A few early notes Inside outside feather Actions Required Script Output Shape based antialias Black and white point Seamless tile Chroma subsampling Grey World Recover antialias Warp Quality More on Warping & Selections Warp Brush Double outlines Background Eraser Selections and Tolerance Magic Wand Balls/Bubbles Pen Tool Downloaded File locations

Where do downloaded files go?

First, on a default install you will have a subfolder called "My PSP8 Files" in your My Documents folder. (You can move that around with a custom install). Inside of My PSP8 Files you will have a large number of subfolders.

The especially nice thing about this is that you can uninstall PSP 8 without bothering any files you create in this area.

Many things can be placed just by looking at the extension, but there are a few exceptions to this.

First, bump maps,environment maps, patterns and textures don't have a defined extension - you can use any file type that PSP can read for these files, so you need to read the description to see where they go.

Second, many things that appear different are all scripts under the hood, so you see lots of things with a .PspScript extension. If it has a .PspScript extension, you have to look at the start of the filename as well.

If none of the above fit, then it is just a plain old script and should go into the Scripts-Restricted directory.
If the author requests that it go into the Scripts-Trusted directory, then you have to decide if you are willing to trust the author, or feel competent to examine the script to determine it won't do anything bad.

Beyond those complications, where things go should be pretty straightforward:

.PspBrush -> Brushes
.PspDeformationMap -> Deformation Maps
.PspGradient -> Gradients
.PspMask -> Masks
.PspPalette -> Palettes
.PspFrame -> Picture Frames
.PspTube -> Picture Tubes
.PspShape -> Preset Shapes
.PspSelection -> Selections
.PspStyledLine -> Styled Lines
.PspWorkspace -> Workspaces

 

Background Eraser doesn't do anything special?  The eraser does the exact same thing....I can't see any difference? No, the regular eraser does not do anything close to what the background eraser does. You need to use it differently to see the effect. The center of the background eraser is the key. Instead of using the brush edge as you would the regular eraser, don't worry about the anything but the center of the brush where the cross hairs are located. Let the brush outline overlap stuff and see what happens.  Look at the attached GIF. You can see the brush outline has overlapped the subject and other areas. It has erased other areas, the background, but hasn't erased any of the subject.

Presets from PSP7?
No, you cannot import presets from PSP7 into PSP8. You will have to recreate the presets in PSP8. You can take screen caps of the dialog in PSP7, open in 8 to look at while you re-create them. If you can get 7 and 8 to play together nicely, you can size each app's window down to half screen size and copy them over that way.

What happened to Node Edit?
It's not gone, it has moved. To invoke node editing, click on the Pen tool. On the tool ribbon under Mode, the first icon is your node editing cursor.

How to Load Selections?
To load selections, File/preferences/file locations.. under selections add the location of your selection files.

With the image you are working on active, go to selections, load/save selections, select load from disk. You can find your selections in the fly out menu as shown in attached image.

What are scripts? Can someone explain what these are and how we are to use them and even to make our own.
Start with something simple. Let's say you routinely need to make a new image, select it all and then contract the selection by 10 pixels. Hit the start recording button on the script toolbar. File->New, Selections->Select All, Selections->Modify->Contract, put in 10 for the pixel amount. Hit the save script button. Give it a name. Close the image you were working on. Go to the scripts drop down and find the script you just made. Hit the run button right next to it. Watch what happens.

Where's the Mask menu?
To load masks, go to the Layers menu and choose Load/Save Mask. Once your mask is applied, look at your Layers palette - in PSP 8, you can edit a mask just like any other layer.

• 1.Read the Readme file if you didn't when the program loaded it's available here, second new thread posted on the group.
• 2.If you are having a problem, scan the headers and see if you can find the topic already being discussed and read the thread.. you might find your answer there.. that way instead of repeatedly answering the same questions other questions can be answered.
• 3. Be specific when you post a problem.. if possible include a screen shot.. include your operating system, type of computer, amount of RAM, etc. This helps the techs track down the cause of a problem.
• 4. Most important remember that this is a BETA.. that means that it's not the final program.. this is the program in test and the reason it's being offered to the public is so that largest variety of users, using the largest variety of machines can test it. Don't get discouraged and give up.. the more problems that are reported and fixed now, the more likely that the final release will work on your machine and be stable!
• 5. The second most important thing is to let the folks at Jasc know what you do like!!!

Text on Path, Line or Shape?
Make vector shape/line, deselect vector shape[or make inactive], select Text tool , line up mouse cursor to get A with curve, type text. [remember to set color for fill, or bg color chip, before you type text, so it will show up]

How to add a divider to a toolbar?
Grab the button/command before which you want the divider, and move it to the right / down a bit (depends on whether it's a horizontal toolbar, or a vertical toolbar or menu).

or... In customize mode, right click to highlight the button you want the separator, on the left, and choose to Start Group.

Text on a Path?
After you draw out your vector circle you need to deselect it (Ctrl+D or Selections - Select None) click on your text tool and you will be able to get the funny A to put your text on your circle.
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Bezier Curves?
Bezier curves can be created by using the Point-to-Point drawing mode and dragging the mouse cursor as you click each point. It's a little different than in PSP 7, but to much the same effect.

FAQ: Remember Text doesn't remember text?
There is a known defect, where your text settings are not remembered when remember text is checked. That is not a feature and will be changed so that your text settings are remembered even when remember text is checked.

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FAQ: What is Final Apply?
Several tools in PSP8 need to be "finally applied" - that means that until then, you can undo each separate move with the tool, but once it's finally applied and the image is fully rendered (possibly at a better quality - it might be a good idea to change Draft Quality to low or coarse on large images to speed things up) you can only undo the entire warp (or other action) at once.

One way to do that is to click the Apply button. That's usually a checkmark next to the presets. Tools that have it at first glance are Warp Brush, Crop, Mesh Warp, Straighten and Perspective Correction -possibly others as well.

Another is to alter the image with another tool or plugin. PSP will ask
to do a final apply unless you turned off that warning in the General Preferences.

IIRC PSP will also ask for a final apply before saving the image.

Where did the Slash brushes go?
I can only see round and square, and I just cannot find them.

Have yourself around brush, and then go up to your tool options, and reduce that THICKNESS setting down to around 25. See what's happening there? You make your own.

Now move next door to where it says ROTATION, and change that one too. See what's happening there? If you have your brush outlines turned on, you can watch your brush head rotate to whatever angle you need.

If you have a mouse wheel? Click once in that Rotation field, and then roll your mouse. Watch your brush outlines while you custom-rotate your brush head to point off in whatever direction you like. All as you watch those brush outline preview on your image.

You can now take a fat round brush and turn it into a thin spear. Then you can rotate your spear to whatever angle floats your boat.

I can't find where to turn on my brush outlines?
File, Program, Preferences, General Program Preferences, Display and Caching tab... check show brush outlines.

Re: Will there be more Picture Tube & Preset Shape added?
Checking out the program not many PictureTubes & Preset Shapes. Will that be more added or can the one from PSP 7 work with PSP 8.

Yes they were kept to a minimum to keep the file download size down. In the meantime you can use your PSP7 shapes and tubes in PSP8. Go to File/preferences/file locations and add your PSP7 shapes and tubes paths.

Can anyone see the option to add a separator between two buttons on a customized toolbar? I can't seem to find the little bugger...

When in the CUSTOMIZE mode, rightclick on any button or menu item and choose START GROUP. This is a toggle, so you do the same thing to remove any dividers you no longer want.

2/20/9:30 AM
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Unfortunately the supply of quasi meaningful 3 letter extensions is getting smaller all the time. Already there are 3 or 4 apps that collide with us on the use of .psp, and the problem was only getting worse.

So when we decided to change the extensions we went all out and made them readable - PspGradient, PspScript, PspTube, PspStyleLine, etc. If you are looking at a random folder and see something called .PspAutosave or .PspCache you know what you have, far more than if you saw a .ats or .jpc file.

Borders color isn't my background color anymore? What gives?

The color you are seeing in that BORDERS dialog is "the last color you used for a border" and is not connected to either your foreground or background on the Materials palette.

Don't forget to "RIGHT CLICK" on all color swatches you find in these dialogs to gain instant access to your last ten colors used on the Materials palette, and your current foreground/background colors too.

In fact, it's good to get in the habit of rightclicking on everything everywhere! Just to see if anything's there. Sometimes there is, and sometimes it's pretty cool. :)