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1. Re: Why is this so painfull?
maeric Jul 4, 2011 9:11 AM (in response to dondertochop)I take it you learned vector drawing on Adobe Illustrator first ... am I right?
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2. Re: Why is this so painfull?
dondertochop Jul 18, 2011 1:18 PM (in response to maeric)No, I ussually do vector drawing in custom software.
I've been having another go at Freehand tonight and I HAVE to ask:
Did they make this programme so frustrating deliberately?!?!?!? It is so incredibly **** up, it can only have been written this way intentionally. Good thing I don't have a heart condition.
My god, this software is CRAP.
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3. Re: Why is this so painfull?
maeric Jul 18, 2011 2:56 PM (in response to dondertochop)Here you go:
What's the point of using FreeHand?
What does Illustrator do that Freehand doesnt?
I ♥ FreeHand
and you definitely need to watch these:
Macromedia Freehand MX Tutorials
Learn FreeHand for Beginners
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4. Re: Why is this so painfull?
dondertochop Jul 19, 2011 7:56 AM (in response to maeric)You are completely missing the point. The complaint is not that Freehand does not have enough functions, the complaint is that the user interface is horrifically frustrating. By far the most user unfriendly software I've used, and I've used some pretty user-unfriendly software.
Just trying to figure out basic functions (how to rotate tekst for instance) is such a frustrating process. Not helped by the fact that the software is not always flawless in excecuting the demanded command.
I finished the project I had to draw in Freehand, or actually, I finished it in Ms Picture It, because the last simple tasks were just way too frustrating in Freehand. The most satisfying thing I will ever do with Freehand will now follow: Uninstall the software.
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5. Re: Why is this so painfull?
maeric Jul 19, 2011 12:43 PM (in response to dondertochop)I finished the project I had to draw in Freehand, or actually, I finished it in Ms Picture It, because the last simple tasks were just way too frustrating in Freehand. The most satisfying thing I will ever do with Freehand will now follow: Uninstall the software.
OK, I see where the problem is and no wonder you are frustrated!
The most clear example you gave why this project was a disaster using FreeHand is saying you finished it with MS PictureIt. I don't know if you were given this project as a school assignment or a work project but whoever your teacher was made a big mistake not explaining that FreeHand (and Illustrator) are vector applications whereas, Picture It is a raster application. Photoshop is also a raster (also called bitmap) application and although the tools look similar to FreeHand they are not... not even close.
Vector applications like FreeHand work on mathematical principles where the images are produced geometrically. You work with mainly lines, curves, points and polygons which create precise and scalable images and illustrations. But applications like Picture It and Photoshop work with "dots" or pixels that can create, enhance or change photos and paint-like artwork. In many ways, Photoshop can be much easier for a student because it matches how an artist paints and thinks. But it is Apples & Oranges comparing FreeHand to Photoshop (or Picture It) as you found out the hard way.
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6. Re: Why is this so painfull?
dondertochop Jul 19, 2011 1:40 PM (in response to maeric)Oh, but I know the difference between raster and vector very well. I could get away with using MS PictureIt because in the end it only needed to be handed in on paper, unlike what was previously told.
So, Again, I know how vector workds, I also know that the user interface of Freehand does not work.
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7. Re: Why is this so painfull?
maeric Jul 19, 2011 6:56 PM (in response to dondertochop)OK. But why did you choose Freehand instead of some other application? I mean really, dondertochop, if you settled on Picture It then you could have used Adobe Illustrator or any other drawing program to do your project as you were told by your instructor. Illustrator is also a fine enough program so I seriously question what experience you have with drawing tools that you had that much frustration and pain with Freehand. What was your project and what did you have to do?
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8. Re: Why is this so painfull?
Marian Driscoll Jul 20, 2011 5:40 AM (in response to maeric)maeric wrote:
OK. But why did you choose Freehand instead of some other application?...
One good reason one might try FH is the free trial period and only 20-30MB to download.
This appears to be a student posting so it is no surprise that something is painful. It is always painful to learn something new.
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9. Re: Why is this so painfull?
dondertochop Jul 20, 2011 10:12 AM (in response to Marian Driscoll)Ah! The oldest and cheapest trick on the internet: Attack the topic starter. Bit easy, isn't it? Judging by your post, you have something to do with this software, I won't make any remarks as easy and cheap though.
Yep, student. The software is on the university's computers, that's why we have to use it. The assignment was to make a map. That's what we needed a vector programme with layers for. You can enlarge, scale and switch of layers. Or you should be able to do that in user friendly software. Which, as we know, Freehand is not.
I really do wonder who designed the user interface. Who is the person who thought: 99,99% of all software have a zoom function called 'zoom', let's call ours: magnify. Just brilliant. Really helps when you are looking for a function in the help. And that's just another random example.
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10. Re: Why is this so painfull?
Marian Driscoll Jul 20, 2011 10:30 AM (in response to dondertochop)dondertochop wrote:
Ah! The oldest and cheapest trick on the internet: Attack the topic starter. Bit easy, isn't it? Judging by your post, you have something to do with this software, I won't make any remarks as easy and cheap though.
- I did not attack you. Grow up.
- I have nothing to do with this decade-old software that few people use anymore.
- My remarks are not easy and cheap. The bill will arrive shortly.
- Please do not act like a turd.
You might educate yourself prior to making judgments about software and people. Hopefully, your prejudice will be cured by the time you graduate and go out into the real world. Nobody likes to work with with whiners.
- I did not attack you. Grow up.
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11. Re: Why is this so painfull?
dondertochop Jul 20, 2011 10:39 AM (in response to Marian Driscoll)"You might educate yourself prior to making judgments about people."
I could not have said that better myself. Now read your first post in this topic again please....
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12. Re: Why is this so painfull?
Marian Driscoll Jul 20, 2011 11:01 AM (in response to dondertochop)Why don't you read it and try to explain what judgment was made without making yourself look like a presumptive moron?
This is now a real judgment based on your continued nonsense here...
You've already stated that you are done with the assignment and done with the application so your continued presense here seems silly.
You started this thread as a rant with no real intent to learn anything. You are conversing with users here, not Adobe. Your complaint is not going to affect its continued development.
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13. Re: Why is this so painfull?
dondertochop Jul 20, 2011 11:16 AM (in response to Marian Driscoll)A, swearing. That's what ussually follows....
OK.
"One good reason one might try FH is the free trial period and only 20-30MB to download.
This appears to be a student posting so it is no surprise that something is painful. It is always painful to learn something new."
There are two ways I can read this.
One: You think that studenst are a lazy bunch of cheap nitwits that are unwilling to learn
two: Learning something new is a painful experience to you, thus it should be painfull for everybody.
But you are partly rigfht in your last post and I did not even mention that. I should be writing this to Adobe too, becausethey still charge money for this software. I would be very, very ashamed to even tie my name to software like this. And they ask money....
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14. Re: Why is this so painfull?
maeric Jul 20, 2011 11:16 AM (in response to dondertochop)Don’t take such offense to this, donderchop. Remember how you started this thread by lashing out on a program you didn’t know enough about to criticize simply because YOU didn’t “get” how it works. I’m with Marian on this and if you had educated yourself before making your judgments you wouldn’t come across so prejudice about how FreeHand is supposed to work. Case in point #1; calling Freehand’s Zoom tool, Magnify. It is called Zoom. Case in point #2: Enlarge, scale and switch off layers. Again this can be done in FreeHand easily.
You are a student and had a problem with understanding how a professional drawing software worked. I get it. But instead of learning FreeHand by watching some tutorial vids or asking another student or even your instructor, you vent your frustrations here as if this is a global issue when it isn’t. As Marian said, learning something new can be painful, so I suggest if you don’t like what you are using, switch to another application until you find one that fits.
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15. Re: Why is this so painfull?
Marian Driscoll Jul 20, 2011 11:28 AM (in response to dondertochop)dondertochop wrote:
...There are two ways I can read this...If you were sincerely open to an intelligent discussion, there would have been a third way to read it, without the insane suspicion of malice that you have brought to this forum.
If you had the most minimal education about FreeHand, you would have realized that Adobe has discontinued it. It is a dead program. It has been nearly a decade since it was last developed. That should answer every question you asked in this discussion.
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16. Re: Why is this so painfull?
dondertochop Jul 20, 2011 11:32 AM (in response to maeric)Lol, what? You think I am offended? I am reading this with a smile on my face. Don't take life so seriously....
Glad you actually repond to what I say about the software.
#1 It is called 'magnify' in my Freehand version. 100% sure.
#2 Yes, it can likely be done easily. First off all, it is not that I didn't figure out any of the functions, it was just too much of a pain to figure out all of them. Party because Adobe used 'weird' names like the magnify-example, making it hard to find functions in help, partly because some things just can't be found in help and partly becaue the toolbar structure is very unclear and incomplete. All this would be so easy with the proper toolbars....
But I am afraid you don't get it. I do wor with far more complicated software, even still that does not mean that a user unfriendly interface is ok. Or better put: the more complicated the software is, the better the user interface should be.
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17. Re: Why is this so painfull?
dondertochop Jul 20, 2011 11:34 AM (in response to Marian Driscoll)You are funny.
I'll try to stay a bit more serious than you.
It does not matter that it is dead. First of all, that does not justify user unfriendlyness. Second of all, they still charge quite a lot of money for outdated, unfriendly software.
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18. Re: Why is this so painfull?
Marian Driscoll Jul 20, 2011 11:59 AM (in response to dondertochop)It most certainly matters that you chose to use a dead program from a decade ago. What other design program are you comparing? What did that design program look like a decade ago?
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19. Re: Why is this so painfull?
Kirk_Capt Jul 23, 2011 11:22 PM (in response to dondertochop)Can't use freehand or spell: a real winner.
"One: You think that studenst are a lazy bunch of cheap nitwits that are unwilling to learn"
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20. Re: Why is this so painfull?
semi_pro Jul 24, 2011 3:13 AM (in response to dondertochop)Oh the @##$$%%^&&****(((())))___+__)(**&&&^^^%%%$ pain!
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21. Re: Why is this so painfull?
m2d3x4 Jan 14, 2014 4:10 AM (in response to dondertochop)Don't feed the troll.
Guess nobody here reads Dutch and understands the topic starter's AV name


