CorelDRAW Help | Productive

Productive

Increase your productivity with the performance enhancements and high-caliber, yet intuitive, new features of CorelDRAW Graphics Suite 2018.

Launch time

Launch time has been reduced thanks to performance enhancements, so you can get to work faster than ever.

Improved vector previews

CorelDRAW Graphics Suite 2018 boosts your productivity with faster rendering of tool previews; curve previews, nodes, and handles; effect controls and sliders; and text. You can also open large files quicker and enjoy smoother editing of complex curves. In addition, you can work more efficiently thanks to tool and object previews that are more visible and user-friendly.

Work faster with text and fonts

Faster rendering of text, especially artistic text, helps accelerate the design workflow. What’s more, the performance of the Font List in CorelDRAW 2018 has been enhanced so you can quickly find what you’re looking for.

Work faster with fonts stored on a network

Finding the right font for the job is easier than ever thanks to enhancements to Corel Font Manager that improve monitoring fonts stored on a network.

Toggle snapping

As much as snapping can enhance productivity by offering the ability to precisely position design elements, users told us that there are stages in their workflow when they’d like to momentarily disable it. To that end, CorelDRAW 2018 makes it easy to temporarily turn off snapping options with a click of the Snap Off button. You can also use keyboard shortcuts to toggle snapping on or off (Alt+Q) or to disable snapping as you’re repositioning without having to release the cursor (Q). This lets you fluidly move objects in the drawing window free of any snapping constraints. Then, when you need the precision of snapping again, you can quickly restore it using the same controls.

Align and distribute nodes

Since it was introduced, the Align and Distribute docker has become an indispensable tool for graphics professionals because of the quick and easy access it offers to time-saving controls for positioning objects. In CorelDRAW 2018, those same precise alignment options can now be used for nodes. What used to be a slow, manual process can be achieved effortlessly in a few clicks. You can align nodes using the bounding box of a selection, the page edge or center, the closest grid line, or a specified point. What’s more, you can align nodes from different curves. Distributing nodes is just as easy. You can add equal spacing between them horizontally or vertically using the drawing page or a bounding box as the reference point.

Warning when can't embed fonts

Another time-saver is a new warning that appears when you save a file listing any fonts that can’t be embedded. This simplifies collaborative workflows by identifying any fonts that a colleague will need to continue working on the document.

Filter fonts based on embedding rights

You can save time and ensure hassle-free file sharing thanks to the new Embedding Rights font filter. It allows you to sort fonts based on four common font-embedding permissions, so you know right from the outset which fonts to use or avoid when choosing text styles. The filter gives you a quick idea of what other users will be able to do with text and fonts in a design that you share with them. You'll be able to see which fonts can't be embedded or which ones recipients of the drawing can install on their computer, allow for text editing, or can be only viewed and printed.

Apply and manage fills and transparencies

How users interact with design assets has undergone a complete overhaul in CorelDRAW Graphics Suite 2018. Totally redesigned Fill and Transparency pickers help boost your productivity and deliver improved performance when working with and managing fills and transparencies in CorelDRAW and Corel PHOTO-PAINT. A streamlined UI allows you to use, create, and find fills and transparencies faster than ever. You can download new content packs, add your own library, easily migrate an asset collection anywhere, and modify asset properties — all within the suite. In addition, you can use aliases to view content stored in another folder on your computer, a USB flash drive, or a shared network folder.

To easily find fills and transparencies you use often, simply mark them as favorites. To avoid clutter, you can move unused assets to a new folder or delete them. Locating the asset you want is a snap. You can view a list of your favorite or most recently used fills and transparencies. You also can search and browse one pack, folder or list at a time. And if you are looking to expand your fill collection, you can download additional fill packs from within the Get More dialog box.

Default folder locations

To simplify finding and sharing design assets, you can choose where to store content rather than use the default folders. In response to user requests, CorelDRAW and Corel PHOTO-PAINT now let you customize where fills, fonts, image lists, photo frames, templates and trays are stored, including any that you’ve created or acquired from online content providers.

File Save indicator

If you work on multiple documents simultaneously in CorelDRAW and Corel PHOTO-PAINT, it’s now easier to see which files contain unsaved changes. An asterisk appears next to the name of unsaved files on the Windows menu, the title bar and the document tab, so you can identify the status of your work in a glance.

Bilinear zooming

Corel PHOTO-PAINT 2018 gives you another magnification option with the introduction of bilinear zooming. It adds pixels by averaging the color values of surrounding pixels when zooming out, which prevents jagged edges and improves the display quality of sharp images that have fine detail.

Customize curve preview and editing

Node customization in CorelDRAW 2018 has been enhanced so it’s easier to work with nodes in even the most complex designs. When nodes and handles become hard to see because the preview color is too similar to the background color, you can use a keyboard shortcut (Ctrl+Shift+I) to replace the main color with the secondary color and vice versa. You can also choose to show unselected nodes without a fill, and then toggle the node fill on or off using a keyboard shortcut (Ctrl+Shift+G).

Project Timer

CorelDRAW 2018 has a new tool designed to help graphics professionals keep organized, properly bill clients, and provide insight into how they work. The Project Timer is an accurate, non-intrusive way to track time spent on a project. Appearing as a discreet toolbar above the drawing window, the Project Timer is fully customizable to match your workflow. It offers a variety of ways to monitor and record tasks and project details. Tracking information is saved with the document and can be exported to file formats that can be opened in spreadsheet applications to create time sheet reports.

Fit objects to a path

In CorelDRAW 2018, fit any type and number of objects to a path of your choice. Smart spacing and rotation settings help you customize the arrangement of objects along the path.

Straighten photos interactively

When something in a photo, such as a building or a road, is just a little off-kilter, it detracts from an otherwise great shot. Now thanks to the new Straighten tool in Corel PHOTO-PAINT, you can easily salvage those photos. It lets you rotate crooked images by interactively aligning a straightening bar to an element in the photo or specifying an angle of rotation. All the controls are easily accessible on screen or on the property bar, so you’ll be amazed how quickly you can get perfect results. You can choose to rotate the image horizontally, vertically, or just let Corel PHOTO-PAINT decide which straightening mode works best. The Straighten tool can also rotate lenses, masks, objects, and groups of objects. In addition, you can crop the photo as you align it, or choose not to crop it and fill the edges with the background color instead.

Adjust photo perspective interactively

Corel PHOTO-PAINT 2018 has a new interactive feature that gives you the power and versatility of an expensive tilt correction lens. With the Perspective Correction tool, it’s easy to adjust the perspective of landmarks or objects in photos to get the exact look that you wanted. Right in the image window, you simply move the four corner points to get the perspective that you have in mind. You can also display grid lines that make it easy to apply the rule of thirds as you adjust perspective.

Improved previews, cursors, and handles in Corel PHOTO-PAINT

CorelDRAW Graphics Suite 2018 simplifies painting, applying effects, and editing images with improved previews that are easier to see and manipulate. The vectors tools in Corel PHOTO-PAINT such as the Path tool and Line tool, have also been updated with a clearer appearance and more defines nodes and handles. Enhanced previews help you edit more efficiently by ensuring brush nibs and effect handles stand out against background colors in your design. And it’s easier than ever to work with the interactive fills, transparencies, drop shadows and more thanks to enhanced interactive sliders that are more visible.

AfterShot 3 HDR

You can download Corel AfterShot 3 HDR at no extra cost from within CorelDRAW and Corel PHOTO-PAINT, and quickly learn professional-grade photo editing. It lets you make easy corrections and enhancements to your RAW or JPEG photos, and apply adjustments to thousands of photos in a click with batch-processing tools. Plus, you can create high dynamic range (HDR) images with the HDR module, included in AfterShot 3 HDR.

And if you want more powerful photo management and photo-editing features, you can upgrade to the latest version of AfterShot Pro through Get More.

Welcome Screen

The redesigned Welcome Screen can help kickstart your workflow when you launch CorelDRAW or Corel PHOTO-PAINT. It lets you quickly start a new document from scratch in both applications, from a template in CorelDRAW, or from the contents of the clipboard in Corel PHOTO-PAINT. You can also browse to open a file or use a revamped list of recent documents that displays thumbnails and file properties. All workspace options are at your fingertips, so you can get to work right away in the UI layout that best suits your needs. The enhanced Welcome Screen also provides one-click access to information about new features, online learning resources, a gallery of original artwork created with CorelDRAW Graphics Suite, as well as design assets, fonts, apps, and plug-ins.

Not all suite components documented in this Help are available in our Trial, Academic, and OEM versions. Unavailable components may include Corel applications, product features, third-party utilities, and extra content files.

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