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No, ultimately the decision to upgrade is based on the fact that you must upgrade to CS6 because there is no version jumping any more from Adobe. I've been a fan of Adobe since I started using Photoshop every day in my job since May '92. but this user-hostile move is really a big step back for the company.

This post has been edited by leicaman: 27 June 2012 - 05:58 AM

Yes, the palettes are ridiculously and unnecessarily large. Far too much padding around buttons, fields, etc. Actually, the new interface seems as it's been ported from some alien OS. It just doesn't feel like Illustrator to me.

DO NOT UPGRADE!***

DO NOT UPGRADE

*** Before you read some of the problems that Mac users are experiencing at the Adobe Forums.
AI CS6 performance worse than CS5

Those with Freehand files are no longer able to open, import or work with .FHxx files... unless first converting/saving them from FreeHand as EPS files FIRST!

Opening FreeHand files (not working)

Also, if you're thinking of using Illustrator to create patterns for Photoshop or for the web, please be aware of the difficulty exporting the pattern.
Exporting seamless pattern tile for output - work arounds

THE 1 (one) and only reason that Macworld can give Illustrator CS6 4-Stars, is do to the fact that there is NO competition any longer. Adobe took care of that when they bought Macromedia and killed FreeHand thereafter.

The entire CS6 Suite is wrought with bugs and performance problems... UPGRADER BEWARE!

PS. Why does the full post and any HTML, like size or bold, not show up under the Review page at Macworld?

This post has been edited by ThePixelDoc: 27 June 2012 - 06:51 AM

Actually, you can change the corner radius of a rounded corner rectangle on the fly as you're drawing it by using the directional keys on the keyboard. Same goes for the star tool - up/down controls the inner radius, left/right controls the number of points on the star.

Regardless, the tools themselves DO need an overhaul.

RobSewell, on 27 June 2012 - 06:50 AM, said:

How right you are... however, you CAN NOT change that after you've released the mouse, as you could in Freehand since version 7, and assorted other vector programs.

You CAN add a 'Rounded Corner' effect though, and edit it later, but it is applied to all corner points, rather than like FH... or even InDesign where you can have individual corner radii, or even none on selected corners.

FH had the ability to even do 'concave' and rounded corners on the same rectangle.

THE TOOLS are what makes AI a PITA for 90% of the work you do everyday. YES! They need to be upgraded and enter at least the last decade, let alone 2012!

The round corner thing has been addressed for quite some time. Use a normal rectangle and then use the round corner effect. Using the old tool is a dumb idea, since you not only need to redraw the thing if you need a smaller or bigger radius, but if you stretch it, it distorts. With the effect/style/round corners, you don't get any of these probelms.

RobSewell, on 27 June 2012 - 06:50 AM, said:

Shift/Command controls the inner radius of the start tool dynamical.

Grapho, on 27 June 2012 - 07:45 AM, said:

That's correct, it's been a while since I've used the star tool. My mistake

RobSewell, on 27 June 2012 - 07:49 AM, said:

Regardless of how many keyboard commands or keys you hold down... IT IS NO LONGER EDITABLE... without drawing a NEW star. Old problem solved with even older software years ago.

Canvas 9 has had gradient strokes (and one could apply any photoshop-like effect to any stroke) since 2003.

I have been using CS6 since it came out. Memory was a massive issue for me in CS5, Illustrator would just crash all the time when opening large documents. No more.

It's a bit poor to say this but it's the only reason to upgrade.

I keep using it and keep saying, oh well, they still haven't fixed that yet. Worst they have removed some stuff, such as the Find Font dialogue box can no longer be resized.

I might sound negative, but I am very happy with CS6, after years of rubbish from the Illustrator team, they have finally given me a version that "works".

soehn, on 27 June 2012 - 12:33 PM, said:

Unfortunately Canvas abandoned the Mac many years ago. So did Corel. The options available on the Mac just don't seem to offer as much power as Illustrator. Of course going by performance issues with Adobe software (and lack of feature parity), you could make a case that they too are in the process of abandoning the Mac!

ThePixelDoc, on 27 June 2012 - 06:58 AM, said:

If you would like to change corners individually, you could always expand the shapes appearance. That will release the effect but make the shape completely editable.