Is anyone else upset that updates are $19.95?

[waterwench]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by FP-User:
New Users: In my opinion everything you see in the demo with $$ attached to it is included with the product when you pay. Nothing from the additional template pack appears in the demo in any way. Can someone who knows if I'm correct for sure about the items with $$ on them please respond.._ <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Okay, after FINALLY getting a Xara representative to respond to the "known bugs" in the new websytle4 that I paid for and could not use (FOUR MONTHS of emails and, posts here complaints!)I was able to use the new software as expected and pormised by their sales pitch. I open webstyle4 the other day and it went to update...Now I own the CD and have also had ALL the templates downloaded...after the update was finished, I was informed that new templates had been downloaded. I clicked to see the updated and downloaded templates and every signle one of them had $$$, when I clicked on these new templates I was informed I would have to pay for them...They are there in the templates, I cannot get rid of them unless I pay the extra dollars Xara so greedily wants from me. My emails to Xara support have resulted, as usual, in total silence...I own other graphic software and apart from major changes to their programes, I have NEVER had to pay for updated templates or designs. I find it totally ludicrous and very bad business form of Xara to be offering now Webstyle4 COMPLETE with these new templates AND a free Font CD. I was offered NOTHING for all the months I was not able to use webstyle4 because of their ADMITTED faults and bugs!
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Toproboy-But in fairness, I was offered a refund, or for Free, the extra templates. I took the latter and have got some stuff working as I want it to. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> If toproboy was offered this then I too should have been offered the same as both he and I were having the same and/or similar problems.In fact, everyone who had problems with webstyle4 when it was first released should have been offered the same. No wonder there is so much piracy and software theft happening with business ethics such as Xara show...I for one no longer recommend any xara software.
If other graphic software companies had these kind of ethics, they would soon be out of business, maybe xara had best be more thoughtful of their clients?
I too will not be quiet on this subject...happily I will keep posting my annoyance...I pay for my time on the net!

[pcontour]

http://www.talkgraphics.com/images/smilies/mad.gif I don't disagree with what you said. I just wanted to repost what I said before, to dollface, and in your case I wouldn't recommend that you follow my advice. I am just lucky that everything worked clean and easy for me. If you had my physical PC you wouldn't have a problem.

<span class="ev_code_BLUE">If you see my post above. I just bought the software, I got every single template as marked in the demo. I don't have any with $ on them anymore. If I click on the button at the top right that says update webstyle, I'm going to get the template pack samples with $$ on them.

So you don't have to redo everythig to prove your point. But again check my point. You may want to do your install like I did to get the $$ out of your face.COLOR]

Hey Wrench Dude, I think they made a marketing blunder, you are not the only one pissed off.

[COLOR:RED]My advice to Xara is,

"Fix the blunder and make all your customers happy by".

"Officially saying - we don't feel we did anything unfair, but we are willing to take a hit to clear up this situation.

"Give everyone the template pack this one time."

Refund the money to anyone who bought it.

"Get out of the additional template business."

Make new graphics and themes an option. Provide the software to add additional templates/themes to the product. Write protect all the original Xara graphics. Create a stucture for new templates that safe guards all original Xara stuff. The hard task is to ensure that your product is safe from medling.

This is a great strategy because it make the original product more attractive, because people will be able to get many many more templates and your company will not have to build them. Any new competitors would be hard pressed to compete with a product that has 1000 graphic themes available.

This is what Microsoft is doing with FP2003. You can hate Microsoft products, but no one is denying their marketing genious.

Increase your price by $10 for the new open graghics version. We will be clamoring to upgrade to the new version, it will provide an irresistable reason to upgrade. You do have people on WS3 still. This will really get people interested.

Rise to the challenge. The rewards are great. </span>

[waterwench]

LOL, prefer being a spanner to a wrench thank you!
My main gripe with Xara is that their own staff admitted in this very forum that the problem I had was a serious one and that he would get onto it straight away. I did not PAY money for a betta version! Yet the problems I had and others also, were only sorted out by Xara after the numerous complaints here on the forum. Xara support did not even have the decency to follow up my emails and postings, I was informed by a forum member! Not once have I received any form of contact from Xara saying, hey girl, sorry we stuffed up, sorry you could not use the software for 4 months, sorry the CDrom we sent you was faulty (and still not replaced!)sorry we did not notify you when this seriousproblem with OUR software was rectified http://www.talkgraphics.com/images/smilies/mad.gif Like I said before, Xara Webstyle4 was an expensive, pretty toy to play with and like all toys, very soon become placed in the dark dusty realms of one's toybox...

[pcontour]

Sorry Water Babe, wrench is such a guy thing.

Not that you or your voices care, but I sent that email to Xara, they are working on my suggestion already, but there are some serious difficulties with just opening things up. There is a long list of rules that their graphics comply with. The techies see a major reworking to provide that facility. They are not going to announce anything until they are more sure of the hows and whens. In fact it may never come, but they have people working on it, and a high level desire to do it.

So water babe, you should use it because it's good, in spite of all the problems up until now. Would you slap your own face to make you boyfriend upset. You bought it, might as well use it and have fun.

[waterwench]

ha ha ha, will remember that wrench is a guy thing next time I need to do an adjustment!
If you had read my posts, you would know that I had been unable to use the version 4 because of the problems I had with it, until very recently. It isnt fun when you upgrade from something you have used and trusted since version 2 to what was suppose to be a marvelous new product...Nor is it acceptable to just sit back and accept a faulty cdrom as well as a fault filled piece of software and then to be totally ignored by support. My voices don't care, but I do! When I pay for something and it does not deliver or work as stated, then I demand answers...basically never got the answers I should have. To make the entire event even more annoying, I read right here in this very forum that a member was given the templates free as a way of making up for all the problems he had with version 4!
May I ask what email you sent to support at xara? What are they working on that may never come? High level of dersire to do what? Work on their never answering support requests!
Yes I brought the software, but no, I wont be using it until I have very single bug sorted...Happily use my old version, tried and trusted. http://www.talkgraphics.com/images/smilies/rolleyes.gif

[pcontour]

The thing they are working on is making it possible for people to add templates and themes themselves. Then users can share their new templates with each other if they want to. Look back a couple of posts where I have stuff in blue, for more detail.

[Stewdeva]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by FP-User:
The thing they are working on is making it possible for people to add templates and themes themselves. Then users can share their new templates with each other if they want to. Look back a couple of posts where I have stuff in blue, for more detail. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Hi FP,

One of the reasons I'm a little peed off with Webstyle 4 (I think it's inferior to 3.1 because it lacks its functionality and they have tried to cram too much into the programme) is because one of the things which everyone, BUT everyone asked for in the newer versions, I've had them all, was to have a facility in Xara X to make then import/export templates into Webstyle.

I can't see that facility in X1, so I guess they aren't doing it. I've been around here since year dot, though dormant for the past couple of years.

Webstyle 4 isn't good and is full of bugs, and the functionality compared to previous versions is appaling, which is why there are so many people having problems. I can work round most of the problems and fiddle with html, but that shouldn't be the case with any NEW AND IMPROVED Xara product; they made their name through the software being easy to use, and now it isn't that easy.

[waterwench]

Stewdeva I agree with you 100%, I too play with the Html, should not have to seeing as version 4 is supposed to be new and improved...Still waiting for a reply to my email to Xara Support...seems I am not worthy of a ten minute response time... http://www.talkgraphics.com/images/smilies/confused.gif

[pcontour]

http://www.talkgraphics.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif I don't know any better. V4 is all I've used. I am having problems frequently with menubars. I believe the problems can be avoided by my following rigid procedures on my part. It doesn't just work easily. http://www.talkgraphics.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif

[martunes]

While Webstyle 4 isn't quite as easy to use as we're lead to believe and tech support is spotty, I think it's great value! I've done several sites and charged good money for them. It took me 1/4 of the time and the clients are pleased. Charging extra for the templates is a no-brainer; they're cheap for what you're getting and while I haven't bought them yet, I certainly intend to.

As all web designers know, this kind of work takes a lot of time, I don't think $20US is too much to ask. In fact, I'd like to see more updates more often.