In the graphic on the facing page, our cursor is heading down the left side, removing the unwanted color.

	TIP You can toggle between Eyedropper and Color Replacer with the spacebar, so you can easily define new search and/or replace colors. And when replacing, you can hold Ctrl to keep your cursor headed along a straight path. With PAINT’s auto-panning, this makes replacing a continuous line of color fast and easy.

4.  Save the file from PAINT.

To reiterate, we don’t think that this operation should be necessary, but then again, Corel argues that its GIF export interprets anti-aliasing correctly. So this becomes a matter of taste and development philosophy.

Chapter 25 discusses the find and replace operation in considerable detail.

Export from DRAW, Import to PAINT

This next strategy takes advantage of Corel’s private file format, CMX.

1.  Export the graphic from DRAW in CMX format (Corel Presentation Exchange).

2.  Switch to PAINT and open the CMX file. Because this file needs to be converted to a bitmap, PAINT asks you how to do so. Choose Paletted, check Anti-aliasing, set the resolution to 96, and set the sizing to 1 to 1.

3.  Use PAINT’s masking tools to surround the graphic with a mask. For the graphic shown here, we used the Lasso Mask tool and simply drew roughly around the outside of the graphic. PAINT figured out what we meant and created a mask around the logo. If necessary, we touched up with the Magic Wand tool.

	NOTE For more information and instructions on using PAINT’s masking tools, see Chapter 25.

4.  Go to Image Ø Crop Ø To Mask to remove all unwanted white space from this graphic.

5.  Go to Image Ø Resample and scale this graphic to the desired size (return to DRAW to check the size, if necessary). Set the resolution to 96dpi, if it isn’t already set that way. Here were the settings for our graphic.

6.  Go to Mask Ø Remove (or press Ctrl+Shift+R) to remove the mask (and the annoying moving line). Then zoom way in. You’ll see the unwanted anti-aliasing around the edges of the graphic, and maybe applied to interior straight lines.

7.  Remove the unwanted lines, using the search-and-destroy technique described earlier.

8.  Export the file in GIF format.

Use the Clipboard

The first cousin to the export-import shuffle is to transfer the image across the Clipboard. This involves the following:

1.  Zoom in as tight as you can on the objects to export. The easiest way to do this is to select them and press Shift+F2.

2.  Press F9 for a full-screen preview.

	TIP To get the cleanest look, go to Tools Ø Options Ø Workspace Ø Display and check Use Enhanced View and uncheck Show Page Border.

3.  While in preview, press Alt+Prtsc to capture the image to the Clipboard.

4.  Switch to PAINT and go to File Ø New from Clipboard to paste the image into PAINT.

5.  Repeat the steps described above to mask the logo, crop to it, resample it, and export it.

The Super-Export Strategy

You can often get better results by exporting from DRAW at two or four times the size desired and then resampling it down in PAINT.

To do this without permanently altering the graphic in DRAW, do this:

1.  Select the graphic.

2.  Use the sizing controls on the property bar to increase the graphic by 200% or 400% (most users will have enough RAM to try for 400).

3.  Export as CMX.

4.  Press Ctrl+Z to undo the resizing operation.

In PAINT, you would follow the same steps above, resampling the graphic down to its original size and exporting it.

Judge for Yourself

The following table shows the results of our tests with a simple logo. As the native medium for these graphics is the Web, we have also prepared a comprehensive Web page with the specs and visual results of the test. You’ll be better able to scrutinize the appearance of each graphic on the Web, so visit www.altman.com/logotest to judge for yourself.

	Method of Creation	File Size	Time to Create	Result
	Direct export from DRAW	4.3KB	10 seconds
	Original export, refined in PAINT	4.0KB	75 seconds
	Graphic exported as CMX file, refined in PAINT	3.9KB	125 seconds
	Full-screen preview image captured to Clipboard, pasted to PAINT, and refined	4.6KB	95 seconds
	Graphic exported at 400% original size, refined and resampled back down in PAINT	5.3KB	125 seconds

From the Web site, it is obvious that the expand/compress strategy yields the highest fidelity, especially in the all-important category of fine text. It is also the most time-consuming, so only you can evaluate this for your own needs and purposes. The other one we like is the Clipboard route, because it’s fast, it doesn’t involve the creation of CMX files that then become superfluous, and it renders text very well.

Meanwhile, we hope for the day that DRAW can export Web graphics as cleanly as PAINT, so we won’t have to bother with any of these workarounds.