Review by D. Brennan

At the time I am writing this review I have only used the graphic design, vector illustration, website creation / file management, and a little of the Flash capabilities of this product. I have not yet started using the video editing functionality.

My standard tools for this sort of work have been Adobe PhotoShop, Dreamweaver, Illustrator and some ftp tools. I found that everything which I have done with these more expensive tools was easy to do with CorelDraw Premium Suite X5. A couple of highlights include:nn - Corel Capture. I use screen shots all the time for user documentation, etc. The Corel Capture software that comes with this package offers some handy ways of capturing screen data, as well as content from other sources. It can capture other content such as video playing on part of your screen. It is a handy tool in general.

- Corel Draw is their answer to Illustrator. Illustrator and I are not particularly close as I lack a skill that is key to its successful use - artistic talent. That being said, Corel has all of the tools that you would need to make the full range of vector drawings and art work you can do with Illustrator. I have a feeling that Adobe is always a year or two ahead in functionality, but Corel then works to add features pioneered by Adobe.

If you are a casual user of the various tool sets offered in these packages, Corel can save you a lot of money without sacrificing functionality. On the other hand, if you are using these types of tools at work and everyone else it running Adobe apps, chances are that you are going to have to stick with Adobe so that everyone can use the newer features.