Hello,
from time to time (only in rare cases) I get the situation where my 2023 can't open the color mangement settings anymore.
So when I choose Extras (some versions Tools?) > Color management then nothing happens at all. No windows opens, no error message.
The same is true when I choose this from the symbol directly (Color Management).
Then I can't change the color mode or profile for a document. When I save the cdr under another name or sometimes CorelDraw version then I can access color management again. Even if the objects are exactly the same in the document, so it is not about the content.
Unfortunately I just have overwritten my current bad example :), so can't upload it. The current file works great again, so there is no current error file.
But perhaps the issue is known, if yes what can I check or change if the Color Management is not working anymore for a certain file?
thank you
What version of 2023 do you have?
I have the CorelDraw 2023 Special Edition. I know it's limited somehow but it has the Color Management exactly as I need it and I think it's the same as in the full version.
I will try to reproduce this :).
It's not about the "Extras" as something strange :), as this is just the German terminology of CorelDraw in this menu item. So probably since years the "Tools" in English is "Extras" in German (for example also in 2024).
The "spot" color should have been a named CMYK color, I just try to import some color palettes from Illustrator where I have worked the last few decades.
What I found good in Illustrator is that you can click on an object (like the line in the example cdr here) and then you see directly the RGB or CMYK values. Here in CorelDraw you only get first the palette under properties. When I then choose the color sliders and choose CMYK or RGB I am not sure whether this line was actually RGB or CMYK before, and when I cycle between CMYK and RGB, CorelDraw even changes the values, so I don't get back the RGB values from before when I choose CMYK and then RGB back again.
This only as a comment that it's not easy in CorelDraw to see which object has really which color :). Or do you have a hint (also to close this topic for me) how I can click on an object and really get the color for it without danger of changing it?
(I don't get an error message about the missing color profile in 2019 full version)
You don't get the error message about the missing color profile in the full version of 2019, possibly because you have a default or regional/default color management setting and CorelDRAW is making the choice for you.
During the discussions of creating a professional color management process for CorelDRAW it was decided to create defaults by region, sort of color management for dummies, similarto Adobe. It solves many issues with opening or importing files but not all. However, if you don't understand how the color management controls works and you don't have a comprehension of ICC compliance, you're screwed. Plus if you let 99+% of users mess with the color management settings they will and do screw it upl
An example of the problem is your file, if you don't get the error CorelDRAW makes a decision based on the default settings that you're unaware of and or don't understand, then crap happens. Withbyou fike crap happened.
If you know what you're doing CorelDRAW will automatically make the proper decision of color management choices for you. If you're working with high end color CorelDRAW and Photo-PAINT will allow you to to work from and to multiple documents with multiple color spaces easily. The subscription version of Draw will allow you to work in RGB, CMYK, Grayscale and Pantone colors simultaneously in a single document.
Combine all the above with using different versions of CorelDRAW that are less functional than the full subscription version and it's now a mess!
In the full subscription version CorelDRAW will automatically show the color of the fill and or outline any selected object in the status bar. There is no need to open anything to see colors. I have zero idea of how the SE version works, however the full subscription version is much easier than Illustrator. Draw also has an eyedropper tool that is a bit more complicated elapse complex fill and transparency can be an issue.
thank you very much, this is all very interesting, and I appreciate the time. I won't find the error probably that leads to the CorelDraw menu stop working in parts :). But I am glad you answered as I learned a lot, especially I did not know about the status bar that it shows the colors and color profiles.
What I love at CorelDraw is that you can customize a lot.
The optimal solution would be to easier access the colors from the status bar like opening a slider. But what I am missing there is the main color mode of the document and the easy color slider from Illustrator. There you could really easily check an object for the correct CMYK or RGB values and for example when a black was just converted from RGB you could easy click on the black CMYK and done.
Same is true for the spot colors. I use some imported spot color palette. I can't easily change the spot color to its RGB values (saved in the background in the palette file), it always switches to the CMYK sliders. This was the reason I had this strange color in the file.
So thank you again, the status bar with the color is a step forward for me.
In the status bar simply click the fill or outline swatch, that will open the color dialogs. The fill opens even more possibilities, it's been that way since forever. You can do all you want from there, much easier than Illustrator. In fact I refused to upgrade to Affinity Photo 2 because they standardized on a Adobe panning and zooming, a mentally challenged process!
Beware of customization, I do very little and have great (extremely stable ) results. Customization from one version many times does not transfer to a newer version. I had 2 large corporate architectural clients fire CorelDRAW users and eventually drop CorelDRAW due to customization instabilities. I have fired employees for screwing up my systems with their customization.
The subscription version of CorelDRAW uses an ICC Compliant color management process by default, Adobe does not because it uses Black Point Compensation on by default.
CorelDRAW uses a few things in color management that I recommend changing, CHANGE relative colorimetric rendering to perceptual. I use windows color system (WCS) color engine but LCMS (Little Color Management System) is very good also and some claim closer to Adobe conversions.
WCS uses MS ICC 3 for CMYK conversions and WCS for RGB conversions, the advantage is the the operating system always uses WCS so by choosing that there are fewer conversions to the display.
In Adobe the problem is that Black point compensation needs to be turned off, perceptual rendering needs turned on. The other issue is that Adobe uses ACE (Adobe Color Engine) only Adobe uses it and they do not provide a 64 bit engine for public use. They used to provide a 32 bit engine for public use but they did not provide the same engine as they used so conversions were different.
Thank you very much, interesting information to learn. I will use CorelDraw exactly because it is great software. Only will use Illustrator to expand strokes and Acrobat for preflight.
I attach another example with only two lines, as I could test 2023 and 2024 full version on another PC (Windows). The file has correct color profiles and not this spot color anymore. The color management menu item can be opened on the other PC but not on my original system with 2019 full version, 2023 SE and also not in the 2024 full version trial on my PC. So it's probably some cache issue, or some color management error in the background of the whole Corel data, not dependend on any version.
perhaps you know any file location where I could check for old error files, or delete a file for the color management to reset it.
But I also attach the file because of another interesting thing. When you copy between two open cdr files (also new not saved documents), just a single line as in the example attached, then the status bar shows the - not existing - outlines as "different/multiple" (German "Mehrere Umrisse"). But when you choose one of the two objects one by one, then the status bar says correctly that there is no outline color. But when you choose both, they are somehow "not existing in a different way" :). This error is also there for the 2024 version, but is there perhaps a workaround for copy shapes and getting correct status bar colors?
You can correct this by just choosing both and setting no outine color (addtionally so to say) then the status bar is correct for complete selection.
(I deleted/renamed all the appdata roaming folder and started again, but same issue)
The file upload does not work, but mentioned things are not directly related to a file. The second issue with the lines is about shapes / fills with only fill color and no outline color.
You have to change your CDR file to a zip file to upload.
Yes, the upload always had an error when uploading a zip file yesterday, I try here again.
>>> has an error again, so I write without attachment again...
By the way I renamed also the file you created above into icons.cdr on my PC and then I can again not access the color management function in 2019 and 2024 full version :).
So as said in my answer yesterday, it's not about one file that has an error, but how to handle such errors in CorelDraw in the future when the color management can't be accessed and why.
The other thing about the copied shape with double-non-existing-outline is of course also interesting.
I'm making an educated guess but there will be no solution to you color management corruption without major repairs. The subscription version or the one time purchase of the full version (Not SE) should not acr as your does.
Yes, perhaps I will find the issue one day, but at the moment it's only connected to one specific file name in the Windows system (icons.cdr). All other files I created since then are just fine and correctly working.
This error and also the other error where CorelDraw finds different outlines (althought there aren't) are not connected to my SE, but also appearing in the new 2024 full version.
I think for the outline error, that's just as it is and we have to assign the outline color (none) again.
About the color management error in the 2024 full version, 2023 SE and 2019 full version, I will make more research, perhaps I find the solution one day :).