How to open .CDR files (CorelDRAW drawings) on Android, Windows and Linux

What CDR and XD files are and how to open and preview CorelDRAW drawings and Adobe XD designs for free on Android, Windows and Linux, plus free editors for CDR.

Satyam Mishra6 November 20264 min read

Cover: Folders' design preview on two phones, labelled .CDR

Print shops, sign makers and T-shirt printers often work in CorelDRAW, so a logo or a banner can arrive as banner_final.cdr. Interface designers who used Adobe XD send .xd files. Neither opens on a phone, and on a computer you need the program that made it.

Folders shows the preview stored in most CorelDRAW and XD files, with their details, on Android, Windows and Linux. For CDR files there are also free editors that read the drawing itself; for XD, the options are narrower.

What is a .CDR file?

CDR is the native format of CorelDRAW, Corel’s vector illustration and layout program. It has a loyal following in print, signage, vinyl cutting and promotional products, so CDR files turn up wherever those trades send artwork.

Older CDR files use a binary layout based on RIFF, the same container idea as WAV and AVI, sometimes with a small bitmap thumbnail inside. Newer CorelDRAW versions save a ZIP package holding the drawing data, metadata and a thumbnail. Corel doesn’t publish the format; free software reads it through libcdr, a library built by studying the files.

XD is the format of Adobe XD, Adobe’s tool for designing app and website screens and click-through prototypes. An .xd file is also a ZIP package, with a manifest, the artboards described in JSON, the images used, and preview renditions. Adobe has stopped actively developing XD, so many .xd files around now are archives of older projects.

Extension	What it is
.cdr	A CorelDRAW drawing: logos, signs, print layouts
.xd	An Adobe XD design or prototype: app and web screens on artboards

One warning: a few .cdr files aren’t drawings at all. Apple’s Disk Utility can save disc images as “CD/DVD master” files with the .cdr extension. If a .cdr came from a Mac user and is the size of a CD or DVD, it’s probably one of those.

How to open a .CDR file with Folders

On Android

Install Folders from the download section (Android 7.0 or newer).
Open it and allow All files access when asked.
Find the file, or type .cdr or .xd into the search box at the top of a folder.
Tap it.

From WhatsApp, email or a cloud drive, choose Open with → Folders.

On Windows and Linux

Install Folders on Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit) or Linux.
Double-click the CDR or XD file in Folders.
On Windows, right-click the file in File Explorer and choose Open with → Folders; the installer adds Folders to that menu for both types.

What you can do with it in Folders

See the preview. For newer CDR files, that’s the thumbnail stored in the package; for older ones, the small bitmap in the file, when there is one. For XD files, it’s the preview picture or an artboard rendition stored in the package.
Details lists the file’s name, size and date, plus what Folders can read from the file, such as the CorelDRAW version that saved it, or the number of artboards in an XD file. The CorelDRAW version matters, as you’ll see under problems.
Share the file with whoever has CorelDRAW or XD.

When there’s no picture inside, Folders says No preview to show. Some older CorelDRAW files have no thumbnail that can be shown.

The preview is a picture, not the drawing: no layers, no editing, no conversion.

Other ways to open .CDR files

CorelDRAW (paid): the full drawing, with editing.
Inkscape (free, Windows and Linux) opens many CDR versions through libcdr and can save them as SVG or PDF.
LibreOffice Draw (free) also opens CDR files and exports PDF.
Adobe XD for .xd files. Otherwise, ask the designer for exported PNGs or a PDF of the screens.

Problems opening a .CDR file?

CorelDRAW says the file is from a newer version. Older CorelDRAW versions can’t open files saved by newer ones. Check the version in Folders’ Details, and ask the sender to save a copy in an older version from CorelDRAW’s save dialog, or to send a PDF.
Inkscape or LibreOffice gets it slightly wrong. libcdr doesn’t support every effect and fill, so check the result against the preview in Folders before you print anything.
It’s a disc image, not a drawing. A Disk Utility “master” file is a raw disc image. Renaming a copy to .iso often lets disc tools open it, Folders included (see the ISO guide), as long as the disc uses a standard ISO 9660 or UDF file system.
The XD file only exists in the cloud. XD could save designs as cloud documents, which aren’t .xd files on your disk. Ask the designer to save a local copy.

Questions people ask

Can I open a CDR file without CorelDRAW? Yes. Folders shows the preview, and Inkscape and LibreOffice Draw open the drawing itself for free.

How do I convert CDR to PDF, AI or SVG? In CorelDRAW, export or publish to PDF. Without it, open the file in Inkscape and save it as SVG or PDF; Illustrator can then open the PDF. Folders doesn’t convert CDR files.

Can I still open XD files? Yes, with Adobe XD. Folders shows the preview inside, often all you need to find the right file in an old project.

CDR vs AI: what’s the difference? Both are vector formats from competing programs: CDR from CorelDRAW, AI from Adobe Illustrator. Neither program opens the other’s files perfectly, so PDF or SVG is the safest way to swap artwork.