I'm trying to force myself to use corel (11) more these days, and i'm having trouble creating an "inline". I don't want a contour, just an inline.
For example: I have a rectangle blank and would like an inline 1/4" thick, 1/2" from the edge.
Also, how do I create an OUTLINE greater than 24 pts?
I can do these things in signlab quickly, but I'd really appreciate some corel help.
Posted by Emile Carle (Member # 4334) on :
To create an "inline" use the contour feature then break it apart.
Let say we start with a 10" rectange.
Select the 10" rectangle and make a 1/2" contour to the inside.
Break the contour apart. >Arrange >Break Contour Group Apart. (Ctrl+K)
Now select the 9" rectange you've just created and make a 1/4" contour to the inside.
Break the contour apart. >Arrange >Break Contour Group Apart. (Ctrl+K)
Select the 8 1/2" rectangle. Fill with white. No outline.
Select the 9" rectangle. Fill with black. No outline.
You now have a 1/4" inline 1/2" from the edge.
You can now combine this inline to make it easy to work with.
Select the 8 1/2" rectangle then (hold the shift key) select the 9" rectange. You should have 2 objects selected. Now comine them. >Arrange >Combine (Ctrl+L)
As for outlines greater than 24 pts, just enter the point size you require in the outline tool box.
Posted by Eric Houser (Member # 4461) on :
Thanks a bunch for the help Emile!
Posted by Bruce Bowers (Member # 892) on :
I couldn't have said it better.
Posted by Ian Stewart-Koster (Member # 3500) on :
That's why I prefer Flexi: click the inline/outline menu & choose which one, type the width required, the offset required, and hit <enter> and you have it. No converting to outlines or anything.
To me, Corel's main failing is the lack of readily selectable & adjustable outlines & shadows.
Posted by Eric Houser (Member # 4461) on :
Yes, I agree Ian, signlab too is well suited for this function. I'm trying to use all the tools in my toolbox though, I learn best the hard way.
Thanx to all.
Posted by Bruce Williams (Member # 691) on :
Unfortunately, Emile is right: Making inlines in Corel is a PITA, and inlines with round corners more so. Ditto for outlines & shadows, as Ian says. Corel was invented for printing, not for signs; it just happens to be good for signs. I wonder if anybody has made a program that can force Corel do outlines & shadows the easy way?
Posted by Joe Crumley (Member # 2307) on :
Ian,
I'm not so proud of Flexi's in-line/outline feature. Perhaps I'm not using it right.
Isn't it necessary to break apart you need to return to the Effects menu to seperate outline, then go back again to Effects to break apart, then return to the arrange menu convert to outlines. OK now that's done, Flexi has made an extra copy of the original, looming behind, which must be removed.
What am I going wrong.
Posted by Emile Carle (Member # 4334) on :
I really don't think that Corel is a PITA.
Making an inline takes like maybe 2 minutes once you know what you're doing. I think Corel is a really great program for making signs.
Posted by Rick Chavez (Member # 2146) on :
In this regard Illy is similar to Flexi....
In Illy you select the shape, go to object>path>offset path, type in the increment with a "-" and hit okay....done.
I actually prefer using strokes while doing rough designs in Illy and then expanding them, especially when working with type that has multiple strokes.
I know in Corel you can you can vector the strokes but I forgot how to do it.
Posted by David Harding (Member # 108) on :
Ctrl+Shift+Q
Posted by Ian Stewart-Koster (Member # 3500) on :
Joe, what version are you using? (Mine's an old V.5)
Posted by Joe Crumley (Member # 2307) on :
Ian,
Perhaps I should go back to an older version. I'm using V7.6.
I like it OK but Flexi isn't very good with complex color renditions. Also it's very poor with import filters and also I can't make PDF with it. As a matter of fact I hate the dang thing.
Not really it's just my expectations.
Posted by Ian Stewart-Koster (Member # 3500) on :
JOe, mine is dreadful at printing blends also- it just won't- but it works the plotter really well, in my opinion.
It's a win95 version, so there are no right-click options available, but I can achieve what I need quickly with it with fewer gripes for more complex files, than I have with corel. Corel is waay fancier, and has a lot of features I like, but not the shadows, outlines, and plotting interface.
Posted by Mark M. Kottwitz (Member # 1764) on :
I use Corel for most of my design work, but when I need an outline, I find it easyer to just export it to Cas-Mate, create the outline (or drop shadow) and then export it back into corel. The only thing that bugs me about it is sometimes Cas-Mate will "forget" a piece here or there, and when sending back into corel, I get some "flat lining".
I do work at one subcontractor that has Co-Cut, so I just "send" it there, make my outline, and export it back. It seems to work fine with out any flatlining.
Any idea when Corel will make the outline/inline/shaddowing more user friendly?
Posted by Lotti Prokott (Member # 2684) on :
For an outline wider than 24 pt., you can just change that number in the outline pen dialog to whatever you like. Sometimes for reasons I could never figure out, it will not accept the number until you also click the "scale with Image" box.
Try it out.
Posted by Joe Crumley (Member # 2307) on :
OK here's the way I think Corl handles outlines. I believe it's a bitmap until slected and converted as ab object. Then it can be seperated as a vector and sent to the plotter.
