Latest Xara Pro+ Release - version 21.7 - 17 February 2022

[Acorn]

Xara has released XPro+v21.7.

Its credentials are:

• Xara Designer Pro+ 21.7.0.63833 SL x64 Feb 17 2022.
• Xara HTML filter v.9.8.0.29.
• PDF Producer: (Xara.com) PDF export 9,5,0,46.

Its release Notes are: http://releasenotes.xara.hosting/designer-pro-plus/

The good news for web developers is there are lots of SVG improvements.
The bad new for graphic designers is there are lots of SVG improvements.

I have put the Thread in this forum as the other flagged change is for vector illustration with an Alt key constraint for when dragging curve handles with the Shape Tool. In trying it, I've found it affords better control.

I shall make one observation around the "Other improvements and Fixes" section.

Resize of photo filled shape changed shape to rectangle. Fixed.

I would have thought the same difficulty in fitting Text Inside onto a Curved Corners box might have been sorted.

Xara has extended the SVG capability to better handle transparency (mix & multiply) and graduated fills.
Wall Shadows are now SVG and not images.

By far the best changes are probably hidden to you.
The CSS files Xara generates have had the proprietary prefixes removed as modern browsers are wll capable of the latest stylings.
Render blocking has been reduced and unneeded JS scripts dropped.
Xara estimates a 15% speed improvement for mobile rendering.
I am excited as I have been drumbeating on such matters for aeons. We'll see but thank you Xara for listening.

As will all releases there will be Bugs so be patient and try and document what is off.
My gut tells me that defaulting Shapes as SVGs to On is a risk as when it has been done before lots of things broke.

So XPro+ now has SVG rendering as well as WeBP replacing JPEG & PNG. Together these should combine into smaller, crisper and faster websites.

Acorn

[gwpriester]

The Alt constraint for lines drawn with the Shape Tool appears to be limited to 90 degrees. Is this correct?

[Acorn]

The Alt constraint for lines drawn with the Shape Tool appears to be limited to 90 degrees. Is this correct?

Gary, yes.

Draw a curved line with a number of Nodes.
Select a node and you get control handles.
Hold down the Alt Key and drag a control handle; it only moves it the original direction or orthagonal to that (90⁰).
If you select a Node and drag it along and release the control handles have staying in the same orientation or at right angles.

Acorn

[Acorn]

@Xara, I have raise about 8 Bugs for this release: https://www.talkgraphics.com/showthr...Pro-V21-7-Bugs.

What I didn't mention was Mouse-over effects have been lost as you fail to reference ani.css until the design includes a Reveal!
This along will trash many websites.

Happy to be proved wrong.

Create a Blob.
In Web Animation, add a Wobble Mouse-over effect.
Preview.

ani.css is in index_htm_files but is not called/loaded:

 <link rel="preload" href="index_htm_files/xr_fonts.css" as="style" onload="this.onload = null; this.rel = 'stylesheet'" />
 <script><!--
 if(navigator.userAgent.indexOf('MSIE')!=-1 || navigator.userAgent.indexOf('Trident')!=-1){ document.write('<link rel="stylesheet" href="index_htm_files/xr_fontsie.css"/>');} 
--></script>
 <script>document.documentElement.className="xr_bgh0";</script>
 <link rel="stylesheet" href="index_htm_files/xr_main.css"/>
 <link rel="preload" href="index_htm_files/xr_text.css" as="style" onload="this.onload = null; this.rel = 'stylesheet'" />
 <script src="index_htm_files/roe.js"></script>

I am afraid only you have the wobble, we don't.

Acorn

---

UPDATE
Seems you did all this for XDPXv18.0, affecting everyone?

[gwpriester]

Draw a curved line with a number of Nodes.
Select a node and you get control handles.
Hold down the Alt Key and drag a control handle; it only moves it the original direction or orthagonal to that (90⁰).
If you select a Node and drag it along and release the control handles have staying in the same orientation or at right angles.

Why would I want to do this? I understand what you are saying but I am not clear on how I would use this feature? I have always felt selecting a handle and then being able to move the handle with the arrow keys, plus using Alt and Shift Ctrl to constrain the distance to would be useful. But just not sure how I would use this feature.

[Acorn]

Why would I want to do this? I understand what you are saying but I am not clear on how I would use this feature? I have always felt selecting a handle and then being able to move the handle with the arrow keys, plus using Alt and Shift Ctrl to constrain the distance to would be useful. But just not sure how I would use this feature.

Gary, I have no involvement with what and how Xara delivers functionality so you will have to ask it.

From my limited play, I can see a use for Shift+Alt+Drag as it balances and makes the control handles the same distance, all along the same axis.



Acorn