When you create a file in CorelDRAW and save it, do you make sure to include keywords in the file? I’m guessing most of you not only don’t include keywords, you may not even realize their importance. Today I’m going to try and clear that up for you.

First, we need to talk about how to add keywords. For those using CorelDRAW X3 and older, you do it in the Save or Save As dialog box. If there is not an area labeled “Keywords” and another labeled “Notes” at the bottom of the dialog box, click the Options button to expand the dialog. In the keywords field, you can enter as many as eight keywords separated by commas. More information can be included in the notes field.

Users of CorelDRAW X4 should select File | Document Properties before saving their file. Again, type in your keywords separated by commas. If there is a limit to the number, I haven’t found it yet. Also, you can use Unicode characters in your keywords. This is especially helpful for those of you in parts of the world with extended character sets. Again, you can also enter notes. While you’re at it, you can even assign a rating for your file from one to five stars.

What should you enter as keywords? I highly recommend including the month, year, name of client, name of project and then anything else that would help identify the file.

For me, the most powerful reason to have keywords is so that you can build catalogs with the ROMCat utility and then search those catalogs by keywords. Searching can also be done by Windows Vista and Windows 7. While I have yet to try it, I believe you can also use Windows Desktop Search in Windows XP to search your files. The reason I haven’t tried is that I find ROMCat to be the best way to find my CorelDRAW files.

Start keywording your files now and you’ll find it much easier to search for your files in the future by using keywords in your search!