CorelDraw For Beginners

CorelDraw The Basics

Brellnet Computer College

CORELDRAW (THE BASICS)


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Introduction CorelDraw is a versatile computer graphics program that can be used to produce most types of documents such as:

� Logos � Letters � Letterheads � Notes � Manuals � Notices � Labels � Business cards � Greeting cards � Web pages � PDF documents � and so on

You do not have to be a graphics artist or computer expert to use CorelDraw, almost anybody who knows how to use a computer mouse to click can use it. Although over 12 versions of CorelDraw have been released, however, the basic mode of operations is the same in most versions. The course note will feature CorelDraw version 12.

Getting Started with CorelDraw How to start CorelDraw

� Click Start � All programs � CorelDraw Graphics Suite 12 � CorelDraw 12 � If a welcome screen appears, click the new icon

Note: These steps may vary slightly if you are using another version of CorelDraw.

Figure 1a Examples of CorelDRAW files

Figure 1a Samples of CorelDRAW files

Figure 1b CorelDRAW welcome screen



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CORELDRAW APPLICATION WINDOW

When you launch CorelDraw, the application window opens containing a drawing window. The rectangle in the center of the drawing window is the drawing page where you create your drawing. The CorelDraw application window appears below. A description of its parts follows.

PRACTICE SESSION 1: YOUR FIRST DRAWING

A good way to get started with CorelDraw is to practice. Hence, let us produce a very simple cover page.

1. click text tool (on the toolbox) 2. click anywhere on the drawing page

3. type ‘CorelDraw’ and press Enter key 4. type ‘for’ and press Enter key

5. type ‘Beginners’

6. click pick tool (on the toolbox)

Figure 2a CorelDRAW application window

Figure 2b

Exercise #1



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7. Ensure that text ‘CorelDraw for Beginners’ is highlighted otherwise click on it

OR

8. Click Font Size List drop down arrow

(Located on the Property bar) (8) 9. Click 100) (9) 10. Click Horizontal Alignment button

(Located on the Property bar) (10)

11. Click Horizontal Alignment button (Located on the property bar) (11)

12. Click Center Alignment (12) 13. Click Arrange item on the menu bar (13)



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14. Click Align and Distribute (14)

15. Click Center to Page (15) 16. Click any of the ‘color wells’ (color wells are boxes on the color palette)

Congratulations! – You’ve completed your first drawing.



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Figure 5b A page frame

Basic Concepts

COMMONLY USED TOOLS

A. The Rectangle tool Click on the Rectangle tool whenever you want to draw a box. Double-click the Rectangle tool to create a ‘page frame’ (a page frame is a box that covers the entire drawing page). PRACTICE SESSION 2: DRAWING A SIMPLE BOX

1.) Click the Rectangle tool 2.) Click and hold down your left-mouse-button on

an Empty space within your drawing page (2)

3.) Drag your mouse pointer diagonally while holding Down your mouse button (3)

4.) Release the mouse button (4) Label figure PRACTICE SESSION 3: CREATING A PAGE FRAME (A page frame is a box that covers the entire page. Page frames may be used as borders or page

backgrounds)

1.) Double click the Rectangle tool

2.) Click any of the color boxes on the color palette (this makes the presence of the rectangle apparent)

hold down left mouse button

Drag mouse pointer diagonally

release mouse button

Figure 5a Drawing a simple box



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B. The Pick tool Click on the Pick tool whenever you want to highlight or select an object or text. An object or text must be selected whenever you want to perform an operation on it. For example, if you want to change an object’s color or delete it, you have to first select it with the Pick tool.

HANDLES Whenever an object or text is selected, handles appear around the object. You can switch back and forth between the selection handles and the rotate handles by clicking on an object or text repeatedly. The eight (8) square shaped handles are the selection handle. The selection

handles may be used to adjust the size of an object. We would consider the rotate handles later. PRACTICE SESSION 4: USING HANDLES TO MANUALLY ADJUST THE

SIZE OF A RECTANGLE 1.) Draw a box (see practice session 2) 2.) Ensure that the box is selected otherwise click on it (2) (an

object is selected if the eight square shaped appear around it)

3.) Move your mouse pointer to any of the square-shaped handles (3) (Ensure that the mouse pointer changes to an arrow with two heads)

4.) Hold down your left mouse button 5.) Drag outwards (away from the center of the box) to

increase the box’s size Or inwards to reduce it

6.) Release the mouse button when you are satisfied with the size.

CORNER HANDLES AND CENTER HANDLES



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As earlier mentioned, eight (8) selection handles appear whenever an object is selected. The handles numbered in the following illustration 1, 3, 5, and 7 are corner handles while the handles numbered 2, 4, 6, 8 are center handles:

Whenever you use the mouse pointer to any of the four (4) handles at the corners an arrow with two heads that has a diagonal orientation appears. You can use any of these four (4) corner nodes to increase or reduce both the width and height of the object at the same time. However, when you the mouse pointer to any of the four (4) center handles an arrow with two heads that has a vertical or horizontal orientation appears. You

can use any of these four (4) center handles to increase or reduce either the width or height of the object.

PRACTICE SESSION 5: SETTING A SPECIFIC SIZE FOR A BOX

Corner handles Center handles



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Using CorelDraw, you may want to design a business card that measures 3.5 inches by 2.0 inches such as the sample business card shown bellow. Hence it is important to know how to set specific width and height for a box.

1.) Click an empty space within the

drawing window

(This is to ensure that nothing is highlighted) 2.) Click the Units

Selector drop down arrow

(On the Property bar - See Page 2)

3.) Click Inches 4.) Draw a box (see practice session 2) 5.) Ensure that the box is selected otherwise

click on it Ensure that the No proportional Scaling/Sizing Ratio Lock on the Property bar lock is OPEN otherwise click it (note: if the lock is open, leave it - do not click it) 6.) Type 3.5 and 2 into the first and second

object size Text boxes respectively.

NOTES:

� The resultant box will measure 3.5 inches (width) by 2 inches. This can be verified by looking at the left side of the Status bar at the bottom of the window

3.5 inches

2.0 inches

Figure 8a

A sample business card



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� Ensuring that the No proportional Scaling/Sizing Ratio Lock on the Property bar is OPEN allows you to freely size objects. If the lock is CLOSED you would not be able to set precise figures for BOTH width and height.

3.5 inches

2.0 inches

Figure 9a

A rectangle measuring 3.5 inches by 2 inches



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WORKING WITH COLORS You may apply any colors on selected or text in your drawing using the color palette. You may also choose to make an object or text transparent. Always ensure that the object That you want to apply a color to is selected before you click any of boxes on the color palette. If nothing is selected before you click a box on the color palette the following dialog box would appear:

Click the Cancel button when this occurs and then ensure that you use the Pick tool to select the object that you want apply a color on before choosing a color from the color palette. What if you click the OK button? Well, do not worry, you computer will not explode. If you click the OK button, the color you click becomes the default color. The default color is the color that CorelDraw automatically applies on new objects. TRANSPARENT OBJECTS

A transparent object is an object that is filled with no color, not even white. The first box of the color palette (1) can be used to make an object transparent. As illustrated bellow, the box labeled - B is an example of a transparent object whereas box C is filled with color white.



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EXPANDING THE COLOR PALETTE Click the color palette expander (2) to display additional columns of colors. OBJECT OUTLINE COLOR An object’s outline color is the color of its edge or frame. You may decide apply an outline color that differs from its fill color. The color palette can be used to apply both fill and outline colors. While the left mouse button used to apply fill

color, the right mouse button is used for outline color. PRACTICE SESSION 6:

WORKING WITH OUTLINE 1.) Draw a box 2.) Ensure that the object is selected

As illustrated (2) 3.) Right-click the any of the boxes on

The color palette 4.) Click the Outline Tool on the toolbox

(A fly out toolbar will appear (4) 5.) Click 24-Point outline (5) (this would

make the outline color more noticeable) If an object is selected, it’s fill color, outline color and outline width is displayed at the far right side of

the status bar (6).

Fill color

Outline color



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WORKING WITH ROUND SHAPES The Ellipse Tool (1) on the toolbar can be used to draw round shapes. It can be used to draw ellipses or prefect circles. Use the Ellipse Tool the same way you use the Rectangle Tool: PRACTICE SESSION 7: DRAWING AN ELLIPSE 1.) Click the Ellipse Tool on the toolbar

2.) Move your mouse pointer to an empty space on the Drawing Page

3.) Click and hold down your left mouse button 4.) While holding down the left mouse button, drag the mouse pointer away from

your starting point until it is a size that you want.

5.) Release the mouse button.



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PRACTICE SESSION 8: DRAWING A PERFECT CIRCLE 1.) Click the Ellipse Tool on the toolbar 2.) Move your mouse pointer to an empty space on the

Drawing Page 3.) Hold down the CTRL key (on your keyboard) 4.) Click and hold down your left mouse button 5.) While holding down the left mouse button and the

CTRL key on the keyboard, drag the mouse pointer away from your starting point until it is the size that you want.

6.) Release the mouse button 7.) Release the CTRL key

That was tough, wasn’t it? Why hold down the CTRL key USING CTRL AS CORELDRAW’S CONSTRAIN KEY CTRL key can be used as a constrain key in CorelDraw. The following are examples of instances when you can use CTRL as a constrain key: a.) If you want to draw a perfect circle (as in practice session 8)

b.) If you want to draw a perfect square using the Rectangle tool

c.) If you want to draw a straight line using the Freehand tool Other instances when you can use CTRL as CorelDraw’s constrain key would be considered later. SELECTING OBJECTS

The Pick tool can be used to select one or more objects. Selecting several objects at the same time enables you to work or such objects as a group instead of working on them individually. Let us consider two (2) methods of selecting several objects.



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MARQUEE SELECT Marquee select is to highlight objects by dragging the Pick tool diagonally while holding down the left mouse button and enclosing objects in a marquee box with dotted lines as illustrated below:

Whenever several objects are selected the status bar usually indicates the number of objects that are selected (1). CorelDraw deals with a group of selected objects as a single block with eight handles appearing Around the entire block. For instance, if you click on one of the color boxes of the color

palette while several objects are selected, they would

all be give the color you choose. If you press the DELETE key on your keyboard while several objects are selected, they would all disappear.



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SELECTING SEVERAL OBJECTS USING THE SHIFT KEY An alternative method of selecting several objects is using the SHIFT key. To accomplish this, press and hold down the SHIFT key while you click the items to be selected one after the other (while holding down the SHIFT key). Release the SHIFT after you have selected the last item. SELECTING ALL OBJECTS IN A PAGE It is also possible to select all objects in your drawing at once using any of the following methods: 1. Double click the PICK TOOL or 2. a.) Click EDIT on the menu bar, b.) Click SELECT ALL c.) Click OBJECTS

INTRODUCTION TO TEXT The Text tool allows you to add text (words) to your drawing. Whenever you are working with text, text formatting buttons and selectors appear on the property bar:

These can be used to change the appearance, size and alignment of text. To add text to you drawing, simply take the following steps:

1. Click the Text tool (or press F8) 2. Click where you want the text to appear on the Drawing Window 3. Type your text 4. Click the Pick tool (in order to select the typed text)

SELECTING / HIGHLIGHTING TEXT Text must be selected / highlighted in order to perform text formatting operations such as changing font (lettering style), text size, text alignment and

text color. You can highlight an entire block of text using the Pick tool . You

can also highlight some of the words in block of text using the Text tool – this would be demonstrated in our next practice session (9). PRACTICE SESSION 9: WORKING WITH TEXT

1.) Click the Text tool 2.) Click on an empty space on you drawing page 3.) Type “Sample text line 1” and press the Enter key 4.) Type “Sample text line 2” and press the Enter key

5.) Click the Pick tool ( At this point, the entire block of text should be highlighted with eight square handles. If this is not the case, click on the text block) (1)

(1)



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6.) Click Text Size selector on the property bar 7.) Click 72

8.) Click the Text tool 9.) Move your mouse pointer to the beginning of the

second line 10.) Press and hold down the left mouse button 11.) Drag the mouse pointer towards the right side

of this second line until the entire line is highlighted (ensure that the first line is not highlighted) (2)

12.) Click RED color well on the color palette. 13.) Click the Pick tool (to remove the text highlight and make the color format more

noticeable.) COMMENTS ON PRACTICE SESSION # 9

� Whenever the entire block of text is selected using the Pick tool, whatever format operations that are performed affects the entire block of text.

� Whenever a section of text block is selected (such as the second line of our

practice session #9) whatever format operations that are performed affects the selected section only.

(2)



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MOVING AN OBJECT OR TEXT FROM ONE POINT TO THE OTHER The Pick tool can be used to move an object from one position to another by ‘dragging’ the object whenever it is selected. But why would you want to move an object or text from one position to another? The following are examples of instances when you may want relocate objects or text:

� Moving an object from outside the Drawing page into the Drawing page because whatever is outside the Drawing page will not be printed whenever you decide to produce a hard copy of your drawing. (1)

� Placing text that was typed outside a rectangle inside as in the case of

designing a business card. (2) MOVING OBJECTS USING THE ARROW KEYS The arrow keys on the keyboard can also be used to move an object or text from one position whenever it is selected and the eight square handles appear around it. Pressing any of the arrow keys on the keyboard whenever an object or text is selected, move the selected object in the direction of the arrow key. However, how far will a selected object move when you press the arrow key? - This depends on the nudge offset setting. To illustrate, if the nudge offset is set to 2 inches, then selected objects will move downward by 2 inches whenever you press the down arrow key on you keyboard. It is recommended that you set your nudge offset to a small value such as 0.1 inches so that selected objects do not move too far whenever you press the arrow keys.

Sample text Sample text

(1)

U & I

U & I (2)



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HOW TO SET THE NUDGE OFFSET VALUE 1.) Click the Pick tool 2.) Click an empty space on your Drawing window

3.) Select inches from the Drawing Units selector of the Property bar 4.) Type 0.1 into the Nude Offset box

5.) Press the Enter key on the keyboard

Sample text

Sample text

2 inches



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DRAWING LINES AND CURVES

The Freehand tool (1) is used to draw lines and curves. PRACTICE SESSION 10: HOW TO DRAW A LINE

1. Click the Freehand tool (1) on the toolbox 2. Click the point where you want your line to start

On you drawing page (do not hold down you mouse button) 3. Click the point where you want the line to end

PRACTICE SESSION 11: USING THE CTRL KEY TO DRAW A VERTICAL OR HORIZONTAL LINE

1. Click the Freehand tool (1) on toolbox 2. Press and hold down the CTRL key on the keyboard 3. Click the point where you want the line to start (while still

holding down the CTRL key)

4. Click the where you want the line to end 5. Release the CTRL key

Figure 19b A simple line

Figure 19a Drawing a simple line

Figure 19d A horizontal straight line

Figure 19f

A vertical straight line

Figure 19c Drawing a horizontal straight line

Figure 19e

Drawing a vertical straight line



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PRACTICE SESSION 12: HOW DRAW A CURVE

1. Click the Freehand tool on the toolbox 2. Click the point where you want the curve to start (do not release the mouse

button) 3. Drag and draw the shape that you want your curve to take (while still holding

down the mouse button)

4. Release the mouse button

� Note: Use the right mouse button to click on any of the color boxes on the color palette whenever you apply color on lines and curves. Please ensure that the curve or line is

selected with the Pick tool before you do this.

TOOLS FLYOUT Some tool buttons on the toolbox buttons have arrows at their bottom right corners.

If you click this arrow a ‘fly out’ appears that displays a number of related tools. Whenever the ‘fly out’ appears, you may select any of these related tools

by clicking on it. For example, the Outline tool ‘fly out’ can be used to set how thick you want you rectangle, circle, line or curve to be.

Figure 20a Drawing a curve Figure 20b

A curve drawn with the freehand tool

Figure 20d Lines with varying outline widths

Figure 20c Outline tool flyout menu

Examples of Tools with flyouts: note the arrows at their bottom right corners Examples of Tools without flyouts



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THE ZOOM TOOL The term ‘Zoom’ means to reduce or magnify the view of a drawing. You can zoom in to see details or zoom out for a broader view using the Zoom tool. (1)

HOW TO USE THE ZOOM TOOL 1.) Click the Zoom tool (1) 2.) Draw a rectangular marquee around the object(s) that you want to

magnify (2) 3.) Right click the mouse button to ‘zoom out’ (i.e. reduce magnification) USING KEYBOARD FUNCTION KEYS FOR ZOOM OPERATIONS Locate the twelve function keys on your keyboard (F1 to F12).

Some of these keys can be used as shortcut keys for zoom operations:

F2 can be used to activate the zoom tool. So whenever you need to use the zoom tool, simply press function F2 instead of clicking the zoom tool.

F3‘zoom out’ function reduces magnification for a broader view.

F4‘zooms to all objects’, i.e. displays all objects.

‘Zoom to selected’ i.e. to make selected object(s) occupy the entire screen

(Zoom to page) to shows the entire page

F4

� Shift F2

F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 F6 F7 F8 F9 F10 F11 F12

F2

F3

� Shift F4



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REMOVING UNWANTED TEXT OR OBJECTS Unwanted text or objects can be selected and then deleted. You may choose to delete individual objects or a group of selected objects. To delete an object

1. Click the Pick tool 2. Click the object to be deleted (in order to select

it)

3. Press key on the keyboard

To delete two or more objects

1. Click the Pick tool 2. Marquee-Select the objects to be deleted by

using the pick tool to draw rectangle around them


To delete an entire block of text

1. Click the Pick tool 2. Click the object to be deleted (in order to select

it)


To delete part of a word

1. Click the Text tool 2. Click the text to be edited 3. Use the arrow keys ��of the keyboard to

move to the section of the text that you want to delete

4. Press on the keyboard repeatedly until all the characters that you want to remove have been deleted.

THE ‘UNDO’ COMMAND I don’t know of anyone in this world who does not make mistakes. Do you? We are all prone to making mistakes. So, what happens when you make a mistake when using CorelDraw or maybe you changed you mind after performing an operation such as deleting and object or changing an object’s color? The UNDO command can be used to reverse operations that we perform in CorelDraw. There are three (3) methods of selecting this command: A.) USING THE MENU BAR 1.) Click Edit on the menu bar

Delete

Delete

Delete



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2.) Click Undo

B.) Click the Undo button of the Standard bar

C.) Press on the keyboard REVERSING SEVERAL ACTIONS Using the Undo button’s drop down arrow (3), you can reverse several operations. You can also reverse several operations by

pressing Press on the keyboard repeatedly. FILE HANDLING OPERATIONS ‘SAVING’ A FILE Whatever is designed in CorelDraw temporarily resides in the computer’s volatile memory. This temporary memory is not capable of storing data whenever power fails. Hence, the need to transfer such data to a permanent storage device that can keep such information even when power fails. A typical permanent storage device is the hard disk inside the computer. The process of transferring data from the memory into the hard disk is called ‘saving’ HOW TO SAVE A FILE

1.) Click the Save button (1) on the Standard bar (If this is the first time that you are saving the file, the Save Drawing dialog box will appear requesting for a file name See Figure 24b)

Ctrl Z

Ctrl Z

Figure 24a Save button on the Standard bar



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2.) Type a descriptive name (2) (e.g. ‘cover page’)

3.) Click the Save button (3) in the dialog box

Figure 24b Save Drawing Dialog box



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UPDATING A SAVED FILE CorelDraw does not automatically save whatever changes you make to your work to the hard disk. Hence, you need to update whatever changes you make to you file

by clicking on the save button on the Standard bar from time to time. This will ensure the copy of your work that is in the permanent storage (hard disk) is as current as the one that you looking at on your screen.

Alternative methods for saving a file are: 1. The SAVE command of the FILE menu or

2. The keyboard shortcut key combination These methods can be used to save a file for the first time (during which a name is assigned) and also to update the hard disk with changes made to the file in the memory. OPENING A SAVED FILE Files are saved so that they can be opened in the future. You open a file when you want to 1. View its content, 2. Make changes to it or 3. Print it.

Ctrl S

Design your work or make changes to

existing file

CorelDRAW automatically transfers data into the volatile temporary

memory

Click Save button from time to time in other to transfer data into non-volatile permanent

memory (hard disk)



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HOW TO RETRIEVE A SAVED FILE

1. Click the OPEN button (1) the Standard bar 2. Click the icon (i.e. picture) of the file that you

want to retrieve (2) 3. Click the Open button (3)

Note: If there are several CorelDraw files on your computer and you are not sure which of the files contain the work that you are looking for, you can use the PREVIEW option (4) of the Open dialog box. This option gives you a thumbnail view (preview) of files without opening them. In order to use this option, ensure that Preview checkbox is marked (or ticked).

Figure 24a Open button on the Standard bar

Figure 24b Open Drawing dialog box



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FONTS A font is a computer lettering style. Some fonts are simple or plain, some are formal-looking, while some are cursive / artistic. The type of font that you apply on your text should be dependent factors such as: � Desire for Clarity � Type of Job � Your taste / creativity The Property bar can be used to apply or change text font whenever text is selected. The font selector shows a preview of the font you select. APPLYING FONTS Fonts may be applied to an entire block of text or to some of the words or letters within a block of text. HOW TO APPLY FONT TO AN ENTIRE BLOCK OF TEXT

1. Click the Pick tool 2. Click the text block (to select it) (2) 3. Click the Font selector (1) on the Property bar 4. Click your preferred font

HOW TO APPLY FONT TO SOME OF THE WORDS OR LETTERS IN A BLOCK OF TEXT

1. Click the Text tool on the toolbox 2. Move your mouse pointer to the beginning Of the word that you want to work

on 3. Press and hold down the left mouse button 4. Drag the mouse pointer towards the right side of This word until it is

highlighted (1) 5. Click the Font selector on the Property bar

Commonly used fonts

• Arial

• Arial Black

•

Documents

CorelDraw For Beginners