Developer(s) | Xara Group Ltd |
---|---|
Initial release | 1995 | (Windows)
Stable release | Xara Photo & Graphic Designer October 2018; [1] / October 2018 |
Operating system | Windows 2000 or later |
Type | Vector graphics editor |
License | Proprietary |
Website | www |
Xara Designer Pro+ is an image editing program incorporating photo editing and vector illustration tools created by British software company Xara. Xara Xtreme LX was an early open source version for Linux.
The Windows version was previously sold under the names Xara Studio, Xara X and Xara Xtreme, and traces its origin in the late 1980s to a title called ArtWorks for the Acorn Archimedes line of computers using RISC OS. There is a pro version called Xara Designer Pro (formerly Xara Xtreme Pro).
The current commercial version of Xara Photo & Graphic Designer runs only on Windows, although Xara documents can be edited in a web browser on any platform using the Xara Cloud service. [2] Versions up to 4.x can be run on Linux using Wine.[ citation needed ]
ArtWorks, the predecessor of Xara Photo and Graphic Designer, was developed on Acorn Archimedes and Risc PC 32-bit RISC computers running RISC OS by Computer Concepts during the late 1980s. [3] The first version, developed for Microsoft Windows was initially called Xara Studio. It was licensed to Corel Corporation before wide-scale public availability, and from 1995 to 2000 was released as CorelXARA. Corel ceded the licensing rights back to Xara in 2000. [4] The first Xara X version released in 2000 by its original owner. [5] The next version, Xara X¹, was released in 2004. [6] Xara Xtreme was released in 2005. [7]
In November 2006, Xara Xtreme PRO (an enhanced version of Xara Xtreme) was released. [8] Xara Xtreme 3.2 and Xtreme Pro 3.2 were released in May 2007. 3.2 Pro included Xara3D, and both versions had more robust typography. [9] In April 2008, Xara Xtreme 4.0 was released. [10] Xara Xtreme and Xara Xtreme Pro 5.1 were released in June 2009. [11] Features included more text-area enhancements, content-aware scaling of bitmap images, improved file import and export, master-page (repeated) objects, an object gallery (replacing the layer gallery), website-creation tools, and multi-stage graduated transparency. In June 2010, Xara Photo & Graphic Designer 6 and Xara Designer Pro 6 were released. Xtreme was renamed Photo & Graphic Designer, and Xtreme Pro was renamed Designer Pro. [12] In May 2011, Xara Photo & Graphic Designer 7 and Xara Designer Pro 7 were released. [13] Features included "magic" photo erase, user interface improvements to docking galleries and snapping alignment, and (in Pro) new webpage and website-design features.
In May 2012, Xara Photo & Graphic Designer 2013 and Xara Designer Pro X (v8) were released. [14] Xara Photo & Graphic Designer 9 was released in May 2013. [15] In July of that year, Xara Designer Pro X9 was released. [16] Xara Photo & Graphic Designer 10 was released on 16 July 2014, [1] [17] and Xara Designer Pro X10 on 23 July. [18] [19] Xara Photo & Graphic Designer 11 was released on 29 June 2015, [20] and Xara Designer Pro X11 was released the following month. [21] In 2016, the delivery model was changed to an update service [22] which can be renewed annually. Users are entitled to any updates released while the update service is active. The first update-service updates were in May 2016 for Xara Photo & Graphic Designer, [23] and July 2016 for Xara Designer Pro X. [24]
Version | Description | Release date |
---|---|---|
Xara X | commercial version | 2000 |
Xara X¹ | commercial version | 2004 |
Xara Xtreme | commercial version with commercial plugins | 2005 |
Xara Xtreme XS | commercial version, a light version of Xara Xtreme without plugins or bevel/shadow/outline tools | 2006 |
Xara Xtreme PRO | commercial version with enhanced functions | 2006 |
Xara Xtreme for Linux | open-source version | 2006 |
Xara Xtreme, Xara Xtreme PRO 3.2 | improved typography (Pro includes Xara 3D6) | May 2007 |
Xara Xtreme, Xara Xtreme PRO 4.0 | April 2008 | |
Xara Xtreme, Xara Xtreme PRO 5.0 | June 2009 | |
Xara Photo & Graphic Designer 6, Xara Designer Pro 6 | GUI redesign and tool updates and enhancements | June 2010 [12] |
Xara Photo & Graphic Designer 7, Xara Designer Pro 7 | May 2011 | |
Xara Photo & Graphic Designer 2013, Xara Designer Pro X (v8) | May 2012 | |
Xara Photo & Graphic Designer 9 | May 2013 | |
Xara Designer Pro X9 | combines photo, graphics, page layout, and web design | July 2013 |
Xara Photo & Graphic Designer 10, Designer Pro X10 | July 2014 | |
Xara Photo & Graphic Designer 11 | June 2015 | |
Xara Designer Pro 11 | July 2015 | |
Xara Photo & Graphic Designer with update service | May 2016 | |
Xara Designer Pro X with update service | July 2016 | |
Most recent update-service update | October 2018 |
Xara Photo & Graphic Designer is known for its usability and fast renderer. [25] [26] It provides a fully anti-aliased display, advanced gradient fill, and transparency tools.
Among vector editors, Xara Photo & Graphic Designer is considered to be fairly easy to learn, with similarities to CorelDRAW and Inkscape in terms of interface. Alongside the vector illustration tools, Xara Photo & Graphic Designer also includes an integrated photo tool offering manual and automatic photo enhance, cropping, adjustment of brightness levels, red-eye fix, 'magic' erase, photo healing, color and background erase, panoramas and content aware resizing. Designer Pro includes a wider range of tools for other design tasks including the creation of web pages and websites, and text and page layout tools for DTP with the aim of providing a single solution for all graphic and web design tasks. [27]
PaintShop Pro (PSP) is a raster and vector graphics editor for Microsoft Windows. It was originally published by Jasc Software. In October 2004, Corel purchased Jasc Software and the distribution rights to PaintShop Pro. PSP functionality can be extended by Photoshop-compatible plugins.
Cascade Parent Limited, doing business as Alludo, is a Canadian software company headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario, specializing in graphics processing. Formerly called the Corel Corporation, the company is known for producing software titles such as CorelDRAW, and for acquiring AfterShot Pro, PaintShop Pro, Painter, Video Studio and WordPerfect.
Adobe Illustrator is a vector graphics editor and design program developed and marketed by Adobe Inc. Originally designed for the Apple Macintosh, development of Adobe Illustrator began in 1985. Along with Creative Cloud, Illustrator CC was released. The latest version, Illustrator 2024, was released on October 10, 2023, and is the 28th generation in the product line. Adobe Illustrator was reviewed as the best vector graphics editing program in 2021 by PC Magazine.
A category of fine art, graphic art covers a broad range of visual artistic expression, typically two-dimensional, i.e. produced on a flat surface. The term usually refers to the arts that rely more on line, color or tone, especially drawing and the various forms of engraving; it is sometimes understood to refer specifically to printmaking processes, such as line engraving, aquatint, drypoint, etching, mezzotint, monotype, lithography, and screen printing. Graphic art mostly includes calligraphy, photography, painting, typography, computer graphics, and bindery. It also encompasses drawn plans and layouts for interior and architectural designs.
Corel Photo-Paint is a raster graphics editor developed and marketed by Corel since 1992. Corel markets the software for Windows and Mac OS operating systems, previously having marketed versions for Linux. Its primary market competitor is Adobe Photoshop.
ArtWorks is an advanced vector drawing package for RISC OS created by Computer Concepts in 1991. It has been developed by MW Software since 1996. Xara has continued to develop a Windows version called Xara Photo & Graphic Designer.
Xara is an international software company founded in 1981, with an HQ in Berlin and development office in Hemel Hempstead, UK. It has developed software for a variety of computer platforms, in chronological order: the Acorn Atom, BBC Micro, Z88, Atari ST, Acorn Archimedes, Microsoft Windows, Linux, and more recently web browser-based services.
Microsoft PhotoDraw was a vector graphics and raster image editing software developed by Microsoft. It was released in 1999 as part of the Microsoft Office 2000 family of products and was specifically designed for creating and editing graphics, illustrations, and photo compositions.
A number of vector graphics editors exist for various platforms. Potential users of these editors will make a comparison of vector graphics editors based on factors such as the availability for the user's platform, the software license, the feature set, the merits of the user interface (UI) and the focus of the program. Some programs are more suitable for artistic work while others are better for technical drawings. Another important factor is the application's support of various vector and bitmap image formats for import and export.
An image file format is a file format for a digital image. There are many formats that can be used, such as JPEG, PNG, and GIF. Most formats up until 2022 were for storing 2D images, not 3D ones. The data stored in an image file format may be compressed or uncompressed. If the data is compressed, it may be done so using lossy compression or lossless compression. For graphic design applications, vector formats are often used. Some image file formats support transparency.
Xara Xtreme LX is a discontinued 2D vector graphics editor, developed as an open source version of the commercial Xara Xtreme. The abbreviation LX stands for Xara Xtreme on Linux and was retained in some places such as the executable "xaralx".
Ulead PhotoImpact was a raster and vector graphics editing program published by Ulead Systems.
The following tables contain general and technical information about publicly available raster-to-vector conversion software.
Micrografx was a United States-based software-house most notable for its graphics products. It was founded in 1982 by Paul and George Grayson and was a pioneer for graphics products for Windows.
sK1 is an open-source, cross-platform illustration program that seeks to be a substitute for professional proprietary software like CorelDRAW or Adobe Illustrator. Unique project features are CorelDRAW formats importers, tabbed multiple document interface, Cairo-based engine, and color management.
CorelDRAW is a vector graphics editor developed and marketed by Alludo. It is also the name of the Corel graphics suite, which includes the bitmap-image editor Corel Photo-Paint as well as other graphics-related programs. It can serve as a digital painting platform, desktop publishing suite, and is commonly used for production art in signmaking, vinyl and laser cutting and engraving, print-on-demand and other industry processes. Reduced-feature Standard and Essentials versions are also offered.
Adobe FreeHand is a discontinued computer application for creating two-dimensional vector graphics oriented primarily to professional illustration, desktop publishing and content creation for the Web. FreeHand was similar in scope, intended market, and functionality to Adobe Illustrator, CorelDRAW and Xara Designer Pro. Because of FreeHand's dedicated page layout and text control features, it also compares to Adobe InDesign and QuarkXPress. Professions using FreeHand include graphic design, illustration, cartography, fashion and textile design, product design, architects, scientific research, and multimedia production.
Bellevue Investments GmbH & Co. KGaA is a German holding company that controls numerous subsidiaries and investments domestically and abroad. The subsidiaries have different business models and are active in the fields of software, online services, entertainment and digital content, as well as real estate. The subsidiaries currently employ approximately 350 people.
Affinity Designer is a vector graphics editor developed by Serif for macOS, iPadOS, and Microsoft Windows. It is part of the "Affinity trinity" alongside Affinity Photo and Affinity Publisher. Affinity Designer is available for purchase directly from the company website and in the Mac App Store, iOS App Store, and the Microsoft Store.