Bouton's Features Wish List for version 9

[MarcT]

Wow, what an interesting bunch of suggestions!

I'm a bit late to the discussion, been quite busy lately


Those would greatly enhance Designer's procductivity

• I'd like dynamic Smart Shape tool, where the result of creating a polygonal shape can be modified at any time in the future, with the capability to add control points, subtract them, and change control point as well as path segment properties. These took about 5 seconds in CorelDRAW. Xaraists should be able to do it in 2 seconds. Draw has had this feature since version 5.

I don't know of those tools (I've kicked the tires of CorelDraw but it crashed on the first try!) I should look into it.

• I'd like the ability to make my own Brush Profiles. Some of the tapered presets produce too sharp at point at either end, and it would simply give the artist more control and expression to be able to make their own brush tip.

A crying need in my opinion

• I'd like a true B-Spline tool, please? The Shape tool, in an average professional designer's hands, isn't as fast as a B-Spline tool and about 1/2 hour's practice. I used to hate B-Splines until I discovered how to use the off-path control "hull" to quickly make perfectly smooth curves, French curve-style.

I often use other applications just to use Bspline, I would be very happy to see them in to xara. I find them superior to Bezier curves in many situations.

•And Phil mentioned that it's do-able to make a brush-type tool that can be used to roughen and/or push the edge or a shape on the page, sort of like Silly Putty. And this has been a feature in the competitors for several versions.

Definately yes, It would be quite useful to tweak shapes, as handy as the shape/eraser tool in my opinion.

• A model for the Mould tool that allows control points to be added, and control point properties to be (more easily) changed. How would a Xaraist create a logo, for example, that's cigar shaped or requires, say, a pentagon of control points?

Again, a crying need! Even some small upgrades would be appreciated, maybe the grid-type would be cool!

I would also like to see basic 4 corners deformation without using the mold tool, maybe shift-clicking a regular blob could stretch a corner.

(Secretly, I also wish for transform that would works on fills)

Add to this the Dark UI, and it just feels cramped and more disorienting than need be. My suggestion to segregate the bitmap features is just a suggestion. If I could get more advanced path-drawing features, I'd live with the clutter! It's not a #1 priority on my Wish List.

The UI tint should be adjustable with a slider, it should be also scalable in my opinion. The dark one depresses me a bit, but that's just me.



Thanks Gary for taking the time to write all of these.

I Really think Designer is the best vector tool out there, even with it's shortcoming. No other tool is as stable, fast well thought and easy to use.

I could not output half as much work in the same time with other applications, for me the difference is like when you try a good road bike for the first time.

Marc

[amoore]

The UI tint should be adjustable with a slider, it should be also scalable in my opinion. The dark one depresses me a bit, but that's just me.

It isn't just you. A significant number of Xarans have the same reaction to the dark UI. It's not only depressing to many of us, it also produces eye strain fairly quickly.

As for the slider, that might help the general tone, but it wouldn't do anything about the awful icons in the dark UI.

Agreed re the mold tool, the 4-corners deformation request, and possibly the fill transform. Mostly I use the mold tool to fit screen captures into "screens" on clipart computer images. Usually it works well. Sometimes, not so much.

[Gare]

I think it's important for us all to parse out what is important, and what is less important (and trivial).

I don't use the Mould tool every day, but some Xaraists do. I think it's the percentage (perhaps a vote or poll is in order here).

This is probably tactless as incentive goes, but when Xara first came out, it generally ran rings around CorelDRAW.

Evidently, it only outperforms in most areas, but not the Mould tool. CorelDRAW's Envelope tool was mature the version it came out, version 2 or 3, I believe.

I know the coding uses a different model than Corel does, and I've heard Xara engineers call Corel code some pretty nasty names in the past.

So might we have a better model for the Mould tool, while avoiding the crud that Corel does to make the Envelope tool a very robust and flexible tool?

If enough people would use it?

-g