As a follow-up to my two previous posts regarding SP1 (general info and specific about RAW), I wanted to provide additional information about when it will be released, what is included with SP1 and how you can get it.

First things first: When? Everything is on track for Corel to release Service Pack 1 for CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X4 tomorrow. 

What's included? We've worked very hard going through your feedback in the forums to make sure that this service pack provided you with solutions to your main problems. I've included a copy of the read-me document that comes with SP1 and describes all the changes included at the bottom of this blog post. One thing not listed in the readme is that we have a new splash-screen that will make it easy to know if you have SP1 installed or not. If you have a flat balloon when launching CorelDRAW or PHOTO-PAINT X4, you don't have Service Pack 1 installed.

How can I get my hands on it? With the release of SP1, we will start pushing the service pack through Automatic Update in the Welcome screen in a staggered approach. This means that next time you launch CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X4 within the next week or so, you will be able to automatically install Service Pack 1 from within the application. The other option for you to get your hands on SP1 will be to download it from http://www.corel.com starting tomorrow morning (Ottawa time).

We highly recommend to install SP1 on every language that CorelDRAW is currently available in: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, Swedish, Finish, Polish, Czech, Hungarian and Russian. The upcoming Asian language, once released, will have SP1 included.

Thank you to the team at Corel and the beta testers who worked hard since the launch of CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X4 to get Service Pack 1 out of the door.


CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X4 - Readme Notes

CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X4 Service Pack 1

Installer

  • Additional content is installed into separate folders according to type (clipart, objects, or photos). Shortcuts to these folders are added to the Start menu to facilitate browsing to the content.

CorelDRAW

Application workspace

  • The Scrapbook docker has been added to the default workspace. You must reset your workspace to see this change.
  • Quitting CorelDRAW with the Snap to Grid option enabled no longer produces an error.
  • The resolution of a selected bitmap is now displayed on the status bar.
  • Locking guidelines when the rotation handles are visible no longer produces an error.

Display

  • Page display issues no longer occur when you use certain touch-pad or scrolling devices.
  • Dialog boxes and dockers are now properly sized when certain video device drivers and settings (specifically nView) are used.

Document Controls

  • Several enhancements were made to the Object Manager docker to enhance the new layer structure functionality:
    • The layer structure and layer names are now retained when you open a file from a previous version and then save it back to a previous version.
    • Files that have a consistent layer structure throughout the document can now be saved back to previous versions with the layer structure intact and layer names retained.
    • Toggling the Show/Hide icon in the Layer Manager view shows or hides the Master Layer on a specific page. If changes are made while not in the Layer Manager view, the settings for the Master Layer are applied to the entire document.
    • Master Layers remain at the bottom of the layers list when a new page is inserted.
    • When you drag guidelines onto the page, they are added to the Master Guide layer as they were in previous versions. If you have a local Guides layer selected and then drag a guideline to the page, it is added to the local Guides layer. Guides can still be moved from the Guides layers to the Master Guide layer. If you prefer to add guides to the local Guides layer, you must edit the registry key at: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Corel\CorelDRAW\14.0\CorelDRAW\Application Preferences\Guides\GuidelinesOnMasterPage. A value of 1 adds guides to the Master Page; a value of 0 adds guides to the local Guides layer.

Text

  • Mirroring or resizing paragraph text with the Text > Show Non-Printing Characters command enabled no longer displays an error.
  • Shortcuts for increasing and decreasing text size are now working in both Edit state and Pick state.
  • Adjusting line, character, or word spacing interactively with the Shape tool in any display mode no longer results in a crash.
  • When you are moving a text object to duplicate it at a specific position, the original is now displayed when you press the plus sign or spacebar, or when you right-click. This enhancement can help you position the duplicate in relation to the original text object.
  • Numbers entered by using an Asian IME are now marked with a Latin language ID. A Latin font can be applied without having to change the language of numbers.
  • When you open files from earlier versions that contain text on a path, the text no longer shifts from its original position.
  • Hovering over the Font Size list box applies the change only after you click the new font size.
  • When TrueDoc is used to embed fonts within a document, double-byte and bidirectional fonts are not supported.
  • Bullets, drop caps, and indents in paragraph text that has Right to Left direction are converted to curves when the file is saved to CorelDRAW versions 13.0 and earlier.

Tools

  • Applying the Undo command on dimension lines no longer produces an error.

Vector Effects

  • When editing PowerClip objects and symbols, the object inside the linked group is now selected by default.

OLE

  • OLE support for Excel 2007 tables has been enhanced.
  • CorelDRAW is now fully terminated when it completes an OLE session as a server.
  • When you work in a container application, editing the TextFont Options no longer produces an error.
  • When CorelDRAW is run as a server application, the Print command no longer becomes disabled.

Web Functions

  • The Automatically Hyperlink feature has been enhanced for Asian languages.

Bitmap Controls & Effects

  • Information about bitmap resolution is now displayed on the status bar.
  • When bitmaps are exported, bitmap inflation and anti-aliasing of straight lines no longer occur due to a change in the anti-aliasing behavior during export.

Object Attributes & Controls

  • The Apply to Duplicate option in the Transformation docker creates a duplicate the first time you use the option.
  • Sampling colors by using the Eyedropper tool has been enhanced to improve compatibility with Asian operating systems.
  • The Replace text properties feature in the Replace Wizard has been enhanced to work with double-byte text.
  • When arrowheads are added to dimension lines, the arrowheads are added only to the line that contains the dimension text.
  • When dimension lines are selected, the pen outline attributes are now correctly displayed in the Pen Outline dialog box.

 

Corel PHOTO-PAINT

Lenses

  • Copying a lens in Corel PHOTO-PAINT no longer results in program instability.

Tools

  • Deleted nibs are now removed from the Brush Settings docker, thus making nibs easier to manage.

 

Printing

  • Print separations in Corel PHOTO-PAINT no longer produces unnecessary empty plates.
  • Print Merge has been enhanced to recognize RTF & CSV files saved from within the Wizard.
  • Print Preview is no longer missing any printing boundaries areas of the current driver.

Import/Export Filters

TIF

  • TIFF export has been enhanced to improve compatibility with Photoshop CS3.

RAW

  • RAW support for the following camera models has been added: Canon EOS 450D, Canon Powershot G9, Sony DSLR-A300, DSLR-A200, DSLR-A350, Fuji IS-1, S100FS, Pentax K20D, Nikon D60, and Olympus E-420.
  • The following RAW file formats are now listed in the Import an Image and Open and Image dialog boxes: Adobe DNG, Kodak DCR, Pentax PEF, Leaf MOS, Sony SRF, SR2, ARW, and Panasonic RAW.

Microsoft Word (DOC)

  • Double-byte text compatibility has been improved.

Adobe Illustrator (AI)

  • Custom edge-pad settings are now retained in imported AI files that contain gradients.
  • Asian text support has been improved for exported AI files that are opened in Adobe Illustrator (versions CS and higher).

Portable Document Format (PDF)

  • Publish to PDF: Spot colors assigned to fills and outlines are now maintained in monochrome bitmaps.
  • The autosensing functionality during PDF import has been enhanced. If a file is saved with the AI compatibility option enabled, it is opened as a PDF file by default; if you wish to open the PDF as an AI file, you must select the AI - Adobe Illustrator filter in the Import dialog box.
  • Import PDF: When text is imported as curves and the text font is not available on the computer, the curves are created by using the embedded font within the PDF file; if the font is not embedded, the Panose Font Matching dialog box will be invoked.

CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X4 Version Number Table:

Application
X4 Initial Release
X4 Service Pack 1
CorelDRAW X4
14.0.0.567
14.0.0.653
PHOTO-PAINT
14.0.0.567
14.0.0.653