Quote Originally Posted by Boy View Post
This morning I received an email from Magix asking to participate in an XDP survey, signed by Eva Kalbfell, Product Manager, Xara Designer Pro X. Would this be the same Eva who just left Xara?
That is the same Eva. Eva was Product Manager for Xara's Desktop Applications. I assume Matt Bolton is Product Manager for Xara Cloud. Each has it own technical roadmap and while there is a shared overlap, some Templates are kept apart, probably for commercial and marketing rather than technical reasons.

The XDA is delivered as Xara Pro+ through Xara and installed as C:\Program Files\Xara\Xara Designer Pro X\18 at current version: Xara Designer Pro X 18.0.0.61642 DL x64 Mar 18 2021.
The XDA is delivered as Xara Pro+ through Xara and installed as C:\Program Files\Xara\Xara Designer Pro+ at current version: Xara Designer Pro+ 21.3.0.62275 SL x64 May 27 2021.

There is a slight fiction with v21 as in the MS Registry, we have:

  • Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Xara\XtremePro x64\18\Options\DebugFlags\IniFileVersion: 18.0.0.61642 for XDXPv18.0.
  • Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Xara\XtremePro Sub x64\18\Options\DebugFlags\IniFileVersion: 18.3.0.62275 for XPro+v21.3.

Essentially XPro+ and XDPX are the same product as different sub-sub-versions. All the other Magix XDAs are carved out of the same lump. So much so that in XPro+ configuration file there are still Magix hooks.

Eva, as Product Manager, would deliver an agreed version to Magix and it then adds Magix links into the hooks and throws in all its other packages. Xara Pro+ is therefore less tainted with flim-flammery.

In summary, it is all the same product. Magix versions are controlled and delayed by Magix to allow it to market lesser versions and later ones to its customers through its Update Service.
XPro+ is the real deal but a pure subscription model, which is equal in value to the Magix Update Service for those who renew annually.

Acorn