PSP: How can Crop Tool improve?

[Nev]

Hey everyone,

How would you like to see Crop Tool improve for PSP? Ideas of any scale are welcomed.

Best,
Nev from PSP Team

[LeviFiction]

Move pixel dimensions to the Units. This might just be me, but I don't see the point in having a separate pixel and print size. Maybe there is something good about it, like comparing the pixels to the print size at the same time but to me it wastes space. And if you can change between the units you can readily see how certain pixels convert to certain print sizes just by selecting the unit type in the drop down.

Add the X and Y position back into the options. We can set the width and height with accuracy, but determining where the crop starts is still a drag and drop process. Let the crop extend beyond the boundaries of the image. Snap to the edges initially but let us expand the crop beyond the canvas borders if we so choose.

Let us change the color the crop rectangle, as well as the size of the nodes.

Place the shading options into the crop tool options instead. I sometimes want to change these and going into the properties dialog is annoying.

Allow for more guide options. Such as rule of thirds, golden ratio, rule of fifths, center lines.

Allow limiting the crop to the current layer rather than the whole image.

[JoeB]

Allow limiting the crop to the current layer rather than the whole image.

I particularly second this suggestion!

[LordLiverpool]

Remove the automatic zoom-out to 100% when the crop tool is selected. This is an unnecessary annoyance.

[hartpaul]

Remove the automatic zoom-out to 100% when the crop tool is selected. This is an unnecessary annoyance.

Agree with this as well. Tested in my old favorite X2 and there I can zoom in, select the crop tool and still remain zoomed in. I can also draw a crop rectangle (eg a persons's head in a few rows of seated people and release the mouse button and it still remains zoomed in. I can also then select another tool and then come back to the crop tool and it still remains zoomed in - it does not zoom out to show the whole image on the screen .

[TimW]

Ditto what LeviFiction said . . . . except that I personally use Print Size more than pixels. It doesn't hurt anything to have them both available.

[LordLiverpool]

Actually, upon further testing, the crop tool in X8 is a total car crash.

It's not just the annoying zoom out. When I try to drag the crop box out to the edge of an image (it seems to happen with large images), it often inexplicably snaps back. I have to fight with it to get it to select the area I want. I have no idea whether it's a "feature" or a bug - I imagine it's a bug.

And the last straw is the ease with which you can accidentally rotate the crop box when you grab one of the corner handles. I've done it loads of times.

Taken together, it's a usability disaster.

[MarkZ]

And the last straw is the ease with which you can accidentally rotate the crop box when you grab one of the corner handles. I've done it loads of times.

So have I. The problem that I see with this and other tools is that the focus point is far too small - is it one pixel? - so that the least shake of the hand (I use a tablet and pen) and you have gone from selecting the corner resize to rotate. I would love to see the tool delineation increased by at least one pixel. This applies to vectors as well.

[hartpaul]

Apparently that ability to rotate the crop tool from any of the corner points was introduced in X3. Another reason I am happy to continue using X2 for most of my processing . Perhaps Corel could look back at these early much loved versions and then look at each of the changes and consider seriously whether the changes are truly helpful or detrimental.

[Rascalron]

Remove the automatic zoom-out to 100% when the crop tool is selected. This is an unnecessary annoyance.

Also, there was a time when crop was adjustable via pixel numbers for top, bottom left and right. It was possible to crop precisely. Now I seem only to have a Height and Width adjustment. I can move the lines with the mouse, but this is not a precise as with using actual pixel numbers.

[Forriner]

It's only a work around, Rascalron, but you can make a Rectangular Selection by pixel number on the Tool options palette, Custom selection button to the right, and then menu Image/Crop to selection

[Jean-Luc]

... but this is not a precise as with using actual pixel numbers.

- click on a handle to select/activate it
- move pixel by pixel with the keyboard arrow key