Monday, April 13, 2015

CorelDRAW x5 basics: the viewing modes (7) - Pixels View

The Pixels view viewing mode allows you to see the pixel-based version of your drawing. By using this viewing mode it's easier for you to position the objects of your drawing more precisely; in addition, this viewing mode will help you to see how your drawing will look like when you'll save it into a bitmap format.

To activate this viewing mode go to View and choose Pixels. When the Pixels viewing mode is activated, the Snap to Pixels option will become active, too.


The Pixels view viewing mode is very useful especially when you are working with very large or very complex drawings; it is also useful when you are working with paths and you want to precisely adjust the curves. When the Pixels view viewing mode is active, if you choose a magnification level equal or greater with 800% the Pixel Grid will be automatically activated (sometimes you might find this option annoying, so I'll show you how you can disable and enable it when you need to). When you move the cursor around the grid various snap points (namely, pixel corner, pixel edge and pixel center) appear, allowing you to gain a batter control over your drawing.


If you want to customise the Pixel Grid go to Tools -> Option (shortkey: CTRL + J) and choose Document -> Grid. In the dialog box which is displayed you can choose how the Pixel Grid will be displayed (as lines or as dots) and how "dense" the grid should be. You can also activate and deactivate the following options: Snap to grid, Snap to pixel and Show pixel grid at 800% and higher zoom. CorelDraw offers you the possibility to change either the colour of the grid or/and the grid's opacity (use this option to avoid the inconvenient situation when your drawing and the grid have the same colour).