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March 02, 2025 23:05
CorelDRAW
design tools
graphic design
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CorelDRAW Cheatsheet

A comprehensive cheat sheet covering essential CorelDRAW tools, shortcuts, and techniques for graphic design.

CorelDRAW Interface & Basic Tools

CorelDRAW Interface Overview

Title Bar: Displays the name of the application and the current document.
Menu Bar: Contains drop-down menus with commands.
Standard Toolbar: Provides quick access to common commands like New, Open, Save, Print.
Property Bar: Context-sensitive; changes based on the selected tool or object.
Toolbox: Contains tools for creating, selecting, shaping, and modifying objects.
Document Window: The main work area where you create and edit your design.
Color Palette: Used for selecting fill and outline colors.
Status Bar: Displays information about the selected object or tool.

Selection Tools

Pick Tool

Selects, positions, and transforms objects.

  • Click on an object to select it.
  • Drag to move selected objects.
  • Use handles to resize, rotate, or skew.

Freehand Pick Tool

Selects objects by drawing a freehand selection area.

Shape Tool

Edits the shape of curves and objects by manipulating nodes.

  • Select an object created with the pen or shape tools. Nodes will appear.
  • Drag nodes to modify object shape.

Basic Shape Tools

Rectangle Tool (F6)

Draws rectangles and squares. Hold Ctrl for a perfect square.

Ellipse Tool (F7)

Draws ellipses and circles. Hold Ctrl for a perfect circle.

Polygon Tool (Y)

Draws polygons and stars. Adjust number of sides/points in Property Bar.

Basic Shapes Tool

Provides access to a library of pre-defined shapes (arrows, hearts, etc.).

Zoom & Pan

Zoom Tool (Z)

Zooms in and out of the document. Click to zoom in; right-click to zoom out.

  • Zoom to Selected: Shift+F2
  • Zoom to All Objects: F4
  • Zoom to Page: Shift+F4

Pan Tool (H)

Moves the view of the document within the window. Click and drag to pan.

Working with Objects

Object Properties

Fill: Sets the color or pattern inside an object.
Outline: Sets the color, width, and style of the object’s border.
Transparency: Adjusts the visibility of an object.
Effects: Applies various effects like shadows, glows, bevels, and contours.
Arrange: Used to ordering of objects (front, back, etc.).

Transformations

Position

Moves objects to a specific location on the page.

Size

Resizes objects proportionally or non-proportionally.

Rotation

Rotates objects around a specified point. Double-click an object to access rotation handles.

Skew

Skews objects along a specified axis. Use skew handles after double-clicking, or use the transformation docker.

Mirror

Mirrors objects horizontally or vertically.

Object Arrangement

To Front of Page

Shift+PgUp - Brings the selected object to the very top of the stacking order.

To Back of Page

Shift+PgDn - Sends the selected object to the very bottom of the stacking order.

Forward One

Ctrl+PgUp - Moves the selected object one step forward in the stacking order.

Back One

Ctrl+PgDn - Moves the selected object one step backward in the stacking order.

Grouping & Combining

Group (Ctrl+G)

Combines multiple objects into a single group for easier manipulation.

Ungroup (Ctrl+U)

Separates a grouped object into its individual components.

Combine (Ctrl+L)

Merges multiple objects into a single curve object, creating a single path.

Break Apart (Ctrl+K)

Separates a combined object into its original components or breaks apart text.

Text & Typography

Text Tools

Text Tool (F8)

Adds artistic (single line) or paragraph (block) text to the document. Click once for artistic text; drag for paragraph text.

Table Tool

Inserts tables into the document. Specify rows and columns in the Property Bar.

Text Formatting

Font: Sets the typeface of the text.
Size: Adjusts the size of the text.
Alignment: Aligns text left, center, right, or justified.
Spacing: Controls the space between characters, words, and lines.
Bold (Ctrl+B), Italic (Ctrl+I), Underline (Ctrl+U): Applies text styling.

Working with Text

Convert to Curves (Ctrl+Q)

Converts text into editable curves, allowing for custom shaping and modification.

Fit Text to Path

Flows text along the shape of a curve or object.

Text Effects

Applies effects like drop shadows, outlines, and bevels to text.

Paragraph Text Frames

Paragraph text is contained within a frame. You can adjust the size and shape of the frame to control the flow of text.
Use the ‘Frame’ options in the Property Bar to adjust margins, columns, and other paragraph settings.

Effects & Advanced Techniques

Interactive Effects

Blend Tool

Creates a series of intermediate shapes between two objects.

Contour Tool

Creates concentric shapes inside or outside an object.

Distort Tool

Applies various distortions to an object (push/pull, zipper, twister).

Drop Shadow Tool

Adds a shadow effect to an object.

Envelope Tool

Distorts an object by fitting it to a custom shape.

Extrude Tool

Creates a 3D extruded effect from an object.

Bitmap Effects

CorelDRAW allows you to apply bitmap effects to vector objects. These effects are raster-based and can add realistic textures, blurs, and other visual enhancements.
Access Bitmap Effects from the ‘Effects’ menu. Note that applying bitmap effects can increase file size.

PowerClip

PowerClip allows you to place one object (or group of objects) inside another object, using the container object as a mask.
To PowerClip an object: Select the object to be clipped, then go to ‘Object > PowerClip > Place Inside Frame’. Click on the container object.

Color Management

Proper color management is essential for accurate color reproduction. CorelDRAW supports various color profiles (e.g., sRGB, Adobe RGB) to ensure consistent colors across different devices and media.
Access color management settings from ‘Tools > Color Management’.