Review by Terry

I’ve used CorelDRAW for many years - since version 3. I used it as a desktop publisher and a typesetter and to create architectural shop drawings. These days, I use it to create graphics that I can import into embroidery digitizing programs to create custom embroidery designs.

The reason it’s so wonderful is that it created graphics in a vector-based format. Vector based graphics are different than, say, bitmaps because they are infinitely re-sizeable without any loss of resolution. Vector images are mathematical descriptions of the image, which is exactly the same at any size. Bitmaps, on the other hand, are composed of an exact number of pixels so they suffer greatly when sized up - jagged edges and loss of sharpness.

Corel offers an incredibly full-featured graphics suite so that almost anything you need to create, edit, or produce can be done comepletely within the product. It includes an extensive font library and stock images, artwork, backgrounds, symbols and template galleries that are spectacular for business applications as well as individual users.

The suite includes several programs - CorelDRAW x7, Capture x7, Power Trace x7, Photo-Paint x7, Connect x7, Website Creator and Bitstream Font Navigator. (You must download Website Creator from the Corel website after you install and register CorelDRAW x7 and set up an account. The account gives you access to updates and all sorts of extra help, tutorials, community discussions as well as other downloads.

Inside the box is the install disk and a quick reference card. (The registration key is located in the plastic disc case behind the disk.) Unlike early versions, there are no printed instruction manuals and font/clip art catalogs. Instead, the almost 700 page users guide is on Corel’s site and can be downloaded to your computer. There are also over 5 hours of tutorial videos included with the program that allows even complete novices to begin using this software with confidence.

Installation went smoothly for me. Note: The EULA only allows you to have this software installed on one computer at any time.

Besides the software, there are 1,000, high-quality, OpenType fonts, 800 background patterns and frames, more than 10,000 pieces of clip art, 2000 stock digital photos, 2,000 vehicle templates and 350 templates.

I have recommended CorelDraw for many years now and x7 doesn’t disappoint.