flattening images

[Kevin L]

I'm a newbie trying to make a cover for a Create Space submission, on PSP6. Last year when I used it, the images flattened nicely and I had no problem making front book covers. Now the LAYERS>MERGE>MERGE ALL doesn't combine the images into one file. A truly maddening weekend. The user's guide does not speak to what happens if buttons are not responsive. Any help out there?

[Cassel]

You want a jpg in the end?

LAYERS>MERGE>MERGE ALL should merge all in one layer. However, that is not saving the file, it just merges the layers in the layer palette.
In fact, you don't even need to go through LAYERS>MERGE>MERGE ALL . Just go with File > Export > JPG Optimizer and the end result will be a flattened image, even if you left the layers unmerged in the layer palette. And it is always a good idea to save also a .pspimage version of your work just in case you need to do any editing later. That can be done with File > Save as and choosing .pspimage in the pull down list of file format.

Hope this helps.

[Kevin L]

Thanks for the reply. What I actually wanted to know is WHY the Merge button isn't flattening my layers. Is it something that I've inadvertently done? Where does one go to ask the why's and why-nots. The user guide only says things like " The button flattens images." Nothing about what to do if it doesn't. No troubleshooting in the user guide. Perhaps I need to re-install the PSP6 disc on the theory that this one is now corrupted. But I worry about losing whatever I have in it now. Thanks again.

[LeviFiction]

Don't reinstall.

Try resetting your workspace. Close PSP, then while holding the shift key, open PSP back up. It'll ask if you want to reset your workspace to factory defaults. See if that makes a difference.

As a side note, does "Merge Visible" work?