X7 released

[Scott Shepherd]

Corel X7 is out there today.

I watched the "What's New" video and it didn't sway me into thinking I needed it. I certainly hope there's a lot more "What's New" than what's on that video because I didn't see anything that would help me much at all. They seemed to focus on the major features is the User Interface has been redesigned. Sorry, changing icons and button locations doesn't sell me.

[Mike Null]

Steve

We're usually on the same page but here I think there are some real benefits, especially for the X5 users. I've viewed the video and, like you, was not impressed, but a comparison offered in the PDF pretty well convinced me that an upgrade is in order.

X7_comparison.png

[Gary Hair]

Look at just the "New" features in that pdf - pretty impressive! Two that stand out for me are output presets in a template and an align/distribute docker - I use align/distribute a lot and a docker will be nice. There is also enhanced support for multiple monitors, dragging dockers and toolbars as well as moving documents to another screen instead of having them tabbed. I'll be buying it shortly.

[Steve Clarkson]

I looked at the .pdf comparison and nothing jumped out at me to convince me to spend $200 to upgrade from X5......but I'll be interested to hear reviews by people who do upgrade.

[Scott Shepherd]

I'm with you Steve, I looked at the document too. I suppose if I did a lot of patterns or gradients, it would be helpful, or if I used the photo editing software, it might be good, but I didn't see any new, cool tools on the vector graphics side that would help my workflow enough to justify the cost.

[Mike Chance in Iowa]

Gary, the align/distribute docker is in X6 too. Corel needs to proof their comparison chart.

[Gary Hair]

Gary, the align/distribute docker is in X6 too. Corel needs to proof their comparison chart.

You are absolutely right... How I never noticed before is beyond me.

[Mike Chance in Iowa]

I find the docker to be more difficult to use then the previous versions. This may be a quirk with XP, but if I use the align/distribute docker and select any one of the options to align, I cannot use Ctrl+Z to undo it. I have to click on Edit, Undo Align to undo it. Ctrl+Z works for everything else.

[John Bronleewe]

I've been using the X6 trial to be sure Draw is something I'm okay committing to for a purchase soon. Bought a 15.4" MacBook Pro last weekend, installed Windows 8, Corel Draw X6 and was sad to discover the both Corel Draw and Adobe Photoshop displayed very very small on the Retina display. I have great eyes still but it was going to be a bit of a pain to deal with. All of this to say that YAY they fixed it with X7. I am now completely sold on Draw. Still learning it from a long background with Adobe products, but I'm really liking it. This new update looks incredible on this display.

[David Somers]

John, you do have the ability on the Mac to use a second monitor when and if you want it. It doesn't have to be an Apple model. The monitor can mirror what is on your Macbook, or it can be an extended monitor, adding to your screen real estate. Really handy depending on how much stuff you are trying to see. Many folks will keep their tools open on one monitor, and the actual graphic open on the larger monitor. And this approach is pretty inexpensive. A good, basic large monitor with a lot of pixels is not expensive. It could even be a TV if you have an HDMI out on your laptop and the TV has an HDMI in.

Just a thought that might be useful as you do more. I have a 17 inch Mac and my eyes are reaching a point where it is starting to seem small. Wonder what my wife would think if I moved the 50 inch TV onto my desk? Hmmmmmmm. <grin>

Dave

[John Bronleewe]

John, you do have the ability on the Mac to use a second monitor when and if you want it. It doesn't have to be an Apple model. The monitor can mirror what is on your Macbook, or it can be an extended monitor, adding to your screen real estate. Really handy depending on how much stuff you are trying to see. Many folks will keep their tools open on one monitor, and the actual graphic open on the larger monitor. And this approach is pretty inexpensive. A good, basic large monitor with a lot of pixels is not expensive. It could even be a TV if you have an HDMI out on your laptop and the TV has an HDMI in.

Just a thought that might be useful as you do more. I have a 17 inch Mac and my eyes are reaching a point where it is starting to seem small. Wonder what my wife would think if I moved the 50 inch TV onto my desk? Hmmmmmmm. <grin>

Dave

I've been planning to add a large monitor in the coming months but I appreciate you pointing this out. I've never worked with a dual monitor setup but I'm looking forward to it, big-time. Had to have something very portable for what I have going on for the foreseeable future so this made a lot of sense. Just really happy about this latest Corel release. Timing was quite good for me. Looks like I'll be one of the people using Draw for vector and Photoshop for raster.

[Steve Busey]

I downloaded the 30 day X7 trial on a non-laser related computer - will install it and look it over this weekend.

[Martin James]

I am also looking at a new macbook pro. I currently have 4 computers hooked up to KVM switch going to a new HP 27" display. A regular mac keyboard a wacom tablet go to the kvm as well as a windows wireless keyboard. For corel I bought a microsoft surface pro, but that is going to ebay, just too hard to use. The display cord port is on an angle, the usb has to go on the other side, and the display menus are tiny. I am afraid to touch it when it is connected to the big monitor. (for what its worth the wacom pen works great)

On your mac system preferences you can " show displays in the menu bar" that helps when you want to make a change. Using the KVM between several computers can cause resolution problems, so I hit the detect displays button and that tells the monitor to reset itself. Also you can change the curser size in the universal access settings. I set mine look regular size on the big screen. Normally I put all the pallets off on the smaller monitor using a extended display setting. Watch out if you have a older PS or illustrator, if you have and windows open in your second monitor, and you quit the program, then your preference will be set to have that window stay in the second monitor, and this is a real pain when you try to use a single monitor later. Those windows might open, but you will not be able to see them. (they display in the other monitor where ever it is) Older macs = F9 = show all windows and F10 show windows in current app. On lion and later you have to fix that in sys pref. Especially warning dialoge boxes will get you when switching from 2 displAys to 1. You can always hit enter or escape to exit a warning. I currently need to dig out an older monitor and hook it up to get my illustrator cs2 back to working.

You can also go > displays, and then set the resolution to a lower setting keeping in mind that the ratio has to be the same as your native macbook. You can also look in mac Sys pref> universal access, that is where you can change the curser size. If you mess with the windows side, make sure you are on the current OS and then start with the regular display settings before you touch the settings for geriatrics. The windows universal access drivers will try to zoom on top of your bad settings...

Photoshop cc is for rent currently @$10/mo on a year contract, try google PS cc 9.99/mo . The current offer ends today. 3/31/14

Older software might cause problems.

Keep in mind that Bootcamp is a evolving set of drivers that apple configures for your machine for a given mac and windows OS and hardware configuration at a given time. Upgrade first, then leave it alone if it works.

FYI, I tried the surface pro w/windows 8.1pro and coreldraw as well as my older copies of Photoshop and illustrator.
1) the surface pro screen is too small and too high res, I would have to use glasses.
2)The windows interface has a learning curve.
3)The mac curve very much easier.
4)the macbook holds value. Current MBP 2010 sells for 70+ % of new price on ebay.
5)The macbook can run windows at speed.
6)At apple they answer the phone. for example My father just gave me his 2006 macbook, apple sold me the snow leopard 10.6.8 (which is current with adobe programs) for $20 with 90 days of phone support.

hope this helps cheers, Marty