Just taken the plunge and upgraded to QuarkXPress 9 from QuarkXPress 7. So far, for my print-based workflow, the new version seems to have taken more, in terms of the Xtensions that no longer work e.g. Cropster, Xpert Type, than it has given.
In particular, I used XPert Paste on a regular basis to quickly duplicate common items across pages within a document – a quick 4-key combination, enter the page range to paste to, and the job's done. Now it seems that this Xtension has been 'outmoded' by Cloner, but this will only allow me to paste to one page at a time – a potentially laborious process.
I know I can set up master pages but this isn't always appropriate, especially for items off the pasteboard. The beauty of XPert Paste was its speed, ease of use, and the fact that it could be applied towards the end of the design process, as opposed to master pages which generally work best if planned in the early stages of a design.
While I'm having a rant, I'd also like to know why the new Guide Manager Pro (which I believe used to be called Xpert Guides) is so much slower to use than the old Guide Manager. I often set up 'grids' of business cards, labels etc for printing on press and the old Guide Manager made this relatively easy (though not as easy as InDesign's Columns and Rows). The new Guides window only allows me to enter a position for one guide at a time which, when I'm setting up a grid, takes much longer.
It really is frustrating when things that used to 'just work' suddenly become a ball-ache to use, especially when it's cost several hundred pounds for the privilege. Other than Shapemaker I haven't come across anything yet in the new version that is going to make my life as a designer/printer any easier, and surely that's what it's ultimately all about.