The other day an event happened, and suddenly various things changed in CorelDraw and PhotoPaint while I was using both programs.I don't know if this is the result of some sort of Corel update or just a Corel glitch.Like those ever happen? lol
I managed to turn back a couple of the changes, but some I can't figure out.I've done a full "repair" from the DVD, but that hasn't fixed things.
And I am also now experiencing a lot of bugs and errors.Suite18 was functioning fairly well up to this...but now, too many bugs.
I'm quite willing to reinstall completely, but if its an update thing, then the problems will return.
okay, focus....heres three things I can't fix....
Pen options in PhotoPaint.I swear I have never seen these pen options before (see photo).These tools were never there!I first noticed when I used the Clone Tool brush...which I use a lot in photo editing.The clone tool changed...instead of a circular area matching the brush type, it became a pen point on the screen.I managed to change that back, but thats when i noticed all these new icons.
Clone brush has changed, the way it works has also changed...something is different.I wondered if it had switched to tablet mode? these icons have to do with pen pressure dont they?.(I'm working on a PC with mouse)I went into options and switched back and forth between the different options in workspace, but that didnt change it.
Workspace settings.I assume the program was always on "default" workspace (I had never changed it).And when I looked to see if the program had switched to "touch"(tablet), it was on default.But things have changed, like when I use a brush tool...my cursor is now a Pencil, no matter what brush or nib I choose.When using the clone tool it used to be outline shapes that matched the brush choice.
*The selection are cursor matched the apply area cursor too!
So, I switched workspace to "X6 Inspired"...that fixed the pencil cursor when using brushesand fixed the clone tool cursor...but who knows what else i have changed?I'm not using X6, and don't want it X6 inspired.
I think I want to go back to "default", but...
Brush and Clone tool brush...now gives a weird paint filling .This one is very annoying.Whatever brush type I choose, the effect for painting is like you see in the photo attached.Hold the brush and drag across the image, it creates this random colour switch effect.
Nib or brush choice doesnt make a difference.
If you click individual brush circles, each one shifts and changes colour.And there is a distinct pixelation to the colour area, like back in 8bit days.
What is causing this?
Well, I did a full uninstall-reinstall. Made sure to look around and delete everything related to Corel ...there are a lot of hidden files and folders buried within Windows!
So, those paint/pencil nibs are still there in PhotoPaint...maybe I just never noticed them before? Odd
But, everything else seems back to normal...at least that weird painting and clone effect is gone. Seems that the Repair option did not fix things, but a new install did.
Lets see how many of the Coreldraw glitches re-appear?!
I've already reset much of workspace settings, and I will get other things sorted as I go. Wish me luck. I'm off to repopulate my Font Manager now!
That's good that things seem to be working okay. I still have CorelDRAW 2018 installed on my work desktop PC in addition to running CorelDRAW 2021. Odd issues with some fonts as well as other annoying quirks in CDR 2021 (and the previous CDR 2020) have forced me to keep two versions running.
I've used many versions of Corel up to X6, but then I won the 2017 Suite in the Call for Artists competition. I used it for about 6 months and had no issues with it. I was very happy.
The following year, Corel gave me the 2018 edition (part of my prize package), which I immediately installed...but it didn't take long before I regretted it. So many issues that I didn't have with 2017. But by then, so many files had been resaved in 2018 version, that I was reluctant to go back. Would have been too much work backward saving so many files.
Warning to all Corel users...when you upgrade your version, save your files in an older compatible format until you are sure you want to stick with the newer version.
I already save CDR files back a few versions, usually to v2018 or X8. However some newer features are not backward compatible, such as text objects using Variable Fonts. There is a lot of people out there using old versions of CorelDRAW. I've sent CDR files saved down to X3 format to some users. Unfortunately version 2021 can't save down any earlier than version X5. By contrast Adobe Illustrator can save AI or EPS files down to version 3 format (circa 1990). The last couple or so versions of CorelDRAW can't open CDR files made in CorelDRAW 5 or earlier. That's just stupid.
Makes sense...I wish I had realized in advance of updating so many of my work files to 2018.
I can understand as features change and evolve, they may not be compatible, but you would think that any version of Corel should be able to extrapolate something from a newer or older save. Maybe in the same way Font Manager tells you that a Font is missing, but it can substitute to make it work.
In the end, its always the same answer...Corel seems only interested in one thing: pushing you forward and selling you a newer version. Even when it doesn't work very well!
And I am getting very tired of the never ending sales nags. Its intrusive and shows no respect for anyone who already paid to upgrade. It seems worse with 2018. I can't imagine how much worse newer versions must be! But thats another thread.
I wouldn't expect an older installation of CorelDRAW to be able to read CDR files from a newer version, particularly if the CDR file had new features that older version didn't support. However, I really do not see any valid reason why a CorelDRAW installation would not be able to open files from any previous version, going all the way back to the first version of CorelDRAW. I've not heard any reasons or even excuses why Corel has this policy with old files.I can't remember when Corel did this, but sometime in the 1990's they cut off support for CorelDRAW 1.0 and 2.0 CDR files. For a long time the earliest CorelDRAW format newer installation would support was version 3.0. In more recent years they've cut off support for CDR 4 and 5 version files. So now the earliest supported CorelDRAW format is version 6. Anyone with really old archived CDR files without access to an old CorelDRAW installation will have to use a rival application such as Inkscape to read any of those files (and that's not error-proof solution). The choices Corel has made in recent years makes me wonder if they're going to start slashing away file open support for CDR versions 7, 8 and then 9.It's worth repeating the fact the latest version of Adobe Illustrator can open AI and EPS files saved from the first version of Illustrator. Vector graphics applications are routinely compared to each other. And I think legacy file support is a pretty noteworthy point of comparison there.