CorelDRAW Upgrade Protection Program Is Ending

[WildWestDesigns]

I gotcha, more than likely, I wouldn't worry about it either. Keep it until no longer can install it. After that, determine if you want to go subscription to something else or maybe get away with a cheaper option. If you don't depend much on outside files or beyond just viewing said outside files (no editing), have a lot of wiggle room. What might get you is the learning curve of something new and that really depends on how well you do or don't pick up something.

 

[Jim Hill]

I would be interested in hearing from anyone who has tried Ink Scape about the pros and cons of using this program.

I have a few thousand files

 

[WildWestDesigns]

I would be interested in hearing from anyone who has tried Ink Scape about the pros and cons of using this program.

I have a few thousand files

That is actually one of the alternatives that I use (there are only a handful of ones that are available on Linux (my platform of choice) and a lot of them not many have heard of).

It's native format is SVG (although it will read the legacy ai and eps formats and I think there is some support for CDR as well). The thing to keep in mind is that SVG, while an open format, it is mainly geared for the web. Which also means that it is also simple text (XML is simple markup) in a regular text editor (notepad, neovim, VSCodium etc).

The biggest advantage is if you know Python (which isn't that hard relatively as far as languages go and I have dealt with a lot of compiled and scripting language and it is easy to pick up), you can pretty much extend it to your harts desire (the last embroidery software that I ran after dealing with the $15k versions is a plugin for Inkscape (the official embroidery plugin done by a commercial company for Ai and DRAW was $3k in price and it had some features, but didn't have one feature that I specifically needed (although I am in a small minority of users of that feature in the US, Japan (or Asia in general) is another story)). Now some people consider these plugins are hacks, technically they are correct, but the irony is all plugins are hacks. I just find it ironic they will call plugins for these types of programs hacks, but plugins for Ai and Draw get listed as plugins, when technically they are all hacks (like it or not, the term "hacks" comes with negative connotations, and not always deserved at that).

Now, something to keep in mind (and this is a con with Ai and Draw) is that with Inkscape and especially with plugins like the embroidery plugin, info is stored in the SVG markup. Inkscape will ignore markup that it doesn't know or isn't HTML5 kosher markup. Ai and Draw will delete that info on save. So if using a plugin that stores object info in the XML (which they all do is the main format is SVG which is markup) and try to edit it in Ai or Draw and save it in those programs, that plugin info will be lost and need to be re applied. I find this ironic, considering if you were to do ePub export from InDesign for example, the exporting HTML file (which ePub, for those that don't know is a zip file (can change the extension to zip and it will open) with HTML5 files (mainly your assets, html and css files, newer versions of ePub allow for JS, but not all readers accept that yet)) is not able to to be edited on it's own, nor is it the recommended way to handle HTML/CSS in a modular maintainable way (atleast not from what I have seen, it may have, but I'm not holding my breath on it). So they have ignored kosher HTML spec on exports of their own as well. At least as far as I'm concerned, because I do like to do edits with the export because it is far quicker to do that with the export compared to the master file itself (usually because it is specific to ePub and not necessarily to InDesign, but I digress big time).

There are quite a bit of extra functionality with using the built in Inkscape XML editor to enjoy more features (particularly in relation to some extra font features and for even greater precision of the existing tools). You do not need to write XML from scratch to enjoy these features. Just select the object (text or shape) open the XML Editor portion of Inkscape and edit the TextEdit or SpinBoxes accordingly for that object(not any different compared to those same widgets in Ai or Draw for editing their individual vector objects). It is based on HTML5 specs (or W3 specs rather), so not everything is still viable versus Ai/Draw options because their native format is their own format (so that can be a con for Inkscape), but it does give extra options compared to just the regular tool(s). Rather or not that is good UX is something else, but just to keep in mind that does help with some extra functionality.

Oddly enough, Blender actually has SVG support as well. Can create it for export (Blender 3.0 and later if I recall correctly for this support) using the Grease Pencil tool (Blender's 2D toolset) and import as well if the extension (which should be shipped with Blender, just not on). I have actually used Blender for more and more 2D work (animation and SVG work), but not much for game asset creation, that I use Krita for (mainly do to it's DPI rendering for pixel exporting). But I would only suggest Blender if you are familiar with Blender's way of doing things, otherwise, stick with Inkscape. I just thought it was a cool alternative to mention as I really do like Blender.

The others you wouldn't have heard of and they are typically either web based (hosted locally and doesn't send anything to servers) or they are Linux only.

Two big cons, and one is a personal preference, SVG is mainly a web-standard, as such, options are typically limited to what the web can handle. That is getting better all the time and it might be sufficient for what you need right now, just something to keep in mind as that determines what you can/can't do and how you can do it at that. Also, and this is the preference one, I am not a fan of GTK widgets. I think the UI is ugly. I'm a "cute" fan not a Gnome/GTK fan. Which is also a reason why I use Blender as much as I can for SVG work. I don't mind the Immediate Mode gui (some do, I don't and that's the way things are going anyway, I'll either use SDL or Web Rendering for my own apps as well, quickness depends on which one I use).

What I would try to do to help with the learning curve, is keep Draw around for your customer work right now, and when you are creating your own work, start using Inkscape. Nothing helps cement things and makes me learn things compared to having a project to do (and that applies to just about anything that I am trying to learn, but that is me, may not be you, just depends, just suggesting what works for me), but while X8 is still good, have that to fall back on while you are learning the ropes (and see if it is a true replacement). Thing to watch out for is if X8 doesn't become too much of a crutch and prevents one from learning. That is the dangers with that as well. Always something, but it really is going to come done to what you need from your software and how willing you are to learning a different way of doing things (people sometimes confuse a different way of doing things with a software lacking functionality that they need).

 

[Jim Hill]

Thanks, Wild West Design, for all of your advice.

Back around 2019 I started looking into InkScape because once the private equity firms purchased CorelDraw they would work hard to extract every nickel they could manage to get out of the business.

The original private equity firm was Vector something and their sole purpose was to make Corel a subscription based service which created a consistent revenue stream.

Thanks again for your advice. Jim Hill

 

[WildWestDesigns]

The original private equity firm was Vector something and their sole purpose was to make Corel a subscription based service which created a consistent revenue stream.

I remember when Adobe came out and said it was subscription only, Corel made quite a deal about still having the perpetual license and went to offering deals to get people on over. My how times change in just a few short years (and I remember other companies in tech poking fun and other things with changes that their competition was doing only to do the same thing a handful of years down the line). And while some companies do offer both still, one can easily see which one is the easiest for a potential customer to find and which one has to be searched out actively to get to. I speculate (and this is me speculating) that it enables whatever company to say: "We are dropping support for perpetual license, because more people are going subscription compared to traditional licenses", all the while conveniently glossing over the fact how one option is easier to get to, compared to the other (not all, but it seems to me more do it compared to those that don't, but I may be looking to hard for that connection as well).

This is always the dangers though of publicly traded companies (not that I'm in theory against publicly traded any type of businesses (in one way I am against it, but probably not in the way that most would think of, and it some ways it akin to trading rules (well specifically one in particular) that Japan has on their own companies as well), just that how business is conducted changes depending on the changes with the makeup of the owners). I think Jobs had what 20% ownership with Adobe, that was way back in the early 80s (I think even as early as the same year as Adobe was founded, if I recall correctly), I'm sure that helped greatly with Mac/Adobe relationship in that same period and a little beyond before Adobe started licensing their PS tech with MS and porting their software over to MS as well in the late 80s (regardless if that porting did well or not). Again makeup of the ownership plays a part in what they do (or don't do) for the end customers.

 

[Jim Hill]

Yesterday I received another message from the folks at Corel about subscribing and their plans.

I guess first I have to pay either $232.00 or something like that amount, and then I have to start paying them about $22.00 @ month every month to receive the latest and greatest version of CorelDraw
Seems like a lot of money every year, $264.00 dollars for a program that I already own.

I have never been a big fan of private equity firms because they bleed companies try before they sell them to another private equity firm who starts selling off many of the assets of the company.

Private equity firms are buying any companies they can convert into subscription based format to create a monthly revenue stream.

Jim

 

[WildWestDesigns]

To play devil's advocate here. Corel (and Adobe for that matter) are long in the tooth and have been around for a long time (the languages used have had more modern features hacked together to work in their language, which translates to the programs as well, especially for those written before those features were implemented). The ability to innovate is not there like it used to be and even back in the old days, not every feature wowed people, it's getting even more so now.

It is really more iterative compared to innovative (and it doesn't sound like everyone is doing well even at iterative). So getting a more stable revenue stream that doesn't quite rely on constantly wowing people to continue to re-up every 2 yrs (or a year now, and that in of itself, should be a concern for people and stability) is the thing now.

I would not be surprised if we eventually get to the point that these programs are webview apps (think of a slimmed down Electron app for those that aren't familiar with webview (quite a lot of android and iOS apps are really just webview apps). There are pros and cons to that, but I can see everything going that way eventually for the subscription based closed source programs. And ironically, I would be more inclined to go that way versus this halfway approach now. Not saying I would, but I would be far more tempted and could at least understand it more compared to what we have now.

 

[Ronny Axelsson]

In the future it may just be easier buying the $499 "full" version once every few years if Corel manages to survive.

I'm not sure there will ever be any "full" (perpetual) licences again, at least that is how I interpret the information they have sent out.

Those with an active Upgrade Protection Plan should be able to use the versions released while their plan is active, also after it ends.
At least that is what they say.

Once we go into subscription only though, any versions from that period will stop working when we cancel subscription.
And if the file format changes, like it has in the past, it will then no longer be possible to open/save files from those versions.

My recommendation is to save all files in the 2021 file format (or whatever version we work in now) from now on, until we know with
100% certainty what will happen with the UPP, the subscription and if there will ever be any more perpetual versions.

Being held hostage in an expensive subscription plan just because you have hundreds or thousands of files that you can no longer use won't be fun at all.

 

[Bobby H]

I'm not sure there will ever be any "full" (perpetual) licences again, at least that is how I interpret the information they have sent out.

For the time being Corel is still selling a non-upgradeable perpetual license version. When they released v24.0.0.301 on March 8 it included a $549 one-time-purchase version and a $269 per year subscription version. Those are price hikes above the previous $499/$249 levels.

Those with an active Upgrade Protection Plan should be able to use the versions released while their plan is active, also after it ends.
At least that is what they say.

I kept my installers and serial numbers for the past few versions just in case. I've had a habit of down-saving CDR files to v2018 (and keeping an install of v2018 on the computer to down-save to versions earlier than X5 if needed). I don't see any significant difference at all between v2021 and v2022. So it's no sweat for me to down-save to v2021 or earlier. If I end up not renewing my UPP term as a subscription I can live with v2021 if I have to do so.

I'm a little unsure whether the March 2022 version of CorelDRAW will work in a perpetual license mode. The verbiage in their email about the upgrade protection program ending was a little unclear. The verbiage does suggest UPP customers will be able to use any version of CorelDRAW in perpetual license mode that they download while their UPP term is still active. That would basically mean the version Corel released on Tuesday, March 8. No one's UPP term goes past January 2023. They're offering a one year deal for UPP customers to stay on-board with a CorelDRAW subscription from 3/8/23 to 3/8/24. After 3/8/24 the subscription cost will go to full price. UPP customers will be able to use the subscription-based product for free between the time their UPP term ends and 3/8/23, but that is if they choose to auto-renew.

My recommendation is to save all files in the 2021 file format (or whatever version we work in now) from now on, until we know with 100% certainty what will happen with the UPP, the subscription and if there will ever be any more perpetual versions.

The March 2022 version has been out for only a very short time. I can't tell many differences between it and the previous 2021 version. It seems most of the upgrade work has gone to the PhotoPaint application. The only obvious difference in the Draw application is some very minor tweaks to the user interface and the addition of a "Learn" docker. The development team might have cleaned up some of the application code. But a whole slew of bugs related to fonts still remain un-fixed. Some of those bugs have persisted for multiple versions. In order to use certain typefaces I have to use other rival applications I have on hand.

I'm not against paying for a subscription. But the price needs to be on par with the value being offered. I had no problem paying $99 per year for the UPP. $269 per year for Draw and PhotoPaint is a rip-off. In just 2 years that cost is equal to buying a perpetual version. I'm inclined to just not re-new when my UPP term lapses in January 2023 and stick CDR 2022 or CDR 2021 for the next few years. Then I'll buy another version of CorelDRAW when I need to do so. That is if CorelDRAW is even still around by then.

 

[WildWestDesigns]

I'm not sure there will ever be any "full" (perpetual) licences again, at least that is how I interpret the information they have sent out.

I highly doubt it, especially given the progression of how things have been handled from 2013-2014 on to now. The progression that we say in those what 8-9 yrs?

My recommendation is to save all files in the 2021 file format (or whatever version we work in now) from now on, until we know with
100% certainty what will happen with the UPP, the subscription and if there will ever be any more perpetual versions.

Personally, I try to save it in a format that is the most universal as one can while not being lossy. That won't be 100% and some things won't transfer as well, but at least it is something and it may give one the ability to move to more programs compared to one or two that have some type of functioning import of that other proprietary format. Trying to migrate from one proprietary format to another proprietary format is not any easier and there it will never be 1:1, so for those waiting for that to happen before they switch to another program are going to be waiting for quite awhile.

Only way that I can conceive of that happen is if they are bought out by the other company. Even if that proprietary format is somewhat documented and that documentation is out in the wild, there will be caveats to that, "not fully documented and subject to changes and those changes may not be documented in the future and there is no expectation that this documentation will be kept up to date", blah blah blah.

Being held hostage in an expensive subscription plan just because you have hundreds or thousands of files that you can no longer use won't be fun at all.

And the longer that you stay, even with the now available perpetual license, isn't going to make it any easier.

Then I'll buy another version of CorelDRAW when I need to do so. That is if CorelDRAW is even still around by then.

The assumption being that they even offer that if they are still around as well.

 

[binki]

We went ahead and purchased the annual subscription for $249. It won't run on a Windows 8 computer though. We have 2 Windows 10 computers so that is where it will live.

 

[Jim Hill]

I am read all of the above comments and now trying to figure out my next move.

I like using version X-8 which I own and since I have not upgraded to the latest version of Coreldraw and never subscribed for the latest upgrades which I really don't even miss.
My bigger problem is I do not like the direction Corel is headed in and I can only see them charging users much more in the future.

Instead of keeping the images in a CDR format, should I convert them into an SVG format now, just in case for any reason Corel decides to just turn off my version of the program.

I have just started trying Inkscape to see how that works and if that might be a better way to go, even though I realize that at some point Inkscape might also change.

Is it just me, or does it seem to others like Corel has made this whole process very confusing to try and figure out what they are doing?

Jim

 

[Notarealsignguy]

I am read all of the above comments and now trying to figure out my next move.

I like using version X-8 which I own and since I have not upgraded to the latest version of Coreldraw and never subscribed for the latest upgrades which I really don't even miss.
My bigger problem is I do not like the direction Corel is headed in and I can only see them charging users much more in the future.

Instead of keeping the images in a CDR format, should I convert them into an SVG format now, just in case for any reason Corel decides to just turn off my version of the program.

I have just started trying Inkscape to see how that works and if that might be a better way to go, even though I realize that at some point Inkscape might also change.

Is it just me, or does it seem to others like Corel has made this whole process very confusing to try and figure out what they are doing?

Jim

PDF. You can also save as a PDF from inkscape. I wouldn't worry about it too much until you have to.

 

[WildWestDesigns]

It would depend on what features are being used in Corel as to what format that they transfer best for. Although given Draw's (and Ais) lackluster SVG support to begin with, it may actually be better to do PDF, because while SVG may support the feature in question, it may be markup that Corel hasn't instituted in the export process.

I would speculate that things are only going to get worse for customers and not necessarily better. Or atleast, I'm one of those that may hope for the best but plan for the worst.

Yes, Inkscape can change, but here is a significant difference between open source and close source (not necessarily free/cheaper versus expensive as price or lack thereof, as that has zero bearing on if it's open source or not, contrary to what normies seem to think), if it's a popular project, which Inkscape is, chances are there will be someone that will take it in a different direction or at least maintain it at it's favored point. 2 examples of this:

1. Audacity. Audacity was bought (like I said, open source projects doesn't mean free) by a group and they started adding in telemetry into it, they also had a very bad age limit early on as well (due to telemetry collection and how that is handled in some countries, I won't digress down that path, at least not in this post) and we started to have forks before the telemetry was added in and the license changed (which they gave a pathetic excuse as that change wasn't needed even for the reason that they gave (why knowing the licenses that we all agree to is important)). Shoot even the package managers are no longer building and deploying current versions of Audacity. Even Arch which is normally "bleeding edge".

2. Blender. Blender 2.7 saw deprecation of BGE. 2.8 saw the removal of BGE. Now we have UPBGE that combines upstream Blender with BGE put back in and actively developed on (even one of the original devs is on this new version as well).

Now, notice in both instances, this wasn't me doing this, but being handled by someone else (or various other people as well). I hear a lot of "so what" arguments, because the "normies" think that they have to do this, no they don't. Trust me, if it's popular enough, it will get going on it's own.

Even if nothing happened and no development at all, it just dies. Can always build/compile on your own (exceptionally easy on Linux, not so much on Windows) and continue to use it.

None of these options exist with closed source software (that's the "free" that is really talked about with open source, as in freedom). Your at the mercy that you hope the company makes it or if they are bought out that the company doing the buying keeps the project going and in a very good state of "health".

So yes, while there may be some concern for open source projects to change course and people not like it(which does happen), there are pro active options for people compared to closed source projects. And this also goes into the ability to actually extend those products as well without having to deal with costly licenses to see the source code to integrate plugins into the system etc as that source code is already out there in the open. For those that consider these types of plugins hacks, I hate to break it to you, all plugins are hacks, even ones (and I like one suite in particular for Ai) that are lauded about here in S101.

 

[Bobby H]

I like using version X-8 which I own and since I have not upgraded to the latest version of Coreldraw and never subscribed for the latest upgrades which I really don't even miss.
My bigger problem is I do not like the direction Corel is headed in and I can only see them charging users much more in the future.

This year Corel hit its customers with a price hike. The subscription version jumped $20 to $269 per year. And the non-upgradeable perpetual license version rose $50 from $499 to $549.

I can't see how Corel can attract new customers at all under its current pricing scheme. $269 per year is pretty expensive for just two actual applications (a buggy font manager and screen capture utility don't count as full blown creative applications). Corel and its higher ups at KKR are resorting to squeezing the existing user base. There is no plan for actual growth. I think they're going to shed more high end, professional users to the Adobe CC camp and lose a lot of casual, amateur and office productivity users to more affordable applications like Affinity Designer. The annual "upgrades" for CorelDRAW have added little value lately. I can't even see any noticeable difference between version 2021 and the new March 2022 release. That tells me the CorelDRAW development team doesn't have the manpower and resources it needs to do worthwhile updates. All of that tells me the future is not bright at all for CorelDRAW.

My biggest future concern about CorelDRAW: the Corel company possibly going out of business. If the company folds what will happen with the CorelDRAW property and its activation servers? All versions of CorelDRAW since version X6 have required online activation in order to run. Most people have a habit of saving files with the "Save" button, saving in the latest file version. They don't tend to down-save to a version like X5 that didn't require activation. Down-saving has its own host of drawbacks. Newer features and effects will "break." An old version like X5 may not install in a new OS.

There is very little support at all for the CDR format in rival graphics applications. Most vector graphics applications are geared to importing AI, EPS and PDF formats (with varying degrees of success). Lack of CDR support will make things difficult for anyone with a large collection of existing CDR files.

PDF is technically not supposed to be storage format for artwork to be edited in the future. The PDFs generated by CorelDRAW aren't exactly perfect to open in other applications like Adobe Illustrator. In the case of Illustrator I tend to get the best results with Corel's AI CS6 export filter. Those results aren't perfect though.

 

[WildWestDesigns]

That tells me the CorelDRAW development team doesn't have the manpower and resources it needs to do worthwhile updates. All of that tells me the future is not bright at all for CorelDRAW.

I would say that the biggest stretch here was to actually offer an Apple install as well. I see nothing that tells me that they actually have Apple centric devs, certainly to justify making a separate code base specifically for Apple (versus using something like Qt (which is what Autodesk does with Maya, which also explains why it's available on all 3 desktop platforms as well)). I am assuming that they did the separate code base, because they had to have help with Apple during their initial development (and may still be getting help, I dunno on that).

My biggest future concern about CorelDRAW: the Corel company possibly going out of business. If the company folds what will happen with the CorelDRAW property and its activation servers?

If the company folds, those servers are going down. I highly doubt any buyer (if they have one) will be able to long term keep it going or even want to. At this point, I would see it would be integrating into whatever program that they do have. I could be wrong, but I would for sure think any existing server would be taken offline quickly and merge people over to the new product, whatever form that may take.

All versions of CorelDRAW since version X6 have required online activation in order to run. Most people have a habit of saving files with the "Save" button, saving in the latest file version. They don't tend to down-save to a version like X5 that didn't require activation. Down-saving has its own host of drawbacks. Newer features and effects will "break." An old version like X5 may not install in a new OS.

Windows 8, already had some issues with X5. Having to manually move DLL files where they needed to be etc (nice thing is that there was a msg that displayed the path that they needed to go). I would imagine that it wouldn't be any easier as the years go on. Probably the best bet would be to virtualize an older OS (if don't want to have an older physical box with an older OS on it). Now, virtualization is not quite the same as emulation, they have very specific differences that does affect performance, so keep that in mind as well. I have been able to run 4 OSs at the same time (one OS was virtualized within another virtualized OS), I wouldn't do that with emulation.

There is very little support at all for the CDR format in rival graphics applications. Most vector graphics applications are geared to importing AI, EPS and PDF formats (with varying degrees of success). Lack of CDR support will make things difficult for anyone with a large collection of existing CDR files.

Inkscape did have decent CDR importing/viewing from what few CDR files that I did get. Now, that could be due to a variety of factors and mileage may always vary, but I seemed to have better experience with Inkscape versus even Ai. In fact, instead of asking for a different exported file, I would actually use Inkscape on the CDR files and export myself from those. But again, I could have been lucky on what effects/features etc were used. That isn't a sure thing for everyone.

PDF is technically not supposed to be storage format for artwork to be edited in the future. The PDFs generated by CorelDRAW aren't exactly perfect to open in other applications like Adobe Illustrator. In the case of Illustrator I tend to get the best results with Corel's AI CS6 export filter. Those results aren't perfect though.

As long as the vector info can be pulled from the PDF, it can be edited later. Rather or not, that was the intent, that could be something else. For applique work, programs used to just send the 1:1 cut files via PDF (that has since changed to eps) and it was really easy to extract that out of the PDFs and use it in a vector program. Typically nesting edits had to be changed (mainly placement).

 

[Jim Hill]

I want to thank everyone who has contributed to this thread because it has become very interesting reading.
I agree that sometimes in life you hope for the best, but a wise person also plans for the worst, so having another option in mind might be a wise move.

Furthermore, I am looking at InkScape and Affinity Designer and wondering which one would work best for me.

I like CorelDraw I just really don't like having a private equity firm running the show knowing how they tend to operate.

Thanks again to everyone for sharing their knowledge with the rest of us.

Jim

 

[binki]

One thing I have found out is the files are not compatible with my embroidery software. They have a legacy save that works but now I have to look at another upgrade that won't be cheap, probably around $6K for that. On the bright side, it will now use my scanner with Window$ 10.

 

[WildWestDesigns]

One thing I have found out is the files are not compatible with my embroidery software. They have a legacy save that works but now I have to look at another upgrade that won't be cheap, probably around $6K for that. On the bright side, it will now use my scanner with Window$ 10.

You using Pulse, Wings or something else? Wilcom has Draw linked directly with it (only reason why I had the copies of Draw that I have is due to that). CreativeDRAWings is another that has good (or atleast did) CDR compatibility. Last time that I messed with it (when Win 7 first came out) even the UI looked like Draw.

 

[Jim Hill]

I started using Inkscape, and it is a great graphics program, but I am running into problems when I try and import my CDR images into it.

The images are kind of screwed up looking. I have also tried to import the images using SVG with similar results. I am understanding that trying to import images in PDF won't work either.

If I cannot figure a way to import my images into Inkscape without have to adjust 1,500 images, my Plan B is to stay with CorelDraw for now!

I have a question, the messages I receive from CorelDraw about upgrading say it's $269.00@ year plus the monthly subscription amount, is that correct, and how much is the monthly rate?

Thanks, Jim