Vector data from Paint to Draw 12?

How do I ... get vector data into Draw (12) from Photo-Paint?
I eps images/text/powerclips etc. from Draw to a Roland print and cut device regularly. The cut follows a vector outline I create and designate CutPath. Someone described a procedure to me whereby a clean bitmap on a white background was taken from Draw to Photo-Paint (edit bitmap I imagine) a vector was placed around the image (color mask ?) and brought back to Draw basically outlined and ready for a print and cut. After several trials I can only get bitmaps back to Draw from Paint after masking/clipping/ inverting etc. I'm at the arghhh! stage. Corel Trace isolates the different colors and saves as a cmx file...I'm looking for an outline of the whole image from clean artwork ie. the outline of Mickey Mouse isolated from the background.I can get no vector data in cpt /eps / etc from Paint into Draw. The person describing this saw a 'simple, quick' demo but lacks more detail.Anyone have a simple procedure or link to a how to?

TIA
Jim

[Alex]

Ok, here is what you might want to do:

1. Open your image in PhotoPaint
2. Use the Magic Wand mask tool and click on the background to select all the background around your image
3. Go to Mask>Invert or press Ctrl-Shift-I to invert the mask and select the image only and not the background
4. Go to Mask>Create>Path From Mask...
5. In the dialog that appear specify the smoothness. You can leave it at 0 or try other values to see that the created path is good enough for your purposes.
6. Go to Mask>Remove or press Ctrl-R
7. Open the Path docker (Windows>Dockers>Path) or press Alt-F10.
8. You should see two paths in the docker right now - Path 1 is empty and Path 2 is what you just created.
9. Select Path 1 and click the trash can button in the lower right corner of the docker to delete it, since we are not going to need that path anyway.
10. Now you are left with one path - Path 2.
11. Right-Click the Path 2 in the docker and select "Set as Clipping Path" from the pop-up menu.
12. Go to File>Save As and specify to save to Encapsulated PostScript (EPS) file.
13. In EPS Export dialog put a check mark into "Clip To:" box and make sure "Clipping Path" is selected.
14. Once the EPS file is created, go to CorelDRAW and select File > Import...
15. In the file type list box select "PostScript Interpreted (EPS, PS, PRN)" filter and select the EPS file created above.
16. Leave the default options in PS import dialog and place the imported image onto the page.

Now you will see that you have a bitmap with vector path that follows the edge of your Mickey Mouse

You can, of course do the same thing in CorelDRAW and just recreate the path from scratch by using FreeHand/Bezier/Pen tools and then just powerclip your bitmap into the vector path you create...

I hope this helps.

Alex;
Thank you for you prompt reply; I had made it as far as importing back into Draw; I was using the regular eps filter and not the PS Interpreted one. Now there is a vector path, the nodes can be edited / deleted / etc but I can't change color or name it CutPath; it appears in the Object Manager as RGB Bitmap only; the vector is not a named object ... maybe you could further comment on this ....it's not a valid selection for the shaping command. It would be a great way to get a tight clipping path for my use if it were able to separate as an object. Some of the other vinyl programs like Flexi can do this.

Thanks again
jimmr

[Alex]

Hmm, I didn't know you needed a separate curve... Well, after you created the path in Photopaint (step 10 in the list above), select the path in the Path docker, click that small arrow button in the upper right corner and select Export Path... from the menu. Specify a CMX format and save it to the disk.

Go to CorelDRAW and import the CMX file. It should come in as a separate object. You can then import the original Bitmap (not the EPS with clipping path) and then put the vector object exactly on top of the bitmap, give it a name "CutPath" or whatever you need to do to designate it as the cutting object for your cutter...

that worked and thank you.