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.

Xara Photo & Graphic Designer 365

by Tony Thomas

Every year about this time I get a chance to take a look at the new version of Xara Photo & Graphic Designer. It's like opening up a present and seeing what's inside. I think that's been 20 years since I started using the program and each version gets better and better.

One thing that I should share with you immediately is that, when you buy the latest version (now called 365), you will receive any new features and content that is developed for 365 days after you purchase and register the program. You no longer have to wait a full year to access new features. That, in itself, is awesome for a program that you can actually buy and not just rent!

Even though, when I open up the program, I see the same interface that I have come to know and love for quite a while, I know that there is some brand-new goodness baked inside. Some of the new features include:

Easy Move, Rotate and Scale: New handles are available when in photo mode so that you can quickly and easily manipulate your photo.

Cross Process Photo Effect: This one allows you to dramatically color-shift your photo by manipulating the RGB channels in real time.

Smart Shapes: Allows for quick creation and editing of some of the most common shapes. Examples include bar charts, pie charts and percentage rings.

Online Content Catalog: This is free for one year and allows you to access over 500,000 royalty free photos. Keyword searching is available for rapid access.

Symbols and Icons: Over 1500 fully-editable vector symbols are now available. 

Photo Filter Presets: These presets can be quickly applied to your photos and can be very useful when experimenting during editing.

New Blend Modes: Dodge and burn effects are now available for darkroom-style control of your images.

Photo Grids: These make it easy to display a collection of photos in a single, compact grid.

Although Xara started out as a vector drawing program, it has really morphed into a full-function graphic design tool with a strong set of photo editing capabilities. It continues to be an amazing value for the price!

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

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.

Xara Web Designer Premium 365

by Tony Thomas

Web design today usually requires you to learn how to code. That means mastering languages like HTML, CSS, Javascript, Python, Ruby on Rails, among others.  By contrast, Xara Web Designer enables you to create compelling, graphical, websites in minutes without having to write a single line of code.

The code produced by Web designer is W3C standards compliant and uses technology like XHTML, CSS and Javascript.  I tested and analyzed some of the code produced and was impressed with its cleanliness and error-free operation.  The program uses the powerful Xara vector graphics engine to produce high-quality, responsive,  WYSIWYG output that is tailored for the web.

The latest version of Web Designer Premium provides a number of new features in the same interface that we have come to know and love over the years.   They include:

Enhanced "on reveal" animations.
Enhanced “sticky objects”.
The Font Awesome collection  now includes Material Design icons.
Xara Online Designer (beta)
All business themes now included at no additional cost.
New online contact catalog.
Photo grids.
Access new features 365 days a year.
New smart shapes, templates and other content.

Like many other software companies, Xara is moving to an instant update policy (called “The 365 Day Update Guarantee) so that users can receive new features as they are created rather than having to wait a full year for the next upgrade cycle--hence the new name, Xara Web Designer 365.  They also have a new “Online Designer” option that is currently in beta that allows you to produce simple websites without using any programs.

As usual, using the program was a dream.   Although I am very familiar with its operation, a new user can get up and running without much trouble and begin to create beautiful web pages in just minutes using the supplied templates.  Compared to many other options, often with high recurring costs, Xara Web Designer is a professional quality design tool that will enhance any web designer’s ability to easily produce wonderful web sites without much effort.

www.xara.com

Xara Web Designer produced webpage in Chrome

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.

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 10 Premium Review

by Tony Thomas

If you have the need to create web sites quickly and easily, you should check out Xara Web Designer 10 Premium.  

I have been watching this program develop for several years and it just keeps getting better and better. 

For those who are not familiar with the program, Xara Web Designer Premium is a WYSISYG web design application that enables you to create a beautiful looking web site in a fraction of the time of coding by hand.  

The latest iteration of Designer supports RWD or “Responsive Web Design”. This feature allows the web page you create to automatically adapt to the the screen size of any device used.  This is great since most web sites are not only viewed on computers, but tablets and phones as well.

Some of the new features of Xara Web Premium 10 include:

• Improved page transition effects.
• Single-page “supersite” support.
• Smartshapes.
• Insert menu.
• New widgets.
• Content catalog.
• New templates.
• Auto rotate of photos on import.
• Online presentation support.
• Improved Word and PDF import.
• Magix Online World ‘M’ Hosting included free.

Using Xara Web Designer 10 Premium couldn't be any easier.  If you are a novice to web design, you can simply use any of the excellent templates from the designs gallery or the online content catalog.  If you are an experienced designer, you can start with a new file in a variety of different page sizes.  

If you need help learning its features, there is a robust help system plus a library of videos accessible from within the program.  This is great and will allow you to get “up to speed” with minimum effort.

In summary, Xara Web Designer Premium 10 is a great WYSIWYG web design solution and an amazing value.  The program allows you to produce professional results with a robust feature set and a nice selection of appealing templates.  Highly recommended!

More info at: http://www.xara.com/us/web-designer/

Platform: Windows XP/Vista/7/8
Version Tested: Premium
OS Tested On: Windows 8.1 Update 64-bit Version

Xara Page & Layout Designer

by Tony Thomas

When I first got started doing page layout on computers back in the early 90s, I relied on a handful of desktop publishing programs, most notably Pagemakertm.  Today, most page layout is either done using very expensive professional publishing suites or (much less effectively), on word processing applications like Microsoft Wordtm or Libre Officetm.  Now, Xara has resurrected the DTP genre by providing a solution that delivers a lot of page layout and design power at a very reasonable price: Xara Page & Layout Designer.

Designed as a “document processor”, Xara Page & Layout Designer offers a workflow that will be very familiar to present Xara users and very attractive to those with limited design skills.  As the program offers a rich library of free templates and clipart, you can begin building complex and attractive layouts in seconds by simply dragging and dropping.  Key features include powerful advanced text-handling options (including text flow around objects), a page and layer gallery, web document support, text styles, spell check, and Google font support.

Features totally unexpected for a program in its class include: 3D object creation, integrated drawing and photo editing tools, Pantonetm color support, CMYK separation support plus professional PDF and PDF/X workflow.  In addition, Xara Page & Layout Designer supports a wide range of standard file formats including: RTF, Microsoft Word, JPEG, GIF, BMP, PNG, TIFF, PSD, PDF, EMF, WMF and SVG.

My tests of the program confirmed its ease of use and incredible speed.  I was able to create complex designs quickly and easily, unlike what is possible using traditional word processing apps. At its current price (around $90 US),  Xara Page & Layout Designer is an unrivalled value!

For more information:

www.xara.com

Xara Xtreme Makeover

Xara is well known for producing high-quality, low-cost, graphics programs that are jam-packed with functionality and features. Their new offerings: Xara Photo and Graphic Designer 6 and Xara Designer Pro 6 are no exceptions. They continue to offer superlative capabilities at a price that won't break the bank.

Version 6 is the biggest makeover of the Xara UI that I have seen since I first started reviewing it back in 1996. Gone is the pedestrian Windows interface that we have come to know and love. In its place, is a shiny, new, charcoal-colored interface with revised icons, fly-outs and buttons. The design gallery now has a hierarchical arrangement. There were numerous drawing tool improvements, enhanced pressure support for tablet users, an enhanced text tool and a great new vector-based photo-editing capabilities.

As always, using the program is a dream. The screen refreshes are lightning fast and, with a bit of creativity, there is very little that you cannot do using this program. It exports to a wide variety of file formats including JPEG, TIF, Adobe Photoshop, scalable vector graphics, PDF, EPS and many more.

While casual graphic designers will probably be more than happy with the feature set of Xara Photo and Graphic Designer 6, professional graphic designers will appreciate the more advanced feature set of Xara Designer Pro 6 which includes all of the capabilities of Xara Web Designer 6 plus support for CMYK, color separations, Pantone, PDF/X., multi-core processors and HD photo import.

Xara Photo and Graphic Designer 6 is only $89 US and Xara Designer Pro 6 is $299. For the capabilities that both of these programs offer, they are an amazing bargain!

www.xara.com

XARA XTREME 4.0 REVIEW

Xara Xtreme 4 is a evolutionary update to a truly revolutionary product platform. I have been an ardent user since it was released in 1996 and can say that the folks at Xara have built this product, block by block, into a formidable competitor in the once-crowded graphic design application field.

Unlike many other programs I have used, Xara has not re-invented itself over and over again. It has a user interface that has been solid and consistent from day one. Thus, there wasn't a huge learning curve to scale when moving from one iteration of the program to the next.

Xara Xtreme 4 builds on the Xara legend by offering breathtaking speed and a smooth work flow to both amateur and professional graphic designers, illustrators and web designers.

Xtreme 4 adds welcome new features, such as:

- A slick new 3D extrude feature that designers everywhere will surely love.

- Superb integrated photo editing capabilities that are 10 times faster than other photo tools and produce files that are 1/10th the size.

- A complete website creation feature. This is something I have wanted to see for a long time. My tests have proved that this feature works great! Now, you can produce teriffic websites from within Xara Xtreme 4 without having to use another editor!!

- Real-time liquid text flow around shapes. This makes designing complex pages a snap!

- Panoramic photo creation from within the program. Drop in a bunch of pictures, optimize the picture transitions and you can have great panoramic pictures with just few clicks of the mouse.

For professionals, there is an Xtreme 4.0 Pro version which also includes: color separation support, PANTONE® color support, PDF/X export, XPS support, HD Photo import, Panorama Studio (an advanced version of Xtreme's panorama editor) and multi-core processor support.

To top it off, Xara Xtreme 4 only costs a fraction of what many competitive programs cost. It is one of the true bargains of the graphic software world. file:///home/tony/Desktop/techtrnd.htm

I rate it Five Stars. * * * * *

http://www.xara.com

6/08