Corel upgrade compatabilty

[Dave Hutton]

hi Chaps

i have discovered that I can get a 'trade in' price on my old embroidery software for a spanking new version of Wilcom which in itself is a stonking good deal at nearly 50% off list.

As part of the package it includes Corel Draw X6 which might not be a bad idea to upgrade to as I'm currently running 11 (and 8 on a couple of machines :eek: )

My question is will X6 open version 8 and 11 files? I did try to ask corel themselves but got two different operators in the Philippines who said someone would get in touch with Canada, who would get in touch with UK sales - a little dysfunctional as I phoned a UK number! I'm still waiting not surprisingly so thought I'd ask actual users.

im guessing yes but be nice to know.

ill end up getting Corel plus a industry standard Wilcom embroidery package for around £900 inc taxes all in which has got to be a bargain .

cheers

dj

[Roy Sanders]

Tell ya what. Send me a file in both versions. I will open them in x6 and tell you what happened. I will even post a screen shot of whatever it is you send.

Roy

[Kev Williams]

I have a Corel 9 on my old win98, I don't hardly use it, but my CorelX4 will open those files...My BIL has X6 and I know it'll open Corel 10, so I would think you'd be okay...

[Glen Monaghan]

You might have issues with the colors coming through differently since they changed the way those work. PITA if you use color coding for speed/power/etc. but fixable.

[Lee DeRaud]

You might have issues with the colors coming through differently since they changed the way those work. PITA if you use color coding for speed/power/etc. but fixable.Possibly, but the palette info is embedded in the document, so the issue shouldn't arise until you add elements to the drawing.

[Glen Monaghan]

As I recall, merely opening an older version document in the newer version program resulted in changed colors. So, for example, a 100% red/0% green/0% blue object in the original document showed up as some slightly different shade of red when opened in the new version program, which caused havoc if you didn't check and correct before running with color mapping turned on. As long as it was (re)saved in the older version format, the problem kept coming back.

[Mike Null]

If you're working with the typical RGB palette I don't see any issue. I started with 8 and have X7 and have never had an issue opening files. If color is an issue I resort to my PMS book for matches.

[Glen Monaghan]

If memory serves, it was when X5 was released that Corel completely revamped the way they handled colors. When you opened a file from a previous version with embedded color profiles that match the new default color spaces, the file opened properly. But, when embedded profiles in the file didn't match the application default, an ICC-compliant conversion of the document's color spaces was made to match to those of the application. And if the document simply had no color profiles, X5's default color profiles were applied, which could cause a color shift.

There were threads here about people having problems with this and how you had to adjust X5's color management setting defaults to deal with it. The primary color mode defaulted to CMYK and had to be changed to RGB, turn off "map gray to CMYK black", set spot colors to RGB (I think default was Pantone conversion), and turn off the color engine that had something to do with keeping color representations consistent among applications (such as between Adobe and Corel apps, but not needed when working only in CD and sending straight to laser).

[John Bion]

Hi Dave, I have no problems opening old files with either X6 or X7, aside from (very rare) pink lines instead of red, but that is quick to sort.
Kind Regards, John

[Lee DeRaud]

If memory serves, it was when X5 was released that Corel completely revamped the way they handled colors. When you opened a file from a previous version with embedded color profiles that match the new default color spaces, the file opened properly. But, when embedded profiles in the file didn't match the application default, an ICC-compliant conversion of the document's color spaces was made to match to those of the application. And if the document simply had no color profiles, X5's default color profiles were applied, which could cause a color shift.

There were threads here about people having problems with this and how you had to adjust X5's color management setting defaults to deal with it. The primary color mode defaulted to CMYK and had to be changed to RGB, turn off "map gray to CMYK black", set spot colors to RGB (I think default was Pantone conversion), and turn off the color engine that had something to do with keeping color representations consistent among applications (such as between Adobe and Corel apps, but not needed when working only in CD and sending straight to laser).OK, I see what you're talking about. The as-installed Corel defaults have been off to some degree ever since I started using it. I just followed the ULS-specific setup instructions I had at each install, which made all the changes you describe.

But I don't consider inappropriate defaults a compatibility issue, unless of course they cannot be changed.

[Scott Shepherd]

It was a much larger problem with it came out. I don't recall all the details, but it was a substantial problem for a lot of people. If memory serves me correctly, and I'll just make up some details for illustration, but it was something like all the older versions might have a color for red that was mapped successfully to the red that the lasers saw. However, when the new version came out, and it was instructed to turn off the color management engine by laser manufacturers, it meant that that red was now orange and it no longer successfully mapped itself in the driver as a red line to cut. It skewed all the colors, and skewed them enough so that they wouldn't work.

It was a pretty big problem. I don't recall how it got corrected, or if it even did, but I do remember a little of the issue.

[Lee DeRaud]

It was a much larger problem with it came out. I don't recall all the details, but it was a substantial problem for a lot of people.
...I
t was a pretty big problem. I don't recall how it got corrected, or if it even did, but I do remember a little of the issue.Could well be. I recall some of the discussion you describe, don't recall if it was X5, X6, or both. As it happens, I skipped those two upgrades, and apparently X7 (and/or the latest ULS driver) is much better-behaved: zero issues (for me at least) once the required tweaks to the global settings are made and saved.