Older versions of Canvas

Back to Topic OverviewPost New Reply

Bring BACK the BEST Canvas ever: Canvas 3.5.6 for Mac

(18 posts)

  • CaX
    Member

    Hi,

    This is a positive criticism. It is amazing how sometimes great products become crap. An example is the fantastic Canvas for Mac, which was awesome up to Canvas 3.5.6. Why? BECAUSE ITS INTERFACE WAS SECOND TO NONE. It was powewrful and flexible, yet utterly intuitive and easy to use. That is the genuine Mac way. The Mac look and feel. That is the Magic of the Mac world that Windows users cannot even imagine.

    All the newer versions (Canvas 5 to the current version) are awful because they have horrible, cumbersome, anti-intuitive and anti-Mac interfaces. No wonder they were developed first for Windows and then ported to Mac (which is a serious mistake!).

    So, no wander the Canvas 5 and later for Mac commercial performance was bad. We actually purchased a copy of all those versions to test them, but never used them. WE HATE THEM ALL.

    ACD Systems, do you want to make Canvas the best selling Mac drawing application? That is easy: just bring back the fantastic Canvas 3.5.6 as a NATIVE application for Mactel (Mac with Intel) on Mac OS X 10.5.6. Of course, it should open seamlessly the Mac Canvas 3.5.6 files. No more. No less.

    Better late than never. We will purchase a campus-wide license for our University.

    Thanks.

    Posted On January 4, 2009 - 11:11 AM (10 months ago) (Permalink to this post)

  • plugsnpixels
    Member

    CaX,

    You've got a point but you're asking the wrong company to develop Mac products... Take a look around at their offerings. 100% Windowz.

    A Mac version of ACDSee is coming along sloooowly; they already own a Mac version of Canvas but killed it off a couple years ago. And their Windows version of Canvas is not high on their priority list. So don't hold your breath.

    While I agree with you about the obvious Windows-like GUI of Canvas 5 and up, I personally never thought much of Canvas 3's look and feel either (then again, I'm not a technical illustrator but more of a photo artist). I did own it as part of the Canvas 5 offer but never used it.

    I still use Canvas X to create my web graphics and ezine and aside from the space-wasting palettes, am mostly OK with it.

    Posted On January 7, 2009 - 03:25 AM (10 months ago) (Permalink to this post)

  • MicMac
    Member

    CaX,

    I agree 100% with you.

    Back then we use Canvas 3.5 in our production studio most of the time.

    (though we also proficient in Illustrator)

    As for Canvas 5, it was just a POOR imitator to Illustrator and FreeHand.

    Too bad there is no other software out there today that comes close to Canvas 3.5. (Any suggstions? Anyone. )

    Mic

    Posted On January 16, 2009 - 08:27 PM (10 months ago) (Permalink to this post)

  • MicMac
    Member

    By the way, I still keeping an old OS9 Mac and use Canvas 3.5 occasionally.

    (there is problem in the menu bar in OS9, but given no other choice I can live with it. )

    Cheers,

    Mic

    Posted On January 16, 2009 - 08:29 PM (10 months ago) (Permalink to this post)

  • CaX
    Member

    MicMac said:

    By the way, I still keeping an old OS9 Mac and use Canvas 3.5 occasionally.

    (there is problem in the menu bar in OS9, but given no other choice I can live with it. )

    Cheers,

    Mic

    Unfortunately, it is not possible to use Mac OS 9 on Mactel (Mac with Intel) on Mac OS X 10.5.6 and later.

    Posted On March 22, 2009 - 05:27 PM (8 months ago) (Permalink to this post)

  • tcdrennen
    Member

    +1

    I used ONLY Canvas for graphics up to 3.5; after that I basically stopped doing graphics at all (it's not my primary job, but was so easy and the results were so professional in 3.5 it was fun!)

     

    Today I use PS Elements, Graphic Converter, or Visio under Parallels to do drawings and layouts when I need to; GC has kept the faith but is nowhere near (nor does it try to be) what Canvas once was.

    Posted On April 26, 2009 - 04:45 PM (6 months ago) (Permalink to this post)

  • CaX
    Member

    Any news? Thanks.

    Posted On May 28, 2009 - 10:07 AM (5 months ago) (Permalink to this post)

  • dkretschmer
    Member

    Actually, it is possible to use 9.0 on an intel mac. Do a google on "macintosh Classic". If you can't find it, let me know.

    Posted On June 1, 2009 - 10:26 AM (5 months ago) (Permalink to this post)

  • CaX
    Member

    Mac OS 9 on Intel Mac is a Joke (SheepShaver, for instance). Utterly useless.

    On the other hand, any Canvas after Canvas 3.5.6 is horrible. It is explained above.

    So, the solution is Canvas 3.5.6 as native for Mac with Intel.

    Posted On June 5, 2009 - 07:43 AM (5 months ago) (Permalink to this post)

  • UCSF Biologist
    Member

    I am a molecular Neurobiologist, and produce figures for scientific publication.  For years I used Canvas 3.5.6, then upgraded to Canvas 5 (both for Mac OS9.0).  In my opinion both versions of Canvas are great.  I keep two old Macs in the lab with dual operating systems (9 and 10) just to run Canvas.  So with a big new NIH grant I thought its time to upgrade, and put the new Mac OS 10.5 version of Canvas on the newer computers...WOW!  Someone dropped the ball.  With $1000+ to spend on a new Canvas program I was sure that if the new Mac OS 10.5 version was as good as the OS9 Canvas v. 5, well $1000 or so would be a steal!  Boom!  There's no new Canvas for intel-Mac OS 10.5 -HOW Stupid.  Doesn't someone want to make some Money?  So I ask my fellow professors at my university...what do you guys and gals do for papers in Cell, Neuron, Science, Nature, etc....they all do what I've been doing...they keep a couple old OS9 Macs around....I always thought I was just cheep (don't upgrade if the old version works....stretch-out the grant money).  If not this company, then Steve Jobs, please give the scientific community a version of Canvas (no new, but no fewer features than v. 5) that will run on intel-Macs OS 10.5.  I'm not a programer, but I have half-a-mind to get some friends together, invest my money and start a company to make this thing.  Theres lots of money (from NIH, NSF, DOD, DOE) to be made!  N.B.  Molecular Biologists/Biotechnology/Molecular imagers don't use Windows!  Everyone of us uses the superior product for graphics and imaging...........A Mac.

    Posted On August 16, 2009 - 08:39 PM (3 months ago) (Permalink to this post)

  • rlingleh
    Member

    For what it's worth, I agree with those who mourn the demise of 3.5.6 and strive to keep it limping along on Classic. I've tended to avoid doing graphics during recent years, just because Canvas 5 and 9 are so complicated and clunky. I'd be really happy if I could find a worthwhile substitute for 3.5.6, and I'm keeping my eyes and mind open for such.

    Posted On September 29, 2009 - 02:20 AM (1 month ago) (Permalink to this post)

  • jmlcanvas
    Member

    please stop disparage canvas 5+ ... user of superpaint through 3.5 (the last), I use canvas since the 7th and I fell it effective for my job (surely easiest than illustrator) ; I would be happy if a new mac canvas would appear. the only thing I have against canvas 11 is that it does not works properly : more bugs than canvas X or canvas 9 (that both more or less work with OS10.5)

    Posted On September 29, 2009 - 01:39 PM (1 month ago) (Permalink to this post)

  • kohanmike
    Member

    I find Canvas X b926 for Macintosh to be very versatile, not 'clunky', I just wish the bugs were fixed, but the actual functions are great.

    Posted On September 29, 2009 - 03:19 PM (1 month ago) (Permalink to this post)

  • CaX
    Member

    So, any chance to see Canvas native for Mac with Intel? In a year? two years? Three years? Never?

    Posted On October 12, 2009 - 10:08 AM (1 month ago) (Permalink to this post)

  • kohanmike
    Member

    Never. At the moment I'm glad some bugs are fixed in Canvas X b926 running under 10.6 Snow Leopard, which means I can use Canvas that much longer.

    Posted On October 12, 2009 - 04:34 PM (1 month ago) (Permalink to this post)

  • david.knecht@uconn.edu
    Member

    I also have used Canvas for years to lay out figures for publishing.  Also funded by NIH and also frustrated with the demise of Canvas.  I have not found an alternative I am happy with.  We are still using Canvas 9.  Therein lies part of the problem.  If the program does what you need it to do, and it runs forever (as Macs tend to do), then there is no incentive to buy the latest and greatest update (especially when the added features just confuse and clutter) adn so the company doesn't continue to make money off of users.  It still amazes me Apple, as the company that made its name off of supplying MacPaint and MacDraw with its computers doesn't even sell a drawing/painting program anymore.  

    Posted On October 15, 2009 - 02:08 PM (1 month ago) (Permalink to this post)

  • kohanmike
    Member

    I always bought the latest update of Canvas because I believe in supporting the development of improvements. I don't have a problem with the functions of Canvas X, which does more for me than previous versions, just the bugs.

    Posted On October 15, 2009 - 03:44 PM (1 month ago) (Permalink to this post)

  • dkretschmer
    Member

    Since I switched to 10.5.8 on a MacPro, there are no more problems at all using CV X - none.

    I'm also using CV 11 with Fusion and 3.5.5 with SheepShaver, but only for compatibility reasons

     

    !0.6 semms to play a lot of havoc - I'll wait for the next update

    Posted On October 25, 2009 - 08:03 PM (3 weeks ago) (Permalink to this post)

Subscribe to this topic via RSS

Reply

You must log in to post.