For example, in CorelDRAW X3, when you click a complex star with the Shape Tool, the Hints docker immediately provides the steps needed to perform mirror editing on the shape (see below).
You can also use the Hints docker to learn how to use complex tools and effects in Corel PHOTO-PAINT X3. For example, when you select the Clone Tool while editing an image, the Hints docker instantly displays quick tutorial information on how to perform detailed photo-retouching operations by cloning from one area of an image onto another (see below).
To open the Hints docker in CorelDRAW X3 or PHOTO-PAINT X3, choose Help > Hints, or choose Window > Dockers > Hints. In its default state, the Hints docker shows a list of basic tasks in hyperlink form. Just click a heading to explore a topic, and use the Back and Forward buttons to navigate between pages as you would any browser. You can click the Home button to reset the list, or you can click the Help button to open the traditional Help application (see below).
To experience how helpful the Hints docker is, follow these quick steps on creating a rounded-corner rectangle, rotating it 45 degrees, and applying a linear fountain fill:
- Launch CorelDRAW X3, open a new or existing document, and open the Hints docker by choosing Help > Hints.
- Choose the Rectangle Tool (F6) from the Toolbox, and draw a rectangle. You're not sure how to draw a rectangle? Just read the steps displayed in the Hints docker (see below).
- With the rectangle still selected, choose the Shape Tool (F10) from the Toolbox and round the corners interactively. If this procedure is new to you, use the Hints docker, which provides steps on how to round the rectangle corners (see below).
- With the rectangle corners rounded, choose the Pick Tool (press Spacebar), and click the selected shape to display the interactive rotation and skewing handles. Rotate the rectangle 45 degrees, using the steps provided in the Hints docker (see below).
- Apply a fountain fill to the rectangle by using the Interactive Fill Tool. If you've never used this particular tool before, just follow the instructions in the Hints docker to create and customize your fountain fill colors.
Expert Insights from Working Professionals
The new Insights from the Experts feature taps into the global Corel community and links you to a series of practical project tutorials written by experts. If you happen to frequent Corel's support newsgroups, you may even recognize some of the featured professionals, who include designers, illustrators, and cartoonists from Germany, Bulgaria, Denmark, Canada, the United States, and elsewhere. To access this new feature, just choose Help > Insights from the Experts (see below).
The Insights from the Experts Web page introduces you to your host tutorial authors and describes the projects you can tackle (see below). Click a project graphic to open one of the tutorials in Adobe® Acrobat® Reader®.
By following these tutorials, you'll discover strategies and techniques from professionals who use CorelDRAW and Corel PHOTO-PAINT. For example, you can learn photorealistic illustration effects, techniques for designing billboards and signage, and a method for creating t-shirt designs for screen printing (see below).
A Friendlier Face to Work With
Several improvements in CorelDRAW X3 make core competencies easier to use. If you're an experienced user upgrading to this version, the new Highlight What's New option lets you quickly ramp up to what's new and different. You can even customize the feature by choosing to highlight differences from specific past versions of either CorelDRAW X3 or Corel PHOTO-PAINT X3, as far back as version 9 (see below). The feature works independently of workspace preferences, which makes it truly convenient.
The color highlighting appears on Toolbox tools, Property Bar options, and menu commands (see below), so that you can quickly reap the benefits of recent changes virtually anywhere in the suite.
When you get down to the basics of vector drawing, you'll find that the new line drawing and editing functions in CorelDRAW X3 are now easier and more intuitive, thanks to new on-screen changes to feedback colors of nodes and curve handles. Node markers and curve handles now appear in blue instead of black. Curve handle markers are larger and now include arrowheads (see below), making them easier to spot against darker backdrops.
When the Shape Tool is being used for editing, unselected nodes appear as blue outlined markers, and selected nodes appear as solid blue squares. This same interface scheme is displayed when you use the Bézier Tool to draw shapes and lines (see below).
Improvements to object snapping and the accompanying on-screen snap point feedback in CorelDRAW X3 have made object snapping more precise. The location and display of perpendicular and tangent snap points make precision drawing much more intuitive (see below), improving on the extensive object-snapping capabilities added in version 12.
If you're a long-time CorelDRAW user, here's an enhancement you might easily miss. When the Shape Tool is used to edit object shapes, CorelDRAW has long allowed the curvature of curve segments to be altered by using a click-drag action. Improvements to the Shape Tool now enable you to move straight segments in the same way. Simply click anywhere on the line, and drag in any direction to reposition the segment while preserving its relative node positions (see below).
When working with objects created through tracing bitmap images or objects imported from other applications, you may often end up with excessive or redundant nodes. These extra nodes can sometimes cause problems in reproduction processes such as printing, plotting, or vinyl cutting. CorelDRAW X3 now includes a Reduce Nodes command button, which lets you instantly decrease the node population on a selected object without altering the object shape. You'll find this button on the Property Bar when you use the Shape Tool to edit a node selection.
To see just how efficient the Reduce Nodes command is, follow these quick steps:
- Choose the Shape Tool (F10), and select a shape that includes an excessive number of object nodes.
- Click the Select All Nodes button on the Property Bar to select all nodes on the object (see below). The Status Bar displays the total number of object nodes currently selected.
- Click the Reduce Nodes button on the Property Bar to eliminate the redundant nodes (see below). What remains is the minimum number of nodes needed to describe the shape.
While the object nodes are still selected, you can check the Status Bar to see how many nodes were successfully eliminated. In the example below, the Reduce Nodes command was applied to an overly complex ellipse, reducing the node population from 128 to a mere 4 nodes without visibly altering the object shape.
Although we've looked at several of the new features that make the CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X3 more powerful and intuitive to use, many users will already know why they've made it their graphics tool of choice. Ultimately, having more to like leads to more who like it.
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