hello, I use very often strokes that are just some drawing lines, and at the end mostly I need fills / objects. So I use the function to expand strokes, many years in Illustrator which was fine. But I would like to handle this in CorelDraw also, as I work more and more only in CorelDraw. The function to convert contours to objects (expand strokes) is ok but I wish there could be either more options or just better results :).
Is there perhaps anywhere a macro to download or buy which has just this function for expand strokes in CorelDraw?
Thank you.
Convert Outline to Object works pretty good most of the times in my opinion, but may sometimes create some unnecessary nodes.Select all nodes and use Reduce Nodes in Property Bar afterwards, if it does. Keep an eye on the curves though since reducing the number of nodes may change the curves slightly.You can also try to use Contour instead of converting the curve but it takes a few more steps, especially if you want both the inner and outer edge of the "outline".These are the two options we have, and even if a macro was created, it would probably have to be based on either of these commands.
I asked this as I noticed that the outline to object works also differently in the different Corel version, but of course also differen from Illustrator (which I prefer for this function at the moment while I use CorelDraw for everything else).
I asked this also because I found in another forum a similar question and a user answered with a small macro. Not sure I am allowed to link to another forum and the macro code, the discussion was about converting cutlines to cbject.
When I tested this other macro, the result was quite different from the function in CorelDraw 2023. As I did not test long, I don't know if it works better, but it could be.
So after all I thought that there could be another macro (more recently) and perhaps a commercial macro for this.
I am not a developer but in my impression this is a function that is perhaps not too easy to implement. Because I looked at some tools (CorelDraw, Illustrator, Vectorstyler, Affinity Designer, Inkscape) and they get quite different results. I attach here a file with a little curve, and when I make it to an object in CorelDraw I get two positions where the nodes are too much and creating little "steps" in the lines, here in the example in the lower part in the middle . And they don't go away when I choose "reduce nodes" in the next step. In Illustrator I don't get those "serrates". So I thought perhaps other users already had wished for a better function here, and there could be a macro.
test2.zip
this is just a first example I just had open, of course there ar other examples where those serrates are larger and visible without zoom.
I agree Draw should be able to convert to object from the outline in your test file better.Using Contour, as suggested in my previous post, creates a much better result for some reason.I checked Illustrator and Affinity Designer and while Illy creates a perfect object, Designer fails completely.
hello Ronny and thank you. I have never tried Contour and don't know how it works. There are videos and help documents for it, so I will learn it. But to be sure, just the question to you whether you made anything specific to get the best result, so what steps did you take to make a good result?
By the way, perhaps this is even the answer to my macro question :). Isn't it then possible to record those steps to have a macro about "contour" as a tool to make those tasks?
Of course, you can learn how the contour effect works in Corel, but for your sample curve in the Test2.cdr file, it is difficult (impossible) to choose the offset parameter for the contour so as not to deform the curve. It is much easier to remove the first node of the curve and I hope you like the result.Here is a macro how to do it.Sub FirstNodeCorrection() ActiveShape.Curve.Nodes(1).DeleteEnd Sub
Another question is if you have an array of more than a thousand curves, for some of which you need to remove the first node, for others - the last one, and for still others, nothing needs to be corrected.And what if one curve contains several subpaths?For the macro, you need to know which nodes need to be deleted.
Maybe you don't need to delete any, but adjust the second node of the curve as in the video herewww.youtube.com/watch
Best regards,Taras
ok I tried to use the contour function. I made 1 contour with little distance (0,025mm) and broke it apart. Do I understand it correctly that after that I just use the "convert to object" just as before?
So I made 1 contour and converted this then to object. Indeed it looks better, but has still one area with another error which was not there before. I made the contour task with another line and it was even worse.
So just let me know that I understood this correctly. If yes I will probably make those objects in Illustrator and import them back.
sorry Taras, somehow I did not see your answer, my answer below is to Ronny.
the issue is not the form of the line (drawing) but that the converted object by Corel is not too good, it has serrates. The deletion of a node does not change this. So I wonder if they also appear when I try contour function, I guess yes.
Adding a Contour to the open curve in your test file (test2.cdr) is very easy.Select the object and then the Contour tool.Check the outline width for the object (in this case 1,587 mm) and then type 1,587/2 in the contour offset box and hit Enter.Make sure you have the "Contour corners" setting in Property Bar/docker set to Rounded, since that is what the curve's outline has.This will add a contour around the open curve that (hopefully) looks like the original outline,and you can now remove the original outline (which also will be added to the contour object).Break apart and delete the original curve object if you don't need it.If you have a closed object, you have to do this twice unfortunately (since Draw doesn't havean automatic two sided contour), once for the outer edge and then again for the inner.This may sound complicated but is very easy to do once you get the hang of it.
thank you very much again, I understood this now! It is very obvious and good to know that this contour function is much better than then convert to object.
Perhaps I can record a macro when I always have the same outline width. Or even better something general always making this half width thing. But I don't know much about macros. Anyway, thanks!