I had to reinstall Windows. GRRR
where to I access my copy of CGS 2018?
That's the thing I really hate about download-only software. It's a good idea to back-up the original download installer file. Hindsight is 20/20 vision though. I can log into my Corel account and see several past registered versions of CorelDRAW along with their serial numbers. But Corel doesn't let you directly access the main installer file, just the patches. I seem to remember being able to download the main installer files from the downloads page in the past.I don't understand this policy. If you, the customer, bought a copy of CorelDRAW, registered and activated it then that should be enough to be granted access to download the main installer file (as well as the updates for that version). When you reinstall the software you have to sign into your Corel account, enter the serial number and activate it. This whole "we need a proof of purchase" email thing makes no sense.I just did an overhaul of an old personal notebook (new 1TB SSD and upgrade from 8 to 16GB of RAM). Put Win 10 Pro in it clean. I installed Adobe Creative Cloud on it (for now until I buy the new notebook I'm planning to buy). All I needed was my user name and password to get running. I installed personal copies of X8 and CDR 2020 on this old notebook; thankfully I had the ZIP installer files, patches, etc.
Great fear of piracy, weaponized against the actual customers.
I wasn't planning on this. I was supposed to be a 10 min job adding ram. I didn't know it would blow out into killing off and actually deleting my software, emails, passwords... Unbootable is unbootable... you would think after 30 year Microsoft would have managed a repair utility that worked. I think it has something to do with the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI). I doubt if Windows can get inside that to fix anything. If it could that would potentially be a security risk.
I've downloaded 10 years of Paypal as CVS, found the Corel transaction, given it to them raw with the "", explained that it was an issue at the time as I was updating the post beta. Which didn't matter as I'd owned the copy before. Said it is urgent and screwing me over on a job, which it is. Told them to talk directly to Gérard Métrailler.
That was 10 hours ago. I'd say 24 hours was long enough for them to sort it out. That's about how long it will take me to get everything reloaded that I need for the job.
I'm very intolerant of people who say "that can't possibly be done". But I will try to just let this proceed without contacting support again. And I'll feedback what happens.
You are correct, you should be able to download the software at call. Things happen! Computers are stolen, HD go US, you buy a new computer... and you can do that. But if you have paid for something and you are not on Corel's DB then it isn't really your problem is it!
It "feels like" call centre bullshit from the telco. I had a classic this week. A customer with 4 emails that are jamming his email feed that I can't delete no matter what I do. I've had to wait 2 months while they developed the covid safe call centre.
Yani "Well if you can't do this by accessing his account and deleting the emails on the server then delete the whole account and recreate it."
Tech Support "Creating an email account is a sales job and it will take 2 days."
2 days for 1 minute of effort! Support can't even create an email account for an existing customer?
This is some bullshit attitude I've never been allowed. I'll bet ya most of us have done all nighters to meet a deadline, worked weekends without overtime, done our share of author's corrections and dared not complain. I thought that was called the "real world". Maybe I just got it all *** about face again. In the "real world" it takes 2 days to set up an email. Which is about the same amount of effort as to fix my license on the server.
Roundup kills weeds. For Corel bugs you need DDT.
I have to figure out the background process problem in PP 2020 I haven't used it a great deal and maybe it can't be fixed and won't get fixed until 2025 version if at all.
That's the sort of bug that takes a week to resolve. Why wasn't it picked up in the beta? That's when bags are being process. After that the team moves on to the "Designer" upgrades. And then no doubt to other program updates before returning to the first round of bug fixes for Draw.
My guesses as above, right or wrong, recognise that developers move through a list of projects and bug fixing stages. It requires moving forward and that has a schedule. The point where the maximum pressure can be applied to bugs in at the confirmation stage within the beta testing. I'll bet you that the releases that people were the most satisfied with can statistically be proven to be the ones where the beta team left the least bugs in an unconfirmed state.
It's a hell of a lot easier for developers to fix bugs when their mind have been all over the code for the last 3 months than it is after they have been to Designer land and back.
So how do you fix that? You have a reward program for effort and a bounty on bugs.
A lot can happen in that 3 month period after the gold master. That has to include "hell, I've been under pressure to get his out for 6 months, I'm out a here for a holiday/resigning/to have a baby". I'm not going to blame people for being human.
It's the "communist" structure of the beta team. Everyone gets the same rewards, regardless of if they even turn up for roll call. I don't see an issue in starting there and introducing rewards for effort.
I don't want to breach any NFD I've agreed to in the past. It likely takes about an hour to read a bug report, follow the actions need to confirm or dismiss it, then write back the results to the database. $10 per bug and $10 per confirmation. Nothing for doing nothing. Bug bounties are known to be very effective in getting more reports sooner.
So you've not been a Corel BETA tester for quite awhile?
The background processes issue seems odd, some time ago instability issues were resolved by turning them off, then after a few Windows updates turning them back on resolves the stability issue.
That seems to have resolved the Photo-PAINT issues for me but I needed to spend some time on the rifle range and won't get back to serious image work until Monday or Tuesday.
Windows is a moving platform, I get as many as 3 anti-virus/malware updates a day, a few major updates every year. All in all Windows works very well and it's not just Corel software that is affected by these updates others are as well.
David Milisock said:So you've not been a Corel BETA tester for quite awhile?
Long enough to know what work is required and the difference that can be made by doing the work.
Multi tasking, multi threading and sharing workload with the GPU is high level programming. I'm still waiting for someone to give a stuff about adding me back to the database as a registered user. I would have thought that was a very simple fix.
But you haven't worked as a tester in a long while. It's very different.
I can't say I'm impressed with the bugs I'm reading here or the overall lack of activity on the boards. Looking around here it feels like all the fire has gone. That might indicate a lack of bugs or a lack of users.
I do download the trials as they appear for new versions and look for improvements to core features and issues that I've asked to be addressed. I see new bits but not the needed changed to curves, bit depth or interactions between PP and Draw.
Surely it isn't that hard to enable base point corrections on curves. IE set white and black points without creating a point on the curve.
Or to recognise that in computers with 8GB min of RAM, that preloaded PP in slack time and improving the connection so only one instance of PP is required is, well, a must.
It feels like we are in a era where development is driven by marketing, "add features" and not "add functional improvements". And you can blame the various "software reviewers" for that. They don't use the software or review it, they look only at a features list that Corel provide because they are nothing if not lazy journalists looking for a quick story.
If I had 100 images to correct as part of a shoot, I'd immediately fire up the $15 Adobe subscription.
Because after a month I still haven't got a working sub. for anything Corel.
Because GIMP is different enough to have a learning curve I'm not completed.
Because the curves function in Photoshop is excellent and fast to use.
In PS you mouse to what you claim is white or black, that point is marked on the curve and you pull that to the base line without touching the curves dialogue. If that takes 5 second in PS, and it takes 60 seconds in PP, you have added 100 minutes to a job by using PP. Few jobs have less than 100 images.
You can't pull back market share without functional improvements to known areas of lack of function. Professional users just aren't that stupid. Corel will be left with professional evangelists talking in tongues and new suckers for the next release. At this rate by the time the need for functional improvements are realised it will be too late. It's very sad and unnecessary.
All the following applies to testing for any software.
You assume that the bugs in the general release were not found in BETA 1. You assume the things you've said has not been said by the testers. You assume the new features are brought forward via a user input process. Wrong!
Don't assume that there's any logical global corporate thought process. I no longer test for anyone, for 2 core reasons, 1 the cost in lost billing hours and 2 the insulting nature of the process. I've been doing what I do for decades, my clients have hundreds of employees and are National and International multi hundred million dollars companies. My clients abuse me regularly but they pay damn well for the privilege.
You're correct the forum has a near zero professional level activity. I rarely post anything except my hobby stuff.
Today using Corel reminds me of the V4 days and soon after. You'd get books by Coburn, Huss or Bain , page through them and laugh because NONE of the instructions for high end features worked.
I watched a pixel demonstration for Draw, even though they know better, the instructions do not work. I watched 2 webinars, with the one for cooperative work flow. I found 2 serious technical issues with the process. Do you know how I know I was right? They had no answers.
The 2nd webinar was for image editing, it was ok to see how a different person used tools but the work was awful on multiple levels. An example was how to get rid of sensor spots, they had tons of them. Why use software instead of just cleaning the camera?
This is the quality of instruction and it's reflected everywhere and today it's not just software, its everywhere.
David Milisock said:An example was how to get rid of sensor spots, they had tons of them. Why use software instead of just cleaning the camera?
That's caught me a few times. When it is video you are right screwed. It can happen with a change of lens.
It's much worse on the Sony mirrorless cameras as there is no mirror to protect the sensor. I shoot a section of clear sky and check it every time I use the camera.
I watched the videos and thought the same. Not pushing it near far enough.
I don't know about recent beta testing. I do know that when all bugs are confirmed within the beta process by non Corel staff that frees up Corel staff to have better focus on issues.
When Draw 1.0 came out, it had a video VHS and that video was a huge accelerator to understanding. It didn't have the same scope of things that needed to be covered. I thought the dude that did the X6 video did a good job. I think the videos need to follow the evolution of the product. Draw 1.0 explained the difference between a group and a combine. There is still a need to cover basic stuff for new users.
Secrets and what is unsaid are a problem. The Beta and A/C groups, if they exist, should be told what is impossible because of known patents by others so time isn't wasted making impossible suggestions.
Example
Y: Can't we do curves like Photoshop?C: There are patents that prevent us doing certain things see this.Y: OK then, why can't we do that as macros that are not from Corel, free and avoid that drama?
Object Data, that was added at the request of someone of note.
That's been there for years like a sleeping dog. It has huge potential when combined with the macro system.
Say you are doing web graphics. There about 20 items you have draw in Draw.
You can set Object Data to whatever.
File Name: logo.pngHeight: 80pxWidth: 200pxProportion: fixed/width/height
So you have done this for your 20 objects. Now to export you can use a macro.
[pseudocode]
Make array of objects with dataSet export format to *.??? as per file nameSet proportion as per dataSet size as per data according to proportionExport all as bitmapBingo 20 objects exported to bitmap at size. Change and repeat as required.
I'd call that a functional improvement as it doesn't add any "new" feature.
A bit of separation is needed in thinking about this as functional improvements and features. You don't know what features might be added in 2 versions time but you can list the functional improvement that need to be listed for work.
Being responsive and proactive are not corporate traits and really bad at Corel.
The required breadth of work for a graphic designer today requires that the requirement for core features and technologies be understood by the developers. I don't see that. Of course it could be said that few designers understand this and therefore few know to push the requests to developers.
As an example in pixel workflow for web work a designer must export their graphics at very specific sizes, if they create a 60 pixel x 85 pixel graphic with a stroke it must export at those sizes with the proper stroke.
Draw allows the stroke position in relation to the bounding box to be set properly but those setting are also bound by color model. I.E. you can set RGB strokes to inside the bounding as required by web work and CMYK stroke to split the bounding box ascrequired for manual trapped print.
However to do this you must work from templates because some controls are split between the application controls and the customizable document settings.
So to achieve this in any productive fashion all RGB work will have strokes set to the inside the bounding box and all CMYK work set to split the bounding box.
So to generate a simple work flow Corel needs to create proper templates for novice users, I use 3, 1 for web work with all the core settings, 1 for wide gamut digital with 150 DPI rendering and 1 for high res CMYK at 400 DPI rendering.