I went back and tried Paint Shop Pro v9.00 but found it wouldn't even start under Win10 v1709, no matter what compatibility settings were tried.I still keep PSP5 on my system as it loads in less than a second and is good enough for many tasks. Doesn't quite have the capability of PSP9 tho..
I was frankly disappointed in PSP X9 compared to PSP9 (which doesn't seem happy with Win10). PSP9 ran so well under WinXP, fast loading, intuitive keystrokes, no fuss. PSP X9 reminds me of the bloated and kludgy modern versions of Adobe Photoshop...
However Paint Shop Pro v8.00 US started without problems or tweaking, in well under a second. No doubt it doesn't have the bells & whistles of PSP 2018 or x9, but it is more refined than PSP5 and really will meet all my modest needs, I won't be painting the Sistine Chapel any time soon..
