5. Paint Shop Pro
Below is a Hyperlink to Jasc Software...
You can download a trial evaluation version of Paint Shop Pro
http://www.jasc.com/download_4.asp

Menus and Tools

MORE PHOTOGRAPHIC SOFTWARE

Never forget that the capability is in "TWO SETS of HANDS". Never expect the software to allow you to perform tasks which the programmer did include in the stored instructions. It is your responsibly to learn to use the stored instructions which the programmer included. Explore and play with all the tools provided, you never have to save your trials or share them with anyone. Always experiment on new files or copies of work you wish to save.

We will now proceed to learn features of more expensive graphics software. Many of these features perform the same tasks as those learned last week. In general they are easier to learn. Notice the different terms and buzz words which are used. The best way to become aquatinted with any piece of software is to experiment and play around with it's features. Don't forget to read the aids or descriptions of the tools or features provided in the remarks space at the bottom of the screen. The package available to us is "Paint Shop Pro" by JascSoftware, Inc. It is one of the more popular mid-priced graphics packages. The following tips are copied from the PSP tips file... Read them.

The function of each tool on the toolbar and Tool palette is described at the bottom of the Paint Shop Pro window whenever the cursor is over the tool.

Use the Browser to view image files in a folder before opening them.

If you have Internet access, you can connect directly to the Jasc web site by choosing it from the Help menu.

The new Save Copy As command remembers the last used directory and file format.

You can display rulers and a grid by choosing them from the View menu.

Press the Shift + Ctl + T keys to center all the floating palettes.

To find out what a tool is, hold your cursor over the tool and a ToolTip will appear.

You can open images by dragging their thumbnails from the Browser to the workspace.

Press the Tab key to hide and/or view all the floating palettes.

Press C to display and hide the Color palette.

You can open a new window at a smaller zoom factor to see a "thumbnail" view when editing details of an image.

Press L to display and hide the Layer palette.

By choosing File>Preferences>Customize Toolbar, you can customize the toolbar to show only the buttons you want in whatever order you like.

Transparent areas show a checkered background. To change the colors of the checkerboard, go to File, Preferences, Transparency.

To move a marquee without the selection, right click and drag with the Mover tool.

Press T to display and hide the toolbar.

If you often save to the same directory or file type, use File, Save Copy As.

You can drag and drop layers from the layer palette onto a document to copy layers between documents.

Press H to display and hide the histogram.

You can perform more than one screen capture at a time before returning to the Paint Shop Pro window. Choose Setup from the Capture menu and select the Multiple Captures check box.

Press P to display and hide the Tool palette.

When using the Color Replacer tool, you can instantly replace all areas of the color in the image by double-clicking with the mouse.

Press O to display and hide the Control palette.

Paint Shop Pro supports WinTab compliant pressure sensitive drawing tablets. Set its options on the Cursors and Tablet tab of the General Program Preferences dialog box.

To nudge a selection one pixel at a time, hold down the Shift key while pressing the keyboard arrows.

The palette transparency options are now located under the Colors menu as Set Palette Transparency.

To set a transparent background for a GIF file, choose Set Palette Transparency from the Colors menu.

To see what parts of a GIF file are transparent, select Colors, View Palette Transparency.

After making a crop selection with the Crop tool, you may adjust the size by clicking and dragging one of the edges.

You can cut and paste frames between Animation Shop and Paint Shop Pro.

You can press Shift while clicking the new layer button on the layer dialog to create a new layer without opening the Layer Properties dialog box.

To prevent a toolbar or palette from docking when it is positioned near the edge of a window, hold down the Ctrl key while you move it.

Paint Shop Pro supports multiple levels of undo. Enable it by choosing File>Preferences>General Program Preferences>Undo.

You can obtain information about your system by choosing About Paint Shop Pro from the Help menu, clicking the System Info button, and then scrolling through the System Information window.

You can drag and drop thumbnails from the browser into a document to insert new layers into a document.

The Save As command always defaults to the image's "native" format and directory.

To save your current image as a Picture Tube, choose File>Export>Picture Tube.

To activate a layer quickly, hold down the Control key and hit the layer number (0 - 9).

The Expand command in the Selections menu enlarges the selection by a specific number of pixels while retaining its original shape.

To edit an image's palette, choose Colors>Edit Palette.

Use the Smart Edge tool to create a border between two areas of contrasting color or light.

To change how color values are displayed in the Color Palette, choose File>Preferences>General Program Preferences>Dialogs and Palettes. The color values can be displayed as RGB or HSL, using either Decimal or Hexadecimal numbers.

Selections can be saved with an image by saving them into alpha channels.

You can select a portion of the current image and save it as a new custom brush tip.

Multiple alpha channels can be saved in an image.

You can draw Bezier curves using the Line tool.

To create a mask from a selection easily, make your selection and then choose Masks>New>Hide or Show Selection.

To gamma correct Paint Shop Pro to your monitor, choose File>Preferences>Monitor Gamma.

The LZ77 compression option in the Paint Shop Pro file format is completely loss less and can significantly reduce the file size.

Using the Browser

The "Browser" tool on the file menu is very helpful in locating pictures or objects you which to open. It's use is self evident. On the file menu just select the Browser command and then direct the dialog window to the folder you wish to explore. You can change the size of the "Thumbnails" by using the file and preferences commands, then look at the browser tab. This is a good time to look at all the other preferences tabs. Notice the flexibility available for use. Use the Browser tool now to explore the graphic images available in your class folders in the laboratory. If you are in a different location see if the computer you are on contains graphics files. The temporary internet files in the windows folder can be a source of many graphics. The Browser is a good tool for viewing them.

Working with Selections

A selection is a temporarily isolated area of an image that you can edit without altering the non-selected area. A selection is identified by a border of black and white dashes called a marquee. You can make selections using any one of three selection tools on the tool palette. The freehand tool, which makes a selection of an irregular shape. The selection tool, which makes a selection of a precise shape. The Magic Wand tool, which makes a selection of a range of color, hue, or brightness. The selection tool has 4 precise shapes; Rectangle, Square, Ellipse, or Circle. As with most tools there are a variety of options.

Feathering controls the sharpness of a selection's edges. It fades a set number of pixels along the edges to produce a transition between the selection and the surrounding area. This fading helps blend the selection into the background. You can feather when you make the selection or after it has been created. When using the crop image tool this feathering produces a nice bordering effect, try it.

Antialiasing is similar to feathering, but more precise. It produces a smooth edged selection by partially filling in pixels along the edge, making them semi-transparent. These two features are on the controls dialog box when a selection tool has been selected. Try both of these features and notice their corresponding effects.

To make freehand selecting tool easier to use there are two nice features. One is the Point to Point selection and the other is the Smart Edge selection. Experiment with them both. To select multiple non-connecting areas try holding down the Shift Key when making new selections. Also one way to deselect a section is to use the selection menu command and select none. Notice all the commands available to you from the Selections drop down menu. Try these various items to see their effects. Don't forget to watch the description text at the bottom of the screen, it will tell you what the menu item will accomplish.

The magic wand selection tool is very useful but it requires some learning to use it's features. You must select the match mode, tolerance, and feathering you desire. Selections can be edited in a multitude of ways. Some of them are; Inverting, Growing, Adding to, Subtracting from, Floating, and many more. You can never remember all of the options and tools available to you. It is recommended that you try these many things from time to time such that you will remember they are available. When you need one of them you can peruse the various menus until you recall the one you need.

Collage and Compositions

This is a good opportunity for you to have fun using the tools discussed so far. Open multiple photos such as the dog and ducks used in Task 4. Any other pictures or graphics available to you can be used. You may experience that some graphics are not compatible with others. They need to have the same format and color depth. If the ones you choose need to be changed you can do so. The color menu has commands to increase or decrease the color depth. Formats can be changed by saving the graphic in another format. An example of a collage put together using the selections tool along with the copy and paste commands was the duck dinner. Task 5 is an example of several pictures of the same horse being composed into one using the clone brush. This tool is very useful in many tasks. Another fun collage or composition can result when multiple scenes with moveable objects are edited together. The background needs to remain constant for this procedure. An example of this is "Grandfather's Gathering". The two children in the photo had trouble sitting still. Never let your eyes be fooled my doctored photos.

Special Effects

There are many special effects which need to be explored from the Image and Colors Menus. There are filters and effects of many types. Take a graphic and experiment with them. You can use the Edit and Undo menu to negate you effect such that another may be tried. Have fun and gain confidence. You will probably remember that these effects are available at some future time when you need them. Practice and explore, there is no other door. It is the best way to learn and retain. Have Fun. (Revised 2/9/99)

Task 5. Meet My Horse

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