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CorelDRAW

From Alfawiki
Corel Corporation
Company typePrivate
IndustrySoftware
Founded1985
FounderMichael Cowpland
Headquarters
Ottawa
,
Canada
ProductsCorelDRAW, Corel Photo-Paint, Corel Capture, Corel Font Manager, Corel Ventura
OwnerAlludo
Websitehttps://www.coreldraw.com/

CorelDRAW is a vector graphics editor created and distributed by Alludo (previously known as Corel Corporation). The name also refers to the Corel graphics suite, which encompasses the bitmap editor Corel Photo-Paint along with various other graphic design utilities. CorelDRAW facilitates digital painting and desktop publishing and is extensively utilized in production art sectors such as sign creation, vinyl cutting, laser engraving, print-on-demand services, and related fields. There are also Standard and Essentials editions available with limited features.

History

Development of a vector illustration application began in 1987 by Corel engineers Michel Bouillan and Pat Beirne, intending to package it with their desktop publishing solutions. The initial release of CorelDRAW occurred in 1989. Early editions operated on Windows 2.x and 3.0 platforms; however, CorelDRAW 3.0 gained popularity following Windows 3.1’s introduction of TrueType, which allowed the use of system-installed outline fonts without requiring third-party programs like Adobe Type Manager. Together with Corel Photo-Paint, a font manager, and Corel Capture, it constituted one of the earliest integrated graphic design suites.

Features by version

CorelDRAW Version compatibility Operating System
Support 		Key Enhancements
Release date Version Import formats Export formats
Jan 1989 1 1 1 Windows 2.1 Initial release
Mar 1989 1.01 1 1 Windows 2.1 Added save backups and ability to draw rectangles from center
Apr 1989 1.02 1 1 Windows 2.1 Support for IBM PIF file format
Jul 1989 1.10 1 1 Windows 2.1 Introduced 102 new fonts in proprietary WFN format with WFNBOSS font manager
Feb 1990 1.11 1 1 Windows 2.1 Enabled AutoCAD DXF file import/export
Sep 1991 2 1, 2 1, 2 Windows 3.0 Introduced Envelope tool for text/object distortion; Blend, Extrusion, Perspective tools; released Unix version of CorelDRAW.
15 May 1992 3 1, 2, 3 2, 3 Windows 3.0, 3.1 (preferred) Included Corel Photo-Paint for bitmap editing, CorelSHOW presentations, CorelCHART charting tools, Mosaic and CorelTRACE for bitmap vectorization; shifted fonts to Type 1 PostScript and TrueType.
20 May 1993 4 1-4 3,4 Windows 3.1 Added multi-page support; Powerlines; graphic tablet compatibility; Clone and Envelope tools; included Photo-Paint, CorelSHOW, CorelCHART, CorelMOVE animation, Mosaic, CorelTRACE.
27 May 1994 5 1-5 3-5 Windows 3.1 Final version supporting Windows 3.x; bundled with Corel Ventura desktop publishing software.
24 Aug 1995 6 3-6 5-6 Windows 95, PowerMac First release for Macintosh and fully 32-bit Windows; customizable interface; introduced Polygon and Spiral tools; suite expanded to include multimedia and font management applications.
8 Oct 1996 7 3-7 5-7 Windows 95, NT4, PowerMac Context-sensitive property bar; print preview with zoom and pan functions; Scrapbook for drag-and-drop graphics; HTML publishing capabilities; improved fill/blend/transparency tools; integrated spell checker and grammar utilities.
27 Oct 1997 8 3-8 6-8 Windows 95, NT4, PowerMac Digger selection tool; Docker windows interface; Interactive Distortion tools; realistic drop shadows; color palette editor; custom page sizing; duotone support; included Corel Versions.
31 Aug 1999 9 3-9 5-9 Windows 95,98, NT4, Linux Introduced Mesh fill tool for complex color blending; Artistic Media tool; PDF publishing support; ICC color profiles integration; multiple on-screen palettes; VBA scripting support; bundled Canto Cumulus LE media management software. Macintosh edition discontinued.
13 Nov 2000 10 10† 10‡ Windows 98, Me, NT4,2000, OS X Added Corel R.A.V.E vector animation tool; Perfect Shapes feature; web graphics utilities; page sorter function; multilingual interface support; SVG format compatibility.
1 Aug 2002 11 11† (5-11) Windows 98 through XP Symbols library introduced; image slicing for web design added; pressure-sensitive vector brushes implemented; advanced drawing tools enhanced.
10 Feb 2004 12 12† 12‡ Windows 2000, XP Dynamic guides introduced; Smart Drawing tools added; export options extended to MS Office/Word formats; Unicode text support enabled.
17 Jan 2006 X3 (13) X3† (7-X3) Windows Vista (32-bit), XP (32/64-bit), Server2003, Windows7/8 Double-click Crop tool works on vectors and bitmaps simultaneously; Smart Fill tool introduced; Chamfer/Fillet/Scallop/Emboss shaping tools added; Image Adjustment Lab integrated Trace as PowerTrace.
22 Jan 2008 X4 (14) 7-X4† (7-X4) Windows XP through Windows8 Incorporated WhatTheFont integration and ConceptShare collaboration tool; Table tool supports independent page layers and live text formatting; RAW camera file compatibility added.
23 Feb 2010 X5 (15) 7-X5 (7-X5) Windows XP through Windows8 Built-in content organizer (CorelConnect); improved multi-core processor performance and animation features; new digital content including professional OpenType Pro fonts from Linotype replacing Bitstream fonts. Added scripting via Visual Studio Tools for Applications.
20 Mar 2012 X6 (16) 7-X6 (7-X6) Windows XP (32-bit), Vista through Windows8 Native support for native multi-core processors in both x64 and x86 versions with Adobe Photoshop plugin compatibility. Enhanced import/export interoperability with Adobe Creative Suite and Microsoft Publisher. Introduced Dockers for object properties/styles/color styling. New Unicode OpenType text engine supports international languages plus dynamic alignment guides. Access to online assets via CorelConnect.
27 Mar 2014 X7 (17) 7-X7 (7-X7) Windows7 through Windows10* Default workspaces tailored by user role introduced along with tabbed documents optimized for multi-monitor setups. Enhanced retouching and fill tools including QR code generation added. Subscription licensing launched alongside perpetual licenses with introduction of Corel Content Exchange requiring ongoing payments for full content access.
15 Mar 2016 X8 (18) 7-X8 (11-X8) Windows7 through Windows10 New Font List filtering system implemented with Corel Font Manager replacing Bitstream Font Navigator. Added object/group hiding options and improved curve segment editing tools including Knife enhancements. Photo retouching Healing tool added along with perspective correction improvements and automated camera effects support. Full compatibility with high-resolution displays and Windows10 ensured.
11 Apr 2017 2017 (19) 7-19 (11-19) Windows7 through Windows10 Introduced LiveSketch AI drawing tool providing real-time stylus input at resolutions up to 4K. Enhanced font list box interface and node editing features included. Support extended to Windows10 tablet mode and Surface Dial accessories.
10 Apr 2018 2018 (20) 7-20 (11-20) Windows7 through Windows10

style="text-align:left"|Symmetrical Drawing Mode added alongside Block Shadow Tool and WordPress publishing integration. Impact tool introduced along with Pointillizer effect and PhotoCocktail feature plus interactive photo straightening/perspective adjustment capabilities and bitmap envelope application.

12 Mar 2019 2019 (21) 7-21 (11-21) Windows7 through Windows10,

MacOS

style="text-align:left"|Enhanced Object Docker supporting non-destructive effects workflow plus pixel-perfect rendering introduced. Find-and-replace workflow improvements made along with PDF/X standards support and digital asset management features added. Online app access included alongside restored MacOS support requiring Sierra or later versions.

12 Mar 2020 (22) (11-22) (11-22) (Windows7,

8.1, 10, MacOS)

style="text-align:left"|Collaboration suite incorporating Copy editing features, Comments Docker, annotation tools plus cloud sharing supporting Microsoft and Google sign-ins launched. AI-assisted PowerTRACE vectorization enhancements included along with bitmap upsampling/artifact removal capabilities plus stylized effects like Pastel/Woodcut added. Nondestructive bitmap lens effects introduced alongside improved search/replace functions and OpenType variable font sliders on Windows.

9 Mar 2021 (23) (15-23) (15-23) (Windows10,

11, MacOS)

style="text-align:left"|Perspective Drawing mode added together with Multipage View featuring Pages docker/inspector plus Autofit Page function introduced. Adjustments docker/inspector enables color corrections while Replace Colors function and multi-asset export options were incorporated alongside enhanced collaboration tools. Mid-year update delivered live comments functionality but was exclusive to subscription users.

8 Mar 2022 (24.0–24.2) (15–24.0) (15–24.0) (Windows10,

11, MacOS)

style="text-align:left"|Expanded non-destructive photo editing filters combined with preset options introduced along with new templates plus multipage design tools offered mainly through subscription updates.

7 Mar 2023 (24.3) (15–24.3) (15–24.3) (Windows10,

11, MacOS12, 13)

style="text-align:left"|New curve-editing utilities implemented alongside updated Pantone color system support plus bug fixes applied. Additional design templates provided for subscribers while reinstating one-time purchase availability.

5 Mar 2024 (25) (15–25) (15–25) (Windows11,

MacOS15)

style="text-align:left"|Introduced Painterly Brushes feature enhancing artistic expression within vector graphics workflows.

4 Mar 2025 (26) (15–26) (15–26) (Windows11,

MacOS15)

style="text-align:left"|Advanced PDF printing functionalities added together with Paintbrush tool enhancements plus overall stability and security improvements implemented. Included access to CorelDRAW Web online application enabling browser-based design projects.


Platform and scripting evolution

CorelDRAW was originally created for Microsoft Windows 2.1 and later expanded compatibility to include Windows 3.1x, CTOS, OS/2, and Power Macintosh. Hewlett-Packard released a version tailored for its HP 9000 Series 400 and 700 workstations operating on HP-UX. With the introduction of Corel Linux, CorelDRAW 9 was distributed with packages designed for Debian and Red Hat-based Linux systems. Support for Mac OS X appeared in version 11 in 2001 but was subsequently discontinued on both Linux and Mac platforms, leaving Windows as the exclusive environment until macOS support was reinstated with the 2019 edition.

By 2021, CorelDRAW Graphics Suite had extended its compatibility to include Windows 10, Windows 11, and macOS, featuring a version optimized for Apple silicon. The suite also provides a web-based application along with an iPad app aimed at enabling collaboration and annotation, complemented by a new browser-accessible trial version launched in 2024.

Automation scripting

Automation capabilities were first introduced through Corel SCRIPT in version 6. The addition of VBA macro support came with version 9, ultimately superseding Corel SCRIPT. Starting from version X5, Windows editions incorporated VSTA (Visual Studio Tools for Applications), which requires Visual Studio 2017. The 2019 release introduced JavaScript support to facilitate cross-platform scripting alongside macOS compatibility; however, as of 2020, the integrated development environment did not yet support JavaScript.

Format structure

Initially, the CDR file format functioned as a proprietary vector graphics format identified by the first two bytes "WL". Beginning with CorelDraw 3, it adopted a Resource Interchange File Format (RIFF) structure, characterized by the first four bytes reading "RIFF" and bytes 9 through 15 containing "CDR*vrsn". From CorelDraw 4 onwards, the version number was encoded in hexadecimal within the header. Despite this, the RIFF data chunk remains proprietary.

Starting with version X4 (14), CDR files transitioned into ZIP-compressed directories encompassing multiple files such as XML documents and the RIFF-structured riffdata.cdr, which carries version identifiers like "CDREvrsn" (X4) and "CDRFvrsn" (X5). With CorelDraw X6, a new file named root.dat was introduced featuring the signature "CDRGfver," signaling a move away from hexadecimal version notation.

Corel has not officially published detailed specifications for the CDR file format.

Other related CorelDraw formats include CorelDraw Compressed (CDX), CorelDraw Template (CDT), and Corel Presentation Exchange (CMX).

Compatibility of CDR files with other software

In December 2006, the open-source team behind sK1 began reverse-engineering efforts targeting the CDR format. Their initial functional CDR importer was demonstrated at the Libre Graphics Meeting in Montreal in 2007. Following this, they examined additional Corel formats using their open-source tool, CDR Explorer. By 2008, sK1 asserted that their project provided superior import support for CorelDraw formats compared to other open-source applications. They also developed UniConvertor, a command-line utility capable of converting CorelDraw versions 7 through X4 (including CDR/CDT/CCX/CDRX/CMX) to alternative formats. UniConvertor has been integrated into software like Inkscape and Scribus to facilitate the import of CorelDraw files.

In 2007, Microsoft restricted opening CDR files within Office 2003 after Service Pack 3 due to security concerns but later issued an apology for misidentifying these issues and provided tools to address them.

In 2012, the LibreOffice/re-lab team released , a library supporting CDR files from versions 7 up to X3 as well as CMX files. This library offers comprehensive handling of shapes and colors—including spot colors—and provides basic text processing capabilities. It also incorporates an internal SVG converter alongside an OpenDocument converter accessible via the package. Since LibreOffice version 3.6, this library has been integrated into LibreOffice and is accessible to other applications through its public API.

Additional software compatible with CDR files

The import of CDR file formats is either fully or partially supported by the following programs:

See also

External links

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