XLS for features and ideas - Megathread

Daniel

Feedback in continuation of the thread started on FX customisation and speed of rendering, found in the general discussions category.

@VectorStyler: Found this useful summary of how XDP manages remarkable rendering speed. I can't fully understand the technical aspect of it. But I get the user experience side of it. However, thought you might be able to make sense of it better than me. Here it is:

Optimization Techniques

Xara employs several optimization strategies:

Just-in-time rendering - Only visible portions of the document are fully rendered, saving processing power.
Object-level display lists - Rather than regenerating the entire screen, Xara tracks which objects need redrawing.
Hierarchical spatial indexing - Advanced data structures that quickly determine which objects are in the visible area.
Incremental updating - When changes are made, only affected areas are recalculated rather than the entire document.
Direct rendering - Can display complex document elements without conversion steps.
Multi-threaded processing - Utilizes multiple CPU cores effectively for parallel processing.

Memory Management

Intelligent caching - Frequently accessed elements are stored in memory for quick retrieval.
Memory-mapped file access - Allows direct access to file data without requiring full loading into RAM.
Efficient memory allocation - Custom memory management reduces fragmentation and overhead.

Daniel

@Subpath: You can use + numpad key to stamp copies in XD.

VectorStyler

@Daniel said in XLS for features and ideas - Mega Thread:

XDP manages remarkable rendering speed

Interesting, but almost all these are also done in VS, of course details matter.
I suspect they also have some low-level trick, since moving that amount of pixels (including composition) has its limits.

Daniel

@VectorStyler: Xara developers are very tight lipped about their techniques. So I can't get more information than that. My question is how Xara is able to apply complex 16-bit FX, often piling them on top of one another, and yet maintain the fluidity and speed it is known for. It's one of the few software that actually manages to balance speed, performance and quality. I'll see if I can get more intel for you.

What do you mean by low-level tricks? You mean tricks at the level of assembly code? or something else?

Subpath

@Daniel said in XLS for features and ideas - Mega Thread:

@Subpath: You can use + numpad key to stamp copies in XD.

Indeed, this work with my copy too

Daniel

All the feature and ideas are now captured in XLS.

Boldline

@Subpath said in XLS for features and ideas - Mega Thread:

Pressing the + key does have a certain logic.
However, I wanted to suggest using the "Spacebar" for this,

Would this interfere with the panning ability the spacebar already uses?

VectorStyler

@Boldline said in XLS for features and ideas - Mega Thread:

Would this interfere with the panning ability the spacebar already uses?

Not really, the panning is started while the mouse is released, this one would work while the mouse is pressed and objects (symbols) are dragged.

Subpath

@Boldline

no, as @VectorStyler wrote
you could try it yourself, select a Shape hold it and drag it around
nothing is happen when you press the spacebar

to copy a shape/shapes this way you press the spacebar once
at the place you want them to be, but holding your first shape still
with the Mouse

Daniel

@VectorStyler: Auto Extend Lines for slicing: This is a very useful extension of slice Boolean operation. I use this to really quickly slice shapes. Say I want to diagonally slice a square. I don't need to draw an entire line across the square. Just the tiniest line in the middle at an approximate 45-degree angle would do. I then select both and slice. Voila, it's done. The logic is simple. The line is always interpreted to end at the closest 15-degree increment. For example, if I placed a line at 40-degree, the line is extended at 45-degree during the slicing operation. If I place it 32-degree, the line is extended at 30-degree and so on. Not only can this happen for straight lines, but even for complex curves. The line is always extended. An example of meaningful pre-empting of user intent. https://imgur.com/a/IODAlqL

Source: XDP.

VectorStyler

@Daniel said in XLS for features and ideas - Mega Thread:

Auto Extend Lines for slicing

Interesting combination of features. I think this is easy to add. Does it work for any curve?

In VS you can extend a shape to the next intersection with another (selected) shape, using the Trim and Join tool, with holding Alt.

And then you can use Cut as a shape operation.

Daniel

@VectorStyler: works for any open curve.

Daniel

Drag and drop color from swatch onto object with FX to change the colour of the FX. For example, drag and drop color to shadow to change color of shadow. Drag and drop color to the contour to change the contour colour. Etc.

@VectorStyler

VectorStyler

@Daniel said in XLS for features and ideas - Mega Thread:

Drag and drop color to the contour to change the contour colour.

Yes, but what tool is selected for this to happen? If the tool used to edit that effect is selected, then this is doable.
But in the default transform tool, this might be an issue.

Subpath

@Daniel

Well, personally I don't see any real reason to use drag & drop to color objects

Whats your reason, or user case, for that ?

VectorStyler

@Subpath said in XLS for features and ideas - Mega Thread:

any real reason to use drag & drop to color objects

It is possible to color objects with drag&drop in VS,.

Subpath

@VectorStyler said in XLS for features and ideas - Mega Thread:

@Subpath said in XLS for features and ideas - Mega Thread:

any real reason to use drag & drop to color objects

It is possible to color objects with drag&drop in VS,.

Thanks, interesting to know, but I don't remember ever using it.

I've seen it in other programs i use, but I always found it a bit cumbersome.

Daniel

@Subpath: it's incredibly useful and fast if correctly implemented. It allows you to change contrast of fx without cumbersome sliders.

Daniel

@VectorStyler: it is the default transform tool but with modifier.

VectorStyler

@Daniel said in XLS for features and ideas - Mega Thread:

it is the default transform tool but with modifier.

That is problematic, because then we don't know which effect / property is selected.