X7 has a number of annoying usability issues. For example:
Switching between Eyedropper and BucketIn x5, I assigned Y to the color eyedropper tool, and U to the Apply Color bucket tool. Then I could freely switch back and forth between the two. Not so in x7. When the Apply Color tool is active, pressing Y does nothing. To escape, you have to press the space bar first, and then Y. This extra step only slows me down. There is no benefit. I should be able to switch back and forth freely between the color eyedropper and the apply color tools, as I could in x5.
Tabbing through the color requestersIn the fill and outline requesters (Shift F11 and Shift F12), you can tab through the color value fields for RGB or CMYK. But once you're in the last field, you can't tab anymore. The cursor gets stuck in the last field. So if you changed the value in the last field, you can't update the color swatch by tabbing. Instead, you have to press Shift Tab to see the new color swatch. Why make this more difficult? It was better in x5.
The Save icon is delayed. When I save with CTRL S, the disk icon takes a long time to appear at lower right, so in the meantime, I wonder whether am actually saving or not.
Disregard the next paragraph, as it is incorrect.
Outline Pen instead of Outline ColorThere are the two colored box icons in the lower right status bar. They used to be for outline color (ie Shift F12), and fill color (ie Shift F11). Now if I double click the former outline color box, I get an Outline Pen requester, instead of the Outline Color requester. Yet the other box icon is still for Fill Color. So we've moved from consistency to inconsistency. What's the advantage?
Confusing InterfaceThe light gray color scheme of the user interface makes it hard to see what you're doing. As well, the new icon designs on the various buttons are confusing.
Does anyone else find these issues annoying?
HI
My staff found those and a whole lot more. I know Corel must have tested the heck out of X7 but for production it's just annoying and slower to use than x6
Interface colour is adjustable using high low or medium contrast did you try using different workspace selections.?
Ross Blair
Ross,
Thanks for the suggestions.
High contrast and larger buttons do help. (To customize, I right clicked on a blank part of a tool bar and clicked customize, etc)
However, choosing a different workspace does not make any difference for the other issues.
Is there any way to submit my annoyance list to the Corel development team? What steps should I take? Can you provide a link?
Also, I read your Staff Revolt post, and was interested to see what you find lacking in x7. However, you did not mention malfunctioning or illogical or merely annoying features. Did your staff find any? I think other CorelDraw forum readers would be interested to see a list -- even if it's brief.
Thanks.
Here's another annoyance. Try this:
Make two boxes.
Fill the first with a gradient. (F11)
Using the color eyedropper tool, click a color in the gradient. (Your tool will automatically change from the eyedropper to the Apply Color bucket tool)
Go to the bottom toolbar and double-click the fill-color icon. The Edit Fill requester will appear. Modify the color, and click okay.
Now click the second box (using the Apply Color bucket tool). In x5, the box will be filled with the modified version of color. But not in x7. Instead, the box will be filled with the color you selected with the eyedropper. So in x7, you cannot modify the color on the fly. This is definitely less convenient.
Does anyone else get the same result?
BookPublisher said: Make two boxes. Fill the first with a gradient. (F11) Using the color eyedropper tool, click a color in the gradient. (Your tool will automatically change from the eyedropper to the Apply Color bucket tool) Go to the bottom toolbar and double-click the fill-color icon. The Edit Fill requester will appear. Modify the color, and click okay. Now click the second box (using the Apply Color bucket tool). In x5, the box will be filled with the modified version of color. But not in x7. Instead, the box will be filled with the color you selected with the eyedropper. So in x7, you cannot modify the color on the fly. This is definitely less convenient. Does anyone else get the same result?
Using the steps you describe, I do not get the same result as you do. When I click the second box, its fill color is in fact the modified color selected from the Edit Fill dialog. I don't know what explains the difference in our results.
Hi Bill.
Thanks for testing this.
I have the x7 trial version installed on 2 computers: Windows 7 and Windows 8.1
I am getting the problematic result on both computers.
Are you using the demo of x7? Or the paid version?
What operating system are you using?
BookPublisher said: Here's another annoyance. Try this: Make two boxes. Fill the first with a gradient. (F11) Using the color eyedropper tool, click a color in the gradient. (Your tool will automatically change from the eyedropper to the Apply Color bucket tool) Go to the bottom toolbar and double-click the fill-color icon. The Edit Fill requester will appear. Modify the color, and click okay. Now click the second box (using the Apply Color bucket tool). In x5, the box will be filled with the modified version of color. But not in x7. Instead, the box will be filled with the color you selected with the eyedropper. So in x7, you cannot modify the color on the fly. This is definitely less convenient. Does anyone else get the same result? Thanks.
I tried this and it's just a visual misrepresentation in the color box that floats by the tool icon/cursor. If you click to fill your target, then it will fill with your on-the-fly color anyway.
Apart from expiring after 30 days, there should be no differences between the trial and the full version.
More likely, any differences are due to system differences -- 32 or 64 bit, windows 7 or windows 8 etc.
@signcoartdtp and bcoley
You're right. Thanks for pointing that out.
However, CorelDraw should provide better feedback than that. It should show me what color is actually in the bucket.
The way this x7 feature works now seems like a bug to me. If not that, then it's at least poor software design, and it certainly is confusing.
@harryLondon
Both of my computers are 64 bit. Thanks.
Any thoughts on my original post? I mean the list of annoyances?
Shortcut keys for Paint Bucket, and the tabbing order, I can duplicate here.
Save icon is delayed because the document is cloned in memory first before it is saved out on a separate thread, this is the same procedure as previous versions.
Double clicking on the swatches on the status bar brings up the Edit boxes for both fill and outline, which is the same as X6. The big difference in X6 is there were some 5 different fill dialogs and now there is just one with all the different fill types inside it.
T.
Hi Tony.
I have never tried x6. But just now, I saved a large file in x5, and the disk icon appeared almost immediately. In contrast, in x7, it takes about 4 seconds to appear. Thanks for explaining the reasons for the delay. Still, the delay is an annoyance, however minor.
Regarding the swatches, I've realized that I was wrong. In fact, x5 behaves in a similar manner. Thanks for your help with this.
On the other hand, not being able to switch freely between the eyedropper and paint bucket is a significant annoyance. Another annoyance is not being able to tab beyond the last color field in the color dialog box. I appreciate your effort to duplicate these behaviors.
Do you know any way to communicate these issues to the Corel development team?
BookPublisher:
You just did :)