Wish List for PaintShop Pro version X9

[ranunculus]

let me add my wish for the next version:

In the batch rename menue it would be better not only to choose the actual date but also the date of taking the photo.

Best regards,

ranunculus

[fs999]

3. In Gimp and Photoshop there is a tab for the color channels in the layers dialogue that shows the RGB or CYMK channels and in Gimp it also displays the masks below the channels. In Paintshop one has to choose the image->split channels menu and it will split the image into separate images by color channel that can then be edited and then re-merge the images which can be tedious. In Gimp and Photoshop its easy to switch to the channels tab and pick a particular channel and then use it to create a selection and then a mask. The workflow is faster and more intuitive then having separate images. I would love to see a Color Channels tab in the Layers dialogue.

+1

And Photoshop's Color Range dialog.

[ranunculus]

Another proposal:

to unblur photos !
when a photo was blurred, all pixels show more or less regular the same distortion (direction and amount of blurring). Under strong zoom it could be possible to show/to mark with a rubber line the direction and amount of distortion (on a white pixel for example). This could then be done at 3 or 4 edges of the photo and then the program should calculate the correction.

What do you think about ?

Best regards,

ranunculus

[SJS]

Store preferences in an external file, so that these settings can be restored on re-install, and read/used with new versions. Many settings will apply across versions of the product. The idea that these cannot be stored & used for new versions is a very lame excuse for not doing the work to redesign how preferences are stored & managed. This may be the single biggest flaw in PSP in my book!

[Joelle]

Store preferences in an external file, so that these settings can be restored on re-install, and read/used with new versions. Many settings will apply across versions of the product. The idea that these cannot be stored & used for new versions is a very lame excuse for not doing the work to redesign how preferences are stored & managed. This may be the single biggest flaw in PSP in my book!

I agree.
When saving a custom Workspace, Preferences should be included in the customization.

Joëlle

[Monteiro]

Save history of a progect when the program will closed

Check similar images - like this Anti-Twin

Auto-stitch panoramic feature

Separate scanned photos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LB_oK0IrEOM


Give shapes to text or letters as in Adobe Photoshop Elements
[url=https://flic.kr/p/BFmuwa]

[Radim]

Separate scanned photos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LB_oK0IrEOM

Use ScanTailor - http://scantailor.org/ ...best in class, free. I processed thousands of book pages with it.

[Radim]

Even more sharper Text.
What we have in paintShop Pro X8 is not enough, especialy for small font size - 6px ~ 12px.

[JoeB]

Separate scanned photos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LB_oK0IrEOM

Use ScanTailor - http://scantailor.org/ ...best in class, free. I processed thousands of book pages with it.

If by "Separate scanned photos" you mean placing several photos on the scanner plate, doing one scan, and having each photo appear as a separate image in PSP, then PSP will do that if your scanner software supports it. A good many scanner drivers have an option where, in the preview of the scan, you can make a separate selection of each photo (or parts of whatever you have placed on the scanner) and the scanner will send each of these selections to PSP or any image editor as separate images.

I haven't tried Scan Tailor but just checked out their page and may download it to check it out. However, I did notice that their manual makes one common mistake in that it speaks of scanning at 300 or 600 DPI (dots per inch) when, in fact, what is meant is PPI (pixels per inch). That is likely not their fault, however, because unfortunately most scanner software also uses DPI in the interface regarding scan resolution.

[buddha2xx]

I've been using PSP for over 10 years, since it was a JASC product. I now also use NIK Color Efex and Topaz Detail as part of my regular workflow. with such a significant investment in time, I have a very strong desire to stay with PSP, but at this time I can't see it going in a direction that is helpful to me.
Windows is an operating system that has significant problems and requires an abundance of overhead to run it. Microsoft's direction is toward touch screen mobile application systems, all the while it is losing market share to Apple and Linux. To make a Windows OS run at a reasonable speed, a PC owner needs to spend money on fast components and additional memory. In automotive parlance, that is what you would be called a pig.
The stories about MS are that it may abandon Windows and write a new OS to carry it into the future. That is another reason why I don't want to stay with Windows.
The Apple OS is fine, but their computers are wildly overpriced, and they perform only in an average manner once the OS is not considered.
Linux is gaining share, is stable, and requires little of it's hardware. It also does not need to be changed every two years to make money for a software company.
Right now I run Vista. I ask little of an OS other than that it perform basic functions. Vista is often stretched to do that.
If I upgrade to X8, I will have to upgrade my OS, which is an expense, and probably upgrade my PC as well. Since an upgrade is really an upgrade to W10, some, at least, of the current versions of PSP will no longer work for me. One version of PSP is installed because NIK requires it. Changing would require me to spend money to upgrade NIK Color Efex Pro. I can't do that without buying all of the plugins. Trials have shown me that I don't need and won't use the others, so that would be a needless expense again.
Nothing that I can see in X8 makes me want it. It appears to be a video software program that does a few stills as well. The wish list for X9 is certainly pointed in that direction. I do stills only, so the future direction of PSP has no attraction to me right now. You have 'paint' software. You have video software. Why combine the two with still software, then ignore the still software?
I want something I can use to edit stills in an OS that is not resource hungry, buggy or insecure.

[LeviFiction]

I'm curious as to what you mean by PSP seems to be going towards Video. I've seen nothing of that at all. The closest I've seen is that they bundle PSP with VideoStudio but they are still two separate products. And PSP had gained the ability to capture stills from video but no video specific functionality. So I'm unsure what makes you think it's more video than still.

[Juangg]

I would like it to improve performance and smothness, especially in some tools, and moving pictures along the screen. It feels sluggish for example when using underexpose tool (I don't know if that is the exact name in English, I'm using PSP in Spanish).
I've tried Phtoshop on my computer and it works smother than PSP.

[spearcarrier]

I humbly and sincerely beg the PSP developers to put the resizing options back in ONE tab. I have to load X4 just to resize my images properly and get my job done. I resize book and audiobook covers images. Sometimes I resize for pixel size. Sometimes I resize to inches. Most always I'm resizing in such a way I can increase or optimize dpi in some way. Quality control and all that... except with x8 I can't do that anymore. I flip back and forth trying my best but it's just flat broken. Please give me the ability to work back. Please.

Also, I have the same request I had 2 upgrades ago: better lasso tool selection. Channels, too.

[JoeB]

Most always I'm resizing in such a way I can increase or optimize dpi in some way.

No version of PSP can adjust or optimize DPI (dots per inch), only PPI (pixels per inch). DPI refers to the output resolution of the printer and is a function of the printer only and can only be changed using the printer's software. PPI refers to the input resolution of the photo or image being sent to the printer.

You change the DPI in the printer's software by selecting options like Draft, Standard, Fine, Photo. etc. or, if the software supports it, changing the actual number of dots per inch - e.g., 300, 600, 1200, 1440, which are the types of numbers actually represented by the words Draft, etc. PPI represents the number of image pixels that the printer will print per inch of paper using whatever DPI setting you choose on the printer to determine how many dots or spots of ink it lays down on the paper. A 300 PPI image printed on an inkjet printer with a 300 DPI setting would come out looking like a Draft image, nowhere near decent quality. To look almost as good as the image looks on the display requires several more times the DPI setting of the printer than the PPI setting of the image.

[buddha2xx]

I'm curious as to what you mean by PSP seems to be going towards Video. I've seen nothing of that at all. The closest I've seen is that they bundle PSP with VideoStudio but they are still two separate products. And PSP had gained the ability to capture stills from video but no video specific functionality. So I'm unsure what makes you think it's more video than still.

I just took another look and agree that you are right about the video. I'm not sure where that came from.
That doesn't change my other comments. An upgrade to X8 would require a new OS, so a new computer. If I have to do that I want a stable, secure OS that I can stay with for a long time. I also want my plugins to work with it, especially if I change to 64 bit. That is pure fantasy at this point, so my next expenditure will likely be for a better monitor.
I'm primarily a landscape photographer and find that as I edit still images, I am using Topaz Detail more and more, and NIK Color Efex often, but less frequently as well. Everything in the first 3 groups of filters in Detail is useful to me. In Color Efex, I use the Graduated Density, Darken/Lighten Center and BW Conversion tools almost exclusively.
I like the Time Machine filters, but the BW conversion tool has detail adjustments that work better than Topaz BW or anything else I have tried.
I just tried the Depth of Field tool a few days ago. For landscapes it appears to be awesome so far. I have avoided it for years because the dreadful example photo that you have of DOF in action makes it look like a vignetting tool, which you already have under Effects.
I use the RAW Editor for adjusting White Balance, and occasionally recovering blowouts. Now that I think about it, a Darken Center tool that could really make a spot alot darker rather than a little darker would sometimes be really useful.