Corel's got me 2 - Engraving Etc. Forum

From:	jdmlaser	18 Jul 2006
To:	ALL	1 of 8

4355.1

Edited by Harvey to make one thread.

Hello All

I have been using software called metalsoft for 13 years and Autocad for 5 years but I am new to coreldraw 12. So please forgive me if this is a stupid question. Words like bozo, jerk & butthead will only make me feel worse.

I have been drawing but I am having trouble with fills. I believe that it has to do with open paths. But when I am drawing I have snap to objects turned on and it is working but when I go to fill it won't. If I play with it for a while I will sometime fix it but I don't know how. If I use "close path" it shows what I think the problem areas are. But when I zoom in I am not sure what to do.

I have attached the file I was working today.

Any tips will be a wonderfull thing

I am mainly looking for what I am doing wrong. I have also noticed that when I zoom in on an intersection of a straight line and a curve line there seems to be a pie shaped pcs missing is this part of the problem and if so what am I doing to cause it.

Stop Laughing

John

End of edit - Harvey

sorry here is the file

EDITED: 18 Jul 2006 by HARVEY-ONLY

From:	Shaddy	18 Jul 2006
To:	jdmlaser	2 of 8

4355.2 In reply to 4355.1

You have the option of Editing your post, to avoid multiple non-related posts. People reading this one won't know what your problem is. The mods might fix it though.

It sounds like you're correct about the not closed. Just because the nodes might align correctly, it doesn't always close it for you. You have to do it yourself. Try ARRANGE==CLOSE PATH==Closest Nodes With Straight Lines (and play with the others too)

Another thing to play with is right clicking to see option. Right click with the Pick tool, then again with the Node tool, you'll get different menus.

Welcome and good luck. Sometimes unlearning an old program is harder than learning from scratch. But I'm sure your past experience will help once you're over this initial hump.

Shaddy

EDIT: sorry I wasn't more specific, but I don't have Corel on this PC so i can't look at your file yet. I like the snap features and the dynamc guides, but sometimes they are annoying so I use ALT-SHIFT-D a lot. Just on long enough to do what I need, then off again. You can look though the snap/guide options to make sure all the ones you want are enabled.

EDITED: 18 Jul 2006 by SHADDY

From:	bobkat	18 Jul 2006
To:	jdmlaser	3 of 8

4355.3 In reply to 4355.1
First ungroup the object, (ungroup all). I assume the center is to be open, so select the entire object and COMBINE. That allows you to have a filled object with a hole in it (like a donut). Then with the shape tool, select the nodes that are not joined. When you draw a box around the node with the shape tool, if the nodes are not joined, you will see the icon on your tool bar change to look like 2 nodes are turned into 1. Click that and the nodes are joined. There are 5 places on that file you must do this, from the middle to the lower area, and all on the left side. You will notice the nodes that need to be joined look different when you are not zoomed in too close. Hope this isn't as clear as mud! If necessary, I can do the file for you in about 15 seconds, so if you need it and don't have time to play with it send me a PM and I will do it for you.

From:	laserman (MIKEMAC)	18 Jul 2006
To:	jdmlaser	4 of 8

4355.4 In reply to 4355.2

John,

What I saw with this file is an easy fix. What I did was to select all and ungroup then COMBINE. Then just use the Node edit tool and close the opened paths. There were only 5 open nodes. The key to closing the paths is to combine the lines together then close the open nodes.

CEM- Sales and Service of Universal Lasers, Versa Lasers, and Meistergram / H-square engravers.
2800 S. Main St.,Unit C
Santa Ana, Ca 92707
714-444-2385

EDITED: 24 Oct 2006 by MIKEMAC

From:	sprinter	18 Jul 2006
To:	ALL	6 of 8

4355.6

If you use Corel alot, you would be doing youself a BIG favor by getting this: http://oberonplace.com/products/curveworks/

To close any open paths, just select all and hit the close path button and it's done.

Best 50 bucks I ever spent for an add-on. It also is great for rounding corners, fillets, etc

EDITED: 18 Jul 2006 by SPRINTER

From:	(Brian) (MOSTLY_HERE)	18 Jul 2006
To:	jdmlaser	7 of 8

4355.7 In reply to 4355.1
One of the new features in X3 is the smart fill tool. I took your file and using the smart fill, filled the area. The smart fill will create a new object that is a filled entity. I've found it to be very handy. You can set the fill color and line width of the smart fill tool as well. Brian(Mostly_Here) Las Vegas (Sin City) Good decisions come from experience, and experience come from, well bad decisions...

From:	jdmlaser	27 Jul 2006
To:	ALL	8 of 8

4355.8

I am very sorry I lost what little of my mind I had left. I read all the answers went back to my pc and started working on what I had learned and forgot to thank all of you for the help

sorry again

John