Lots of features, easy to use and learn for relative beginner
I really have not had a lot of experience with graphics programs and really only need to put together pretty simple graphics to create flyers and handout sheets. Having said that, I find CorelDraw to be a very easy to use package with lots of features that are easy to use and pretty well documented with LOTS of tutorials, help screens, and a very good user's manual.

This is a suite of applications, but I have been mostly using PHOTO-PAINT, which is a lot like Photoshop. It is very good at manipulating images and making adjustments to photographs. I don't have the latest version of PhotoShop, but will say this does everything my older (2 year plus) version of PS does with ease.


The other part of the suite I really like is CorelDRAW that works like Adobe Illustrator to create and manipulate vector graphics. I have found it pretty easy to use in working with existing images, including the large amount of clipart that comes with the program. I am hardly a sophisticated user, but have really found the program very useful for pulling together images and text for flyers.

There is an extra feature of the program (CAPTURE) that creates screen shots -- I have found this really useful for putting together materials for courses that I sometimes teach.

I have been very impressed with this software and really look forward to spending more time with it. It is something that a beginning user can use, something that cannot always be said of all high-end programs. Users with complex needs should probably check other reviews, but I have found that the program really meets my "garden variety" needs.


PS The software installed very easily on my Vista machine.

Complete, with some advantages for photo manipulation
I'm going to do a short review here and say that Corel has some advantages over Photoshop for photomanipulation or editing. Where Photoshop Elements (a fine piece of software) has you estimate or use your monitor and judgment for fixing photos, CorelDraw's Photo suite has an Integrated Image Adjustment Lab --and it tells you how you are going to affect the data on a RAW image, losing image quality by various adjustments. Instead of eyeballing what you are doing, you can retain maximum detail in highlights and shadows using their sliders and suggestions. When you exceed the limits and start to lose detail, an exclamation point crops up on the slider, showing you that you have degraded the photo quality. This is probably the best photo editing software I've used for that reason.

While I like the competing PhotoShop Elements for ease of use and the fun effect, CorelDraw has more professional features and the interface for photoediting is full of information yet easy to use. Big thumbs up.

LOVE IT
CorelDraw Graphics Suite x4 is a great program. I'm no techie, but it is easy to use. I use it for banners, manipulating pictures, or creating drawings. The possibilities seem to be endless, but again, I'm no techie. I would suggest this program for those who are interested in graphic design. This may even be better than photoshop!

Exciting Graphics Program
I just received this software a few days ago and installed it, so I'm still going through it learning how to use it. But the photo editing software is pretty cool. I think it's better than paint. The features are definately easier to use and the book that comes along with it helps you out if you get stuck along the way.

Again, I just received it a few days ago, so I'm still going through it learning how to use it. But the program I've used first was Photo-Paint. What you can do with a photo is pretty amazing.

I cannot wait to see what else I can do with the other components of this graphics suite. Pretty impressed so far.

Over my head
I ordered this product with the idea of becoming a graphics wizard. In retrospect, that wasn't such a great idea.

This is a fantastic product, with more bells and whistles than you could find in Santa's toy shop, but it's way over my head. Perhaps someday...