Paint Shop Pro X

  • Thread starter Thread starter CT
  • Start date Start date
CT

CT

TPer Emeritus
Suspended / Banned
Messages
26,617
Edit My Images
Yes
This is the first new version of Paint Shop Pro since it was recently taken over by Corel. I was a little concerned that Corel may have meddled with it to the point where they'd spoiled it, which they've been known to do in the past. Having downloaded the trial version though, I'm pleasantly surprised. Corel's influence is there alright, but all that was great about PSP is still there, and with some significant added features and improvements.

You can get the full free 30 day trial download from HERE (120 mb)
 
I'm still playing with the trial version of Paint Shop Pro X, and am now becoming a little disappointed that Corel have omitted some useful stuff from this version, and IMHO opinion it doesn't bode well for future editions of Paint Shop Pro. The JASC versions always came with Animation Shop for free, but that's now omitted - you have to buy it as a separate package, but quite apart from this there are one or two big niggles for me.

Missing now is the Point To Point mask drawng tool which I use a lot - it's now much more difficult to draw freehand masks around difficult shapes and is just lunacy with no reason for it I can see.

Also gone, is the Colour Replacer Tool.

One of the best things about PSP has always been it's image browser where you can scroll through hundreds of thumbnails full screen, to quickly find an image. The browser is still there, but it now opens in a narrow window at the bottom of the screen and scrolling through images is a major chore. Overall the presentation of the work area is far more graphically intense and very like versions of Corel Paint I've used in the past.

None of these things are likely to worry newcomers but old users of Paint Shop Pro may find the changes a tad irksome, so I'd recommend trying before buying for those people. It's not all bad, there are mprovements such as RAW file handling and you now get High Pass sharpening, Noise Reduction, and some other useful stuff. It's very slanted towards the beginner with lots of help on hand, and one button 'Do It All' filters which don't really hack it but newbies may find useful initially.The more advanced stuff is there if you want it and you can customise the tool menu to hide away any stuff you don't use.

At the moment, I'm finding myself switching between Paint Shop Pro 7 and Pro X working on most images, so PSP X doesn't satisfy me as a complete package, and I don't see myself buying it unless my feelings change.

Another option is to get one of the later versions of PSP when it was still under the JASC umbrella which do have many of the improvements incorporated in the X version without the hang-ups.
 
CT as you're such a big user, and one I would have described as someone who "Knows his eggs" so to speak, have you thought about contacting Corel and telling them they're making a bit of a pigs ear of it?

You never know :) They might sit up and listen.
 
LOL. Corel are massive big players on the scene bod, in fact they're one of the contenders who'd dearly love to replace Mr Gates Windows operating system. JASC who originally designed and marketed PSP were British by God and they did listen to the punters, being a relatively small outfit. Corel have form for taking over software and putting their own stamp on it which is understandable, but why throw the baby out with the bath water?

Actually, I may drop 'em an e-mail, but I wont hold my breath waiting for upgrades. :D Perhaps I'm being cynical, but what they've done to the browser, seems a little sinister, when they're pushing their own separate application called Corel Photo Album or something similar , which basically does just the same thing, so I guess it's all about money - no change there then. ;)
 
Corel bought Micrografx a couple of years ago and did much the same to their software "Picture Publisher" only worse. They killed off the main product and kept only a cut down version called Photobook.
 
CT, just out of interest why did you choose PSP over PS?
 
Jonny said:
CT, just out of interest why did you choose PSP over PS?
Click to expand...

It was the first package I got into way back in the very early versions, so it's the one I'm most familiar with, and I've tended to stick with it. It wasn't really a question of choosing one over the other. :) I do have a pukka copy of Photoshop Version 7, but I seldom use it.
 
Haha ok :)

I too started off with the PSP series, but when i downloaded a trial version of PS7 my view on things changed, i find things much easier to do in PS and much easier to navigate than PSP :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top