[.ca] CorelDRAW 10: The Official Guide (ISBN 0072130148)

From Amazon.co.uk:
CorelDraw has never been a simple graphics application and while updates of the program have introduced productivity and interface enhancements, 10 years of successive new features and functions have created an application that takes some getting to know. If CorelDraw 10 The Official Guide has one overwhelming advantage over other Draw publications it is thoroughness. Nearly 900 pages cover just about every aspect of using CorelDraw 10, from installation to VB scripting. The book is aimed at intermediate to advanced users, which you can take to mean anyone who's read the manual and used Draw on a casual basis to produce vector illustrations. It uses non-technical everyday language and focuses on realistic use of program features. As such it makes an excellent reference as well as a collection of tutorials on advanced techniques and features. The book is organised into seven sections including Getting Started, Object Tools, Organising Objects and Applying Effects, Working in 3D, Working with Digital Images and Beyond the Basics. Topics are dealt with in such depth that you often come away having gained answers to questions you hadn't even thought of asking. Applying Lens and Transparency Effects, for example, devotes 30 pages to every aspect of lenses including the 11 different lens types and their options. Each one is illustrated with examples that relate to the real world and there's a 16-page colour section (regrettably the only one in the book) with further examples and explanation. If you only have one CorelDraw book on your shelves this should be it. --Ken McMahon

Great Book - one complaint:
As a long time Coreldraw user, I found this to be one of the best Coredraw books that I have read (especially helpful since the Coreldraw 10 ships with such a flimsy manual that is pretty much useless). I found this book to be well written and extremely easy to follow. All the features of the program are covered in such great detail that I couldn't wait to try them out. My one BIG COMPLAINT - is that it took me a while to realize that "type" "fills" and "outlines" are not covered in the book, but instead included on the extra "bonus" CD PDF chapters. I think that these are such basic elements of Coreldraw that they should have been included in the book instead of on the "bonus" CD. To get this information you have to either view or print out the 200+ pages from the PDF files. I feel that these chapters should have been included in the book (perhaps putting the information on RAVE and Scripts, etc. on the CD instead) and that Osborne/Corel Press should clarify on the cover what the "bonus" CD includes and let the consumer decide if they feel like taking the time to finish printing out what should have been included in the book. Even with my one complaint, I do feel this is great reference book to help you learn or update your skills with Coreldraw.

There is much to learn about CorelDraw10:
Well, I can only admit that I thought that this book would be appropriate for Ann 'cause she only has experience with an ancient version of Corel 3.0 software. And since she is about to upgrade to version 10 she will need some kind of reference material. And since this is the ONLY book written on the subject matter, it stands to rights that it should be of serious value to her. Or to anybody unfamiliar with CorelDraw10. I gave it a five star rating - even though I haven't read it myself - because there really isn't anything else to compare it to. What can I say? This is gotta be better than using just the application's Help files! And God know's - Ann is gonna need some help with this application! It ain't 3.0! There is a lot to learn from this book, like - why is there an upside down question mark in the title? I shall purchase this nearly thousand page opus if for no other reason than to discover this curious inclusion in the author's title construction. I also will recommend it to my friend Ann 'cause otherwise she won't know nuthin' about nuthin'...

THE CorelDRAW Bible !:
This book has obviously been written by someone who has worked with this program for years. It's easy-to-follow, well organized, and explains all of CorelDRAW 10's sophisticated capabilities and technical workings using clear, concise, and well-illustrated terms. I've already found myself utilizing dozens of the of tips and tricks, of which there must be hundreds. After a few weeks of working through the chapters, I've yet to find a topic or effect not covered. A nice touch is the tear-out shortcuts guide for the keyboard and the CD containing hundreds of art, image, and effects files - plus a bonus of 6 additional chapters. There are also special sections on using Corel's new RAVE program, built-in web image utilities, the Tracing application, and entire chapters dedicated to customization and VBA program scripting. This book is a leap ahead of any previous editions of the CorelDRAW Official Guides and quite frankly is one of the best books I've read on any technical subject.

Outstanding, thorough, and invaluable:
The information and excercises in this book are easy to understand and straightforward to follow. Often confusing design and illustration concepts are very well presented and illustrated. The level of detail is exceptional and the book's thoroughness is impressive. All of CorelDRAW 10's effects are covered with tips for web and print publishing. It includes chapters on Corel's new RAVE animation program, VBA, and Web graphics. It also comes with a convenient quick keys guide which detaches from the cover and the companion disc includes 200 additional pages of content in PDF form, tutorial files, CorelDRAW drawings, clip art, animated GIFs, digital photographs, and special effect files to use with the program. Hats off to the author and publisher. This is likely the best computer book I've seen yet.

It's a standard volume of what you need to know:
We use it as a daily reference tool for graphic design. It seemed the best choice among several.