Sometime between 12/9 and 12/13/21, I lost some of my tools (both down the side and above) and the PDFs are generating with about a 1/4 to 1/2" of additional border beyond the prescribed boundaries of the documents. I tried resetting my toolbox to default, but I don't see any difference, and I have no idea what to do about the PDFs. Incidentally, the PDF files have been huge ever since I upgraded to CorelDraw 2019. Whenever I'm doing a 12-page color newsletter, I have to have the guy that posts it dumb it down in the extreme! Before that, I could keep an online document under 20 MB at 150 dpi, but now it's over 50 MB. If I generate one at 96 dpi or below, it comes out fuzzy.
I have read that Microsoft 10 updates have been messing with a variety of programs and I have the dates (above) when it could've happened, but I don't know how to track down which update(s) might be the culprit(s). Years ago, I had an MS update screw up my PageMaker, but I knew the exact date when it happened and there were forum postings on it, so I was able to fix the problem. Thus far, I haven't found any for my issues.
It also occasionally does a bizarre thing on a 12-page newsletter, where it starts flashing little object handles all over the place and eventually, facing pages swap places (I shot a video, but it's too big to post). Every once in a while, it does more than just swap facing pages and I end up with misplaced pages all over the place. I had the same problem with the previous version and the tech had no idea what do about it, and naturally suggested the upgrade. But guess what? It's still doing it! Just not as often...so far.
Yes, Windows updates can cause the most peculiar things to happen.In this case though, It sounds more like Draw has been corrupted somehow.I suggest you try the Repair option from the suite's install routine.Regarding the PDF's getting bigger than normal, I'm pretty sure it is just an export setting.There's a number of things that can make the files grow, like for example bitmap compression.Also remember that some Draw specific effects may be rendered as bitmaps depending on your export settings.
I tried the Repair and no cigar. Reinstall from the disk?FYI, I went ahead and allowed access on the Windows Security box and checked my X8 version and the tools are all there. At least now I can see what all is missing. I tried looking under the 2019 Tools menu/Options/Tools, but the missing tools are not listed. I'm actually missing the whole Objects menu in 2019.
All this sounds very odd.Regarding the security message it sounds like you have solved it by simply allowing access to at least private networks, so I guess that part is fixed.Regarding the missing tools you seem to have tried the most obvious solutions, and you say that they were there (in this version) until between December 9 and 13 somewhere, but then they suddenly disappeared.Are you saying that you don't have anything in the Tools section in Options? (screenshot from Draw 2020 attached)Since you've reset the workspace (have you tried the other built in workspaces too?) and also Repair, you could try uninstalling Draw completely (documents should not be affected but it is always wise to have backup copies), restart the computer and try to install again.If it still doesn't help, I suspect that there may be something missing in Windows.I believe Draw is using Microsoft Visual C++ and Visual Studio and it is important that they are properly installed, but Draw should take care of it during installation if they are missing.
OK...try again. I do have tools in The Tools section in Options, but not the missing tools. I have no idea how to access the built-in workspaces, so haven't tried that. I tried the Repair and nada. I did do a comprehensive search through the various menus and found back doors to a Zoom tool box (although I still can't encapsulate objects with it) and the Options menu. The Drop Shadow tool was amongst a bunch of other tools that are normally split into 2 groups, but are now all together. The thing I'm most concerned about, however, is the extended PDF gutter. I'll likely have to do the uninstall, as suggested. I just have to take some time to jot down all my PDF settings first. Every time there's been an uninstall (and it's happened 3 to 4 times, between the 2 programs), I've lost all my PDF settings. Why Corel never bothered to make it possible to back those up, is beyond me.Regarding the file size, I have a thought I'm going to try out when I get a chance. Ever since I got 2019, it's insisted on warning me that there are items falling outside of the document. As long as I either select specific items or input the Page numbers (as opposed to the whole document), the PDF looks OK, but the file size is huge and I'm wondering if it is, in fact, including all the outside objects and they're just not visible. I'm going to do a resave on one of the newsletters and remove everything that falls outside of the document and see what happens. I do keep a lot of graphics and text blocks off to the side that I reuse in subsequent issues. I actually had a Corel tech work with me on this very issue and he tried all kinds of fixes, including uninstalling and reinstalling the program, but nothing worked. He said to ignore it and just be sure to select whichever pages I wanted included. Another tech tried the same thing to get rid of the page-swapping issue in X8, but it didn't work for that either. Wish I could show you the video I took of that. It's pretty amazing. The tech said he'd never seen anything like it. Lucky me...Thanks again!
Weird.You do have the full version of the suite, right, not the Home & Student, Standard or Essentials versions?I suggest you try reinstallation.Make sure to remove user files when unistalling, to get rid of any potentially damaged files.There is a file called "corelpdf.ini" that holds all your PDF export settings.You can find it in "C:\Users\ <your username> \AppData\Roaming\Corel\CorelDRAW Graphics Suite 2019\Config".Save a copy before uninstalling and you can try to to replace the default file afterwards.I think I know what may be happening with your PDFs.You say you use the area outside the page to store objects, right?Starting with Draw 2019, objects outside the drawing area/page are no longer moved to the non-printable Desktop layer automatically, by default, after switching page or saving the file.This means that they are still printable and will be exported but can't be seen in the PDF.There are very good reasons why this was changed but for some users the old way worked fine without any disadvantages.You can still make them move to the Desktop automatically by unchecking "Keep Desktop Objects on Layer" in the Objects docker options menu (cogwheel icon).I personally prefer to do it manually when needed, by simply dragging them to the Desktop layer in the Objects docker.
Yes, I have the full upgrade. How do I remove user files?Interesting about saving the PDF settings. The Corel tech told me there was no way to do it...once he understood what I was talking about. There was a way to save something or other having to do with PDFs, but it wasn't my individual custom settings. I may still write them all down, just in case.Thanks for the explanation regarding the desktop objects. That really does explain why the PDF files have gotten so huge. So the objects will still be viewable when I either uncheck "Keep Desktop Object on Layer" or I move them manually? Why would doing it manually be preferred? I have a LOT of extraneous objects!Much appreciated!
harpluster said:How do I remove user files?
During uninstallation, simply choose to Remove User Files.You can check after uninstall that the "C:\Users\ <your username> \AppData\Roaming\Corel\CorelDRAW Graphics Suite 2019" folder is empty or maybe even missing.Remember that the PDF settings, and other settings, are in there so they will be gone too.
harpluster said:There was a way to save something or other having to do with PDFs, but it wasn't my individual custom settings.
The "corelpdf.ini" contains all PDF settings, for default presets as well as for your saved presets.
harpluster said:So the objects will still be viewable when I either uncheck "Keep Desktop Object on Layer" or I move them manually? Why would doing it manually be preferred? I have a LOT of extraneous objects!
Up to and including version 2018, all objects outside the drawing area stayed on their original layers, but not if you1. worked in a multipage document and2. switched to another page or3. saved the document.Then they were suddenly automatically moved to the non-printable Desktop layer.There was no way around it and it was a pretty unpredictable behavior if you ask me.From version 2019 this was changed.The default mode kept all objects on their layers, even after switching page or saving.It could be changed back to 2018 mode with the "Keep Desktop Objects on Layer" option.
harpluster said:Why would doing it manually be preferred?
Simply because I don't like when objects move without me doing anything. I often work in multipage documents where pages may be of very different size.Let's say I move an object outside the frame of a small page and then switch to a much larger page.With the old behavior, this object will then be moved to a different layer and it will also get a new position to make sure it is outside also this larger page.If I then switch back to the first page, the object may be far away from where it used to be, and maybe even out of visible area.This may be dangerous because there can be objects that I don't see that will affect the document.Moving them manually instead, when needed, is a pretty easy task.
Thank you, Ronny! I was planning on working on all this today. In the meantime, I heard back from Corel Support and their only suggestion was that I create a new user profile named as Test, to check if I'm experiencing the same issue on a new profile. This is also so they can isolate if the issue is with my current user profile, if it's corrupted or not. If it works on the new user account, it could mean that there's something in my original user account that conflicts with the program. It could be a conflict with another program, anti-virus, leftover files, registry entries, or other components and files on the original user account. He gave me the link to view how to do that. The only thing he didn't tell me was what I should do if the Test user profile works.Trying to decide whether to do this first or just go ahead and do the reinstall.
harpluster said:Trying to decide whether to do this first or just go ahead and do the reinstall.
For me, I would try uninstalling/reinstalling CorelDRAW first, to see if that fixed the problem.
Creating a new user profile in Windows would be a "much bigger deal" for me, and thus something I would really hope to avoid.
If you do the reinstall my suggestion would be to go to the system registry, software corel coteldraw and rename or delete the 23 folder. Then install and reboot.
OK. Good to know. Thanks!
What is the 23 folder?