New X5 version is out.
For what I read in their release notes, there is no improvment for the OpenType support !
Are they kidding ?
lvr123: New X5 version is out. For what I read in their release notes, there is no improvment for the OpenType support ! Are they kidding ?
That seems to be the case. Advanced OpenType support was the first feature I looked for (and tried to find in the demo), but no luck. I hate it too -- I was really excited about X5...
Addison:That seems to be the case. Advanced OpenType support was the first feature I looked for (and tried to find in the demo), but no luck. I hate it too -- I was really excited about X5...
We expect a lot from each new version. And it's true that Draw has lagged behind the competition in some respects, text being one of them. This time many things have been corrected and improved and that's good. But text has not been attended at all, as far as I can see. Still, Corel has to realise that the competition is not inly AI, but ID as well. Draw must compete with both and be a 2 in 1 program.
Since I think Corel now has taken a serious path and addresses problems methodically, I think we can count on the text features being improved with full OT support being one of them. But the question is when these improvements arrive. Some users need them today, and they will probably jump the boat, if they haven't already. Some, like me, will use the workarounds and persevere. With a 2-year product cycle there is a rather long wait for improved versions and naturally, you expect a lot. Although focus seems to be to build every new version really stable and that each new feature implemented is right from the start, it might be that development is going too slow for catching up. The patience of the user base is limited, even if the fan base is very loyal.
So what I am trying to say here, is that text related features like full OT support, full cascading style sheet support, baseline grid alignment, better facing page support, multiple master pages and maybe even more precise kerning and better hyphenation, just to mention things from the top of my head, are so important, and the lack of them hinders demanding users from using Draw, that the coming development cycle has to really stress these aspects, and that maybe Corel for once should break out from the 2-year cycle and release a X5.5 version that addresses these shortages in the text departments. That would also show that Corel are on their toes and really want to keep up with the competition, especially now when Ventura is in effect gone.
Lars Forslin:Corel for once should break out from the 2-year cycle and release a X5.5 version that addresses these shortages in the text departments.
Don't mind that idea except that the 2 year release cycle is in place for a reason. It's not really 2 years that exists for the development team. Let's say...
6 months goes on resolving issues with X5 and drafting a plan for X6
6 months on research and code experiments
6 months on implimentation
6 months on finalisation.
You would need to squish the 5.5 suggestion into that development cycle, in return X6 would be short changed.
Text with all the style, language packs and associated bits are as big as CM and Layers put together.
And there would be a need to document any changes.
I suspect the 2 year cycle didn't come about by chance, much as I like the idea I don't think it is possible. In fact it's impossible really.
Ned's Mother -- You gotta help us, Doc. We've tried nothing and we're fresh out of ideas! ( The Simpsons, Hurricane Neddy -- Season:8 Episode:8 First Aired:12/29/1996 )
I just purchased some new fonts because of the "alternates" available with them. But I don't find any of those alternates in the "insert character" panel for the font. Is that because CorelDraw (X4) doesn't fully support OpenType fonts? Bummer!