In coreldraw is there a way....?

[Darren Null]

...of just including the visible parts of a graphic when saving? A 'just do it' button? When one filled object overlays a part of another, the lines are still there, and print out....been caught out by that before.

I know I can just export a bitmap, but I was wondering if there's a better more pure vector way?

[Andrea Weissenseel]

Darren, why don't you "cut" the overlay away ?

[Darren Null]

Too many layers and it's quite complicated. Also, I started with 2 old graphics and I've completely forgotten what's in there. I know I should clean up as I go along, but this particular graphic has gone past critical mass for repairs.

I was hoping for something like photoshop's 'flatten image' button, but in vector. Or at least an 'if I can't see it, don't print it' button.

No matter. I'll export a bitmap for lasering.

[Andrea Weissenseel]

that's what I meant, like the flatten function, by using forms > simplify

[Darren Null]

There's Arrange --> Shaping --> Simplify
...that I can find, but that just stuffs the whole thing up.

[Peter Meacham]

Darren

Can you go into Object Manager, select the objects that you do not want to see or print, and mark them that way (that is, gray out the eye and print icons for those objects). You can now either print the remaining objects or select them to cut and paste into a new page if you wish.

I think there are a couple of ways to get to what you want to do, which is to select and print (or save) only selected objects in a drawing.

Pete

[Darren Null]

Also good advice. I asked the original question, by the way, in a spirit of scientific enquiry...just in case there was a vector 'magic bullet' that would do the the desired auto-tidy. It's not critical and I can (and probably will) export it as a bitmap just to make sure it lasers right.

The problem is overlapping objects. Part of the image is a boat and jellyfish in waves, for example. So I drew the whole boat, and just filled the wave, thus leaving most of the boat poking out from the wave, but part of it is behind the wave fill. So if I lasered that, the machine would print ALL of the boat, despite it not being visible to me because it's hidden by wave fill.

It's a lazy way of doing things I know, but front minus back etc. for every single object takes quite some time and sometimes doesn't work, depending upon the complexity of what I'm trying to do. So I draw the whole object (or enough of it so I can move it around and position things to my satisfaction) and partially 'hide' it behind fill from a layer above. Which of course leaves odds and ends that are there, but obscured. And would print if I wasn't careful.

Simplify seems to work only for a very limited amount of complexity.
Removing/not printing selected objects isn't the thing because I want to print every object, just not ALL of every object.

So the answer to my question would appear to be 'no magic bullet'; with a self-administered 'do it properly next time, you slacker'.

Thanks for the help guys.

[Bill Gailey]

I have the same situation a lot and the way I do it is after making my drawing in however many layers it is I convert it to a bitmap with at least 200 dpi and then go through coreltrace and it only traces the lines you see in the bitmap and once again you have a vector drawing. Be sure to slide the detail slider all the way to the right after tracing and you should have a very clear and accurate vector file with nothing in the background.

[Darren Null]

That's the solution. There is an upper size/complexity limit to corel's trace, but it's always possible to do it in chunks. Thanks. Good one.

[Lee DeRaud]

Seems like a "vector-only" solution has to involve SmartFill: filling every 'exposed' shape and deleting the underlying objects. It's the only tool that cares much about the Z-order of unselected objects.

[Steve Clarkson]

I've had the same problem, so I'm very interested in finding a solution to this.

I know there is some type of lens tool that might be the answer......I've just never used it.......

[Rodne Gold]

You mean it starts cutting under a fill? Or vector engraving under a fill?
Try turning off vector or selecting raster only in your driver when engraving it.

[Brian Robison]

I think I understand and have has the same problem.
I've learned to convert to a 600dpi bitmap. Brass and wood get expensive fast.

[Darren Null]

You mean it starts cutting under a fill? Or vector engraving under a fill?
Try turning off vector or selecting raster only in your driver when engraving it.
Do you know, I've not even seen this option. After a few early attempts where I was working out the machine settings, I've got both Corel and the printer driver set to 'just bloody print what i tell you to and no arguing back'. So I just use the speed/power/PPI settings; and a different setup for the rotary that's basically 'no interference and please don't smack the head against the end of the rotary again'. I don't really trust the printer driver (or Corel) not to stuff my carefully crafted pixels, so I set it on full manual and left it there. I think I'll still go with exporting the bitmap for the moment, because I'll forget I've set it otherwise.

I know there is some type of lens tool that might be the answer
If you find it, let me know. All the other solutions are quite labour-intensive.

Seems like a "vector-only" solution has to involve SmartFill: filling every 'exposed' shape and deleting the underlying objects. It's the only tool that cares much about the Z-order of unselected objects.
That's part of the solution. Also 'front-minus-back', 'weld' and 'simplify'. Of late, if I want a 'production quality graphic', I'll spend the extra time and have 3 areas of my document:
1) Templates and shape constructors
2) The 'working area' where I assemble the graphic
3) The 'showroom' area where I add the elements in 1 at a time and make sure that everything is properly welded etc. and that the only things that are there are what's visible.
So I save the above as document-working.cdr and just the showroom bit as document-production.cdr...that way I have a lightweight perfect document to print from/sell on and access to all the bits I used to make it, so I can change it later if needs be.

All this is a colossal PITA though and there should be an easier way.

To be honest, it's not a situation that comes up that often...most of the documents I use are either simple or are just not worth the trouble when a quick-and-nasty export-as-bitmap will do it.
So it's not that big a problem, unless you forget or are using clipart that has flaws...and you only need to get copped once with expensive material and you soon learn to export as a bitmap in cases where there's an element of doubt.

If anyone finds a 'Perfectify it NOW' button, though, I'd like to hear about it.

[Kevin L. Waldron]

CoCut Professional will do what you want by colors. It is a 3rd part add-on for sign making. The program is a little pricey but it will do what you want and works as a macro/addon with Corel.


Flexi-sign is another program that will give you what you want but it is a stand alone separate program also for vinyl cutting and sign making also somewhat pricey.

You probably need more horse power than Corel alone.

Kevin

[Darren Null]

If a $300 app doesn't have enough horses, then I'll go by bicycle. :D

It's not a situation I need enough to justify expense; particularly when there's 3 options to get round the problem:
-export as bitmap
-do it properly in the first place
-moan at corel until they put a perfectify button in. Not that they listen. The trace routine STILL sucks (but at least the centerline trace is back).

[Rodne Gold]

Well you can use the find ojects dialog and find all outlines of hairwidth and turn em off of delete or change em ..look at the find and replace dialog boxes , very powerful for finding selection sets ...

[Michael Hunter]

Darren - Just love the Perfectify button!

Almost every piece of software could do with one - you should patent it.

[Dan Hintz]

All software should be nothing more than a big, green 'GO' button. Anything else is simply a distraction...

[Darren Null]

I've found the perfectify button! It's.......
Inkscape (http://www.inkscape.org/)

For the one person still unaware, Inkscape is a free vector program that has any number of fantastic attributes. Well worth a download. And stop smoking and playing with yourself there at the back and pay more attention in future.

So I can now put together a complicated vector as fast and shoddily as I like with no fear of vector 'hanging chads' and print surprises. The workflow now goes like:

1) Assemble your graphic as sloppily as you like in corel

2) Export as a graphic (I used .PNG and it seemed to go well enough)

3) Trace in inkscape. Assuming a black & white exported image, you want the threshold quite high to pick up detail...0.85 I used

Et voila! Working file in case you need changes and production file (you don't need to keep the bitmap after you've traced it, so there's a HDD space saving too). The production file is a plain SVG which corel can have problems with* but just import, resize & print...good to go.

*attempting to break apart an svg file just gives me a divide by zero/disappear up own backside sort of mode in corel. Your mileage may vary.

EDIT: For the record, here's the svg file. In retrospect I should have cranked up the threshold a little more. The only visible difference between this and the original file is that a couple of strands of the spiderweb are a little thinner than the original...and that's my fault for not getting the settings quite right. The corel trace 1) bitched about the size of the graphic 2) took 10x longer and 3) sucked when it eventually arrived. Inkscape just did it. *pling!*
It's a t-shirt-sized sarcastic take on the town crest that I'm going to:
a) make some money from
b) get into trouble about
or
c) both.

[Aaron Koehl]

Darren,

I know you've found an acceptable solution, but I'm having trouble understanding the problem. Could you post a visual? a CDR or something, where Simplify doesn't work?

[Darren Null]

The working file for the above. Simplify doesn't work on it; and I have to do something to it, because there's outlines etc tucked under other bits; which would print.

Export as bitmap and trace in Inkscape does the job.

[Rodne Gold]

The problems is you have hairwidth (IE vector) lines in that drawing
Just use find objects
/outline properties/
/hairwidth (or whatever your vector line threshold is)
/find all
.. group em and change them to a line with some width (in properties)...you wont have underlying lines vectoring as there are no vector enabled lines in the drawing...
Where you have to be careful is if you have "scale with graphic" ticked in outline properties , cos if you make that graphic smaller , albeit you might have given hairlines width , they revert back to hairlines when the scale gets small enough...

[Darren Null]

It's a bit involved, and things can still go wrong. I think I'll stick with the export and trace. That'll allow me to keep my slovenly ways. And more importantly, it's one less thing that I have to remember.

[Rodne Gold]

It's actually only slightly involved one time as you can save the parameters you use to search for vector lines and just load that search the next time .

[Darren Null]

But you still have to remember to do it. Speaking as one who has been to town wearing carpet slippers; I'd point out the flaw in your plan if I could only put my finger on what it was again....

[Rodne Gold]

I give up - I'm sorry that the actual solution to this problem requires some work on the users part :)

[Darren Null]

It's not the work...any solution involves an amount of work. It's the remembering. And your way is almost certainly quicker than firing up inkscape on this laptop. But it does leave a potential surprise lurking in the graphic that you have to remember about. And remembering about stuff isn't my personal strong point. May well work for others though.

[Lee DeRaud]

It's not the work...any solution involves an amount of work. It's the remembering.Oh, great, you not only want a "perfectify" button, you want it to push itself.:p

More seriously, is there a way to make a VBA function hook into an existing command (e.g. an 'onPrint()' function hook)? I suppose you can assign a custom function to the 'print' menu entry and/or toolbar icon and then call the "real" print function on exit, but that sounds like a kludge, not to mention a pig to install cleanly.