Xara Webster 2.0

Xara Webster 2.0 is an amazing piece of software for the price. Xara Webster 2.0 has a learning curve, but, a very small learning curve. Like any great piece of software it takes a little learning to extract all the benefits of the package. There were a couple of limitations with the software, some you will be able to overcome others you won't. But all in all, Xara Webster 2.0 is a great low cost graphics editing program.

You can create still images and animations.

The one thing I really missed in Xara Webster was automatic shadowing. You'll have to do that by hand. Once I got past that, I was amazed at all the things that Xara Webster could do.

The above image is the top of the Xara Webster 2.0 interface.

The file menu has all your normal open, save, close, options. The save options save files to extensions other than .jpg and .gif.

The import option imports your .jpg, .gif, etc., images files from your hard drive.

The "Import from the Web" option is amazing. You type in the URL of the image and Xara Webster 2.0 goes out on the web, gets it for you and loads it, making it ready for editing.

The export option, actually is a save option, that saves your files as .jpg and .gif.

Document info gives you information about the image you have selected.

The edit menu is fairly standard and as you can see and not too hard to figure out.

The arrange menu is something that threw me a little. After a few minutes of playing with it, it all became clear. This menu was for me.

Although you can play with layering through another menu in Xara Webster 2.0, the "move backwards", "put to back", and "move forward" options are extremely useful. You can create text and/or shapes, one on top of the other, and with those options move them under and over each other to achieve the desired effects.

The remainder of the options on this menu are equally as powerful and easy to use. One of my personal favorites was the combine shapes option, which allows you among other things to cut images and rearrange them.

This is another awesome menu! You can also access these options from the interface. You see all those galleries? Those can be loaded, if you are connected to the internet, from the Xara website. They are stored in cache for use, and you can save them to your hard drive if you want.

I found some really great stuff in those galleries.

Below you will see how easy it is to create text on a path. Another one of the powerful tools available in Xara Webster 2.0

 

Using the shape editor tool, set two points.

Using the arrow tool, move the line where you want it.

 

Using the text tool, hold down the control key and place the cursor over the first point on the line. You'll notice the cursor is "tipped" in the position of the curve.

All you have to do now is type in your text. As you type, you can watch it as it follows the curve perfectly. But, now, you don't want that line under your text? There is a line width option on the main interface that you can turn that line off after selecting it, or you can make it thicker if you want.

Want to do more with that now? It's easy. I used the rectangle tool to draw a rectangle over the text. Oh no! The text disappeared and the rectangle is black. Pretty easy to fix. First, I changed the color of the rectangle by choosing a color from the palette at the bottom of the screen. I chose maroon. Then, I wanted to play, so I used the fill tool and applied a circular gradient. Here comes the really fun part. On the main interface is a fill fade options box. I chose "alt rainbow". Then on the tools palette I chose the transparency tool, (looks like a goblet), and applied the stained glass fade fill. Now my text was showing through, but it was not quite what I wanted yet. I opened the arrange menu, and "put to back" the rectangle I just finished working on. I then removed the lines from the rectangle. In less than 5 minutes I had text on a curve with a rainbow background.

Another thing I really like about Xara Webster 2.0 is that you don't have a lot of popup boxes cluttering up your work area. Everything is arranged on toolbars, off of the canvas and readily available, and visible.

Now, I know what you're thinking. You're thinking this is going to be an expensive piece of software. I was amazed that Xara Webster 2.0 is just 49.00. Can you believe it?

Xara Webster does have it's limitations, automatic shadowing and plugin capabilities to name a couple. But, it also has it's major plus' that some of the more expensive software can't do easily and one of those things, is text on a path. If you're looking for an inexpensive graphic editing program, you should try Xara Webster 2.0. It is available for a free 15 day trial download.

System Requirements

Windows 95 or NT 4.0
Intel-compatible 486 or higher
16MB memory
 

Price 49.00 (I couldn't believe it!)

You can download a 15 day trial at Xara.

Copyright Vikki Olds, All Rights Reserved