Just wondering if I am the only person who would like the “search box” to be on your actual dashboard without having to “view all designs”? 
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I’ve long wanted them to do more with the dashboard, just getting a search box and view all option was like pulling teeth[1] [2]. They’re just not interested in that kind of improvement – it doesn’t generate revenue or drive subscriptions.[3] [4]
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It took years of complaints for them to finally change it [design sorting/searching], and they only addressed it when they were doing other larger-scale changes to the library. Guess what those larger-scale changes were supporting? That’s right, it was in support of driving subscriptions. They severely limited the storage capacity for designs in the UI for non-subscribers and this change was to sweeten the pot. So, really, the complaints did nothing, it was only the larger effort to generate a revenue stream so they could get more funding/IPO. I’m not begrudging them a successful business, I want them to succeed – but occasionally, just occasionally, I wish they would make the GFUI a better experience just because it’s the right thing to do. ↩︎
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And arguably, when they finally did it [design searching/sorting] they stopped short of making it really usable. Hence this discussion. (Why bury it on a second page? Where’s the alphabetic search? Where’s the list view to show the dates things were uploaded? Where’s sort by size? Where’s search by date range? Where’s wildcard partial name search? Where’s exclusion with minus signs? Why is multiword filename search broken? And this is off the top of my head. Imagine what a full time employee whose job it is to improve the UI could think up?) ↩︎
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The great irony here is that the entire justification for doing a subscription was that it would generate money that they could then put into refining their software and user experience. At the time I and many others said that we wanted to see those funds get used for general improvements, not just toward features that were paywalled… and were assured that no of course not, this will benefit everyone. Unsurprisingly, it’s hard to overstate how much they didn’t live up to this – almost every feature since then has been aimed at making the UI a better design tool, which is largely paywalled and a direct way to drive subscriptions. ↩︎
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I think the glowforge is great and the people who work for the company are hard workers that aren’t the badguys. It’s just undeniable that the corporate priorities don’t really allow for “let’s fix the UI thing that is annoying to experienced users that have found ways to work around them and aren’t going to unsubscribe because of it”. The GF staff are simply cogs in that particular machine. ↩︎
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It is hard not to use my own experience in software companies when I look at what I see them making.
In my experience the the dearth of features that would be easy to build, nice for us, and would not damage subscription pressure, is suggestive of an unwell organization. It’s the manner of dysfunction that is impossible to figure out without more info.
It could be that they have such immense technical debt due to a shoddy foundation that things which should be pretty easy to add are actually a lot of work.
It could all be by design, too.
We’ll never know until someone has a meltdown on Glassdoor, haha.
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I hardly ever load designs off my dashboard. I just upload from my laptop each time. I seem to always be tweaking my files or designs and always want the latest version anyway. Sometimes, I may even delete parts of a loaded file to get it out of the way, so reloading it from the dashboard later won’t get me the full file.
My dashboard is a cluttered mess, so I just ignore it.
I realize many others don’t do it this way. It’s just easier for me.
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I’m the same. My laptop provides all the organization I need, the dashboard serves no useful purpose. Even if it provided folders and such, I wouldn’t use it. I’ve never had any use for “catalog” or provided designs.
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This is all true for those of us that make our own designs, but I feel like a large part of the user-base does not create their own and must use the dashboard. I feel bad for them.
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Yes, I can appreciate that. It’s always amazed me how many people buy a GF without having the ability to design for themselves, but that’s fine - that’s the market Cricut/Silhouette go after as well.
Kind of like buying a photo printer so you can download and print pictures from the web.
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I’m sort of the same in this regard, too. I seldom reload a design that’s already in the dashboard…and for the same reasons…may have changed or tweaked something and want the most current version.
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it the dashboard has more utility, I might use it more often. as it sits now, uploading from my pc and adding in settings is quicker than searching for the file via the dashboard.
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And let’s not even get started on why we can’t select multiple steps and set them in one shot.
Or see at a glance all settings including cut focal height.
The list of bad ui decisions goes on and on. I blame the (imo) ill-advised insistence on making a unified ui for desktop and mobile.
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I don’t have a Cricut or Silhouette but I do utilize the dashboard. If I print a design and want to go back in a few weeks or so and reprint, it would be nice to just be able to search “earrings” and look through all those type designs instead of every single thing on the dashboard. I sell quite a few items and replace them as necessary that’s why I feel it would be easier for me to search from the dashboard.
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Well I’m one of those who bought my GF without having design ability. And isn’t that part of the purpose of having one, being able to make things that you otherwise couldn’t make? Not everyone has a talent for drawing and designing, so without things like GF, Cricut, Silhouette, etc., there are a lot of people who wouldn’t be enjoying being able to create stuff, including me.
Although I have designed a few things, I mostly use designs I have purchased and some from the catalog. I do go through periodically and remove stuff from the dashboard, especially seasonal stuff, as almost everything is on my computer and I have them divided into categories so I can find them. But I also do use the dashboard for frequently used designs.
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Did not mean to sound condescending - that why I included “that’s fine”.
It just surprises me, that’s all. I have taught classes to several people who own GFs but did not know how to use design software. It’s kind of cool to show people how to “unleash” their ideas and turn them into stuff.
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I also bought the GF without knowing how to design anything, but I did jump right in and start learning. I never even really knew anything about lasers, either. @jamesdhatch was very instrumental in helping me in the beginning. We corresponded by email and when I had my first feeble attempt of a design file, I emailed it to him and he cut / engraved it for me and sent it back by mail with his tips and suggestions. I still have those pieces to remind me of where I started in this amazing tour I’ve been on for the past 5 years. Now, the design process is the most fulfilling part of it all to me…more so even than the final product.
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I definitely learned how to design for the Glowforge after I bought one. I knew what an SVG was and how to create one, but not the specifics on how 
used them to control a laser to burn stuff.
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I didn’t have a clue about designing anything either. I didn’t even know what a raster image was. Most of my 1st cuts were from files I bought on Etsy. I then began using Inkscape and was 100% confused. After watching a ton of YouTube videos about it, I started to understand it slowly but surely. I am no expert on it, but I am getting pretty good with it. It takes time to learn Inkscape or any of the other programs out there, I just went with Inkscape because it was FREE! I like free. It fit my budget! 
I highly recommend getting to know one of the many good programs out there. Some are free. You will LOVE your Glowforge even more when you start making your own designs. Start simple, and build from there,
Try it… you will LOVE it once you start.
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I’m going to presume you’re not married. That’s one of those key phrases that wives use that mean the opposite of what they’re saying 
At least with my wife, I know when she says that, I should reconsider my planned actions 
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That is the funniest reply I’ve seen so far tonight 
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No, really, it’s fine…
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That’s awesome, and one of the things I love so much about this group of people on here - everyone is so helpful. I really do need to learn to design, and it’s not like I don’t have the programs to do it! I have the GFUI, Inkscape, Silhouette Business, Cuttle, and probably some others on my computer that I’ve never played with. Just haven’t taken the time, except for extremely easy things that I may need. I think a lot of it is that I just don’t have the imagination. Even when I used to do a lot of rubber stamping for scrapbooking and cards, I had literally thousands of stamps but had trouble figuring out what would look good. I keep promising myself that someday I will sit down and force myself to learn. I do appreciate you and everyone else on here.
@Docsis, I agree. I like free programs too! I do have the free Inkscape, but bought the Silhouette Business just because it had more to offer than the free basic.
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