PDF per page in batch
A folder of CDR files becomes one PDF per page with the profile agreed with the print shop and the client's naming pattern; the original is not saved.
Deliverable: PDFs, manifest with sha256 and pending itemsOcto for CorelDRAW · VBA and macros
The macro goes through every shape. The artwork is approved by you.
CorelDRAW 2026 for Windows comes with VBA installed by default. With it, Octo writes macros that go through pages, layers and shapes, publishes a PDF per page in batch, keeps everything in a GMS the team installs and checks the artwork before each export. The artwork, the color proof and workstation security stay with people.
Macro environmentsVBA + VSTAinstalled by default; plus JavaScript
VBAWindows"Windows only" in Corel's comparison
Security levels4from Very high to Low (not recommended)
Sources7listed at the end of the page
01
What Octo does with your macros.
Six possible deliverables, drawn from the survey. All of them work on a copy, all of them log what they did and all of them go through the finishing artist before moving on.
Artwork audit
Unconverted text, RGB in a CMYK piece, thin outlines, bitmaps below the agreed DPI and hidden layers with content, shape by shape.
Deliverable: inventario.csv next to the documentThe team's GMS
The good macros from each workstation in a single project, with modules in text to review the diff, version and sha256 published.
Deliverable: versioned OctoEquipe.gmsEvent before exporting
ThisMacroStorage responds to GlobalMacroStorage: it checks the artwork before each export, warns and logs, without blocking the work.
Deliverable: on-screen warning and monthly logBatch called from outside
Python with pywin32 opens CorelDRAW via COM, calls macros with GMSManager.RunMacro and writes the manifest, with a person at the workstation.
Deliverable: batch script with a timeoutMacro security
Surveys each workstation's level, macros stored in documents and trusted publishers; proposes High or Very high with a signed GMS.
Deliverable: workstation map for IT
02
Eight arms, one checked macro.
The same Octo cycle, applied to CorelDRAW macros. Each arm has a narrow role; people approve the artwork, the proof and workstation security.
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Discovery
Maps what already exists
CorelDRAW versions on the workstations, loaded GMS projects, macros stored in documents and the security level of each machine.
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Data
Pins down the batch input
Where the piece list comes from, the client's naming pattern and the limits agreed with the print shop.
-
Security
Looks after the workstations
High or Very high, signed GMS, no "Trust all installed GMS modules"; logs without unnecessary personal data (LGPD).
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Architecture
Chooses the path
VBA macro, the team's GMS with events, out-of-process batch via COM, VSTA, or JavaScript for Mac users.
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Development
Writes the macro
Fixed unit, named command group and error handling that always closes the group and restores the states.
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Review
Checks by content
PDF opened, page counted, sha256 matching, finding checked in the artwork. "The macro ran" is not a check.
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Release
Prepares the package
Versioned GMS with sha256; installation on the workstations and sending to the print shop happen with a person's approval.
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Documentation
Records what holds
The team's macros, the version installed on each workstation, who approved each batch and how to roll back to the previous version.
Octo works on a copy and does not save over the artwork. It does not approve artwork or color proofs, does not change the workstations' security policy and is not responsible for the file that goes to the print shop.
03
Each task, its own path.
The criteria Octo uses to choose, with the documented caveat of each path.
| Task | Path (names to be checked in the Object Browser of the installed version) | Note |
|---|---|---|
| PDF per page with a naming pattern | VBA: PDFSettings + PublishToPDF | Profile saved by the person, agreed with the print shop |
| PNG for the web in batch | VBA: ExportBitmap | Resolution, transparency and profile as arguments |
| Artwork inventory and audit | VBA: Pages, Layers, FindShapes | Read-only; the fix belongs to the finishing artist |
| Check before exporting | ThisMacroStorage + GlobalMacroStorage | Warns and logs; block only with approval |
| Undo the batch in one step | BeginCommandGroup / EndCommandGroup | An error midway corrupts the undo stack: always handle it |
| Batch of whole folders | Python + pywin32 + COM | A person logged in at the workstation |
| Call a macro from a GMS | GMSManager.RunMacro | Parameters with matching type and count |
| Distribute to the team | GMS file | The simplest way to roll it out to the team |
| Docker with a rich interface | VSTA or .NET add-in | See the VSTA and add-ins page |
| Automation on Mac | JavaScript | VBA and VSTA are "Windows only" |
04
From everyone's GlobalMacros to the team's GMS.
Three steps. Each one only makes sense after the previous one has shown results in your studio.
A proposal, not a promise
Audit and inventory
Octo shows what is in the artwork and on the workstations, without changing anything.
- Findings by shape and by file
- Macros and security levels by workstation
- Macros stored in documents
Checked batch
PDFs and PNGs come out in batch, with a manifest and pending items.
- Pages checked against the list
- sha256 of each file
- Original never saved over
The team's GMS
One versioned, signed project, with check events and logged installation.
- The same macro on every workstation
- Check before exporting
- Back to the previous version in minutes
05
Confirmed in a source.
Each point below has a source published by Corel, Microsoft, the open-source project or the responsible body. Object and method names are checked in the Object Browser of the installed version. The sources are in the next section.
4
points with a published source, each with its reference shown alongside.
- ConfirmedVBA and VSTA installed by default
- "The macro features for VBA and VSTA are installed with the software by default." The VSTA editor requires Visual Studio 2019.Source: help.coreldraw.com, CorelDRAW 2026 Help, Macros
- ConfirmedVBA and VSTA on Windows only
- The version comparison marks VBA and VSTA as "Windows only" and lists "JavaScript automation support" in the subscription and in versions 2026, 2025 and 2024.Source: coreldraw.com, version comparison
- ConfirmedNot every action records
- When an action cannot be recorded, the recorder leaves the comment "The recording of this command is not supported." and keeps recording.Source: help.coreldraw.com, CorelDRAW 2026 Help, Macros
- ConfirmedFour security levels
- Very high, High, Medium and Low (not recommended), plus the option that trusts all installed GMS and the list of trusted publishers.Source: help.coreldraw.com, CorelDRAW 2026 Help, Macros
06
What Octo does and what stays with you.
Octo prepares everything, but it does not sign. The document of record stays with whoever is accountable for it.
Octo prepares
Surveys, calculates, organizes and generates the documents: files, PDFs, variable data spreadsheets, proofs and reports.
Deliverable: material ready to checkYour team checks
The client or the art director checks what Octo delivered before approving. If something doesn't add up, it goes back to Octo with the correction.
Step: review by the approverWho approves
Octo does not approve the artwork. Artwork carries no legal signature: approval of the artwork and the proof stays with the client or the art director.
Approval: client or art director
07
Sources.
Official CorelDRAW 2026 help and Corel product pages, consulted on Oct 31, 2026.
- CorelDRAW 2026 Help, MacrosVBA, VSTA, GMS, recording, security
- Use macros and scripts to automate tasksVBA, VSTA and JavaScript
- CorelDRAW 2026 Help, JavaScript scriptsScripts docker and recording
- CorelDRAW 2026 Help, System requirementsWindows, memory, internet
- Version comparisonVBA, VSTA and JavaScript by version
- Product pageSubscription, one-time purchase, maintenance
- pywin32 on PyPI312, PSF
Your macros, reviewed and checked.
The assessment starts with a read-only inventory of the artwork and the workstations. You get the list of what the print shop would reject, the macros that exist on each machine and the questions only your team can answer, and you decide with it in hand.