CorelDraw - layers / pages - easiest way to deal with them

[Andy D]

This is going to sound newbish: I have used Coreldraw for a long time and always had quick workarounds, but CorelDraw 2020 has changed so much from 16, I'm getting sick of dealing with crap disappearing.

I hope I can explain this; I use photoshop a lot and I understand layers, ect,
but I have no use for layers (not sure if that's the correct name) in Corel draw. When I switched to
CorelDraw about ten years ago, I switched from Inspire Sign graphics, where what you saw is what
you got & that's what I would really like to have again... I have always had issues with things showing correctly on my screen in normal or enhanced, but not printing correctly because stuff is out of page or layer order.
I do create multiple pages for my proofs, but drag stuff out of the bounding box and work on it there,
now in CD 2020 stuff outside of the bounding box appears and disappears when I switch from one page to the other... Is there a way to get rid of that?
Again, I hope this makes sense

 

[myront]

Yes, corel has layers as most other programs. I rarely have a use for any more than one layer. Couple of things to note, and you may know already. As you select a shape you will see which layer it is on by the info at the bottom left of the workspace

also note that you have a "Desktop" layer. That refers to the space outside your page boundaries and is only relevant when multiple pages are used otherwise it's irrelevant.

So, if you have 1 page and you place a shape in that desktop area it still stays on layer 1 but as soon as you add another page that shape will automatically be assigned or get moved to the Desktop layer.

 

[unclebun]

In the Objects Docker, click the gear icon at the top for options and uncheck "Keep Desktop Objects On Layer"

 

[Bobby H]

Corel seems to be changing and re-arranging existing features in the program just to make it look like they're doing more with each upgrade cycle. The changes they made to the Object Manager palette are no exception.

The new default behavior of keeping desktop objects on layer and page is annoying. I quickly disabled it.

The only new feature in CorelDRAW 2020 that I consider a significant improvement at all is support for Variable Fonts. But the implementation is very sluggish. I pretty much have to type in the axis numbers rather than use the interactive slider to change font weight, width, slant, etc. I don't understand the problem. Interactive preview of OTF Variable Fonts works far more smoothly in Adobe Illustrator and even in Inkscape 1.0. Heck, you can even play around with font OTF Var font previews at Google Fonts' web page (there's several free variable fonts there).

 

[Big Rice Field]

I use Corel as a drafting program. Since I took AutoCAD classes in college I found out that layers are very helpful in technical drawings. When I draw signs the actual sign objects are on a separate layer so that it makes it easy to take those objects to make production patterns. I put all dimensions and callouts on separate layers too. I also use master layers for the title blocks so that I do not have to duplicate them from page to page.

 

[Big Rice Field]

Since my drawings are multipage and have elements at different scales, I turn off the dynamic dimensioning and break the dimensions apart as soon as they are made. If I didn't do that the dimensions would change automatically.

 

[Big Rice Field]

Oh man, that's ideal right there. I'm curious, if you put dimensions on a separate layer, does it still make the part that you are snapping dimensions to a pain to work with?

As soon as I create the dimension I break it apart and ungroup it. This disables dynamic dimensioning, which is useless on drawings that have elements drawing at different scales. For example a building elevation may be at 1/16"=1'-0" architectural scale and a detail on another page is at 1/4"=1'-0". If the dynamic dimensioning is not broken up it will change the dimensions over the entire drawing.

 

[Big Rice Field]

Oh man, that's ideal right there. I'm curious, if you put dimensions on a separate layer, does it still make the part that you are snapping dimensions to a pain to work with?

The dimensions snap to the objects as long as you have "edit across layers" option active. I put the dimensions on its own layer so it is easier to shut them off when it comes time to take the sign itself into a full size pattern. Same goes for other elements in the drawing. my "SIGN" layer is only the sign and I just copy it and paste it into a new drawing, then enlarge it to full size.

 

[Big Rice Field]

Oh man, that's ideal right there. I'm curious, if you put dimensions on a separate layer, does it still make the part that you are snapping dimensions to a pain to work with?

After I make a dimension I immediately break it apart (Ctrl-K) and ungroup it (Ctrl U). this negates dynamic dimensioning. The reason I do this is that different drawing objects are at different scales throughout the drawing. For example, a building elevation may be at 1/16"=1' scale, while the detail on the next page of the sign will be at 1/4"=1'-0".

 

[54warrior]

I love layers. Currently on 2018. Leary of upgrading to 2021.

 

[Big Rice Field]

SInce I use different scales

Oh man, that's ideal right there. I'm curious, if you put dimensions on a separate layer, does it still make the part that you are snapping dimensions to a pain to work with?

On a technical drawing, I immediately break apart and ungroup dimensions after I make them. If I leave dynamic dimensioning on it causes problems going from building elevations to detail pages.