By Dale Farris, Reviews Coordinator
Golden Triangle PC Club
April 2008

Corel DESIGNER Technical Suite 12 is a comprehensive and complete technical graphics suite, offering one of the most competitive price / performance ratios in the industry today.

Designed to meet the needs of value conscious customers in the technical graphics segment, no other technical graphics suite available today can match its breadth of high-end benefits and functionality at an affordable price.

Corel DESIGNER Technical Suite 12 meets the immediate and long-term needs of organizations who need to create technical documents faster and with greater precision, while reducing their overall cost of ownership.

The Complete Technical Graphics Solution

In one complete package, Corel DESIGNER Technical Suite 12 provides powerful applications and compelling new features that enhance the design experience. Corel DESIGNER 12 offers the new projected drawing modes which dramatically speed the design process. The new suite also includes Corel PHOTO-PAINT 12 — a complete image-editing application for retouching and enhancing photos.

To help repurpose legacy drawings, the suite includes CorelTRACE 12, a bitmap-to-vector tracing utility that converts scanned or manually created bitmaps into editable vector images. Corel CAPTURE 12, an advanced screen capture utility, is also included to help capture images. Rounding out the suite is Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications, which provides application customization and extensibility for both Corel DESIGNER and Corel PHOTO-PAINT.

What's In The Suite?

Main Applications

Corel DESIGNER 12:
Corel DESIGNER 12 combines technologies from Micrografx Designer® and CorelDRAW®, providing enhanced drawing tools and an intuitively redesigned application interface that increases the efficiency of technical illustrators.

Corel PHOTO-PAINT 12:
Corel PHOTO-PAINT 12 is a complete, award-winning image-editing application for retouching and enhancing photos. Whether users are correcting red-eye or exposure problems, cutting out image areas, or creating and publishing images for the Web, Corel PHOTO-PAINT gives technical illustrators fast, powerful tools that are easy to use.

CorelTRACE 12:
A bitmap-to-vector tracing utility, CorelTRACE® 12 converts scanned or manually created bitmaps into vector images. By using scanning devices that are compatible with the Windows® operating system, CorelTRACE scans images and converts them into editable vector formats.

Corel CAPTURE 12:
This advanced screen capture utility lets users capture images. Users can choose to capture the current window, active client, or full screen, or the rectangle, elliptical or freehand areas.

Supporting Application and Utilities

Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications 6.3:
An object-oriented programming language, Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) lets users create macros to automate tasks and extend functionality within Corel DESIGNER Technical Suite 12. Users can create custom solutions that integrate with other applications and increase productivity for technical illustrators.

Corel SVG Viewer:
A Web browser plug-in for viewing and interacting with SVG graphics.

Symbols and templates:
Corel DESIGNER Technical Suite provides thousands of industry-standard symbols and templates, including ANSI, DIN, ISO, manufacturing, engineering and architectural templates, and architectural, electrical, general and mechanical symbols.

Documentation

User guide:
Corel DESIGNER Technical Suite 12 includes a comprehensive user guide that provides conceptual and procedural information about the suite’s applications. The user guide is available in PDF format in English, French, and German.

Online Help:
Users can find answers to common questions, detailed reference information, and step-by-step procedural information about Corel DESIGNER Technical Suite 12 by using the online Help feature in English, French, or German.

VBA Programming Guide:
Available in PDF format, the Visual Basic for Applications Programming Guide for Corel DESIGNER Technical Suite 12 helps users automate tasks and create custom solutions with VBA software.

Deployment Guide:
Available in PDF format, the comprehensive Corel DESIGNER Technical Suite 12 Deployment Guide provides detailed installation and deployment information.

Precision, Flexibility, and Ease of Use

The outstanding features of Corel DESIGNER Technical Suite 12 were developed specifically for the workflow of the technical illustrator, with many additional creative features, and exceptional ease of use. The new projected drawing modes dramatically increase productivity by letting the technical illustrator actively draw on the projected plane, which eliminates the need to draw the object first and then project it in a second step. The Callout tools provide numerous options for identifying objects in a drawing. Technical illustrators can choose from several text styles and a variety of line segment endings, including arrowheads and other symbols.

Precision is paramount in technical illustration. Accurate placement of objects on the drawing page and in relation to other objects is imperative. To that end, Corel DESIGNER Technical Suite 12 provides an array of tools and features that ensure precision. For example, features such as gravity snapping and dynamic guides help technical illustrators draw and place objects accurately, reducing creation time.

To facilitate collaboration, Corel DESIGNER Technical Suite supports more than 75 file formats, including DXF, DWG, SVG, CGM, CDR, PDF, PSD, TIFF, AI, EPS, DOC, and XLS. The import and export options ensure that technical illustrators can share their work and repurpose legacy designs. The suite provides flexibility in the form of creative tools and extensive text formatting capabilities. Moreover, Corel DESIGNER Technical Suite 12 includes Corel PHOTO-PAINT for editing photos. It also includes content specific to technical illustration, such as hatch fills, vector fills, raster fills, more than 4,000 industry-standard symbols, Clipart, linear patterns, and more.

Geared for the Technical Illustrator's Workflow

Corel DESIGNER Technical Suite 12 was conceived with a specific focus on the technical illustrator's needs for design precision, collaboration efficiency and flexibility, and the ability to repurpose old data and drawings.

The creation of technical illustrations can be a complex process, especially when designs are intended to serve multiple departments within an organization. The diagram for a single part may need to be used in product documentation and repurposed for use in marketing materials. In such cases, it is critical that users are able to collaborate with internal and external department resources and work seamlessly with external data in various file formats.

Customizing the Workspace

Corel DESIGNER Technical Suite 12 was designed to integrate with the workflow of technical illustrators. It offers a customizable user interface, enabling technical illustrators to streamline the available tools to match their workflow and quickly tailor the interface menus, commands, shortcut keys, and toolbars. For network deployments, Dynamic Language Switching makes it easy to deploy and use the application in any of its supported languages.

Also included is the Workspace Selector which provides the choice of additional workspaces. The Workspace Selector includes preconfigured workspaces that resemble the look and feel of Adobe Illustrator, Micrografx Designer 9, and Microsoft Visio. In addition, users can create, save, and share their own custom workspaces. For example, users can create different workspaces that are specific to the review and design processes.

Converting Legacy Designs

Before the days of CAD and other illustration software, technical illustrators relied on old-fashioned India ink to put their designs on paper. To use many of these older designs today, they must be scanned to create a bitmap image. The bitmaps are then traced to form editable vector images. To save time and effort, Corel DESIGNER Technical Suite 12 includes CorelTRACE 12, a bitmap-to-vector tracing utility. CorelTRACE automatically converts scanned or manually created bitmaps into vector images and seamlessly imports them into Corel DESIGNER.

Minimizing Data Loss Through AutoCAD Compatibility

Today, most technical illustrations start with data created by CAD engineers. Typically, this data details the technical component of a product and can range from legacy designs to new perspective views. Often, a technical illustrator employs multiple applications before finishing a design. The ability to exchange this information between applications without losing data is critical to a technical illustrator's workflow.

Corel DESIGNER Technical Suite 12 perfectly complements AutoCAD by providing tools and features that support the workflow of technical illustrators. It supports more than 75 file formats, including DXF, DWG, SVG, CGM, CDR, PDF, PSD, TIFF, AI, EPS, DOC, XLS, and more. In addition, Corel DESIGNER Technical Suite 12 lets users import Corel DESIGNER 9 and Micrografx DESIGNER files (DSF), including version 3.1 through 9.

Ensuring Precision

To a technical illustrator, precision is everything. Whether a design is intended for the aerospace, automotive, apparel, or telecommunications industry, approximation is not an option. All objects must be perfectly aligned with each other. With a hectic workflow, technical illustrators can not afford to waste time by zooming in and out to double-check object positioning.

Corel DESIGNER Technical Suite 12 gives users exceptional tools for ensuring the accuracy of their technical illustrations. Gravity snapping lets users snap the pointer to various points in objects, making it easy to create and position objects accurately. Technical illustrators can now snap the pointer to perpendicular and text baseline points as well.

Dynamic guides are temporary guidelines that illustrators can pull from the following snap points in objects ? center, node, quadrant, and text baseline. Users can also display dynamic guides that are tangent, perpendicular, or parallel to objects. In addition, parallel dynamic guides help users to easily draw parallel lines or objects.

Using the Right Tools for the Job

Technical illustrations also require detailed annotations, callouts and measurements. These items may include information about product part numbers, links to other drawings, and descriptions of functionality. Corel DESIGNER Technical Suite 12 provides enhanced tools for creating and modifying callouts and dimension lines, with simple or advanced options. For example, adding a halo to a callout creates a mask behind the leader line, which makes it easier to see call-outs on top of other objects.

The new projected drawing modes, which use predefined drawing profiles to represent three-dimensional objects in two dimensions, dramatically increase productivity for technical illustrators. Now, users can actively draw on the projected plane, eliminating the need to draw the object first and then project it in a second step. The new enhanced line styles, which allow technical illustrators to create lines of a specific width and pattern, are particularly useful for drawing stitching patterns. They were developed as a direct result of user feedback in the apparel industry. In addition, hatch fills provide an easy method of differentiating between material types, such as flooring.

Frequently, an illustration may be localized in several languages or contain information in multiple languages. To that end, Corel DESIGNER Technical Suite 12 supports Unicode text, which allows users to work with multilingual documents.

Automating Repetitive Tasks

Many technical illustrators spend countless hours on repetitive tasks, such as hotspotting, changing part numbers, and creating lists of parts. With Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) and an array of industry-standard symbols included, Corel DESIGNER Technical Suite 12 streamlines the technical illustration workflow.

VBA lets users automate repetitive tasks and enables easy interaction between data and objects for creating hotspots and parts lists. VBA can also be used to create add-ons and extensions for Corel DESIGNER Technical Suite 12 to suit user's workflow.

To allow easy placement of screws, nuts, bolts, and threading, Corel DESIGNER Technical Suite 12 includes more than 4,000 industry-standard symbols. Users can also create and share their own reusable symbols that can be linked to over a corporate network. The ability to link to the symbols over a network enables dynamic updates, so that when a linked symbol is modified by another illustrator, designs using that symbol can be easily updated to reflect the change.

Exporting Your Work

Whether technical illustrators are importing a file or exporting a finished design, data loss is not an option. Industry-standard file formats are mandatory to ensure easy deployment and sharing of files. Included in the more than 75 industry-standard import / export filters, Corel DESIGNER Technical Suite 12 supports WebCGM, ActiveCGM, GREX-CGM (ATA), and SVG filters. Users can also import and export to a variety of bitmap formats, including TIFF, GIF, JPEG, PNG, CDR, CPT, and RIF.

Without the need for additional software, users can easily create a PDF of a design, which is viewable using the freely distributed Adobe Acrobat Reader software on any computer. To ensure perfect printing results, Corel DESIGNER Technical Suite 12 also features a color management system and advanced preflight capabilities.

Summary of New and Enhanced Features

The following is a list of the new and enhanced features offered by Corel DESIGNER Technical Suite 12.

Corel DESIGNER Technical Suite 12 was conceived with a specific focus on the technical illustrator's needs for design precision, collaboration efficiency and flexibility, and the ability to repurpose old data and drawings. The following are some of the suite's new and enhanced features.

New projected drawing modes: The new drawing profiles let users project objects onto drawing planes and create the illusion of a three-dimensional graphic.

Enhanced gravity snapping: Gravity snapping lets users snap the pointer to various points in objects, making it easy to create and position objects accurately.

Enhanced dynamic guides: Dynamic guides are temporary guidelines users can pull from the following snap points in objects — center, node, quadrant, and text baseline.

New B-Spline tool: The B-Spline tool lets users draw curved lines by setting control points that shape the curve without breaking it into segments.

New dimension lines: Corel DESIGNER introduces three new types of dimension lines — segment, radial, and diameter dimension lines.

New enhanced line styles: Enhanced line styles are especially useful for illustrating stitch patterns and drawing parallel lines.

New hatch fills: Hatch fills consist of hatch patterns that are composed of vector-based lines and are used for representing different types of materials in a drawing.

New Fillet/Chamfer/Scallop: Technical illustrators can now use scallops, fillets, and chamfers to shape objects.

Enhanced transformations docker: The improved Transformations docker lets users project and unproject objects with precision.

Enhanced Eyedropper tool: The enhanced Eyedropper tool lets users copy color, object properties, effects, and transformations from one object to another.

New Workspace Selector: To help users quickly improve productivity, Corel DESIGNER offers additional workspaces.

New Dynamic language switching: Users can install multiple language packs to enable use of the application in more than one language.

Enhanced Unicode support: Exchange files effortlessly by ensuring that text is displayed correctly, regardless of the language or operating system in which the file was created.

New double-byte formatting: Users can now apply Asian fonts to Asian and Latin text by using the property bar.

New Insert formatting codes docker: The new Insert formatting codes docker lets users easily insert special characters and spaces, such as em dashes, en dashes, and nonbreaking spaces.

New Hotspotting — Object Data Manager: Users can manage a complex project by assigning data to its objects.

New Computer Graphics Metafile (CGM) support: Import and export to files of CGM Version 4 profiles, such as ACGM (ActiveCGM), WebCGM, and GREX (ATA GREXCHANGE).

Enhanced Corel DESIGNER (DSF): Support for files saved in Corel DESIGNER 9 and earlier versions has been improved. Hatch fills and enhanced line styles are now preserved.

New Export for Office: This new feature lets users optimize drawings for exporting to Microsoft Office or WordPerfect Office.

New AutoCAD Data Interchange Format (DXF) and AutoCAD® Drawing Database (DWG): AutoCAD 2004 files are supported.

Enhanced Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG): Users can now choose a variety of new options when exporting a drawing to the SVG file format.

Enhanced Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF): Users can now publish a drawing to a PDF file that is compatible with Adobe Acrobat 6.0.

Enhanced Adobe Photoshop (PSD): Support for duotone images and layer preservation have been added.

New Corel PHOTO-PAINT 12: Take advantage of this complete image-editing application that lets users retouch and enhance photos as well as create original graphics.

New CorelCAPTURE 12: This application lets users capture onscreen images.

Minimum System Requirements

P-III 600MHz or faster processor
Win Vista, 2000, or XP Home, Pro, or Tablet PC Edition) (Latest SP)
256MB RAM (512MB RAM recommended)
700MB free hard disk space
Space to install all 3 language packs with all content
1024 × 768 screen resolution (768 × 1024 on a Tablet PC)
CD-ROM drive
IE  6

NOTE:
As you might expect with this high powered technical drawing program, the more RAM and the faster the CPU, the better this program will work. Most all technical programs are resource intensive applications that will severely challenge minimally configured systems. I strongly suggest folks considering this application seriously consider running this with 1GB RAM and a higher end processor. In addition, this minimum hard drive space is based on a typical install, and a user should remember storing numerous drawing files can easily eat up hard drive space.

Price

$699 - Boxed Edition
$299 - Boxed Upgrade
$699 - Download Edition - (367MB file)
$299 - Download Upgrade

Download versions DO NOT include CDs or printed manuals. The product does include an electronic manual in .pdf format.

Corel Corporation

Corel's award-winning line of graphics products also includes Corel Painter, the digital sketching and painting tool of choice for fine artists, photographers, commercial designers and story-board artists, Corel KnockOut, the Corel KPT Collection and Corel DESIGNER, a set of precision tools for creating detailed technical drawings.

WordPerfect Office is Corel's office productivity suite. The company supports a high number of users worldwide who depend on the unique capabilities of WordPerfect Office—a feature-rich, value-priced suite that combines word processing, spreadsheet, presentation and address book applications. Widely deployed across government departments, legal firms and small-to medium-sized businesses, WordPerfect Office is compatible with popular file formats such as Microsoft Office, PDF, HTML and XML - making it easy for users to share information with their colleagues and clients.

Every day, millions of users depend on Corel software to capture and communicate their ideas. Although these individuals may have different priorities, they share a need for powerful, dependable software that enables them to easily capture and share their ideas with others. Corel is dedicated to addressing these needs with exceptional software that is responsive, efficient and enjoyable to use.

With its headquarters in Ottawa, Canada, and regional offices in the United States, Europe and Australia, Corel works with an established network of International partners to serve its customers around the globe.

Contact:

Kelly Manuel
PR Manager, Graphics
Corel Corporation
46430 Fremont Blvd.
Fremont, CA 94538, USA
613-728-0826, Ext. 1223
Cell: 613-668-5483
kelly.manuel@corel.com
www.corel.com

To order, call 1-800-772-6735 (Monday-Friday, 9:00am. - 7:00pm EST)