It's been a long time since I've been at all excited about a release of PSP/PSPP/. And this release surely doesn't generate the enthusiasm I felt for, say, PSP8. But there are at least a few things in PSPPX2 that make me feel at least a little hopeful about PSPP's future.
Probably the most noticeable change in the PSPPX2 interface is the Graphite color scheme. I hate it myself, but you may not. My aging eyes find the white-on-gray controls hard to read. And, in my opinion, the gray workspace is really too dark for accurate color and brightness correction of photos. You might have a different opinion, however, so give it a try. If you don't like it, you can turn it off by unchecking View | Use Graphite Workspace Theme.
In addition to the color scheme, you'll also find new icons, and a bit of rearrangement of some menu options. If you're new to PSPP, this should be no problem, but old-timers might need a period of adjustment. What old-timers might really dislike, however, are some changes to some tools and filters that are not merely cosmetic but that also reflect some loss of functionality. Two cases in point are the Curves adjustment and the Crop tool.
There are several nifty new photo editing filters and one nice new tool. The tool is the Color Replacer (not to be confused with the old Color Changer, which is still available).
If you have a lot of snapshots you'd like to process quickly, check out the new Express Lab (View | Express Lab). Here you'll find some very commonly used photo editing tools and commands: Straighten, Crop, Smart Photo Fix, Rotate, the Makeover tool, the Clone brush, and the Red Eye tool. Mysteriously missing, though, is any type of sharpening command.
The biggest news for folks who use PSPP for more than simply tweaking their photos is the addition of layer styles. If you're familiar with Adobe Photoshop or Photoshop Elements, then you already know that layer styles are handy for creating dynamic bevels, inner and outer glows, drop shadows, and other effects. And one thing that's particularly nice is that layer styles allow you to apply these effects to vector layers as well as raster layers. Compared to Photoshop layer styles, PSPP's are rather primitive, but this is definitely a step in the right direction.
In PSPPX2, layer styles are squirreled away on a layer's Layer Properties dialog. I'll be writing up something more on layer styles real soon.
Yep, PSPPX2 has a whole lot of bugs. The first patch corrects some of these but introduces others. One of the most galling for folks who like to share their PspImage files with others who have earlier versions is that under commonly occurring circumstances PspImage files saved in anything but PSPPX2-compatible format are flattened. Since you're probably using the PspImage format primarily because you want to preserve layer structure, this is more than just a little annoying. This is one problem that in fact is fixed in the patch, but before rushing off and installing the patch sure that it doesn't introduce other problems that you'd find even more annoying.
Don't depend on Corel to list all of the bugs in their knowledge base, although you will find some pertinent info there. Instead, you might want to head out to the PSPPX2 newsgroup and see what problems users are reporting. To subscribe to the newsgroup, go to http://www.corel.com/servlet/Satellite/us/en/Content/1152796556333 then click "Start using the Corel Newsgroups", read the information and the rules, then scroll through the newsgroups listing and click "Paint Shop Pro Photo X2".
Corel recently announced that they're closing their Minnesota office, where Paint Shop Pro has been centered since its inception. Corel's graphics operations are being consolidated to their offices in Silicon Valley and to Taiwan (Taiwan being the center for Ulead development, Ulead being the latest in Corel's graphics acquisitions). What does this mean for the future of PSPP? Who knows. I doubt it means that PSPP will fade away to be replaced by Ulead PhotoImpact, though. In fact, I fear for the life of PhotoImpact, another image editor that I've always liked. What made Ulead attractive to Corel, I'm guessing, is their video and DVD software.
As I always say, the answer depends on what you need. Many old-time users are happy to stay with PSPPX — or even PSP9 or PSP8. If you now have PSPPX1, I'd advise moving on to PSPPX2, though, since PSPPX1 is probably the most problematic of any release of PSP/PSPP.
Don't just take my word for any of this, though. Head over to www.corel.com/servlet/Satellite/us/en/Product/1185293041793 and try out the evaluation version of PSPPX2 for yourself.
Copyright ©2007
Lori J. Davis
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