Xara Product Review 2017

by Tony Thomas


It is a bit different reviewing Xara software this year since they have moved to the 365 model. Instead of annual upgrades, continuous, incremental improvements are made to the software. The obvious benefit of this model is that users receive new features as they become available, rather than having to wait for an annual feature "roll up".

Xara Web Designer Premium is a slimmed down version of Designer Pro with a subset of features that are will benefit web designers. Instead of having to code websites by hand, the program provides an easy to use WYSIWYG interface. This allows web design creators to focus on graphic design rather than code. An entry-level version of Web Designer is also available at an extremely attractive price.





By contrast, Xara Designer Pro is a full-orbed vector drawing, photo editing, graphic design and layout program that enables professional designers to develop and implement all of their creative concepts in a single package. The simplicity of its UI can be deceptive, as it is capable of producing amazing output that is only limited my the creativity and skill of the user.

New features common to both programs include:

Full-width slideshows
23 new photo grids
Larger library of vector images and stock photos
Improved import and export for Word, PDF, Powerpoint and SVG
Can now export images as a group with separate settings
Google Forms widget added to the content catalog
New Smart Shapes
More filters added: now 115 in total

In addition Designer Pro also now has the ability to automatically add a TOC (table of contents) to any document which is a huge time saver for those who work in long form documents.





My test drive of both of these programs demonstrate their maturity and stability, as well as speed of task execution. Both are highly recommended!

Disclaimer: Xara has provided review copies of these programs for evaluation.

Xara Designer Pro X365

By Tony Thomas

Xara Designer Pro X365 is a fully professional-grade design solution. It has the advantage of being extremely fast and capable of handling tasks such as layout, page design, text handling, web design, vector drawing and photo image editing.

It combines the feature sets of all of the Xara graphics programs, some of which I have reviewed previously: Web Designer Premium, Page & Layout Designer and Photo & Graphic designer. Unlike one of its major competitors, you don’t have to pay a recurring monthly fee to use it. You buy it and receive 365 days of free upgrades. Its price is also quite reasonable considering its formidable feature set.

Some of the new features include:

• Enhanced “On Reveal” Animations
• New Scrolling Animations
• Easy Move, Rotate and Scale for Photos
• Cross Process Photo Effect
• New Blend Modes for Dodge and Burn Effects
• Photo Filter Presets
• Magnetic Lasso
• Symbols and Icons
• Other Text Enhancements
• New Online Content Catalog
• Photo Grids
• New Smartshapes
• Improved Import and Export

Designer Pro is a Windows-based application that is light on resources. It only requires a Celeron/Sempron-class CPU, 500MB of RAM and 300MB of hard disk space. That means it will not only run on minimally configured netbooks, but older hardware as well.

In use, the program is equally fast and powerful. If you have had previous experience with sophisticated graphics apps, you should feel right at home. Xara continues to offer tremendous value and processing power for the professional graphic designer.

For more information:

http://www.xara.com/us/designer-pro/

Previous Reviews:

Xara Photo & Graphic Designer 365

Xara Web Designer Premium 365

Full Disclosure: In compliance with FTC 16 CFR Part 255, I hereby disclose that the manufacturer or retailer mentioned in this article provided the product for review purposes with the knowledge that I would provide a full, unbiased and impartial review.

Canva

by Tony Thomas

I have been checking out a new online graphics tool called Canva. It is quick and easy to use and allows the casual user to produce killer designs in minutes. Professional layouts are available that can be easily edited and re-purposed. And it is free!

What’s the catch? While there is an impressive variety of free images and elements, if you want to unleash the true potential of Canva, you have to buy paid layouts and elements. At only $1 each, they are quite reasonably priced and you can do a lot with very little $$$.

Try it out:

https://www.canva.com/

Xara Designer Pro 11

by Tony Thomas

Xara Designer Pro 11 combines all the features of its other design programs into one, easy-to-use package for the professional graphics designer.  

It is one program that can really do it all including page layout and design, photo editing, website design, and vector-based graphics illustration.  Its simple WYSIWYG interface makes it easy for you to turn your ideas into beautiful graphics in just a few minutes.

Taking a look around the program, I found that it has a full range of features to accomplish almost any graphics or web-design task.  It has an impressive array of import and export options as well as full print support including the ability to do four-color separations.  
If you have ever used any Xara product before, you will have no problem getting around its interface.  It is a beautifully designed and very easy to navigate.

New features include:

• Functionality that allows you  to stretch the background to fill the entire web page, either horizontally or vertically.
• The ability to sync documents with Dropbox or Google Drive.
• New brush options including "art brushes" and "scatter brushes".
• "Sticky objects" that remain in place while the page scrolls underneath.
• A variety of new text enhancements including a background color option, font replacement throughout a document, "an update style to match" function, a hyphenation tool, auto-correct/abbreviation expansion, updated Google fonts, and more.
• New animation options that allow you to animate on mouse over, on click and the ability to slide or fade objects as you scroll down a page.
• New Blend modes and transparency types.
• Liquify shape editing tools.
• Secure FTP publishing options with support for both SFTP and FTPS.

As someone who has depended Xara tools for almost 20 years, I can tell you that they offer some of the most powerful graphic tools you can find at a reasonable cost.  Xara Designer Pro 11 is no exception.  If you are a graphic design professional, it may be the only tool that you ever need.  Take it for a test drive!

For more information:

http://www.xara.com/us/designer-pro/

http://www.xara.com/us/designer-pro/download/


Thanks to Xara for providing a review copy of this program.

Xara Photo & Graphics Designer 11

by Tony Thomas

I had a chance to check out the latest version of Xara Photo & Graphic Designer (Version 11) over the last week or so. As I expected, I was welcomed by the sleek and comfortable interface that I have come to know quite well.

Coincidentally, I had a cover to design for my new book: "How to Find a Job Fast: Job Search Techniques for the 21st Century" and I knew that Xara 11 would be the perfect tool for the job. I imported a picture I had taken and came up with a finished layout in about 15 or 20 minutes flat. No other tool that I am familiar with can produce such stunning results that quickly (See cover below).

Version 11 has a number of new features:

• New Blend Modes and Transparency Types
• Auto Correct and Abbreviation Expansion
• Liquify Shape Editing Tools
• Other Text Enhancements
• PDF Import
• Document Sync with Google Drive and DropBox
• New Templates and Brush Designs
• Retina Support for Web Graphics
• Bonus Software

As usual, Xara Photo and Graphic Designer provides an incredible amount of bang for the buck. At $89.99, it really is a no brainer.

http://www.xara.com/us/photo-graphic-designer/

Cover I Designed With Xara 11

Xara Designer Pro X10 and Photo & Graphic Designer 10

by Tony Thomas

I recently took a look at Xara's most recent drawing and graphics applications: their flagship Designer Pro X10 ($299) and its less full-featured cousin, Xara Photo & Graphic Designer 10 ($89.99).  These applications have been designed from the ground up to be cutting-edge tools for drawing, compositing and basic photo editing.  They have a rich heritage, as the first iteration of Xara appeared circa 1995.  I have been an ardent user from the very beginning and have watched the platform become more powerful, year after year.

Formerly, Xara released a single application that was primarily a drawing and compositing tool.  In recent years, they have expanded Xara into a number of specialized tools including Web Designer, Web Designer Premium, Photo & Graphic Designer, Page and Layout Designer and Designer Pro. This approach allows you to select the best tool for the task and also saves you money if you are on a tight budget.

If you are a graphics professional who is looking for a versatile tool to handle all of these tasks, then Designer Pro X10 is the tool for you.  If you are are just doing drawing, compositing and photo editing and are watching your pennies, then take a look at Photo & Graphic Designer.

New features that are common to both programs include:

• New Shadow and Highlight Controls
• Select and Enhance Colors
• Photo Looks Plug-in
• Panorama Tool Improvements
• Font Awesome Symbols
• Content Catalog
• Smartshapes
• Insert Menu
• Auto Rotate of Photos on Import
• Improved Import and Export

Additional new features available only in Designer Pro X10:

• Responsive Web Design
• Single Page Supersites
• Page Transitions
• Scale to Fit
• New Templates
• New Widgets

When comparing Designer Pro X10 and Photo & Graphic Designer 10, the programs look identical at first glance.  However, if you dig a bit deeper, you will discover that Pro also has all of the features of Xara Web Designer 10 Premium, a program I reviewed previously here.  In addition Designer Pro includes more professional design features, more complete photo editing capabilities and 64-bit and multi-core processor support.  A useful comparison chart is available here: http://www.xara.com/us/page-layout-designer/compare/

These programs both really shine when it comes to speed and ease of execution.  They allow you to spend your time designing rather than fumbling with a program that is dense and difficult to use.  You can do in seconds what usually requires several minutes in similar applications.

If you have used any of the previous versions of the program, you will feel right at home with the latest versions.  Xara's programs are very easy to navigate with plenty of pull-down menus and galleries on the right side of the UI.  And if you find yourself getting stuck, there is a great help menu system with movies, a forum and plenty of online resources.

Bottom line: If you are a graphic designer, photographer or web designer and are looking for a powerful and easy-to-use tool, look no further than Xara!

System Requirements: Microsoft® Windows® XP (with SP3) | Vista® | 7 | 8 | 8.1, Intel® Celeron® or newer, or AMD® Sempron® or newer, 500MB of RAM, 300MB of available hard-disk space.

More info at: http://www.xara.com/us/

Xara Web Designer 6 Review

Xara, a leader in affordable graphic design software, recently introduced the sixth iteration of their Web Designer package.

The first thing that I noticed when booting up is its new redesigned interface with new fly-out tools and a dark gray theme that seems to be popular these days. Even with its new look, veteran users will have no problem finding their way around.

New features include improved Navbar and DHTML support, a new selection of templates including complete web site designs, automatic photo optimization, the ability to publish only changed files, drag and drop color schemes and widgets and improved text handling.

As always, the program is intuitive, well laid out and easy to use. And at only $49, it costs only a fraction of of the purchase price of other programs in its class. If you are a web designer (novice or professional), this is a must have package!

www.xara.com