Glass Eye

[GLD52]

I'm thinking of purchasing the standard edition of Glass Eye. Do you use it and what do you think of it?

[Kev]

You will get differing opinions on this topic, but I'll give you mine.

I have the pro edition and absolutely love it! There are only a few differences from the basic to the pro, but the basic use and function of both are the same, and you can always upgrade at a later time if you desire to.

Glasseye in my opinion is a fantastic program and worth every penny. I have not had 1 moment of regret since buying it. There is a slight learning curve with it, but play with it and you will see how easy it is to master. This program has opened many creative doors for me. I used to buy pattern books, but I have not bought one since I bought this program, and that was 5 years ago. I guess that in itself has paid for the program. If you like to design and create your own designs for glass or other projects, this is great for that. One feature I like is that you can color in the pieces so you get a rough idea of what color you want where, and how it will look overall. Tracing photos is so easy with this program. You can print your designs on multiple pages to a full sized pattern, and you can number all the pieces. I could go on and on,but I think you can tell I'm  a big fan of it. .....GO FOR IT!

[nansea121]

You are going to get alot of aye's for that program! It's abit expensive, but you can gradually built up to the next version or go in one shot. Here is a list of the versions with prices.

http://www.dfly.com/pricing.html

I have the Professional Plus and wouldn't be without it now. The trick with this program is to work with each tutorial step, one by one. If you try ti read through it first, your eyes might glaze over:)

With the encouragement of this forum, I started with step one and didn't leave it until I fully understood it before moving onto the next step. Another thing I found helpful was to make small reference notes to myself while I was learning. The more you work with it, the more familiar you'll become with all the features.

For me, it's been a

[nansea121]

This is also a great way to work with a potential client.
Right now, I'm working with another person who lives in another province via email. She sent me up some ideas for a panel she would like to have done and in turn, I've sent her a few different views on how this could look as a Stained Glass panel. It takes mere seconds to do minor alterations and only a click to change the colour of an area.

[JoanFrances]

I started with the basic program because of the $$$$$.  I played with it for about six months or so and upgraded to the pro.

If you are having $$$$ shock, then by all means start with the basic one.  Get the book too, and practice all the functions contained in it.  Remember not all the bells and whistles will be in it that are in the free trail one.  Once you can make you way around the functionality of the basic, you may want to get the pro.  The upgrade is pro rated.

The program is well worth the investment, and compared to some cad based programs, very reasonable.  

Hope this helps

[nansea121]

Here's another thing to consider. You only have 30 days for the full free trial, so once you download Glass Eye, try to spend at least an hour a day for each step until you've gone through the whole tutorial. That way you'll not feel any pressure because of the time limit of 30 days.

You can only try the free trial ONCE on your computer. If you run out of time with the free trial, you can always download it again on another computer, like your laptop or a friend's computer.

[Lou Ann]

I have the standard edition and love it -- I've had it for about 4 yrs now.

I am not artistically inclined at all so I have to trace photos to get my designs and I find it works very well. The resizing feature is probably what I use the most...

When I downloaded the trial I used it as much as I could so I was already very comfortable with it when I bought the program. I also recommend buying the cd version so you have it for future installations if you change computer (easier to find than a sheet of paper with your license info on it).

I have considered buying the upgrade but found when working with clients via email that monitor quality has too much of an impact on color for me to warrant the expense right now -- example I emailed a photograph of a stepping stone I had previously done to a client that had a purple iris and he kept telling me the glass I was selecting wasn't blue enough even though it was the same number (the sample glass was photographed outside with a concrete background so the lighting was the same and it was purple on my computer).

Lou Ann

[nansea121]

I've had no problems with the colour examples showing up as they look in the program. I do tell my clients that the colour examples are computer generated and not necessarily what is found when you hand select the glass yourself. I also remind them that this is a stained glass project and not a painting, lol. It really gives a good idea on how a piece can look. You can sent it by email in colour or in black and white. It's a super working tool for designing.

I never did get a cd version, but was told that they have an "on-line parking garage" where you can store your program if you want to change computer or have any other problems. I think I remember Kev used that feature a couple of times?

Here is one that others will remember when I was in the learning stages:) It was a nice simple one for me to start out with.
First pic shows my first attempt at designing with Glass Eye. It's one panel of 4 I used to make a lantern.
Second is the finished beachglass lantern.

It really is a great program.

[nansea121]

If you have a look in the Member's Gallery here, you'll see some really fine examples of what others have done with this program. Have a look at some of Kev's & De's Glass Eye work and most likely, the finished projects done by others might have been done with the aid of Glass Eye as well. 

[Rebecca]

Careful if you change computer.  Even with the CD, you need to park it on one and switch it to the other.  It's not hard to do, you just have to remember to do it before you change to another computer.  I finally got a different license so I can keep it on my work computer and on my laptop.  That way I can work on designs on Sunday when I'm supposed to be having family time.

Rebecca

[JoanFrances]

Good point Rebecca, but if your computer crashes, you can get a new number from dragon fly.  They were really helpful to me when mine crashed.

[nansea121]

Careful if you change computer.  Even with the CD, you need to park it on one and switch it to the other.  It's not hard to do, you just have to remember to do it before you change to another computer.  I finally got a different license so I can keep it on my work computer and on my laptop.  That way I can work on designs on Sunday when I'm supposed to be having family time.

Rebecca

I called it an on-line parking garage.
By getting another licence, that means you had to buy a second Glass Eye program? I'm not sure if I could afford to buy 2 Pro versions. I have it on the laptop so I can transport with me when I travel from A to B.

[nansea121]

This is a bit lengthy but here's what they say about Parking your licence.

Park License on Server / Retrieve License from Server (Registration menu)
These two commands give you an easy way to move your product license between computers, as long as both computers have Internet access and both have Glass Eye 2000 v3.0 or higher installed. They work by placing your product license on the Dragonfly Software server where it remains until you retrieve it.

After you use the Park License on Server command, your computer will no longer be licensed. You will then have very limited use of Glass Eye 2000 until you retrieve your license using the Retrieve License from Server command.

Once your license has been parked you will be given an eight-character claim ticket number. You'll enter this number when you're ready to retrieve the license. The computer you use to do this will then have your product license.

When you park your license you are asked to supply your name and email address. These are requested so that we can send you your claim ticket number in an email message. This message will be sent to you immediately upon parking your license. The claim ticket number also appears in the registration log of the computer that parks the license. You can review the log using the View Log command.

If a park or retrieve operation is not successful, the most likely reason is that you have anti-spyware software on your computer that is interfering with the process. One function of anti-spyware software is to prevent programs from transmitting across the Internet, and an overly aggressive anti-spyware program might block Glass Eye 2000 from communicating with our server. If a park or retrieve operation fails, temporarily disable your anti-spyware software or indicate to it that Glass Eye 2000 is not spyware -- then try the operation again.

It is possible (but much rarer) that the park and retrieve functions fail because the Dragonfly Software server is offline due to maintenance or malfunction. If you have eliminated any blockage from anti-spyware software and suspect that our server might be offline, please wait 24 hours before contacting customer support. Our server is almost never down for more than an hour.

Your license can be parked for up to 90 days. After that time, an unclaimed license may be removed from our server.

Note that these commands transfer only your product license from one computer to another. If you wish to transfer any design (.eye) files you have created, use the Microsoft Windows operations for copying files (such as to and from a diskette). If you have questions regarding copying files, consult your Windows documentation.

If you do not have Internet access on both computers, you can transfer your product license using the Transfer License command.

These commands are not available in the Enterprise Edition, nor in any installation of Glass Eye 2000 that requires a hardware key (dongle).

[Rebecca]

You are right, Joan.  They will help you unless it happens over and over.  Nancy they used to have  special pricing level for two licenses.  I don't know if they still have it.  Parking is a lot easier than it sounds in their directions.

Rebecca

[Alan]

Also note that Glasseye will NOT run directly on a MAC or Linux system. See their FAQ#3 Here

[GLD52]

Thanks for all your comments and help. I'm definitely going to go ahead and get it. I'm sure I'll have lots of questions when I get into it.

[Audrey]

I'm seriously considering getting it for Christmas. I just wonder if I would take the time to learn it. When I had the trial version I looked at it and got scared off. Never did play with it.

[nansea121]

The trick is to take one step at a time and not leave it until you've tried that step out in the trial version. Once you have the first step mastered, then move onto the second step. Just reading each step won't work.

As you go along, if you have a question, mark them down and ask about them in here. You can get the tutorial free on line at their website or within the program itself. The printed manual costs $20.

When I first started working along with it, I used the tutorial within the program itself, wrote down the important aspects of each step into Microsoft word and saved my notes to the desktop in a folder along side of the Glass Eye Icon. It was always handy whenever I needed to refer or add to it. 

"Where there is a will, there's a way". Once you get started, it will go easier:)