Back in 2005 we reviewed Xara Xtreme, a capable graphics package for bitmap and vector graphics. The new Pro version adds some useful extra features, such as multi page documents, so you can use it for DTP type jobs, export to PDF/X, colour separation and even Flash animations.
In spite of these extra features, the Xara Xtreme interface has barely changed. This is obviously good news for those who are used to it, but it can be a little confusing as many options are tucked away on buttons and you’ll need to refer to the help section to figure things out.
For example, to make a Flash animation you need to give a name to each object. You might hope to see a floating palette or a menu option, but in fact it's the little luggage tag button that only appears on the toolbar when the object selection arrow is the chosen tool; choose the tool to create your object and the naming button goes away.
And while there's support for text columns, this too is a bit quirky. You don’t draw a text box and then choose how many columns, instead you must use the same tool but just draw a line from left to right. Tabs are supported – but you can’t turn the ruler on when you’re in text mode, because Ctrl & L performs another function at that point.
On the positive side, text can now flow from one box to another, and all the easy to use graphics tools, effects and transformations mean you can knock up good looking documents fairly quickly.
Flash animations are straightforward too, though a bit limited. Even so, the example one here was created by drawing just five frames, with Xtreme Pro looking after all the intermediate steps; if you want to animate a logo, it’s both quick and easy.
Given the price, this is a great tool for creating graphics for the web or for print. But we do feel that in adding some of the new features, not enough thought has gone into making them as easy to use as they could be; time for an interface update, Xara.
Also consider:
Bryce 5.5
Create complex and artistic 3D scenes
Xara Xtreme
Powerful editing package for a variety of image types
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