Repair CorelDraw File using Free Methods
From time to time, users may experience file corruption for various reasons. This is most unfortunate especially if a great deal of time was spent in the creation and designing process.
CAUSE
First, you would need to identify what may have caused the file corruption. Possible causes could include:
Document was corrupted / not saved due to the program crashing or hanging
Saving large files to a network drive.
Documents created in earlier versions of CorelDraw® are no longer accessible
PREVENTION
1. Make sure that 'automatic 'back-up is turned on/active. To turn on Automatic Back-up inCorelDraw® you must:
Launch CorelDraw®.
Go to Tools ▸ Option (or press CTRL+ J on your keyboard)
In the Options Window, expand Workspace and click on Save. Under Save you can set the following options:
a. You can the frequency that the program will automatically save your document.
b. You can set the location in which the back-up file will be saved to.
- User’s temporary folder
- User defined folder
c. You can save the text to previous versions - NOTE: This is a feature specific to CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X6
- Keep text appearance
- Keep text editable
d. You can 'set to 'Ask When Saving.
e. You can set to Make Back-up on Save.
NOTE: Most of the time when automatic back-up is ON, the backup is saved in the folder where the file was originally saved.
2. Save at least two (2) separate copies of the file in two (2) separate areas.
POSSIBLE RESOLUTIONS
NOTE:
- This process does not always work and is performed as a last resort to recover corrupted documents.
- The recovered file may not have all the elements as the save process may have been interrupted.
Document was corrupted / not saved due to program crash/hang.
Temporary files
If Make Back-up on Save is not enabled and the application becomes unstable and closes down, you may be able to find a .tmp file or cdr file that could have your data in it. A backup should be created within the temporary files folder.
To view the file:
Windows XP
a. Go to Start ▸ Run
b. Type %temp% and click on OK
c. In the Temporary folder window, set the view to Details.
d. Filter the details to Date Modified.
e. Look for the cdr file that is dated on the same time the program has crashed. This file should be a copy of the file you are working on.
Windows Vista/7
a. Go to Start and type %temp% in the search bar and press Enter on your keyboard.
b. Click on the Temp folder.
c. In the Temporary folder window, set the view to Details.
d. Filter the details to Date Modified.
e. Look for the cdr file that is dated on the same time the program has stopped working. This file should be a copy of the file you are working on.
Windows 8
a. Hold down the Windows and R buttons together
b. Type the word: Temp in the run box and click OK
c. In the Temporary folder window, set the view to Details.
d. Filter the details to Date Modified.
e. Look for the cdr file that is dated on the same time the program has stopped working. This file should be a copy of the file you are working on.
Recovering the File
This procedure requires WinZip to proceed.
With 'Make Back-up on Save enabled, w'hen saving a file a second time, CorelDRAW will rename the original file to "Backup of filename.cdr". If you were to re-save the file again, because Windows will not allow two files with the same name, in the same location at the same time, CorelDRAW will save the file as a .tmp file. Once the save process is complete, the "Backup offilename.cdr" is deleted and the .tmp file is renamed to "Backup of filename.cdr". With this in mind, it may be possible to rename the .tmp file to .zip and then extract the data.
Step 1: Viewing file name extensions
You would need to be able to view file name extensions in Windows Explorer, to do this:
Windows XP
a. Open Windows Explorer.
b. Once the folder is open, click on Tools ▸ Folder options.
c. In the Folder Options window, click on the View tab.
d. Clear the Hide extensions for known file types check box, and then click OK.
Windows Vista / 7/ 8
a. Open Folder Options by clicking the Start button ▸ Control Panel ▸ Appearance and Personalization ▸ Folder Options.
b. Click the View tab, and then, under Advanced settings, clear the Hide extensions for known file types check box, and then click OK.
Step 2: Renaming the filename extension
a. Browse the folder in which the CorelDraw file is saved. This is where you may find the .tmp file
b. Right click on the file and select Rename or you can click on the file and press F2 on your keyboard.
c. Change the file extension to .ZIP.
NOTE: If you are attempting to recover a file from CorelDRAW X6, simply rename the .tmp extension to .cdr
Step 3: Extracting the data from the ZIP file.
a. Double click on the file. This should open the zip file in WinZip.
b. When the file is opened with WinZip, you will be able to view folders:
Color - This folder contains the colour profiles used in the document, both in RGB and CMYK.
Content - This folder contains one file only and this file is what you need to be able to recover the document.
Metadata - This folder contains xml files and a folder call thumbnails which contains a thumbnail for each of the pages within the document.
c. Extract the file called RiffData from the Content folder to your desktop.
d. Open the file in CorelDraw.
Alternate Way to Repair CorelDraw File
The Alternate way to repair CDR file is to use a free tool. Have a look at free software that recover and repair all cdr files within seconds
http://freesoftvare.com/coreldraw-cdr-repair/
CAUSE
First, you would need to identify what may have caused the file corruption. Possible causes could include:
Document was corrupted / not saved due to the program crashing or hanging
Saving large files to a network drive.
Documents created in earlier versions of CorelDraw® are no longer accessible
PREVENTION
1. Make sure that 'automatic 'back-up is turned on/active. To turn on Automatic Back-up inCorelDraw® you must:
Launch CorelDraw®.
Go to Tools ▸ Option (or press CTRL+ J on your keyboard)
In the Options Window, expand Workspace and click on Save. Under Save you can set the following options:
a. You can the frequency that the program will automatically save your document.
b. You can set the location in which the back-up file will be saved to.
- User’s temporary folder
- User defined folder
c. You can save the text to previous versions - NOTE: This is a feature specific to CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X6
- Keep text appearance
- Keep text editable
d. You can 'set to 'Ask When Saving.
e. You can set to Make Back-up on Save.
NOTE: Most of the time when automatic back-up is ON, the backup is saved in the folder where the file was originally saved.
2. Save at least two (2) separate copies of the file in two (2) separate areas.
POSSIBLE RESOLUTIONS
NOTE:
- This process does not always work and is performed as a last resort to recover corrupted documents.
- The recovered file may not have all the elements as the save process may have been interrupted.
Document was corrupted / not saved due to program crash/hang.
Temporary files
If Make Back-up on Save is not enabled and the application becomes unstable and closes down, you may be able to find a .tmp file or cdr file that could have your data in it. A backup should be created within the temporary files folder.
To view the file:
Windows XP
a. Go to Start ▸ Run
b. Type %temp% and click on OK
c. In the Temporary folder window, set the view to Details.
d. Filter the details to Date Modified.
e. Look for the cdr file that is dated on the same time the program has crashed. This file should be a copy of the file you are working on.
Windows Vista/7
a. Go to Start and type %temp% in the search bar and press Enter on your keyboard.
b. Click on the Temp folder.
c. In the Temporary folder window, set the view to Details.
d. Filter the details to Date Modified.
e. Look for the cdr file that is dated on the same time the program has stopped working. This file should be a copy of the file you are working on.
Windows 8
a. Hold down the Windows and R buttons together
b. Type the word: Temp in the run box and click OK
c. In the Temporary folder window, set the view to Details.
d. Filter the details to Date Modified.
e. Look for the cdr file that is dated on the same time the program has stopped working. This file should be a copy of the file you are working on.
Recovering the File
This procedure requires WinZip to proceed.
With 'Make Back-up on Save enabled, w'hen saving a file a second time, CorelDRAW will rename the original file to "Backup of filename.cdr". If you were to re-save the file again, because Windows will not allow two files with the same name, in the same location at the same time, CorelDRAW will save the file as a .tmp file. Once the save process is complete, the "Backup offilename.cdr" is deleted and the .tmp file is renamed to "Backup of filename.cdr". With this in mind, it may be possible to rename the .tmp file to .zip and then extract the data.
Step 1: Viewing file name extensions
You would need to be able to view file name extensions in Windows Explorer, to do this:
Windows XP
a. Open Windows Explorer.
b. Once the folder is open, click on Tools ▸ Folder options.
c. In the Folder Options window, click on the View tab.
d. Clear the Hide extensions for known file types check box, and then click OK.
Windows Vista / 7/ 8
a. Open Folder Options by clicking the Start button ▸ Control Panel ▸ Appearance and Personalization ▸ Folder Options.
b. Click the View tab, and then, under Advanced settings, clear the Hide extensions for known file types check box, and then click OK.
Step 2: Renaming the filename extension
a. Browse the folder in which the CorelDraw file is saved. This is where you may find the .tmp file
b. Right click on the file and select Rename or you can click on the file and press F2 on your keyboard.
c. Change the file extension to .ZIP.
NOTE: If you are attempting to recover a file from CorelDRAW X6, simply rename the .tmp extension to .cdr
Step 3: Extracting the data from the ZIP file.
a. Double click on the file. This should open the zip file in WinZip.
b. When the file is opened with WinZip, you will be able to view folders:
Color - This folder contains the colour profiles used in the document, both in RGB and CMYK.
Content - This folder contains one file only and this file is what you need to be able to recover the document.
Metadata - This folder contains xml files and a folder call thumbnails which contains a thumbnail for each of the pages within the document.
c. Extract the file called RiffData from the Content folder to your desktop.
d. Open the file in CorelDraw.
Alternate Way to Repair CorelDraw File
The Alternate way to repair CDR file is to use a free tool. Have a look at free software that recover and repair all cdr files within seconds
http://freesoftvare.com/coreldraw-cdr-repair/