I notice that if a CDR file contains bitmaps in it, the file size would become unreasonably huge.For example, I have a JPEG of 1.61MB. If I import the JPEG into a blank CDR file, with only the JPEG in the file, the CDR file size becomes 8.34MB.
I wonder what are the "excessive" information that is stored in the CDR file which causes the huge jump in file size.
You're importing a compressed JPG file Draw enters its actual size into memory.
Does that mean the JPEG (or any JPEG) actually still contains the uncompressed information within the file? I just tested with illustrator. With the 1.61MB JPEG imported, the AI file is 14.8MB, which is even bigger.How can I keep the CDR file small with a numbers of bitmaps in it? I often end up with file size of tens of MB with few bitmaps in it.
Ok the rules of resolution!
The images you import into CorelDRAW become embedded into the CDR file. IE an compressed file will be expanded to uncompressed size in the document for editing. The Draw file will be larger in memory.
When you save your CoreDRAW file the file will be compressed so the resulting CDR file will be significantly smaller then what was in memory while the file is open.
Now to reduce the in memory size of your active CorelDRAW file requires that you understand the required output resolution for your file contents.
EXAMPLE: If you are doing a print document for inkjets that only requires 125 DPI and you're printing an image at 4"x5". The image only needs to be 125 DPI in Draw at 4"x5". If you import a 8 x 10 image at 200 DPI once you've sized your image in Draw under the bitmap menu resample the image to 125 DPI and save the file.
Properly doing this for all your images as required for the files intended use will reduce the file size in memory when editing your file.
Also changing the effects rendering in the document to match your required resolution at output will reduce the file size in memory.
The huge file size is after saving and closing the document, not just while editing.Example, I have a 4'x4' food menu lightbox sticker at 150dpi, with 16 food photos and a background photo in it. All photos are at 150dpi. The CDR file size after save and close is 173MB.Note that the food photos are clipped into boxes of 7"x9", so the photos are actually bigger than 7"x9". I usually will resample them to actual dimension after the artwork is confirmed by client. Doing so will reduce the CDR file size to 93.1MB.Btw, recently I just learnt that intersecting part of a bitmap only make the copy looks small in dimension, but it's actually still in original dimension. We can "reveal" the "hidden" part by editing the nodes. Example, if I intersect the 7"x9" food photo with a 5"x5" box, it creates a copy of 5"x5", but I can edit the nodes to show the part outside the 5"x5" area. I will have to resample the 5"x5" copy in order to make it actually 5"x5" without the outer part.
If I powerclip an image only to have a small portion of it visible in the end I'll go into the powerclip and crop the image. Or in your case if you find that by moving the nodes and the rest of the image can be viewed it might be that it was "clipped" in this manner. Draw a rectangle to hide a portion of the image then clip that away. If you don't hit the crop icon all the image is still there. This too can cause the file to be "bloated"
Power clipping or cropping an image doesn't reduce content in memory. After clipping or cropping the image it must be converted to a bitmap at the proper resolution with a background.
In the case of the 4'x4' lightbox above, after all the photos are cropped/converted to the intended size and resolution, the file size is 93.1MB as mentioned. I wonder if such file size is actually normal for such file.
How many images at wht size and what resolution.