what is most universal layered file type - png ?

[step8601]

i have psp8 and love it

i also have some older .psd layered files that now open pretty well and display nicely but are not fully editable (that i've found so far, like color)

going forward, what would be the best image file type to create layered images so that those images are editable by the most programs and that also have lots of effects, etc?

i'm guessing .png?

the idea is to have usable graphics for the long term

thanks

[LeviFiction]

PNG doesn't natively support layers. Tiff does, but those tend to be non-standard and not every application supports them the same way. PSP doesn't support layered TIFF at all.

Technically PSD is the most universal, being the industry standard it behooves a lot of software companies to support it's most basic features. With PSD the most you can expect for certain is raster layer support between software versions. From there, any and all other features are kind of up in the air. PSP itself will only export raster and adjustment layers to PSD. Nothing else.

But that's true with any format. There is no real open standard for graphics formats that supports a lot of standard features. The standards that are out there, tend to be for flattened images.

For maximum edit ability, always keep a copy in the native format for whatever editor you use.

[photodrawken]

For maximum edit ability, always keep a copy in the native format for whatever editor you use.

That's true.

For interchange between applications, PDF is definitely the format to use. It supports raster and vector layers, as well as text layers. It has been in use for many years, and is an open standard maintained by the International Standards Organization, so just about every application in every industry supports it.

[JoeB]

i have psp8 and love it

PSP8 is an old, Jasc Software version of Paint Shop Pro. Jasc sold out to Corel. If you are speaking of the Corel version, then it is actually PSP 18, which Corel labels as PSP X8, where the X is the roman numeral 10. If that is the version you are using, you should change your profile to reflect that you are using PSP X8. You don't have to add "Ultimate" because that has nothing to do with the version of PSP. It only reflects the fact that you paid a bit more to get some extra tubes, etc., not that there are any extra features in the program different from Standard PXP X8.

[step8601]

i have psp8 and love it

If you are speaking of the Corel version, then it is actually PSP 18, which Corel labels as PSP X8, where the X is the roman numeral 10. If that is the version you are using, you should change your profile to reflect that you are using PSP X8. You don't have to add "Ultimate" because that has nothing to do with the version of PSP. It only reflects the fact that you paid a bit more to get some extra tubes, etc., not that there are any extra features in the program different from Standard PXP X8.

ah, thanks for that distinction, will update profile, thanks

and thanks all for the info about the most universal file type, much appreciated

[JoeB]

For maximum edit ability, always keep a copy in the native format for whatever editor you use.

That's true.

For interchange between applications, PDF is definitely the format to use. It supports raster and vector layers, as well as text layers. It has been in use for many years, and is an open standard maintained by the International Standards Organization, so just about every application in every industry supports it.

But PSP does not allow saving/exporting in PDF format.

[terrypin]

Install PDF Creator then print to it from PSP instead of to a physical printer.

http://www.pdfforge.org/pdfcreator

Terry, East Grinstead, UK

[photodrawken]

But PSP does not allow saving/exporting in PDF format.

Ugh. How awful!

[Kathy_9]

I use Foxit Reader for PDF files instead of Adobe and I can easily "print to PDF" from PSP. Foxit Reader PDF Printer automatically shows up in my list of available printers and it makes no difference to me if it's called "printing" instead of "saving" as the end result and number of steps are the same.