Hot of the development team, we just released the first update for Corel DESIGNER Technical Suite X4, also known as Service Pack 1. Once installed, the version number of Corel DESIGNER and of Corel PHOTO-PAINT will be 14.1.0.235 (the original version was 14.1.0.195) and the version number of Right Hemisphere Deep Exploration will be 5.7.3.4854. SP1 will be made available shortly through the automatic in-product update system. In the mean-time, here is the link to download the Corel DESIGNER Technical Suite X4 Service Pack 1, which is a free download for everyone who has purchased Corel DESIGNER Technical Suite X4. The big new enhancements is that you can now import 3D objects as curves into DESIGNER, a request we heard from quite a few of our users.

Update: For those who want to find out more in detail about this service pack, have a look at the detailed blog post from Klaus which also includes great extra macros to help further optimize your 3D CAD files imports..

Service Pack 1 offers enhancements in the following areas:

General

• Service Pack 1 includes previously released Hot Fix 1 and Localization Pack 1.

Corel DESIGNER

• Corel DESIGNER Technical Suite X4 applications will now start after Autodesk Inventor 2009, AutoCAD Mechanical 2009, or Microsoft SQL Server 2008 is installed.
• Shortcuts assigned to Gravity Snapping by default can now be assigned to other commands.
• User settings are maintained in the Shaping Docker on application re-launch.
• Clipboard recognizes multiple Corel DESIGNER instances.
• Files that contain macros will now open correctly on Windows 7 (beta).
• Symbol libraries that contain symbols with Text on Path will no longer crash the application when accessed.
• Dimensions on hidden layers will no longer crash the application.
• Dimensions on the master layer are now visible.
• Dimensions units in version 12 files are maintained correctly when opening the file in version X4.

Corel PHOTO-PAINT

• Resampling image produce consistent results.

Filters

• Opening or importing DSF files from version 9 or earlier will now have the correct text placement on vertical callouts.
• Cropped images are maintained when opening or importing DSF files.
• Blank lines in artistic or paragraph text boxes are maintained when opening or importing DSF files.
• Exporting to DXF (r10) will result in smaller file size.
• Associative hatch fills are maintained when importing DXF/DWG files.
• Files exported as DXF Version 2000 - 2008 open correctly in DWG TrueView.
• Font names are now published accurately when publishing files to PDF.
• Connector lines from imported VSD files move with objects as expected.
• Objects are no longer broken into individual pieces when importing VSD files.
• Arrowheads on connector lines are maintained when importing VSD files.
• Page names are maintained when opening VSD files.
• Specific objects are maintained correctly when importing VSD files.
• Exported TIFF files no longer contain un-necessary tags.
• Line widths are maintained correctly when exporting to TIFF with less then 300 dpi.
• Print and Export Background option is respected when exporting CGM files.

Right Hemisphere Deep Exploration

• Unique bezier curve support for converting 3D Solid models into high quality technical illustrations.
• Updated and enhanced 3D CAD file format support (Deep Exploration CCE only).
• Materials, Animation, Layers and Parts panels can be moved and docked from Scene Components panel.
• Enhanced WebCGM export including automatic hotspot creation and XML companion file.
• Improved halo/arrow size for callouts with user-defined thickness to adhere to S1000 D requirements.