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Shaddy Dedmore
08-02-2004, 11:46 PM
I thought I'd share a tip that has helped me, and I invite others to do the same. (I'd like to hear some tips)

Being new to Corel, I don't know the language at all, so I'm having a hard time learning all the little streamlining things. I thought maybe others are too, and when you don't know a feature exists, you don't know to ask about it.

Nudge:
Nudge is what you're doing when you have an object or nodes selected, and you move them with the arrow keys.

Under Tools, Customization, Document, Rulers... There's a section called Nudge. By default mine was set to .1, Super = 2, Micro = 2

I used the sample .cdr for the Music Box plan on the Epilog website. I noticed the finger joints didn't quite fit together tightly, so I tried to expand the male part of the joint. I used the 'Shape Tool' to select the nodes I wanted to move then I tried to click and drag them a little bigger... But that was very inaccurate, I couldn't hold my mouse steady enough. So I used the arrow keys, but they were set to move way too much to be of any use. I looked and looked through the help and tutorials available on the net, until I stumbled onto Nudge. I think I was even looking for something else at the time.

SO... I set the Nudge to .01, and set Micro to 5 (set it to 10 at first, but was hitting the arrow too much). I usually set the Super to 10 or 20 also, easier for moving objects into position.

Using the real fine settings has helped me a great deal...

thanks for reading, hope it helped someone else too.

mike wallis
08-03-2004, 10:52 AM
Nudge is also good for spacing out objects evenly, say 2" apart. I used this feature to layout cards that were cut out.
Although I havn't used it yet for this but another good use for Nudge is tiling across a mural.
Im also always looking for tips on corel and anything else Laser related.
Mike

Glen Peters
08-06-2004, 12:40 PM
I am using Corel Draw 11 but suspect that these tips will work with CD 12 as well.

Duplicate: Instead of Nudge I use Duplicate to create multiple copies of items to be engraved and/or cut. Create your item, select all the objects in the item (ctrl + a) click Arrange and Group. Now when you duplicate or move the item some objects will not be left behind. Place the item where you want to start, usually in the top left. Note the dimensions of the item. Now deselect it. On the Tool Bar you will see where you can set the Duplicate distance. Not sure which feild it is, just place the mouse pointer on a field, (don't click), and a label will pop up saying what it is. For Duplicate Distance, in the "x" field enter the distance you want. Example: Say your item is 2.5 in. wide and you want 1/8 in space between items. Enter 2.625 in the "x" field and 0 in the "y" field. Now select the item and press Ctrl + D. You will create a copy of the original to the right with 1/8 in. space between items. Continue to press Ctrl + D until you have created the number of items you want in the row. To create multiple rows, set the duplicate distance (height of item plus distance between rows) in the "y" field and 0 in the "x" field. Select the entire row and press Ctrl + D as many time as you need. Note, you may need to make the "y" distance a minus value depending how your rulers are setup. Mine are 0,0 in the top left and require a minus value for the "y" distance to create rows downward.

Color Management: Color Management in Corel Draw should be off. Click Tools, Color Mangement and in the styles dialog box select Color Management Off. Since we work only with greyscale and set the levels of the greyscale in our photo editing program when preparing a bitmap for engraving, we don't want Draw to apply any styles and profiles when we import our masterpeice.

Undo: Most of us can't live without the Undo feature to help us correct those "OOPS". By default Draw sets the Undo level to 99. Each level of Undo requires some computer resources and 99 levels can eat up quite a bit. I have mine set to 10. I figure if I have to go back more than 10 levels it is probably best to start over on whatever I'm doing. To change the number of Undo levels, click Tools, Customization, then Workspace, General. I have mine set to Regular 10 and Bitmap Effects 2. The later is a big resource user.

Don't forget to click Tools and Save Settings as Default if you want to make any of the above setting changes pernament. Otherwise Draw will revert back to its default setting once you close the program and restart it.

Hope these tip are of value
Glen

mike wallis
08-06-2004, 2:55 PM
Thanks for the tips Glen, i'll put them to good use. Its tips like these that makes me think I should take a class on Corel.

Mike

Shaddy Dedmore
08-06-2004, 4:46 PM
I've seen the term duplicate, but I wasn't aware you could set the offest like that, I never tried it out... great tip, that's the kind of stuff I was hoping to hear.

I use undo so much my 'home row' on the keyboard is resting my pinky on the CTRL key. I'm not afraid of like, when I'm selecting something, I'll click and drag it onto the white space just to make sure there weren't any left over parts, then CTRL-Z to move it back.

COPY-n-PASTE from other program: I use PaintShopPro for most of my picture editing. There are instances when I use a page of tattoo flash (usually a raster page with many pics). If I want only one image, I'll use PSP to select just what portion I want, then hit CTRL-C to copy, then open Corel and CTRL-V to paste it in... This way, i don't have to crop and save that portion of the image as a new BMP, then import it into corel. Saves a little space, keeps you from getting too many files accumulated, and saves time. (actually I do crop and process the image before copying it, then I just close it without saving, 'cause now the image is saved in Corel)

Aaron Koehl
08-06-2004, 9:00 PM
I am a regular user of the Windows clip board. Unfortunately, the clipboard doesn't always play nice with Corel. For instance, if you make a graphic in Corel, and then copy onto the clipboard, it pastes perfectly into PaintShopPro or Image Composer, but the colors get dithered when pasting into Photoshop. (I'm not sure if this is a color profiling setting in Photoshop or Corel, but I hope I find a solution.) File exports work great, and is currently my workaround.

For black marble, I do my grayscale photo editing in Photoshop. This usually involves removing a background, increasing brightness and contrast, and cleaning up any areas that need 'cleaning'. I export the file as a .PNG with transparency turned on. I then import the file into Corel and invert it (Adjust > Invert). I make sure I have a black square taking up the workspace behind every other object, so I can see which areas I might have 'missed' in Photoshop.

mike wallis
08-06-2004, 9:52 PM
Hello Aaron,
quick question on Photoshop exports. I've recently noticed on some exports from Photoshop "jpg's, and bmp's" I get a grey border around the croped area. It's a very annoying border that when imported into Corel requires me to work around it by inserting white rectangles to cover it up. I was wondering if you had come across this and if you have was there a solution?

Thanks for any input,
Mike

Glen Peters
08-10-2004, 4:36 PM
Align and Distribute is another feature that I have found to be quite useful in Corel Draw.
An example would be if you were making a rectangular sign and wanted to place some text exactly in the center. Create an outline of the sign of the size desired. Next create the text, place it about where you want it and adjust size as necessary. Next select the text, hold down the shift key and select the outline of the sign. Both objects are now selected. Click Arrange, Align and Distribute , Align Centers Horizontally, and Arrange, Align and Distribute, Align Centers Vertically. Your text is now in the exact center of the sign (vertically and horizontally). This can be used with any two objects. I use it most often when placing text beneath a graphic. Select the text and the graphic and Align Centers Vertically. I then use Nudge to move the text up or down for proper spacing.

Align and Distribute has other useful options. To see how they can be used. create two objects (circles, squares, or whatever) one larger than the other, select both and then try all the menu options under Align and Distribute.

Note: If you edit one of the objects on which you used Align and Distribute you will need to use Align and Distribute again because one may have move relative to the other due to increase or decrease in size.

Glen

Shaddy Dedmore
08-10-2004, 5:34 PM
Hey Glenn, your "note:" segues into another feature I use quite a bit.

There's a "Transform" form/box where you can resize, move, fill... mine usually docks on the right hand side of the screen (along with my Properties form). When you resize by filling in the boxes in the upper left (as opposed to eyeing it by clicking and dragging a corner), The object stays centered. This usually initiates an align and dist action on my part. But when I use the Transform form, there's nine check boxes that let you choose what point of the object stays put. As in, I usually want my upper left hand corner to stay put, and I want to increase the objects size towards the lower right. I just check the upper left hand check box, and it anchors it there. Comes in handy.

I also use the Move tab of the Transform dock quite a bit, you can decide what point gets anchored there as well, instead of the default center when using the X Y input boxes that are in the upper left of the screen.

Shaddy

Shaddy Dedmore
08-10-2004, 5:41 PM
Forgot to include comment for Mike...

For your Photoshop Q, could it be that you're using Feather during your Crop and have a grey background? Might be something similar, like it may be a transparent background, but during the export/import process it gets designated as grey. I can't think of another reason why there would be a border created.

What does it look like when you copy/paste the pic directly into corel without using export?

mike wallis
08-10-2004, 7:07 PM
Thanks Shaddy,
Yes I have been exporting without a background. I'll try some of the things you mentioned tonite and let you know if it worked.
Mike

Glen Peters
08-10-2004, 10:39 PM
I'll give "Transform" a try.

The below link gives a few tips most of us can use.
There are also tips for Photoshop and paint Shop Pro. Check the sidebar on left.
http://www.web-mantra.com/coreldraw.htm
Glen

Aaron Koehl
08-11-2004, 8:37 AM
Hello Aaron,
quick question on Photoshop exports. I've recently noticed on some exports from Photoshop "jpg's, and bmp's" I get a grey border around the croped area. It's a very annoying border that when imported into Corel requires me to work around it by inserting white rectangles to cover it up. I was wondering if you had come across this and if you have was there a solution?

Thanks for any input,
Mike
Mike,

Can you post one of your .jpg's?

I have a feeling that the borders are from the transparency not being carried over in the .jpgs and .bmps (as these formats don't support transparency). Thus, any areas that are good and transparent in Photoshop will look opaque and unsightly in these formats. One solution would be to use the .png (small, very friendly) or .tif (friendly, but big).

If your cropping is rectangular, you can always Corel's shape tool, as well (F10). Select the shape tool, then click on one of the corner 'handles' that appears. Then (rather convolutedly) hold down SHIFT to select an adjacent corner. While holding down SHIFT, hold down CTRL, then drag your line to crop the entire edge. (CTRL constrains your cropping to a straight line).

mike wallis
08-11-2004, 11:20 AM
Hi Aaron,
heres one of the photos I'm having the problem with. The border is most evident when inverted and displayed in Corel. On this particular Photo the border shows up on the top and bottom. The Photo was prepared in Photoshop with only a slight adjustment with Curves, no cropping and a converson to Greyscale. The origional Photo was prepared by a local Studio in Photoshop and saved as a .bmp.
Thanks for the tips , I think your right about the transparancy, i'll give the PNG format a try.
Thanks,
Mike