Canvas X

{{Short description|Drawing and imaging computer program}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}}

{{more citations needed|date=December 2010}}

{{Infobox software

| name = Canvas GFX

| logo =

| logo size =

| caption = Canvas 5 running on MacOS 8

| developer = Canvas GFX

| released = {{Start date and age|df=yes|1987|11}}

| latest release version = Canvas X

| operating system = Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows 10

| platform = x64

| language = English and Japanese

| genre = Computer-aided design

| license = Trialware

| website = {{URL|canvasgfx.com}}

}}

Canvas X is a drawing, imaging, and publishing computer program from Canvas GFX for personal computers.

Development

Canvas GFX's origins date back to 1986. The original idea for Canvas came from Jorge Miranda, Manuel Menendez, and Joaquin DeSoto, the founders of Deneba Systems Inc. of Miami Florida, for Apple's Macintosh computers—part of the wave of programs that made the desktop publishing revolution.{{cite magazine

| magazine = Macworld

| url = https://archive.org/details/MacWorld_9212_December_1992/page/n162/mode/1up

| title = An Interview with Manny Menéndez

| first = Jerry

| last = Borrell

| volume = 9

| issue = 12

| pages = 155–167

| type = interview

| date = December 1992

}}

The first version was unique in many ways; not least because it was released as both an application and a desk accessory. In the latter form, it could be used while another program, e.g. PageMaker, was running simultaneously; very handy in that time of single-program operation.{{cite magazine

| url = https://archive.org/details/MacWorld_8710_October_1987/page/n176/mode/2up

| magazine = Macworld

| date = October 1987

| volume = 4

| issue = 10

| type = news

| title = New Products

| page = 173

}}{{cite book

| title = The Apple Macintosh book, 3rd Edition

| publisher = Microsoft Press

| year = 1988

| first1 = Cary

| last1 = Lu

| first2 = Ellen W.

| last2 = Chu

| page = 168

| url = https://archive.org/details/mac_The_Apple_Macintosh_Book_3rd_edition_1988/page/n171/mode/2up

| isbn = 1-55615-110-1

}}{{cite magazine

| magazine = Macworld

| date = January 1988

| pages = 157–158

| url = https://archive.org/details/MacWorld_8801_January_1988/page/n162/mode/1up?q=canvas+deneba

| title = Graphics Workhorse

| first = Laurence

| last = Kirsh

| volume = 5

| issue = 1

}}

Canvas provides tools for creating and editing vector and raster graphics. It is used for illustration, page layout, animation, presentations, and publications in printed and World Wide Web formats.

From its inception, Canvas differed from other graphics applications because it combined tools and file formats for both vector graphics (line art) and raster images (photographic and other pixel-based), adding word-processing and page-layout features such as multiple-page documents and master pages in subsequent releases.{{cite web|url=http://www.pcworld.com/article/9210/transparent_publishing_with_denebas_canvas_6.html |title=Transparent Publishing With Deneba's Canvas 6 |publisher=PC World |date=31 December 1998 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121019105942/http://www.pcworld.com/article/9210/transparent_publishing_with_denebas_canvas_6.html |archive-date=19 October 2012 |df=dmy }} The user works in a window, which is the familiar "page on a pasteboard" analog used by many DTP and vector graphics programs, but in that window, which might be a single illustration page or one page of a multi-page magazine, book, web site, animation or presentation, the user can create or edit and layout text, vector graphics and raster images. Canvas also emphasized technical drawing in addition to artistic illustration features.

With Version 3.5, Deneba went cross-platform,{{cite magazine

| magazine = InfoWorld

| title = Canvas fills cross-platform graphics needs

| page = 17

| date = 12 October 1992

| first = Jeanette

| last = Borzo

| volume = 14

| issue = 41

| url = https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_n1EEAAAAMBAJ/page/n15/mode/2up

}} releasing a version with file-format compatibility for Macintosh and Windows computers.

At Version 5, Canvas was completely rewritten for both platforms and included a QuickDraw 3D-based palette for creating 3D primitives and renderings.{{cite news|url=http://www.macworld.com/article/1013995/canvas7.html|title=Deneba Software Deneba Canvas 7.0|author=Ben Long|page=32|date=1 March 2000|newspaper=MacWorld|publisher=IDG|access-date=6 July 2012}}

Version 7 of the software saw an internal extrusion engine being used instead of QuickDraw 3D.

At version 8, it was the first{{citation needed|date=September 2021}} of the complex graphics programs to be "Carbonized" to run on both Classic and Mac OS X.{{cite magazine

| url = https://archive.org/details/MacWorld0112December2001/page/n27/mode/2up

| magazine = Macworld

| date = December 2001

| volume = 18

| issue = 12

| title = What's Hot

| type = news

| page = 26

}}

In April 2003, Deneba Systems was acquired by ACD Systems of Victoria, BC, Canada, the developers of Windows image editing and handling software such as ACDSee,{{cite web

| url = https://www.itbusiness.ca/news/acd-re-routes-deneba-channel-after-acquisition/3378

| website = itbusiness.ca

| title = ACD re-routes Deneba channel after acquisition

| first = Shane

| last = Schick

| date = 8 April 2003

| access-date = 5 September 2021

}} before the release of version 9. Canvas development continued in Miami, under the aegis of ACD Systems of America. Later, in 2017, it was spun out as Canvas GFX.

With the introduction of Canvas 11, support for the Macintosh platform was dropped, making the application Windows-only.{{cite web

| url = https://www.cnet.com/tech/computing/the-rise-and-fall-of-canvas-for-mac/

| title = The Rise and Fall of Canvas for Mac

| website = CNet

| date = 2 September 2009

}}

Canvas is available in a standard and extended version. The once-optional Scientific Imaging module is now integrated into Canvas and provides enhanced input-output filters for file formats commonly used in science and engineering visualization. The geographic information system (GIS) module provides tools for use in mapping and GIS-based data analysis.{{cite web

| url = http://res.acdsystems.com/product-kits/en/canvas-15/product-sheet.pdf

| title = Canvas 15 Product Description

| website = ACD Systems

| access-date = 5 September 2021

}}

Following the release of the Windows-only Canvas X 16, Canvas Draw for Mac was released, reviving Macintosh support (though on a separate roadmap from the Windows version) after a decade-long hiatus.

While Canvas started out as a prosumer program in the general graphics/DTP market and continues to be the first (even only) tool of many professionals in such fields as graphics design, advertising, marketing, and DTP, it is less known in the consumer/prosumer market today than programs marketed by larger companies, such as Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and CorelDRAW. It has been better known in academic and commercial enterprises.

Version history

Versions of Canvas public releases:{{Cite web|url=https://www.canvasgfx.com/about/canvas-gfx/|title=About Canvas GFX|last=Tipler|first=Simon|website=Canvas GFX|language=en-US|access-date=2018-12-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181206001822/https://www.canvasgfx.com/about/canvas-gfx/ |archive-date=6 December 2018}}

  • Canvas 1.0 (Macintosh) – 1987{{cite magazine

| url = https://archive.org/details/MacWorld_8708_August_1987/page/n11/mode/2up

| magazine = Macworld

| date = August 1987

| volume = 4

| issue = 8

| page = 11

| type = news

| title = More Graphics En Route

}} {{emdash}} News mentioning that Deneba Software is about to release Canvas

  • Canvas 2.0 (Macintosh) – 1989{{cite magazine

| magazine = Macworld

| url = https://archive.org/details/MacWorld_8904_April_1989/page/n175/mode/1up

| date = April 1989

| title = Canvas 2.0

| pages = 176–179

| first = Joost

| last = Romeu

| volume = 6

| issue = 4

}}

  • Canvas 3.0 (Macintosh) – 1991{{cite magazine

| url = https://archive.org/details/MacWorld_9104_April_1991/page/n105/mode/2up

| date = April 1991

| magazine = Macworld

| title = Blank Canvas

| type = news

| page = 101

| volume = 8

| issue = 4

}} {{emdash}} Mention in the news that Canvas 3.0 is getting ready to ship.

  • Canvas 3.5 (Macintosh and Windows) – 1992
  • Canvas 5 (Macintosh and Windows) – 1996{{cite magazine

| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=_zsEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA53-IA3

| magazine = InfoWorld

| title = Versatile Canvas 5 builds Java-enabled Web pages

| page = 52D

| first = Mike

| last = Heck

| date = 22 December 1997

| volume = 19

| issue = 51/52

| quote = Canvas 5 (introduced in 1996)

}}

  • Canvas 6 (Macintosh and Windows) – 1998{{cite magazine

| url = https://archive.org/details/MacWorld_UK_99_00_01_Mag_PDFs/MacWorld_UK_Mar_1999/page/n21/mode/1up

| date = March 1999

| title = Canvas 6

| magazine = Macworld UK

| page = 48

| first = Ben

| last = Long

| volume =

| issue =

}} {{emdash}} Review of Canvas 6 for Macintosh

  • Canvas 7 (Macintosh and Windows) – 1999
  • Canvas 8 (Mac OS 9, Mac OS X, and Windows) – 2001{{cite magazine

| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=EJNVOfHoCOEC&pg=PA58

| magazine = PC Magazine

| title = Canvas: Graphics Stalwart

| first = Luisa

| last = Simone

| date = 30 October 2001

| page = 58

| volume = 20

| issue = 18

}}

  • Canvas 9 (Mac OS X and Windows) – 2003
  • Canvas X (Mac OS X and Windows) – 2005
  • Canvas 11 (Windows Vista) – 2007
  • Canvas 12 (Windows XP, Vista, 7) – 2010
  • Canvas 14 (Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8)
  • Canvas 15 (Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8) – 20 November 2013{{cite web |title=NEWEST RELEASE OF DENEBA CANVAS POSSESSES A HOST OF EFFICIENCY-DRIVEN ADVANCEMENTS |url=http://www.acdsee.com/en/community/blog/post/67514710641/newest-release-of-deneba-canvas-possesses-a-host-of |website=ACD Systems Blog |publisher=ACD Systems |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141021080952/http://www.acdsee.com/en/community/blog/post/67514710641/newest-release-of-deneba-canvas-possesses-a-host-of |archive-date=21 October 2014 |date=2013-11-20}}
  • Canvas X 16 (Windows 7, 8, 10) – November 2014
  • Canvas Draw 1.0 (OS X 10.9, 10.10) – August 2015
  • Canvas Draw 2.0 (OS X 10.9, 10.10, 10.11) – November 2015
  • Canvas Draw 3.0 (OS X 10.10, 10.11, macOS 10.12) – June 2016
  • Canvas X 2017 17.0 (Windows 7, 8, 10) – October 2016
  • Canvas Draw 4.0 (OS X 10.11, macOS 10.12, 10.13) – June 2017
  • Canvas X 2018 18.0 (Windows 7, 8, 10) – December 2017
  • Canvas Draw 5.0 (macOS 10.12, 10.13, 10.14) – July 2018
  • Canvas X 2019 19.0 (Windows 7, 8, 10) – November 2018
  • Canvas Draw 6.0 (macOS 10.13, 10.14) – June 2019
  • Canvas X 2020 20.0 (Windows 7, 8, 10) – October 2019

References

{{Reflist}}

Further reading

  • {{cite magazine

| magazine = Macworld

| url = https://archive.org/details/eu_Macworld-2000-03-INT_OCR/page/n33/mode/1up

| title = Deneba Canvas 7.0

| date = March 2000

| volume = 17

| issue = 3

| pages = 32–33

| first = Ben

| last = Long

}} {{emdash}} A review of Deneba Canvas 7.0 for Macintosh in Macworld giving a good overview of that release.