How to make a dot

I have been using CorelDraw for years, and I ashamedly realized I don't know how to make a dot..[:S].. It is simply to mark the center of a circle. Since I need it very exact on a printout, I need a single point--not a little circle. The circles requiring the dot to mark center are usually in hairline. I imagine there must be a very easy way to do this.......

Thanks very much for any help!

​Janet

  • How exact? You could make the circle (with no outline) really small. 0.001mm seems to be the smallest I can make it go. Is that small enough? (I had to zoom in 25,000% on an A4 page  to even see it.) Then align with the centre of the circle.

    • Use a Times New Roman period (.) in size 6 or enter a smaller point size. It's perfectly round. You will need to type it and then move it to the center of your circle (use snap to object).

      Patti
      • I wouldn't use a font as the dot unless you convert it to curves before centering. If you leave it as text it will not be at true center see below. I'd suggest a macro. See code below this image as recorded with X3. May not work in X7.

        Sub DotAtCenter()
        Dim OrigSelection As ShapeRange
        Set OrigSelection = ActiveSelectionRange
        Dim s1 As Shape
        Set s1 = ActiveLayer.CreateEllipse2(5.611941, 7.098469, 0.003815, -0.003815, 360#, 360#, False)
        s1.Fill.ApplyNoFill
        s1.Outline.SetProperties 0.003, OutlineStyles(0), CreateCMYKColor(45, 45, 45, 100), ArrowHeads(0), ArrowHeads(0), False, False, cdrOutlineButtLineCaps, cdrOutlineMiterLineJoin, 0#, 100, , , 45#
        s1.Fill.UniformColor.CMYKAssign 45, 45, 45, 100
        s1.Outline.SetProperties 0#
        ActiveDocument.ReferencePoint = cdrCenter
        s1.SetSize 0.001, 0.001
        s1.AlignToShape cdrAlignHCenter, OrigSelection(1), cdrTextAlignBoundingBox
        s1.AlignToShape cdrAlignVCenter, OrigSelection(1), cdrTextAlignBoundingBox
        End Sub

        • I'm afraid I have never used macros, so your post was a bit like Greek to me.s...:-).... It certainly would be helpful for a lot of things to learn how to use macros.

          I guess it would be nice to have a keyboard shortcut to a small, solid (filled) circle..... I would have thought a point was something graphics artists would use regularly...

          • place this file in C:\Program Files\Corel\CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X5\Draw\GMS

            restart Corel.

            Draw a shape then go tools/visual basic/play

            find the DotAtCenter macor and hit run.

            You can also assign your own shortcut key/hot key to it.

            DotAtCenter.gms

            • I'm sure Myron's macro will work for you, but it's very easy to create your own. (I have X7, but this should still work for you.)

              1. Create a new document
              2. Open the Macro Manager docker (Alt+Shft+F11)
              3. At the bottom of the Macro Manager click the red Record button
              4. In the Record Macro dialog which you should see give the macro a name and save in GlobalMacros then click OK
              5. Draw a circle
              6. Fill the circle with black (or whatever colour you want)
              7. Give the circle no outline
              8. On the Object Toolbar type the smallest dimensions that you can make for the object (0.001mm on my system)
              9. Click the Stop Recording button on the Macro Manager

              This will just draw a dot for you at whichever point on the page you chose, but you could add extra steps to position the dot, add a circle with the dot aligned to the centre or pretty much whatever else you wanted to do.

              If you open the file tree for the GlobalMacros folder you should now see the macro you've created.

              Right-click on this and you should see the option to 'Assign Keyboard Shortcut...'.

              You could also assign this macro to a toolbar button by going to Tools > Options > Customization > Commands, then select Macros from the drop-down. You should see one called RecordedMacros.MakeDot (or whatever you called yours). Drag the macro onto whichever toolbar you want. Click OK. Done.

              HTH

              •  

                 

                Wow--thanks Myron!

                I inserted your gms file in my D:\GRAPHICS\CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X5\Draw\GMS.

                I have X5 and thus no tools/visual basic/play.

                I went instead to Tools>Macros>Macro Manager but was unable to find DotAtCenter.gms.

                Please see screen capture.

                 

                • Thanks Roy--these look like very good instructions. As soon as I get Myron's macro functioning, I will try this out to make my own....:-)....

              • Roy and Patti--

                Yes, I thought of a small circle and a typed period. But it seemed there must be a way to do it 1) quickly--one or 2 clicks, no fidgety scaling, and 2) as a vector (not text). So, suggestions still welcome....:-)....

                Janet
                • There isn't another way (although you could make a macro to do either suggestion in one click). A point has zero dimensions and therefore can't exist in a programme that exists on dimensions.
                  • The answer will change according the language of your kwyboard, but it's already present on all languages. For example, on spanish is Shift+3. You can see the dot character on your system, go to Start and type "charmap", press Enter and you will see the character table. You should see two "dots", the standard dot (for finish paragraph) and the elevated dot (·), on spanish is Alt+0183
                    • But a dot character is still a circle, not a mathematical point , so no different from drawing a circle or using a fullstop from TimesNR.
                      • The question was for a vector dot when working in vectors....:-).... It would be a real nuisance to have to go to text typing and then center it.....

                        • I just thought there might be a way to do it with a pen/pencil/brush type tool....like in real life....:-).... 

                      • Similar to request made here http://community.coreldraw.com/talk/coreldraw_x3_and_older/f/19/p/47941/230053#230053

                        Following code will add 0.002 mm dot (C0, M0, Y0 K100) to the centre of selected shape/shapes

                         

                        Sub CenterDot()
                        Dim s As Shape, srDot As Shape, sr As ShapeRange
                        Dim x As Double, y As Double, w As Double, h As Double
                        ActiveDocument.Unit = cdrMillimeter
                        Set sr = ActiveSelectionRange
                        For Each s In sr
                        Set srDot = ActiveLayer.CreateEllipse2(s.CenterX, s.CenterY, 0.001, 0)
                        srDot.Fill.UniformColor = CreateCMYKColor(0, 0, 0, 100)
                        srDot.Outline.Width = 0
                        Next s
                        End Sub

                         

                        Hope this helps and remain with

                         

                        Best regards

                         

                        Mek

                         

                        CenterDot.gms