CorelDRAW Classes @ LVS Online
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Macros and X4

May 30th, 2008 Val

In the CorelDRAW – Continuing the Adventure class, I introduce students to the world of Macros. We don’t actually write any with the exception of using the Undo Docker, but we do look at a few that are included with the software. In his May 22 blog at Graphics Unleashed, Foster Coburn mentions several popular macros that have been updated for X4. One of those is the Calendar Wizard by Alex Vakulenko – a master macro builder. There is a Calendar Wizard included in the CorelDRAW VBA installation, but it is a pale version of the one on Alex’s OberonPlace site. (You can also get it from Foster’s site.) If you print calendars in your line of business, it may well be worth taking a look at the “pro” version of the Calendar Wizard. While you’re at Oberon, be sure to check out his other scripts and tutorials. If you use macros much, be sure to check out his online forum.

As for those of you who are beginners, don’t be afraid to venture into Macro Land. (My own term for a state of mind where macros are not scary pieces of code, but simply one more tool in the great CorelDRAW toolbox.) Sign up for Continuing the Adventure this fall, and we’ll ease you into it gently.

Have fun!

Val P.

Posted in CorelDRAW, CorelDRAW Continued, CorelDRAW Intro | 5 Comments »

CorelDRAW Open/Import & Save As/Export/Publish

May 24th, 2008 Val

One of the things that frequently confuses new users of CorelDRAW is that there are at least two different ways to get documents into the program (not counting copy/paste) and at least another three to get documents from the program out to data storage. Let’s look at getting existing documents INTO CorelDRAW to start out with.

CorelDRAW can open gobs of file formats. If you install CorelDRAW without using the custom install, you may not have the full set. Even if you did install the full set, you can turn some of them off and on in the Tools/Options Global -> Filters dialog. Feel free to explore that list sometime, but right now, we’re headed to the File menu.

In the File menu are two kinds of document open commands. The first is File/Open (Ctrl+O). Use Open to open formats that CorelDRAW thinks of as primarily VECTOR files. This list will vary depending on your version of CorelDRAW, but includes not only the native CDR and CMX files, but AI, EPS, PDF (in some versions) DWG, PUB, WMF and a bunch of others that you may or may not think of as primarily vector in nature.

The second menu command is File/Import (Ctrl+I). One thing you need to know about this one is that you must have an already open document in CorelDRAW to import a file. The file being imported will be placed into that open document rather than as an independent document. When you Import a document, you’ll get a little cursor showing where the top left of your file will go. Attached to that cursor will be some descriptive information about your imported file and some hints about where to put it. You can place the imported file with your mouse by moving that corner cursor to where you want it and simply click to place the file at it’s full size there. Alternatively, you can tap your Enter key and that will place your file centered on the page. Finally, you can click and drag to resize your file proportionally. For some files, pressing the Space bar will place the file centered on the page. For others, it will place the file wherever it was originally placed on a page in it’s original formatted file.

The Import command, unlike the Open command, is not limited to just Vector files or just Bitmap files. You can import a JPG image (or most other bitmaps) or you can import a multipage CDR file (or most of the other vector formats that CorelDRAW can open). If you import a file that has multiple pages, the pages will be created for you in your open file provided they don’t already exist. Layers are also created on the fly during the import process. Depending on the complexity of the file, Importing a file can take a bit of time, so be patient.

The one thing you cannot do in either Open or Import is to acquire a file that was created in a newer version of a program than was in existence when your version of CorelDRAW came out. This isn’t just true in CorelDRAW, but in just about any program out there. Older programs have no idea what to do with the features in newer programs. Also, in general, newer versions of CorelDRAW are more successful importing files in non-CorelDRAW Graphics suite formats.

As to those output options? If you want the file saved as a vector format, choose Save or Save As. If you need it in GIF, TIF, JPG, or PNG or any of several other bitmap formats, use the Export command. If you need a PDF, choose Publish to PDF. If you are creating an image map for the web, use the Publish to the Web option.

Also, keep in mind that though you may see what you’d normally think of as a vector file in the Export list, just about everything exported ends up as a bitmap. If you want vector, use Save As.

You CAN create a simple GIF or JPG using the Publish to the Web option, but in general, it’s more of a pain than it’s worth since you need to be working in 1:1 zoom mode if you want your graphics to be any specific size.

Well, I know I’ve probably oversimplified some things (and possibly made others more complex than they need to be) but I’d love to hear from you about your tips for getting images and documents into and out of CorelDRAW.

Have fun!

Val P.

Posted in CorelDRAW, CorelDRAW Intro | No Comments »

Vista Open/Save dialog images

May 17th, 2008 Val

Thank goodness – and the good techie folks, especially Becky and Kat at LVS – the comments link has been fixed. Yesterday I posted a note about the Open dialog in Vista. Folks using CorelDRAW X4 need to take note of this since much of the functionality that used to be in the CorelDRAW interface has now been left to Vista.

I did get the details to stick by simply saving a file and closing the program. Next time I opened it, all the details were there for that FOLDER. Unfortunately, I don’t think you can customize per program. There are some details that make more sense with a photo program like PhotoPaint (various exif info) and some that make more sense with CorelDRAW. You can customize the details you see for these in Explorer for each FOLDER, so if you keep your photo projects separate from your vector projects, you’ll get the details you need. If you make the customizations in Explorer outside of the Open/Save dialog, you can even apply your details preferences to any subfolders.

Here are some screen shots of the open dialog. I’ve added a BUNCH of details to the dialog, more than what most folks would want, but you should go through the list and decide what makes the most sense for you and how you work. Take a look at the details (More) list by right clicking in the headings line. You’d be amazed at some of the things you can add. For CorelDRAW folks, you can get a list of embedded fonts, see if there are external bitmaps, make all sorts of project notes, see word counts and object counts. It’s a pretty amazing list and worth the time to take a gander.

I’ll apologize for the image quality here on the blog. It seems to automatically resize things strangely. If you right click on an image and choose “View Image” or something like that in your browser, you’ll get a much clearer picture.

Left side of Open dialog:

Right side of Open dialog:

Save As dialog showing where to click to add Tags to your file:

Have fun!

Val P.

Posted in CorelDRAW, Windows Vista | 1 Comment »

A work in progress

May 16th, 2008 Val

Please pardon the state of this blog. I’m just now learning what I’m doing. I have no idea why the Comments area has suddenly vanished. If you’ve been trying to get hold of me, please send me an email. I’ll try to get the comments section working again ASAP.

Val P.

Posted in CorelDRAW | 3 Comments »

Getting details in the Vista “Open” dialog

May 15th, 2008 Val

Say you have four versions of an image in four sizes, all with similar file names and want to be able to see the dimensions before you open it. Or you want a list of embedded fonts in a file. Or you want to know if the file is RGB or CMYK… or a whole bunch of other details that are kept in little bits of information in the files you create.

Try this:
Open the File/Open dialog by whatever method you normally use. Now on the ribbon where it says “Organize / Views / New Folder” choose Organize. Click Layout and make sure all three panes are active. That will give you your preview, even in details mode, and an extra details strip along the bottom.

Now set Views to Details. Right click on the line where it says “Name”. You’ll get a preliminary list of attributes you can add to the details columns. The fun starts when you click the MORE button, though. At that point, you get to choose all the details you want. There are gobs of details you can add, including all the “missing” attributes. Try not to get too carried away or you’ll need a much bigger monitor to see them all without scolling! Check the ones you want and click OK.

The real drawback is that so far I haven’t been able to get this to stick once you’ve closed the “Open” dialog. You’ve got to redo it every time you want to see the details, but they are there – and searchable. If I figure out how to make the settings “stick”, I’ll post that here, too.

Have fun!

Posted in CorelDRAW, Windows Vista | 1 Comment »

Create Boundary tool in CorelDRAW X3 and X4

May 9th, 2008 Val

There is a little known tool hidden in the Effects menu of CorelDRAW X3 and X4. Let’s take a look at a couple of uses for this tool to get a good introduction to it.

First, I’ll draw a couple of shapes with some outlines.

Now prior to X3, in order to get a single outline around all three shapes and keep the shapes, I’d have to make a duplicate of the shape group, weld them together, and use the outline from the new shape. In X3 and X4, I simply select the group (it doesn’t have to be grouped), Click Effects/Create Boundary, and there is a new shape created as an outline around the shapes. Then you can set the color and thickness as you would any object.

You can even move that object and/or fill it with another color if you want.

Some folks find this boundary object great for laser work and cutting. Another artistic use for the tool is with text.

Here’s a piece of text in the Planet Benson 2 font.

Now, to make things interesting, I’m going to apply a thick outline applied behind the fill.

Next, I’ll go to Arrange/Convert Outline to Object. This will let us delete it easily when we’re done with it and ensure that the boundary goes where we want it – outside the outline.

Finally, I select the text and the new outline object and go to Effects/Create Boundary and apply a boundary around the whole thing, giving it a 2.5 pt outline width.

The very last step is to delete that red outline object for a very interesting, but somewhat cleaner effect.

Have fun!

Val P.

Posted in CorelDRAW | No Comments »