RobiNZ CAD Blog

CorelDRAW Awkward? Really?

No application is perfect but the question - "Is CorelDRAW Awkward" - posed by Vectortuts+ got my attention. As an unofficial support geek I’m sometimes asked about image editing and graphics. People use lots of applications for that at work, even (my nightmare) Word, but there is one product line where I can’t help much.

People are usually surprised when.my response to a Photoshop problem is: “I can probably help with the process but not the detail, I don’t use Photoshop”. This it usually followed by one of those awkward, cue whistling wind and rolling tumbleweed imagery, silences as they wonder how you could do anything to an image without Photoshop.

The answer is CorelDRAW, which has been my graphic tool of choice since, well since I used CorelDRAW 3, way back in the mists of time. I admit the initial reason was cost as Corel sold older versions at a heavy discount. It was a clever idea that got me hooked when the equivalent Adobe applications cost much more. Even when I purchased the current version of CorelDRAW Suite - which bundles Draw (vector layout/illustration tool), Paint (bitmap) and a selection of other tools – it cost less than Photoshop alone.

I must admit when I first used CorelDRAW it was awkward but my graphics experience prior to that was required markers, pastels, typeset or Letraset type, scalpel and gum.  Yes, I am old enough to remember when cut ‘n paste meant dealing with blades and the aroma of solvent based gum. M’mmm Bull Gum…

CorelDRAW introduced me to new concepts like the difference between Vector and Bitmap graphic editing, RGB or CMYK and a myriad of other things that were unique in this digital world. The first time I edited a Bezier curve was in CorelDraw. While they were awkward at first It still offers a degree of node control that I wish a some other applications could match. The same could be said for gradient/mesh fills, transparency, extrusion and shadow tools.

Although CorelDRAW, primarily a vector editor, integrates its basic bitmap tools PhotoPaint is the stand-alone “photo editor” that enables me to avoid Photoshop. It did suffer from a lack of development for several years – when Corel was lost in corporate meanderings - but still offers a pretty comprehensive set of image processing tools. Corel have acquired several other bitmap editors, Painter and PaintShop Pro, along the way which lead me to wonder if Corel PhotoPaint would be retired. Each has it’s strengths and own market share and, so far at least,  Corel seem to be developing them all.

I don’t use CorelTrace, a bitmap to vector convertor, much but now but loved it when I had to make those “line drawings” you see in newspaper advertisements (back when I was a contractor). A decent photo could be vectorised and look quite hand drawn by the time it was done. CorelDRAW didn’t make me a graphic designer but gave me the tools to achieve just about any graphic need for my role. Want to create a logo (or blog header), business card, advertisement, brochure, maybe just a barcode or edit an image? Fire up CorelDRAW.

So is CorelDRAW awkward? Not compared to manual editing or, from my experience, it’s opposition. It has even some UX features I wish others would consider. My favourite is its “one hand mouse only copy” where you select an object, drag it to where you want a duplicate and right click before releasing the left button to get a duplicate. (No control on the keyboard required). After a session in CorelDRAW I tend to try that in other applications! There are limitations, in Corel PhotoPaint more than Draw, but like any powerful software it rewards time and passion.

Check out the Vectortuts+ post which outlines their take on CorelDRAW features/pains. I don’t agree with some (why have Space Bar equal Pan when press/hold mouse button does?) but it’s worth a read and showcases a stunning collection of CorelDRAW work from real graphic artists.

Is CorelDRAW Awkward? - Vectortuts+

CorelDRAW had its 20th anniversary just recently. If a software can stand for 20 years it couldn't be that bad, right? But yes, it looks awkward and many people simply ignore it, since it is not "cool" enough. Its designer community isn't large and the software itself has some disadvantages, which make it look a bit awkward. Let's reviews some advantages and disadvantages of using this software…

via www.unleash.com

20 years of CorelDRAW?!

I haven't been using it for 20 years but CorelDRAW is an old friend. The first version I saw was CorelDRAW 3 (1992), the first I owned was CorelDRAW 4 (1993) and since then I've updated every few releases, currently on CorelDRAW 12.

For me it's still the best value Vector/Bitmap Graphics Suite around. I must admit that price was a very definite factor when I originally chose Corel, over Adobe. At the time CorelDRAW (the vector app) left Pagemaker/Illustrator for dead when it came to document editing and Photopaint was there in the box for free. I have no idea how that comparison would run today but my 20 year old graphics tool-box has served me well.

It's done everything from the most mundane image touch-up, simple combination vector/bitmap graphics (like my blog headers) to multiple page graphically intense publications (like the yacht sponsor proposal above right). The Corel Suite has been there with a range of tools which get the job out the door, or on to the web, and an array of file import/export filters to deal with a huge variety of types!

Thanks Corel, I look forward to the next 20 years!

CorelDRAW.com -  CorelDRAW.com Blogs  -  CorelDRAW.com Blogs Combined Feed

Their Anniversary Edition comprises CorelDRAW® Graphics Suite X4, the Wacom® Intuos3 A6 (4X6) pen tablet and new Corel® Painter™ Sketch Pad in one complete package

Why New Zealand needs a new flag!

I’m not picking on Corel but the image (left) is from an email upgrade offer for Corel X4. Since it’s distributed in both Australia and New Zealand by the same company you just have to pick the correct button for each country to place your order in local currency.

Can you tell?

When I was on holiday in Viet Nam we found, in a rather remote place, a cafe (below) which made quite a feature of selling “X Cream” New Zealand ice cream. It was very nice and even came with free broadband access. The thing was, and I didn’t notice when I took the photo, the shop sign featured an Australian Flag!

Did they know? If a Kiwi didn’t why should they?

  

That’s why we need this:

NZ Flag.com Website - www.nzflag.com
This site is intended to stimulate debate about the New Zealand Flag. We want all New Zealanders to ask whether the current flag represents our country as we see ourselves today? Can we improve it?
Does it portray the image we want to give of New Zealand internationally?
Most importantly, does it inspire us?

2D Graphics for a 3D world? CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X4

I’ve used CorelDRAW for years* and news of a new release was all it took for me to check out the Corel website. I currently use CorelDRAW 12 and skipped upgrading to last years “X3” release – did they really need to avoid “unlucky 13”?

Corel have been known to add and drop applications so I was interested to see what was new in the CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X4. Would it be a compelling upgrade for a CorelDRAW 12 user?

I was a little surprised to see the promotional material makes extensive use of a 3D CAD/BIM looking world. In the past Corel have flirted with various applications and the CorelDRAW Suite has seen 3D modelling (CorelBryce), 2D vector animation (CorelRAVE), texture generation (CorelTexture) come and go.  I wondered if they had ventured back into the CAD world, remember CorelCAD?, and the suite now included some sort of 3D modelling application!

Fear not CAD world! The only reason “X4” appears in a 3D world is to showcase a wide variety of uses for it’s 2D graphic applications. It’s a clever way to reinforce the graphic influences in our lives and how the CorelDRAW Suite can handle everything from billboards down to bar-codes.

CorelDRAW, PHOTO-PAINT and PowerTRACE are still the core applications and are improved for X4. Also in the box are utilities for capture, font management, bar code generation, colour matching and the usual truckload of templates, clip-art, fonts and images that make it usable out of the box. New this time is ConceptShare – an on-line collaboration tool for document sharing and review. The applications have had interface refinements but retain the familiar, and good, Corel UI with no sign of being “ribbonised”. In a blast from the past a modernised, but familiar, CorelDRAW Balloon returns to the X4 box with no sign of X3’s chameleon.

You won’t find CorelCAD, or CorelBIM, but check out the website, especially the video, for a look at what’s new in CorelDRAW Suite X4’s and it’s “2D in a 3D world”! As for that upgrade decision, the jury is still out .

CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X4 - Corel Corporation
CorelDRAW® Graphics Suite X4 lets you tackle creative graphics and design projects with confidence…

* Click for post related Disclosure Statement

CorelDRAW stuck in duplicate mode, fixed

In CorelDRAW it’s really easy to quickly duplicate an object by selecting, dragging and then right-clicking before you let go of the object. I find this behaviour so natural I try it in all sorts of applications & get frustrated when they don’t do the same!*

However today my CorelDRAW 12 started duplicating every object dragged with the mouse, instead of moving them. At first I suspected my rather old mouse had a sticky button but it persisted through a mouse change, application and machine restart. After trying all sorts of fixes that didn’t work I found one that did:

• Right-click to select an object then drag.
• When you let go the menu appears and select move.

This somehow reset the mouse behaviour and all was good in Corelworld again!

* The Drag+Ctrl duplicate in AutoCAD is nearly as nice but can’t be done with just the mouse hand!

 

If you write about spam it's detected as spam

I’ve written about Rick Altman and his mostly Corel/PowerPoint related newsletter before. They are always worth reading and in the latest he makes some fearless forecasts, even mentioning the end of spam. This presented one small problem.

I have my ISP’s mail filter set to stamp potential spam with [SPAM] in the subject line but not delete it. I then use MailWasher to review their selections, to check it’s really spam, before download as the occasional message is incorrectly tagged. Rick’s email is certainly not spam but I suspect mentioning the subject was enough to get it tagged…

That’s one advantage of RSS vs email distribution. Its time for a feed Rick!

For the 2007 forecasts (see latest editorial) and to sign up to “All Things Visual”, his [NOTSPAM} email newsletter, visit http://www.altman.com/

Tags: Rick+Altman

Corel announce Vista plans

Corel’s Applications will be updated for Windows Vista when it’s released which is good for me as a user of CorelDRAW Graphics Suite

Corel Updates for Microsoft Windows Vista - PhotographyBLOG
 “Corel is pleased to announce our commitment to Windows Vista by offering a full array of products for this new operating system. Each of these products will deliver the trademark ease of use, powerful feature performance and outstanding value for which Corel products are known,” said Shawn Cadeau, vice president of global marketing for Corel.

Via PhotographyBLOG

Portable Network Graphics, a format worth a look

Tracy Lincoln’s post comparing Portable Network Graphics, PNG image format and other image outputs from AutoCAD is a good reference and another reminder not to assume JPEG is the best format for every image.

It’s great for photos but where there are large areas of plain colours or a limited palette often other formats like PNG can be much more efficient and give better results. I posted about this some time back when someone asked why I’d sent a PNG format screen shot rather than JPEG. I did some comparison tests with Corel PhotoPaint and a small screen-shot and the results were remarkable. PNG was much smaller and it’s lossless nature resulted in better appearance than JPEG.

Tracy has a similar comparison with AutoCAD’s image export commands.

PNG me!!! - TLConsulting

“I remembered that I could simply send them a simple graphics file... but which format would work best?

• My test TIF was 5,354 (HUGE!!!)*
• My test BMP was 4,013KB (a large file)
• My test JPG was 386KB (more reasonable)
• My test PNG was 58KB (most excellent)!

Experimenting with image formats for screen-shots - RobiNZ CAD Blog July 28, 2006
Using Corel PhotoPaint’s export to web to a variety of formats, with the same source, then comparing the results is interesting. The file sizes range from 1.5 to 25 KB and the largest (JPG) looks nearly as good as the smallest (PNG)!

* RC Comment: I suspect the TIF could be much smaller with image compression but then becomes dependent on the viewer having the same TIF format/compression capability. Not always a sure thing in my experience.

Experimenting with image formats for screenshots

Today at work someone asked why I sent them a Portable Network Graphics, PNG format screencapture image rather than JPEG.

JPEG rules for photos but try other formats for images with limited colours or large areas of flat colour, like screenshots. For that type of image PNG, even 24 bit, can give better results and much smaller files than jpg. Using Corel PhotoPaint’s export to web to a variety of formats, with the same source, then comparing the results is interesting. The file sizes range from 1.5 to 25 KB and the largest (JPEG) looks nearly as good as the smallest (PNG).

Cadalyst Review CorelDRAW X3

I’ve long been a fan of CorelDRAW since I first played with version 2 & 3, the first I owned was CorelDRAW 4. I’ve given up telling people I use Corel PhotoPaint, rather than Adobe Photoshop, to avoid the looks of pity. To be honest I chose Corel, when self employed as I needed a graphics & photo editor and it was about 1/2 the price of the comparable Adobe applications. It was only after using it that I found not only is it affordable, it’s good.

I’m running Version 12 but the current release is “X3”. It’s a rather silly way to avoid Version 13* but I guess superstition & marketing wins over logic. It didn’t help London Zoo's "Christopher the Chameleon" when X3 was launched.

Cadalyst take a look at Corel’s X3 suite and like what they find.

Cadalyst Labs Review: CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X3 - Lucky version 13 provides many utilities at a low cost - Cadalyst

* If ever considering “series” naming for projects think ahead. One example from this part of the world is the GM Holden Commodore car which adopted it’s “V-Car” project name for the model designation. The original was the “VB Commodore”, next was the “VC Commodore”, but for some reason it was followed by the “VH Commodore”…

X3 Unlucky for some

It’s said Corel made the new release CorelDRAW X3 to avoid an unlucky release 13* but it didn’t help Corel U.K.’s launch featuring London Zoo's “Christopher the Chameleon”…

IT Sneak: The curse of Corel.

* Maybe with good reason; Carol Bartz still mentioned, even apologised for, the infamous AutoCAD R13 (1994) at Autodesk University this year.

Corel Wordperfect to support Microsoft Office XML Formats

Corel will add support for the new Office 12 XML formats to Wordperfect when Office 12 is released.

Via and more comment at:
Brian Jones: Office XML Formats : Corel to support Microsoft Office Open XML Formats.

Will the Adobe/Macromedia merger impact Corel?

Rick Altman has an interesting analysis of what the Adobe/Macromedia merger means for the for graphics software market and how Corel should respond to it.

I’m a CorelDraw user because the Draw/Paint combo does all I require, and a whole lot more, for far less investment than other equivalent applications. The main attraction when I first purchased a licence was its combination of powerful vector and bitmap tools in one package which no other product could match, at the price, but that was a long time ago.

My first impressions of CorelDraw were both intrigue and confusion. I was fairly new to computers and an office where I was contracting had CorelDraw on the CAD machine I was using. Being used to CAD applications I found the interface familiar (editing vector objects) but was amazed and overwhelmed with the capability, editing options and effects available. That was with CorelDraw 3!

Over the years & versions I’ve grown to love CorelDraw and regard it an essential tool for CAD/Graphic work. I’m not a professional graphic designer, artist, image editor or illustrator but have used CorelDraw for all these tasks at times. It’s the ultimate graphic toolbox dealing with the multitude of support tasks that are required in my various roles. As a CAD user its image filters and bitmap editing tools are invaluable when preparing scan or material images for CAD use. As a CAD Manager I use the screen capture, illustration and publishing tools in Corel for documentation and other graphics. It’s often frustrating to see colleagues struggling to produce graphics in office applications that are a snap to create in Corel. I probably annoy them with the line “Word is for words, that’s why it’s called Word” but its true.

CorelDraw has been though good and bad releases (5!) and Corel has survived tough times as a company. Some were its own making, some market driven, but poor strategic decisions and loss of direction all seemed to contribute to neglect of the core Draw/Paint products. The first CorelDraw licence I owned was version 4 and I found enough value to buy upgrades through to version 9. I use a company licence of CorelDraw 10 at work but have only recently upgraded my own from 9 to 12 after a recent promotional offer. There just wasn’t enough to in 10/11 for me to justify spending the money.

Today Corel seems to be back to its core business; graphics and business applications. Rick suggests CorelDraw is developed and promoted as the ultimate graphics toolbox for all office application users. It makes sense to me: it’s exactly how I use it and every day I see others who need it.

As Adobe’s Shadow Grows, Is Corel Better off or Worse? ~ R Altman Digital Consulting

Can Corel play in Adobe’s ever-increasing sandbox?