corel x4 home and student

[The Vector Doctor]

Don't be so sure about that. Once you've tried Corel.....
:Big Laugh

i actually have used Corel before way back in my PC days and version 8. I have played around with it but am so used to Illustrator that it would seriously affect my workflow. Shortcuts, menu items, locations of functions, etc etc. I have used Illustrator since the very first version... maybe Illustrator 88??

Plus I like providing an industry standard format in the native program. I don't like the way Corel exports ai or eps files.

 

[R08]

The OEM & student versions do not have Visual basic support... so no macros.

Yes they do.
I taught a CorelDraw course at a local college and so was able to get the educational verion and yes... everything works .. visual basic and macros included.

 

[WildWestDesigns]

Plus I like providing an industry standard format in the native program. I don't like the way Corel exports ai or eps files.

I've actually gotten Ai and EPS files exported from Coral that were really bad resolution, certainly not able to expand them beyond the size that they were exported in.

 

[jemmyell]

My two cents...

Hi,

V12 academic had VBA support, X3 academic had VBA support in some builds, others not, X4 academic had VBA support. X4 Home and Student was a Canada-only release as far as I know. X5 Home and Student does not have VBA support.

All of these are NOT legal for commercial use.

If you haven't used macros in your work you should learn about them. You are missing out on a whole world or productivity enhancements.

-James Leonard

 

[GAC05]

I've actually gotten Ai and EPS files exported from Coral that were really bad resolution, certainly not able to expand them beyond the size that they were exported in.

I've had the exact same problem with ai and eps files from designers using CS5.

Do you think this is a problem with the software or the person using it not knowing what they are doing?

wayne k
guam usa

 

[Jillbeans]

My son is taking a new shop course at school.
They are using Corel X5.
He came home yesterday asking me if I could make him vector of the Ford emblem so he could engrave it into his project.
After a few questions (he knows how to use Corel 12) he told me that the teacher is engraving a Harley logo on his project.
I told him to ask the teacher if he knew about copyright infringement.

Love.....jill

 

[WildWestDesigns]

I've had the exact same problem with ai and eps files from designers using CS5.

Do you think this is a problem with the software or the person using it not knowing what they are doing?

wayne k
guam usa

It's possible that it could be either one or a little bit of both of those. If it is a software issue then it would have to have started with CS4 as that is what I was using when I was receiving those CDR files at the time.

 

[signage]

he told me that the teacher is engraving a Harley logo on his project.
I told him to ask the teacher if he knew about copyright infringement.

Love.....jill

Now we know were this is all starting!!!!)))))))))))))))))))

 

[signmeup]

I've actually gotten Ai and EPS files exported from Coral that were really bad resolution, certainly not able to expand them beyond the size that they were exported in.

How do vector files have "bad resolution"?

 

[The Vector Doctor]

I've had the exact same problem with ai and eps files from designers using CS5.

Do you think this is a problem with the software or the person using it not knowing what they are doing?

wayne k
guam usa

Probably due to the fact that the files are not saved down to a low enough version. A CS5 Ai and some eps files will not import unless saved down. I save all my ai/eps files to version 8 or version 3 for maximum compatibility. You have to be careful though that if you save too low a version some effects are messed up. Gradients are not supported in version 3 files. They become hundreds of individual colored boxes instead of a smooth blend. Any files that I create with gradients are saved down to version 8, nothing lower

Also raster effects created in the CS series of Adobe cannot be saved down to v10 or below.. The effects are no longer live and become flattened. There are numerous "effects" on vector images too that don't translate well when saved down. You must "flatten" or "expand appearance" on any styles/effects to be compatible

 

[WildWestDesigns]

How do vector files have "bad resolution"?

I just don't think they exported right. It seemed like they were a raster image instead of a vector. At least they "acted" like they were a raster image.

One more thing to add about legacy formats. Version 3 doesn't support clipping masks either. That plays hell at times with my embroidery software.

 

[GAC05]

Good info to post Eric.
I was hinting that it was more likely user error on either the sender or receivers part.
CorelDraw is more than capable of generating scalable graphics if the right buttons are pushed (the same as Illustrator).

wayne k
guam usa

 

[The Vector Doctor]

I just don't think they exported right. It seemed like they were a raster image instead of a vector. At least they "acted" like they were a raster image.

One more thing to add about legacy formats. Version 3 doesn't support clipping masks either. That plays hell at times with my embroidery software.

You do not export ai or eps files from Illustrator. You can only use the save command. There is nothing in the save command that changes a vector file into a raster image. Most likely the original has raster images or raster effects applied to a vector (like a soft drop shadow)

I run into this all the time. Everyone loves to design graphics and logos with soft drop shadows. The shadow itself is raster image, no way to avoid it. So though I can add shadows to my vector files to match, I always caution the user that the shadow itself won't be vector. Or they could run into import issues when imported into programs

Normally to be safe, I just tell them that I won't include the soft shadow in my conversion unless they are using one of the recent versions of Illustrator. Many choose to add those effects back in themselves in their program of choice

 

[WildWestDesigns]

You do not export ai or eps files from Illustrator. You can only use the save command. There is nothing in the save command that changes a vector file into a raster image.

I wasn't talking about exporting from Illustrator, but from Coral. I have these issues when I get a file that comes from a Coral user.

I don't know what their options are for Draw. I was just saying that those files were acting like raster images, not that they were.

 

[Custom_Grafx]

I've actually gotten Ai and EPS files exported from Coral that were really bad resolution, certainly not able to expand them beyond the size that they were exported in.

Not to mention gradients (fountain fills).

 

[Custom_Grafx]

Are you sure about that? I have heard of exif info on image files from photoshop or a digital camera, but not for vectors or other file formats unless you manually add the info. I cannot find anything to confirm that claim

It could be useful I suppose

Hi Eric,

I use this sometimes - at times if I get a corrupt file or something is acting up, I see to confirm which program created the file - sometimes gives clues.

To see the info, you open up the file using a text editor, and it's at the top of the page. Also at the footer there is sometimes some info as well.

It's not as detailed as EXIF data (and I don't think it's called that), it's actually just meta tag data. I also have a feeling this info might be accessible via Bridge where it can also be edited/appended as required for search purposes etc. You may want to embed some custom meta tags to help you search for something later - eg, if you have a bunch of clip art and you want to catalog it... you can tag them with "dog" or "cat" then you can search your catalogs using those terms.

 

[The Vector Doctor]

Yeah i have seen the data in some ai files when opened up in text editor, but the extensive data someone mentioned earlier I have my doubts about

I do add keywords to many of my vector files such as fonts used or descriptors on various parts of the art for reuse later. I am on a mac so I place this in the "get info" dialog box which aids in spotlight searches

 

[Custom_Grafx]

Right, it's not like the EXIF that comes out of a digital camera or anything...

I should also be using the keywords section more often myself to make notes about a certain job. It's a good way to attach the info to a file without having to worry about a separate job file.

Getting a bit off topic, but at the moment, I simply create a .txt file in the same job folder of my work to log any special setups/profiles/jigs/notes etc. It has proven to come in handy more often than first expected and has saved me hours when it happens.