When CorelDraw (CDR) files fail to display thumbnails or preview properly in Eagle, it's typically because your system lacks the necessary components to generate these previews. This article explains how to resolve this issue on both Windows and macOS.

Eagle relies on the Windows Shell Extension from CorelDraw to generate and display CDR thumbnails. If you can't see CDR thumbnails, follow these steps:

Open the CorelDraw installer
During installation, make sure the "Windows Shell Extension" option is checked
Restart your computer after installation is complete
Open Eagle, right-click on the CDR file and select Other > Refresh Thumbnail

These steps should allow Eagle to properly generate thumbnails for your CDR files.

On macOS, Eagle relies on the system's QuickLook feature to generate thumbnails during the import process.

When you install an application, it typically places a .qlgenerator plugin file in the system's QuickLook plugin directory. If this file isn't properly installed, the system can't preview the file correctly, and Eagle will display the application icon instead of the file content.

To check if QuickLook is working properly:

In Eagle, select the file without a thumbnail, right-click and select "Reveal in Finder"
In Finder, select the original file and press the Spacebar to see if you can view the file content rather than just the application icon

If you only see the application icon, try these methods to fix the QuickLook feature:

Method 1: Reset QuickLook Service

Open Terminal and enter the following command to reset the QuickLook plugin or refresh the cache:

qlmanage -r cache

Method 2: Reinstall the Application

Download and install the latest version of CorelDraw from the official website. This ensures the .qlgenerator file is properly installed and resolves issues caused by outdated versions.

Method 3: Resave or Export Files

Open the problematic file with your current CorelDraw installation, then resave or export it to update the file's thumbnail information.

After fixing the QuickLook feature, return to Eagle, select the problematic file, right-click and choose "More > Refresh Thumbnail" to regenerate the thumbnail.

Why Can't I Preview CDR Files or See Thumbnails?