WISHLIST--For Future PSP Versions

[Ron P.]

While we have had Wishlists established for the various other Corel programs on this web board, we seemed to have neglected starting one for PSP Pro. So with that, I've established one.

Please post your Wishes for features, enhancements, and fixes, that you would like Corel to consider in future versions. Keep them realistic, and civilized please. While any Corel reps read and view any of the other threads, they do periodically read these wish-lists.

[tachy]

I didn't realize you had started one at the same time (my page had not refreshed) so I created one as well..........

But my wish is to add resize options on the main batch page. Similar to what is in the free program irfanview, if you have seen it.

[LeviFiction]

Less modality of some of the dialogue boxes. I love the modeless ones. I know that they have it setup so you can use the preview boxes to interact with but sometimes I want to grab the dropper tool and check out a color while making adjustments with the levels or curves tools. Also in cases like the depth of field adjustment those previews just are not adequate for doing a freehand selection and adjusting the focus range does not necessarily give you a better result.

The ability to set "monitoring" points. The image information palette lets you see the colors in HSL or RGB, depending, of the pixels while the cursor is over the image. I'd like to be able to set specific points that allow for constant monitoring of the pixel color while editing. Would be very helpful in doing more specific edits that require more precise editing.

Render Clouds. Many consider it a useless filter but I've seen so many awesome edits done with the use of render clouds that I would love to have a similar function in Paint Shop Pro. Just a small Perlin noise filter. The only plugin I've found that allows this in Paint Shop Pro (as no one is really making one for Photoshop that already has it) doesn't handle large images well. As it stands I have The GIMP just for that one filter. Would be nice to have it included in Paint Shop Pro.

Text shapes: I love the current text it's easy, it's powerful and fun to use. I like how it can snap to a path and follow it. But snapping to a path usually only determines how text slopes and curves over a single line. Text Shapes would allow you to do some of the more fun creative shapes that text can use. I need to think about how to say this. You know there are those that start small grow large in the middle and then return to small. It shapes the text into arcs and such. I'll rethink this description and edit it later.

I would like to see the brightnes and contrast command have an option for adjusting only the midtones. Sometimes the smooth tonal transition that is made by adjuting highlights, shadows, and midtones actually does more harm than good. And although we have a shadows/midtones/highlights command it's not really the equivalent of adjusting the brightness and contrast of only the midtones is it?

That's all I've got...for now.

[allicorn]

More Layer Styles.

Numeric controls in Layer Styles. We need some spinners or some of those Corel spinner+slider hybrids. The current controls, especially the directionality sphere, are fine but don't provide for repeating the same settings on more than one layer or across more than one session (without recording a macro).

A "My Computer" node in the Organizer. I shouldn't have to go through a configuration step every time I want to browse the contents of a directory that I've not browsed before. Ideally the Organizer should revert to more <=PSPX-like functioning where it feels much more like a file-requestor/explorer-window and navigating across directories is much easier.

Fix the extremely old bug where interface customization steps are only permanent if you don't have open any document during the session in which you make the customizations.

Update the Scripting API documentation to include information about new features since v11.

The hold-space quick access to the Pan tool is not honored with the crop tool open, for some odd reason.

(cloud cuckoo land idea): a Java API for plugin development. Hohoho. I'll get my coat

Alli

[Tim Morrison]

Restore the ability to resize the crop rectangle by dragging on any point on the crop boundary.
Restore the ability to set the crop outline's top, bottom, left and right values in the Tool Options palette. Plus add a numeric control for angle.
Allow the crop boundary to extend outside the image while rotating.
Restore the ability of the Resize dialogue to remember the last used settings.
Restore the ability to set control points in the Curves dialogue by clicking on a point in the image. Also restore numeric controls for the control points.
Restore the ability of PSP to open multiple instances.
Update all the tools and filters so that they work on 16 bit/channel images. This especially includes the plugin interface.
Allow plugins to see EXIF data.
Raw processing currently gives extremely poor results. It needs a complete overhaul that includes pre-processing, especially for colour temperature and exposure, and it needs to change demosaicing from the antiquated VNG method. Needs to record the settings from the raw pre-processor in a small "sidecar" file.
A "Vibrance" filter to selectively increase saturation.
Lab mode editing.
Full access to channels.
The Organizer needs to work much, much faster, be much more stable and to quickly and accurately reflect changes. Needs to have the ability to exclude video file types from cataloguing. Desperately needs tools to maintain, clean, repair and backup the database.
A simple file browser, either separately, or as part of the Organizer.
The Depth of Field filter is currently just a toy that creates a blurred vignette rather than emulates shallow depth of field. It needs to be able to use selections from the real selection tools, and depth mapping.
A Vignette tool that can both darken the corners, and correct darkening in the corners of an image.
Improved working with gradients. More control of direction and placement by applying them by drawing them on an image. Enveloping of a gradient to a selection.
Enveloping text.
Add and edit text directly on the image rather than using a text entry box.
Paragraph text.
Ability to disable sharpening in Smart Photo Fix.
Extend the Graphite theme to the rest of the program and fix the redraw problems.
Make the darkness of the Graphite theme customizable.
Overhaul the program icons. Some are too similar. Some are hard to make out.
Either restore the Pick Tool to separate tools for vectors and raster, or make it so that it can be locked in one mode. Currently, you can select it to be in vector mode on the Tool Options palette, but as soon as you try and use it, for instance to marquee select a group of vector objects, it reverts to automatic mode, latches onto the raster layer beneath the vectors, and you drag the raster layer instead.
Having two Protexis licensing services running, and installing them without fully informing the users, causes much fear, uncertainty and doubt. Corel needs to be completely up front and honest about the whole process, so that their users know that it isn't spyware and that it isn't impacting on performance.
Addition of a command for matching the colours of one image to another. (Similar to the Match Color command in Photoshop).
A panorama tool... and a really good high quality one.
Fix the vector drawing engine that was broken in PSP8, so that it works correctly with lines that have a width that is an odd number of pixels.
EXIF - better support, better preservation of all fields, tools to edit it and back it up. Support for EXIF in compressed TIFs.
More resampling methods... Lanczos, sinc, spline, adaptive of some sort.
More blurring methods, particularly a bokeh based method.
More sharpening options and the ability to leave high pass sharpening as separate layers.
More layer blending options.
More layer styles and numeric controls to make all layer style effects accurate, reproducible and capable of being described in a tutorial.

It basically boils down to a few decisions -
Does Corel want to present a serious tool for photographers? It currently markets PSP as a professional tool, but at the same time removes the precision from many tools, fails to keep up with current trends, has ceased to be innovative, and has too many amateurish toys that are promoted as major features.
The second main decision is what Corel wants to provide for the painters, digital content creators, scrapbookers and so on, who were once the majority of PSP users. Almost nothing has been done for them in recent years, and a great many of the user groups and web resources are no longer there, or haven't been updated for years, or have changed their focus to Adobe. An enormous amount of goodwill has been frittered away.

[allicorn]

Terrific post Tim.

Alli

[sjj1805]

I agree - very comprehensive and relevant points.

[Joelle]

Well listed Tim!!
I agree!
But I fear there is some severe loss of hearing at the Corel end...
I am becoming very pessimistic in my old age.

Joelle

[Tadjio]

Tim, that is an excellent summary, all of which I support.

As regards the Crop Tool, I suggest we could start by bringing back the "Crop (legacy)" version from PSPP XI which works fine,
It could be stored under "Unused Commands" if necessary.

[Tadjio]

I like the ReSize command as it is now in X2,
especially with the Advanced settings checked.
In particular I use the new Sharpness option
although even at 100 'Sharper' it isn't sharp enough
when resizing from say 4000 pixels down to 1000.

HOWEVER
Please, please could we have back the
"Remember last settings" option
even if only as a button to click?

[Tadjio]

Number #3 on my list is, as Tim puts it:
"Restore the ability to set control points in the Curves dialogue by clicking on a point in the image. Also restore numeric controls for the control points."

This is the one single feature that drives people back to using PSP X.

I guess this is what was referred to as modeless windows by LeviFiction?
"Less modality of some of the dialogue boxes "

[Tadjio]

I do most of my work in PSP starting with a "16-bit" TIFF file
output from Canon's Digital Photo Professional (DPP)
from the original RAW image.

If 16-bit processing cannot be done everywhere, we perhaps need a priority list?

My list would star with Histogram Adjustment and Clone Tool but followed by others, such as Barrel Distortion Correction, which prevent you 'seeing' the final image whilst still using other 16-bit commands such as Persepctive Correction, Levels and High Pass Sharpen.

[joelw135]

I might be the only one, but I would like to see a Mac version.

[Joelle]

I thought you had PSP installed and running well on your Mac using some special software.

I very much doubt if there will ever be a Mac version, it would mean re-coding the whole thing, that's very expensive.
Corel don't have that kind of money.

You might recall that they were in negotiations with an unknown party to take over the business, I don't know which parts were being offloaded, but
it doesn't bode well for any expensive development,

Joelle

[joelw135]

I thought you had PSP installed and running well on your Mac using some special software.

I very much doubt if there will ever be a Mac version, it would mean re-coding the whole thing, that's very expensive.
Corel don't have that kind of money.

You might recall that they were in negotiations with an unknown party to take over the business, I don't know which parts were being offloaded, but
it doesn't bode well for any expensive development,

Joelle

It is running well, but I would love to get rid of the interface program. If I did that I would no longer have any Windows applications I need to run. Face it I am lazy and would prefer doing things the clean way.