City Map for CorelDRAW (CDR): Ready File with Layers

CorelDRAW is the main tool of many sign makers, print shops and designers, and CDR is the format this service is named after. Instead of importing an intermediate file and fixing it by hand, you get a ready CorelDRAW file: download it and open it with a double click, with no import step and no intermediate formats.

What is inside the CDR file

• Layers arrive as separate named groups in the map's language - roads, buildings, water, greenery and the rest.
• Colours are device CMYK with no ICC profile; black and greys sit on the K plate alone, which keeps text and thin lines crisp in print.
• Labels stay editable text. Street and feature names arrive on a layer of their own, "Feature names", and are read in the Objects docker - clicking a building itself will not show its name.
• Gradients and raster underlays are preserved.
• Characters the format's encoding cannot hold (for example Greek or CJK) are written in Latin script, so a name stays readable.

Step 1. Select the area in the map builder

Open the map builder and draw a rectangle around the part of the city you need: zoom with the mouse wheel, drag to move, then press and drag to outline the area. A smaller area exports faster and keeps more detail - a single district takes seconds, a whole city can take several minutes.

Step 2. Pick a map style and level of detail

The style sets the colours and line weights of the exported drawing. Minimal gives a clean base that is easy to restyle, blueprint gives a ready drawing look, and there are other styles such as standard and neon. The level of detail ranges from an overview (major roads only) to maximum (every building and footpath); the builder suggests a sensible level for the size of the area. You can also choose the sheet format: A4, A3 or custom.

Step 3. Choose CDR as the format

Pick CDR in the format list. If you work in several programs, the same area can also be exported as AI, EPS or SVG; for a quick proof to a client, PDF opens on any device.

Step 4. Open the map in CorelDRAW

Double-click the downloaded file. Open the Objects docker (Window > Dockers > Objects): you will see the named groups of the map. Collapse them, and lock the ones you are not editing so that a stray click does not move a whole street network. Step-by-step notes for CorelDRAW are on the CDR instructions page.

Step 5. Work with the layers

• Recolour a group. Select a group in the Objects docker and click a palette swatch - all objects in it change at once.
• Find objects of one kind. Edit > Find and Replace finds objects by fill or outline colour when you need to split a group further.
• Prepare a sign or a print. Hide the groups you do not need, keep separate groups for separate inks or finishes, and set outline widths for the final size.
• Labels. Edit names directly as text, change the font, or hide the "Feature names" layer for a clean graphic map.

Tips

For a large city use a lower level of detail: CorelDRAW handles big files better when thousands of footpaths are not there in the first place. Because colours are already CMYK, check them against the print shop's requirements rather than converting again. Save a copy before heavy editing - the untouched export is your reference.

Credit the data

The maps are built from OpenStreetMap data, which is published under the Open Database License. When you print or publish a map, keep a short credit such as "© OpenStreetMap contributors" somewhere on the layout - in the corner of a poster or in the imprint of a brochure.