Expert: Neal Ziring - 10/24/2008

Question
I am wondering how to export an image from coral draw into gif for use on a web page. now I have been able to export it so that it appears transparent, however I find the edges are jagged...so I am wondering what I can do so that it will still maintain smooth lines?
thanks for your time.
Misty

Answer
Misty,

There are a couple of ways to export images from CorelDraw,
but the simplest is to just use the Export feature.  It sounds
like you're already doing that, but I've included the full
procedure below just in case.  The key step is to use the
anti-aliasing feature of the Convert to Bitmap dialog; it should
help make the output image look much smoother.  Also, GIF is a
8-bit image format, which means you can get dithering artifacts
or ragged color transitions.  If you want to put the illustrations
on a web page, consider using PNG image format instead.  It has
all the good features of GIF but is able to handle 24-bit color.

Once you have your illustration finished and saved as
a CDR file, then do the export.  (Always save first!)

1. Select File->Export..
2. The file export dialog will pop up, asking you to supply
  the export name and the export file type.  
3. Choose "GIF - Compuserve image" from the file type list,
  and check the exported file name.
4. Click OK.
5. The Convert to Bitmap dialog will pop up.  It allows you to
  set the size of the exported image, adjust the colormap, etc.
  Set the size by adjusting the DPI; 75 or 100 are usually good
  values for web pages.  You can also set the size by adjusting
  the height and width directly, if you know the size of the web
  page area where you're planning to put the image.
6. Choose the color mode.  Usually, for GIF, you'll use
  Paletted 8-bit Color.  Also make sure that anti-aliasing is
  checked - that should eliminate the jaggy edges.
7. Click OK.

The file will be written out, and you can look at it with your
web browser or other tools.

GIF is an old and lousy image format.  The modern format PNG is
a much better choice, so consider using that instead.

Sometimes it is necessary to edit the image after you've exported
it from CorelDraw.   If you need to do that, DO NOT USE GIF!  Use
PNG or TIF export format, and load the image into you favorite
image editor, such as Corel PhotoPaint.  Do all your editing, and
then export as JPG, GIF, or PNG for use on web pages.

Hope this helps...

...nz