CorelDRAW Graphics Suite 2019…I downloaded this collection of apps directly from Corel this morning for the free 15 day trial. I worked with it for several hours and had to get rid of it for several, what I regard critical issues. 1) When I fist launched the app Little Snitch went wild. Blocked every connection for a variety of reasons ie. Unsigned Certificates,App possible altered and regarded as potentially unsafe. Each piece of the collection, the Font Manager, the Photo Painter and the Draw app all had the exact same problem. Maybe not a crisis for some but it made me really uncomfortable.
2)The Font app is very attractive and potentially really useful but it has big problems. 1) The app does not interact with any other apps like FontExplorer Pro, Suitcase, Right Font and a host of other font managers. Corel’s app gloriously displays every feature of any font you throw at it, but unlike the other apps or PopChar there seems to be no way to transfer the portion of the font you want to the app you are working with…I could be wrong but there were no preferences as such or complete enough instructions to teach someone new to this app to do it. There is also no pref to get it to launch at startup like virtually every other font manager. When you set the app to show you the myriad things available in many of these fonts, so that you can actually see them, then quit the app, you have toast them again when you launch the app again.
The Photo Paint app is again very attractive but is missing two or more features. 1) There is no auto-clone or auto-paint like Painter Essentials has. 2) The app claims to support plugins. I had hoped that it would recognize some of Painter’s plugins, but if it does I could find no documentation on how to use them.
By the time I got to the Corel Draw feature I was really frustrated. I suspect that I did not give it the time it deserved. So I will say little other than I have apps far less expensive that seem to do all that the Corel app does.
This brings me to the final problem. COST. 700 Dollars for this app is outrageous. It is not that advanced or perfect. Yea, there is a subscription offers in the trial for 17$ a month. Let’s face it no matter what you think of Adobe and there subscriptions their apps are less expensive and much more polished.
Later today I went to the App Store and there is a Trial copy of Corel Draw available there. I downloaded and installed it and the were zero security or Little Snitch complaints when I launched it. There is a subscription to be had here and it is 19.99$ a month! There is no Photo Painter, no Font Manager and it is more expensive than getting the complete collection directly from Corel! What is this all about.
I am going to try the Corel Draw app over the next couple of days, but am I going to pay 20$ a month for it? Not likely, I have to feed my family.