Wish List for PaintShop Pro version X9

[Cassel]

I think you would be guessing wrong. There are a lot of people who use scripting in PSP, have done it since the Jasc days. I have a lot of custom scripts that I have recorded to automate repetitive tasks. I also regularly use scripts created by Suz Shook. I know a lot of other people also using and creating scripts. Just because you don't know about something doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

It is all relative. I know a few people doing scripting, but in proportion to the number of PSP users, that would be minimal. And of those who know what scripts are, some only know how to run them, and have NO interest in doing more than recording their own for basic tasks. Just like Picture tubes. Those are very powerful little tools, but most people either don't know about them or don't know more than "they are like stickers". Even worse, they confuse picture tubes with the "tubes" made by "tubers", which are totally different.

So there are resources for scripters but they are limited, just like the number of scripters is limited in the grand scheme of users.

[brucet]

The simple fact is that the vast majority of users of programs such as PSP, PS, PL and any other we like to name, don't use but a fraction of their features. Just like scripts how many users use layer? Again my bet is that the vast majority of users use a fraction of a programs features. I've used PSP since Jasc days. Yet I've only had a few 'plays' with scripts. Yet PSP serves me well with out the need to use or understand scripts.
We all need to remember that us PSP 'nerds' are but a very small percentage of users.

Improve scripts? Yes for sure. The more and better the features the better. Just don't think that how you use a program is how others also use it.

regards

[photodrawken]

Something to consider: The more full-featured an image editor is, the less need there is for it to support scripting. (Recording macros is a separate matter and is always valuable.)

In the years I've been participating in or monitoring this forum, I'd say that >98% of the scripts are attempts to force PSP to provide a semblance of missing functionality.

The same is true, to a much greater extent, with PhotoshopElements.

In the case of PhotoLine, it has so much functionality built-in that scripting support is unnecessary.

In the case of Photoshop, I suspect its scripting support is primarily for legacy reasons. Secondarily, it's to provide plugin developers with the ability to run their plugins as Photoshop-generated windows within specific areas of the application.

Just a thought....

[pecohen]

Layer Alignment functions. The ability to bring in multiple images, and have them rotated, scaled, and aligned to each other. This can be used for basic photo stacking, or removing unwanted features. Essentially bring a number of the features of Photo Blend into the full Edit mode that we can work with it in ways we want.

Let me second this. Lack of this feature is making me seriously consider switching to Photoshop. Paintshop Pro already does these operations in its HDR module but there is no way to move the images being merged there to (or from) layers in a PSP image.

But another consideration is to expose layers to third-party developers - no doubt some third-party developer would implement layer alignment and perhaps other innovative features. Often I wish I could somehow move the layers from Topaz photoFXlab to PSP.

[Bobzilla]

Could you please fix the duplicated keyboard shortcuts. It seems to just keep getting worse!

It was bad enough when Alt+a+s+s to sharpen (at least since PSPX5) pulls up the little if ever used /skin smoothing/ tool.
Now in PSPX8 I see that Alt+f+a no longer pulls up the Save As like all other MS programs and PSPX5 but /Add Info/?

It really slows me down to do Alt+a then select the menus with the mouse (or pointers) to finish what Alt+a+s+s would accomplish with just my left hand in a flash. So now I have the added frustration of no more Save As immediately available. Sure I could do your job for you and make a work around script but sheesh.

I do a lot of touch up and saving the same image to multiple sizes. I keep reverting back to X5 because of this issue. You want me to buy upgrades? FIX the problems! Please, make it worth my while.

[LeviFiction]

Bobzilla, you don't need a script. First of all those are menu shortcuts not keyboard shortcuts. Keyboard shortcuts are like CTRL + S for Save or F12 for Save As. Those rarely, if ever, cross over. Menu shortcuts, I agree they've been using them willy-nilly. But those are actually easily fixed, Corel should do it but with very little editing in the customize options will get you where you want to be. You can then save out the workspace so you don't have to keep redoing it.

Go to View -> Customize

Then click on the File menu, right-click on "Add Info" and select "Button Appearance." In the "Button text" dialog you'll see an ampersand (&) delete that. Now Add Info will no longer pop-up when you use ALT + F + A. The ampersand is placed in front of the letter that you want to use as a menu shortcut. So you could also just move the ampersand in front of a different letter in the text "Add Info..." if you still wanted to keep that menu shortcut.

You can also assign custom keyboard shortcuts to commands that don't traditionally have them. For example Ctrl + Alt + S for Sharpen. Not to take away from Corel's reponsibility to be a bit more cautious when setting up its menu items, but you can easily fix the UI to do anything you want including changing the keys for items that you never use to those for items you use all the time. Making you that much faster with PSP.

[ADonahoo]

. . . snip

Go to View -> Customize

Then click on the File menu, right-click on "Add Info" and select "Button Appearance." In the "Button text" dialog you'll see an ampersand (&) delete that. Now Add Info will no longer pop-up when you use ALT + F + A. The ampersand is placed in front of the letter that you want to use as a menu shortcut. So you could also just move the ampersand in front of a different letter in the text "Add Info..." if you still wanted to keep that menu shortcut.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I never thought that was something we could fix ourselves. I'm going to get rid of skin smoothing too, although I created a custom shortcut for sharpen.

[Rick_R]

PSP's leading competitor -- Photoshop Elements -- has no scripting capability.

Of course it does. It uses JavaScript, as does Photoshop. In fact, the excellent ElementsPlus utility works its magic by using scripting.

Back when I used PSE, I worked with Photoshop's fine little scripting editor to modify PSE's behaviour to provide a text tracking function.

And just exactly where is that? Having to use add-ons from other products doesn't count as "the product has a capability". I have PE 12 and I don't see any way built into the product to record scripts and play them back. On the other hand, with PSP: File > Script > Start Recording

[Rick_R]

Let's make this straight.
Recording scripts isn't just enough because they do only basic stuff.
And all examples i've found in the Internet are all basic too.

Even looking at recorded scripts I don't have any knowledge of the variables used by the program or the image, like size of the image, layers, depth, colors, format, a particular pixel in a particular position...
I've searched in the Help and no clue either.
It's impossible to make advanced scripts if you don't have that stuff.

I don't care about learning Python, it's not a problem for me and it's completly an easy language.
But what I want to know is the name of that variables.

Is it so hard?
Is it too much to ask for?

You keep missing the point -- every product, whether it's a stereo or a camera or a car, or consumer software is "designed for a specific price point".

• First the manufacturer decides the selling price.
• Second, they ask, "What features do competing products in that price range have?"
• Third, they ask, "Which of those features does our product have to have if it's going to sell?
• Fourth, they ask, "How much money, time and other resources will we have to spend to create, add and maintain those mandatory features?"
• Fifth, they ask, "How much remaining money, time and other resources will we have available to add other features?"
• Sixth, they ask, "What new or improved features are our customers saying they want?"
• Seventh, they ask, "Which new or improved features are most requested?"
• Eighth, they ask, "How likely is it that our competitors will add such a feature?"
• Ninth, they ask, "For each of the most requested features, how much money, time and other resources would we have to spend to create, add and maintain such a feature?
• Tenth, for each possible new feature they ask, "If we add this, will it significantly increase sales, decrease sales ("ugly", "hard", "confusing", "unnecessary"), or have no effect on sales?"

Then they decide which features to add, based on resources and demand. And for software that retails in the $80 range, the vendor has to face the fact that many customers will only buy every third or fourth upgrade.

Writing, testing and maintaining advanced scripting examples and documentation would be incredibly resource intensive and would add nothing that most PSP users want. "Providing documentation" sounds like "something they could do in their sleep". But the fact is that people expect everything to be formatted "exactly correct". If all the indenting isn't uniform and all the fonts aren't correct it looks extremely sloppy and amateurish. "Command syntax uses bold Arial 10 pt. Example code uses Calibri italics. Descriptive text uses Times Roman. Optional parameters are indicated by ...", etc.

It's the same reason Corel hasn't added photomerge to PSP although it has been requested many times by many users -- it would cost a lot to add, it would have no effect on sales, and programs are available for free that can do that limited task.

[photodrawken]

...
Having to use add-ons from other products doesn't count
...

Yeah, just like Slick Willie said to the investigators:
""It depends on what the meaning of the word 'is' is"

PSE can't record a series of steps as a macro, but it can play back macros ("actions" in AdobeSpeak) that were recorded in PhotoShop.

As I said, PSE can also execute scripts written in JavaScript that control the program's behaviour. (You should be aware that every single person who writes or edits a Python script for PSP uses an "add-on from another product" to write the script -- even if it's only Notepad.)

I leave it to the reader to judge whether or not those features mean that PSE "has no scripting capability"....

As a side note, if anyone here also has PSE, I see that Adobe's ExtendScript ToolKit (which is a fine little JavaScript editor and development environment for PS and PSE) is available as a free download.

[Rick_R]

...
Having to use add-ons from other products doesn't count
...

Yeah, just like Slick Willie said to the investigators:
""It depends on what the meaning of the word 'is' is"

PSE can't record a series of steps as a macro, but it can play back macros ("actions" in AdobeSpeak) that were recorded in PhotoShop.

As I said, PSE can also execute scripts written in JavaScript that control the program's behaviour. (You should be aware that every single person who writes or edits a Python script for PSP uses an "add-on from another product" to write the script -- even if it's only Notepad.)

I leave it to the reader to judge whether or not those features mean that PSE "has no scripting capability"....

As a side note, if anyone here also has PSE, I see that Adobe's ExtendScript ToolKit (which is a fine little JavaScript editor and development environment for PS and PSE) is available as a free download.

And you still keep missing the point--the vast majority of users, whether PE or PSP, are not interested in getting into programming. And most users of low-end programs are not going to start searching all over to make a customized version of their program. And then go learn programming, etc. And then when they "break" something they have to figure out what they screwed up and how to fix it.

The point is that PE does not have the ability to record steps and PSP does -- whether you call it a "script" or a "macro" is irrelevant. If you want to write code, well, you're not Corel's intended market.

Years ago I took a look at a QuickBooks trial version and my reaction was, "Oh, my God! The interface is horrible!" It was so bad I actually called their sales department to tell them.

Their reaction was, "You have formal training in accounting... don't you?"
I said, "Yes, how did you know?"
Their response was, "Everybody with accounting training hates our interface. You're not our target market. You'll like Peachtree or DAC Easy."

It's the same thing with PSP -- people who want advanced scripting support, i.e., detailed programming documentation, etc., are not Corel's target market for an $80 program primarily used by amateurs to touch up photos.

[photodrawken]

You keep missing the point -- every product, whether it's a stereo or a camera or a car, or consumer software is "designed for a specific price point".

...
(Various list items)
...

I'm sure that many of those items in your list are considered by most companies when they create/update their software.

However, I think it's important to recognize and praise another philosophy -- a program written by developers who really love the field in which they're working. Developers whose primary goal is excellence.

Case in point is my image editor of choice -- PhotoLine. The company consists of two brothers in Germany who began by writing the application for the Atari computer 20 years ago. The current version (19) has a breathtaking feature set that shows their long-standing pursuit of excellence in image editing has been, and continues to be, the primary focus. (No pun intended. ) And its price is 59 euros (about $65 US, these days).

Other applications I use that show a similar passion for excellence are:

• the Krita drawing application. (Free)
• the XnView image viewer/browser. (Free)
• the RawTherapee RAW image processor. (Free and also open-source)

Are there certain areas within those applications which are "quirky"? Absolutely. I embrace that and celebrate it as "individuality" because it means that the developers have considered other ways of doing those things but chose their own path to be true to themselves.

That individuality, that pursuit of excellence, that dedication to quality, that responsiveness to feature requests from users, that willingness to quickly fix bugs is what makes using those products a joy. It's nice to have those applications as a change-of-pace from the products put out by unresponsive companies that are primarily driven by the twaddle of marketing parasites.

[Djard007]

1. Offer the ability to create custom brushes with ability to adjust opacity, hardness, etc., just like the default brush.

2. Get a qualified writer to write your manual: Stop publishing guides that tell the user WHAT to do, and focus on the HOW. If you tested your manual by having a beginner follow the steps with success, you just might be the first software company to release an intelligent manual. The section on blending layers is an insult to logic.

[ADonahoo]

I can adjust the opacity on my custom brushes, but not the hardness. I agree about the manual though.

[Djard007]

How about a macro to "Apply" feathering and "Expand." What appears in the preview window does not appear in the image, despite "Preview on Image" being checked. The latter I consider to be a long ignored bug. X8 is a powerful program but sometimes WYSINWYG (What-you-see-is-not-what-you-get).