XnView Software

Limited Corel file support
XnView supports Corel Draw and Corel PhotoPaint files but it can displays the preview embedded in the Corel file, only. If no preview is embedded, XnView cannot display anything. This is a very limited support but due to the proprietary format of Corel files, XnView cannot provide full support.

Every now and then there are people asking in the forum or via e-mail why Corel files are not displayed. It seems not that clear and obvious that there is limited support, only. I think we should do something about this and make things clearer.

I have browsed the list of supported formats to see whether it clearly says that Corel files are not fully supported. And I have found:

Corel Draw Bitmap (preview) cdr
Corel Draw Pattern (preview) pat
Corel PhotoPaint 6.0 cpt

Rather thumbnail than preview
XnView does displays the preview embedded in the Corel file, but it cannot display a real preview of the Corel file. So "Preview" can be misleading, here. I think "Thumbnail" or "Embedded preview" would be a little bit clearer.

Hint missing for Corel PhotoPaint
As you can see in the list above, for Corel PhotoPaint 6.0 files the hint "(preview)" is missing. This must be added on all webpages (German, English, and French). The same applies for the list shown in XnView (menu "Help > Supported formats...")

Corel not a standard format
By default, Corel files are not shown in the list of supported formats (menu "Help > Supported formats...). Only after activating "All available formats", Corel format is listed in the list of supported formats.

I think Corel files are pretty common and should become part of the standard list of supported formats.

Being a CorelDRAW user myself I'm very glad you've tackled this issue, Helmut.

helmut wrote:Rather thumbnail than preview
XnView does displays the preview embedded in the Corel file, but it cannot display a real preview of the Corel file. So "Preview" can be misleading, here. I think "Thumbnail" or "Embedded preview" would be a little bit clearer.

The technically correct term seems to be “EPS/CDR with TIFF header”, but I would go for “embedded thumbnail” to avoid further confusion.

helmut wrote:Every now and then there are people asking in the forum or via e-mail why Corel files are not displayed. It seems not that clear and obvious that there is limited support, only. I think we should do something about this and make things clearer.

• General Support
  • file format support for cmx
  • CorelDraw cdr files
  • Problem opening .CDR files...
  • how can i open a cdr file?
  • cannot convert cpt file to jpeg
  • I can not read cdr files
  • opening bmf files
  • CorelDraw files
  • Illustrator AI support with Version 1.82.4
  • .CDR format
  • .CDR format
• Suggestions
  • REQ: support for 2 Corel formats: CCX and WI
• Bug Reports
  • XnView don't read my CorelDRAW Files
• XnView [Français]
  • ouvrir des fichier coreldraw (fr»en)
  • Le cas Corel ( Draw et Photopaint ) (fr»en)
  • Ouvrir format des image de CorelPhotopaint (fr»en)
  • corel photopaint 9 (fr»en)
  • Pb d'affichage des miniatures Corel Draw (fr»en)
  • Support fichier COREL PHOTO HOUSE (CPH) (fr»en)
• GFL SDK
  • Problems with .cdr (corel draw) format [VB]

*Bump*

We have more and more people "stumbling" over the CDR and CPT support of XnView - which in fact isn't there. The hint "Embedded thumbnail, only" on the webpage (see above) should be added a.s.a.p..

helmut wrote:*Bump*

We have more and more people "stumbling" over the CDR and CPT support of XnView - which in fact isn't there. The hint "Embedded thumbnail, only" on the webpage (see above) should be added a.s.a.p..

You means, change "Corel Draw Bitmap (preview)" to "Corel Draw Bitmap (thumbnail only)"?

xnview wrote:

helmut wrote:*Bump*

We have more and more people "stumbling" over the CDR and CPT support of XnView - which in fact isn't there. The hint "Embedded thumbnail, only" on the webpage (see above) should be added a.s.a.p..

You means, change "Corel Draw Bitmap (preview)" to "Corel Draw Bitmap (thumbnail only)"?

Currently it says on the formats webpage:
Corel Draw Bitmap (preview) cdr
Corel Draw Pattern (preview) pat
Corel Flow (preview) bmf
Corel Metafile Exchange (preview) cmx
Corel PhotoPaint 6.0 cpt

Instead, it should say:
Corel Draw Bitmap (thumbnail only) cdr
Corel Draw Pattern (thumbnail only) pat
Corel Flow (thumbnail only) bmf
Corel Metafile Exchange (thumbnail only) cmx
Corel PhotoPaint 6.0 (thumbnail only) cpt

"preview" has been changed to "thumbnail only" and for Corel PhotoPaint files the missing hint has been added.

Additionally, the legend could be enhanced and a more informative text could be written. E.g. "Only embedded thumbnail of Corel files can be displayed"