Paint Shop Pro x8 Scratch Removal Tool

[fndooley]

I am going to show my ignorance here, but recently upgraded to Paint Shop Pro x8 and have spent the last hour looking for a tool called Scratch Removal Tool. It is listed in the instruction book on page 249 with a picture of the icon and everything. BUT... I cannot locate it. Is it actually part of the x8 product or is this a carry over from a previous version? Thanks in advance forum.

[Joelle]

Here it is, in the Edit workspace:

Joëlle

[fndooley]

Joelle, thank you so much. I feel like a real idiot because I did look and look and look. Just tired I guess. See you have been a user for a long time. Just getting started myself, but made the investment to fix a bunch of old family photos and the scratch removal tool was one of the first things I needed/looked for. I owe ya one.
Fred

[fndooley]

I found it Joelle, click on it, set the box and size. Drag it across the scratch, but it does nothing. I had utilized the skin smoothing feature prior to trying to remove the scratches, which are actually wrinkles, but it does nothing on the picture. ???

[JoeB]

I found it Joelle, click on it, set the box and size. Drag it across the scratch, but it does nothing. I had utilized the skin smoothing feature prior to trying to remove the scratches, which are actually wrinkles, but it does nothing on the picture. ???

If your image has layers, are you sure you are working on the correct layer - i.e., you have the layer you want to work on selected in the Layers Palette?

[Joelle]

I found it Joelle, click on it, set the box and size. Drag it across the scratch, but it does nothing. I had utilized the skin smoothing feature prior to trying to remove the scratches, which are actually wrinkles, but it does nothing on the picture. ???

Try flattening the image.
I have noticed that, very randomly, the Scratch Remover Tool doesn't work, I go over and over it again and nothing 'takes'. I then copy/duplicate (Shift+D)and flatten the image and then it works.
It's very random and I have not been able to discover why it sometimes works and not other times. Very odd for sure.


Joëlle

[MarkZ]

I've been working on scanning negatives and slides from many years ago and some are in poor condition, so I've been using the scratch remover and white balance extensively. Scratch remover works remarkably well. I've set up a toolbar to have these most used tools handy. JoeB makes the point about ensuring that you are on the correct layer. Other than that, don't know why it shouldn't work. Have you tried resetting the program? Save your workspace, close PSP, then hold the shift key while reopening.

[fndooley]

Wow, thanks for all the great tips. Not sure what you mean by flattening the image. Sorry, but can you please elaborate? I only roughly know about layers from watching some of the tutorials, but have not worked with layers as of yet. Will try the reset option and report back. Feel like I have a team here. Really appreciate the insight from you all.

[fndooley]

MarkZ... not sure if shutting it down, restarting computer and then restarting the program while pressing shift was the deal or not, but it now works. Really cool tool. My new favorite. Aside from scratches, makes wrinkles smooth away too! Thanks again.

[Joelle]

Flattening the image: Merge All.

To reduce wrinkles, try the Smudge brush, dab rather than drag.
These settings or maybe even less opacity.

Joëlle

[fndooley]

Joelle, thanks for the tip. Will play around with it tonight and let you know how I do. Thanks for all the help.