Paintshop Pro - What do you REALLY like?

[sconcor]

Since a few days, when working in X-3, and changing a file which was stored as PSP-file, I get the message that I am not allowed to save the changed PSP under the same name. Most weird.
I am the owner of the computer and therefore the administrator, so I have no idea how to enable this again. I have checked under Preferences, but I cannot see anything to help me. Can someone in the Forum help me?
Thanks.
Robert

[Alejandro]

There have not been made many changes from version x4 to x5, but some of the very few items that have now been included are great and ought to be added (they were a must). For example, creating a gradient filter with version x4 was complicated and had to be done in an unpractical manner whilst the new Gradient Filter works fine and allows a lot of control over the gradient mask one can create (if you allow the mask to be seen before beginning to fiddle with the segment with which you determine the length, orientation and placement of the gradient). It is nice to be able to go form “Edit” to the Organizer vignette (“Administrar” in Spanish) which is by the way very comfortable and well thought. A very slight change has been made in the way the clone tool is visualized and I think it is better now (I find it more comfortable and allows me to work faster when doing precise cloning).

Independently of the improvements included in the last version (updating was worth it), there are several things I already liked from PaintShop before the update. It works fine with 16 bits per channel files and it is great that it can be used with plugins that allow working with those too. The program is full of useful and handy well thought tools´ details. For example, it is very comfortable and nice to have a “Only Luminance” option in the Unsharp Mask window as it is to have a direct High-Pass filter sharpening window tool as well (this examples I think show that the program has been design taking into account the workflow and/or ways of working when editing photos of many photographers).

The program is a bit slow or heavy (works fine enough in my desktop but it is slow in my netbook in comparison to other photo editing programs) and I many times have to deactivate the Preview Image when using some of the tools (because when using them, the image is re-render or whatever every time I touch every single control, and I end up losing my patience), but I like it a lot anyway and is the one I am using most of the time now (especially when I am not in a hurry and/or when I want to do some serious and nice editing), even though I could use other renowned photo editing programs that I have as well. There are many other things, apart from the ones I mentioned, that I like from PaintShop Pro. It is a program which perfectly suits my workflow.

PS. I like that the Ultimate version (which is the one I bought) comes with Nik Color Efect Pro 3. Nice plugin.

[Klindar]

I used Photoshop for a couple of years waiting for PSP to support 48 images (which finally happened) but now that I'm back Photoshop shall remain history. Here are just a few of the things I really like about PSP:

- Scripting - much easier and more flexible than Photoshop Actions AND - you can edit them as plaintext - how nice!.
- The User Interface - best there is. I love the "Manage" feature and Organizer which is superior to Adobe Bridge.
- Chromatic aberration remover is the best in the business once you figure it out.
- Digital camera noise remover is excellent - again, takes some effort to learn how to use properly but it's effective and minimally intrusive.
- Photo Viewer is excellent.
- Uses 8bf plugins.
- The low price - about 10% of Photoshop - for a superior image processing system - and you can install to 3 machines (only 2 for Photoshop - and at that price!).
- First-rate "Text" tool.
- You can edit right down at the pixel level.
- Optimal collection of tools and controls - everything the photographer needs is there yet no clutter.
- The short-cut "canned" tools actually work. "One Step Photo Fix" works better than you might think if you haven't tried it.
- Excellent printing facility with flexible and easy to use templating.
- Runs flawlessly on Windows 8

I could write a book about what I like so that's enough.

Best wishes,
k.

[Ice_Eagle]

I've been a user of PSP since 2012. Really like how it loads images, and how it doesn't take 10 minutes to save something I've been working on, like GIMP did on my old console computer. It loads ok enough on my laptop computer, takes a little time to open, but it works well enough for what I do on it.

Looking forward to getting X5 on it when I can so I can convert some older Photoshop brushes to ones I can use in Corel. It looks like an improvement over X4.

[mrfran]

I like the potential capabilities. I hope to learn the much more difficult (for me) change from Corel Photo Album 6.

mrfran

[photodrawken]

I think X5's support for 16 bit/channel images will become more and more important as time goes by -- casual photographers are gradually purchasing cameras that save images in a RAW format. In fact, Panasonic just announced what they call a "step up" model (the DMC-LF1) which has the same size and form as their compact cameras and saves in RAW format. This means that Photoshop Elements and its lack of support for 16bpc images becomes less and less relevant.

[TripleHeinz]

What do i REALLY like? Scripting and Photoshop API compatibility for creating my own plugins.

[Abu]

What I love the most in Paintshop Pro is the "Scratch Remover Tool". This tool is invaluable in photo cleaning and photo recovery work for old and antique photos and blemishes on portrait. The tool should be improved further.

Secondly I love is the "Clone Tool". It's "Right Click anchor" is like driving an F1 racing car car compared to other clone tools which you have to use either one of the following "Alt", "Shift" or "Ctrl".

[dsigman]

Perfectly Clear is a great plugin with X6 Ultimate. I get great results with one click for many of my pictures.

[ehume]

Thanks to all of you for "liking" all these features. I have been learning lots, and I have been using Paint Shop Pro since v 1.5, and Paint Shop 3 before that.

One piece of software I keep around is PSP7. It has print preview and print setup features that were abandoned in PSP9 (my next version) and not reinstated. I also like the fact that it loads like lightning. It is simple enough to be very good for post-processing images that were generated in vector graphics applications (later PSP's have had better vector tools). I loved the fact that control-v gets paste-as-a-new-image. So shift-printScreen --> PSP7 --> ctrl-v and I have anything I can see on a screen, and quickly.

One feature I love in PSPx4 that seems not to be not present in PSPx6 is the "Open with Paint Shop Pro X4" line in the main context menu.

I like the fact that alt-j (a customization) will get me the jpg export dialog. I like the fact that the jpg export was easy to assign to alt-j. I like the fact that scripting is available. I like the fact that the PSP's use the pre-ribbon MS Office manner of moving toolbar icons around. Pleases keep that.

I love the left sidebar. It makes great use of wide screens.

[joe1512]

What I'd really like is better sharpening tools. My camera, SPUZ570, generally gives excellent pictures, but I've lost a number of photos because they aren't quite sharp enough. I know this relates primarily to the camera, but I'd love to be able to sharpen photos.

PSPX5 has a Sharpen, a Sharpen More, an Unsharp Mask with multiple parameters, AND a High Pass sharpen! What exactly the heck else do you want? We are sorry you suck and can't take sharp pictures, but blaming PSP is kind of ridiculous.


Anyways, one of my favorite features is the ability to use Plug-Ins. I am a big fan of Nik Color Efex. In fact that is what keeps me from upgrading to X6, that I'd have to stay with a 32bit version which kinda defeats the purpose. It would be great if there was some kind of launcher that can take info from either 32 or 64 bit PSPX6 and call any 32 or 64bit plugin. Since a plug in IS a seperate executable this ought to be doable.

Local Tone Mapping is fantastic. It really adds a lot of Pop to a picture. Shouldn't it be called Micro-Contrast, or Local Contrast or something more standard? Tone Mapping as I understand it is taking a lot of dynamic range that cannot even be displayed (as a result of an HDR) and mapping it to a standard color palatte for a computer screen or printer.

I really like PSP's ability to add Captions and Text to a picture. Sometimes a witty caption really helps capture what a picture was all about and provide context. PSP has excellent ability to create tons of neat text effects. I would like it if there were some Presets just like the filter presets for a picture. In other words an easy way to create Text that looks like its on Fire, or made of Ice, etc. It is doable to create just about any effect but it isn't obvious or trivial.

[LeviFiction]

Just to be clear, a plugin is not a separate executable in terms of how it's run. It's executable code in a separate file but is called and run from within the same process space of the program that it's being called by. So it's treated as being part of the whole program. There are cases where a plugin calls a separate executable which can run inside its own program space. Some plugins do this naturally so that the program can run separately or as part of another program without having to recreate the whole program in two different forms. But they still have to provide the plugin in 64-bit form to be used within a 64-bit program.

Now it is possible to create a 32-bit program that can read and run 32-bit plugins, and it's possible to get a 64-bit plugin to call and communicate with this 32-bit program. So it would be possible to get PSP to have a plugin that reports back the names of the available 32-bit plugins and to have that plugin tell the 32-bit program to run those 32-bit plugins. But there is no way directly inside of PSP 64-bit to run 32-bit plugins natively.

[Rick_R]

I loved the fact that control-v gets paste-as-a-new-image. So shift-printScreen --> PSP7 --> ctrl-v and I have anything I can see on a screen, and quickly.

Most folks are not aware that in addition to Ctrl-c, Ctrl-v, etc., the same functionality can be done in most Windows programs with a combination of the Shift and Insert or Delete keys. In fact, even when Ctrl-c or Ctrl-v are blocked, often times the others work because programmers disabling those combinations aren't aware of the other ones.

PrintScreen => PSP X(whatever) => Shift-Insert. I use it all the time for Paste as New Image.

At least in most systems you don't need Shift+PrintScreen, since the purpose of PrintScreen is to make a copy of the screen.

[bhbest]

I like the fill light/clarity tool and also the skin smoothing does a great job

[djMot]

I would be absolutely lost without:

Levels
Local Tone Mapping
Saturation
White Balance
Unsharp Mash

And since those are the items I use most and have added to my main menu bar, I should add that the ability to customize the menu bar is invaluable as well.

Although not something I had to customize a toolbar to achieve, the following are other features I use routinely:

Clone Brush
Makover Tool
Straighten
Crop
Text - which has become more usable with just about every version.