Customer Reviews

Corel Designer Technical Suite 12 Upgrade

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Review 20060312
I was a loyal and devoted user of Micrografx Designer Software since 1990, and have consistently updated my installation over the years as your records will indicate. These details are repeated here for convenience; 19950227, $118.47; 19951225, $172.35; 19970614, $150.66; 19990809, $283.69. Last week I upgraded my installation to your Designer 12 Technical Suite ($274.97 serial number omitted, purchased from Amazon).
It is difficult for me to express clearly my extreme disappointment in the present software. Not only are many, indeed perhaps most, of the significant features apparently no longer available, the software appears actually user hostile, being cluttered with irrelevant `features' perhaps of interest in worlds other than those of technical application. Other features apparently dropped or changed beyond all recognition or accessibility, render this new upgrade neither useful to me nor possible to understand in the light of my 16 years of experience with your former excellent products. For example, the Help File does not even contain the term `Parabola', at least a likely aspect of technical capability. What I expected was that the many features that formerly set Micrografx Designer way ahead of any significant competition would be enhanced, and that the many trivial irritations such as export/import versatility might have been improved. Designer was to me a wonderful compromise between the Technical but inartistic precision and user intractability of AutoCad and the Artistic capabilities of your own CorelDraw Suite.
My frustration is not only having spent $274.97 on software an `Upgrade' that is essentially less usable (and therefore less useful) program than my 7-year old Designer (now Build 8.01.1025), but more seriously is that I now have no decent path to the future for a significant body of work, files, documents, and historical knowledge.

As a working engineer who needs to draw technical sketches, perform geometry calculations and produce professional reports and presentations, I have been looking for the ultimate technical drawing package for 15 years. Having bought and tried over 14 other drawing packages over the years - Corel Technical Designer 12 is the ultimate package. It is easy to use, fast, flexible and accurate, with a wealth of features. It has everything for the occasional user or for the dedicated technical drawing professional, illustrator, student or engineer. You won't be dissappointed.