photo manipulation

joe90 wrote on 4/4/2021, 3:29 PM

hi everyone,

I have been a Xara user from their early days, long before they liscenced it. I have gone through many versinons of the software.

But now i find the latest version 17 and 18, seem to have altered the very simple and quick way the earlier versions handled images (jpeg etc).

in previous versions i could create a text object, click on any of the corner nodes and manipulate the text to long, thin, short even alter the pitch. This also worked for images (jpeg etc), I could streatch and distort images, crop an image easily and distort it, all as easy as clicking the nodes on selection.

Now the selection nodes for images (jpeg etc) do not allow me to stretch the image and distort it. the new selection nodes always maintain the image proportions or alter the crop.

does anyone please know how to stretch and distort an image and not be stuck with image proportions. With Text i have found out that you have to right click on the text and make it editable object ( something you never had to do in earlier versions), then you can stretch the text to any proportions.

with images however there seems to be no such option, and the image is always kept in proportion of original. i also not in V18 there are offset selection nodes alongside each node which has a different purpose, but i still cannot find a way to stretch a given image (cropped or otherwise) out of proportions.

Why on earth programers change things that work, i dont know. everything was simple in previous versions.

Could anyone guide me on this please.

Comments

johnebaker wrote on 4/5/2021, 6:09 AM

@joe90

Hi and welcome to the forum.

You have posted in the Xara Photo & Graphic Designer (XPGD) section of the forum, however the description of what you used to do is not, AFAICS, possible in XPGD, this would suggest that you were using a different Xara program ie Xara Designer Pro.

What is the full name of the previous program you were using before V17 or 18?

John EB
Forum Moderator

joe90 wrote on 4/5/2021, 7:05 AM

hi john

thanks for prompt reply. I have used many versions up to XPGD 18 but i can tell you that I have running on my machine XPGD V11 as well as XPGD 18. In version 11.1.0.39728 the handles on selected objects are simple black squares.

right now as i type i am stretching a photo out of proportion by simply clicking on any mid point handle and dragging it. Yes the image goes out of proportion but it can be stretched so simply and resized easily.

text does seem to behave the same in V11 and V18. to make unusual alterations to text requires - "convert to editable shape"

Photos on the other hand do not seem to be handled in the same simple way in V18.

in V18 and V17 XPGD when stretching the image it just enlarges the image in the frame and keeps frame in same proportion to the original image.

hope this helps. if necessary i can upload a video.

browj2 wrote on 4/5/2021, 7:58 AM

@joe90

Hi,

There are two ways:

Turn off the 'Show selection bounds handle' and then use Alt+left mouse button to drag handles, or
Right-click on the lock aspect ratio padlock and untick 'Smart transform' and it should go back to what you are used to [mostly].

John CB

joe90 wrote on 4/5/2021, 8:12 AM

OH YESSSSSSSS.

Many thanks Browj2. Turning off smart transform did it for me.

Many thanks for your time sir. Have a good day.

regards john

browj2 wrote on 4/5/2021, 8:15 AM

@joe90

My pleasure.

This has been an annoyance for a couple of years and the solution is not obvious.

I suggest that you sign up on the Talk Graphics forum for all things Xara.

John CB

joe90 wrote on 4/5/2021, 8:25 AM

sorry

but it worked intitially Hense my glee. however I have tried again with another image and it seems to reverted back even though the smart transform is unticked.

joe90 wrote on 4/5/2021, 8:33 AM

ok got it.

it seems with smart trans on or not the image bounding box and handles seem to have too modes..

one mode behaves as i have described, and all in proportion, however if you left click anywhere in the image once the handles alter slightly and it goes back to the traditional way of stretching and putting image out of proportion.

i hope this is the end but many thanks all and i will look at other forum.

browj2 wrote on 4/5/2021, 9:40 AM

@joe90

Check on the TG forum. There was some discussion about this recently, I think. I have version 16, and I think that something was again modified in v18.

John CB

David-White9013 wrote on 4/8/2021, 4:00 PM

Thanks Browj2. - turning that off got me where I was working to be....THANKS!!