Struggling with Pro X9 versus XTreme 5 - need help

[JofArnold]

I've been a Xara user since the start (before the start, even!) and whilst my mind boggles why they still don't have inner+outer shadows, multiple shadows and internal and external lines I do still have a soft spot for it. However, since being forced to upgrade to Pro X9 - because I could no longer download XTreme 5 as the download section is broken - I'm really stuck. Here's some key issues I hope you guys will help me find a solution for:


Bitmaps
My old workflow for re-cropping bitmaps was
1/ Right-click convert to editable shapes
2/ Right-click edit shape
3/ Drag selection across handles
4/ Use arrow keys to resize pixel-by pixel
Now I'm presented by a stretchable grid that's a chore to resize and doesn't seem to be resizable using the keyboard


Drag-select handles
Any idea how I can select multiple handles by dragging a box over them like I used to?


Default Styles / Auto-Changing Styles
In the past I could set a default style for a shape (e.g. black) and it'd be black every time a create a new one. Now every new one matches the changes I made to the previous one. This causes so many extra mouse clicks. It's stressful! Can I turn it off?


Right click on swatch to instant set line color
I used to be able to right-click on the color bar and change line color to that color. Now it gives a popup menu, thus adding a click.



No doubt I'll keep adding to this list. Hate to end on a downer, but it's a shame (for me at least!) they've messed up my workflow whilst still not solving the fundamental issues. It's still so much faster than the Adobe apps, I suppose.

[handrawn]

for 1 and 2 you should still be able to do this I think as long as you are in the 'shape tool' [what was the 'shape editor tool'] - avoid double clicking the bitmap which will switch to the photo editor [and the grid] - but your work flow is a strange to me [and right click menu's have changed]

for 3 - options general tab - untick 'give new objects most recent attributes'

for 4 - options view tab and where it says 'right-click on colour near the bottom, choose 'set line colour' instead of 'show menu'

[JofArnold]

for 1 and 2 you should still be able to do this I think as long as you are in the 'shape tool' [what was the 'shape editor tool'] - avoid double clicking the bitmap which will switch to the photo editor [and the grid] - but your work flow is a strange to me [and right click menu's have changed]

for 3 - options general tab - untick 'give new objects most recent attributes'

for 4 - options view tab and where it says 'right-click on colour near the bottom, choose 'set line colour' instead of 'show menu'

I love you! Thank you!!!

[Acorn]

I am sure there are hoards of alternative workflows, but are a few that may help:

I've been a Xara user since the start (before the start, even!) and whilst my mind boggles why they still don't have inner+outer shadows, multiple shadows and internal and external lines I do still have a soft spot for it. However, since being forced to upgrade to Pro X9 - because I could no longer download XTreme 5 as the download section is broken - I'm really stuck. Here's some key issues I hope you guys will help me find a solution for:

Bitmaps
My old workflow for re-cropping bitmaps was
1/ Right-click convert to editable shapes
2/ Right-click edit shape
3/ Drag selection across handles
4/ Use arrow keys to resize pixel-by pixel
Now I'm presented by a stretchable grid that's a chore to resize and doesn't seem to be resizable using the keyboard
==> Create a rectangle, fill with your bitmap, convert to editable shapes ==> use as above.

Drag-select handles
Any idea how I can select multiple handles by dragging a box over them like I used to?
==> Select the Shape Tool (F4), click outside the shape and drag a box across the handles.

Default Styles / Auto-Changing Styles
In the past I could set a default style for a shape (e.g. black) and it'd be black every time a create a new one. Now every new one matches the changes I made to the previous one. This causes so many extra mouse clicks. It's stressful! Can I turn it off?
==> Utilities > Options... > General > Untick "give new objects most recent attributes".

Right click on swatch to instant set line color
I used to be able to right-click on the color bar and change line color to that color. Now it gives a popup menu, thus adding a click.
==> Drag a a colour form the colour bar onto the shape and release when the vertical pipe (line) appears.

No doubt I'll keep adding to this list. Hate to end on a downer, but it's a shame (for me at least!) they've messed up my workflow whilst still not solving the fundamental issues. It's still so much faster than the Adobe apps, I suppose.

Acorn

[Acorn]

for 1 and 2 you should still be able to do this I think as long as you are in the 'shape tool' [what was the 'shape editor tool'] - avoid double clicking the bitmap which will switch to the photo editor [and the grid] - but your work flow is a strange to me [and right click menu's have changed]

for 3 - options general tab - untick 'give new objects most recent attributes'

for 4 - options view tab and where it says 'right-click on colour near the bottom, choose 'set line colour' instead of 'show menu'

Snap!
Acorn

[Acorn]

Jof, I hope, by now, you are unstuck.
Did any of the suggestions get you out of your predicament?
If so, let us know what worked and what didn't.

Acorn

[JofArnold]

Yup. The app's still as unstable as it's always been the past two decades, but at least it works pretty much as it used to and is nice and fast

Thank you again.

[MarcT]

Hi Jofarnold,

Outer shadows are possible with the shadow tool. Multiple shadows can be accomplished by applying a shadow, grouping, applying another. Repeating as needed.
Inner shadows and lines with sides option would be very nice indeed.

You can also use boolean operations like ordinary shapes with bitmaps.

I'm not sure in what situation you find Xara so unstable.
I torture it all day and find it the most stable of vector apps in my opinion.

Marc

[JofArnold]

Yeah, I'm grateful for the shadow tool. And inner shadows can be replicated (very poorly) by using masks. Also possible to do something similar with bitmaps and booleans.

No doubt other apps are more stable, but that doesn't stop Xara giving me memory errors and crashing several times a week. And that's on all computers, operating systems and VMs during my last two decades of use. No doubt it's something I'm doing that's special, but still... forever an issue. As is not having a OSX version which is truly insane (I use Xara under a Windows 7 VM these days).

[csehz]

Multiple shadows can be accomplished by applying a shadow, grouping, applying another. Repeating as needed.

That is an interesting approach, I never tried. Thanks for that tip