Some software upgrades are just minor enhancements;
others qualify as true events. Although it's not as
extensive an overhaul as that of version 9, CorelDraw 10
Graphics Suite has lots of new goodies, as well as a
new vector-animation program, Corel R.A.V.E, similar in
concept to Macromedia Flash.
Corel streamlined the interfaces for both CorelDraw (vector illustration) and Photo-Paint (image editing). Both programs share the new colour-management tools and Export to Web preview dialog box. The colour-management feature is wisely designed, showing you exactly how all the device colour spaces interact and making it reasonably simple for a novice to actually use profiles by selecting presets optimised for specialised tasks -- desktop printing, professional output, and Web.
CorelDraw gains one major new feature -- customisable shape objects retain their proportions and connection hot spots -- and many little enhancements to drawing tools. But our favourite addition is the Undo list, a feature usually found in image-editing programs. By preserving the last 20 or so steps and letting us step backwards and forwards, the Undo list gave us experimental flexibility that was impossible with the old single Undo command. CorelDraw now lets you create rollover graphics (Web buttons) and optimise graphics for the Web, a la Adobe ImageReady and Macromedia Fireworks.
The most prominent new feature in Photo-Paint is the ability to flow text on a path. We were delighted to see that now, when text is modified, it remains editable without losing any of its attributes, as it did in version 9. We still find Photo-Paint a bit underpowered compared to Photoshop in the color-correction department. On the other hand, Photo-Paint's infinitely configurable natural media brushes rival those in Painter and add interesting effects such as Orbits, which let you paint with pods and rings.
The newest family member in the CorelDraw suite, Corel R.A.V.E., comes equipped with the usual complement of animation functions -- layers, timeline window, animation objects along a path, blending objects over time (tweening) and adding sound bites to movies. Finished documents may be exported to Flash (SWF), GIF, AVI (Video or Windows) or MOV (QuickTime) format. R.A.V.E's interface feels like a natural extension of CorelDraw, adding a time dimension to 2D artwork.
You can't import Flash, so if you have a portfolio of them you want to use, you're out of luck unless you first save them out in AVI or MOV format. We also had a few problems with Draw and Photo-Paint, most notably the case of the disappearing toolbars. Apparently, the tools sometimes become "unregistered" -- an annoying, but not fatal, flaw.
CorelDraw 10 Graphics Suite
Company: Corel
Ph: 1800 658 850; Fax: 02 9006 1500
Price: ERP AU$1,370.
Rating: 4 Star
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