Issues with Crop and Straighten tools

[RatPix]

PSP X2. I've been using it for a couple of months. I like it a lot. I like the price a whole lot better than PhotoShop's.

I've run into a couple of things that are somewhat inconvenient.

First, if I select the Straighten tool, then exit it without making any changes, then go to the Crop tool, the program crashes. I can't say if it's every time, but it's happened enough that it's becoming a pain. So I try not to do that, even if I have to make a minor Straighten change and then undo it. That seems to prevent the crash.

Second, the selection box in the Crop tool has an annoying habit of "flipping" when I'm dragging a corner to extend the crop selection. It goes back to a 0x0 sized box that has to be expanded before I can even use any of the preset crop sizes. Ohhh...when I select a crop preset, it would be nice if it would actually return a selection box of the size I asked for, not whatever it thinks would be appropriate based on the last Crop selection point.

I do automotive photography, so at races, it's sorta hard to stage the shot I want. Generally every image I use has to me cropped to some extent. I just came back from Speed Week on the salt flats with 5000 photos and I'm wading my way thru 'em. But these little bugs are startin to nibble on my sandwiches. They haven't eaten my lunch yet, but they're on the way to doing so.

Oh...system data. Pentium dual-core 3ghz processor, 2gb ram, 1.5 terabyte onboard disk, 1 terabyte external backup drive. Windows XP SP2. I've been working with computers since 1966 and I consider myself to be fairly competent in using them, especially since I spent the last 15 years of my career developing Windows applications.

So. Any clues? Ideas? I'd appreciate any tips or clues about how to eliminate these behaviors. Btw, I've uninstalled and reinstalled without any affect on these problems. If there's something that needs to be modified in the registry I can to that with a fair amount of confidence. I've done enough of it in the past.

Thanks,

Rat Pix

http://www.chevyasylum/.com/

 

[RatPix]

Oops. It would be a good idea if I spelled my website correctly:

http://www.chevyasylum.com/

 

[SeamusMacCath]

The crashing happened once or twice with me. I now make a point of going from "Straighten" to "Crop" via the little indicator icon (a hand) at the top of the tools palette.

As to cropping, well I do a lot of horse photography and those beasts do not do as I ask! So cropping is a general rule. They changed the cropping box somewhere between X and X2 and the cropping tool is less amenable - sort of over-sensitive. You need a technique that you're happy with. Mine is to start off by selecting the proportions I require (or "free" if appropriate); then select the "Move" tool; move the selection rectangle so that the top-left of the selection box is at approx the appropriate position; then adjust the frame until it covers the desired area; adjust the position of the selection box. Iterate as necessary. Never try to move the box except with the move tool.

Incidentally, if the proportions of the selection box arent quite right, I sometimes find that a modest tweak with the perspective tool (before cropping) can help