PSP: Workflows improvements when working with Workspaces?

[Nev]

Hey everyone,

How would you like to see the workflow(s) improve when working and switching between the Manage, Adjust, and Edit workspaces? What impediments would you like to see removed? How frequently are you in each workspace? Indicate any pain points where possible.

Best,
Nev from PSP Team

[JoeB]

I open in Edit and use Manage all the time. I never use Adjust.

A small niggle. I would prefer, when going into Manage the first time, that the program did not automatically select the first image. If I change my mind and go back to Edit I first have to use Ctrl-Click to deselect that image or else it will open in Edit. I do like, however, once I select an image or images in Manage and open them in Edit that when I go back to Manage those images are still selected, because that automatically shows me where I was in the thumbnails, which is likely the area from which I will likely want to select more images.

[LeviFiction]

The ability to hide a workflow option if you don't want it. It's handy to have all three of them up there if you ever wanted to give them a go. But Ihave accidentally clicked on one and it's annoying waiting for PSP to load each screen. If I don't use Manage or Adjust, I would like to just remove those options altogether.

If I do use the manage, I would like the option to select an image and load it as a layer into the last image I was working on. Or an option to automatically open multiple images into a single image, auto-creating layers. Right now I use a script to open multiple images as individual layers. I would just prefer it if this was built into PSP as it would take less time than loading, copying, closing, pasting that the scripts have to do.

The option to change what a double click or single click does on an image in manage mode. I like the preview option in Manage, it's very fast to load. But when I double click on an image I expect it to open in Edit mode, not open a preview. But since this might, again, be a "me" thing. I'd like the ability to choose what these actions do.

Another example of an option I would like to change. Is instead of ctrl+clicking to deselect an image. I'd like to be able to just click to deselect.

The option for deleting image trays is not obvious, I feel like that could be made better.

[JoeB]

The ability to hide a workflow option if you don't want it. It's handy to have all three of them up there if you ever wanted to give them a go. But Ihave accidentally clicked on one and it's annoying waiting for PSP to load each screen. If I don't use Manage or Adjust, I would like to just remove those options altogether.

This is one that I also would like to see.

The option to change what a double click or single click does on an image in manage mode. I like the preview option in Manage, it's very fast to load. But when I double click on an image I expect it to open in Edit mode, not open a preview. But since this might, again, be a "me" thing. I'd like the ability to choose what these actions do.

It's not just a "you" thing. I often, by habit, double-click an image in Manage and find it extremely annoying that it opens in Preview instead of Edit. The large thumbnail is enough of a preview for me.

[brucet]

Yes please. Allow us to have our preferred work space and not the others. In my case I don't even know what Manage and Adjust do!!!! So why should they be taking up valuable editing space?

regards

[JoeB]

Yes please. Allow us to have our preferred work space and not the others. In my case I don't even know what Manage and Adjust do!!!! So why should they be taking up valuable editing space?

I'm not sure that would add to the editing space. Even if it allowed you to also remove the Edit tab so that you didn't have any tabs you'd still have the space at the top taken up by Corel Paintshop Pro XX at the left. However, that could be made smaller vertically so as not to take up any more vertical space than the Close, Min and Max buttons on the right. Actually, they should make it smaller anyway so that the present tabs could move up to be at the top like those buttons are. It's the stuff on the left that really takes up more space vertically than is needed.

[LeviFiction]

Oh, this technically has to do with workspaces. Bring back the ability to dock palettes to all sides of the screen. I've been asking for this forever. I want to dock my histogram at the bottom of the screen. But I can't. Nothing is allowed down there except for the Organizer palette and instant effects.

As I've indicated I don't use manage, or the organizer so it's not like letting me dock the histogram down there is going to ruin any setup or space. And with the ability to hide a palette even if it did it wouldn't matter.

The histogram palette is designed to be horizontal. So why we're forced to have it scrunch up on one of the sides is beyond me. As it is I have to float it and that just gets in my way.

[hartpaul]

I have only used Manage a couple of times and Adjust even less. Was brought up on Jasc version where Manage and Adjust did not exist.
If I needed to browse through images to make choices to Edit I would use the Organiser which is also present in Manage. The image info panel is also available in Edit. So I see no real use for Manage mode unless you are into the face recognition, tags and ratings etc. The features in Adjust mode are essentially in Edit mode as well.

I know that images can be collected in trays to enable processing, but my preference is to browse folders and select images and make copies of them into a new folder on my desktop. That way when I save (not Save as ) it overwrites only those images and not the originals and there is no risk to the originals. I also prefer to have that desktop folder open and to drag and drop multiple images (15) into the workspace to process quickly. Using the Organiser or Manage mode requires an extra lot of clicking to get processing done.

[Jean-Luc]

The ability to drag the images from workspace in a tray on the bottom. When working on a project, I'm opening images coming from different folders. I'm combining them, etc. And I want to retrieve them next time I open the tray related to this project. So, dragging them inside a tray is an improvement.

[JoeB]

Jean-Luc made a suggestion in the Straighten Tool thread that I think should be used with other tools so I'm going to repeat it here.

All tools that require clicking the Apply checkmark on the toolbar should have a right-click context menu Apply option so that you don't have to mouse up to the checkmark. Much more efficient! I'm a big fan of right-click context menus!

EDIT: @hartpaul posted in the Straighten thread that he checked a lot of tools that use the checkmark to apply and they all apply if you double click, except for the Crop tool, so perhaps the right-click Apply menu item isn't such a priority after all. I don't think the Help files or most tutorials point out this second option for applying a tool. As for the Crop tool, if you use the option to show the tool bar under the crop rectangle the Apply checkmark is there so close by and you don't have to mouse up to the main toolbar options.

[JoeB]

Also, Jean-Luc made another suggestion in the Wishlist thread. This is one people have been asking for for years! PLEASE make it possible to create our own icons for bound scripts so that the icons can represent what we want the script to do! This will make the workspace more efficient. See Jean-Luc's post in the Wishlist thread for his suggestion about one way to add this very much needed feature. Like him, I'm also a great user of bound scripts!

[JoeB]

In another thread somebody posted a problem (link at the bottom of this post) with bound scripts that have text buttons in place of icons. Sometimes, when he goes from Edit to Manage and then back to Edit the text buttons are replaced by default icons from the lame number of icons available for bound scripts.

So this has to be fixed if the workspace is to be as user friendly as it is supposed to be. Here's the link to the thread for more info:

http://forum.corel.com/EN/viewtopic.php?f=56&t=60663

And AGAIN, please let us use custom icons for bound scripts!

[Forriner]

X7, when using (just for example) Smart photo fix it opens up a workspace, closing the normal Edit workspace (?) and when I accept or cancel the fix the Edit space returns, with all my floating custom toolbars invisible while they were visible.
The menu View/Toolbars shows the custom bars as checked, visible. One click unchecks a custom bar so invisibility is at least logical, and the second click makes it visible again.

This type of behaviour is why I always hesitate to upgrade to a new version, because you never know what Corel will have broken.

[Joelle]

Hey everyone,

How would you like to see the workflow(s) improve when working and switching between the Manage, Adjust, and Edit workspaces? What impediments would you like to see removed? How frequently are you in each workspace? Indicate any pain points where possible.

Best,
Nev from PSP Team

As I only ever use Edit. none of the other utilities are ever invoked.
My Edit Workspace is highly customised, with menus for the most used tools, scripts setting, etc..
I have no issue with the set up as it is.
(As an aside, I have been saying this a million times during testing, the File Manager (Manage/Adjust) should be a separate download as it used to be many versions ago, likely before your time!)
No pain points, except disliking the file manager. I use Windows Explorer (in Windows 7) and find that works must faster than using the PSP version.
PSP is about editing, which is does very well, let's keep it that way.

Joëlle

[Kathy_9]

As I only ever use Edit. none of the other utilities are ever invoked.
My Edit Workspace is highly customised, with menus for the most used tools, scripts setting, etc..
I have no issue with the set up as it is.
(As an aside, I have been saying this a million times during testing, the File Manager (Manage/Adjust) should be a separate download as it used to be many versions ago, likely before your time!)
No pain points, except disliking the file manager. I use Windows Explorer (in Windows 7) and find that works must faster than using the PSP version.
PSP is about editing, which is does very well, let's keep it that way.

Joëlle

I agree.