What Happened to Xara/Magix Online Content?

[Tazz]

Hi Everyone and good afternoon or evening, morning, etc., in your neck of the woods.
So i've been out of service for quite some time with surgery, and I came back to work on a site, and BOOM, things have changed!
Program in question: Xara Designer Pro X 19.0.1.65946 DL x64 Feb 7, 2023

I have no content at all. When I click the "More Online..." option it takes me to the Magix Website, with the country choices, then proceeds to tell me that "Magix discontinues Xara Distribution". So where or how do I get content at all to use this wonderful software I've paid for and now have no content to use? Albeit, I have been comfortable using Xara Designer Pro X 19.0.1.65946 DL x64 Feb 7, 2023...So maybe in my short time away, and not upgrading, my "ancient" software is of no use anymore. It tells me when I start the program that my "update service period expired on Sept 8, 2023, so you no longer have access to program updates or online services." Okay, then there's a button that says "upgrade", but that takes me to the obsolete website of Magix. So I'm stuck in this loop apparently and have missed some serious "something", that allows me to use my software the way I intended to, and have happily used it for many, many years now. Online, I couldn't even find a way to upgrade from an older version (my 19) to a newer one. Please help. Thank you in advance!

[handrawn]

Hi

in short:

magix [and xara] no longer support versions up to 19

to upgrade you need to go here: https://www.xara.com/welcome/

and scroll down to the get your discount now form and fill it out

the only programs now supported are pro+ and they are subscription, so you will always have to renew every year to keep using, and that is now the only upgrade option going forward

if you have not downloded your version 19 OCC content and saved it offline then i am afraid it is lost once your update service has expired, as that updated service is now dead

[Tazz]

Hi

in short:

magix [and xara] no longer support versions up to 19

to upgrade you need to go here: https://www.xara.com/welcome/

and scroll down to the get your discount now form and fill it out

the only programs now supported are pro+ and they are subscription, so you will always have to renew every year to keep using, and that is now the only upgrade option going forward

if you have not downloded your version 19 OCC content and saved it offline then i am afraid it is lost once your update service has expired, as that updated service is now dead

Thank you for your response. I appreciate it. So there's no option to purchase the software outright anymore? We all have to go to subscription-based. AND $180/year. Wow. That's a big shame. Well, thank you again for your assistance.

Tazz

[MB365]

Thank you for your response. I appreciate it. So there's no option to purchase the software outright anymore? We all have to go to subscription-based. AND $180/year. Wow. That's a big shame. Well, thank you again for your assistance.

Tazz

@tazz

1. There are exclusive discounts for existing product owners.
2. There are non-subscription plan options.

Reach us through the chat at www.xara.com or through the contact form at www.xara.com/contact-us

[handrawn]

Hi Matt

I am not aware of any non-subscription plan options beyond the basic cloud offering which is not the same thing, and if there are any they are not made clear on your site; if I go to designer pro+ for example, all that appears to be on offer is the subscription: for this or for the cloud pro+ package

Any chance you could make this clearer, I might be interested myself if you have non-subscription versions of the non-cloud apps

Thanks

[handrawn]

Thank you for your response. I appreciate it. So there's no option to purchase the software outright anymore? We all have to go to subscription-based. AND $180/year. Wow. That's a big shame. Well, thank you again for your assistance.

Tazz

you are welcome

it seems mb365 [matt] may have something up his sleeve that might help

[Spamiky]

I would also be interested in a non-subscription version. I don't need the cloud and sharing, and I mostly just create websites.

[MB365]

Let me unpack this and clear up some terminology along the way.

First, Xara Designer+ products are not ‘cloud’ products. They do not live and run in the cloud. They are downloaded and installed on your local machine. They do connect online to a variety of services like the online content catalog, hosting providers for website publishing, and the Xara license/update server to highlight a few. Very common behavior for desktop products.

Second, Xara Designer+ products are sold as subscription plans. Each is a stand-alone purchase or there is a bundle plan of Pro+ and Xara Cloud.
* always access to the current version of the software (currently v23.4)
* frequent product updates and improvements (10 last year, 6 this year so far)
* timely fixes (like 24.1 maintenance release this week)
* modern, updated content catalog of templates, components, filters, brushes, etc (3500+ items added in last 2 months alone)
* premium level support directly from Xara (chat and email)

Third, recently completed but not announced is a new Xara perpetual v19. It is a one-time payment.
* based on v19 feature set
* new widget framework
* basic template library bundled
* online support resources
* no new features or improvements included
Contact us through the chat at www.xara.com or through email at www.xara.com/contact-us

Fourth, Xara does have a product that runs in the cloud and it is called Xara Cloud. The software is hosted on servers accessible through the browser. This product is a template-driven system for businesses, usually non-designers, to create marketing collateral like brochures, product sheets, flyers, social media, etc. It has built-in brand setup and management, a digital asset and personalized template library, multi-user editing and collaboration, and built-in file storage for easy workflow. This is a stand-alone purchase or there is a bundle plan with Pro+ desktop.

Fifth, any question? Anyways best to contact us directly. Then we can help with your unique situation. Contact us through the chat at www.xara.com or through email at www.xara.com/contact-us

Last but not least, have a good weekend.

Matt
Xara

[Spamiky]

Thank you very much for the detailed information. So if I have the paid version of XDP 19 now, I won't get anything new. I don't need online access to the content, the images are freely available on the web. The only thing that bothers me, and it bothers me a lot, is that my XDP19 keeps offering me an update, a pop-up window when starting the program, but it doesn't work. Can't you do a little update so that it doesn't bother you?

I am sorry for my bad English.

[Acorn]

Matt, thank you for the heads-up on the new perpetual version 19 desktop application.

Will this v19 have a different licence number to those with v17/v18? I would not wish to lose access to these XDAs for a cut-down product.
Also in accessing the new "basic template library (bundled)", can we have an assurance that existing OCC downloaded files will be preserved?

There appears to be a v19.02 at http://releasenotes.xara.hosting/des...Anchor:58OiLFd "Note 19.0.2 is the version of 19 sold by Xara, these features are not in v19 if purchased from Magix".
So v19.02 has WebP web export options but nothing for SVG?

What is the development plan? ("no new features or improvements included")
XPro+v20.0 was June 2020 so are all the developments since then going to be slowly drip-fed?

Do you have any plans for bundling simple Internet service provision?

(The Plus versions must be all v24.1 and not v23.4? XPro+).

Acorn