We don’t ALL use adobe Illustrator. ;)
I do think Corel might have been trying to convert the Illustrator fans over from Adobe’s ransom-style offer, but they were WAY too late to the game.
Because of Corel’s inability to respond at an appropriate time, and with a decent product, I’m now all in with Affinity Designer, Photo, and Publisher.
William Fehr said:We don’t ALL use adobe Illustrator. ;)
Oh, I know that.
I mean the majority. Of BOTH Windows AND Mac users.
My case is that I am 80 years old and still want to learn something new--am a Mac user since mac's first came out. A while ago I purchased a mac laptop with all of the Adobe CS6 stuff on it. I sometimes use the laptop but also have this computer with a larger screen that I use most of the time. This one only has Photoshop Elements on it. We have never put Parallels on either computer. So I sprung for the Mac Corel Draw--mind you I don't know how to use Corel Draw but am having a good time learning the tools. One thing I noticed is that it makes text on a path like some of my friends have been doing with their Pen Tools in PSP--Photoshop Elements does not have a pen tool. I am looking for something like "Corel Draw for Dummies".
They aren't too late to the game. Adobe lost many of us when they moved to their new per-month pricing model. The support from MacOSX for the oldest version of AI that you could outright buy ends this year, so this is Corel's shot to pick up those people.
This version was made quickly to try to win back users who have migrated to MAC from windows because of other software encroaching on the CorelDRAW family of products, and have found that programs like Affinity Designer are very capable at replacing CorelDRAW. Not only that, they have a version of AD that runs on ipad pro, so you can take it with you and use the superior Apple Pencil product. Ironically you can now use the ipad pro and apple pencil as a "wacom tablet" type device with the new IOS/MAC OS systems.
I have used CorelDRAW since 1.0x on windows 3.x back in the late 80s, early 90s. Back when you couldnt import a black and white bitmap without it crashing the program. We got on the beta program early because we ran a print shop and produced a yellow pages product using exclusively PC based graphics programs. (1 mac for 15k, or 3 pc workstations and a scanner with 2 laserprinters for the same money networked together. it made sense for productivity!). Most shops used illustrator and QuarkXpress to do the page layout. We used CorelVentura Publisher after it was purchased by Corel. In those days, Corel was very responsive and came out with patches very quickly using the patch programs of the day as they tried to build a brand and compete against illustrator.
Sadly, Corel has become a casualty of their own success. They still battle Adobe, but I will take CorelDRAW, buggy but usable, over a subscription Adobe product any day of the week. For what you get, Corel has always been the "kitchen sink" of graphics programs, doing just about anything and handling an incredible variety of file formats. In the end though, this version of CorelDRAW for MAC was rushed and needs a program manager that is not trying to "see the future" but instead is focused on "meet the requirements" of end users so the PC and MAC versions are truly in sync!!! WHERE ARE YOU PM OF MY DREAMS!??
So many features are not ready for prime time. The zoom and pan in the UI is so frustrating it makes me want to scream...with random movements, and slow redraw. Why would you eliminate the "manual refresh" of the screen when you have such a glaring issue in speed and panning?? I end up using zoom into all objects just to get it to stop. Making outline colors a two step process instead of one is just plain dumb. Dont get me starting on outlines of text being almost impossible to get to sometimes. Saving settings like turning off "automatic hyperlinking" for the next project as default just dont work. it acts like it's saving it to disk, as it takes a minute, but somehow skips this item and doesnt load at the next project.
I have faith that Corel will fix these issues because it's obvious that they have put a lot of time and financial resources into creating this version while releasing the PC counterpart at the same time. My continued issue with Corel is that WE end up being the beta (sometimes alpha) testers on a product they release and WE PAY for. A systemic problem in all of software development. Meeting a deadline in spite of being ready.
I think what makes me very sad is that the two service packs out for CorelDRAW 2019 have done almost NOTHING to address the UI issues and usability of the program.
My advice. Buy Affinity and integrate the best into Corel MAC...launch a CorelDRAW for IPad Pro version. But PLEASE. PLEASE, fix this dog.
Peter Richards
former graphics manager/CTO of Banana Pages of Seattle, WA