Some feedback after (not so extensive) Penpot Testing

Help us improve Penpot
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Hello,

I’m trying to switch from Figma, their AI and their crazy pricing scheme to Penpot, and use it on real big scale projects.

I’m very experienced on Figma, and each time I try Penpot I have to return on Figma because there is too much feature missing and UI caveats.

BUT

I have a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it’s dark… and I’m wearing sunglasses so… maybe it’s time to hit it.

I’m freelancing on a project with a client who wants to use Penpot and give me the time to adapt. This time I want to believe this is the right time, while Figma is to busy to add nonsense in their products and Penpot pleasantly upgrading update after update (tokens, yay! Have I tell you about tokens?)

So I launched Penpot.

Here is my feedback, out of the box:

  1. The robot/cloudflare test every single time. I’m logged. I’m human. Please let me in right away! :grin:
  2. Still no app, I don’t want to work in my browser an look for the damn Penpot tab each time I’m back from lurking the web instead of working I’m changing tab and looking at documentation and sources. Yes I know I can put Penpot in another window or in a PWA app, but it’s not really user friendly
  3. When you want to rename a draggable element (file name, token group name) and want to select the text, the whole thing is moving. You basically can’t select text when editing names of draggable interface objects.
  4. Speaking of drag’n’drop, please make the field icon interactive so I can increase/decrease the value without entering the field!
  5. About the PWA app: It’s shiny, the icon is in the task bar, it’s isolated from the browser. Perfect except… you can have only one document open and you also have to chose between your document and the file browser. There are no tabs in the PWA app :tired_face:.
  6. The performances are really not there yet. I know it’s coming! :flexed_biceps:
  7. There is no “props” on variants (like boolean visibility) and no nested variants, so if you want primary and secondary buttons, both enabled and disabled, with optional icons left and right, you’re up for a gazillion variants.
  8. You can only draw rectangle and ellipses. I know I can draw a triangle or a star myself with the pen tool, but why I would want to humiliate myself like this? Also, shapes can be parametric, and that’s the real game changer (this triangle can be an octogon and this star can have 20 pointy thingies!)
  9. I’d love OKLCH support (yes I talked about it in the tokens topic)
  10. Please display a list with names and hierarchy in color library in the picker. I would never know which one of this subtle tone of green is the green-tilleul-verveine-light-raised-325 I’m looking for without hovering on micro color patches in a small window like a maniac.
  11. It’s me or the variables / tokens names are not showing in code mode, only the computed value? How can I hand-off this information to developers?
  12. Crashes. Sometimes it crashes when you look at it. invalid shape found after applying changes on file. We love all shapes. All shapes are valid! :blush:

That’s it for know, I have a great feeling about this attempt, I will update this post as I go.

Thanks to the team!

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Thanks a lot for this feedback. As a basic user, here’s what freaks me out with Penpot right now:

  • The performances are really not there yet.
  • Crashes.

Figma is the main tool I use in my everyday job, I hate what it’s becoming and I’ve tried Penpot before but I can’t afford to let all my professional life rely on an instable software. That’s really the non-negotiable point: I can manage with some minor bugs, but not with a “too slow” tool or something that’s not reliable.

Very pleased to hear that Penpot is stepping up its game, though!

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