DrawPlus X3: 10.0.1 Patch Announcement

[Patrick Connor]

Dear All.

Serif (Europe) Ltd. has decided to release of a patch for DrawPlus X3 (build number 10.0.1.019). The main purpose of the patch is to resolve issues discovered after the mastering of DrawPlus X3, for which we apologise.

We would also recommend that ALL users of DrawPlus X3 download and install this patch. To work out if you need this patch choose "About DrawPlus X3" in the help menu and if the version number is 10.0.0.015 then you need this patch. Helpfully the software checks for updates the first time it runs, so for those yet to install a CD, the latest patch will be found on first use. Serif recommend that patching should be done within the program, by using the "Check for update from web" option in the Help Menu. This will always get any available patch for your version of Serif software (CD or download) and install it too. The downloads page www.serif.com/downloads.asp has the patch also, which is 2.4 MB. The patch for the download DrawPlus X3 is the same as for the CD version.

A list of the changes/fixes in this patch are listed below. Some are phrased in the negative from our database, but are nevertheless fixed.

1. Fix: Keyframe Animation 'Auto Run' should work properly.
2. Fix: 'Design Templates' should only show you the current category, not all of them down from this node in the tree!
3. Fix: Text got terribly confused when copy/pasted anywhere! It would not always draw unless the top left of the document was on screen and it was almost impossible to click-select it although it would marquee-select okay.
4. Improvement: PDF Import of text should look better now.
5. Fix: Loading documents with blend objects shouldn't complain that they are corrupted anymore!
6. Fix: Applying brush to a group should work properly and filter through to the children.
7. Fix: CMYK images imported from PDF files should display correctly.
8. Improvement: Export dialog should use significantly less memory and be much quicker.
9. Fix: Colour display in colour pane should look correct for gradient/mesh fills.
10. Fix: Media Pane should not cause crash when replacing bitmaps.
11. Improvement: Plasma fills should work with per-node alpha.
12. Improvement: Mesh fills support per-node alpha (we're the only app to do this!)
13. Fix: Line/Fill context used to get confused in the colour pane when you swapped between editing the fill of a closed object and then selected an unclosed curve which automatically switched to the line context.
14. Fix: Curve node tool changes to make node selection/curve dragging less temperamental.
15. Improvement: Adjusting the freehand/paintbrush tool's smoothness slider after curve creation should interactively update the screen now.
16. Fix: 8bit PNG and GIF used to export a nasty purple background which should've been the transparent colour! Check that it's always transparent when it's supposed to be!
17. Improvement: We should cope gracefully when asked to trace massive bitmaps.
18. Fix: Gallery Pane previews should show all of their image now (they used to cut off the lower half when you moved your mouse from one to the next).
19. Improvement: Export dialog 'Export' should be the default button so you can just hit return and it go to export, rather than it just closing the dialog without doing anything!
20. Fix: We don't have a skin for the application titlebar or child frame now, so they should look like standard Windows items in all OSs. This means the app should be more responsive, flicker less and seem a bit more stable.
21. Fix: Quick Grid can now support fills just like in DrawPlus X2. It used to appear unfilled at all times in the original release.
22. Fix: Keyframe Animation -> Repeat Forward/Backward command should now work
23. Improvement: 'Pages Tab' should show better quality previews and the Export Dialog should show better quality output of large bitmaps that are exported/previewed smaller.
24. Improvement: Crop Tool should show a Crop cursor now rather than the standard 'Select' cursor.
25. Fix: Brush Preview on context toolbar should update correctly now, even without a selection when you click a brush from the Brushes Pane.
26. Fix: Filter Effects created in X2 which are loaded into X3 and contained 3D Lighting should still look the same as they used to now.
27. Improvement: Objects with a bitmap fill should look better.
28. Fix: The document's Drawing Scale settings should be honoured (and reflected in the transform tab) when changing between different documents - previously they reverted to whichever document had been loaded/created last.
29. Fix: DP X2 document load: Now converts tweening/easing curves on objects.
30. Fix: DP X2 document load: Fix for Bitmap fill with transparency (8+1 bit or 32 bit?) OR an object with a bitmap transparency.
31. Fix: Brushes used in DPX2 (and prior) documents load into DPX3 with the brush alpha not inverted.
32. Fix: Autotrace fixed problem with random colour replacement when dealing with transparent images.
33. Improvement: Initialise Pressure Pane's opacity and width variance fields to 100%
34. Fixes: A number of Vista and XP crash reports resolved.

Technical Info

Filename: DRAWPLUS1033_10.0.1.019_Patch-Setup.exe
Size: 2.40 MB (2,524,424 bytes)
Digital Signature: Confirmed
Sig Date/Time: 25 March 2009 15:25:27
MD5: 7ED8758BA008BF1C87EB4F76DAD57202

Please report any problems updating DrawPlus X3 in this thread.

[RichardS]

Originally Posted by Patrick Connor Serif (Europe) Ltd. has decided to release of a patch for DrawPlus X3 (build number 10.0.1.019).

Thanks for this patch. As well as everything else, DPx3 now seems to start up much more quickly and to use less CPU power - on my WinXP PC.

[Electrodesign]

Hi,

Thanks for the patch but the long DPX3 starting time is about the same on my XP system .

I'm very surprised by that, I don't understand why this DP version takes so much time to start in comparison with WP or PP !

... to be continued...

[Pat]

Originally Posted by Electrodesign Hi, Thanks for the patch but the long DPX3 starting time is about the same on my XP system . I'm very surprised by that, I don't understand why this DP version takes so much time to start in comparison with WP or PP ! ... to be continued...

I've also had very long start up time on my XP system, but I think I fixed it today.

(Apparently my fix was not a good thing to do so I've removed it to avoid leading anyone astray.)

Pat

[MikeR]

Today I moved DPX2 out of that folder into the main Serif group leaving DPX3 by itself in the Draw Plus folder.

How did you do that, by reinstalling? It seems very odd that changing the installation folder would affect performance. Perhaps something else happened at the same time.

[Pat]

Originally Posted by MikeR Today I moved DPX2 out of that folder into the main Serif group leaving DPX3 by itself in the Draw Plus folder. How did you do that, by reinstalling? It seems very odd that changing the installation folder would affect performance. Perhaps something else happened at the same time.

No, I didn't reinstall it. In windows explorer I moved the X2 folder out of the Draw Plus folder but left it in the main Serif folder. Now the X3 folder is the only one in the Draw Plus folder. It's certainly possible that something else happened at the same time

Here's a screenprint of the folders structure now.

[pmcleod]

Doing that should mean x2 will no longer run

[Pat]

Originally Posted by pmcleod Doing that should mean x2 will no longer run

No it doesn't, it gets as far as the splash screen then gives a message that it can't access the registration.

I only had X2 a short time before they came out with X3 so I'm not that familiar with it and prefer to just run X3 for now. But if I want to use X2 I can just move it back (I think ) If not I'll just uninstall it.

Pat

[pmcleod]

Moving it back should work okay, I think there is little reason to need to use x2 now the patch for x3 has been released so as long as you are happy with x3 I'd stick with it, though I can't see why moving x2 should make x3 start faster, but computers often do unexpected things

[Pat]

Originally Posted by pmcleod Moving it back should work okay, I think there is little reason to need to use x2 now the patch for x3 has been released so as long as you are happy with x3 I'd stick with it, though I can't see why moving x2 should make x3 start faster, but computers often do unexpected things

I'm very happy with x3 so far but will hang on to the x2 for a while longer just-in-case. I'm just happy with the faster start and prefer to think of it as a good thing rather than question it

Pat

[Ken Cope]

The long(ish) start up time only happens the first time X3 is started, subsequent starts of X3 during the same logged on session should be a matter of seconds. This is because DrawPlus X3 adds a couple of routines to the Page file (cache) to enable faster start times. Restarting the computer releases the routines (they are purged from the Page File), so when we start DrawPlus the first time after a restart we have a slightly longer start time the first time DrawPlus is started during this session.

Pat,
Having moved X2 out of the Program files\Serif\DrawPlus\ folder will not allow DrawPlus X2 from starting completely. During the start up process, yes the splash screen will start but deep within Windows there is the registry which the start up process calls upon. One of those things in the registry that happens is the start up process looks for Program Files\Serif\DrawPlus\X2\Program\drawplus.exe. Because drawplus.exe is no longer in the expected place, DrawPlusX2 does not start with the error that you see. Putting DrawPlus in another location does nothing for the start up times (see explanation above), it just corrupts your system.

Hope this helps

[Pat]

[QUOTE=Ken Cope;309857]

The long(ish) start up time only happens the first time X3 is started, subsequent starts of X3 during the same logged on session should be a matter of seconds. This is because DrawPlus X3 adds a couple of routines to the Page file (cache) to enable faster start times. Restarting the computer releases the routines (they are purged from the Page File), so when we start DrawPlus the first time after a restart we have a slightly longer start time the first time DrawPlus is started during this session.

Hi, Ken, thanks for the info. Unfortunately I was getting a long startup time everytime I started during the day which was very annoying, and now I don't. It's probably just a quirk of my computer

Pat, Having moved X2 out of the Program files\Serif\DrawPlus\ folder will not allow DrawPlus X2 from starting completely. During the start up process, yes the splash screen will start but deep within Windows there is the registry which the start up process calls upon. One of those things in the registry that happens is the start up process looks for Program Files\Serif\DrawPlus\X2\Program\drawplus.exe. Because drawplus.exe is no longer in the expected place, DrawPlusX2 does not start with the error that you see. Putting DrawPlus in another location does nothing for the start up times (see explanation above), it just corrupts your system.

Ok, I understand that. So, it would be better to just go ahead and uninstall X2 rather than just putting it somewhere else? I can do that

Pat

[RichardS]

Originally Posted by Pat I'm very happy with x3 so far but will hang on to the x2 for a while longer just-in-case. I'm just happy with the faster start and prefer to think of it as a good thing rather than question it Pat

If you have any really old Drawplus files (eg. from DP1, DP2 or DP3), it is worth keeping an older version of Drawplus:

When Drawplus X3 opens old files, it converts them into a new, more "efficient" format. When they are "saved" they are saved in this new format.

The conversion utility in DPx3 does a pretty good job. But at present, it cannot handle all DP files produced during the last 12+ years.

Opening these difficult old files using an older version of DP (eg. DP4 or newer) and re-saving the old DP files (for safety, with a new name), seems to make them acceptable to DPx3.

So, don't discard the old DP program CDs just yet.

[Pat]

Originally Posted by RichardS If you have any really old Drawplus files (eg. from DP1, DP2 or DP3), it is worth keeping an older version of Drawplus: When Drawplus X3 opens old files, it converts them into a new, more "efficient" format. When they are "saved" they are saved in this new format. The conversion utility in DPx3 does a pretty good job. But at present, it cannot handle all DP files produced during the last 12+ years. Opening these difficult old files using an older version of DP (eg. DP4 or newer) and re-saving the old DP files (for safety, with a new name), seems to make them acceptable to DPx3. So, don't discard the old DP program CDs just yet.

Thanks, Richard. I had briefly tried the free version found it very frustrating to use but I did see possibilities, so I scraped that version and bought X2 when I found it at a local store. I liked X2 but haven't had it long enough to feel comfortable with it so I don't mind letting it go and just concentrating on X3.

Pat

[trsteve]

moving the X2 folder to another place doesn't start X3 faster with me. So the real problem is something else.

If it would help to move that folder, then X2 should have thesame problem because normally both programs had to read thesame amount of data. It could only help a little if you have a slow hard drive i gues, but it would never start as fast as drawplus X2.

I could make start X3 as fast as around 20 seconds for the first start by disabling al indexing services, defragmenting the hard drive but i'm starting to think that the real problem is in Drawplus X3, maybe some compatibility with some driver, but i already tried to uninstall firewall, antivirus program.... even updating my nvidia card, nothing helps.

It's very clear that the pc is doing nothing for 18 seconds, when the flash screen of drawplus comes on the screen it starts in 2 seconds and there is no hard drive activity in those 18 seconds, and that makes me think the fact that there is more data in the serif directory has nothing to do with the slow startup, because then the hard drive would be busy reading the directory.

I hope some day someone finds the real problem...

Maybe because X3 still makes use of a skin, they disabled the skin for the application titlebar and child frame now, but X3 still uses the skin for the toolbars,... i think it would be better to disable the skin totally, even if it doesn't help the slow startup. I don't like the big standard toolbar at all, i wish i could remove it and put some smaller icons for a few commands in the other toolbar, or the possibility to have the option to display the icons of the standard toolbar smaller.

Greetings,

Steve

[Bhikkhu Pesala]

Defragmenting the hard drive can make a difference to performance.

Auslogics Defragmenter runs quite happily in the background without completely locking up other programs (though it does slow them down a bit). There is a setting in prefrences to delete temporary files before starting, so you don't need to use disk cleanup and then defrag. I recommend running at least once a week.

[Pat]

...If it would help to move that folder, then X2 should have thesame problem because normally both programs had to read thesame amount of data. It could only help a little if you have a slow hard drive i gues, but it would never start as fast as drawplus X2.

Well, I was just experimenting and my results must have been coincidental with something else that I'm not recognizing.

It's very clear that the pc is doing nothing for 18 seconds, when the flash screen of drawplus comes on the screen it starts in 2 seconds and there is no hard drive activity in those 18 seconds, and that makes me think the fact that there is more data in the serif directory has nothing to do with the slow startup, because then the hard drive would be busy reading the directory.

My startup was a little different, the flash screen came up very fast but then there was about 18 sec. of continuous hard drive activity, or at least the drive light appeared to stay on the whole time, then it finished opening. This happened every time I started the program, not just the first time of the day. I would work with it for a while then close it when I had to go do something else and then restart it later to work some more and each time had the same thing.

I don't like the big standard toolbar at all, i wish i could remove it and put some smaller icons for a few commands in the other toolbar, or the possibility to have the option to display the icons of the standard toolbar smaller.

Must differ with you there Guess my sight isn't what it used to be, I was having trouble finding things in X2 so I like the larger icons.

Thanks for you input Steve,

Pat

[Pat]

Originally Posted by Bhikkhu Pesala Defragmenting the hard drive can make a difference to performance. Auslogics Defragmenter runs quite happily in the background without completely locking up other programs (though it does slow them down a bit). There is a setting in prefrences to delete temporary files before starting, so you don't need to use disk cleanup and then defrag. I recommend running at least once a week.

Thanks for the link, Bhikkhu

Pat

[Bhikkhu Pesala]

Originally Posted by Pat Must differ with you there Guess my sight isn't what it used to be, I was having trouble finding things in X2 so I like the larger icons.

Agreed. What we need is for the other toolbar icons to be bigger so that they match the big ones.

16x16 pixel icons date from the days of 800x600 resolution monitors and earlier. Now the more usual monitor is 1280x1024 or 1900x800. Some users have 1600x1200 resulution, which is exactly double VGA, so icons should ideally be 32x32 pixels.

To future-proof all Serif applications we need a choice of small (24 pixel) or large icons (32 pixels). I am already using 32 pixel icons in Opera.

[trsteve]

Not agreed!

Now we are in a time that we don't just use pc's with big screens, but also netbooks. And this time there are many other things that are coming out that runs on linux with an arm processor with even a smaller screen (but ok, Serif isn't made for these), but it is much better if you work with it on a netbook, or like the fit pc2, just look up in google for "fit pc 2", it's a very small compact 32 bit pc that uses less then 7W. Or the SmartQ Q5 with a small screen, or the openpandora that is coming out (but these 2 are not 32bit processor).

And on the bigger screens, i find the small icons better, it's also better when you have multiple applications open and if you use 2 or 3 programs togheter, i noticed that this is no problem for programs with the standard and older style of size, but it's harder or almost not possible to work with toolbars with the bigger size. And... i just like the small icons from the drawing toolbar, then those big ugly icons of the standard toolbar

I don't say to remove the bigger icons, just give the user the choice what he/she likes the most to work with, and i'm sure netbook users don't want anything else then the old style smaller buttons ;-)