Adobe is ignored

[Shaman]

I ignore Adobe whenever possible!
Adobe has a few (dozen) things to learn from the Xara interface and way of doing things.
Adobe programs have a few advantages, and if you give me a few (weeks) I'll think of them, maybe.
Scott

[steve.ledger]

I still never truly understand what people mean when they say that xara cannot produce a "scalable" vector graphic to work with???

Of course it can Paul.. So long as you remain in XaraXtreme.

What I was saying is that once *exported* so that you can work with the drawing in another applcation - (that is to say an *export* is different than a *save*) any features which are unique to Xara are rasterised because you are exporting to a different file format (PDF/CMX and so on).
Of course exporting as a bitmap type then everything is raterised.
This then renders the entire drawing un scalable as it is not longer fully vector.

Nothing else (that I am aware of) can open .xar files precisley as Xara does.

[geminiguy]

Oh.. now I understand
I will say, that I saw something mentioned in the next build of inkscape "xara emulation"??? (but I did not read too much more) I'm wondering??
Perhaps I will go back and read up on this term some more.
It would be nice though (assuming most here know I use xara lx) to have more export potential than only jpeg, png, and gif. I have been working on some stuff but I won't say more on it just yet.

[MarcT]

I forgot about illustrator by the time it finished booting.
;D

Marc

[Aeneas]

I don't have either Illustrator or InDesign, but I followed a course in InDesign a while ago and I must say that I was hoping to find something like the glyph palette in Xara Xtreme 3. It's extremely handy to get alternative versions of letters, etc. etc.
The dependance on Windows' character map is a weak point.

Having the option to at least see what a typeface really has would already be great. Being able to add them with a double click would even be better.

Apart from that, I have a lot to re-learn and catch up with as the last time I really used Xara was in the Xara X days.

[Albacore]

I don't now have to use Illy as I have now just changed jobs. In most of my previous work people have stated you must use this type of software or that! this meant that in one job I had to use CD, in another 3 jobs it was Illy and it was not accepted to use Xara. Why? because of snobbishness and out of, "Well that's all we know". But in any job that I have had I always prefer to use Xara, Why! well it is so easy to use. Full Stop.

The other software does have its +'s and -'s but so does Xara so I now have the knowledge and the ability to use all of the software that it is on my hard drive to its best advantage. I do not want to sound boastful when stating this as I am still learning but I don't want to be like some of my employers who refuse to use Xara and that you must use Illy, and yes conversely. You use the software that you feel comfortable with, it increases the speed of your workflow and does the job that your are doing correctly without much modification. This means that I use a DTP package for that sort of work, I use a bitmap editor for another, use two types of programmes to work on vector and i have a big place for Microsoft Office for biz data.

This means I am not down on Adobe products, I use Office when necessary gathering data and I use a mixture of programmes doing vector and DTP. What I am trying to say is, that to be what I do I must have skills in many packages as you can't have a closed closed mind when your dealing with clients and employers and to that extent I have no best programmes but the one that I use the most is Xara.

[Jon G]

I completely agree with Albacore. There's a right tool for every job, Adobe makes some of them and Xara one.