CorelDRAW Graphics Suite 11 Upgrade

For example, in CorelDRAW there are now new "three-point" tools for drawing rectangles, ellipses, and curves. With each, you click to fix the first point, stretch out to define an axis or baseline, and click again to complete the object. The new Polyline tool enables you to create lines and objects segment by segment, where each segment can be straight or curved. The Pen tool offers a quick way to create Bezier curves.

CorelDRAW 11 introduces Symbols to its repertoire, too, so you can save and reuse drawing elements in a clip-board-style library. Using symbols saves considerable file space, which can be particularly important when drawing Web graphics.

Corel Photo-Paint 11 is to bitmap editing what CorelDRAW is to vector drawing. In many ways a competitor to Adobe Photoshop, the new version of Photo-Paint includes more improvements for Web artists. You can now slice images into a number of small parts to aid quick downloads and create rollovers for buttons and image maps, so they appear differently when pointed to or clicked. The program also supports JPEG 2000 files, so you can save your images in this new high-compression format.

The Cut-out masking tool helps extract foreground images from picture files and create objects from them that you can incorporate into other pictures. While not as comprehensive as Corel's own stand-alone KnockOut product, it's a useful tool in its own right. Red-eye removal from portrait photos can be a nuisance, but the new red-eye removal tool replaces red pixels with their greyscale equivalents. Various other effects within Photo-Paint add to its usefulness--things like enhanced lens flare, improved bevels, and reworked image stitching for panoramic photos.

The third part of the suite is Corel R.A.V.E., a Macromedia Flash animation creator. This module now uses a very similar interface to CorelDRAW and incorporates most of the same tools. It also offers tools and effects specific to its animation role, such as tweening of text on a path and of the program's predefined library objects, Perfect Shapes. Export of graphics to Macromedia Flash has been improved and includes the ability to export text as text rather than curves, which saves considerable file space.

Overall, the latest version of Corel Graphics Suite shows the company has once again proven itself to be a real player in the graphic design space. --Simon Williams

Amazon.com Product Description
Designed to make your work more enjoyable, CorelDRAW Graphics Suite 11 features software for graphic design, page layout, photo editing, and vector animation. It offers live feedback, extensive compatibility, and a full range of output options. The suite includes CorelDRAW 11, Corel Photo-Paint 11, and Corel R.A.V.E. 2.

Reduce the number of steps it takes to complete your tasks. Use the new 3-Point Ellipse, Rectangle, and Curve tools to achieve the exact size and rotation you want in two clicks. Draw both curves and lines with the Polyline tool. Symbols support has also been added, letting you reduce the number of elements in your designs and reuse the most common elements to save time and shrink your file sizes.

Corel Photo-Paint 11 and Corel R.A.V.E. 2 offer a host of new features as well. Use the CutOut tool to quickly mask complex objects. Load large images onto a Web page faster by breaking them into segments with the Image Slicing tool. Produce compact animations for the Web in minutes with the R.A.V.E. 2 Flash Filter. And create advanced text transitions and effects by animating text on a path and using customizable shapes to create quick animations.