out there)

Mentioning the various ways to buy/upgrade these Xara/Magix products reminds me of the magic roundabouts at Hemmel Hempstead - the Plough Roundabout - I'd bet the team at Xara arbitrarily drive around this weird set of rings and randomly take an exit and there they'd open a mysterious envelope that magically determines the way they'll try and exploit money from their customer base.... gotta see some dumb humour in it.

I wish all you guys the best. 2020 will have changed may peoples lives. Make sure your seat belts are fastened when Xara/Magix take their fizzy drive around the roundabouts.

[Rob-Xar]

Mentioning the various ways to buy/upgrade these Xara/Magix products reminds me of the magic roundabouts at Hemmel Hempstead - the Plough Roundabout - I'd bet the team at Xara arbitrarily drive around this weird set of rings and randomly take an exit and there they'd open a mysterious envelope that magically determines the way they'll try and exploit money from their customer base.... gotta see some dumb humour in it.

It's actually really simple, inside lane to go to the next roundabout, outside lane to turn off at that exit. All the lanes are clearly marked as well, it's much faster than a set of traffic lights. The only issue is when you come across drivers who don't know how roundabouts work and pick the right lane for everything (which you find everywhere...).

Anyway, if you need help with getting DP+ running or finding the update for version 17, you can go to our website, www.xara.com and use the intercom button at the bottom right. We can help.

Thanks
Rob

[Initiostar]

My account/contract understanding here is this:

Where I have an existing Xara product (and not a new derivative with a + sign or Cloud association), my account/contract is with Magix, my support comes from Magix. If I want to upgrade (to a non +, non Cloud release), I head over to the Magix website for any of the products listed below.



I login to my account (email and password). I have 3 options: I can download a trial version (e.g. Pro v17), I can upgrade (e.g v16.3 to v17 ) provided I have subscribed to THEIR annual upgrade service (UPS), or I can purchase a perpetual licence whereupon I have THEIR UPS for 12 months thereafter.

Should I want to upgrade to Xara's + or cloud combo derivatives, I would contact Xara, otherwise everything is with Magix. Magix controls my activation keys not Xara.

Gary

[handrawn]

do I detect irony in your post Rob?

You have to admit the whole nomenclature of the product range, added to the fact that the legacy desktop programs are not actually sold by Xara any more, is bound to be confusing for some

[Rob-Xar]

It is confusing from the outside, especially to existing users. I myself am not fond of the current presentation of our products in this manner, but I'm sure this will improve in the future.

[Initiostar]

It is confusing from the outside, especially to existing users.

Well it should not be too difficult for Xara to clearly explain what Xara/ Magix is responsible for (products and services.) - TG members are continually helping route enquirers to the right location.

I have my doubts whether it is much clearer internally within Xara - here is a straight extract from the Xara website (albeit with my added comparison with Pro v17) : https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...1pA/edit#gid=0

I understand what Xara trying to do by matching product functionality to the way in which a 'new customer' might want to use it. But wow, is this really the best that can be done? How about rationalising marketing of the new product set into 'Pro' and 'ProCloud'?

As to the Xara website itself - others are better qualified than me here, but for all techo gizmos deployed and leaving aside the fancy animation (just check its impact with Google Lighthouse on performance); surely the talent in Xara could have been deployed to enhance your own website capabilities?

Gary

[handrawn]

...... but I'm sure this will improve in the future.

lets hope so...