Photo impact X3- Not yet impressed.

[Michael83815]

hhh

[Michael83815]

I have upgraded from v11 and like the new X3. The main reason is I'm using Vista 32 and X3 is very stable in Vista. The upgrade was more necessity then any thing else because of Vista compatibility. It's nice to be using PI again I haven't been able to since upgrading to Vista. I like Media One it has some features such as collage, which I really like. All in All I am happy with the upgrade.

[tshoop7]

In the Trial Offer it states in the first sentence of the webpage, that it is a quote 'fully functional' version...then once downloaded it states you will need to download the content packs...but no place or smart download.
Go to the webpage and see how it is advertised, that's very disappointing and misleading. I love Ulead and bought every version since PhotoImpact version 6 to now. I really wanted to try PhotoImpact version X3 before I purchase the upgrade but I was disappointed that it's not as advertised because that way I really get a better feel for the improvements and what all the program can do. I did a designed and created a website called Lost River Trading Post and ALL the graphiphics in it were created with my PhotoImpact 12 and I'm on another as well, I've recommended it friends and they bought it too.

[tshoop7]

In the Trial Offer it states in the first sentence of the webpage, that it is a quote 'fully functional' version...then once downloaded it states you will need to download the content packs...but no place or smart download.
Go to the webpage and see how it is advertised, that's very disappointing and misleading. I love Ulead and bought every version since PhotoImpact version 6 to now. I really wanted to try PhotoImpact version X3 before I purchase the upgrade but I was disappointed that it's not as advertised because that way I really get a better feel for the improvements and what all the program can do. I designed and created a website called Lost River Trading Post (http://www.lostrivertradingpost.net) and ALL the graphiphics in it were created with my PhotoImpact 12 web details with Yahoo Sitebuilder and I'm on another as well, I've recommended it friends and they bought it too. I hope this version will allow the Adobe Plugins without crashing like it did in PhotoImpact 11 and 12, I afraid to do that at the moment, has anyone got the Plugins working in PhotoImpact X3 or will it cause my backup copy of PhotoImpact 12 to crash if I do?
Thanks,

[Ron P.]

then once downloaded it states you will need to download the content packs...but no place or smart download.

Where did you read this? I've checked both Ulead and Corel's webpages. It does not state that. This is the instructions posted on their website:

Instructions

This trial version file is 163 MB. The download time depends on your equipment and Internet connection. Please be sure you have sufficient time and system resources BEFORE you begin downloading. Follow the installation instructions below:

If you own another Ulead product, please make sure you install PhotoImpact X3 Trial into a folder other than the one where your existing Ulead product programs are.

When you click the SUBMIT button, save the setup file onto your hard drive. Once this has successfully downloaded, click the self-extracting setup file and follow the installation instructions on the screen.

Other than the extra content, and programs, it is fully functional.

[Hugo]

Ron ..

the previous poster is correct. This is what is stated on the trial download page ..

"Corel PhotoImpact X3
Try it for free!

You will be trying a 30-day, fully functional trial edition of Corel PhotoImpact X3. For comparison between versions click here."

Cheers ... Paul

[Ron P.]

That's not what I'm contesting. The OP's claim that the website states the part in my above quotation. It says nothing about once it is downloaded, needing to download the additional components. The Trial is fully functional. The additional programs are not included with the trial versions.

[sjj1805]

Ron ..

the previous poster is correct. This is what is stated on the trial download page ..

"Corel PhotoImpact X3
Try it for free!

You will be trying a 30-day, fully functional trial edition of Corel PhotoImpact X3. For comparison between versions click here."

Cheers ... Paul

Fully functional - Yes
All the templates, materials, samples - No

This is normal practice amongst software companies - you are given the program and a few sample templates so that you can see what the program is like and if you find it suitable, when you purchase it you get lots of extras.

[24Peter]

I'm looking for a more stable version of PI 12 to run on my Vista laptop (I use PI 11 on my desktop.) I had to uninstall PI 12 b/c it just wouldn't work under Vista for me (even with the update.)

So... can anyone comment on the stabilty of X3 under Vista?

Well I'll answer my own post: installed X3 today on my Vista laptop and I am impressed! Not b/c of any new features - but b/c it works! And works well. I tried PI 12 on the same computer and it was a buggy mess. So bad, it was unusable and I had to install it almost right away. I asked for (and received) my money back. X3 by comparison installed easily and man is it quick and so far very stable.

I'm coming from PI 11 on my desktop and X3 is noticeably quicker - even on a slow laptop. Noise reduction is much improved over ver. 11

Haven't had a chance to dig deep into X3. There are some places where PI 11 chokes pretty bad so I'll have to delve into those on X3 and see how it holds up. But compared to ver. 12, X3 is great!

[heinz-oz]

The additional programs and content are not necessary to run the program. In fact, the additional programs are "Bonus" material.

I fail to see where the advertisement is misleading. Whether or not a trial of the program without the components of the EasyPalette will ever be a satisfying experience can be debated but to get bonus programs with a trial is asking a bit much I think.

Corel should make the components available for the trial but it is their prerogative not to. If people cannot adequately use the program, how are they supposed to make up their minds to buy it?

It is a bit easier if you already own another version of PI because you can use the components of that version.

[sisom]

Well I'll answer my own post: installed X3 today on my Vista laptop and I am impressed! Not b/c of any new features - but b/c it works! And works well. I tried PI 12 on the same computer and it was a buggy mess. So bad, it was unusable and I had to install it almost right away.

I thought you were talking about Vista then, for a minute...

Vista is the problem - you can't blame PI12 for not working properly with Vista - it was written long before Vista came out.
I still don't understand why anybody is using Vista when XP does a much better job, isn't infested with DRM, and bloatware, and doesn't require you to spend money upgrading your PC just to run it. And ALL Windows programs are XP compatible, but many are not Vista compatible (as you've found out).

[karlconnolly]

Hi I have been a PI user for ages now and have upgraded from 6 > 7 > 8 > 10 > 11 > 12 and now to X3 .
There is a new install dir called c:\pro* files\corel ..
does this mean I can clean up photoimpact 12 directories without having anything go astray ?
I never liked the upgrade seems no matter what its a full install.

Also to comment on the functionality I am very dissapointed that some of the features from corel were not integrated with the new UI . I have to launch that other corel paint application and it doesn't even save as a UFO - come on corel get it together - you release a new kit on the heels of v12 and don't give us anything new. I only hope support for larger files is fixed - my 4gb of ram system (vista) was hanging opening 13mb ufo's... and get this support said PI was not designed for vista but rather XP - mmm very odd considering the VISTA label on the box !

I love the way photoimpact handles layers automatically and I feel i do a lot of great stuff with this program (which i do love) but if you're going to give us something new - do it !

[pmedia]

I was using PI 11 and began comparing it with PI X3 and honestly I could not see a reason to upgrade to X3 ¡V I really planned on upgrading today . What does it do that previous versions can¡¦t ¡V what really ?

The Web page development section: There is no improvement in this area as you
still can¡¦t write on objects using the web text tool as this will cause an overlapping error.
To prevent this I have to slice objects which then creates lots of unnecessary image files and could cause the page to download in pieces or blocks which could look a bit messy. To avoid this I use the regular text tool which looks messed up especially if it is placed on a colored object or background and the text is saved as an image file.

Creating rollover objects is cool but it requires slicing for each rollover which could again cause unnecessary image file and the page to be downloaded rollover object by rollover object which really looks messy especially in some browsers.

The web page created by PI are not centered not even with the new PI X3

I work around most of these issues but I thought there would be improvements in the new version.

For photos and graphic design I was looking for new filters, effects and path drawing objects. Its not fair to have the same filters and not much more from version XL to X3.
I really wanted to upgrade but I can¡¦t see why I should upgrade to a newer version of a product while I am merely getting what I already have with some new programs I don¡¦t really need.

Could the added soft wares and minor changes to the CORE PRODUCT : PHOTO IMPACT mean this is the last of PHOTO IMPACT ???

** By the way does any one notice how messy the fonts on the task bar look in PI X3 (the blue aero looking Task Bar at the Top)?

[ghopkins]

Hi all, I've been a fan of PI since ver 4. I always thought it was a pretty good editor. At that time, I also used the JASC Paint Shop Pro software. PI always added some great effects that truly impressed my friends. PSP was great for quick editing a simple web graphic tweaks. All these years later, I still use them both. I just orderd X3, and I hope I can still do all the neat things from earlier versions. I must say, I have not been impressed with the impact Corel has had on either package. Maybe, over time, they will win me over. I'm still angry that they don't bundle the gif animation software with the editors. I guess I need to let that one go.

I am looking forward to reading more experiences and opinions from X3 users, both new and seasoned users.

[texasfrank]

I've been using PI since version 5 and every year looked forward to buying the new version. Sorry to say that hasn't happened lately and X3 is a big disappointment. OK, it does run well and If you need Vista compatibility or you want the bundled software then go ahead and upgrade and get the boxed version. (I got version 11 running in Vista but it was a hassle.) Otherwise if you're happy with what you have don't bother to upgrade because you'll have to search for the few minor new features that were added.

Let's cross our fingers and hope that this program gets a major overhaul for next year's release. I don't think the design team implemented any of the hundreds of suggested improvements that were posted in the suggestions forum. There was a time when PI was way ahead of photoshop in features but those days are long gone. Sadly the program is falling behind the times and now is competing with the free bundled software that comes with printers and cameras that are used to make greeting cards and calendars. Photoshop has moved on with non destructive editable layers, far superior RAW and RAW batch processing, color management that works, etc. Meanwhile PI is stuck in the technology of 2003.