CorelDRAW Technical Suite 2024 Overview

CorelDRAW Technical Suite 2024 v25 is a powerful vector graphics editor developed and marketed by Alludo (formerly Corel Corporation). This suite also includes the bitmap-image editor Corel Photo-Paint along with several other graphics-related programs.

CorelDRAW serves as a versatile platform for digital painting, desktop publishing, and is widely used in industries such as signmaking, vinyl and laser cutting, engraving, print-on-demand, and more. Reduced-feature Standard and Essentials versions are available for different user needs.

History of CorelDRAW

CorelDRAW’s journey began in 1987 when engineers Michel Bouillon and Pat Beirne developed a vector-based illustration program to complement their desktop publishing systems. The first version was released in 1989 and was originally compatible with early Windows operating systems.

• Early Releases (1989-1991): CorelDRAW 1.x and 2.x ran on Windows 2.x and 3.0.

• Windows 3.1 Era: CorelDRAW 3.0 gained popularity with TrueType font support.

• Expansion of Suite: Integration with Corel Photo-Paint, Corel Capture, and other tools marked the foundation of the first all-in-one graphics suite.

Features by Version

CorelDRAW Major Releases and Updates

(Note: This is a summarized table; CorelDRAW has had many more versions and feature updates.)

Platform and Scripting History

Supported Platforms

• Originally developed for Microsoft Windows 2.1.

• Versions existed for Windows 3.1x, CTOS, OS/2, Power Macintosh, and Linux.

• Mac support was discontinued but returned with the 2019 version.

• Currently supports Windows 10, Windows 11, and macOS, including Apple Silicon.

Scripting and Automation

• Introduced Corel SCRIPT in version 6.

• Added VBA (Visual Basic for Applications) support in version 9.

• Integrated Visual Studio Tools for Applications (VSTA) since version X5.

• Added JavaScript support for cross-platform scripting in 2019.

CorelDRAW File Format

Overview

CorelDRAW’s native file format is CDR, a proprietary format originally recognizable by specific headers and evolved over time.

• Early versions used a proprietary format.

• From CorelDRAW 3 onward, used the RIFF container format.

• Later versions (X4 and up) use a ZIP-compressed container including XML files.

• No public specification for CDR files is available.

Other Related File Formats

• CDX (CorelDraw Compressed)

• CDT (CorelDraw Template)

• CMX (Corel Presentation Exchange)

Use in Other Programs

• Open-source projects like sK1 and UniConvertor have reverse-engineered CDR to enable import/export.

• Microsoft Office temporarily blocked CDR file support in 2007 but later resolved issues.

• LibreOffice supports reading CDR files through the libcdr library.

Conclusion

CorelDRAW Technical Suite 2024 continues to be a comprehensive vector graphics and desktop publishing platform with a rich history of innovation and continuous improvement. Its wide range of tools and scripting support make it a versatile choice for professionals across various design and production industries.