CorelDraw Rant

[John Noell]

I HATE CorelDraw! I spent hours getting a file with duplicate ovals (with text on the outline) perfectly aligned to make best use of the material and saved it. Then, when I open it, the text in more than half the ovals is randomly rotated. Some is off 90 degrees, some more like 42 degrees, some 5 degrees, etc. This the very same set of objects, duplicated many times. The first job cut perfectly but when I closed the saved file and re-opened it, it was a mess. I re-did the entire file, saved it, cut from it again, closed it, and when I re-opened it was a mess all over again - but it has different random rotations of the text each time!
---END RANT---
(I'm an ex-software developer and I would have fired any of my programmers who wrote code this bad. Maybe I should be glad it is only the text rotation that it messes up each time?)

[Dan Hintz]

John,

I'm in the same shoes as you (except for the "ex" part), but I've learned to have a healthier respect for bugs. I still despise companies that do not immediately repair well-known and repeatable bugs, but new / non-obvious / non-repeatable bugs are a horse of another color. Corel (and other companies) should have a clear-cut way to submit bugs of this type. In this case, a screenshot of the proper orientation followed by the attached file and program version should be enough for them to repeat the problem. I imagine this bug is simply something the testers never tried when playing.

[Mike Null]

John

I can understand your frustration but I don't have the problem. Is there any chance that you have moved the font from an active to inactive folder in Font Navigator? Just guessing here.

Did you convert the file to curves before closing it?

[bob pfohler]

I used CAD and V-Carve Pro exclusively when I had just the CNC. I had played a little with Corel but never really got the hang of it.
When we bought the laser I felt I needed to learn Corel. I watch every tutorial I can and I've found that it's a very powerful program. However, when I'm just drawing and editing basic shapes for signs I still revert back to my CAD program.

I don't want to hijack this thread but does anyone else have a problem with text NOT being the actual size chosen?

[Scott Shepherd]

Post your file and let us try it. I've had very good luck with Corel and I use it extensively every day. I do watch people use it and more often than not, it comes from someone hitting a key and just moving on to the next thing. I try to teach people if you hit any key or do something you didn't mean to do, ALWAYS undo it. ALWAYS. More times than I can count, I've seen someone try to do something, it didn't do what they wanted, so they just moved on to the next step, and never realized that they just changed something very important.

It's almost always a user error. Not always, but most always.

[Doug Griffith]

Being an Illustrator user, if I ran across a bug like that, the first thing I would do is convert the text to outline prior to saving. Then I would curse Adobe and launch CorelDraw to make me happy with Adobe again.

[Rick Hutcheson]

I too have used Corel a lot and have never had a file that opened different from what I saved it. I would have to guess it is operator error that is causing the problems. Not sure what, but I have never had a problem like you are describing.
I have drawn thousands of patterns for scrollsaw, CNC, and vinyl without the problems of the file changing when I reopen it.

[Stephen Beckham]

John,

Will concur that there is a problem - I've chatted with assistance and couldn't get it resolved either. For what ever reason, when a shape with text attached is duplicated, the text doesn't promise to stay put. It will also do some other trickery like flipping text when you're not paying attention. It will sometimes do it when just rotating the image without duplicating - the text doesn't rotate with the same ratio as the object.

The work-around??? Well, I've been told several times not to post work arounds, but who am I to listen???

Make your first object (oval in your case). Settle with the text the way you like it, then convert to curves (I make a copy before converting of the object with text and put off page in case of spelling or possible changes later). Now you can duplicate the object and shouldn't have a problem. (I put 50 wood dollars or 75 wood nickels on a board at a time - finding the rotated items is sometimes a headache).

I have 30-35 files that I use for my round tuits that use to give me this issue, now that I convert them to curves, I haven't had the issue.

[John Noell]

John

I can understand your frustration but I don't have the problem. Is there any chance that you have moved the font from an active to inactive folder in Font Navigator? Just guessing here.

Did you convert the file to curves before closing it?No to both. But I definitely will try converting to curves next time. There are a few other "issues" with CorelDraw that annoy me but this was one that cropped up when I was pressed for time (of course). Oh well. A couple of beers later it does not seem so big. :)

[John Noell]

Post your file and let us try it. I've had very good luck with Corel and I use it extensively every day. I do watch people use it and more often than not, it comes from someone hitting a key and just moving on to the next thing. I try to teach people if you hit any key or do something you didn't mean to do, ALWAYS undo it. ALWAYS. More times than I can count, I've seen someone try to do something, it didn't do what they wanted, so they just moved on to the next step, and never realized that they just changed something very important.

It's almost always a user error. Not always, but most always.When I get back to the right computer I will post it. In this case, not only did the text rotate arbitrarily, but once straightened, then saved, it was randomly rotated when opened. Not much chance for user error there.

[John Noell]

Make your first object (oval in your case). Settle with the text the way you like it, then convert to curvesExcellent advice!

[John Noell]

Here is an X3 file that shows the problem. I'd love to know if anyone copying/pasting OR duplicating OR step/repeating the original in the upper left corner does NOT have the problem of rotating text. (When this was saved, all were perfectly aligned but they are not when I open it.)

[Tom Gooch]

On the other side of the coin... I hated CAD, and while I haven't used CorelDraw as long or gone thru several revisions, so far I think its vastly superior to anything else I've tried. All in the eye of the beholder...to use an old phrase. CAD is more powerful and deep than Corel and if that is your need then, well I guess you use what best adresses your needs. In the case of laser engravers, I'm not aware of a really solid, equally or better- supported product. I think if there were significant numbers of users using a better, different product, that product would have emerged as a contender. Tell me if I'm wrong; if there is a better product, I would want to know.

[Rick Hutcheson]

It does what you say here too. When I converted the text to curves then duplicated and saved it they all open fine. But with the text as text they rotate just like you said. I have never ran accross this before.

[Dave Johnson29]

I hated CAD


Hi Tom,

I think it is a familiarity thing as I frequently scoot over to FastCAD to do stuff then DXF it back into Corel. But then I have been using CAD of some sort for many years. Not sure when AutoCAD came out but I had version 1.something, probably 1987 or so.

[Carl Sewell]

John;

Move the copies around, resave the file, and then open it again. It may correct the problem. It appears to be a positional problem: if you move them above the center of the paper, then save/re-open, they straighten themselves out. I have seen it before, so I got in the happen of converting to curves and keep one with the original text in case changes need to be made.

You can also ALWAYS copy from the original and that will lessen the immediate rotation of the text, but it will still happen when you save and then re-open.

[Scott Shepherd]

I've been messing with this for about 1/2 an hour now. On your file, I can reproduce it to some degree, but I cannot create a shape of my own and reproduce it. I created a circle, fit text to path on it, copied it all over the place, saved it and opened it back up. Everything is the same.

Did your file and drew my shape in your file. Same thing. No problems. Copied your shape and had the same problem you did. To me, I believe there's something wrong with the core of the fitting the text to the path. If you start this file over again from scratch, does it do the same thing? I don't have the fonts you used, so I can't try it, but does it do the same thing with a different font?

If you have time, create a new file, same shape, different font, and see if it happens there.

Seems to me that it's something in that fit to path that's screwed up.

Again, I cannot reproduce it from scratch, only with your shape.

[John Noell]

Yep, familiarity breeds contempt (for the one you are not familiar with!). Ahh, well do I remember the original MacDraw. (Of course I also remember doing my dissertation computations on an IBM 370 mainframe with punch cards, sigh.)

[Mike Null]

John

Three of the images had text rotated but I was able to adjust the text. When I copied them the text moved on the third image.

When I converted the original to curves it duplicated ok.

[John Noell]

Thanks Mike. That truly confirms it is not just me! I wil convert to curves in the future. Now, if you could just zoom out and then zoom back in with CorelDraw, to the same place, using the mouse scroll wheel. :)

[Mike Null]

John

I believe you can do that if you leave the cursor in the same place.

[Dave Marshall]

I opened this file and found all text to be positioned correctly. I made numerous duplicates of the "original" graphic; filed it to my system and then opened it back up. Seems to be working perfectly for me.

I am using X4.

[Dave Johnson29]

Now, if you could just zoom out and then zoom back in with CorelDraw, to the same place, using the mouse scroll wheel. :)

John, the zoom works under the mouse cursor. Move the mouse cursor to the section you want to see zoomed (in/out) then roll the wheel.

[John Noell]

John

I believe you can do that if you leave the cursor in the same place.
And that probably is a good feature but not the way I often work. In most of my programs I can zoom out and then zoom back in to same view regardless of where my cursor is, simply moving the scroll wheel. Old habits die hard. With Corel, I keep having to scroll back out a 2nd time, move the cursor, and then zoom back in. I admit it is a pretty minor issue. Corel has so many interface features that are "non-standard" (e.g., shift vs. cntrl for constraining). Guess I'm getting mighty picky in my old age. :)

[Bill Cunningham]

I opened this file and found all text to be positioned correctly. I made numerous duplicates of the "original" graphic; filed it to my system and then opened it back up. Seems to be working perfectly for me.

I am using X4.

I also had no problems with it using X4 other than I did not have that particular font on my house computer, but the substituted font worked fine..

[John Noell]

I also had no problems with it using X4 other than I did not have that particular font on my house computer, but the substituted font worked fine..Hmmm, may be time to upgrade.

[Scott Shepherd]

John, did you ever try this things I suggested? Did a new file, doing the same type thing with a different font cause the same problems? Or is it tied to this one file, or this one font? At this point all we have to help is one file and I don't think anyone has been able to reproduce it outside of your supplied file.

Can you verify the same thing happens in a new file with the same info in it, and compare that to a new file with different fonts used?

[Ian Jones Kiwi]

Hi. Try this: Select the offending Ellipse and Artistic Text in Object Manager. Then click on Arrange then Break Text Apart or just hit ctrl/k. See attached file puck.cdr that is modified from yours. Good luck

[John Noell]

Hi. Try this: Select the offending Ellipse and Artistic Text in Object Manager. Then click on Arrange then Break Text Apart or just hit ctrl/k. See attached file puck.cdr that is modified from yours. Good luckWhat version are you using Ian? I do not see that option in my X3. Are you maybe using X4? I can do that with contours (and use it all the time) in X3 but Ctrl K does nothing for me on text on a line. ????

[Mike Null]

That should work in all versions I've seen.

[Dave Johnson29]

What version are you using Ian? I do not see that option in my X3. Are you maybe using X4? I can do that with contours (and use it all the time) in X3 but Ctrl K does nothing for me on text on a line. ????

Hi John,

Are you looking in the Arrange menu? I have it in v10.

You may need to have some Artistic text selected.

[John Noell]

Hi John,

Are you looking in the Arrange menu? I have it in v10.

You may need to have some Artistic text selected.I was not looking at arrange menu. Yes, it is there! Thank you all. With Contours it is in the menu when you right click on it. That will help!

[David Takes]

Albeit rare, I have experienced this same problem. I changed the font and that took care of it. I really think there are some font compatibility issues with CorelDRAW.

[John Noell]

John, did you ever try this things I suggested? Did a new file, doing the same type thing with a different font cause the same problems? Or is it tied to this one file, or this one font? At this point all we have to help is one file and I don't think anyone has been able to reproduce it outside of your supplied file.

Can you verify the same thing happens in a new file with the same info in it, and compare that to a new file with different fonts used?Yes it happens on more than this file and more than this font. As others have noted, this apparently is a known issue, at least prior to X4. (I should upgrade to X4 before complaining further.)

[Dave Johnson29]

I should upgrade to X4 before complaining further.


You can download a trial version of X4 that runs for I think, 30 days. I don't remember when I downloaded my trial so not sure about the exact duration but it has stopped working. :(

[Stephen Beckham]

Wasn't just over a week ago when we talked about this and I knew there was another rotation problem that happens from time to time... I just remembered!

When you flip Paragraph Text to reverse etch it on the back of acrylic, it sometimes flips both horizontal and vertical. It just got me - again...

Converted to curves and now I'm re-doing the acrylic piece on a new item... :o

[pete hagan]

SO it's a rainy day and I tried the same thing you did (I believe) and it did the rotation thing on me as well so it's certainly a Corel issue. Convert to curves and no problem.

Pete

[Scott Shepherd]

Is it a Corel issue or a technique issue? I can't make it happen no matter how hard I try. Perhaps a step by step on exactly how you guys are doing this and then we can all do it the same way and see if it repeats. I think several of us have tried to duplicate it with a new file and had no luck duplicating it. Perhaps we aren't using the same method. Any input on that would help us narrow the cause down.

Do those who are having the problem have all the service packs installed for X3? There are several of them out there. Can you confirm you have them installed?

[Mike Null]

I believe the latest version is .739.

[Bill Cunningham]

I don't use paragraph text for anything that I engrave.. It's ok for the printed word, but has very little flexibility for engraving.. The 'artistic' can be used for anything, even the printed word..