Well, Corel X5 was finally launched this morning. You can get it (or a free trial, I believe) at Corel's website.

There are some new features that I like and I'll briefly describe them.

First, you get some premium fonts (
Helvetica, Frutiger, Futura and Garamond families).


Second, you get
BenVista PhotoZoom Pro 2......which I just tried for the first time the other day.....it can scale up a bitmap to any size with no pixelation....it's awesome....but hard to find in X5!!!


Third, they added a new tool called the "B-Spline"......if you use the bezier tool alot....you'll LOVE the B-Spline!


Fourth, they added something new called Connect......basically, it can be a docker that sits on your workspace that allows you to search your computer for files and then easily add them to your workspace. I currently used ROMCAT to find graphics on my computer....this should replace that.


Fifth, they've improved some tools.....for example....when you use the rectangle tool to make a rectangle.....the tool bar now has icons to easily round, scallop, or chamfer the edges.


Sixth, although I can't prove it or really demonstrate it.....the Power Trace function is improved.....it really does trace better.


Seventh.....instead of "Close Path" they now call it "Join Curves" and it seems to work better.


Eighth, they did alot of work on PhotoPaint and improving color.....but since we seem to live in a black & white world, I didn't spend too much time investigating it.


That's all I can think of off the top of my head. Other people may want to chime in with what they like/dislike about it.


There are still some small bugs that hopefully will be worked out with the first service pack.....but I think it's definitely worth upgrading if you have v10 or earlier.