CorelDRAW is an object-oriented environment ruled mostly by images created using vector paths made by the placement of nodes, which are connected by curved or straight lines. The nodes are visible only when those paths are being constructed, are selected, or revised. A vector rectangle, when selected, consists of four nodes joined by straight lines. A vector oval is also made up of four nodes, joined by curved lines. Any shape created in this manner is considered an object, since it can easily be picked up and moved around and transformed in some ways.
Some vector images consist of a single object while others are made up of a number of objects. The rectangle and oval described above are closed objects, but vector objects can also be open, such as a simple zigzag (nodes joined by straight lines), or a wavy line (nodes joined by curved lines), or even a combination of both. All vector paths can be edited by manipulating the nodes in a number of ways, and all vector lines can be assigned any color; closed vector shapes can be filled with a color as well.
-Jim Sadler
