Circled numbers correspond to the numbers in the following table, which describes
the main components of the application window. Artwork by Firman Hatibu.
Part Description
1. Toolbox Provides tools for creating and modifying objects in the drawing
2. Document tab Lets you quickly move between open documents
3. Title bar Displays the title of the currently selected drawing
4. Menu bar Contains pull-down menu options
5. Toolbar Contains shortcuts to menu and other commands
6. Drawing window The area outside the drawing page bordered by the scroll bars and
application controls
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Part Description
7. Property bar A detachable bar with commands that relate to the active tool or
object. For example, when the Text tool is active, the text property
bar displays commands for creating and editing text.
8. Docker Displays task- and tool-related controls, such as command buttons,
options, and list boxes for modifying drawings
9. Rulers Horizontal or vertical bars marked off in units and used to
determine the size and position of objects
10. Document palette A detachable bar that contains color swatches for the current
document
11. Document navigator Provides controls for managing pages
12.Drawing page The printable area inside the drawing window
13. Status bar Displays object position and properties, such as type, size, color, fill,
and resolution
14. Navigator A button that opens a smaller display to help you move around a
drawing
15. Color palette A detachable bar that contains color swatches
To toggle between displaying and hiding the rulers, see “To hide or display the rulers” on page 774.
You can customize the appearance of the application workspace by setting a scaling level, choosing a theme, and changing the color
of the desktop and the window borders. For more information, see “Customize workspace appearance” on page 995.
Standard toolbar
The standard toolbar, which appears by default, contains buttons and controls that are shortcuts to many of the menu commands. For
information about customizing the contents and appearance of the toolbar, see “Customize toolbars and other command bars” on page
1000.
Click this button To
Start a new drawing
Open a drawing
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Click this button To
Save a drawing
Choose and open a document from the Cloud.
Save and upload a document to the Cloud.
Print a drawing
Cut selected objects to the Clipboard
Copy selected objects to the Clipboard
Paste the Clipboard contents into a drawing
Undo an action
Restore an action that was undone
Import a drawing
Export a drawing
Publish to PDF
Set a zoom level
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Click this button To
Display Full-screen preview
Show or hide rulers
Show or hide grid
Show or hide guidelines
Disable all snapping. Click again to restore the selected snapping
options.
Enable or disable automatic alignment for the pixels, document
grid, baseline grid, guidelines, objects, and page
Open the CorelDRAW Options dialog box
Start Corel applications and plug-ins, or access the Get More
dialog box to download other creative tools
More about toolbars
In addition to the standard toolbar, CorelDRAW has toolbars for specific tasks. For example, the Text toolbar contains commands relevant to
using the Text tool. If you use a toolbar frequently, you can display it in the workspace at all times.
For information about customizing the position, contents, and appearance of toolbars, see “Customize toolbars and other command bars”
on page 1000.
The following table describes toolbars other than the standard toolbar.
Toolbar Description
Zoom Contains commands for zooming in and out of a drawing page by
specifying percentage of original view, clicking the Zoom tool, and
selecting a page view
Text Contains commands for formatting and aligning text
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Toolbar Description
Layout Contains commands for converting objects to PowerClip frames
and text frames, displaying alignment guides as well as setting
columns and margins
Transform Contains commands for skewing, rotating, and mirroring objects
Macros Contains commands for editing, testing, and running macros
Internet Contains commands for web-related tools for creating rollovers and
publishing to the Internet
Project Timer Contains controls that let you track the time spent on project tasks
To toggle between displaying and hiding a toolbar, click Window Toolbars , and click the command with the toolbar name.
To lock all toolbars so that you don’t inadvertently change their position, click Window Toolbars Lock toolbars.
Toolbox
The toolbox contains tools for drawing and editing images. Some of the tools are visible by default, while others are grouped in flyouts.
Flyouts open to display a set of related CorelDRAW tools. A small flyout arrow in the lower-right corner of a toolbox button indicates a
flyout. You can access the tools in a flyout by clicking the flyout arrow. After you open a flyout, you can easily scan the contents of other
flyouts by hovering over any of the toolbox buttons which have flyout arrows.
In the default workspace, clicking the flyout arrow on the Shape tool opens the Edit Shape Tools flyout.
Some tools in the toolbox are not visible by default. You can choose which tools to display in the toolbox.
Locate tools
The following illustration shows all flyouts in the default CorelDRAW toolbox and can help you locate tools more easily.
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To toggle between displaying and hiding the toolbox, click Window Toolbars Toolbox.
To hide or display tools in the toolbox, click the Quick customize button , and enable or disable the corresponding check boxes.
For more information, see “Customize the toolbox” on page 1003.
The following table provides descriptions of the tools in the CorelDRAW toolbox.
Pick tools
The Pick tool lets you select, size, skew, and
rotate objects.
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Pick tools
The Freehand pick tool lets you select
objects by using a freehand selection
marquee.
The Free transform tool lets you transform
an object by using the Free rotation, Free
angle reflection, Free scale, and Free skew
tools.
Edit shape tools
The Shape tool lets you edit the shape of
objects.
The Smooth tool lets you smooth curved
objects to remove jagged edges and reduce
the number of nodes.
The Smear tool lets you shape an object by
pulling extensions or making indents along
its outline.
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Edit shape tools
The Twirl tool lets you create swirl effects by
dragging along the edge of objects.
The Attract and Repel tool lets you shape
objects by attracting nodes to the cursor or
pushing nodes away from the cursor.
The Smudge tool lets you distort a vector
object by dragging along its outline.
The Roughen tool lets you distort the
outline of a vector object by dragging along
the outline.
Crop tools
The Crop tool lets you remove unwanted
areas in objects.
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Crop tools
The Knife tool lets you slice objects, groups
of objects, and bitmaps along any path you
specify.
The Virtual segment delete tool lets you
delete portions of objects that are between
intersections.
The Eraser tool lets you remove areas of
your drawing.
Zoom tools
The Zoom tool lets you change the
magnification level in the drawing window.
The Pan tool lets you control which part
of the drawing is visible in the drawing
window.
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Curve tools
The Freehand tool lets you draw single line
segments and curves.
The 2-point line tool lets you draw a
straight two-point line segment.
The Bézier tool lets you draw curves one
segment at a time.
The Pen tool lets you draw curves one
segment at a time.
The B-spline tool lets you draw curved lines
by setting control points that shape the
curve without breaking it into segments.
The Polyline tool lets you draw lines and
curves in preview mode.
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Curve tools
The 3-point curve tool lets you draw a
curve by defining the start, end, and center
points.
Drawing tools
The Painterly Brush tool lets you apply a
pixel-based brushstroke with a paint, dry
media, or digital brush.
The Artistic media tool provides access
to the Preset , Vector Brush, Sprayer,
Calligraphic , and Expression tools.
The Smart drawing tool converts your
freehand strokes to basic shapes and
smoothed curves.
The LiveSketch ™ tool lets you sketch
naturally with intelligent stroke adjustment.
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Rectangle tools
The Rectangle tool lets you draw rectangles
and squares.
The 3-point rectangle tool lets you draw
rectangles at an angle.
Ellipse tools
The Ellipse tool lets you draw ellipses and
circles.
The 3-point ellipse tool lets you draw
ellipses at an angle.
Shape tools
The Polygon tool lets you draw symmetrical
polygons and stars.
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Shape tools
The Star tool lets you draw perfect stars.
The Spiral tool lets you draw symmetrical
and logarithmic spirals.
The Common shapes tool lets you
choose from a full set of shapes, including
hexagram, a smiley face, and a right-angle
triangle.
The Impact tool lets you create graphic
effects in a style inspired by comic books
and contemporary illustrations.
The Graph paper tool lets you draw a grid
of lines similar to that on graph paper.
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Text tools
The Text tool lets you type words directly on
the screen as artistic or paragraph text.
The Table tool lets you draw and edit tables.
Dimension tools
The Parallel dimension tool lets you draw
slanted dimension lines.
The Horizontal or vertical dimension
tool lets you draw horizontal or vertical
dimension lines.
The Angular dimension tool lets you draw
angular dimension lines.
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Dimension tools
The Segment dimension tool lets you
display the distance between end nodes in
single or multiple segments.
The 2-leg callout tool lets you draw a
callout with a two-segment leader line.
Connector tools
The Connector tool lets you draw straight,
right-angle, and rounded right-angle
connector lines.
The Anchor editing tool lets you modify
connector line anchor points.
Effect tools
The Drop shadow tool lets you apply a
drop shadow behind or below an object.
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Effect tools
The Inner shadow tool lets you apply a
shadow inside an object.
The Contour tool lets you apply a contour
to an object.
The Blend tool lets you blend two objects.
The Distort tool lets you apply a Push or
Pull distortion, a Zipper distortion, or a
Twister distortion to an object.
The Envelope tool lets you shape an object
by dragging the nodes of the envelope.
The Extrude tool lets you apply the illusion
of depth to objects.
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Effect tools
The Block shadow tool lets you add solid
vector shadows to objects and text.
Transparency tool
The Transparency tool lets you apply
transparencies to objects.
Eyedropper tools
The Color eyedropper tool lets you select
and copy a color from an object on the
drawing window or the desktop.
The Attributes eyedropper tool lets you
select and copy object properties, such as
line thickness, size and effects, from an
object on the drawing window.
Fill tools
The Interactive fill tool lets you apply
various fills.
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Fill tools
The Smart fill tool lets you create objects
from enclosed areas and then apply a fill to
those objects.
The Mesh fill tool lets you apply a mesh
grid to an object.
Variable Outline tool
The Variable Outline tool lets you apply an
outline of variable widths to an object.
Outline tool
The Outline tool opens a flyout that gives
you quick access to items such as the
Outline pen dialog box and Outline color
dialog box. This tool is not displayed by
default in the toolbox. For information
about how to display it, see “To customize
the toolbox” on page 1003.
Property bar
The property bar displays the most commonly used functions that are relevant to the active tool or to the task you’re performing. Although
it looks like a toolbar, the property bar content changes depending on the tool or task.
For example, when you click the Text tool in the toolbox, the property bar displays text-related commands. In the example below, the
property bar displays text formatting, alignment, and editing tools.
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You can customize the contents and position of the property bar to suit your needs. For more information, see “Customize the property bar”
on page 1003.
To toggle between displaying and hiding the property bar, click Window Toolbars Property bar.
To hide or display controls on the property bar, click the Quick customize button , and enable or disable the corresponding
check boxes.
Dockers
Dockers display the same types of controls as a dialog box, such as command buttons, options, and list boxes. Unlike most dialog boxes, you
can keep dockers open while working on a document, so you can readily access the commands to experiment with different effects. Dockers
have features similar to palettes in other graphics programs.
Dockers can be either docked or floating. A docked docker is attached to the edge of the application window, a toolbar, or a palette. A
floating docker is not attached to a workspace element. If you open several dockers, they usually appear nested, with only one docker fully
displayed. You can display a docker hidden from view by clicking the docker’s tab.
You can move dockers, and you can collapse dockers to save screen space.
An example of a docker. When you open the Properties docker and click an object in
the drawing window, you can access various options for modifying object properties.
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In this example, the Properties and the Objects dockers are docked and nested. The Transform docker is floating.
To open a docker
• Click Window Dockers, and click a docker.
To open or close dockers, you can also click the Quick customize button on the right side of a docker, and enable or disable the
corresponding check boxes.
You can also close a docker by clicking the X button on its title bar. Clicking the X button on the title bar closes all nested dockers in a
group. To close only a specific docker, click the X button on the docker tab.
To move dockers
To move Do the following
A docker Drag the docker tab to a new location.
Multiple nested dockers Drag the title bar of the active docker to a new location.
To dock a floating docker
• Drag the docker’s title bar or tab to an edge of the drawing window and position the pointer along the edge. When a gray preview of
the docker’s position appears, release the mouse button.
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To collapse a docker
• Click the Collapse docker button on the docker’s title bar.
To expand a collapsed docker, click its tab.
Status bar
The status bar displays information about selected objects (such as color, fill type, outline, cursor position, and relevant commands). It also
displays document color information, such as the document color profile and color proofing status.
You can edit the fill and outline of selected objects by clicking the Fill and Outline icons on the status bar.
See “Customize the status bar” on page 1005 for information about customizing the contents and appearance of the status bar.
To hide the status bar
• To hide the status bar, click Window Toolbars Status Bar.
Document navigator
The document navigator is located below the drawing window and provides controls for managing pages. It is displayed by default, but you
can hide it.
To hide or display the document navigator
• Click View Document Navigator.
A check mark beside the Document Navigator command indicates that the document navigator is displayed.
Choose a workspace
CorelDRAW includes a collection of workspaces that are designed to help you increase your productivity. A workspace is a configuration
of settings that specifies how the various command bars, commands, and buttons are arranged when you open the application. You can
choose a workspace from the Welcome Screen, or you can switch to a different workspace from within the application.
The specialized workspaces in CorelDRAW are configured according to specific workflows or tasks, such as page layout work or illustrating.
Their purpose is to make more accessible the tools that you use most often.
The following table describes the available workspaces.
Workspace Description
Lite This workspace makes CorelDRAW’s most commonly used tools
and features more accessible. If you are new to CorelDRAW, the
Lite workspace is ideal for getting started.
Default This workspace has been redesigned to provide a more intuitive
placement of tools and controls.This workspace is ideal for users
who have experience with other vector graphics software, as well
as users who are familiar with CorelDRAW.
Help topics are based on the Default workspace.
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Workspace Description
Touch Optimized for touch-enabled devices, the Touch workspace is ideal
for field work and sketching. Complete your tasks by using touch,
dial, or a stylus, without needing a mouse or keyboard.
Illustration This workspace is designed to make the process of creating book
cover designs, magazine ads, storyboards, and other types of
illustrations more intuitive and efficient.
Page layout This workspace is optimized for arranging graphics and text objects
so you can create compelling layouts for business cards, branding
materials, product packaging, or multipage documents such as
brochures and newsletters.
Adobe Illustrator Simulates the Adobe Illustrator workspace by positioning the
CorelDRAW features where you would find the equivalent feature
in Adobe Illustrator. This workspace is useful if you recently
switched from Adobe Illustrator to CorelDRAW and you are not
familiar with the CorelDRAW workspace.
If you have a unique workflow, you can create a custom workspace that is optimized for your specific needs. For more information, see
“Create workspaces” on page 993.
To choose a workspace
• Click Window Workspace , and choose one of the available workspaces.
You can also choose a workspace from the Welcome Screen or from the Options dialog box (Tools Options Workspaces).
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