A lot of times when you are working with photos you need to crop the photo so that you can focus in on a certain part of the photo. Typically what we are trying to do is to get rid of certain parts of the photo that we do not want. Cropping is the way to do this. There are a number of ways you can crop in CorelDraw. Sometimes it depends on the version that you are working in. For example a rectangle proper cropping tool was not available in CorelDraw until X4. In this article we will look at Power Clipping an image to do an oval crop in CorelDraw. To take it one step further we will look at doing an oval crop in Corel PhotoPaint
Here is our working image

Here is a scanned photo that i will use. This photo is good because it needs a good oval crop to bring out my daughter in the individual player photo. To do this in CorelDraw requires us to use the powerclip function. We will discuss later how to do this in PhotoPaint.
Change the PowerClip preset

The step before we get started is to turn off the preset that auto centers a powerclipped image. If you do not do this you will be driven nuts. Go to TOOLS (1) | OPTIONS (2).
Turn off Auto Center PowerClip contents

To turn auto center off click on EDIT (1). Then uncheck the Auto-Center new PowerClip contents (2) by clicking inside the rectangle.
Select the Ellipse Tool

From the Toolbox select the Ellipse tool (1)
Draw an Ellipse

Draw an ellipse with the ellipse tool
Place the oval over the image

Drag the ellipse over the photo. I have changed the line colour to yellow so that you can see it.
Resize the Oval

Resize the oval so that it incorporates all of the image that you want to keep
Select your photo

Select your pick tool and select the photo. Notice the selection handles around the photo. Note: Look at the bottom of the your desktop and you will see that you have the photo selected as it states it is an RGB Bitmap. If you want to toggle through the objects to select your photo you can press the TAB key on your keyboard
Select PowerClip

With the photo selected, go to EFFECTS (1) | POWERCLIP (2) | PLACE INSIDE CONTAINER (3)
Click on the Oval

Your mouse changes to a black arrow (1). Click inside the oval with the black arrow
Your image is now cropped

Now your image is cropped as per the location of the oval
Eliminate the Oval Outline

We need to get rid of the outline that was around the oval. Make sure that the power clipped image is selected. Right click on the “X” that is located at the top of the colour palette (1).
Now we have no border

Now our image has no border around the outside. We have removed this border so that when we convert the image to a bitmap image there is no outline.
You can Adjust your Powerclip

If you need to adjust the Powerclip do it now. To adjust the Powerclip right click on the image (1) and choose EDIT CONTENTS (2). Note it is good practice if you are saving this job to make a copy of the Powerclipped image at once I convert it to a bitmap you will lose that ability to adjust it.
Now to convert the image to a bitmap

Select Bitmaps (1) | Convert to Bitmap (2)
Change your parameters

From the command window change the parameters as shown. If you are sending to a laser use a resolution of 150 DPI for sublimation use a resolution of 300 DPI.
Now resize the image

You can resize the image to the size that you want via the property bar (1) and (2) – or the Transform Docker.
You can resize via the Resample command

Typically to print to a laser your DPI should be 100 to 150. For Sublimation this should be 250 to 300. If your image is resized and the DPI is below the numbers you will need to resample the image. To determine if you need to increase the resolution of your image you can look at the Status bar or open the resample command.
Open the Resample command

In the resample command Check Maintain Aspect Ratio (1). Uncheck Anti-Alias and Maintain Original Size (1). To increase the DPI type in the Resolution to what you want (4) and (5). If you want to make the image bigger from this window type in a new size (2) and (3)
Doing your Crop in PhotoPaint

Sometimes it is best to use PhotoPaint to do your crop. This is especially true if we need to do a vignette with a custom shape. Right click on the photo in CorelDraw (1). Select Edit Bitmap (2). This will open up Corel PhotoPaint.
We need to Select the Ellipse Mask

Select the Ellipse mask. To do this we need to hold down on the left mouse button on the mask icon in the tool box (1). Next Select the Ellipse mask tool (2).
Draw a Mask

When you draw the mask it is the same as you would draw an Ellipse in CorelDraw. The difference is that you do not have the ability to just select the mask and resize it with selection handles as you do in CorelDraw. To resize the mask requires that we select the mask Transform tool
Select the Mask Transform Tool

To select the mask transform tool, click on the Object Pick tool (1) and hold down the left mouse button and the fly out will show you the Mask Transform Tool (2).
Adjust the mask

You can adjust the mask via the handles. Just drag a handle to resize the mask
Select the Object

Once you are done resizing the mask you can click on the Object Pick Tool
Mask Overlay

To see the mask as an overlay select MASK (1) | MASK OVERLAY (2)
Mask Overlay

The mask overlay allows us to see what is masked and what is not masked. What ever I copy will not have the red colour over it.
Select Cut Selection

To create our cut out go to OBJECT (1) | CREATE (2) | OBJECT:CUT SECTION (3)
Select the Background

Once we cut the object we will have two objects in our Objects Docker. Make sure that the background is selected (it is blue).
Delete the background

Delete the background layer. You can do this by just pressing the Delete key on your key board. You will only see the oval crop. The checker board pattern indicates that the layer is transparent.
Save the Cutout

Now that we have created our oval cutout we need to send the results back to CorelDraw. To do this click on FILE (1) | FINISH EDITING (2).
Save the Changes

To save the image click on Yes (1)
Here is our image in CorelDraw

Here is our image in CorelDraw.
Our Photo has a Transparent Background

The other nice thing about this technique is that the image has a transparent background and you can place a coloured border in the background and not have the white box issue.