• No doubt about the top question at the moment - when can we buy Gary Bouton's new Xara Xtreme Guide. We're expecting stock second half of November (tbc by MGraw Hill), you can find the order page ready and waiting here, so bookmark it now – and if you subscribe to our Twitter service and you'll get the tweet the minute we have stock!
  • If you've been considering Xtreme but not taken the plunge, here's your chance to slip in at the shallow end. Xara Xtreme 2 for just $19! It's not the current version but it's still a powerful tool and a great intro to the Xtreme family, and you'll be entitled to upgrade discounts on V5. But don't delay, the offer ends Friday 6th November. More below.
  • This is the moment when you get to decide the winner of the July - Sept icon theme contest - you'll find the shortlist below, please follow the link to submit your vote. This was a particularly difficult theme so a special thanks to everyone who entered. And as one contest ends, a new one begins... details below.


This month we have a selection of 'other worldly' art from six distinguised Xara artists.




This is our shortlist for the quarterly contest on a theme of icons, just finished. You get to pick the winner, so show your support for your fellow Xara artists and vote now. Note: there are 4 different artists here - some entrants submitted a collection of icons, we’ve split them out so you can pick a favorite icon and not just a winning designer.


We have a brand new contest and the theme is 'autumn'. You have until 15th January to submit your entries. The prize remains Outsider Glory, $100 of Xara or Magix software of your choice or a $100 credit to your Xara account.

For some starting ideas, follow this link to a selection of great iStockphoto drawings like the ones above.


Visit the Xara graphics forums to discuss or find answers to your graphics needs.

Our pick of Top Talk this month:
Xara-Magix bundle offer
We've extended the latest Xara-Magix bundle offer to Monday 2nd November, which gives you a few more days to take up the perfect offer if you're looking to add some excitement to your photos - Xara Xtreme 5 plus MAGIX Xtreme Photostory on CD& DVD in one money-saving bundle. Find out more.

German & Russian Pro 5
We've launched two new localized versions of Xara Xtreme Pro 5 this month. You can find out more about the German Pro 5 and upgrade your Pro 4/Magix Xtreme on our updated German site xara.com/de.

Also, moving eastwards, there's a first Russian language release for Xara. The Russian Pro 5 is in stock now with CPS - the Moscow based distributor has over 1500 vendors throughout Russia and the CIS. Find out more.

You can find out more about all our localized versions under the Xara and Magix brand on our website here.

Twitter
Sign up for Xara tweets and catch the latest Xara news as it happens. Become a Xara follower now at twitter.com/xaragroup

"As an all-round art and design app, Xara Xtreme Pro takes a lot to be beaten."
Imagine FX

"The software has an impressive line-up of features."
Web Designer Magazine

"Photoshop users will find Xara Pro 5's bitmap editing functions both pleasingly familiar and extremely powerful."
Computer Arts

Closing Shapes
In the Shape Editor tool you can close a shape by selecting an end point and then pressing Return.

Selecting Words
In the Text Tool you can select whole words by using Ctrl+Shift and the arrow keys (just like most word processors).

Automatic Web Graphics Optimization
Did you know that if you have the same graphic copied to appear on different web pages, Xara Web Designer / Xtreme 5 automatically optimizes this so it's only downloaded to the web browser once. This can make a substantial and completely automatic performance improvement when you have any elements which are repeated on different web pages.

Which type of computer do you use for work?


Xara Xtreme 5 Guide
If the book is as good as the movie, we're in for a treat!

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