Paint Shop Pro Photo X2 features

[PapaGeek]

A little background before I ask my features questions.

I currently use and love PSP 7. I have PSP 10, but don’t use it. I’ve been a software developer since the 60’s, hence the name PapaGeek.

If Photo X2 has a few extra features, I might switch to it. So here is what I’m looking for and I’m wondering if anyone out there can tell me if these features exist.

First of all I’d love to be able to see the JPEG image properties from within PSP. To see what I’m talking about, right-click on a JPEG file in Windows Explorer then select “Properties” from the bottom of the pop-up list. At the top of the pop-up menu, change from the “General” tab to the “Summary” tab. Once you have that tab open, click on the “Advanced >>” button. The screen that pops up tell you all about the photo, f-stop, shutter speed, ISO, etc.

The second feature I’m looking for is a way to do a “fixed ratio” crop of the picture. I’d like to bring up the crop settings and lock them in at say 4 x 6 or 5 x 7. Then, whenever I resized the crop rectangle, both dimensions would change to keep the cropping ratio constant so my final photo dimensions will match my paper size. A super feature on top of this would be to have the ability to rotate the crop area before cropping, but that is really asking for a lot.

For the life of me, I can’t figure out how to ask Corel if these features exist. When I fill in my serial number and try to send a request to them, I get a message back that my version is no longer supported. Makes me wonder why I’m sticking with Corel. I guess I’m just used to PSP.

Thanks in advance for any replies.

PapaGeek

 

[vacunita]

For the first part of your question, That information is located at least in PSP X: Under the Image Menu, in the Image Information Option, under the EXIF Information Tab.

I would suspect it be in a similar place in X2.


For your second question, If you go into the Image Menu again under Canvas Size there is a small check box that keeps the aspect ration when you resize the image effectively cropping it to the new dimensions.

Of course if by cropping you mean resizing the image itself, again there's a small checkbox that reads lock aspect Ration in the Resizing option of the image menu.

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Ignorance is not necessarily Bliss, case in point:
Unknown has caused an Unknown Error on Unknown and must be shutdown to prevent damage to Unknown.

 

[PapaGeek]

Thanks for the reply vacunita. I’ll have to load PSP X to see the menu you are talking about. There is an Image Information Option in PSP 7, but it does not have the EXIF Tab. The information in PSP 7 is very limited and has nothing about shutter, ISO etc.

I’m familiar with the Canvas Size feature, what I’m looking for is the ability to take a high-resolution, 10 Mega Pixel, shot with my D-80, then crop a nice 4 x 6 out of the middle of it. I want to be able to create a 4 x 6 crop box on the picture, make it larger and smaller by dragging the edges (while it stays at a 4 x 6 ratio), then drag it around so that it frames just the part of the photo I want to print. Again, I’ll have to re-load my PSP 10 to see if those features exist. What I dislike about PSP 10 is how long it take to load up when you start the program, or double click on an image in explorer.

Thanks again

PapaGeek

 

[vacunita]

Speaking from experience, I don't find X takes long to load. It does take a little longer than 8, which the oldest version I have installed, but nothing impossible to deal with.

The EXIF tab on X, has a bunch of information from the picture. Including the shutter speed, Camera model and type, exposure time etc... This is of course provided the image has all that information available.


As for cropping yes X has a feature like that. I don't use it but the crop tool on the right tool bar loads another tool bar across the top of the window where you can set the width and the height, and a checkbox to tick to lock the aspect ratio for the size you set.



----------------------------------
Ignorance is not necessarily Bliss, case in point:
Unknown has caused an Unknown Error on Unknown and must be shutdown to prevent damage to Unknown.

 

[PapaGeek]

That sounds great, maybe I'll just re-load my X and see how it works.

Thanks for the info.