Opening a cdr file.

[bluenun]

Hello all,

A friend sent me a copy of his flyer minus his details/text that I would like to add my details to. So it is just graphics at the moment.
But I am unable to open it with any of the programmes I have, like paint, word, adobe, windows picture viewer, foxit etc.

It is a cdr file, I looked at the this site and looking at their list of supported file formats it seems everything except cdr is listed?

Am I able to open a cdr file with irfanview?
If not could anyone please tell me a free download that will do this.

Thanks for any help.

[Bhikkhu Pesala]

Archive it and attach it here. Its a CorelDraw file. I can probably convert it to WMF or similar for you.

[bluenun]

I am quite new to PC's and do not know what you mean by "archive it".

[Skippybox]

I think he means place your file in a ZIP or 7z compressed folder so you will be able to upload it to the forum. Click on Manage Attachments in Additional Options, which is below Reply to Thread, to upload. Or click on the paper clip icon in the toolbar.

[bluenun]

Ok thanks.
I think I might have managed to upload it.

[Bhikkhu Pesala]

I am quite new to PC's and do not know what you mean by "archive it".

Select the CDR file in Windows Explorer, Right-click and see if there is any option to archive it.

If not, you will need an archiving program. 7-Zip is one of the best. Download the installtion file from this direct link, run the installation file, then restart your PC.

On restarting the option will be available on your right=click menu in Windows Explorer. Now when you select a CDR file (or any file or files) in Windows Explorer, you will have a menu option for 7-Zip to add the file to an Archive called "Filename.7z" — whatever the file name is. This archive should be much smaller than the original CDR file. The limit for *.7z format forum attachments is 1.91 Mbytes.

[bluenun]

I followed your instructions as best I could, downloaded the programme, ran it, restarted, went back into windows explorer, right clicked and added it to the archicve.

It is now on my desktop showinf as 7z.

I will try to add it here.

[Skippybox]

Compressed Folder Archives

Select the CDR file in Windows Explorer, Right-click and see if there is any option to archive it.

If not, you will need an archiving program. 7-Zip is one of the best. Download the installtion file from this direct link, run the installation file, then restart your PC.

While 7-Zip is a great program, you may not have had to go to that much trouble. Right-clicking your file wouldn't necessarily reveal that you can still put your file in a ZIP folder. If you right-click an empty area in Windows and choose New>Compressed (zipped) Folder, you could place your file in that. Also could find that by going to File>New>Compressed (zipped) Folder. You could have just done that and uploaded the resulting ZIP file with your CDR inside.

I noticed you placed your file in a ZIP then in a 7z archive. You didn't have to. You can just place the CDR file right in the 7z archive.

[bluenun]

skippybox, excuse my ignorance but I was unable to follow the first part of your post.

Regarding your last sentence, I did origninally try to upload the zip file to this site but I am not sure if it worked or not.

I then followed Bhikku's instructions and uploaded the cdr file (not the zip file)
into 7z archive.

I am now hoping that Bhikku can now convert this into wmf or something that I can at last look at the file on my PC.

[Bhikkhu Pesala]

OK. Some good news and some bad news.

1) The second attempt to attach the archive worked OK so you learnt something useful. SkippyBox was right. You compressed it twice — once from CDR to ZIP and then from ZIP to 7Z. Once from CDR to 7Z would have been fine.

2) Anyway, I was able to successfully extract the CorelDraw file, and you now know how to create archives for uploading stuff to forums, so all is not lost.

Now the bad news.

3) The CorelDraw file was created in a later version of CorelDraw to the version that I have — version 9 — so I cannot open it.

Unfortunately, after all that we're no further forward until someone with a recent version of CorelDraw comes by — CorelDraw 12 is the latest I believe.

[bluenun]

Ok, well thanks for trying.

Hopefully someone will be able to help out.

[matera]

Ask your friend to export the file into some non-proprietary format, and explain why. It is probably not a simple "image" in the first place, but full of all sorts of special instructions that only CorelDraw understands.

SVG (Scaled Vector Graphics) would be the best format. Then you can install Inkscape and mess with it.

[Skippybox]

Yes, it is very strange that your friend would give you a file that you can't use, considering you don't have the program.

If all fails, you could maybe try opening it in CorelDraw by getting a free trial at their website.

[Skippybox]

If not could anyone please tell me a free download that will do this.

Does it have to be free?

Convert CDR to JPEG

[bluenun]

Thanks for the replies.

I have downloaded the trial version of corel draw and managed to open the file but it still has all his details on the flyer.

I do not actually know this guy, we both use the same forum and he answered one of my posts where I asked what information I should and should not put on my flyer, he posted his and I asked if he could send a copy without his phone number and details on.

He is Russian and maybe he did not understand my request so I have emailed him to ask again.