Working With Basic Tools in the Toolbox - Rectangle, Ellipse, Polygon and Basic Shapes Tools (Including A Do-Along Tutorial)

Please accept my apologies guys. I've been off for a while. Just landed into France so was busy settling in. But I shall keep the flow going ahead.


Now that we have covered with most of the essentials to easily work around a design file in CorelDraw, its time for some FUN STUFF. In this post we'll get down to see some of the basic tools you'll be using to create your art work. Also included at the end will be a small tutorial wherein I'll be using all of the basic tools demonstrated above to create an art work.
SO LET THE FUN BEGIN :)

In this tutorial we cover the Rectangle Tool, Ellipse Tool,  Polygon Tool and the Basic Shapes Tool  

Rectangle Tool
This is one of the basic tools that you will use create most of your complex art forms. The video below contains a walkthrough on how to use the rectangle tool and its various properties.

Ellipse Tool
This is also one of the basic tools that you will use create most of your complex art forms. The video below contains a walkthrough on how to use the ellipse tool and its various properties.

Polygon Tool
Also one of the basic tools that you will use create most of your complex art forms. The video below contains a walkthrough on how to use the polygon tool and its various properties. The polygon tool also has other fly out options i.e. star tool, complex star tool, graph paper tool and the spiral. The use and properties of these tools are also demonstrated in the video.

Basic Shape Tool
Now, finally in the post let us look at the basic shape tool. This is also useful in creating the basic shapes used mostly in any art form. The basic shapes tools also has other useful tools such as arrow shapes, flowchart shapes, banner shapes and callout shapes tools. The use and properties of these tools are demonstrated below in the video.

That brings us to the end of the tutorial. Before I end I would like you all to have some fun and use all that we have learnt till now in a particle do along tutorial to create a simple art work.

Do Along Tutorial
So lets put to test all that we have learnt so far in this post with a do along tutorial.

Hope you have now understood working your way out with basics of CorelDraw.

So watch out for my next post Working With Object Manager (including introduction to Layers).

Navigating and Viewing a Page

In our previous post a lot was covered on the basic file handling capabilities such as opening, saving, exporting etc. In this post however we shall learn the different ways to navigate and view a page in CorelDraw.

So grab you pen and paper if needed and lets begin

Different View Modes

CorelDraw offers you 6 different viewing modes to choose from. These viewing modes help define how your art work/drawing will eventually turn out on screen. Now, given the option of various modes you can easily find your way out to obtain a particular object or draw a new one when you art work is very detailed and composed of a number of objects. 

Working with CorelDraw primarily means creating 'vector' art work. But since these vector objects are not compatible with most display screens i.e. finally these vectors are converted to a particular format for e.g. jpeg, png etc, they need to be written on screen from time to time called 'Rasterizing'.

Lets have a look at the different kinds of view modes

1) Simple Wireframe

          Located at the top of the list it provides the least detailed view of your drawing. When selected what turns out is a simple silhouette of vector objects. Hence no object fills will be visible. This can be useful when you have to select a particular object from a given number of objects. When effects such as extrude and blend are used even then only the structure of the object is visible not the additional elements. Since this is the simplest view of the vector drawing hence any changes made on a simple wireframe view is more or less displayed instantly on screen.

2) Wireframe
            The second option right below the simple wireframe view mode. It behaves in a similar manner like simple wireframe but the difference is that when an effect such as extrude or blend is applied to an object, it not only displays the structure of the object but also the structure of the added objects after the effect has been applied, ofcourse without the fill.

3) Draft
          The third view mode option. This lies somewhere in between the wireframe and the enhanced view. The objects when viewed in draft mode are displayed with object fill, but there is no anti aliasing. Hence the image turns out to be harsh and jaggered. If look closely the object with closed fills seems smooth, but the outlines, widths etc seems to be like step-like structures. This view mode is best used when there is considerable amount of objects to be considered and we want the changes to made to be displayed instantly.

4) Normal
       This view mode displays all the object properties i.e. fills, extrudes etc. but still lacks to anti alias the edges.

5) Enhanced
        This is the default view mode. It displays the object properties to its best view. It is anti aliased hence the edges are smooth and not jaggy.

6) Pixel (Made available from X5)
          This view mode helps you visualize you drawing both in vector and in pix-elated form. Since what will eventually be projected on screen i.e. the drawing will caste as pixels. The quality of the pixel depends on the resolution you set at the beginning when creating a new document. If set to 72 dpi resolution will be less as compared to when set to 300 dpi.

Note:  To shift between the current and last view mode use keyboard short cut Shift + F9

Zooming and Panning

With the different view modes we were simply defining the post quality of the art work but what defines the term view is the capability to magnify the resolution and move around the art work, which makes working on details easier.


ZOOMING
 Lets take a look at the different properties of the zoom tool

To access the zoom tool either press Z or select the zoom tool icon
from the tool bar.


This is a flyout menu as can be depicted by the small black arrow at the bottom of icon. Click on the arrow and you will have two option to choose from zoom  (z) and pan ( h )

Once you select the zoom tool your cursor changes into a magnification glass with a plus (+) inside.

The various zoom properties are explained in the video above.

PANNING


This is a useful feature that helps you move around your artwork easily. Most of you must have had already seen or used panning in some way or the other. Most commonly know as the hand tool it helps you move around your artwork providing a convenient replacement to the traditional scrolling bars.
Lets see how it works

To select the hand tool or pan tool press shortcut key H from the keyboard or select the pan tool from the zoom/pan icon in the toolbox.

Though most of the navigating and viewing tools have been covered, there still lies a few more special view modes that may come in handy, hence I thought it would be important to add them too.

In the video below we cover the Special View Modes and The View Navigator

Hope that will give you all a way to effectively work your way around navigating and viewing your work.

Next we shall cover the basic tools in the toolbox and complete a "do-along" tutorial with the help of these tools

EXCITED! :D

So watch out for my next tutorial on Working With Basic Tools in the Toolbox - Rectangle, Ellipse, Polygon and Basic Shapes Tools (Including A Do-Along Tutorial)


Till then Happy Corel-ing!

Working around a Design File: Opening, Importing, Exporting and Saving

Hello! Everyone. Please accept my apologies for being out of the loop for a while. Been traveling and out of reach from internet most of the times. None the less, I hope you all are comfortable with the working environment of CorelDraw and getting your hands on to it, lets go ahead a little further and see the basic file handling capabilities. In this tutorial we shall see how to open a new file, import and export a file with the various options available, save a file and other file handling capabilities. So grab your pen and paper if you wish to take down notes and lets get started.

Opening a Document


Opening a new document


There are quite a few ways in which you could open your first new document file. Lets go through some of those ways.

I) If you all remember, in one of the previous post we discussed about the welcome screen and its various features (http://goo.gl/Om4it). In the screen that appears in the very beginning, you have an option to open a new document right from there itself.

Click on the New blank document to open a fresh document page. (The various features on setting up the new document is discussed in a previous post http://goo.gl/Om4it ). 

II) If for some reason you have disabled the welcome screen or have clicked the cancel button in the welcome screen, then do not worry, opening a new document is as easy as a click on the welcome screen.

On top left corner, right below the menu you'll find handy icons to perform similar tasks. Click on the open a new document icon marked in the figure above and it will work as expected. A rather simple way of opening a new document.

III) Another way of achieving the similar task is to follow the old convention i.e go to File (from the menu) -> New. Shortcut key for opening a new document Ctrl + N.

Note: If you are sure that your settings for the document is done correctly and you wish to continue using the similar settings for your other new documents or  if you are not satisfied with the current settings and have somehow disabled the New Document Dialog Box by clicking the Do not show this dialog again checkbox, then do not worry you can easily toggle to show the dialog box by following a simple procedure.

Go to Tools -> Options -> Workspace (expand is collapsed) -> General.  On the right side of the screen you will notice a checkbox Show New Document dialog box. Check or un-check the box to toggle the visibility of the dialog box.

IV) Keyboard shortcut to open a new screen Ctrl + n (on windows).


Opening an already existing document
Well again, for this very action there are a number of ways you could do this.

I) The welcome screen.

The recently saved Corel files are listed under the Open Recent. Incase you cannot seek you file in the list, then simply click on the Open other... button below, which is a browse preview to select the desired working Corel file.

II) Another way of opening an existing document is using the conventional way i.e. following the menu bar on top of the working environment.

III) You can also use the keyboard shortcut i.e. Ctrl + O (windows) or command + O (mac).

If you intend to open a file that is not native to Corel for e.g. Microsoft Word, Adobe Illustrator etc, CorelDraw will automatically convert it to a its native format and add a .cdr extension to it without hampering the actual file.

Opening a document from template
  You also very well open a document from one of the given templates or ones created by you (creating a template will be covered in later posts) . Again there are number of ways of opening a file from template i.e.


I) Opening a document from a template in the welcome screen.

II) The conventional file menu in the working environment.

Now let us see the new from template dialog box closely.

(click the image to enlarge)

Importing a Document
  It may be essentials at times, that you import a certain file type rather than using the drag and drop feature available. Many format types can be easily imported such as .doc, .pdf, .psd, .ai etc. (This may vary with the version of Corel you are using, for e.g. in earlier Corel Draw versions importing some file formats may not be supported)  


To import a document you can either use the conventional method of going to the file menu and selecting the Import option or you can use the keyboard shortcut i.e. Ctrl + I. 

Looking closely through the import dialog box

The import options may differ and additional dialog boxes or options may be available incase you are selecting a different format type. For example I am covering the two most often used file formats i.e. pdf and .jpeg. Other file formats may have different options. So I suggest try and import them too to get a better understanding.

Importing a .pdf file

(click image to enlarge)



Importing an image file (.jpeg)

(click image to enlarge)


While importing files that are not supported you may encounter error messages.
For e.g. fi I try an import a media file i.e. an mp3 file, the error dialog message will pop up.

Exporting a Document

This is one feature that you ought to use. So I would suggest that you remember the use of this well. Exporting a file is different from saving a file. The difference of which you'll come to understand once we cover both of them.

Again to export a file you can go from file menu and choose export option, or simply use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+E. By default, which I guess, most of you would have had installed Corel Draw using the recommended settings and hence you will be able to see a certain number of export formats available to you. If you need to install more of them, simply use your installation disk to do that. But since the ones you'll be generally using are all installed by default.

The export option varies according to the type of document or actions being taken into consideration. For e.g. if you are exporting a multi page document then the option in the export dialog would be slightly different. Do not worry they are easily understood.

Once you click on the export button you will be directed to another settings dialog box. The type and occurrance of the additional dialog box is also based on the type of format, the file is being saved as.

Let us consider here that we are about to save a file as .jpg. This is what the settings dialog box looks like

The ease of use will start to come front when you all get used to exporting files. Play around with the settings and see what does it do for you.
The most common format that one is likely to use are
a) Bitmap formats: I believe most of you are aware of this file format. It contains may open source formats for e.g. BMP, JPEG, GIF, PNG, TIF,etc.

b) Metafile formats: These are file formats that contain both vector and bitmap information(already explained in previous posts, difference between vector and bitmap). But if choice is available choose a specific vector of bitmap format.

c) Text formats: When you export a text format then usually they will be in the format of TXT or RTF, PDF, DOC etc.

d) Font formats: While exporting you can choose to save you text as a TTF or a PSB(PostScript Font Binary).

e) Vector Formats:export your file as an AI or FMV, etc.

f) EPS formats: This file format that is acceptable by all sorts of operating systems. Saving a file as an Encapsulated Post Script can enhance file readability.

g) Third Party Formats: export your file as an AI, PDF, PSD, SWF, FPX, MAC, etc. (This may vary as per the version of CorelDraw being used).

There are more dedicated export options such as Export for Office, Export for Web, etc available. We will cover them in detail as we move ahead in our posts. For now getting used to the basic exporting option will be sufficient.


Saving a Document


When you begin working on your illustrations or art work in CorelDraw, like every other application it is very important that you keep saving your work from time to time. I recommend saving a file every 4-5 mins after you have worked upon something. To save a file simply use the following options
a) Go to File and select Save, to save your file.
b) Press the shortcut key (Ctrl+S) (Recommended).
c) Press save icon in the property bar.

Saving file with Advanced options opens another dialog box with advanced settings option.

• Save Presentation Exchange (CMX). Check this box if you want to place or edit the file in other applications that accept this file format, such as Corel WordPerfect or Xara Xtreme, and older versions of CorelDRAW. For example, CorelDRAW 5 can’t open an X5 CDR file, but version 5 can open a CMX file. The CMX file format can hold both bitmap and vector data. It is a subset of the CDR format and as such is not as capable of certain recently added features, but it is a good way to use graphics created in CorelDRAW in other applications and for users of previous versions to open your files in case you saved to version X5.
• Use Bitmap Compression. Bitmaps and bitmap effects in a drawing can really plump up the final file size of a document. To save precious hard disk storage space, put a check in this box. The compression used is lossless, so you don’t have to worry that choosing this option will degrade the quality of your file onscreen or when printed.
• Use Graphic Object Compression. Checking this box reduces saved file sizes by compressing the vector elements in the file. This is particularly welcome if you’ve created a lot of extrude objects in a document whose component objects can number in the 30s, 40s, or even hundreds if you’ve used complex shading options.
• Save Textures With The File or Rebuild Textures When Opening The File. Choose the radio button next to one of these mutually exclusive options. Saving the textures increases the file’s size and uses more hard disk space. Rebuilding the textures saves hard disk space, but it then takes longer to open and save a file. Your choice here is between maximizing your hard disk space or your time.
• Save Blends And Extrudes With The File or Rebuild Blends And Extrudes When Opening The File. As with saving or rebuilding textures, here your choice is really between maximizing hard disk space or your time. Click the radio button next to the choice that suits you best.

Save-As command lets you saved a copy of the current document, or a copy of the same document in another format.

File Back-Up Option: this is a very handy feature. By default this is active. You will notice that when ever you save your file on a particular location on your drive, another copy of the document, with a naming convention of Backup_of_FileName will be created. This is important when for some reason your original document is either corrupted, or you want to get back to the version of the document where a particular change was not made. 

Though recommended you can also deactivate this option. 

To do that go to Tools -> Customization -> Expand Workspace -> Select Save 

On the right screen you will have options.

• Set time interval when you would want to backup for file. Auto-backup every (select the time in minutes)
• Deselect that option and no backup will be created.
• You can also choose whereto save your backup data. Either the temp folder or a specific folder of your choice.
• To make a backup everytime you save a file by pressing Ctrl + s,  select the option in the end.

At the end of this post you should become comfortable with Opening, Exporting, Importing and Saving a file with its various options. 

You might discover certain options that I may not have covered here. Please feel free to get back to me and I shall include it in here.

So watch out for my next post on Navigating and Viewing a Page

Customizing Default Workspace and Creating Your Own

Hello! I hope all of you are getting quite familiar with CorelDraw by now. Isn't it a great piece of software? Well, now that we are clear on the basic layout of Corel Draw's workspace (refer my previous post on Getting Familiar With CorelDraw Environment - (Default) Workspace), its time do dig in a little deeper. While discussing the CorelDraw's workspace in the last post, I focused more on it's default layout i.e. the layout set up for first time users. But as and when you start getting familiar with the different tools and their functions (coming up in later posts), you'll probably want to either customize the existing default workspace or create a new one from scratch. In today's post we'll concentrate on the above. So lets begin.

Q: What is a workspace?
A: Workspace is a set up of the working environment i.e. the layout of the tools, functions and other elements that makes their access easier and convenient. You can either create your own, make alterations to the existing one to best suit your needs or import one, that has already been created (*.xslt).

Customizing A Workspace

Accessing the Workspace

To access the workspaces go to Tools -> Customization -> Workspace

A: Shows the list of the workspaces currently available. Whenever your create a new workspace or import one, they will be included in the list here. By default there are two workspaces already available i.e. X5 Default Workspace (mine says X5 because of the version installed) and Adobe Illustrator Workspace. So if you are familiar with the Illustrator's workspace and finding it tough to select around tools in the default workspace then not a problem, simply select the appropriate workspace and you'll find yourself in comfort again.
Note: The tick next to a workspace's name, depicts that it is currently being used.

B: Gives the description of the of the selected workspace. As we create a new workspace later in this post you'll find an option to give a description to the workspace. I recommend that you should give a logical description to your workspace.

C: Click here to create a new workspace (topic covered below, in this post).

D:  Click here to delete a workspace. (Before deleting a workspace make sure that there is atleast one workspace available)

E: Click here to import a workspace (topic covered below, in this post).

F: Click here to export your workspace. Simply click on the button and in the next dialog box that appears simply select the features you want to export and click Save.... You can also send the workspace as an attachment through your email by clicking on the Email... button  (Note: you will have to create an account in your default email client for e.g. Outlook before using this feature).  Your workspace is saved/attached to email as a file with a .xslt extension.

G: You can also select which workspace to work upon every time you open CorelDraw. Simply check the box Select workspace at startup.

To save changes click on OK, to cancel the made changes click on Cancel or to get help from the CorelDraw's knowledge base click on Help.

Another shorter way to Customize in terms of exporting and importing your workspace is to right click on an empty space on the tool bar and then selecting Customize -> Workspace -> Import/Export Workspace.

Now that we are clear how to access the available workspaces, lets see how to modify or customize it.

I. Moving Things Around
Well this is a basic way of customizing your workspace and involves playing around with the location of the already existing tools on your screen.  Simply drag and place your elements, tools, palettes, etc. to a desired location in the workspace. It only caters to the change in the visual appearance.

II. Accessing the hidden tools, elements.
Well, in your default workspace, there are certain hidden elements that you could add to your workspace. For e.g. text, marcos, transform, etc. To access them, right click on the toolbox or toolbar and select the hidden element you desire. Once selected they appear in the middle. Simply drag and place them in a desired location.

To deselect the items, simply right click again and from the menu the appears simply click on the item to remove it from the workspace.
Alternative way of selecting them is selecting Tools -> Options -> Customization (expand if collapsed) -> Command Bars. On the right you'll see similar options to select the hide/show the other elements/tools.

III. Adding individual commands and making a new command bar
So far, we have been working on an entire command bar which in turn consists of a number of commands. For e.g the Standard bar consists of different commands like save, open undo, redo, etc. The text bar consists of font chooser, text size, alignment etc. However, CorelDraw also gives you an option to select individual commands as well and make an entire new command bar which may consist of any of your desired commands.

I believe the steps described above will help you get acquainted with the process of customizing your workspace for now, atleast. There are other advanced methods too, to help customize your workspace, but I wont rush into everything at a go. You'll get familiar with the advanced methods in my future posts. I would recommend the users to keep fiddling with the settings on their own. Don't worry if something goes wrong. You'll atleast get to know what to avoid the next time.
Now, lets look further.


Creating A New Workspace

To create a new workspace. Go to tools -> options -> workspace. On the screen that appears to the right click on the New button.

On the next dialog box that follows, this is what the various features mean.

A: Give a name to your new workspace. I would recommend to give a logical name for easier understanding  when using it later.

B: Choose the origin of your new workspace i.e. your reference workspace. You can always customize the workspace as described above in the post.

C: Give a description to your workspace. Many users leave this blank. I recommend to give a short logical description to your new workspace.

D:  If you intend to use the new workspace as your default workspace, let the tick be marked. Else if you want to use it later and continue with the exisiting workspace, simply un tick the box. You can always select the new workspace from the list.

Importing A Workspace

You just had a visit to see your friend's newly created workspace and simply fell for it. You probably want the same. So you ask you friend to export the workspace for you to use it. He does the needful and hands you over the .xslt file. Now what do you do with it?
Well its a piece of cake. Simply go to tools -> options -> workspace. On the screen to the right you have a button Import.... Simply click on it and a dialog box appears. The video below explain the steps involved.

I guess, that should wind up this topic. Hope you have learned on getting familiar with creating, exporting, importing and customizing a workspace by now.
Incase you feel something is left out in this post or something is not appropriate please send in your feedback.

Watch out for my next post on Working around a Design File: Opening, Importing, Exporting and Saving.

Getting Familiar With CorelDraw Environment - (Default) Workspace

Hello! In my last post we discussed about the welcome screen, how to open a new blank document, its settings and finally how to open a document from a template. Well, today we are going to dig in a little deeper and learn about the default work space of Corel Draw i.e. the actual working environment. So grab a pen and paper incase you want to jot down notes and lets begin.

Well image above depicts a usual CorelDraw working environment/work space screen that opens up after you have decided to choose either a blank document or one from the template. (Note: The working environment screen also opens if you haven't yet selected a document type, in that case you will see a grey area in the middle i.e. the drawing window and the white area besides it. Also, certain features will either be hidden or greyed out.) Now lets look at each element of the default work space in detail below.

Menu Bar: it is similar to any of the standard menu bars you usually see with of course CorelDraw specific menus. It consists of the file, edit, view, layout, arrange, effects, bitmaps, text, table, tool, windows and help menu. Each of these menus have further sub menus that defines its use and effect on your graphics.  For e.g. file menu may contain sub menus to open a new file, close a file, save a file etc.For now, I wont be going deep into each of its functions, lets save that for another post, exclusively for menu bar, its sub menus and their use and functions.

(TIP: to quickly access the menus from you keyboard press alt+f (or e, v , l , a, c, b, x, t, o, w and h for each menu respectively).

Tool Bar: it gives you quick access to save a file, open a file, print a file and many other features.

Property title bar: it displays the version of CorelDraw you are currently using and the name of the file being worked upon. (If no name is yet given to a file will show you the default name, Untitled-1).

Property bar: it display the various properties associated with each individual element. Lets consider for e.g. you have selected the text tool from the tool box. Once selected, you will notice certain text properties such as size, fonts etc are visible in the property bar. Similarly if you choose the eclipse tool, it will have different set of properties available on the property bar.

Docker: they are the handy panels docked to the right by default. They contain a set of commands and controls grouped together for a specific task. You can anchor them to any handy location by dragging the docker window around the environment. You can expand the dockers to show you the associated commands and controls or minimize them into tabs to get more working space. By default you will not find all the dockers opened up. If you want any of your desired docker, then simply choose from the various available options from Windows (menu) -> Dockers (sub menu)

The image above is an example of a docker window. You could have more than two dockers open as shown by Other docker group. You can close an individual docker using the Close docker button or the entire docker by clicking on the Close docker group. 

Toolbox: it consists of a number of tools required to create your graphics. Some of the standard are as follows: pick tool, shape tool, crop tool, rectangle tool, blend tool and many more. Some of the tools will have what is known as the flyout menu (explained below), which consists of more tool options.

Note: by default your toolbox will be docked to the left side, vertically. If you want to change the position simply right click anywhere on the toolbox, from the menu that appears check if there is a tick mark next to Lock Toolbars, if there is a tick then click on Lock Toolbars again  and you can now freely move your toolbox anywhere on the screen. To set it back, simply double click on the title bar and it will set back to its original position.

Page Counter:  it helps you to navigate through the pages. You can create a new page directly from here or delete the one you don't want to use. A more detailed explanation will appear in my future posts.

Status Bar: this section here, gives you the status of the document under consideration. It displays the color profiles that were selected in the Color Settings section of the create a new blank document dialog box.

Drawing Window: this is where you actually create your graphic. The rectangle in the middle marks your boundary for the graphic creation. Its size will vary with the dimensions you choose for your document. Anything drawn outside the the square region, is permitted, but when you save your work it will not be shown i.e. it will fall outside drawing region. Later posts will make this point more clear.

Color Palette: it is used to choose colors for your graphic design. By default it is docked to the right of the screen, vertically. However as also explained for toolbox you can move the color palette too,  from its current position by dragging it to a desired location. To get it back to its original position , double click on its title bar. However, you do not have to be content with this default palette, you can create your own or use some of the other palettes provided by CorelDraw. More detailed explanation in later posts.

Minimize, expand, close CorelDraw: Like any other application you can open more than two instances of CorelDraw at a time. (Note: it is not advisable to open a lot of CorelDraw applications simultaneously.  Doing so will put load on your system's OpenGL handling capabilities or its graphics sustenance capabilities. It could cause your system to freeze and you may loose your unsaved work.) To close, minimize or expand all open CorelDraw files at once i.e. the CorelDraw application itself, use these set of buttons.

Minimize, expand, close CorelDraw document: To close, expand, minimize the current document only use these set of buttons.

Before I end this post, I would like to list below the various types of input field and control types.

• Num boxes: they are numerical boxes, wherein you could add your own values. By default, in most of the cases there will already be some value in it. For e.g. width and height of page. But you can simply click inside the box, change the value and hit the enter key to save it. Pressing TAB key will help you move around quickly from one num box to the other.

• Combo boxes: they are a combination of num boxes and drop down list. You could either select a value from the drop down list or enter a value in the num box and press enter.

• Flyout option menu: as mentioned above in case of toolbox and other elements you'll find certain flyout menus which is depicted by a small triangle pointed downwards and slightly tilted towards the right. Left click on the triangle and it pops out another menu section with more options in it. Another way of accessing them is to left click on any of the menu that has a flyout option and for the rest, all you need to do is hover over them and it will pop out the menu for you.

• Color selectors: while working with CorelDraw tools, there will be instances when you'll come across what is known as the color selectors. They server the same purpose as that of the color palette as discussed above, but they make it simpler to choose colors and in addition also give you a wider range of colors, when you click on the Others.. button at the bottom. Also notice there is a dropper icon, it helps you to pick up color from anywhere in the CorelDraw application (more on this in later posts).

• List selectors: this is another kind of a drop down menu. It lacks the num box facility as you will have to choose as per the given options in the list. They are depicted by a small triangle pointing downwards. Bu default some value will already be selected.

• Radio button and check boxes: they are rather common and I suspect most of you already have an idea about them. In case of check boxes you need to tick in front of the option/element/tool you want selected/activated or un-tick to deactivate. Incase of radio buttons you have to select a value by clicking the radio circle in front of the options. 

• Buttons: a simple interface, click to activate(depressed) and click again(risen) to deactivate. 

• Spinners: they might be new for some. Its a combination of num box and incremental increase or decrease buttons. You can add your own value by highlighting the existing one and entering your own. Another way of changing values is to click on the increase/decrease buttons and drag.

• Sliders: a combination of a num box and a slide bar. In addition to entering your own value in the num box, you can drag the slider left or right to change values.

 Well I hope I have covered a good portion today, w.r.t CorelDraw's default environment. Incase you feel I might have left something out, please feel free to suggest and i'll include it in the post.

Watch out for my next post on Customizing Default Workspace and Creating Your Own.