What Is the Glyph Palette in CorelDRAW?

The Glyph palette—often referred to as the Glyphs docker in modern versions of CorelDRAW—is a specialized typography tool that allows users to view, locate, and insert every individual character and symbol supported by an installed font. This guide explains what the Glyph palette does, how to access it, and how to utilize its core features to enhance your typography workflows in CorelDRAW.

Understanding the Glyph Palette

Every digital font contains a set of graphical representations called glyphs. While standard letters and numbers are easily typed using a keyboard, fonts frequently contain hundreds or thousands of additional characters that cannot be accessed directly through single keystrokes. These include currency symbols, mathematical notations, accented foreign letters, decorative swashes, stylistic alternates, and ligatures.

The Glyph palette acts as a visual browser for these hidden characters, displaying the entire character set of any selected font so you can easily incorporate them into your artwork.

How to Open the Glyph Palette

To access the palette in CorelDRAW:

  1. Go to the top menu bar and click Window.
  2. Hover over Dockers (or Inspectors in macOS).
  3. Select Glyphs (labeled as Insert Character in older CorelDRAW versions).

The docker will open on the right side of the workspace.

Key Features of the Glyph Palette

  • Font and Weight Selector: Allows you to switch between any installed typeface and font style directly within the docker to see how glyphs change across weights.
  • Character Filtering: You can filter characters by specific categories, such as OpenType features, Unicode blocks, symbols, or currency. This avoids the need to scroll through thousands of characters manually.
  • OpenType Support: For fonts that support advanced OpenType functionality, the palette automatically highlights available stylistic sets, fractions, ligatures, and contextual alternates.
  • Zoom Slider: A sizing slider at the bottom of the docker allows you to enlarge the preview icons, making it easy to examine intricate details of ornate characters or dingbats.
  • Recently Used List: Displays a row of your most recently selected glyphs for quick access when working on repetitive design tasks.

How to Insert Glyphs into a Document

You can add glyphs to your CorelDRAW project in two primary ways:

  1. Insert into Existing Text: Activate the Text tool (F8), click inside an active text frame where you want the character to appear, and double-click the desired glyph in the docker.
  2. Insert as an Individual Object: Click and drag any glyph directly from the palette onto an empty area of the drawing canvas. CorelDRAW will automatically generate a new text object containing that character, which can then be converted to curves (Ctrl + Q) if you wish to edit its vector nodes manually.

Using the Glyph palette ensures you can access the full visual potential of professional fonts, making it an essential tool for logo design, multilingual publishing, and custom lettering projects.