Reading through the forums on CorelDRAW.com, I know that some of you have been waiting for the first Service Pack for CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X6. The good news is that the wait is almost over as we will make the first update for X6 available next week in all languages.

The first change you will notice compared to the past is that we are going away from the “Service Pack” terminology and will call this release “Update 1” or X6.1 because we are including more than performance and stability improvements with X6.1 (more on this in a few paragraphs).

From a list of enhancements and fixes, here are some of the highlights of what will be addressed with Update 1 (a longer list will be available in the release notes once released):

• When bitmaps are edited in Corel PHOTO-PAINT, their horizontal and vertical resolution is preserved.
• Files from version X5 that contain monotone bitmaps open properly in version X6.
• The dpi of imported JPGs that were originally created in Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop is properly displayed.
• You will be able to create color harmonies from objects with mesh fills.
• Overall performance improvements when opening & saving files
• You can press Enter to apply transformations from the Transformations docker.
• The Transformations docker displays object size and position correctly when you open it with an object selected.
• All color separations are printed when a PostScript printer is used.
• Unfilled text with an outline can be printed and exported to an EPS file.
• Using a TrueType font to type Arabic text no longer results in corrupted characters.
• Range kerning is applied correctly in relation to the insertion cursor.
• You can view and access available fonts from the Font list box after editing text, and then saving, and opening documents.
• Pasted Asian text preserves the original font size and font type when the Maintain Fonts and Formatting option is selected.
• Fill color and outline color are preserved when copying and pasting text.
• Contour steps are no longer created in the CMYK color mode in RGB objects or documents.
• The Contour docker and contour controls on the property bar retain the last used values.
• Converting to bitmap in PowerClip edit mode does not leave unwanted traces from the PowerClip container.
• In CorelDRAW, various instability issues were addressed in areas such as opening files, changing the units of measure, importing PDF and SVG files, deleting pages in Page Sorter view, printing and exporting Asian text, and more.
• In Corel PHOTO-PAINT, instability issues were addressed in features such as undoing actions in Paint-on-Mask mode and using the Clone from Saved brush.

But there’s much more coming next week. While we’ve traditionally released new versions of CorelDRAW every 24 months in recent years, we also understand that this can be a long period to wait in order to benefit from new features and enhancements we develop internally. We’ve also heard from many of you that keeping the content on the DVD only (or copying the 6+ Gb on your hard drive) isn’t your preferred option. At the same time, we want to make sure we provide you with the choice of using CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X6 as it’s best for you, and that you can choose what additional benefits you want in addition to the desktop software you get when you purchase our product.

Starting with CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X6.1 next week, you will have the option to access and search all of the content (clip-art, fonts, stock photos, templates, …) that is currently stored on the DVD through an online service integrated in Corel CONNECT. This will be a free option to anyone who has purchased CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X6 (and we will add an extra 1000 high-resolution stock photos and 250 cliparts in addition to what’s on the X6 disc to celebrate the launch of X6.1). We will also make new premium content available through Corel CONNECT for those who choose to get access to it.

We will also start to provide early access to new features with every update starting with X6.1 for those who choose to get them. While early access to new features will be reserved for those who join a new Premium offering that we will announce next week as well, we have decided to make the ones that will be included with X6.1 available to everyone who purchased CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X6, so that you get get a feel of what will be included in that Premium offering. Here is a list of some of the new features that will be included in X6.1:

• Align and Distribute docker: This new docker replaces the original Align and Distribute dialog box, letting you access all options from one convenient location.
• Color Styles docker: View, arrange and edit color styles and color harmonies even more easily.
• Scanning: Native support for Scanning using Windows Image Acquisition (WIA) v 2.0, including support for 64-bit multi-area scanning, Automatic Document Feeder (ADF) and more.
• Enhanced Photoshop plugin support: Support for the latest version of the Photoshop plugin SDK, which means that Corel PHOTO-PAINT will be compatible with many more PS Plug-ins than ever before.
• Quick Pan: In Corel PHOTO-PAINT, you can now use the Quick Pan mode to switch from any active tool to the Pan tool, just like in CorelDRAW X6 (middle-mouse button)
• OpenType support for Asian text: Now you can apply advanced OpenType typography features to Asian text.
• Styles and typography support through Visual Basic for Applications / Visual Studio for Applications: You will now be able to access the X6 introduced style and advanced typography features through automation when developing macros and add-ons for CorelDRAW Graphics Suite.

Finally, CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X6.1 is going to be the first version that is officially certified / compatible with Windows 8, so that if and when you upgrade your operating system, your graphics suite of choice will be ready for you.

Update 1 will be free for everyone who purchased and registered their copy of CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X6. Simply go to the Help menu in CorelDRAW or Corel PHOTO-PAINT X6 and select “Updates…” to download and install the X6.1 update. The one small change you will notice with this process is that you will be asked to log into your Corel.com account before you can access the update it you haven’t done so previously (for example to download Website Creator X6).