Wishlist for Paint Shop Pro 2019

[Cody]

Hello!

At first, please excuse my limited english.

I'm actual an "silent reader" of this board, but as i see this thread i'm registered instantly to add my mustard You need to know that i'm a long time user of PSP since the very early days when v3 (NOT X3!!!) was came from Jasc. Over the years i have bought some upgrades to v7, v9, X2, X3, X4 and now 2018. I very liked the improvements to the tools and filters. But, the Version i'm using daily was X2. Today, i turned away often to Inkscape. Why? Let me explain.

My daily work are two very different realms. One is enhancement of product photos for a webshop. The other task is creation and/or mixing of program icons and symbols. In the past, i'm used PSP for both tasks. You need to know, both is piecework for me. To do piecework, i'm need a highly configurable UI for my artwork software. PSPv3 had such configuration capabilities and also all the subsequent versions until including X2. Highly configurable UI means: Free definable shortcuts to menu options etc., free definable toolbars to place any available function as a icon on the toolbar at any place on the UI, inluding docked tool windows - e.g. my most important layer window on which my mostly used function the "Merge down" is. Having short mouse ways and rarely grasping between mouse and keyboard.

Furthermore, "highly configurable" means an option to disable ANY workspace tabs at the caption bar. I'm NEVER use any foto management inside PSP (for this task i use ACDSee) and also NEVER use the "Home" tab. I've set my UI to the very dark theme. So the bright orange tab highlight causes my eyes bounce back and forth during my daily work. It just bothers me.

This is shortly WHY i'm stayed a while on X2. And why i'm now turned away to Inkscape? First, it has much more vector functions. But this is ok since PSP is primary an photo tool. Second: X2 does no longer works on current Intel Gfx drivers for Kaby Lake. It just crash at startup. When X2 is no longer available for me and X3+ is unusable, so i need to turn away. But: I don't want to turn away from PSP.

So my greatest wishes to V2019 (or later) are:

• Bring back the user-definable Toolbars and Shortcuts (the "Customize..." in toolbar context menus)
• More options to completely disable the workspace tabs
• Smaller toolbar icons (esp. when the toolbar is docked horizontally)
• A gradient picker window which offers the simpliest of all: The foreground-background-gradient
• A config opt to define the default selected section in the color picker window (the color wheel isn't usable to me, mostly using simple RGB input)
• Add a HSL/HSV section to the color picker window (not hidden behind a combobox)
• Simply made the color picker more intuitive than the one in v2018

Greetings
Cody

EDIT: Added some screenshots. #1 shows the color picker in X2 with a very useful RGB/HSL selector (german UI). #2 shows my toolbar configuration. #3 shows the customized layer window. #4 shows an comparsion of the settings window and how much capabilities PSP has LOST over the years.

And while i'm created this screenshots with v2018 i'm bothered about the mousewheel zoom. In X2 the zoom centers around the cursor position, in v2018 the entire image is centered and i'm forced to drag the scrollbars after EACH zooming. Further, the crop tool does not scroll the zoomed view in v2018 if i drag the cursor out of viewport while holding down left mouse button. Needs also to drag the scrollbar and if it is in a high zoom level, toggling some times between drag the crop rect and drag the scrollbar. Remember, i'm doing piecework w/o much time for each image

So my entire problem with v2018 in comparsion to X2 is: For piecework v2018 triples the time consumption per picture solely by its simplified UI. I have NO problem if PSP would have a simplified default UI. But i strongly wish to have possibilities to configure the UI to best fit for my requirements. The frustrating thing is that PSP previously had such possibilities and they was dismantled from this principally wonderful software.

Image3.png (18.62 KiB) Viewed 9327 times

Image4.png (11.5 KiB) Viewed 9327 times

[hartpaul]

"#1 shows the color picker in X2 with a very useful RGB/HSL selector (german UI)."
Right click the workspace and select General Program Preferences > Palettes > and at the bottom of Materials Palette tick the box Use classic Material Properties.

[Cody]

Right click the workspace and select General Program Preferences > Palettes

Hello hartpaul,

thanks for your response! Exactly this General Program Preferences > Palettes is my mostly missed preferences section. It does simply not exist in my PSP 2018 (even not because localized different naming). Have a look at #4 of my screenshots. It exists as point 4 on the left X2 part and is absent at the right v2018 part.

Greetz
Cody

[LeviFiction]

You need to select the Complete workspace from the File -> Workspace menu. The limited preferences are for the "essentials" workspace. Once you're on the complete workspace you'll have all of the editing and customizing options available. Including creating toolbars, editing menus, changing keyboard shortcuts, the whole kit-n-caboodle.

You can also hide the manage and adjust tabs from the general preferences once you're on the complete workspace.

[Cody]

@LeviFiction: You are right! I never used the complete workspace, so the Palettes-Prefs was always invisible. Is this a bug? The Palettes Prefs are also important for the Essentials workspace! Or do i think wrong? This correlation is certainly not intuitive to me.

Simply spoken: I can't understand the concept behind the entire UI since X3 and newer versions. It looks to me like Corel do not trust me to use and understand how to configure an UI to fit as best as possible to my personal needs. On the other hand, if the workspace tabs were not so "prominent" and eye-catching, i'd be more comfortable with the complete workspace. But even in the complete workspace, i miss some very important functions (from my daily work) like "Shadow" on the toolbars. So i'm forced to click on "Effects" menu, hovering into the "3D Effects" submenu and clicking again on shadow function. This is too circuitous for me.

And one thing is absolute out of the question for me: Hard-coded shortcuts! Ctrl-V is the one to insert a new picture and not Ctrl-Shift-V. I'm always confused when the clipboard is pasted into an new layer instead new picture. Its nearly impossible to re-learn because dozens of other software in my daily work uses Ctrl-V per default for pasting. And Ctrl-L for pasting as new layer is burned into my brain since decades. Please understand me right: I'm absolutely agree with any default keyboard mapping whichever delivered by Corel. But please give me the freedom to change it however i need.

[LeviFiction]

All customizations are available in the "Complete" workspace. No this is not a bug, it was on purpose. The Essentials workspace is meant to have few options in an attempt to "declutter" and make it easier to approach for newbie users. The Complete workspace is for old-pros.

So in the complete workspace you can change the keyboard shortcuts. They aren't hardcoded. View -> Customize then click on the keyboard tab. Remove the shortcut from the paste as new layer command, put it on the paste as new image command. Don't get me wrong, it will take work to get it back to how you like. Once you do, save out the workspace so you can get it all back easily.

You can also add 3D shadow to a toolbar if you want, again from Customize, but it's already there on the Effects toolbar. You don't need to go to the effects menu.

In fact, once you're in the complete workspace you should have most of the exact same workspace customizations you've always had. There are one or two things missing, others need to be copied manually if you want to move them, and I'm still angry about the docking palette situation. But most customization is still fully available.

Many changes are based on user input, not all obviously as there are changes the users do not like at all. But yeah, in some cases someone said "I want this" and they obliged. It changed things. The essentials workspace was meant to provide "only the essentials" for basic photo editing. There had been several requests for a simpler more focused editor. Complaints about how annoying it was to use. So this is their first attempt. Did they get some things wrong? Sure, but it will continue to evolve and hopefully be a lot better in the end. Assuming they keep it.

[JoeB]

All customizations are available in the "Complete" workspace. No this is not a bug, it was on purpose. The Essentials workspace is meant to have few options in an attempt to "declutter" and make it easier to approach for newbie users. The Complete workspace is for old-pros.

It seems to me that Corel made one mistake that I would think should be easily correctible when they created a decluttered Essentials workspace. That is, they removed the ability to do complete customization the way you can in the Complete workspace, and I don't see the reason for that. Can you think of any reason why they couldn't have an Essentials (decluttered) workspace for people to start with and then have the ability, in that workspace, to add clutter as they found a need for extra stuff by still making all customizing commands available? Instead they've done the opposite. You can only get a workspace that is more versatile than the Essentials workspace but less cluttered than the Complete workspace by starting in Complete and then removing unnecessary items. But the default is to start in Essentials, and do so without a very prominent warning to users that they will not be able to do the customizations they wish without starting with Complete.

[Cody]

All customizations are available in the "Complete" workspace. No this is not a bug, it was on purpose.

If so, please give me a short advise where the corresponding preferences to a) create own toolbars, b) place other functions at the standard toolbars and c) changing the keyboard shortcuts can be found. In PSP X2 all these options were in the Customize window. Even when i switch v2018 to the complete workspace, i can't find such options. In the context menu of toolbars is no menu item like "Customize" and also not in the View menu.

In the screenshots you can see were the relevant menu item was in the main and context menu ("Anpassen" is the german localization for "Customize") and the same at v2018 where i can't find it.

EDIT/PS: Please don't misunderstand me! This is not bashing. I really like the improved tools and filters since X2! But if i can't customize the UI as i need, i can't work efficiently with PSP 2018.

[Ken Berry]

I simply right click anywhere on the PSP screen and select Customize. Or you can go to View > Customize.

[Cody]

I simply right click anywhere on the PSP screen and select Customize. Or you can go to View > Customize.

Let me write it like Bart Simpson on its school chalkboard:

There is no "Customize" ability at any place in my (german localized) PSP 2018, also not in the complete workspace. Nowhere.
There is no "Customize" ability at any place in my (german localized) PSP 2018, also not in the complete workspace. Nowhere.
There is no "Customize" ability at any place in my (german localized) PSP 2018, also not in the complete workspace. Nowhere.
There is no "Customize" ability at any place in my (german localized) PSP 2018, also not in the complete workspace. Nowhere.
There is no "Customize" ability at any place in my (german localized) PSP 2018, also not in the complete workspace. Nowhere.
There is no "Customize" ability at any place in my (german localized) PSP 2018, also not in the complete workspace. Nowhere.
There is no "Customize" ability at any place in my (german localized) PSP 2018, also not in the complete workspace. Nowhere.
There is no "Customize" ability at any place in my (german localized) PSP 2018, also not in the complete workspace. Nowhere.
There is no "Customize" ability at any place in my (german localized) PSP 2018, also not in the complete workspace. Nowhere.
There is no "Customize" ability at any place in my (german localized) PSP 2018, also not in the complete workspace. Nowhere.
There is no "Customize" ability at any place in my (german localized) PSP 2018, also not in the complete workspace. Nowhere.
There is no "Customize" ability at any place in my (german localized) PSP 2018, also not in the complete workspace. Nowhere.
There is no "Customize" ability at any place in my (german localized) PSP 2018, also not in the complete workspace. Nowhere.
There is no "Customize" ability at any place in my (german localized) PSP 2018, also not in the complete workspace. Nowhere.

I don't know how i could say even more clearly: Such an menu item is not available anywhere. Not as "Customize", not as localized "Anpassen", not in the complete workspace. Nowhere. See the screenshots at http://forum.corel.com/EN/viewtopic.php ... 81#p350674. Please. #3 and #4 shows the open menus at the complete workspace!

And this issue was happen since PSP X3. I bought X3 at that time with good feelings for new features. Failed becaused i tought Corel had dismantled the customize ability in conjunction with the new tabbed workspace UI. X3 ended up in the shelf, re-installed X2. X4 was released, i bought X4 in the hope they had returned those features. Installed, disappointed, ended up in the shelf. Re-installed X2. Lost all hope to get newer versions to be useful for me. Now, several years later, i wanted to give PSP one last chance. Bought v2018. Disappointed. Moments (really moments!) before i plunk down the PSP v2018 box in the shelf, i saw this thread, registered me instantly and wrote down my minds. Remember, i was really convinced that Corel has dismantled the customize features from PSP since X3. And now the guys here said me, that it wasn't supposed to be like that. Can anyone imagine how surprised i am now?

Read my prior posts in this thread, maybe believe me that i'm really convinced about this putative facts of the case. I can't explain, why the Customize features arent present here. I'm not the manufacturer of PSP. The only thing i can say is: I have spent a great deal of time into search for customization tools. Really really really found nothing. Since X3. Installed on different machines, different windows versions over the years. And, marginally noted, i spent a lot of money over the years.

[LeviFiction]

Have you tried doing a full workspace reset? Close PSP hold SHIFT and open PSP again, it should ask if you want to reset to factory defaults.

After uninstalling and reinstalling PSP with the German language I was able to see "Anpassen" in the View menu (or "Ansicht") just fine. I don't know what's happening with your installation. But customize has been there for every version of PSP I've ever owned from PSP9 to 2018.

Try resetting your workspace. If that doesn't work. I'll upload a saved workspace from my copy of PSP and we'll see if that works.

[tyger_purr]

My wish list is to improve the UI for tablet computers (touch screen without a keyboard).

Significantly increase the size of the slider on the tool options Palette to allow more precise settings on small screens. I frequently need a brush size between 3 and 15 but this is difficult to achieve on a 10" tablet with a stylus and the up and down buttons are almost impossibly small.

When selecting an numeric input in tool options or dialog boxes (when in tablet mode), have it present a small set of buttons pop up near the text box in a 10-key configuration.

Add a palette that shows all brushes for quick changes. Something like organizer but showing saved brushes.

Allow multi column docked tool bars. When the icons are set to large on a small screen they run off the screen leaving you with the tiny down arrow to get to the rest. This kinda defeats the purpose of having larger buttons if you have to try to click that tiny down arrow.

Create a iOS and android app that will display tool bars and pallets and transmit commands to PSP on the computer.

Not tablet related
Assign default shortcut keys to all tools. This would help people with multi-button mice, or game pads (ex Nostromo N52). I have an app called Custom Keypad for my iPhone and iPad that allows me to turn them into input devices with custom buttons. I know i can assign them myself but I would like to share the layout without having to share all of the keyboard assignments.

[Cody]

Hi LeviFiction!

I had not tried resetting the workspace this way before. I has tried it now but nothing changed. This is completely weird. I'd laugh if it wasn't so sad.

I swear i had PSP X3, X4 and 2018 (all of these are german localized versions because its my mother tongue) installed on three different physical machines and at minimum two different virtual machines on Windows 7 x64 and Windows 10 x64 (always Pro Edition) for testing purposes over the last years. All of these host systems had completely nothing to do together. Absolutely no similarities. And none of these PSP Box CD installations (not a download setup) offers an "Customize"/"Anpassen" menu item. X2 does it perfectly on all these machines except the newest one on Kaby Lake on which X2 does not run.

Can't believe that this should caused simply by a workspace problem when it occurs after a 100% fresh install (including a fresh Win7 Pro in VM). By default, PSP 2018 is in the complete workspace after a fresh install. The first and only thing i had done was switching to the "Bearbeiten" (means "Edit") tab at the caption bar and clicking at the "Ansicht" (means "View" in english versions) main menu item. And TADA... no "Anpassen" ("Customize") menu item.

Okay, i'm going insane...

EDIT: I have found this screenshot via Google in the meanwhile: https://img1.picload.org/image/dglrcdwr/001.jpg

So i'm believe you guys that you're right and PSP 2018 can be customized. Even the german version. Just don't be on my machines. PSP hates me

FURTHER EDIT: Have a look at this post from another guy. It seems that he had exactly the same problem: http://phpbb.ulead.com.tw/EN/viewtopic. ... 15#p347990

[LeviFiction]

Alright, here is a workspace file: https://drive.google.com/open?id=10KvZp ... qatHw_sP0f

Download and load that in see if it makes any difference for you.

Can you confirm a few things for us?
The version of PSP 2018? (20.2.0.1?)
Were all of your computers using the German language in Windows? (I'm assuming yes but I want to make sure)
Did you install any other languages with PSP or just German? And if so what were they?
If you installed other languages does this problem exist if you change languages (I assume yes but I want to be sure).

I'm American, so my default PSP language and WIndows language is always US English. So no testing that i do will be one-hundred percent equivalent. I am assuming that this is a configuration/localization problem. But why it's happening, no idea. Your best bet is to go talk to Corel directly. But in the meantime lets get some information down shall we?

[Cody]

@LeviFiction: We have ~ 7..9 hours time difference between US and Europe. I'm going to sleep now and i'll be back here in ca. 10 hours.