Let me first take a minute to clear the air on the opinions I will be sharing in this and future articles regarding CorelDRAW. I started using Corel back in the early ’90s when it was called CorelDRAW II, and over the years have been very satisfied with its performance and capabilities. Those who know me say that I’m passionate about CorelDRAW and very critical when it doesn’t perform as it should. Corel is one of the tools I use to make a living in the sign business; it’s got to perform, and for the most part it does so very reliably every day. 

 

My soapbox statement about Corel-DRAW is this: For the designer who wants a good, all-around vector graphics/bitmap editing software package that can create dynamic presentation drawings and scaled fabrication drawings, CorelDRAW is tough to beat.

 

So, that said, let’s take a peek at some of the tools that Corel has improved upon that make sign design tasks easier and faster to perform. 

 

There are a lot of new features and improvements that I will discuss, but for this article I’d like to go into detail about two of the tools that Corel has revamped for faster, easier operation: the Dimension Tool and the JPG export tool. I feel that these two features alone make the upgrade to X5 something to consider. 

 

Dimensioning in real time: Corel came through and made some much needed improvements to this tool. No longer will you have to live with random placements of the numerals or uneven dimension line lengths. They have tamed this randomly annoying beast and made it much more user friendly. (As it should be.) 

 

You will notice right away it has a smoother feel to it; you now “click, hold, drag, release” rather than “click to start” and then “click again” to set (which closes out the operation). This one simple change in mouse clicks gives you much better control for faster, more accurate and balanced dimension lines.   

 

Image 1: Corel’s new dimensioning tool also acts as an electronic tape measure and displays the dimension in real time.

Also, it now displays the length of the dimension line, in real time, as you are applying it to the object! (See Image 1) This is very helpful when dimensioning a smaller object within a larger object, such as the V.O. of a cabinet sign. It can also be used as a digital tape measure for determining the length of items like the height above grade or letter height on a scaled drawing. If you’ve ever been asked to pull up a concept drawing and provide letter heights or tenant panel sizes, you will love this feature.

 

Here is how it works: Starting your dimension line at grade (or any other point), click, hold and drag your mouse to various points on the sign. The real-time readout (in blue) displays your distances without the need to “click and set” the dimension line. This feature is a definite time saver.  

 

Image 2: CorelDRAW X5 features custom settings for the dimensioning tool.

The Dimension Tool: There are now a plethora of settings that allow you to control the parts and pieces that make up the dimension lines. (See Image 2) You can set the length of the extension lines within the dimension lines, as well as their distance from the object. They have also improved how it operates with better text placement within the dimension lines. There is even a setting to force the numbers to be placed horizontally for tight spaces (See Image 3).  

 

Image 3: Activating the “Force to Horizontal” placement feature saves time on line kerning.

As with previous versions of Corel-DRAW it is sometimes necessary to manually kern the dimension lines and numerals. Corel hasn’t perfected its dimensioning tool yet, but it’s better than it’s ever been; light years ahead of their previous versions. For day to day, knock-’em-out shop drawings, this dimension tool upgrade is just what designers needed to speed up the process.

 

Exporting to JPG: Here is another area where Corel has made some smart, time-saving improvements. You may be wondering why I would spend time discussing a tool as basic as Export to JPG. In the process of creating really dynamic presentation drawings, exporting images to JPG is occurring at a lightning pace. Shadows, highlights, bevel effects and final designs are usually all converted to some form of JPG during the design process.

 

Corel has now created a large, easy to use, one-page JPG export interface rather than the cumbersome side-by-side window tabs that only previewed a small portion of the image. The new all-in-one interface panel allows you to adjust settings and preview the entire graphic for better color conversions from RGB to CMYK and vice-versa. (See Image 4)  This eliminates the need to create, save and then open the JPG file you just created in order to preview it.

 

Image 4: The “Export to JPG” one-page interface is faster and easier to use.

This new interface also saves time and steps in exporting images for web use as it provides the upload speed readout that lets you choose the right file size for your needs. The interface panel displays how long it would take to upload the image off of the Internet at some typical connection speeds. You can choose to adjust the file size by resolution, physical size or color palette settings.

 

All in all the new X5 has a lot to offer in terms of speed and improved tool function. As with any new release, there are a few minor bugs that should be addressed very soon in an update (as they have with previous versions). For the most part, you will find an overall increase in processing speed as well as the benefits I’ve reviewed above. If you have any other questions on the new features of Corel X5, please feel free to email me at mattcharboneau@Q.com.