Corel X4 upgrade

[Tim Baude]

I have used Cole X4 for years. I want to update to the newest version, but Corel has said I won’t be able to use any of the files I have saved. Any thoughts and ideas so I don’t lose all my previous files as I use them often again and again. TIA

[Robert L Stewart]

That's odd. I started with CDX3, used that version for years and created hundreds of files. Then went to X6 without any issues with old files.
Sorry to hear about what they told you.

[Kev Williams]

I've been using X3 and X4 for as long as they've been out, cut my teeth on 9 ;

-My BIL who works for me has the 2020 version, he'd been using X6 since it came out- anyway, far as I know he has no problems running the X4 files I make for him to use. Not sure if he's got the 2021 yet or not- he'll be back to work Monday, I'll find out! :)

Meanwhile, my experience: Using X3 and X4, I can say that X4 was a BIG improvement over X3; the X4 main "table" menu is much better as it saves 'favorites', X3 did not, and the file/folder menu in X3 is a set size, in X4 you can expand it to fit the whole screen, and more flyout "outlines" options in X4. The ONLY reason I keep using X3 is because it imports DXF files with the text oriented as it should be, whereas X4 does NOT. I've never figured out why, or a solution to the problem. The problem is, much of the text within DXF files imported into X4 comes in left-justified, regardless of the original file; all text that SHOULD be CENTERED on its horizontal centerline ends up left-justified against that centerline. AND, any other tweaks don't seem to make the trip, text in X3 comes in exactly as the file was layed out...

This is a screenshot I just made,
on top is an engraving layout imported into X4,
below is the exact same file imported into X3...
470886
notice the left-alignment problem, and that the text in the X3 version is slightly condensed to fit...

If I could figure out how to fix that problem, I'd never use X3 again! :)

THAT all said-- I HAVE played with my BIL's X6 and 2020 versions, and frankly I'm WAY more comfortable with X4.
The BIL does more 'original design' work than I do, and he really likes the 2020 version.
-98% of my work, graphics and text files are supplied by my customers, which is fine by me. ;)

Just a thought, before spending what Corel wants for the new version, look into a trial version first...

[Lee DeRaud]

I have used Cole X4 for years. I want to update to the newest version, but Corel has said I won’t be able to use any of the files I have saved. Any thoughts and ideas so I don’t lose all my previous files as I use them often again and again. TIAAre they talking about data files or macros?

I don't have the "newest" subscription-only version, but I do have CD2019: it still opens files dated from when I got the laser in 2005, created with what I think was CD12. But I've got some add-in macro packages that haven't worked since about X5 or X6, with no updated versions available. (I suspect they changed something obscure in the object model when they went to 64-bit...oddly enough it never affected any of the macros I wrote myself.)

[Lee DeRaud]

Just looked at the Wikipedia entry for Coreldraw, there's a version-history table that shows which version will read/write which.
And yup, the current version (23, AKA 2021) will only read back to 15/X5. The 2019 will go back to 7, not X7 but 7, as in 1996-vintage. Another oddity is that v23 requires Win10/11, presumably will not run on Win7. (The entry for v22, AKA 2020, is blank for those file compatibility values, but it does run on Win7.)

If it was me, I'd see about getting access to a copy of 2019 (or anything X5 or newer) long enough to cycle your files through it, then upgrade to 2021 if you really want it.
[EDIT]As an alternative, Inkscape will open CDR files. You can then save it as PDF and import the PDF into Corel. Not sure how well Inkscape handles multi-page CDR files, but so it goes. At least there's a (free) fall-back.

[Lee DeRaud]

And a big thank-you for pointing this out: I doubt Corel would bother to mention this to someone upgrading from a more recent version.