Check a CorelDRAW file without CorelDRAW
A print shop, a sign maker or a client sent you a .cdr and nothing on your computer opens it, or your CorelDRAW says it cannot. Drop it here to see which CorelDRAW version saved it and which version you need, the preview picture stored inside (saved as a PNG), the fonts it uses, its page count and embedded bitmaps, and for CorelDRAW X4 and later files the title, author and dates and every part of the package.
The file is read by this tab on your device and is not uploaded, so a client’s logo or an unreleased design goes nowhere.
What it shows
- The CorelDRAW version, and what opens it. Every .cdr records the version that saved it. A file from CorelDRAW 2020 is version 22: CorelDRAW 2019 or older refuses it, and the sender can save a copy for your version with File › Save As and the Version list. The table below maps every version number to its product.
- The preview stored inside, as a PNG. CorelDRAW saves a small picture of the first page with the file: a bitmap in the
DISPchunk of older files,metadata/thumbnails/thumbnail.bmpin X4 and later. It is shown and saved as a PNG. It is the picture a file browser shows, not a rendering of the drawing, and it is small (often 128 to 256 pixels across). - Fonts. The font names in the document’s font list. CorelDRAW does not embed fonts, so these are the ones to install, or to ask about, before opening it: a missing one is swapped for another and the text reflows.
- Pages and embedded bitmaps. The number of page lists in the file, and each placed photo or pixel image with its size in pixels and colour depth.
- Title, author and dates (X4 and later). The fields in
metadata/metadata.xml: title, author, subject, keywords, created and modified dates and the program that saved it, where filled in. - Every part of the package (X4 and later). A .cdr from X4 on is a ZIP. Each part (the document, the metadata, the thumbnail, any PNG previews) is listed with its size and can be saved on its own.
CorelDRAW versions
The version is read from the vrsn chunk (the version times 100, so 1300 is version 13) or, when there is none, from the last character of the RIFF form type: CDR4 to CDR9 for versions 4 to 9, then CDRA for 10, CDRB for 11 and so on. Each CorelDRAW opens files from its own version and older ones.
| Version | Form type | Product | Container |
|---|---|---|---|
| 26 | CDRQ | CorelDRAW 2025 | ZIP package |
| 25 | CDRP | CorelDRAW 2024 | |
| 24 | CDRO | CorelDRAW 2022 and 2023 | |
| 23 | CDRN | CorelDRAW 2021 | |
| 22 | CDRM | CorelDRAW 2020 | |
| 21 | CDRL | CorelDRAW 2019 | |
| 20 | CDRK | CorelDRAW 2018 | |
| 19 | CDRJ | CorelDRAW 2017 | |
| 18 | CDRI | CorelDRAW X8 (2016) | |
| 17 | CDRH | CorelDRAW X7 (2014) | |
| 16 | CDRG | CorelDRAW X6 (2012) | |
| 15 | CDRF | CorelDRAW X5 (2010) | |
| 14 | CDRE | CorelDRAW X4 (2008) | |
| 13 | CDRD | CorelDRAW X3 (2006) | one RIFF file |
| 12 | CDRC | CorelDRAW 12 (2004) | |
| 11 | CDRB | CorelDRAW 11 (2002) | |
| 10 | CDRA | CorelDRAW 10 (2000) | |
| 9 | CDR9 | CorelDRAW 9 (1999) | |
| 8 | CDR8 | CorelDRAW 8 (1997) | |
| 7 | CDR7 | CorelDRAW 7 (1996) | |
| 6 | CDR6 | CorelDRAW 6 (1995) | |
| 5 | CDR5 | CorelDRAW 5 (1994) | |
| 4 | CDR4 | CorelDRAW 4 (1993) |
How the file is read
- CorelDRAW 4 to X3
- One RIFF file, the chunk layout Windows uses for WAV and AVI: a 4-letter id, a 4-byte length, the data. The page walks the chunks and reads
vrsn(the version),DISP(the preview bitmap), thefontchunks in the font list, thepagelists and thebmpchunks (embedded bitmaps, sized from their bitmap header). - CorelDRAW X4 and later
- A ZIP package, unpacked in the tab with the vendored fflate library. The document is
content/riffData.cdr(the same RIFF layout) or, in later versions,content/root.datwith its records split overcontent/data/*.dat; beside it aremetadata/metadata.xmland the thumbnail. - Written from the format descriptions
- The reader was written for this site from published descriptions of the RIFF container and the CorelDRAW package. No code from libcdr or any other CorelDRAW reader is used.
- Tested on
- Generated files only. No real .cdr was found under a licence that allows publishing it with the tests (CorelDRAW files online are almost all someone’s artwork with “free for personal use” terms), so the tests use RIFF and ZIP files built from the format descriptions. A real file that reads wrongly here is worth reporting.
What this cannot do
- Draw the drawing. This page does not interpret outlines, fills, text, effects or layers, so it cannot show, zoom or print the artwork. The preview is only the small thumbnail CorelDRAW saved; if none was saved, there is no picture.
- Read compressed parts. Some CorelDRAW versions keep records zlib-compressed in a
cmprlist. The page says when it finds one, and fonts, pages and bitmaps stored there are not counted. - Open protected files. A package that is encrypted or protected with a password cannot be unpacked; the page says so.
- Read CMX files or the very first CorelDRAW files. Corel Presentation Exchange (.cmx) files have their own layout, and files from CorelDRAW 1 and 2 start with
WL, not RIFF; neither is recognised as a CorelDRAW drawing here. - Edit or convert. It only reads. It cannot save the drawing as PDF, SVG or an older .cdr.
How to see the whole drawing
- LibreOffice Draw (free)
- Opens most .cdr files on Windows, macOS and Linux, and can export them to PDF or SVG. It uses the open-source libcdr library; simple artwork comes through well, while blends, contours, lenses and some fills may come out simplified.
- Inkscape (free)
- Imports .cdr through the same library, so it handles the same files the same way, and saves an editable SVG.
- Ask the sender
- A PDF or SVG export, or a copy saved for your CorelDRAW version with File › Save As. The version and fonts shown here tell them exactly what to send.