If that’s what it is maybe hang back on the core till there both out?
Really the best option would be pro on a pro rata eg 4 months should be 1/4 plus a little of pro charge just to get things even ! And slow us to purchase core now, instead of waiting!
Just a thought!
Don’t get all twisted up in your head overthinking everything. This isn’t Adobe. You don’t lose anything by upgrading your license class in the middle of a renewal year. Still, if you’ve got your head stuck in the wrong gear, there’s actually an alternate solution…
When MillMage Pro becomes available while you’re in the middle of a term, do two things together: immediately upgrade your license to Pro and immediately renew for an additional year of updates. You’ll get Pro for a full year plus you’ll get the automatic extension bonus time added to the extension for early renewal plus you’ll get to start using Pro features early on the dregs of your current renewal term! It’s a triple win!
For example, let’s say you purchased a MillMage Core license on 2026-04-01 and Pro comes out New Year’s Day:
That’s 17 months of Pro (12 months, plus the two month early renewal bonus, plus the three months left on your original updates term), all for just the price of 12! You don’t lose out being mid-term. You win!
Of course, mathematically, there’s no difference between purchasing the renewal immediately and purchasing it just before your current term expires, but if you’re stuck in a funky headspace over the Pro upgrade, ignoring that equivalence and just doing Pro and a renewal together might get around the mental block.
It is your money so you get to spend as you please. But @ClayJar does present a pretty good argument. But not purchasing Core now is only keeping you from really enjoying the benefits of MillMage.
Stumbled on Millmage in a Google Search because I was looking for an alternative to Corel for intricate Center Line Trace capabilities (I’ve been trudging through Corel subscription hell). Opened it up and said aloud “this looks like Lightburn” lol. So maybe a mixture of familiarity and pretty clean UI, I got a file traced like I had used it for years. So happy to have more reliable/affordable options.
That is likely the most important part of MillMage. IN FACT, you can copy designs from one to the other in both directions. I often use Lightburn to cure “open path” syndrome issues, then move it back to MillMage for running.
What’s your workflow in LightBurn to solve open paths that you cannot do in MillMage?
Once I memorized the Ctrl+' shortcut for node edit (as well as using the Select Open Shapes tool things got much easier.
Some videos on this would be great for us non lightburn guys!
The LightBurn Youtube has years of content that all applies directly to MillMage, in many cases.
If there’s anything else you’re not sure about, please let me know!
Only one thing. If I do a trace and get open paths, closing those paths can be problematic. There is nothing in MillMage that indicates a path has actually been closed.
Lightburn to the rescue! I will copy over to Lightburn, switch from Line to Fill. When I finally get all the loose ends connected, the object will fill. This leaves no doubt I am done. I switch back to Line and copy the project back to MillMage.
Something like a momentary “Check for Closed Path” button would be great. I admit this would only benefit those doing a lot of Trace work, like myself.
I mentioned this before (maybe I even did a Fider), but it did not seem to get much traction. My method works easily on my part, but those not having Lightburn may benefit from a new button.
The visual indicator for closed shapes set to Fill in LightBurn is really handy for this for sure, but MillMage does have all the other tools for identifying open shapes that LightBurn has.
I appreciate the feedback, but I am not convinced. Yes, I know these tools are available.
Select Open Shapes
This tool is great, but I already know it is an open shape. That is the issue.
Measurement Window
If you do not know what the perimiter distance is supposed to be, I do not see where this one will help.
Unfortunately sometimes we get, or even create, garbage files that MillMage (or Lightburn) cannot handle. Currently I find my method to be the path of least resistance.
Don’t get me wrong. I love both MillMage and Lightburn and will defend them to their death, or mine. 
If you already know the shapes are open, I think I must be misunderstanding what you’re looking to do.
(and please don’t die anytime soon )
You can use the Trim Shapes Tool to find the open/problematic segment.
It is “segments” that is problematic. When you have 10-20 of them, my method is a lot faster. I work with a lot of line art that is of questionable quality, often testing the limits of the Trace feature.
Can we agree that closing shapes/nodes can be a little frustrating? Being that there are numerous ways to try and accomplish the task means no one works great.
I’m with you. It’s a good tool to have.
I LOVE the Trim Shapes Tool. I use it a lot to clean up work. It also shows various segments that help with the editing or cleanup work. It makes Node Editing almost painless.
to set in our old ways 
, im guilty of bouncing back to LB also, and viewing in fill mode, my fault for doing complex design , in line mode looks like a bowl of spaghetti at times
That was the goal - node editing/boolean tools are super powerful but not user friendly. The Trim tool makes it user friendly and intuitive.
That is an understatement!