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File Menu
Scripting
PSP 8 has a full blown scripting engine, based on the Python
programming language. Though you can use Python to write scripts
from scratch, in general there is no need to do so. PSP includes
a script recorder, and nearly everything in the application can
be recorded.
Scripting functionality
is primarily accessed either through the scripting toolbar or
through the Script submenu of the file menu.
Scripts are
saved to the scripts directory specified in the file locations
dialog. Most scripts can be edited with PSP's built in script
editor. Since scripts are text files they can be edited with
any text editor. Python uses indentation to determine scoping,
so be careful about mixing spaces and tabs. Use of a python aware
editor such as PythonWin or Idle is a good thing if you intend
to hand write scripts.
Batch conversion
dialog now
has the ability to run a script as files are converted, allowing
you to script operations on multiple files at once.
Python is a
full programming language, and can be used to execute malicious
scripts. PSP includes a restricted execution mode. Restricted
execution mode is on by default. Restricted execution
mode will not hinder anything recorded in PSP, but may prevent
some useful, non-malicious, hand written scripts from running
Exercise care
when running scripts from someone you don't know. If you wouldn't
run an executable file that you receive from someone, you should
be as skeptical of scripts you receive. Restricted execution
mode provides a safer sandbox to use to try out a script from
a source you don't know, but is not a guarantee of safety.
Scripts
can be run interactively or silently. When run silently all dialogs are skipped
and the commands in the script are executed automatically. In
interactive mode all of the dialogs are displayed, and the user
can change the settings in dialogs, before they are executed.
Printing
Printing has changed significantly. The print dialog makes it
easy to print a single image at a specific size or scale, positioned
anywhere on the page.
The print layout
function (formerly multiple image printing) supports print templates
that correspond to standard paper sizes. Use predefined templates
or create your own.
Images
placed in template cells can be scaled or cropped to fit the
cell, and rotated to make the best use available space.
The PSP browser
uses a template to print thumbnails, so by changing the browser
template you can change how the browser prints.
New file
formats
AutoFX (AFX)
Brooktrout Fax (BRK)
CALS Raster (CAL)
Microstation Drawing (DGN)
AutoCAD Drawing (DWG)
JPEG 2000 (JP2)
Kofax (KFX)
Lazer View (LV)
NCR G4 (NCR)
Portable Document File (PDF)
Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG)
Wireless Bitmap (WBMP)
X Windows Bitmap (XBM)
X Windows Pixmap (XPM)
X Windows Dump (XWD)
Postscript
support is improved from Postscript Level 2 to Postscript Level
3.
PSP 8 now supports
reading/writing of lossless JPEG files. In addition,
EXIF data is read and written to file formats that support it.
The PSP file format now supports EXIF data, so you can open a
JPEG file from a camera, edit it, and save as a PSP file without
losing EXIF data.
File New
The new file dialog supports presets and the ability to use any
material as the background of a new image. It is also possible
to create a new image with a vector layer instead of a raster
layer. If a solid color is used the image is created with a background
layer. If a gradient or pattern is used, it is created as a layer
with transparency. (It erases to transparent, not background
color.)
Batch Convert/Batch
rename
The batch convert dialog is enhanced to include the option of
running a script during conversion, and can also rename a file
during SAVE. The batch rename dialog simply renames files without
having to open or edit them in any way. It is ideal for assigning
meaningful names to digital camera pictures - instead of files
named DCP048 through DCP096, you can rename them to "Wedding
01" through "Wedding 48".
Custom brush
handling
PSP 8 no longer reads .jbr/.abr files directly. These files must
be imported and converted to PspBrush files. The brush importer
is on the preset droplist for all the brush tools, or can be
accessed by the File->Import menu. You can manage custom
brushes visually using the PSP image browser. There is now only
one brush per file, making brushes management more similar to
patterns and frames.
Picture
frame exporter
PSP 8 includes a picture frame exporter that can save the active
image as a picture frame, provided it meets the requirements
of a picture frame. Requirements for picture frames have not
changed. See below for detail on changes to the Picture Frame
feature.
JPEG Exporter/save
options
In the JPEG exporter and file save as options, you can now specify
the handling of chroma subsampling.
Auto Actions
Auto actions enable PSP to automatically perform needed operations
to make a command available - change color depth, convert vector
layers to raster layers, float a selection, etc. For example,
most effects require a true color image. PSP 8 has an auto action
called "Convert image to 16-million colors". Out of
the box this action is set to prompt. Suppose you attempt to
run an effect like Sunburst on a paletted image. In PSP 7 the
menu item would be greyed out because sunburst does not work
on a paletted image. In PSP 8 the menu item is enabled because
it can make the command available by using an auto action. When
you attempt to execute the sunburst command, you receive a prompt
asking if you would like to convert the image to 16-million colors.
You can control
the behavior of auto actions. Some (like promoting to 16 million
colors) you may wish to happen whenever they are needed, without
bothering with a prompt. Others (perhaps converting a vector
layer to a raster layer) you might consider dangerous enough
that you never want them to happen automatically. Finally, some
of them you may wish to be asked about. All of this can be set
in the general program preferences. Note however, that if you
check the box marked "Always take these actions" when
you are prompted for an auto action, you are setting that behavior
for the action (i.e. promote to 16 million colors), not the command
that called for it (sunburst).
File locations
The file locations dialog now supports dedicated locations for
a number of new file types, and the previous restriction of no
more than 3 locations for any file type has been removed.
Learning
center
The new learning center provides a location in the application
for displaying short tutorials called quick guides. Quick guides
can use scripts to automate some or all of the steps in the guide.
In an effort to enhance the user assistance pieces of version
8, we've created the Learning Center palette. To view/hide the
palette, choose View > Palettes > Learning Center, or press
F10. This Welcome page of the Learning Center consists of a number
of links providing one-click access to often used features, as
well as accessing the Quick Guides. (Note that some of the links
on the Welcome page are not yet functional).
About the
Quick Guides
Click the Quick Guides Home link on the Learning Center's Welcome
page to access a number of brief but helpful guides to walk you
through a variety of tasks. At the top of the Quick Guides Home
page is the "Topics" section. This beta version contains
four topics. Click the desired topic to display a list of Quick
Guides in that category. For example, in the "Correcting
Photos" category you'll find three Quick Guides: Correcting
Perspective Distortion, Fixing Your Photos, and Straightening
a Crooked Photo.
Each Quick Guide consists of step-by-step instructions for completing
the given task. Additionally, each Quick Guide contains one or
more scripts-- click the "Perform this step for me"
link to run the script.
View Menu
Customization
Wow, you're not going to believe what you can do here. It's very
different, so play around. To make a custom a toolbar? First
create one, and then drag and drop commands onto it.
Image Menu The image information
dialog now supports EXIF data. |
Resize -
Canvas Size - Add Borders
The user interface is redesigned, though functionality is mostly
unchanged. Resize now supports an additional resampling method
of weighted average. This was present in PSP 7 but called
bilinear. What is called bilinear in PSP 8 is now real bilinear.
Add noise
The add noise dialog now supports gaussian noise, and a monochrome
mode.
Pincushion
Correction
Fisheye Correction
Barrel Distortion Correction
PSP 8 includes photo correction tools for correcting pincushion,
fisheye and barrel distortion.
Manual Color
Correction
Grey world color balance
In PSP 7 grey world was an option in the manual color correction
dialog. It has been made its own filter in PSP 8. In addition,
the manual color correction dialog now supports explicit setting
of both source and target colors.
Soft focus simulates the effect
of a photographic soft focus filter.
Magnifying
Lens
places a magnifying lens over a portion of the image.
Balls and
Bubbles
filter places one or more balls or bubbles on the image. Controllable
light sources, bump maps and environment maps mean that this
filter can be used to create a number of different spherical
objects.
Halftone filter simulates the
halftone process used in printing. Pixels in the image are replaced
with dots, squares or lines at various screen angles.
Seamless
tiling
filter supports a number of different modes to make an image
seamless. A selection can be used to protect a portion of the
image from modification. This replaces the PSP 7 command of Selections
-> Convert to Seamless Pattern
Offset filter is used to
shift the image on the canvas, typically wrapping pixels around
to the opposite edge as they go off canvas.
Drop shadow dialog has an easier
to use control system, and can optionally create the shadow as
a new layer.
Lens distortion effect can be used
to simulate pincushion, fisheye or barrel distortion in an image.
Polar coordinates filter transforms
pixels by mapping them from Cartesian to polar coordinates or
vice versa.
Spherize filter alters an image
as if it were wrapped around (or into) a sphere.
Page curl filter now supports
setting the area behind the curl to transparent.
User defined
filters
now use the standard effect dialog that supports previewing,
proofing, and presets. They also have the ability to compute
a divisor value that won't change the overall brightness of the
image.
Plugins host has been completely
reimplemented.
Adjust Menu
Black and White points
Allows you to correct the color of an image by specifying how
to adjust at least one of a highlight color, a midtone color
and a shadow color.
Histogram
adjustment
dialog now displays both the histogram of both the original image
and the adjusted image.
Layers Menu
Load mask/selection from disk/alpha
The dialog for loading a mask or selection from a file or an
alpha channel has been completely redesigned. New controls allow
selections/masks to be positioned and combined in various ways,
and a visual preview of all available saved selections/masks
is now available. Any supported image file format can be used
as a mask or selection.
Layering
has
changed in several significant ways. First, it now supports
layer groups. As an organizational tool, layer groups allow common
elements of an image to be lumped together, and viewed, moved
or hidden as single unit. Layer groups have rendering implications
as well - all the layers in a group are blended together against
a transparent background, and then the merged group is blended
into the image. This implies that an adjustment layer that is
placed in a layer group will only affect the members of the group.
Layer groups can be nested.
Layer groups
in PSP 8 are distinct from layer grouping in PSP 7. Since the
PSP 8 behavior is a better fit with the intuitive definition
of grouping, the old PSP 7 functionality has been renamed to
"link set". What's the easiest way to create a layer
group? Use the menu item new layer group, then drag and drop
layers into the group.
Making use
of layer groups, PSP now treats masks as a kind of adjustment
layer, one that adjusts the opacity of the layers in its layer
group. Masks are now implemented as their own layer type. PSP
7 had a mask edit mode - this is replaced by simply selecting
the layer in the layer palette.
PSP 7 also
had a view mask command, which showed the mask as a rubylith
overlay. PSP 8 supports this overlay mode for masks, adjustment
layers and the selection, with a configurable overlay color and
opacity.
Because masks
are now treated as a type of layer, the old mask menu has been
removed - its functionality has migrated to the layers menu.
Like the effect
dialogs, the layer creation dialogs in PSP 8 support previewing,
proofing and presets.
Two new merge
commands are present in PSP 8. Merge group merges a layer group
and replaces it with a single layer. Merge down merges the active
layer into the one directly beneath it.
Several new
layer arrange commands are implemented as well - move in to group
and move out of group control grouping of layers, and the ungroup
command can be used to break an existing group.
PSP 8 has 4
new blend modes - Hue (True), Saturation (True), Color (True)
and Lightness (True). The implementation of these modes actually
matches the definition that has always been given - taking one
or more channels from the upper layer while preserving the other
channels of the underlying layers. The old blend modes have been
retained for better compability to material written in older
manuals and tutorials. They are renamed to Hue (Legacy), Saturation
(Legacy), Color (Legacy), and Luminance (Legacy).
Selections
Menu
Selection Edit Mode where the selection is treated as if it were
a layer. In this mode, all of the raster painting/drawing tools
and effects can be used to modify the selection marquee. In selection
edit mode the marquee is automatically replaced with a colored
overlay that indicates the area selected. While in selection
edit mode the selection appears as a layer in the layer palette.
This both indicates that the selection is being treated as a
layer, and gives you a method of changing the overlay color used
- double clicking the layer will bring up the layer properties
dialog for the selection.
Selection modifiers
have been significantly reworked. All now support the standard
proof/preview/preset controls on the dialog. The view can be
toggled between showing the selection against transparency, or
showing the resulting selection marquee.
Select
Similar
- includes
the functionality of both PSP 7's Select Similar and Grow Selection.
Select Color Range replaces PSP 7's Transparent
Color/Remove Selected Color with increased functionality. Colors
can be selected or partly selected and removed from or added
to an existing selection. A specific color range can be selected
in any image with the sequence: Select All; Select Color Range
set to Remove; Selections > Invert.
Inside/Outside Feather - feathers inside, outside
or on both sides of an existing selection. The Both Sides option
may give slightly different results than PSP 7's Feather, but
is the most similar.
Unfeather - a threshold determines which portion
of a feathered region should become fully selected and which
fully deselected.
Shape Based Antialias - antialiases a selection
based on its shape.
Recover Antialias - uses the color of the selection
surroundings to recover the antialiasing originally used to create
the selected object.
Remove Specks And Holes - removes unattached specks
outside a selection or holes within it according to size.
Smooth smoothes the edges of a selection, optionally
preserving corners.
Select Selection Borders - creates a new selection
as a band straddling the edge of the old selection. This may
greatly reduce the steps needed for creating coloring pages. |
Close All
The close all command now has a dialog where you can specify
which files to save or discard, replacing the SAVE prompt for
every open image.
Painting
Tools
All of the brush tools (paint brush, airbrush, clone brush, color
replacer, eraser, and all retouch tools) have totally new internals.
One side effect
of this is that the hardness parameter is significantly different.
The brushes have noticeably smoother edges than ever before.
The default hardness is now changed to 50, which is approximately
equivalent to a hardness of 0 in PSP 7.
PSP 7 has a
buildup/non-buildup. In buildup, if a single paint stroke
crosses over itself the opacity was additive - it built up. In
non-buildup, opacity would never get higher than the opacity
of the brush. Many brushes could be used either in buildup or
non-buildup modes.
In PSP 8, all
brushes are either buildup or non-buildup. The mode can no longer
be selected.
Always buildup
are:
Airbrush, Eraser, Smudge, Push, Color Replacer, Picture Tube
Non-buildup
are:
Paint brush, Dodge & Burn, Soften & Sharpen Emboss, Lighten
& Darken, Saturation, Hue To Target, Clone
We now have
the notion of continuous paint. In PSP 7 non-buildup brushes
would only be non-buildup for the duration of a single stroke,
where a stroke was defined by mouse down/mouse up. In 8,
with continuous paint turned on, all input counts as a single
stroke. Regardless of how many times the mouse goes down and
up. You can start a new stroke any time by pressing the New Stroke
on the brush options bar. Continuous paint lets you stay in
non-buildup mode without having to constantly hold down the mouse
button.
The wet
look simulates a brush with a wet edge, where the edge is
darker than the center.
In addition
to custom brushes, computed brush tips have new controls. Brushes
can be square or round, and then can be rotated or compressed
with the rotation and thickness controls. Shape, thickness and
rotation replace the single shape control that existed in PSP
7.
PSP 8 now supports
a large number of brush variance options, tied to significantly
improved tablet support.
A number
of variance options can be used with just a mouse (including direction,
jitter, fade in, fade out, and oscillating and repeating fades).
Tablet users can also take advantage of varying parameters by
altitude, azimuth, twist, z-wheel, fingerwheel, and pressure. All of the standard brush parameters
such as size, opacity, color density, and hardness can be varied
by any of the variables list above. Jitter can be used to introduce random
fluctuations in any value, which is very useful in attempting
to create a more natural look.
In PSP7,
retouch tools were lumped as a single tool. Now, each retouch
tool is implemented as its own tool. For tools with an obvious
inverse like Darken/Lighten, Dodge/Burn, your inverse is now
available on the opposite mouse button.
Zoom Tool
The zoom tool now works in terms of percentages ratio instead
of ratios such as 2:1, 3:1, etc. Making it possible to
size an image to fit your screen. The resampling method
used at scales of less than 100% is much less likely to lose
small details.
The zoom tool
has quick access to 100% zoom, as well as the various fit to
window/image/screen commands. Zooming controls are also added
to the Overview window.
Crop Tool has improved support
for cropping to standard photo sizes. It can optionally update
the resolution value of the image to force the output to match
a desired size.
Freehand
Selection
has a new mode, called Edge Seeker. This mode is similar to the
existing smart edge mode, but it is better at following a weak
edge, or following a weak edge next to a strong one. By holding
down the Alt key while drawing the selection the mode is temporarily
switched from Edge Seeker back to Freehand for dragging or Point
to Point for clicking, so it is possible to mix the modes in
one selection operation.
Scratch
Remover
algorithm has been changed to get better results for removing
objects on uniform backgrounds.
Magic Wand now has the ability
to antialias the selection.
Eyedropper now supports multiple
sampling sizes, from a single pixel, up to an 11x11 square.
Text tool is completely
redesigned. Most controls are set on the options bar, and text
entry is done on a floating window. Text tool uses the materials
defined in the materials palette.
Pen Tool The line tool and
the node edit tool have been combined into a single tool called
the Pen tool. A number of new node edit functions exist, including
a contour knife for breaking contours.
Raster Deformation
The raster deformation tool supports a movable pivot point. The
pivot point defines the point around which a rotation is performed.
Perspective
Tool
The perspective tool is new to PSP 8. It is designed to fix perspective
errors in an image. Locate an object in the image that should
be rectangular, and position the handles on the corners of the
object. Applying the tool will correct the image so that the
selected object becomes rectangular. Be aware that extreme corrections
can introduce extreme distortion in areas of the image far away
from the area being corrected.
Straighten
Tool
is new to PSP 8, and designed to straighten a scan or a tilted
photo. Simply position the line along a horizontal or vertical
object, and apply the tool.
Mesh Warp tool is new to PSP
8. This is a method of warping an image by distorting a mesh
laid on top of the image. Moving the handles in the mesh moves
corresponding pixels in the image accordingly. Entire rows/columns
may be moved at once. Shift moves handles in a line, Ctrl
along a curve.
Warp Brush is new to PSP 8. The
warp brushes let you distort an image almost as if it were made
of rubber - stretch, shrink, twist, push, etc.
Background
eraser
is new to 8, and used to erase backgrounds from objects.
Palettes
Materials
Palette
has replaced the color palette in PSP 7. Texture controls
are combined with style controls, and the flyouts for switching
between solid, gradient and pattern are gone. Not needed.
The materials
palette
now supports saved swatches - anything from a solid color to
rotated gradient combined with a scaled texture.
Rectangular
& radial gradients now support rotation. Rectangular
and sunburst gradients now support separate center points and
focal points.
Texture and
Pattern files are no longer limited to bitmaps. Any supported
file format can be used. Pattern files can contain transparency. Textures now support scaling and rotation.
Overview
Window's Info tab
The info display is a new tab on the overview window, with general
info about the image, and info specific to tool used.
Magnifier
is
a new floating window. When enabled from the view menu or by
F11 key, it has a magnified view of the pixels under the cursor.
Its zoom can be changed using Ctrl-+ & Ctrl--.
User Interface
Customization
PSP 8 supports extensive customization of the user interface.
You can move, add, or remove buttons on toolbars and menus. Create
your own menus and toolbars. You can assign your own hotkeys.
Customization accessed from the view menu or by right clicking
any toolbar.
Workspace
files store
the state of all toolbars, menus and palettes. You can create
multiple workspaces that are optimized for specific tasks.
Palettes can be either floating
or docked. Docking is enabled on a per-palette basis in your
general program preferences, or by rightclicking any toolbar. |
