Of course, among the formats of computer files, there are more legendary ones, take the same notorious txt file or exe and com, famous for life. What can I say, but this line of formats from the Microsoft office suite – doc, xls, mdb, ppt! Nevertheless, there is no doubt that the CDR format is one of the most famous and oldest in the computer world. We can say, without fear of being seriously mistaken, that it was he who, in the immemorial 90s of the XX century, laid the foundations of design on a computer. And how many passions unfolded with his direct participation!
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Passion for CDR
In the late 1980s, Canadian software development firm Corel not only rooted fiercely for its protégé in the National Hockey League, the Toronto Maple Leafs, but also knew a lot about her professional career. It was she who then developed this program for working with vector graphics – Corel Draw. The program was delivered to customers on two disks: on the first one the program itself, very quickly it turned into a whole package, and on the second – a huge library of ready-made vector images. What was there not: several tens of thousands of vector images for all occasions, from Chinese motifs to spaceships. All of these images were presented by Corel in cmx format, which, moreover, could include metadata describing the image. But cmx was the format, so to speak, from the bounty of the developer,the native format of the Corel program was CDR.
It is the CDR file:
- Became the main format for vector graphics in Windows. Macs, the entire professional design community somehow immediately orientated themselves to Adobe Illustrator, but Windows and all second-hand designers – to Corel Draw and CDR. Today, the severity of this confrontation has significantly softened, but at the dawn of computer design, the struggle between CDR and AI (the native format for Illustrator) was felt very noticeably. It came to a ridiculous level. If you were a very decent designer, with a good portfolio, participated (and maybe won) in the global competitions organized by Corel, but at the same time worked only with CDR – it was difficult for you to break into a reputable design company, where only Macs and Illustrator were in charge.
- But where Illustrator is, there is Photoshop – the most famous program for working with raster graphics. But she is already in full control of Windows. And again Corel with its CDR was out of luck, again a confrontation. Although Corel Draw is not a direct competitor to PhotoShop in Windows, it can work with bitmaps (as “raster” is called here) and save everything in the same CDR format. Moreover, Photoshop, perhaps, shouldn’t have turned up so much – it could have envied some of Corel Draw’s capabilities. For example, this “folded corner” effect or a black and white mask overlay effect. Not to mention purely vector effects (the same overflow of one object into another), which PhotoShop could have envied (which, in fact, has been doing for a long time).
Programs for working with CDR-format
Thus, we answered the question of which program is best to open a CDR file – Corel Draw Graphic Suite (this is its full name). But over time, the program has acquired several very useful “helpers”, any will do:
- Corel WordPerfect – the format, in addition to vector and bitmap graphics, allows you to store text information.
- Corel Photo Paint and Corel Paint Shop Pro are both “raster” specialists, but “knowledgeable” and CDR specialists.
- Corel Power Trace – for converting raster images to vector.
- Corel Capture, Corel Connect, Corel Web Site Creator – all from one package.
You can still fully work with CDR files only in the Corel Draw package, but you can open and view the file with several other programs:
- ACD Systems Canvas 16, CDR Viewer and Irfan View are for Windows.
- Apple iTunes, CDR Viewer for OS X, Print Lab Studio and Adobe Illustrator (over time took pity and began to recognize its competitor) are already Mac OS.
- Inkscape – and Linux keeps up with its more arrogant brethren.
To consider suitable programs for working with CDR files, the available software should be divided into several thematic groups.
The software used on the device will be taken into account. Each OS has its own list of suitable programs.
For Windows
If the user is a user of a laptop or computer running Windows, then the following programs may be useful to him:
- Inkscape. Free software that is not only suitable for reading, but also for editing. Very handy and multifunctional tool.
- IdeaMK CDR Viewer. The name itself suggests that the program is oriented only for viewing. But there are built-in systems for converting a file to other formats. Like the previous software, it is distributed free of charge.
- Adobe Illustrator 2020. This is already a paid application. But it has built-in functions for editing the contents of a CDR file. An excellent analogue for Corel development.
- Corel WordPerfect X9. A paid app with the ability to edit.
- ACD Systems Canvas X2019. Also a decent option for those looking for editing capabilities. The downside is that you have to pay for the software to use such functions.
- XnView Extende. A free viewer that works well with Windows computers.
The principle of operation of all presented programs with CDR files is approximately the same.
Using the XnView example, you need to do the following:
- install and run the application;
- press the “Browzer” button and find the required file;
- click on the image to open it in full size;
- process the photo with the available tools.
And you’re done. With the rest of the software, everything is about the same.
For macOS
In the case of this platform for computers and laptops, the following list of programs is suitable:
- CorelDraw Graphics Suite 2020.
- Adobe Illustrator 2020.
- Bluetail CDR Viewer.
- Inkscape.
Only the last two programs are free. But if Inkscape provides an opportunity for editing, then Bluetail is used only for viewing the contents of files.
Two paid programs open up full access to changing and correcting files of the format in question.
Among Apple computer users, the most popular program is Inkscape. The full name of the edition of the Draw Freely software. This popularity is largely due to free access to software.
A great choice for beginners and professional designers. To fully enjoy the functionality of the application, you will additionally need to install the UniConvertor utility.
The instruction looks like this when working with Inkscape:
- install the main program and additional utility on your apple computer or laptop;
- first run the utility;
- click on the “Start” button and go to the “All Programs” section;
- run the program;
- to open the illustration, click on “File” and select the required document;
- confirm the opening with the “Open” button.
That’s all. Now you can do whatever you want with the CDR file.
For Linux
If among the readers there are users of the Linux operating system, then they will also be interested to know what software is capable of opening the format in question.
There are 2 popular solutions here. This is the already famous Inkscape program and also a software called SK1.
Both solutions are distributed free of charge and provide the ability to edit a CDR file. It is enough to open it in a standard way, and use the capabilities of the built-in tools to modify the content.
For Android
On devices running the Android mobile operating platform, you can also open the CDR file. This is true if you have a tablet or smartphone.
For viewing it is worth using a program called Perfect Viewer.
The application is quite simple to work with. The user will be required to do the following:
- launch a mobile application;
- click on the “Open File” menu button;
- to get to the archive folder where the CDR image required for viewing is located;
- now the picture will be displayed in unzipped form;
- mark the image with a check mark;
- start editing.
That is, users of Android devices also have an excellent opportunity not only to view, but also to edit the file type in question.
For browsers
It is not necessary to install special software on your computer.
You can also open a file created or saved in CDR format online. This will require an updated browser and site address for views. Ofoct.com is considered a universal resource for such tasks.
With its help, you can open and convert the vast majority of graphic extensions without much difficulty.
To work with an online resource, you need to do the following:
- open the main page of the site;
- go to the section called Online Tools;
- then select the command that looks like CDR Viewer Online;
- drag the required file into the appropriate field, or simply insert a direct link to it;
- in the column with options (Options) set the quality parameters for the file;
- click on the View button.
Online conversion can take varying amounts of time. It depends on the load of the site, the speed of the Internet, as well as on the size of the original file being processed.
Upon completion of online processing, this image will become available for viewing by the user. The picture opens in a new window, and with it the toolbar becomes available.
If the task is to convert from CDR format to any other, including all raster and even AutoCAD, then it is best to use the same Corel Draw, there will be no problems guaranteed. As for converting to a “raster”, then in case of a hopeless situation, the screen screen by pressing the PrintScreen button will always help.
In addition, many specialized packages have been developed:
- Working with a pair of CDR / AI will be provided by the latest versions of Illustrator on any system (note, only the latest versions).
- Opening and converting from CDR to DWG is also AI.
- From CDR to PNG and vice versa – XnView for Windows.
- On Linux, this ingenious craftsman – UniConvertor will always save you.
Please note that the CDR format has become so densely embedded in the entire computer life that 7 MIME types are assigned to it at once:
- application / cdr
- application / coreldraw
- application / x-cdr
- application / x-coreldraw
- image / cdr
- image / x-cdr
- zz-application / zz-winassoc-cdr
Continuing the passion for CDR format
If you think that the passions for this format “with a beard” are over, then you are greatly mistaken.
Firstly, it is these three letters that Aware Studio has chosen for its already sound files from its program of the same name. These files can be opened by almost any audio player, they are akin to simple sound wav and aif – they do not use compression, normalization and filtering of sound, but they allow you to include various useful descriptive information.
Second, Apple chose CDR to save the CD and DVD image to a file. The CDR format is built into Mac OS X. This format can be opened by utilities from the Apple Disk Utility package. A special one has also been developed – Apple Final Cut Pro.
Thirdly, well, quite exotic. It turns out that the famous manufacturer of automotive electronics, the German Bosch, transfers all the information from the memory of its numerous equipment to the computer into the CDR format. Then such a file can be opened and analyzed with specialized diagnostic programs.
This is such a CDR format – we write in capital letters, it is worth it, it is a well-deserved history of the computer world almost from its very origins. At least, this particular format became one of those who actively supported Bill Gates’ sensational appeal: “A computer in the kitchen of any housewife.”