No Thumbnails in Connect

Recently installed X7, and I have no thumbnail previews when viewing Draw files in Connect even though I have installed the Corel Windows Shell Extension. I'm using Windows 7 Prof 64 bit.

Can anyone help me in solving this problem?

  • Have you tried searching this forum? There's been a lot of discussion on this.

    • Do you see any content? If not you are experiencing the defect in connect that uses Microsoft indexing to display folder content, see here for more info.

       

      http://community.coreldraw.com/forums/t/44665.aspx?PageIndex=1

      • Hi,

        Thanks for you response.

        When using Connect it gives me thumbnail previews of bitmaps files such as JPG, TIF and CPT, but it won't show previews of CDR, WMF or WI files, which significantly reduces the usefulness of Connect, especially the lack of CDR previews.

        I've made sure all my image folders are indexed, so there's no problem with that. I'm not sure what else I need to do. I have browsed this topic elsewhere, but the most common suggestions made to remedy this problem (such as install Corel's Windows Shell Extension and Index your Folders) I've already done. Yet still Connect won't display CDR Thumbnail Previews. What else do I need to do?

          • Many thanks for the response pranderson.

            However that Wiki article centres on two solutions: a) install the Corel Win Shell Ext, which I've already done, and b) make sure that Windows has the correct file associations - e.g. that the CDR extension is properly associated with the DRAW application, which, on my system anyway, it has. So no solution for me there, then.

            I have to say, I really am getting rather tired of Connect. I'd certainly like to make use of it, but this wretched "no-thumbnail" problem has plagued it ever since it was introduced in X5 - in particular not displaying CDR files renders it largely useless, so I eventually gave up on it. There have been endless postings re this problem over the years, but no real solution seemed to emerge. I had hoped that before releasing X7, Corel would have made sure this long running problem was well and truly nailed - sadly, it seems, it hasn't.

            I have also noticed that playing with Connect for more than a couple of minutes, it will crash - as it has done frequently over the last few days as I've played around with it. And when it does crash, it brings Draw down with it. I've had X7 for just over a month and I'm not at all impressed. I upgraded primarily for the multi-document tabbed format, but I'm seriously thinking of going back to X6 until it has been properly patched and the interface given a decent visual makeover - I hate the white, no boarder "running-in-the-background" look and feel it now has.

            • Update - just applied the 7.1 patch and this has had a positive effect on Connect. Firstly,  I can now view CDR files - fantastic, this has made Connect a much more useful app. Secondly, it seems more stable and faster - also good, obviously.

              On the down side It can't show previews of older CDR files which is a shame, because I have extensive clipart collections from version 8 and 9 (yes I know, but I've been using Draw since version 1.02). Neither can it view the WI file format - also a shame, esp as this is a Corel format. Also, it did crash whilst attempting to view the WI files, so clearly more work still needs to be done here - but nevertheless, a positive step forward.

              • The Professor said:
                It can't show previews of older CDR files which is a shame, because I have extensive clipart collections from version 8 and 9

                I think this came up in another forum post.

                Connect, and the X7 shell extension, do show thumbnails of older files, even right back to version 3. But those files usually had only very small thumbnails and it would be sensible to enlarge them to fit the space available (which I think is what X6 and previous versions did with them),

                But the clipart files -- they are not "standard" CDR files. Even though they have a CDR file extension, they are somehow different from the CDR files which CorelDraw itself creates.

                See http://community.coreldraw.com/forums/p/45279/217175.aspx#217175 for an example -- it would be good for Corel to fix the shell extension so that it properly handles distributed clipart from previous versions, as well as user-created CDR files.

                • Hello Harry,

                  Thank you for your reply. You're right - having tried Connect on some of my own older CDR files, it does preview them, as you say. Only a file from 1992 won't preview, but then neither will it open in Draw X7 either - probably a version 2 file! It seems then that you're probably right about the version 8 & 9 clipart CDR files - seems they must be " non-standard" CDR files, although I can still open them in Draw, just can't preview them in Connect.

                  Apart from the non standard clip art, Connect will not preview WI files (a Corel format, ironically) and neither will it preview CMX files - another Corel format!!

                  Also, I spoke too soon about the stability of Connect following the 7.1 upgrade. Now that I can preview CDR files (except corel's own clipart) I've been using Connect much more, only to find that it falls over and CTDs at the slightest provocation, and of course takes Draw down with it.

                  It seems there is a serious problem with Connect's stability. We can all cope with an occasional crash from time to time, but Connect is falling over constantly, making me very wary indeed of using it all - even though I can now view CDR thumbnails with it.

                  My advice to anyone if they're going to use Connect at all - save your work every time before even thinking of opening it, because it will almost certain crash at some point - and sooner rather than later.

                  Prof.

              • i tried uninstalling the corelDraw windows shell extension and reinstalling it.  Same results: whatever folders i added to Indexing Options disappear whenever i run a search on Connect.  Again, the index seems to revert back to a default.

                side note: if i uninstall X7 and reinstall the shell extension and use X6, it works fine.

                thx, -handsome john

                forgot to mention: as it seems to happen most to: windows 7 x64

                 

                • rimshotgraphix said:
                  Same results: whatever folders i added to Indexing Options disappear whenever i run a search on Connect.  Again, the index seems to revert back to a default.

                  Hi,

                  I can confirm that I have experienced the same thing - new locations added to Windows Indexing Options disappear after doing a search via Connect. This is quite disturbing really, particularly because indexing can take a very long time.

                  Also using Win 7 Pro 64bit.

                  Prof.