Printable View
Hello everybody, some days ago I stumbled upon Serif DrawPlus 8 demo and tried it.
Personally I find it very feature rich but a bit odd to use... obviously practice is important everywhere.
Is out there somebody that knows this product and can give a quick opinion about it?
Cheers!
Hi
I've used Drawplus and eventually gave up I'm afraid. Its not that its difficult to use. There are something’s that need getting used to, particularly if you're used to Xara, and the brushes are very nice too. the problem is that it runs out of steam very easily if you are trying to produce a complex drawing. As the number of objects, lines, points begin to mount the whole thing slows down regardless of your system, and mines no slouch. It could be great and it is, until you push it too its limit, which for me anyway, comes to quickly.
Derek
Serif has a DrawPlus forum, Giovanni, and usually the folks in the Serif forums are friendly -- you might want to ask specific questions there.
I don't know DrawPlus, but have and use PagePlus (and have since V.5), and have always found Serif's development group responsive. As you say, their software works in ways not always familiar.
I'm pretty sure Serif's primary focus is on PagePlus, and the group continues to offer This-Plus and That-Plus, including photo editing, 3D, Web (a subset of PagePlus), and DVD/CD authoring, in addition to a lot of last-rev. software (as opposed to the latest versions) from a lot of sources, at bargain prices. Aside from PagePlus, which has 85% of the capability of Adobe's InDesign and arguably more power than Quark, Serif's software now and then seems a little under-featured.
By the way, there are free previous versions, several versions back, of Serif's offerings at freeserifsoftware.com -- DrawPlus 4, for example, and PagePlus SE which is PagePlus 8 or 9. Once you register, you get (a) all sorts of offers in your e-mail and (b) more importantly, significant discounts on current versions from time to time.
Dave
I couldn't find a demo anywhere. Their website only lets you buy it. Please could you tell me where you got the demo from?Quote:
Originally Posted by Giovanni
Trial version here:Quote:
Originally Posted by Xhris
http://comm-unique.co.nz/uploads/Fil...rial-Setup.exe
I have been a member of Serif's "Select" for too long and have been offered upgrades from this version to that version for years. Serif update software every year just about and as Dave rightly pointed out there main push is PagePlus however Drawplus is offered about every two years as an upgrade and because of the price I have kept going. It si very like Corel in its speed but has great brushes and its not that difficult to learn. Like Chris states when pushed its slow but it has a great import and export in PDF in its current version and Xara could learn from this and other Serif programmes. Do I use it? no. Will I use the current version which I spent money on, occasionally when pushed to import PDF files that don't open in Xara. Do I like using the programme, no but it is not that bad, Would I recommend DrawPlus over other programmes maybe. Would I use it instead of Xara? no but its tools have been improved so much over the last 4 years it is getting closer. Would I pay the full price compared to XPro's full price well maybe if i had been brought up on DrawPlus from the start as it is good value. But, but, but.
It was Derek that talked about pushing it to its limits ;).Quote:
Originally Posted by Albacore
Intersting, I'm just installing it now. In what way is its PDF better than Xara's (as in evidence and examples)? I'll have a play around soon.
I also tried CorelDraw...hmm, I'll not go into my opinions of that here...
Hmm, OK, after installing, just as it loads up, it crashes and quits. Maybe it's Vista related, I don't know. But I'm not spending time on getting it fixed. I'll wait for a future demo.
http://dl.serif.com/Patches/DrawPlus...atch-Setup.exeQuote:
Originally Posted by Xhris
"The main purpose of the patch is to resolve Vista performance and compatibility issues. It ensures that DrawPlus 8 has full functionality within the Vista operating system as well as the previously supported operating systems of Windows® 98 SE, Me, 2000, or XP. This patch also tackles a number of issues discovered after the release of DrawPlus 8, for which we apologise."
http://www.serif.com/forum/ViewThrea...d=29317&Numb=1
I never tried DrawPlus ever but I guess the PDF capabilities are the same in every version.
I use PagePlus for a single reason: I can open, edit and save PDF documents. It paid during the first day I bought it for that reason alone.
Same is true for PhotoPlus. I use pretty highend PC's and Serif products need every bit of their power, but PhotoPlus can open psd files like Photoshop does with nested layers displayed correctly. The only thing I use the software for is to open and extract stuff from psd files I get sent from designers.
My guess would be that DrawPlus has the same capabilites ...
Juergen
Thank you all, people, for answering almost all the questions I was thinking of.
I feel like every designer / artist sometimes wants to try out something different, but I discover myself coming back to Xara again, everytime.
Well, have a nice sunday! :)
Go on then, I'll give this a whirl. Thanks.Quote:
Originally Posted by sledger
sigh... Any ideas?
This message appears when I execute the patch file.
think upgrade only works with CD version
to upgrade the download trial you need to use online update from within the program
I.m using XP not vista, but this is what I gather from reading this link sledger supplied
http://www.serif.com/forum/ViewThrea...d=29317&Numb=1
EDIT: just checked - the link goes on to say:
"....Patching can be done manually by going to the downloads page OR by using the "Check for update from web" option in the Help Menu of DrawPlus 8. The patch is 14.7 MB in size. This is a patch that updates the installed files and requires that you have installed a CD version (not the download version).
Please note that if you purchased the downloadable version from this site that you will need to use the option "Help>Check for Updates from web" within the program..... "
italics are mine
Quote:
Originally Posted by handrawn
Yeah but the program won't even start.
ah well i havnt got vista :D :D
EDit - if its any consolation, its not that impressive a program compared to say a combination of xara and expression... ;) IMO
Oh yeah expression. might get the new demo of that...Quote:
Originally Posted by handrawn
You would be better off with Expression 3 which have a free version.Quote:
Originally Posted by Xhris
Have you tried running the program in XP compatibility mode?Quote:
Originally Posted by Xhris
Link to free version?Quote:
Originally Posted by coco
http://www.microsoft.com/expression/...x?key=download
Min or Wac
There is a couple of nice features in this application, it handles ''vectorized'' bitmap strokes very well. It also have a very useful "variable width" editor that I wish Xara had.
The "Effects Lines" feature is also quite inspiring.
-coco
Thanks.. I actually found a direct link while reading about CH Expression 3 on Wiki. The Microsoft link requires passport login & registration. Wiki listed the [working] direct download link here:Quote:
Originally Posted by coco
http://download.microsoft.com/downlo...ression3_3.exe
Thanks for posting it! I had given up earlier when I saw it wanted Passport.Quote:
Originally Posted by sledger
Serif DrawPlus X2 is out!
http://www.serif.com/drawplus/drawplusx2/
Layers and brush system seems cool, but do matches Xara's speed?
I don't think so; hope there will be a trial version in the future.
Yes, and hopefully the trial will actually install on Vista this time. There are a lot of common features in these graphics programs all appearing at the same time. 3D, tabbed browsing, better brush handling, better layers, improved UI feedback, improved Live shadow, eraser and cutter tools, canvas rotation, fill unclosed shapes etc. I'm expecting to see these things in the next Xara release. Serif also seems to have introduced a variant of caching; something Xara uses to good effect, and flash animation.Quote:
Originally Posted by Giovanni
There is a PC Adviser blog of DrawPlus X2 available. It briefly discusses a few features in the software.
Thanks for the highlight Xhris.Quote:
Originally Posted by Xhris
If I'm lucky I will be able to doodle a bit with DrawPlus X2 next week (on a friend's PC) and will let you know first impressions. :)
sorry, but why in the world would anyone pay for Serif anything when there are loads of better software at little or no cost.
Draw Plus vs Xara or Inkscape?
Page plus vs Open Office?
PhotoPlus vs Gimp?
not a chance in hell.
I do use the free version of Web Plus for mocking up web pages, but the real work is done by hand.
I commend Serif for making the lesser versions cheap or free, but the software just cannot keep up.
geo.
Well I think Serif DrawPlus has something to give. For example is one of the few programs with full vector stroke (with Adobe Illustrator and Microsoft Expression).Quote:
Originally Posted by GeoBen
It has also a good layer system, and I have to say that they made some good step ahead in workflow (for example now many tools have real time quote feedback, so you know dimensions as you draw).
On the other hand DrawPlus X2 crashes a lot! Hope they produce a patch very soon because at the moment is near unusable.