PSPx4 Bugs and fixes.

[Robolovsky]

So I do NOT have a slow start up with PSP X4, but then I start in Edit mode, and never, never, never use manage mode: I do not find it at all valuable...

The slow start-up was in Edit mode. I too do not use Manage mode either because of the bugs in switching from one mode to the other. Bugs like losing your workspace and having to close down every open file in order to enter Manage mode.

However, since applying SP2 the start up problem appears to have gone. X4 no longer seems to be scanning my entire HD when it starts up. So that and the fact that the crop tool no longer causes the images to switch into tabbed mode, would appear to be two great improvements. Still looks like there's a long way to go though.

[allicorn]

Disappointing Service Pack.

Materials and Layers docked on the right side of the screen, Materials above and made as small as possible, Layers below as tall as possible. Exit PSP4. Restart PSP4. The size of the palettes changes with the smaller growing and a larger shrinking by some small but significant factor. Exit and restart a few more times. Each time you do it the balance of the palette sizes heads toward being equal and eventually settles down with them each taking up about 50% of the column. This, of course, is a hideous waste of space because the materials palette's contents don't expand to fill the palette rectangle. And in any case, I wanted the palettes where I put them. Reported ages ago.

Text tool in Vector mode adds unnecessary space-sized right padding to the text object, rendering Center Justification and both Center and Right Alignment options completely unusable. Workaround: convert the text to a path, this removes the unnecessary padding but - of course -leaves you unable to amend the text any further. How does stuff like this get past QA?

Dot/dash gap length in line styles is measured in pixels rather than as a ratio vs line thickness. Maybe this is just bad design rather than a bug but it feels like a bug. It means that actual line style is completely dependent on scale, which seems extremely counter-intuitive.

Come on Corel! I used to love this software (since 4.0). Don't make me use that other program.

[Babble]

I find the manage mode quite useful but wish that PSP would not close any open pictures in the Edit tab when I go to Manage. The first time I started PSP X4 it took a long time to catalog pictures (without telling me what it was doing) but it doesn't do that after finishing once. I start in the Manage tab. If it is cataloging each time, I suspect something on your computer is deleting the catalog file (don't ask me where it is).

I don't know if someone has brought up this bug. When a Tone Map adjustment layer is added, the paint brush tool does not function properly on the picture layer. It acts like tone mapping is interrupting the action of the tool. Turn off the tone may layer and the tool works correctly. Very annoying.

[Robolovsky]

I find the manage mode quite useful but wish that PSP would not close any open pictures in the Edit tab when I go to Manage. The first time I started PSP X4 it took a long time to catalog pictures (without telling me what it was doing) but it doesn't do that after finishing once. I start in the Manage tab. If it is cataloging each time, I suspect something on your computer is deleting the catalog file (don't ask me where it is).

Applying the SP2 update has stopped the continual cataloguing. Very grateful for that. I suspect that X4 was simply not storing the calalogue file at all.

Having to close all files before going into Manage mode needs fixing as a matter of urgency. Worse than that though is that after two service packs X4 still resets your carefully customised workspace if you switch to Manage and then back to Edit. Simply dreadful programming!!

[ADonahoo]

Having to close all files before going into Manage mode needs fixing as a matter of urgency. Worse than that though is that after two service packs X4 still resets your carefully customised workspace if you switch to Manage and then back to Edit. Simply dreadful programming!!

This is a feature, not a bug. According to Jennifer on the Corel Your Way forum, it was done for purposes of memory management. I have never lost my customized workspace which I switch from Mange to Edit but I don't do it often because I sometimes can't go back and forth between Manage and Edit. I get this message.

[Robolovsky]

This is a feature, not a bug. According to Jennifer on the Corel Your Way forum, it was done for purposes of memory management.

Corel may have done this intentionally but is very badly thought out. If I have 20 files open in various stages of editing and then want to take a look in Manage to find another image, it is ridiculous to expect me to save and close all the open files. I know I can view files in Edit mode also but the Manage mode is much larger and easier to navigate. Many of us have large amounts of memory these days and can easily run both modes without the need for file closures. In X3 it was perfectly possible to jump between modes. As for the resetting of the workspace, this must be a bug and it does happen to many people.

Another annoyance is that every time I open 10 or more files I get a message telling me that I have "selected" more than 10 files and that processing speeds can be slowed down when editing large numbers of files. It then asks me if I want to continue. I can find no way of turning this warning off and have no need to be told this every time. It seems to me that Corel are going in for far too much hand-holding here.

[Babble]

This is a feature, not a bug. According to Jennifer on the Corel Your Way forum, it was done for purposes of memory management.

Another annoyance is that every time I open 10 or more files I get a message telling me that I have "selected" more than 10 files and that processing speeds can be slowed down when editing large numbers of files. It then asks me if I want to continue. I can find no way of turning this warning off and have no need to be told this every time. It seems to me that Corel are going in for far too much hand-holding here.

Look under File > Preferences > General Preferences > warnings. I don't open that many pictures but you can turn off a memory usage warning that might help.

[Babble]

My PSP X4 SP2 has just started spending a minute cataloging at start up and then it no longer shows the color chart. I restarted the computer but got the same thing. So I tried to re-install SP2 and it said that no update was needed at this time, then closed. I then decided to hold the shift key down while opening the program to reset it to the default state. This fixed the problem. The only thing I had changed was to uncheck a memory warning as shown in a previous post. I don't see how this could be linked. I have 8 GB RAM.

[Robolovsky]

Look under File > Preferences > General Preferences > warnings. I don't open that many pictures but you can turn off a memory usage warning that might help.

I already have the large memory usage warning turned off but still get this annoying warning every time I open 10 or more images. Doesn't seem to be any way of preventing it.

[hartpaul]

JUst tested my X4 and even though I have that warning section turned off, I also still get that message, BUT only for the first group of more than 10 images. If I click yes then I can load 10 or more images (I usually stick to about 15) without any further appearance of that message. Close out of X4 and then reopen and load 10 or more images and the message is back, but once again clicking yes and no further iterances of it. Very minor irritation only.

[Babble]

OK, I know Corel never reads this stuff but here is another annoyance. I had to do a reset on PSP X4 to get it to work right as stated above. Now it wants me to register again. Any idea on how to turn off this nag?
Well, I just filled in my email again and sent it off, guess that's the best way.

[SJS]

PSP X4 is iconized, from Edit mode with two or more files open, running a Windows 7 system.

I use cascading windows within PSP, with one or moer the open image files iconized inside PSP.

When my cursor is hovered over the PSP X4 icon on my Windows toolbar I see both files listed for choosing to re-enlarge? re-activate? de-iconize? PSP.

If I select a file that was iconized inside PSP X4, rather than the one I was actively editing prior to iconizing PSP, my PSP window enlarges displaying the previously active edit file (not the file I picked from the Windows toolbar) BUT the layers palette, history palette, etc. display the information for that selected PSP iconized file (still open/iconized inside PSP).

If I click on the previously active open file, it highlights the internal PSP edit window to indicate this edit file is active, BUT PSP does NOT update the Palette information.

At this point I have an apparently active edit window for one file but the pallete info is all for a different iconized file.

From here, I cannot move or do anything with the apparently "active" window. If I re-enlarge the iconized file that matches the palette info, I can edit it, but cannot switch to the other file until I do something outside PSP . If I choose another software window, then return to my PSP window, that causes PSP to refresh the palette info to match the apparently active file, but I cannot edit the other never iconized file. If I exit PSP it will ask if I want to save it...

[Babble]

SJS, The simplest thing to do is to save your workspace in PSP then close and hold down the shift key while restarting it. It will ask if you want to restore all defaults, click yes and after it opens see if the problem is fixed. Then load your workspace (under the file menu).

[nyukuri]

I like to work with a large color working space like proPhoto RGB. When I start a plugin (TOPAZ or Nik Viveza) the colors are washed out! It works only when I use sRGB as color working space in PSP.

Apparently PSP "forgets" to specify or include the color profile when outputting the image data for the plugins! This is a serious bug, because all those plugins actually can handle other color profiles - they just need the info. But if no color profile is specified the plugins assume of course sRGB which causes wrong colors if the color working space in PSP is different.

This is not a bug of the plugins - they all work fine with other software using large color working spaces! It is a BUG in PaintShop Pro and really needs to be adressed!

PLEASE, choosing a large color working space makes no sense in PSP if it does not include the color profile in the data that it hands over to plugins! This really needs to be fixed!!!

Solving this issue will also solve the problem of PSP with Nik Viveza that is reported so often in forums...!

[MarjV]

I wish that the most recent X4 update had included the traditional "mirror" and "flip".
The update deleted my fix so I had to apply it again. .

Marj