Is Corel Support really this useless? I have a problem and they told me to reset my workspace. Terrific. Done. Problem still exists. They then tell me to send computer information back to them which I do. They respond again with, "reset your workspace". I already did that. I respond back to the email they send and tell them just that I already tried this and a couple days later I get an email saying they haven't heard back from me. I reply back to the email and get this in response:
Thank you for reaching out to Corel. We would like to inform you that this email address isn't maintained anymore.
If you have a support request or any other question related to Corel products, please contact our Support Team or check our Knowledge Base.
Sincerely, The Corel Support Team
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What is going on? I still can't fix my problem.
I have unresolved issues with all versions of CorelDraw. The worst started with the latest subscription versions. There are huge problems such as the eyedropper shows the wrong colors or the app crashes when I open the color docker. I tried everything. Chat and phone calls with experts, sessions with Corel technicians but nothing was resolved. They just left me to struggle with the problems on my own. Is Corel dying? Now I'm trying to work with Illustrator but it's going to take time, you see I've been a Corel user since 1992!
I have serious concerns about the future of CorelDRAW. It's clear the company owners are not devoting the resources needed (money, talent, manpower) to properly maintain the application, much less keep it competitive with rival applications.
Maybe they don't think CorelDRAW is worth the trouble. So I'm thinking there are two possibilities for CorelDRAW over the next few years. One possibility is they kill the application outright and focus on selling copies of Paint Shop Pro, WinZip, etc. Another possibility is spinning off the CorelDRAW part of Corel to another software company. There is no telling what could happen in that scenario. A new developer might give CorelDRAW the attention it deserves. Or its development road map could get even worse via changes that break all sorts of things or just radically change the application in kooky, ill-advised ways. I wouldn't put it past a new owner to dumb-down CorelDRAW into a cheap, barely functional "consumer" application that is known as CorelDRAW in name only. Finally, there is the scenario where another big company acquires CorelDRAW only to kill it as a means of eliminating rival software. This is along the lines of what Adobe did to Freehand not long after absorbing Macromedia.
The CDR format is very poorly supported outside of CorelDRAW. Very few rival graphics applications have import/export filters to support CDR files. If the existence of CorelDRAW starts looking doubtful it's going to be necessary for many CorelDRAW users to back up their CDR-based artwork in other more "generic" formats like EPS or PDF.
First thing I think of is that I've been hearing they same things said about CorelDRAW for 30 years. There have been some very bad versions, in fact there was (and I can't remember if it was odd or even) a reputation for every other version being goog the in-between versions were awful.
There have been awful versions, 5&7 I believe really sucked and 2019 made the Titantic seem safe.
I'm of the opinion that they be very hard pressed to find any software company who would buy the CorelDRAW Graphics Suite but itself. The value of Corel is in the packages of software.
So who knows?
David Milisock said:First thing I think of is that I've been hearing they same things said about CorelDRAW for 30 years. There have been some very bad versions, in fact there was (and I can't remember if it was odd or even) a reputation for every other version being goog the in-between versions were awful.
The situation today is very different. Sure, some versions of CorelDRAW in the past have been buggy. But back when CorelDRAW was on a roughly 2 year development cycle a new version of CorelDRAW was usually something to look forward to. And if they did release a crummy version a registered user always had the opportunity to skip it and wait another version or two before buying. Not anymore.
Today a new version release of CorelDRAW is mostly a non-event. Today it's just a reoccurring bill in return for little, if any improvement in the application. And that now-annual bill is considerably more costly. The price hikes really stink thanks to the lack of improvement. And it's not like they're having to ship retail boxes with printed manuals and mass replicated discs anymore.It looks like they're trying to turn the screws on customers even worse. I've noticed the "buy one time" perpetual license version in the Corel store is stuck at version 2021. It seems like they're even more determined to go purely subscription only with future releases. I can only see that ploy reducing the overall number of users.
I saw the 2021 perpetual license too maybe they did that because the 2022 perpetual license deal at that time was for long time holders of upgrade protection only. Who knows?
I'm cautiously liking the incremental upgrade process, (if Corel could get its act together and truly market what's in them) and address legacy bugs. We'll have to see how it goes.
Things like the new pages docker, symbols are nice steps forward, the Trace function in 2022 upgrade is better than V12.
The adjustment docker, light tools, smart selection mask, mask fade and smooth tools in Photo-PAINT are exceptional tools.
For many years users have straddled the fence between what can only be labeled unusual Corel coding and their own self destructive practices.
There's no doubt the features in Draw are interesting sometimes but the users some times are interesting also.
I learned decades ago to build work stations that were powerful, calibrated and with a good display, but also at least one generation behind the state of the art. Trying to use low to moderate power systems hurts more than helps. Add to that the vast number of users that think that they're great with computers and fail to understand the core business practice of efficiency in labor VS total cost of ownership. A $1000, 2 year old system does not get repaired, it gets trashed and a realistic budget is adapted. However a vast number of users tend to use systems that cost more in lost labor than it would cost to buy a productive system.
I also learn to comprehend core technologies, that's important because by not understanding this you create more problems than the software issues. In reality if you don't understand basic color management you can't figure out how to properly use the find replace tool.
Then again Corel makes zero effort to provide that training.
X7 was near bug free but didn't support UHD monitors as well as it could.
They have now completely lost all sense of a clear direction IMO.
Look at the history of what works, the code they write themselves. They lost their way when builds started to use more libraries.
It became "what does this library do and how can we leverage that".
Quite a natural process at first, bring on multi-threading and GPU processing.
It's all been lead off in too many directions. I suspect that had Corel only ever done Draw and not got involved in getting all excited about buying this and that useless app, they would be much stronger today.
Too late now... they need to sell it off to someone that cares more about code. Or "Corel" need to care more about code and less about how much they can screw people for the software.
I think the biggest fail was in how they managed the transition from little purchase security to this inflated system that exists now. A massive underestimate of how piracy had been a massive factor in creating marketshare.
Don't spose they can bring people that have left back but I do miss Tony and Alex.
Certainly there never was a bug free version of Draw, I don't like their lack of commitment to resolving bugs, nor their erratic methods.
You certainly underestimated the number of illegal Draw users and the impact it had on profitability. When Corel started tracking code use via the internet, illegal users outnumbered legal users 2 to 1 that's an unsustainable situation.
The business climate today will not support the CorelDRAW Graphics Suite as a stand alone application, that is the only application of a financially viable corporation.
Development costs are too high, user base too cheap, user demand for high end function increasingly disappearing.
Last week I was sitting beside a "high" end Adobe user in the design department of a 300 employee architectural firm. Her work as well as all the other designers work 99.9999% of the time is destined for a display, ALL of her high end effects file construction methods are unreproduceable in print without significant work or serious quality degradation.
This is what Adobe programs for, even their artificial intelligence features produce at nest quality only good enough for display.
I was there helping the company with migration of some of their content to their short run digital print engine. They have a true PDF RIP dry toner heat fusion digital print engine with bindery capabilities. They have need for high end prints in the 5 to 25 count range.