CorelDraw Graphics Suite X7 review

Corel Connect is a content manager that incorporates a large library of resources, such as 10,000 clip-art images, 2,000 photos and 600 templates. However, you must download as necessary from Corel’s servers. This resulted in some frustrating delays over an (admittedly slow) 5Mbit/s connection. We experienced quite a few crashes when using Connect, and the overall experience wasn’t particularly rosy.

Connect includes lots of clip-art but can be frustrating over a slow internet connection

Ultimately, CorelDraw Graphics Suite’s appeal lies almost entirely with its main vector drawing application. There’s undoubtedly a lot to like here, but we’d have preferred a more ambitious update, and we wish it was more responsive. We experienced a few momentary freezes, and we missed Xara’s ability to show changes as they’re being made rather than after the mouse button is released.

Adobe Creative Suite is still the obvious choice for professional, and aspiring professional, designers, not least because it’s so strong across multiple disciplines, such as photo editing, vector drawing, web and print publishing and video editing. Meanwhile, most home users looking to create graphic designs will be better served by a combination of Xara Photo and Graphic Designer and Adobe Photoshop Elements. There is still room for CorelDraw, though, particularly for illustrators specialising in freehand drawing but who want to create clean, precise lines rather than the natural media effects offered by the likes of Corel Painter. This update may not be bursting with technical or artistic innovation but it keeps CorelDraw in the game.