PSP X8 Resize is a step backwards.

[Qwntm]

When I resize an image, I need to see how many pixels I got at what resolution for a given print size. Which I could see in PSP X7, but now is no longer available in x8.

i.e. if I drop to 72 resolution and pick 800 for the long side, I have no idea what my size in inches will be for web presentations.

Or if I want to resize to a print size, I have no idea what resolution to pick to maintain the same pixel dimensions. Now I'm just guessing, before I knew where I was at as the information was all on the same screen.

This is step backwards, or am I missing something?

[JoeB]

When I resize an image, I need to see how many pixels I got at what resolution for a given print size. Which I could see in PSP X7, but now is no longer available in x8.

i.e. if I drop to 72 resolution and pick 800 for the long side, I have no idea what my size in inches will be for web presentations.

Or if I want to resize to a print size, I have no idea what resolution to pick to maintain the same pixel dimensions. Now I'm just guessing, before I knew where I was at as the information was all on the same screen.

This is step backwards, or am I missing something?

When you are preparing an image for the web (e.g., to insert on a web page) then you shouldn't be thinking in terms of inches but in terms of pixels only, because your image (and your web page) is displayed on a monitor which displays pixels. So you want to resize by pixels to make your image fit into whatever the pixel space of your web page has available for the image. Resolution is irrelevant because that only applies to printing an image.

When preparing an image for printing (assuming that you want the printed image to look good and not grainy) then you need to think in terms of pixels per inch (PPI), which is "resolution". How many PPI you need depends on the distance that the image is intended to be viewed from. For example, if you are going to print an image as a 4x6 inch photo then it will be viewed at arms length or less. Because of the limitations of the human eye when interpreting/resolving displayed images, such a photo will look good if it is sized 4x6 inches at a resolution of 200 pixels per inch, although some like to be extra cautious and go to 300ppi. PPI represents the number of pixels of the image that will be printed on one inch of paper. The further away an image is meant to be viewed (which is the case with larger images) the fewer PPI are needed for the human eye to think it looks good. Billboards, which are viewed from hundreds of feet, can often get away with an image that contains only 4 pixels per inch, for example.

[LeviFiction]

The first three modes (Pixels, Percent, Print Size) are all actively linked together. So if you change the resolution under print size, you just have to click on the "Pixels" option to see what the new pixel size is.

Resizing by one side, however, is not linked to these. So once you know the pixels you want by resize by one side you can manually enter that into the appropriate side.

I can generally agree that in trying to simplify and make it more user friendly, they've hidden the flexibility and added a few more clicks. But we haven't lost any functionality.

[Qwntm]

The first three modes (Pixels, Percent, Print Size) are all actively linked together. So if you change the resolution under print size, you just have to click on the "Pixels" option to see what the new pixel size is.

Resizing by one side, however, is not linked to these. So once you know the pixels you want by resize by one side you can manually enter that into the appropriate side.

I can generally agree that in trying to simplify and make it more user friendly, they've hidden the flexibility and added a few more clicks. But we haven't lost any functionality.

Ahh, I see. Thanks for that. So what I used to be able to see all in one screen I now have to click back and forth to see.

That kinda sucks, I use those ratios ALL THE TIME and have been since Photoshop CS2.

[ovalseven]

I'm surprised I'm not finding more complaints about this. As I frequently change both the dpi and pixel size while resizing a single image, this new setup is needlessly more complicated.

Does anyone find the current setup easier or more intuitive to use?

[LeviFiction]

In some ways it is easier because it comes across as simpler. However, users who are used to the old way and want to do multiple changes like yourself are often frustrated. Thankfully print size is the only thing you can do in addition to actually resizing. And probably doesn't come up as often for most people.

[JoeB]

I'm surprised I'm not finding more complaints about this. As I frequently change both the dpi and pixel size while resizing a single image,...

PSP, like all graphic editors, does not have the ability to change DPI (dots per inch). That is solely a function of printers. Graphic editors like PSP only allow you to change PPI (pixels per inch).

[budrudesill]

I want to add my complaint to this thread. We need the information that used to be provided on older versions in order to size images for uploading to various sites. FIX IT, DAMNIT!

[JoeB]

I want to add my complaint to this thread. We need the information that used to be provided on older versions in order to size images for uploading to various sites. FIX IT, DAMNIT!

I'm not sure which specific information you're referring to. Various websites generally have three criteria for posting images - (a) maximum pixel width and/or height, (b) file size in kb/mb, and (c) file format(s). If I recall correctly, older versions of PSP's Resize tool did not show the image file size (critera "b) regardless of what settings you changed in the Resize dialogue. That is handled by the Optimizer options in the various Save As options dialogue.

If you are mainly concerned with uploading to websites for viewing, then you'll only be concerned with the Pixel resize tab of Resize dialogue, because the Print Size options like PPI (which is only instruction information used for printer output) have no effect on either the pixel size or the file size. And, as mentioned, once you have set the pixel size to your needed specifications you will then use the Save As dialogues to adjust compression to the requisite file size.

If you are mainly concerned with uploading image files not for viewing on web pages but for archive/storage, then those sites likely have only one criteria - i.e., the file size which, again, is determined by compression settings in the Save As dialogues so the Resize dialogue would not be an issue unless you wish to first do a pixel resize to make the image smaller so that you can use less compression to fit within the file size limit.

[Jean-Luc]

I must add that the actual system is a pain when creating images to be printed. The old system (all in one screen) was better.
I speak from experience.
Last year, I wrote a book in French about PaintShop Pro tools (see here http://www.paintshoppro.eu).
The book exists in printed and Kindle version.
When taking screen captures, the PPI is set by the capturing software and is different for each software !
I have made screen captures with PSP 2018 and with Ashampoo Snap.
The book was written in Microsoft Word but images needed a physical size (fixed by the maximum page width).
Kindle version asks for 300 PPI and not a pixel size !
I made many screen captures and each needed to be converted in a different PPI.
PSP 2018 doesn't offer an easy simple method to do it. It is a back and forth process for each picture.
I created a script to help but it is not "normal" to be forced to create such a script.

[JoeB]

I must add that the actual system is a pain when creating images to be printed. The old system (all in one screen) was better.

I definitely agree with you on that point, Jean-Luc. While there might be some advantage to some users having the different tabs, I do quite a lot of work where print size is the main criteria and with the old dialogue you just set the PPI in one box and then the print size in inches in the proper box and the image was automatically resized in pixels to accommodate those requirements. I hate shifting between tabs to do this. We should have an option to choose whether we wish resize to open with the new dialogue or the legacy dialogue, which should be a simple programming change for Corel.

My previous post was specific to what the poster I was replying to seemed to have been saying - i.e., that his main use of Resize was to accommodate images for web viewing.

[Jean-Luc]

his main use of Resize was to accommodate images for web viewing.

Yes, for web use only pixels matter.

[jcrous]

I'm surprised I'm not finding more complaints about this. As I frequently change both the dpi and pixel size while resizing a single image,...

PSP, like all graphic editors, does not have the ability to change DPI (dots per inch). That is solely a function of printers. Graphic editors like PSP only allow you to change PPI (pixels per inch).

Joe, are you sure?

As an author I design my own covers. Amazon require large size covers to display correctly. My favourite size is 2000 x 3000 pixels and Amazon accepts that at all times. The default is 72dpi.
The pics I source to use is of various sizes at 72dpi.

Amazon and Createspace requires the cover pics to be 300 dpi. As my pics are big enough in pixels, I can enlarge the size to 300 dpi without losing quality. I change the dpi to 300 and automatically the pixels change to around 8000 x 12000. I then just set the size back to 2000 x 3000 pixels. The dpi then remain at 300 and the cover prints perfectly.

I don't use small source images, but sometimes I copy a smaller resolution image onto a bigger one as a new layer and then it still works.

[LeviFiction]

jcrous, it's one of those things that everyone gets wrong and unless you're actually doing the printing you will rarely need to be correct in your distinction. That being said, they are completely different and it's nice to know the distinction. It's annoying because you'll actually get websites that say "dpi" when they mean "ppi" you may even get a program or two that don't understand the distinction.

DPI refers to the actual physical dots of ink placed on a piece of paper. PPI refers to how many virtual color pixels are placed within a physical inch. If you print 72ppi image on a printer the printer may print 72ppi using 600dpi. This is kind of fun. What this means is that in the same inch on the physical paper, 600 are used for physical pigment, and these pigments are placed to simulate the 72 different pixel colors that appear in that same physical inch. Which roughly speaking means every 8.33 dots of color are used to make up a single pixel block of color.

As JoeB says, DPI is strictly a printer function. PPI tells the printer how many different color blocks are written into one inch and what those colors are, dpi tells the printer how fine to make that distinction. You would never actually print 72dpi because those splotches would be huge. In order to get the fine detailed block you need to be precise and the dot precision is much finer than the ppi precision. When you send to your printer most printers have a default print resolution

The important distinction is this PPI (pixels per inch) and DPI (dots per inch) a dot does not represent a pixel but a dot of color printed to the page. And it takes usually several dots to make up a single pixel. 600dpi is not a high quality print. But 300dpi is the considered one of the best quality prints for an image. That's only 2 dots per 1 pixel of color.

Amazon doesn't let you choose how many physical dots of color they print your covers at. They probably even adjust your PPI for you to fit your image properly onto the physical page. But PPI tells them how many pixels, you want to fit inside a single inch. How much of that image covers how much physical space. DPI is how many ink dots make up each of those pixels in that same physical space.

I think I've repeated myself enough, I think I'll stop talking now. xD

[JoeB]

I'm surprised I'm not finding more complaints about this. As I frequently change both the dpi and pixel size while resizing a single image,...

PSP, like all graphic editors, does not have the ability to change DPI (dots per inch). That is solely a function of printers. Graphic editors like PSP only allow you to change PPI (pixels per inch).

Joe, are you sure?

Yes. In another thread I posted a an explanation with written examples of what PPI means and how it works which seemed to be well received. If interested you can read it here:

http://forum.corel.com/EN/viewtopic.php ... 13#p339324

Amazon and Createspace requires the cover pics to be 300 dpi. As my pics are big enough in pixels, I can enlarge the size to 300 dpi without losing quality. I change the dpi to 300 and automatically the pixels change to around 8000 x 12000. I then just set the size back to 2000 x 3000 pixels. The dpi then remain at 300 and the cover prints perfectly.

No you can't change the DPI using PSP. With PSP and any other graphic editor you cannot change the DPI of an image, only the PPI. Open PSP and go to the Resize dialogue, Print Size tab. You'll see that there is not place to set DPI, only PPI.

The reason the pixel size of your image automatically increases when you increase the PPI is because you have the option set to maintain original print size. As you increase the PPI that tells the printer that you want more pixels of the image printed on one inch of space (300 pixels per inch as opposed to only 72 of the image pixels per inch). So to maintain the original print size PSP must add more pixels to the image to allow 300 pixels of the image to be printed on one inch of paper and still print the complete image at the original size it would have printed if the PPI had been set at 72PPI but with much fewer pixels.

As LeviFiction pointed out, some people, programs and websites seem to use DPI and PPI as if they mean the same thing and are interchangeable. They don't and they aren't. If you are speaking of Amazon's requirements for them to have a cover image that is capable of being printed clearly to a certain size then they will tell you both the pixel size and the PPI required, which is usually 300. If they are only concerned about how large the image displays on their web page which lists the book with a picture of the cover then they should only be telling you what the pixel size of the image should be because PPI isn't relevant to that. In no case should they be telling you what DPI to set for the image because you can't set that. If they are telling you that then they are wrongly using DPI when they should be using PPI. If they are in the business of book publishing they should know better.

P.S. Yes, if you have a cover image that is 2000 x 3000 pixels with a print resolution of 300PPI (not DPI) then it should print a nice cover at 6.6 x 10 inches, which is a bit larger than most paperback novels but sounds like a reasonable size for trade publications. But if you printed that same 2000x3000 pixel image at its default PPI setting of 72 it would print out at 27.7 x 41.6 inches with poor quality output but way to large for any printer paper you have.