Please stop releasing new Corel Builds every year....

I don't understand how Corel expects to maintain a community when they release a new build every year that brings in new problems without addressing old issues. Not only that, many of the corel users rely on macros that have to be re-released. The lag time means that by the time the community has adjusted the macro, Corel decides to release a new edition.

You have implemented a subscription based model, so just update the existing build on an ongoing basis until its stable. I keep having to go back to X5 since it the last stable release for working with drawings that have many objects. X5 was released more than a decade ago, and it still remains significantly faster for complex drawings.

Find and Replace barely works in 2021, and macromonster hasn't updated their macros to work with 2021 yet. It's almost half-way through 2021 and by the time either of these problems are going to be fixed it'll be almost 2022 and we'll have another release with some content additions and host of new bugs make us miserable with.

Please, for the love of god, stop releasing new editions and optimize/fix your existing releases. I know you want to juice as much money from your users as possible, but eventually the rock stops dripping blood. The forums are way less active than before. The macro community is way less active than before. People are obviously migrating to AI. Just listen to the community for once please. 

    • I have no problem with yearly enhancements nor the cost of purchasing them however the continuing legacy bugs and amateurish implementation of new features are a real pain in the butt!

      It's obvious that Corel has zero concept of how high the cost is for the learning curve and proper setup of each new release.

      • The simple inability to reliably import a previous version workspace is p**s poor IMO. Yes you can do it but then you will likely lose all new menu items. Corel really do need to make the setup and convert to new version way more seamless than it currently is.

        • I've said this before and I'll repeat it again, amateurish implementation of new features, legacy bugs and let's add compatibility support. We can all pile on and the list will grow to hundreds of items.

          How amateurish is it? Well when you have to go to two different places to simply utilize control over the mouse wheel for zooming, does it get worse?   Of course it does! You implement a new feature completely changing work flow and after 25 years of a different way you make the new feature the default.

          Then you have a yearly charge and fix nothing or next to nothing.

      • I think that they are not going to do anything till we get vocal.  The app has a bunch of great features that speeds up work flow yet when it crashes over and over again any work flow increase is negated.  I'm finding now that the application can not keep up with newer CPU and GPUs.  If you do things too fast the blue wheel of death starts spinning.  

        It's also really nice of them to move stuff around in the menu, this really helps keep the mind fresh hunting them down.  Also not putting keystroke commands on the most used feature also speeds things up.

        • People have been vocal about it for decades.  The only thing that could really work is if people could actually switch to a different software.  But for a lot of Coreldraw uses, that's not realistic. Corel knows this.  I got off the Corel train at X4.  Lately I'm getting some Coreldraw files so I'm thinking about buying it again, but the idea makes me feel very uncomfortable because I already know what I'm going to run into.  But I would only be using it occasionally.  It might be bearable. 

        • Corel could barely maintain CorelDRAW and add useful new features on a 2-year product release cycle. This annual release schedule is just phony BS. It is done only for two reasons.

          Reason 1: the annual release cycle is a marketing ploy to try to put up the appearance of keeping up with Adobe. News flash: they're keeping up with Adobe in product naming only. They're falling father behind everywhere else.

          Reason 2: the annual release cycle allowed Corel an arguably sleazy way to effectively double the price of the product without offering anything additional in value. The cost for anyone upgrading used to be just under $200 every two years. Then it became nearly $200 every year. Soon upgrades became mandatory in order to keep a license "alive" and eligible for future upgrades. There was a limited window of opportunity for long time users (such as myself) to pay the $200 and then opt-in an additional $99 for a $99 per year upgrade protection subscription, which brings pricing closer to what it was previously to buy each upgrade. Today upgrade protection is available to new customers only if they pay $499 for a full version and then an additional $149 to get in on a $149 per year upgrade protection subscription. The annual subscription price (without having to buy a full version up front) is now $249 per year.

          Some people in professional circles might not have a problem with those prices, but CorelDRAW has historically had a bunch of its customer base in the more casual "pro-sumer" and office productivity spaces. Such customers are bound to look for less expensive alternatives. I cannot see how Corel expects to attract new customers with this kind of pricing setup, especially when they're clearly struggling to maintain the CorelDRAW application, never mind improving it. If anything, I expect the user base of CorelDRAW to shrink dramatically if current trends continue.

          It is very clear Corel does not have the resources necessary to release whole new versions of CorelDRAW on an annual basis. IMHO, they need to re-group and go back to doing whole versions every 2 years, if not longer. Drop the year in the product name. Who cares if it doesn't match whatever number Adobe is using? I think they should do away with the subscription stuff too. Not having a subscription setup used to be a selling point.

          • Corel has the resources they just don't allocate them properly. Another issue may be that the dime store applications are more profitable. 

            • Some people in professional circles might not have a problem with those prices

              If they want to compete in the professional market, they better deliver a product where all features work as expected, where crashes are very rare and not part of the daily work, where the number of legacy bugs don't pile up, and where UI flaws aren't so common that it is ridiculous.

              Draw has some remarkable features and is still reasonably easy to work with, but they better step if they want to be an alternative for professionals, and that quick.

              If not, they won't be an alternative neither for professionals nor for amateurs.

              • They are already not the choice, nor are they the smart choice for new professionals or new amateurs.

                BUGS, CRASHES and amateurish implementation of new features kills the professional market combined with a professional level pricing structure kills the amateur market.

                I've acquired 15 to 20 terabytes of customer files over 3 decades so I have old computers and old versions setting around so I can open old files and I continue upgrading because I generate income without the Adobe model nor the cost of the learning curve.

                Let's face it CorelDRAW in a diverse workflow gets more difficult all the time. One example, with 2019 they made a default change with the keep desktop objects, so after over 25 years instead of getting a new feature that could have been a good marketing piece, (because as a new feature it was a good idea) EVERYONE has a change forced upon them. So now my 8 systems all require an additional item I must setup. Setting up minimum customization for our shop is nearly an entire workday.

                Another example, the rebuild of the customization controls. They are since 2019 not only spread out over the UI wilderness, if you work regularly in web, RGB print and CMYK print the requirement of setting document level and application level controls now force a user to create and work from templates. All they need do is create these environments in the new document dialog and new users get a 1 click solution for almost all workflows.

                Last example,  working in professional level architectural image editing, for years there has been a document level default or turning on the grid at 800%. Why? Corel knows this change is a simple fix but you have to customize your work space so with every file you then need to execute 2 clicks to turn the grid off so you can actually see the file properly for critical edits.

                Image editing is the single highest net profit center for those who take the time to know how and develop a client base. Profit margins in the 99% range because one system only has the labor cost of one operator and can bill thousands per day. However Photo-PAINT gets minimal attention every cycle, forsaken for the profits found in PaintShop Pro, a handy utility at best but a required installation unless you buy Photoshop and drop Corel.

                Like I've said many times the entire Core universe speaks Canadian.