Font identification with CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X4

Sometimes you like the use of a font in a brochure, newsletter or other document, but it's difficult to tell which font is being used.

Of course you could search through books to find the font, but that will take a long time. There is a quicker way with CorelDRAW® Graphics Suite X4.

1. Scan the document on your scanner.
2. Open the scanned document in Corel PHOTO-PAINT® X4, or import it into CorelDRAW X4.
3. In CorelDRAW X4, select the Text menu | WhatTheFont?!, and Corel CAPTURE X4 opens with a selection command on the screen.
4. Select an area that contains the font you would like to identify.
5. Click or press Enter, and the MyFonts website opens after a while

The Myfonts website provides font suggestions for the selected area of your scanned document.

Customizing the user interface in CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X4

For commands that you use frequently, it is practical to use a shortcut key to apply the command. But with all the available commands, it can be difficult to remember all the shortcut keys.

To make this easier, you can create customised buttons for your favourite commands. You can then move these buttons to a place where you can easily find and use them while working with CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X4.

The command Convert to Curves is a good example.

Convert to Curves

When you have created a star and then want to reshape it to move some of the points further away from the centre, you need to convert the star to curves first.

In the drawing below, a polygon with 12 points is reshaped with the shape tool by dragging the nodes in the polygon. All the nodes move simultaneously.

But the result is supposed to be like in the drawing below.

You can only get this result by converting the star to curves.

You will find this command by selecting the Arrange-menu | Convert to curves
This command is frequently used in CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X4, and therefore deserves its own place in the program. You can use it to convert rectangles, ellipses, polygons, stars and text to editable objects.

Creating a customised button — example "convert to curves"

In the Tools menu, select Customization and you will see the Options dialog box. Click on Commands.

Scroll to the Arrange area in the Search field, and find the command Convert to Curves.

Click on the command, and drag the highlighted field to a place in the program where it will always be visible, e.g. to the right of the Standard Bar or below the tools in the Tool Box.

Now the command appears as a button.

In the picture above, you can see the Convert to Curves button, as well as the buttons Move to front of page, and Move to back of page. This way, you can customise the user interface of CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X4 to streamline your workflow and save time when you frequently complete similar tasks.

If you need to remove a button, just right-click on the button, select Customize | Toolbar Item | Delete.

Creating a flyer in CorelDRAW® Graphics Suite X4 using the Table Tool and Live Text Preview

The most common way to create a layout is to use guidelines to help you align all the elements in the document. But when you need to change the layout, e.g. to add an extra row of pictures, you have to do the layout all over again.

You will save much time and effort by using the new table feature in CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X4 to lay out your documents. That way, you can just add, remove or edit rows, columns or cells without having to start the layout all over again.

• Start by making a sketch of the flyer, either on paper, or as here using the Smart Drawing Tool in CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X4.

With the sketch in place, it is easy to count the number of columns and rows you need for the layout.

• You can create a table in two ways in CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X4:

• Select the Table Tool in the Tool box, and drag with the tool on the page to create the table.

• Or select the Table menu | Create new table. You can type the number of columns and rows, as well as the overall size of the table into the dialog box that opens.

• Create a table with the settings as shown above

• Select the Table Tool in the tool-box and change the size of the cells in the table by dragging the lines of the cells to fit the layout. You can drag the lines, when the cursor changes to a double arrow.

• You can also merge the cells together. Select the cells by dragging across them with the mouse. Then right-click and select Merge Cells in the popup menu. Selected cells are shown with a hatch pattern.

Now you are ready to fill the cells with pictures and text:



Some of the cells are merged to fit pictures and text

• You can write text in the different cells by selecting the Text Tool.

• To import pictures you need to deselect the Table Tool first, e.g. by clicking on the Pick Tool. Import the first picture by selecting File | Import and finding the appropriate picture on your computer.

• Insert the picture on the page, and drag it to the target cell while pressing the right mouse button.

• Select Place inside Cell in the popup menu. You can move the picture into the right position, scale it etc.

• Continue in the same way with the rest of the pictures.

Formatting the text using Live Text Preview

Another new feature in CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X4 is the ability to preview changes to the text before you make them. This feature is called Live Text Preview.

• Select the text with the Text Tool, and then scroll the Font List drop-down menu to find the most appropriate font. You will be able to instantly preview the change in the text you selected. In the image below we are previewing the font Impact.

Finally we need to remove the lines in the table.

• Select the table with the Pick Tool

• Set the border to All in the Property Bar, and then select none in the Border Width field