Corel Draw question

[ljoe1969]

What is the earliest version of Corel Draw that will save out as a .DXF?

[Al_The_Man]

My ver 2.0 & 3.0 manual both show export to DXF.
Al

[High Seas]

Its not the question you asked - but if you find a version that has Corel Trace in it there is good value added for converting image files (BMP, JPG, etc) to dxf.
Cheers - Jim

[sol]

And in the unsolicited free advice department...
Corel will grant competitive upgrade pricing if you are currently a registered user of Paint Shop Pro among others. Nice when that old inadequate software can save ya a few bucks on some new goodies.
Also, there is Corel Draw and then there is Corel Draw Graphics Suite which includes a bunch more (useful) applications...
Careful if Ebaying, it is easy to think you are buying the Suite when really you are just buying the basic program. I suspect the lack of clarity in some of the listings is more a matter of ignorance than of intended deceit. Also the manuals are not cheap so buying a package that includes them may be wise.

[ljoe1969]

thanks for the info.

the reason i am interested in corel draw is that it will make the text lines and arcs and not a whole bunch of polylines. which means smaller gcode programs.

[ynneb]

I never thought of a program like Coral draw been used as a dfx drawer.

How good is it?
Is it a compeditive alternative to other CAD programs.
What are its limitations?
How much does it cost?
Is it more user friendly for newbies?
I guess it is only good for 2.5D work?

[sol]

Originally Posted by ljoe1969 thanks for the info. the reason i am interested in corel draw is that it will make the text lines and arcs and not a whole bunch of polylines. which means smaller gcode programs.

Hmmm, sounds promising...this arcs vs polylines text.
When I export DXF from Corel my text files are HUGE because of all the itty bitty lines....Great fonts but ...
So, what is your trick to exporting smaller DXF files? I assume it is a setting in the "export" pop-up window, but what?
Thanks for any info.

[sol]

Re: Benny

I never thought of a program like Coral draw being used as a dfx drawer.

How good is it? Good for graphic artists.
Is it a competitive alternative to other CAD programs. It is not really for CAD
What are its limitations? Lousy dimensioning
How much does it cost? Old versions CD only... Ebay $20
Is it more user friendly for newbies? Not for this one
I guess it is only good for 2.5D work? AFAIK

[High Seas]

I've played just a bit with the Corel Trace application that is bundled with Corel. I have used it to convert Image files to dxf then to mill via MACH2 (see the review in Magazine). Its not the best way to get raster to vector conversion, but it has other useful features that apply to cnc.
I stumbled into using Corel for cnc applications through the following link: www.torchmate.com/assistance/convert.htm
It seems like a "quick and dirty" means of getting to 2.5D at a fairly low cost -- but may not be full featured for some users. Maybe you'll find more info via the link.
Jim