Corel Draw!

Summary: How to transfer and convert Corel Draw files between Macintosh and PC. What you should know to master such data exchanges.
 

Introduction

Corel Draw! holds a specific position in the little circle of graphics packages for two main reasons: this program doesn't have any roots in the Macintosh word and there was a long time no Macintosh version. Corel recently launched a Macintosh package (a.k.a. of version 6), certainly to overcome this. As a matter of fact, Corel Draw! is often regarded as suspicious by graphists and other DTP professionals.

Exporting from Corel Draw!

The two formats of choice, to export files from Corel, are EPS and Illustrator 3. These formats are also used to import Macintosh graphics in Corel Draw!. Amongst the formats found in the "Save as" item, TIFF files and EPS files are certainly the best choices.

Importing Corel Draw! Files

Illustrator 7 for Windows may directly open the Corel Draw! files (*.CDR). You can then save the data as native Illustrator file or as EPS file.

Corel Draw! and EPS Files

It is reported that Corel Draw can open EPS files from the Macintosh without preview or with a PICT preview and save them with a Tiff preview. Such feature can be very handy if you have to position precisely an EPS file in a layout program, e.g. in PageMaker.

Importing Corel Draw! 2 Files from the Version 7 or Higher

Corel Draw! 7 can't read Corel Draw! 2 files (too much time has elapsed!). The best bet is to export from version 2 to something like WMF, or Illustrator, which will open in Corel Draw 7 or higher.

 
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