PSPx6 Bugs and Fixes

[SJS]

re: "Save has a default compression setting which cannot be altered"

Ridiculously lame!!. We can only hope someone decides to fix this stupidity, and the subchroma settings bug ASAP.

So I tried now to contact the customer support for this problem. The official answer is:

If you prefer saving a high quality photo, you have to do it via SAVE AS. Save has a default compression setting which cannot be altered.

[hartpaul]

PSPX6 just tested with some large files on XP with X6 32 bit and on Win 7 with X6 32 and 64 bit. All versions are original pre SP1 and in all cases the Save As compression value was used by the Save command. So seems Corel may not know the ins and outs of their own program.


Late EDIT:

Final test with X6 on another laptop and updated with SP1 and hot fix. 16.1.0.48.
Again no difference between Save and Save As.

What I did.
Set up a folder on the desktop with some test images in it.
Loaded image which was 3744 x 5616 and 8774 KB.
Renamed the image in the folder with ending Orig
Did a Save As and through the options set the compression at 1
File saved with ending SA1 and was size 9808KB
Renamed that file with ending SA01
Did a Save and file was also 9808 KB So in my case the Save uses the last Save As value (so long as you have saved the file and not just changed the setting )

If however I have the same image duplicated in windows as Levi suggested I also duplicate his results and the Save is different from the Save As value unless the Save AS Compression is 5.

[Tadjio]

I have just run two sets of tests where I do a Save and then several SaveAs using the JPEG Optimiser to check the resultant file size.

I have my SaveAs Compression Factor set to 2 but in practice PSP X6 seems to use a Compression Factor of 5 for both my images when I do a Save as compared with the identical file size achieved using SaveAs JPEG Compression.

I'm not too bothered by the difference although I am curious...

(These were 1Mb images of width 1 or 2,000 pixels)

[LeviFiction]

Maybe it's a recent change? As you mention your tests are with a copy pre-sp1. My copy of PSPX6 (post-sp1 and hotfix) seems to support the idea that Save uses a set value.

Then again I am getting mixed results, so I'm doing something stupid obviously.

Here is how I've been testing it.

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1) Make Duplicate of image inside Windows - Name it "Image3.jpg"

2) Open Original image "Image1.jpg"

3) Use SaveAs on "Image1.jpg" and rename it "Image2.jpg" - Compression level 2

4) Open "Image3.jpg"

5) Hit "Save"

6) Compare sizes:
Image1 - 763KB
Image2 - 382KB
Image3 - 103KB

---------------
If Image3 had been saved with the same settings as SaveAs it should have resulted in something closer to Image2. Since Image3 started with a size equal to Image 1.

While I don't view this as making the application useless. It definitely makes it dangerous. As you can lose quite a bit of quality by not knowing PSP has changed this feature to save automatically with a higher compression.

[Tadjio]

@LeviFiction:
Can you try using SaveAs JPEG Compression to establish what Compression Factors were used for Image 2 & 3?

[LeviFiction]

I used SaveAs with compression level 2 to create Image 2.

Then opened Image3 and then just hit Save, nothing else. And it resulted in a size much smaller than the image saved at Compression level 2.

[Khuri]

In my opinion this renders the program completely useless. I had hoped to finally replace my PSP X2, which gets some stability issues in x64 environments, and is, at least in my opinion, the last version that was useable till now (even though I still miss some features from PSP8). But if Corel goes this way with PSP, this was my last try here.

You might want to consider writing a macro. If i remember correctly, recording a macro which includes saving the file as a step will save the options you choose in the dialogs. Might be worth trying.
Then bind the macro as a script using the "customise appearance" (or whatever it is called in english) options of the program to assign the macro as script. Then replace CTRL+S keybind or whatever you'd as shortcut to run the macro/script.

[anthea]

Yes, I have PSPX6 with SP1. As it was offered directly after installing, I thought it would be all right to install SP1, since the list of bugfixes seemed to make that a good choice. Maybe that wasn't a good choice after all?
I really tried many things, saving and exporting in all possible modes, but the "save" remains fixed (or broken?). And the Macro thing only works if you select "save as", too. So you have to overwrite your original image, and loose the autobackup feature, or you manually create a new version of the picture with a changed name on each save, thus creating your own history (and the need to clean up afterwards). And this doesn't solve the issue that you have to save before you change the "mode" of PSP, because the wonderful "hey you have to save before you can continue" dialog doesn't offer you to use your custom save, but only the new "destroy-your-picture-save". And I don't even want to think about how to explain to my partner this wonderful feature. Creating macros for special features is OK, but the basic functionality should be there.

[Tadjio]

I used SaveAs with compression level 2 to create Image 2.
Then opened Image3 and then just hit Save, nothing else. And it resulted in a size much smaller than the image saved at Compression level 2.

I'm interested to know what "equivalent" Compression Factor the Save of image3 used.
Starting with image3, if you run SaveAs JPEG Compression, changing the Compression Factor displays the resultant image size so you can identify if Save would have used say 5 or 20...

[LeviFiction]

The compression factors are not going to be exact. Compression factor of 5 resulted in a 241KB file, and a compression factor of 20 resulted in a 91.9KB file. A compression factor of 17, however, gave me the 103KB. When I did the same on another image the one with a Compression factor of 17 resulted in a 170KB file while the one just using Save resulted in a 174KB file. Starting image was 858KB.

[Tadjio]

The compression factors are not going to be exact. Compression factor of 5 resulted in a 241KB file, and a compression factor of 20 resulted in a 91.9KB file. A compression factor of 17, however, gave me the 103KB. When I did the same on another image the one with a Compression factor of 17 resulted in a 170KB file while the one just using Save resulted in a 174KB file. Starting image was 858KB.

I know that compression factors have become more 'severe' recently, I think with X6.
In the past, I used a Compression Factor of 5 for my SaveAs images which gave a resulting file size similar to the original.
With X6 I use a Compression Factor of 2 for SaveAs to get a similar result.

The fact that my 'Save' seems to equate to a Compression Factor of 5 may be a hangover of my old SaveAs compression factor.

Did you use a Compression Factor of 17 as a rule, LeviFiction?

[LeviFiction]

Nope, I tested several compression levels until I found one that gave the same result from SaveAs as Save did.

First time I used SaveAS with a compression level of 2. This gave a result half the size of the original image. Then I used Save. This resulted in a very different value, Save resulted in a file size 1/4th that of SaveAs at compression level 2. So 1/7th the original size.

Then to find a SaveAs that resulted in the same value as Save did, I tested 7 different level until I found compression level 17 to give the same value as Save. Of course that broke on the second image and 17 no longer gives the necessary file size.

[MarkZ]

In my opinion this renders the program completely useless. I had hoped to finally replace my PSP X2, which gets some stability issues in x64 environments, and is, at least in my opinion, the last version that was useable till now (even though I still miss some features from PSP8). But if Corel goes this way with PSP, this was my last try here.

Interesting. I just tested and found that after setting Save As (A) to minimal compression and using Save (B) the resulting file, B, was substantially smaller than A. But viewing the images in full screen I could not tell any difference between the original, A and B. Multiple saves of B did not alter the file size from the first save and the quality did not deteriorate, as I expected it would. I don't understand what is done with Save in the program.

"renders the program completely useless"? Strange statement. There is an icon for Save As. After the initial alteration of the compression it does not change. The difference then between Save and Save As is one click on OK in the Save As box. Small price to pay for what some of us think is an improved version.

[anthea]

Yes, there is a Save As. But, do you use it if you edit your picture? No, you use save. Do you use it if you close your work, and the program asks you to save it? No. Do you use it if you change the infamous edit modes, and the program forces you to save the picture? No. Do you use it if you close PSP and forgot to save multiple pictures, and the program reminds you about it (especially when it is late at night and you're already half asleep)? No.
If you ever answer one of those questions automatically with "yes", you get your picture destroyed, and probably you only find that out much later. So if you can't rely on a program to save a file in the format you want, it is useless. Even if it really has several nice improvements in other places that I would like to have. But for me that behaviour is a very central point for any work, so I define that for me as a critical failure, which leads to my definition of the program as useless.

Same is for replacing the save button with a script, as Khuri suggested. I went the whole way yesterday to write a complete replacement script for save where a new save button is there, which internally checks if the picture is of a jpeg type (is there any way to get the type except for the file extension?) and accordingly calls save as with a pre-set compression, or the standard save or save as (if it is a new pic). It even goes so far as to move the previous pic into the backup folder, so the recover option works. Works really good... but it doesn't cover those exceptions from above, too. And I'm not the only one using the computer, and I really don't want to try to explain that...

Anyway, by this work I found that Corel doesn't use the folder name localization that Win7 offers, but uses different folder names depending on the selected language. Even for the hidden backup folders! I once changed the language from German to English, and wondered why no change I made to the program was still there, and no script showed up any longer. Then I found that all folders in the PSP environment were duplicated and got new names, and even some registry entries could not be detected any more because they used localized keywords, too. So you really have to be sure what language you want to use when you start working with PSP, and later on never even think about changing the language. And if you ever have to use some "standard" folder names in scripts, use the App call to get the folder names.

[blackbeard007]

in both 64 and 32 bit versions, this box pops up and doesn't do anything?