Where CamDRAW Stores Settings, Tool Lists and Backups

CamDRAW uses two locations on disk. Knowing which is which makes updating, backing up and moving to a new computer simple, and explains why your configuration survives things you might expect it not to.

Your settings

Everything you configure lives here:

C:\Users<your user name>\AppData\Roaming\CamDRAW 4

AppData is hidden in Windows Explorer by default. Either switch on hidden items under the View tab, or paste %AppData%\CamDRAW 4 into the Explorer address bar, which works regardless of the hidden setting.

What is in it

CamDRAW.ini holds the application settings: language, default unit, colour scheme, which optional functions are switched on, and the paths configured under NC Output.

Tools_INCH.tdb and Tools_MM.tdb are the two tool libraries, one for inch documents and one for millimetre documents. CamDRAW opens whichever matches the current CorelDRAW document unit.

Log.txt records messages from the software. If you report a problem, this is the file support will usually ask for.

postprocessors is a folder holding the preset files used by your profiles. Any postprocessor you import through the settings is copied here.

Backup is a folder written automatically each time the application starts. If a setting or a tool list is damaged, the previous state is here.

The program files

These sit inside CorelDRAW's own program folder, in its add-on directory:

For 64-bit: C:\Program Files\Corel<CorelDRAW version>\Programs64\Addons\CamDRAW 4

For 32-bit: C:\Program Files (x86)\Corel<CorelDRAW version>\Programs\Addons\CamDRAW 4

The CorelDRAW version name is part of the path, which is why the installer asks you to choose a product rather than browse to a folder. If CamDRAW is installed into several CorelDRAW versions, each has its own copy here.

Two subfolders are worth knowing about. postprocessors holds the presets that ship with the installation, which is where the import dialog opens when you load one into a profile. ToolList holds the default tool lists used to create your working copies on first start.

Why the separation matters

Updates replace the program files and leave your settings untouched. Tool libraries, edited postprocessors and preferences all survive.

Uninstalling removes only the add-on directory. Your configuration stays behind, so reinstalling later picks up where you left off. To remove it as well, delete the folder in AppData by hand.

Several CorelDRAW versions share one settings folder. Program files are separate per version, but tool lists and postprocessors are common to all of them, so a tool added in one is available in the others.

Backing up

Copying the AppData folder is a complete backup of your configuration. It is worth doing before a major update, or simply on a schedule if your tool library represents real work.

To restore, close CorelDRAW and copy the folder back to the same location.

Your drawings need no separate treatment. Toolpaths, tools, zero points and cutting data are stored inside each CorelDRAW document, so backing up your CDR files preserves the jobs themselves.