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PSP Tips & Tricks! |
This list contains little tips and tricks I've learned from tutorial writers, and forums, and classes, and books, and just about anything and everything across the world! I add to this list when I discover a new trick, or remember a trick that has really helped me be more productive using PSP!
Last Update: February 7, 2003If you have any suggestions for additions to this list, please Email me!
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Using Decimals in Blur Fields
- To get the decimal point into the Blur field on the Cutout dialog panel, enter the whole number into the box, left-click on the slider, and use the right and left arrow keys to adjust the decimal portion of the number!
- When you've replaced a foreground or background color with another color, and you need the previous color again, right-click on the color box and find your color in the Recent Colors dialog box that pops up!
- When you want to repeat the last command you entered, use CTRL + Y!
- When you want to make a smooth selection (without "jaggies") of a rounded image on a layer, instead of using the Magic Wand tool
and inverting the selection, use Selections...Select All (CTRL + A), and then Selections...Float (CTRL + F)!
- When you want to get a "regular" polygon (square, triangle, pentagon, etc.) - that is, one with equal sides and angles - hold down the SHIFT key while drawing the shape!
- When you want to get a perfectly horizontal or vertical line while using the Draw tool
, use the Single Line type, and hold down the SHIFT key while drawing the line!
- When you want to start drawing your shape at a point that will be its center, click on the right mouse button to draw the shape - when your shape is complete, the point where you started the drawing is at its exact center!
- To change the color of a Sinedots image while retaining the shades and diaphanous effect, activate the Sinedots layer, choose Selections...Select All (CTRL + A), and then Selections...Float (CTRL + F). Then use the Flood Fill tool
to add a solid color, gradient, or pattern to the Sinedots image!
This method works with other images as well, but is particularly suited to images such as Sinedots images with their filmy, subtle nuances of color!
- Another way to change the color of a Sinedots image while retaining the shades and diaphanous effect is to activate the Sinedots layer and click the Lock Transparency button (padlock on the far right edge of the layer
) to remove the red "X". Then use the Flood Fill tool
This method works with other images as well, but is particularly suited to images such as Sinedots images with their filmy, subtle nuances of color!
- A third way to change the color of a Sinedots image while retaining the shades and diaphanous effect is to choose Colors...Colorize. Using the Hue and Saturation sliders, you can change the colors easily. My favorite combinations include:
Color Hue Saturation Lilac 170 90 Rose 233 81 Tan 17 71 Green 95 55 Orange 17 178 Blue 155 110 Gold 35 200 Remember, the original color of the image influences the resulting shades when colorizing!
This method works with other images as well.
- A fourth way I've used to change the color of a Sinedots image while retaining the shades and diaphanous effect is to choose Colors...Adjust...Hue/Saturation/Lightness. This one is used to shift all the colors of an image or selection and change their strength and luminance. It takes some practice to use "efficiently", and I've found sometimes it does not work at all on Sinedots images!
This method works with other images as well, but is particularly suited to images such as Sinedots images with their filmy, subtle nuances of color!
- A fifth way I've used to change the color of a Sinedots image while retaining the shades and diaphanous effect is to use the Retouch tool with Mode set to "Color to Target". This method applies the foreground color without affecting the luminance! Some pretty shading can be achieved with this method! Adjusting the other values on the Tool Options - Retouch palette adds further variation to the colorizing.
As with all the other colorizing methods, this method also works with other images!
- To group layers so that when you move one layer, all layers in the group move together, activate the Layer Groups tab (
) on the Layer palette, and then click on the Group button of each layer you want to belong to the group. The Group button changes from None to a number from 1 to 6. All the layers having the same number on their Group buttons belong to the same group. To return to the normal view of the Layer palette, click on the Appearance tab (
)!
- To add to a selection using the Selection
and Freehand
tools, press and hold down the SHIFT key while outlining the area you want to add! To add to a selection using the Magic Wand tool
- To subtract from a selection using the Selection
- To hide the Selections marquee (the "marching ants") when it becomes distracting, choose Selections...Hide Marquee, or press SHIFT + CTRL +M! Toggle the marquee back on the same way!
Note: The selection remains active even when the marquee is hidden!
- To view all layers of an image, right-click on any Layer Name button on the Layer palette, and choose View...All from the pop-up menu.
To hide all layers, right-click on any Layer Name button and choose View...None from the pop-up menu.
To view only the current layer and hide all the rest of the layers, right-click on any Layer Name button of the layer you wish to view and choose View...Current Only from the pop-up menu. Choosing View...Invert hides the layers that were visible, and makes visible all layers that were hidden!
To hide a single layer, click on its Visibility button (
) - when a layer is invisible, its Visibility button displays a red "X" (
).
When you are working with several layers and want to merge only a few of them, it is sometimes easier to hide the layers you want to merge, right-click on one of the remaining layers, and choose View...Invert from the pop-up menu. This leaves the layers you want to merge visible, and hides all the other layers!
Note: Making a layer current (active) automatically makes it visible.
- Open the BladePro (q9q) preset, then save it by clicking on the Save Preset button (
), and it will be saved to the same folder as a Super BladePro preset (q5q), and the preview will be available. Do this to all the presets in a folder - you do not have to apply the preset, just save it! When you are done converting all presets, delete the BladePro presets (all the q9q files) to save space.
- Black and white JPEG (*.jpg) files can easily be converted to PSP mask files by first converting them to Windows or OS/2 Bitmap (*.bmp) files. To convert several *.jpg files at once:
- Move the files to a separate folder.
- Choose File...Batch Conversion.
- Use the Look in: drop-down box to navigate to the folder containing the files to be converted.
- In the Files of type drop-down list, click on the arrow and select JPEG - JFIF Compliant (*.jpg,*.jif,*.jpeg) - this will bring up all the *.jpg files in the folder you have selected.
- In the Output settings Type drop-down list, select Windows or OS/2 Bitmap (*.bmp).
- Click on the Options button and choose Windows as the Format and Run Length Encoding as the Encoding>. Click OK.
- For the output folder, click on the Browse button and navigate to the folder where you want the resulting *.bmp files to go.
- When you have completed the above steps, select the files you want converted from the box at the top of the dialog panel. If you want all the files converted, press the Select All button - otherwise, once you have chosen the files to be converted, press the Start button.
The resulting *.bmp files can be used directly as mask files, or can be renamed as *.msk files using the PSP Browser or Windows Explorer. To use the *.bmp files as mask files, choose Masks...Load From Disk and then navigate to the folder that contains the *.bmp files. Enter *.bmp in the File Name textbox, and press the Open button. The resulting list will contain all the mask files with *.bmp extensions. Double-click on the mask file name to select it, or select the mask file you want, and press the Open button.
Note: This process makes a new copy of the file, and converts the copy - the original files are not changed, and remain in the folder after the conversion is completed.
- Paint Shop Pro supports certain file naming standards for it's saved objects. Some of these objects or files MUST be inserted into the directory where the Paint Shop Pro program is located, while others can be stored in user folders made known to Paint Shop Pro through the File...Preferences...File Locations dialog. The following is a list of file name extensions, what each is used for, and where files of this type can be located - in the case where the file can be located in a user-defined folder, the "tab" in File...Preferences...File Locations is indicated as well:
Extension Used For Where File Located .8ba Plugins User folder - Plug-ins tab .8bf Plugins User folder - Plug-ins tab .abr Brushes User folder - Brushes tab .bmp Patterns User folder - Patterns tab .bmp Textures User folder - Textures tab .jbr Brushes User folder - Brushes tab .jgd Gradients User folder - Gradients tab .jsl Shapes User folder - Shapes tab .msk Masks User folder - Masks tab .pat Patterns User folder - Patterns tab .pbs Brush Strokes Presets PSP Presets Folder .pbv Bevels Presets PSP Presets Folder .pcf Colored Foil Presets PSP Presets Folder .pcn Contours Presets PSP Presets Folder .pen Enamel Presets PSP Presets Folder .pfl Fine Leather Presets PSP Presets Folder .pfr Picture Frames User folder - Frames tab .plh Lights Presets PSP Presets Folder .pos Polished Stone Presets PSP Presets Folder .ppf Soft Plastic Presets PSP Presets Folder .prl Rough Leather Presets PSP Presets Folder .psb Sunburst Presets PSP Presets Folder .psc Sculpture Presets PSP Presets Folder .pss Sandstone Presets PSP Presets Folder .psw Straw Wall Presets PSP Presets Folder .ptl Tiles Presets PSP Presets Folder .ptx Texture Presets PSP Presets Folder .q5q SBP Presets SBP E&T Folder .q9q BP Presets SBP (or BP) E&T Folder .sel Selections User folder .sld Styled Lines User folder - Styled Lines tab .tex Textures User folder - Textures tab .tub Picture Tubes User folder - Tubes tab SBP = Super BladePro
BP = BladePro
E&T = Super BladePro or BladePro Environments & Textures Folder
- If you like to work with your rulers displayed for your images, you've probably noticed that after you've been working on an image for a while, lots of extra little lines seem to clog up the rulers! To remove them, just pick up any other open image in your workspace (left-click on its Title Bar) and lay it on top of the image with the cluttered rulers. Then pick it up again and move it back off your image, and presto, all the extra lines are all cleared up! In fact, the rulers of both images have been cleared up! If you have no open images, create a new one! Works every time!
- The quickest and easiest way to make a simple seamless tiles in PSP is to use the Simple Quick Tile filter, which you can get HERE! In Sandy's own words: "New! Instant Magic Tile maker, merges the image with itself 'half wrapped' . . . using super secret artificial intelligence... probably."
To get a "muted" seamless tile, just add a white layer above your seamless tile and lower the opacity until you get the effect you want!
- Another method of making seamless tiles is to use the 20/20 program. The major drawback to this method is that 20/20 is a separate program, and to get a seamless tile with 20/20, you have to "move" your image from PSP to 20/20!
To create a seamless tile in 20/20, copy your image (CTRL + C) in PSP, open 20/20, paste as a new image (CTRL + V) in 20/20, create the seamless tile using the Image...Seamless Tile option (or the Image...Muted Background option, with the Seamless Tile box checked). To get the image back into PSP, just reverse the above process - copy the image in 20/20 (CTRL + C), return to the PSP program and paste as a new image (CTRL + V)!
The advantage of using 20/20 for tiling is the mute option, which lets you mute the image at the same time as you are creating the seamless tile!
- There are several methods for resizing images, but you will get the best results by resizing to either 75%, 50%, or 25%. PSP used complex resizing algorithms that render better results at those sizes. In addition, sometimes using "Bicubic resample" (when enlarging) or "Bilinear resample" (when reducing) in the Resize type box eliminates the need to sharpen the resulting image! However, this depends on the image chosen, and you might have better results using "Smart size", and sharpening your final image!
- Sometimes, when you add a border to an image, and then try to select that border with your Magic Wand tool
You should now have ONLY the symmetric border you added selected!
- Choose Selections...Select All (CTRL + A).
- Contract the selection by the same number of pixels as the border you just added by choosing Selections...Modify...Contract.
- Invert the selection by choosing Selections...Invert Selection (CTRL + SHIFT + I).
- Sometimes, when you do a gradient fill, the bands of color seem to show up too clearly, and they don't seem to blend well. This is often monitor-dependent, but you CAN get rid of those bands! Just use Effects...Noise...Add, and use about 3-5% uniform noise! Magically, the bands have disappeared!
- When you want to merge the edges of your image into the background, follow these 6 easy steps:
- Set your background color to the color of the background you want to merge into.
- Select the image (Selections...Select All, or CTRL + A).
- Contract the selection by 10-15 pixels (Selections...Modify...Contract).
- Feather the selection by 10-15 pixels (Selections...Modify...Feather).
- Invert selection (Selections...Invert or CTRL + SHIFT + I).
- Hit the delete key, repeating if necessary.
- To add new raster layers quickly, bypassing the Layer Properties dialog, press SHIFT while clicking the Create Layer button
!
- To delete an unwanted layer quickly, drag the Layer Name button to the Delete Layer (trashcan) button
at the top of the Layer palette!
Another quick method of deleting a layer is to right-click on the Layer Name button and choose Delete from the pop-up menu.
- To duplicate a layer quickly, drag its Layer Name button to the Create Layer button
Another quick method of duplicating a layer is to right-click on the Layer Name button and choose Duplicate from the pop-up menu.
A third method of duplicating a layer is to activate the layer, choose Edit...Copy to copy the layer, and then choose Edit...Paste...As New Layer.
Using either of the first two methods, the new image is directly on top of the original image. Use the mover tool to reposition it. Using the third method, the new image will be centered on the screen - sometimes it is easier to "find" the new image using this method.
- To copy a layer from one image to another, drag the Layer Name button from the Layer palette of the first image and drop it into the second image!
- If you know the coordinates of the image area you want to crop to, double-click on the Crop tool
to bring up the Crop Area dialog box, enter the coordinates in the boxes at the top of the dialog, and choose the Custom size and position option.
Note: This is particularly helpful if you have many images to crop to the same coordinates. The last coordinates used are retained in the Crop Area dialog box, and can be used to crop multiple images.
- If you know the coordinates of the image area you want to select, double-click on the Selection tool
- Use the Revert command to remove all changes made to an image since it was last saved. To apply the command, choose File...Revert. This is the same as choosing the Undo command over and over again to remove all changes!
- To use an uninstalled font in PSP, browse to the folder where the font is located, open the font, and minimize. This font will now be available to you within PSP.
- To change the area the selection marquee encloses, you can move the marquee. This is useful if you want to fine-tune the area inside an oval or other selection shape.
To move the marquee:
- Activate the Mover tool
.
- Depress the right mouse button, drag the marquee to a new location, and release the mouse button.
Note: Before moving the marquee, you must activate the Mover tool. If you right-click the image with a selection tool activated, you remove the selection; if you click and drag within the selection, you float it and move the floating selection, NOT the marquee!
- Guides are individual vertical and horizontal lines that you place on the image to help you align objects. They are excellent tools for helping you get images right where you want them!
Note: To use the guides, the rulers must be displayed! Choose View...Rulers or press CTRL + ALT + R to display the rulers.To display the guides, choose View...Guides.
To create individual guides, click on the rulers and drag onto the image. Click on the ruler at the top of the image and drag to create horizontal guides; click the ruler along the left side and drag to create vertical guides.
To move a guide, click the guide handle (which is on the ruler) and drag. Note that the position of the guide is reflected on the status bar.
To delete a guide, drag its handle off the image window.
You can change the color or position and delete individual guides using the Guide Properties dialog box. To display this dialog, right-click or double-click the guide handle. Using the Guide Position option, you can place guides precisely where you want them!
You can delete all guides or change the color of them using the Grid and Guide Properties dialog box. To open this dialog box, double-click the ruler or choose View...Change Grid and Guide Properties.
- To make selections suitable for "pasting into" other areas, they must be proportional to those areas. In PSP terms, the source selection must have the same aspect ratio as the target area. To ensure this
- If you are making the selection to be copied into, note the aspect ratio on the status bar and use this number when selecting from your source image.
- If you are copying into a selection of unknown proportions, copy the selection to a new image, determine its aspect ratio by viewing the Resize dialog, and use this number when selecting from your source image.
- If you need an image of specific dimensions, make a new image with those dimensions, use the Resize dialog to determine its aspect ratio, use this number when selecting from your source image, and copy the selection directly to this new image.
For a detailed explanation of these methods, visit my Making Proportional Selections Tutorial!
- To save an image as a transparent GIF, use File...Export...GIF Optimizer, and use the following settings:
- On the Transparency tab, select either Existing image or layer transparency (if your image has no colored background), or Areas that match this color. If you select the latter, be sure the color swatch contains the color you want to be transparent - by default,the color shown will be the current background color from the Color palette. Click on the color swatch to select a new color. Adjust the Tolerance setting when the area you want to be transparent contains pixels that are close in color but not exactly the same color.
- On the Partial Transparency tab, I usually select Use full transparency for pixels below 5% opacity, and Yes, blend with the background color. The color swatch here also contains, by default, the current background color from the Color palette - click on the swatch to select the dominant color of your page's background.
Note: This is very important in getting good transparent GIFs - if you don't select this color carefully, you may have a fringe around your image, because part of the transparent GIF process blends the colors from the image into the background color.- On the Colors tab, I usually leave How many colors do you want? set to 256 and How much dithering do you want? set to 100%. For the color selection method, I use either Optimized Median Cut or Optimized Octree, whichever looks better!
- On the Format tab, select Non-interlaced if you want the image to load one line at a time, starting from the top down. Select Interlaced if you want the image to display incrementally in several passes, with detail being added each time. Interlaced is definitely the better option with larger images - the viewer can get an idea of how the image looks while waiting for it to download - but many users use this option with all images!
- The Download Times tab is informational.
Note: If you want a transparent GIF image that will look good on various backgrounds, select a neutral background color such as a medium gray.The following table illustrates the principles described above. The teddy bear image was saved as a transparent GIF three times - the first time, it was saved with a white background, the second time, with a dark blue background, and the third time, with a medium gray background. The table displays the same image against different backgrounds - white, blue, gray, and various multi-colored backgrounds. As you can see, there is a big difference on the quality of the image depending on how it is saved, and the background it is displayed against!
Notice that none of the GIFs looks good against the last background, which is predominantly red. However, when the bear is saved as a transparent GIF with a background of red specified, the result is much more pleasing:
The further information and greater detail, visit PSP Tutorial Links - the General Information category contains links to several tutorials providing in-depth coverage of the transparent GIF process!
- When using the Flood Fill tool
Note: With either option described above, the value entered into the Opacity field determines how opaque the fill will be - higher numbers make the fill more opaque, and lower values make the fill more transparent. The Tolerance setting determines how much of the selected area will be filled, and while it has no relevance with a Match Mode of "None", it does influence the fill with other settings. Higher Tolerance allows more of an area to be filled, whereas a lower Tolerance setting constrains the fill to areas that are similar in color or exactly the same color as where you initially clicked.
- PSP comes with many presets, frames, gradients, masks, etc. preinstalled and ready to use. If you accidentally save a preset, frame, gradient, mask, etc. with the same name as the PSP-preinstalled one, you will lose the settings! Or if you edit the settings of gradients, and then accidentally save those new settings with the same name as the original gradient, you will lose the original settings! Of course, if you have set up your own folders for masks, frames, shapes, etc., and you have indicated your folders as the "Save to path" in your preferences, you will not replace the Jasc-distributed ones so easily. However, if you have not set up your preferences to save to your own folders, this can easily happen! In addition, presets are ALWAYS saved to the Jasc folder - and that means presets for ALL effects - so it's somewhat easier (or more dangerous) to overwrite presets than masks or shapes or gradients! In the item called Paint Shop Pro File Naming Conventions above, I list all the PSP file names, and indicate where they are (or can be) saved. For all those that say User Folder - XXXXX, you can have your own folder, and set your preferences to use that folder using File...Preferences...File Locations, selecting the tab that matches the XXXXX, filling in the name of YOUR folder in the Text box, and clicking on the "Enable this path" and "Save to path" check boxes. All presets MUST be inserted into the directory where the Paint Shop Pro program is located, in the folder called Presets, as noted above.
You can prevent the loss of the Jasc-preinstalled settings by changing the status of any and/or all of these files to "read-only"! This can be done by browsing to the PSP program folder (on my PC, it's located at C:\Program Files\Jasc Software Inc\Paint Shop Pro 7), opening any folder that contains settings you want to protect, selecting all the files in the folder (CTRL + A), right-clicking, selecting Properties from the pop-up menu, and clicking on the "Read-only" Attribute. This will prevent inadvertent editing of these files, or replacing of these files by others with the same name. This should be repeated for each folder that contains settings you wish to save (frames, gradients, presets, etc.) If you decide you want to create another preset, mask, preset, etc. that is similar to the protected one, just copy it to a new name, right-click on the new file, select Properties from the pop-up menu, and be sure the "Read-only" Attribute is NOT checked!
- The Autosave function will automatically save a backup file of the images you are working on at specified time intervals - this will prevent you from losing your work if PSP or your computer shuts down unexpectedly. If a crash should occur, PSP will load the backup files the next time you start the program.
To enable the Autosave function, choose File...Preferences...Autosave Settings. Click the Enable autosave checkbox, select a number from the Minutes box to determine how frequently PSP creates a temporary back file, and then click the OK button.
By default, temporary files are stored in the system temporary folder (C:\Windows\Temp). If you prefer to save them elsewhere, select a new folder using the Undo/Temporary tab of the File Locations dialog box (File...Preferences...File Locations).
- Sometimes, when you are making stationery and add a drop shadow, or use a cutout to achieve a drop shadow effect, the "edges" of the drop shadow are slightly faded:
Unless you use some technique to correct these edges, your stationery won't tile smoothly. I learned in a tutorial just recently that if you apply the drop shadow or cutout to a separate layer, you can use the Deformation tool to "stretch" the shadow/cutout beyond the active image area to correct this problem! Just enlarge the image window by pulling up on its top edge (or maximize the image window):
Then use the Deformation tool on the shadow, dragging the end nodes outside the image area:
Apply the deformation, and voila, it tiles perfectly now!
- Here's another way to make a drop shadow, without using PSP's Drop Shadow effect! On a separate layer, use a paintbrush or draw tool to make a 4 to 6 pixel line that is just UNDER the item casting the shadow. Leave a small part of the line visible. Now use the Gaussian Blur effect to soften the shadow! Since it's on a separate layer, you can move it around, stretch it, shrink it, and play with it until it's just the way you want it! This trick is especially handy for adding shadows to odd shapes and in small areas where the Drop Shadow effect is not useful!
- As you work in PSP, you will probably find yourself using some commands more often than others. These commands may have toolbar buttons that you can add, remove, and rearrange. By customizing the toolbar, you can access the commands more quickly.
To open the Customize Toolbar dialog box, choose View...Toolbars, left-click on Standard Toolbar, and then click on the Customize button. Alternately, right-click anywhere on the toolbar itself and choose Customize from the menu. The available toolbar buttons will be in the list on the left, and your current configuration will be displayed on the right. In the left window, highlight any button you wish to add to your toolbar. In the right hand list, highlight the button you want to FOLLOW your new button. Then click the Add button to move the new button from the "available" list to the selected position in the "current toolbar buttons" list! Remember, your new button will appear BEFORE the button you highlighted in the right side list!
You can even add "separators" between buttons, if you want - these are the short vertical lines that appear on your toolbar. You can also delete buttons from the toolbar - this is especially handy for removing buttons you no longer use! For instance, I never use the "copy" button, as I use the keyboard shortcut CTRL + C all the time! So, I removed this button to make room for others! Finally, you can use the Move Up and/or Move Down buttons to change the location of the buttons on your toolbar!
Using this feature should make you a lot more productive using PSP!!!
- Are you still loading the PSP splash screen each time you start PSP - you know, the Jasc Software, Inc. logo screen? Want to get rid of it? It's easy! Just choose File...Preferences...General Preferences, click on the Miscellaneous tab, and UNcheck the Show splash screen when application starts checkbox! It's a thing of the past!
- If you make your own presets shapes, you know they have to be VECTOR objects! To get the name you want for that new shape, rename the layer containing the vector shape to the name you want to see in your shapes list before exporting. To do this:
- Activate the Vector Object Selection tool (
) and left-click a shape to select it. Then right-click the shape and select Properties from the menu that appears. In the Name box, type the new name and then click the OK button.
OR- Right-click the shape's Layer Name button (click on the plus sign that appears next to the vector layer icon (
) to get the shape's Layer Name button) in the Layer palette and select Rename from the menu that appears. Type the new name on the Layer palette and then press the ENTER key.
Note that with vector layers, the Layer Name buttons of the vector objects on the vector layer are listed below the vector layer name. To display the buttons of all the vector objects on the layer, click on the plus sign that appears next to the vector layer icon (
When you export a shape (File...Export...Shape), the name you enter in the "Enter file name:" box is the library name for the file that will contain the shape you are exporting, NOT the shape name! It's not a bad idea to make this name match the name you want to appear in the shapes list, but it will NOT override the name that appears in the shape's Layer Name box!
- There is no need to deselect an image when loading selections from either the alpha channels or disk - when the next selection is loaded, the previous selection is automatically deleted!
- If you have "lost" a floating palette (Layer palette, Tool Options palette or Overview palette) by dragging them off the screen (or you just can't find them, no matter what you try), you can restore them to the center of the Paint Shop Pro window by pressing CTRL + SHIFT + T. This will snap all floating palettes to the center of the screen.
Shortcuts for hiding/restoring individual toolbars or palettes include the following:
- TAB - hide/restore all floating palettes
- T - hide/restore Toolbar
- H - hide/restore Histogram
- L - hide/restore Layer palette
- P - hide/restore Tool palette
- O - hide/restore Tool Options window
- C - hide/restore Color palette
- To add a drop shadow to a vector object:
- Choose the Vector Object Selection tool and click the object.
- Choose Selections...From Vector Object.
- Add a new raster layer.
- Choose Effects...3D Effects...Drop Shadow, and apply the drop shadow with the options you'd like!
- Drag this layer below the vector object layer in the Layer palette.
Sometimes the edges are much "cleaner" if you contract the selection made from the vector object by 1 pixel before applying the drop shadow effect.
- When you are working on an image within PSP, there is no way to determine its size within the PSP workspace! The status bar at the bottom of the screen does indicate the image's dimensions, but the "size" information there refers to the amount of memory the image is currently using, not its size on disk! There are several ways, however, to determine the image's size:
- Use PSP's browser (File...Browse ~ or ~ CTRL + B) to locate the folder where the image has been saved, and position the cursor over its thumbnail! A ToolTip displays with the file's name and size, dimensions, etc. - and that size is given in KBs!
- Initiate either the GIF or JPEG optimizer and look at the preview boxes at the top of the Optimizer dialog box - the one on the left gives the original image, and the one on the right shows the changes as you adjust the available settings! Below each preview box is the size of the image in bytes - just drop the 3 RIGHTmost digits, and you'll have its approximate size in kilobytes (kb)!
- Use the windows explorer to browse to the folder where you saved the image, and single click on it - you'll see the size in the leftmost panel of the screen
- Many dialog boxes contain a reset button (
) that restores the settings of the options to their default or last used values. To use the reset button:
- Click the button to return all dialog box settings to their default program values.
- Press SHIFT while clicking the button to return the settings to the values displayed when the dialog box opened!
- Often, after creating an image on a layer, you want that image centered. To do this:
- Cut the image (CTRL + X), and then paste the image as a new layer (CTRL + L). The image will be centered, horizontally and vertically, on the new layer!
- For vector objects, PSP provides additional options. Choose Objects...Align:
- Center in Canvas will place the vector object in the center of the canvas.
- Horz. Center in Canvas will center the object between the right and left borders of the image, but will leave it at its current distance from the top and bottom borders.
- Vert. Center in Canvas will center the object between the top and bottom borders of the image, but will leave it at its current distance from the left and right borders!
- To change the Grid and Guide properties, such as the horizontal and vertical spacing of the grid, or color of the grid or guide lines, use one of the following methods:
- Choose View...Change Grid and Guide Properties.
- Right-click the image window title bar and choose Change Grid and Guide Properties from the pop-up menu.
- Click the Arrow tool on the Tool palette, right-click the image, and choose Change Grid and Guide Properties from the pop-up menu.
- If the rulers are displayed, double-click on the ruler.
Any changes you make in the Grid and Guide Properties dialog are applied to the active image only. If you save that image in PSP format, and later open it, the Grid and Guide information will appear as you saved it!
To change the way Grids and Guides are displayed on the screen for future images, choose File...Preferences...General Program Preferences, and select the Rulers and Units tab. Values entered in this dialog become the default values for all future images in PSP. Note that Grid and Guide settings applied to individual images override the default settings selected in this tab.
- To create a "soft edges" effect for an image, use one of the following methods:
- Select the image (CTRL + A, and then CTRL + F), and then choose Selections...Modify...Contract to contract the selection by 1 pixel. Then choose Selections...Modify...Feather, and use a feather value of about 2. Copy this image (CTRL+C) and paste as a new image (CTRL + V) - with softened edges!
- Select the image (CTRL + A, and then CTRL + F), and then choose Selections...Modify...Feather to set the feather value. The larger the number, the softer the edge. Once this is done, invert the selection (CTRL + SHIFT + I), and press DELETE 3 or 4 times - the more you press DELETE, the more of the image gets erased or "softened"!
- If you have an image that you want to use as a texture, create a greyscale version of the image (Colors...GreyScale), and save the greyscale image as a .bmp image in your Textures folder.
- For a quick change of colors, use the Recent Colors dialog box! The top section always displays the same basic 10 colors or grays - they are red, green, blue, dark gray, light gray, cyan, magenta, yellow, black, and white. For greyscale images, the grays are evenly spaced from black to white.
The middle section of the Recent Colors dialog box contains the ten colors or gray values you have used most recently (if they are not already in the top section). After you have used more than ten colors or grays, each new color replaces the earliest color selected.
The bottom section displays the Other button. Click this button to open the Color dialog box.
- When using the Retouch tool, change the Mode setting first! Each mode of the Retouch brush retains all its previous settings, so when you change the mode, all other settings are reset to what they were the last time you used the Retouch tool with that mode!
Shortcut: The keyboard "shortcut" to activate the Retouch tool is "Z".
- To save the settings for one of your Sinedots "creations" in a cfg file, or Settings File, click on the SAVE button at the bottom of the screen, then type in the name you want for these settings in the "Enter a Setting Name" field of the Save As dialog box that pops up! It will save your settings in whichever cfg file is currently open!
If you want a new cfg or Settings File, first click on the OPEN button at the bottom of the screen. The Open Presets File dialog box will open. Type in the name you want for your new Settings File in the "File Name" box - the system will append the .cfg for you - and click on the OPEN button. Then, click on the SAVE button as outline above, to save your settings!
To load a particular sinedots you've saved, click on the OPEN button at the bottom of the screen. A list of Settings Files will appear - just double-click on your Settings File, or the one that contains the settings you want to work with. To find the individual Sinedots setting in that Settings File, click on the small arrow beside the name box at the bottom of the screen - a list of the settings in the currently open Settings File will drop down!
Any time you're not sure which Settings File is open, click the OPEN button - the Open Presets File dialog box will pop up, and the name of the currently open Settings File will appear in the "File Name" box. If that's not the one you want, browse through the list, double-clicking on the one you want!
- I like to think of Bezier Lines as "elastic lines"! They're really rather simple, and lots of fun, if you remember these points:
- Bezier Lines are curved lines that are composed of 2 endpoints, and 2 control points
- First, you set the line by clicking on the canvas at the point where you want the curve to start (point A), and then dragging to where you want the curve to end (point B).
- The curve is created by clicking the mouse away from the line 2 times - the first of these clicks, or control points (point C), sets the angle and target point from the start of the line, and the second control point (point D) sets the angle and target point from the end of the line.
Image 1 Image 2 Image 3 Image 4 So, in review, you click at point A, hold the mouse button down while dragging to point B, release the mouse button and click again at point C, release the mouse button and click at point D! And that's it!
Now for the "elastic" part! Each of the 2 control points can be modified as it is made by dragging the mouse BEFORE releasing it! There's a control handle at each control point - you can see this handle in Image 3 above, at point C. Note, however, that you can ONLY use the control handle to alter the location of a control point BEFORE you release the mouse button at that control point - once you've released the mouse button, the point is set, or fixed.
Lots of times it helps when creating Bezier lines to turn the grid on so you can see precisely where your control points are located. And added control over Bezier lines can be achieved by creating them as vector objects. That way, you can enter node edit after the curve is done, adjusting to get it just the way you want it! You can change any of the properties of the vector Bezier line as well, just like other vector objects, including size, color, line style, visibility, and antialias status!
Here are some other Bezier lines you can create - start each one by clicking at point A and dragging to point B, then clicking and releasing at point c, and finally clicking and releasing at point D:
Image 5 Image 6 Image 7 Image 8 In Image 5, both control points are at the same location. In Image 6, the first control point, C, is at the end of the line, at point B! In Image 7, there is in effect no line drawn before adding the control points - just a double-click at the dot labeled A & B!
You can do so many things with Bezier curves! Here's an image made entirely from the curve in Image 8 above, duplicated, mirrored, flipped, rotated, resized, and colored with gradients:
- In my opinion, the best way to create an animation is to create a layered image in Paint Shop Pro and open the PSP file as a multiframed animation in Animation Shop. With the file saved as a PSP file, you can go back and make any changes, add new layers, rearrange the layers, and so on!
In order for these multilayered PSP files to work correctly in Animation Shop, the following must be true:
- All layers be must visible when you save the image in Paint Shop Pro.
- Animation Shop must be configured to keep layers as separate frames.
To configure Animation Shop to keep layers as separate frames, choose File...Preferences...General Program Preferences, and click on the Layered Files tab. Make sure "Keep layers as separate frames" is checked. This feature causes Animation Shop to open a multilayered file and keep each layer as a separate frame. It's a very powerful feature!
Select the "Export frames to Paint Shop Pro as layered images" check box to have Paint Shop Pro create a single multilayered image in which each of the exported frames is turned into a layer. Deselecting this check box will revert to a separate image per exported frame. Finally, check "Preserve overall layer transparency" to retain the transparency level set for each layer.
Now, open your multilayered PSP file in Animation Shop, and click the View Animation button (or choose View...Animation). If the image checks out, you're ready to save the animation!
- Animation shop does not do a very good job of saving transparent gifs - there are always some "jaggies" left around the image! There are 2 ways to avoid this problem and keep your animations "clean":
- Use a solid background behind your animation layers! In other words, if you will be using the animation on a white background, when you have completed creating your animation image in Paint Shop Pro, create a white layer, duplicate this layer as many times as you have layers in the animation, and merge one white layer with each animation layer! This makes the white background part of the animation, and there will be no "jaggies"!
- An alternate procedure that gives great results is to Customize your animation during the save process. To do this, click on the Customize button on the Animation Quality Versus Output Size screen (first screen in the save dialog after naming your animation):
- Click on the Colors tab:
- Choose the number of colors - I usually use 255 colors.
- In the Create Palette by section, choose Optimized Median Cut.
- In the Reduce Colors section, choose Error Diffusion.
- Click on the Optimizations tab:
- Check Write Minimal Frames.
- Check Collapse Identical Frames.
- Check Map Identical Pixels to Transparent.
- Click on the Partial Transparency tab:
- Check the first item (Convert pixels less than), and enter a low number in the box - I have 1.
- In the next section, check the first item (Yes, blend with this color) and then click on the color box to choose a color close to your background - use the exact color for solid backgrounds.
These fields are sticky fields, and your selections should be intact for your next animation, though you may need to change the color in the color box on the Partial Transparency tab!
- You can blend "rough" or aliased edges of a pasted-in figure into a background to approximate an antialiased effect by using the Retouch tool in Soften mode! This also works when trying to blend elements from different layers.
- Sometimes you might like to know in what version a Paint Shop Pro image, such as a frame or a tube or a PSP file, has been saved. To determine the level at which it was saved:
- Open Paint Shop Pro.
- Choose File...Open.
- Highlight the file, and click the Details button
- If it says Paint Shop Pro Version: 5, it was saved in Paint Shop Pro 7 format.
- If it says Paint Shop Pro Version: 4, it was saved in Paint Shop Pro 6 format.
- If it says Paint Shop Pro Version: 3, it was saved in Paint Shop Pro 5 format.
Note this is true of all PSP-type files, such as PSP layered images, tubes, frames, and shapes!
- The default node type in new vector objects (other than some vector lines) is Cusp. To evenly round out all the sharp corners of a vector shape, enter Node Edit, select all nodes, and change the node type to Symmetric!
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- This tip is especially valuable for tutorial writers! Most of us share colors with our tutorial readers in hexadecimal format, or what we call HTML format - you know, like white is #FFFFFF, and black is #000000! I've always opened the Color dialog to determine the hexadecimal format for colors I wanted to share, until I discovered this tip! When you need to get the HTML code for a color you're using in a tutorial, set your preferences up to display colors in hexadecimal format! To do this, choose File...Preferences...General Program Preferences, and click on the Dialogs and Palettes tab. In the Color Palette options, be sure you have both Display colors in RGB format, and Hexadecimal display enabled! Then all you have to do is hover over the color with the Dropper tool and the hexadecimal/HTML code will display! Not only will the hexadecimal code display as a "tooltip", but it will also display in the Current Color panel of the Color Palette! And remember, the Dropper is also available when using any painting or drawing tool when you press the CTRL key!
- To display the RGB values for the color under the cursor whenever the Dropper tool is active, choose File...Preferences...General Program Preferences, and click on the Dialogs and Palettes tab. In the Presentation options, enable Display all color dropper tooltips. And remember, the Dropper tool is also available whenever you use any painting or drawing tool if you press the CTRL key!
- Here are a few basic tips for creating text on a path:
- Draw vector objects from top left to bottom right to ensure a clockwise path for the contour. To determine the direction of a contour, enter node edit and select a node on the path:
- If the node has visible control arms, the arrow points in the direction the path is drawn.
- If the node does not have control arms then press the SHIFT key and move from node to node using the UP arrow key - the direction you traverse the nodes is the direction of the path!
- To create text on a curved path, enable the Text tool and click on the path when the cursor becomes the Curved Text cursor (
).
- To adjust the text either above or below the path, use the Leading parameter in the Text Entry Dialog box - use positive leading values to place text below the path, and negative leading values to place text above the path.
- To get text to the bottom of a closed curve, reverse the contour of the curve, enter the text, and then flip and mirror the text.
- To edit vector text on a curve, hover over the text until the cursor changes to the Edit Curved Text cursor (
), and then click on the text.
- To get "straight" text on a curved vector object, press the ALT key while using the Text tool.
- To fit existing vector text to a path, group the text and path (click on both the text and the path with the Object Selector tool while pressing the SHIFT key), and then choose Objects...Fit Text to Path. Alternately, right-click the vector object group and choose Fit Text to Path from the context menu.
- To make the path invisible before saving curved text image, open the Vector Properties dialog box for the path, and clear the Visible box, or click the Visibility button of the object so that it appears crossed out on the Layer palette (
For a detailed explanation of creating text on a path, visit my Text On A Path Tutorial!
- Using the right mouse button, you can "unerase" using the Eraser tool. Comes in handy when you're cleaning up an image for a tube and your mouse "slips". No need to hit the undo button and lose everything you've just done - just "unerase" those pixels back in with the right mouse button! That's right, using the Eraser tool on a transparent layer reapplies any paint that was previously removed - even after you close an image and then reopen that image file, as long as the image is saved in PSP format!
Note: If you right-drag the Eraser on a layer, the paint you reapply might look somewhat different than it looked originally. The Eraser's settings for Opacity, Density, or Hardness, and the Textures mode setting can produce different effects from the original!And here's a note - if you use the Eraser tool on an "unlayered" image, it acts like the Paint Brush in reverse: if you "paint" with the left mouse button, the pixels that you paint over are replaced with the current background color; if you "paint" with the right mouse button, the pixels are replaced with the current foreground color!Many of the Eraser tool options help erase smoothly. I especially like the effect produced when reducing the Hardness option down near 0. This allows you to erase around the edges of an object, leaving very soft edges, almost like antialiasing!
Shortcut: The keyboard "shortcut" to activate the Eraser tool is "E".
- The Color Replacer tool used the foreground stroke and background fill colors from the Active Styles panel of the Color palette to replace one color in an image with a new color. You can use brush strokes to replace only those areas the brush touches, or you can double-click the image to replace the color throughout.
Note: You can also set a Tolerance value on the second tab of the Tool Options palette - this lets you replace colors that are similar but not identical, to the original. As the tolerance value is increased, more colors are replaced. If you set Tolerance to 0, the pixels to be replaced must match the specified color exactly. With a setting of 200, all the pixels are changed!To replace the background color with the foreground color, double-click the left mouse button anywhere in the image. To replace the foreground color with the background color, double-click the right mouse button anywhere in the image.
To confine the color replacement to a specific area, select the area before painting with the Color Replacer.
Shortcut: The keyboard "shortcut" to activate the Color Replacer tool is ",".
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