PSP Tips

My tips have been collected from various places around the web, members of my former user group, personal experience and friends.
I do not claim ownership to them so share them freely, but please, do not copy my list and add it to your site :-(

Do you have a useful PSP tip?
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Files found in psp and where to find/put them
It is pretty basically listed  so you shouldn't have much trouble in dropping them in the right places. Here is a quick run down of the files found in psp and where to find/put them. I have included filenames of vs7 as most tutorials use it:
 
brushes = brushtip_name.pspscript (Share their name with the scripts but always precede with brushtip_) and name.pspbrush and also psp6/7 files (jbr) and photoshop vs -6 files (abr's) can go in here and be used.
 
Deformation maps=name.pspdeformation
 
Gradients=name.pspgradients and name.jgd
 
masks=name.pspmask and name.msk
 
palettes=name.psppalette and name.pal
 
patterns= are jpg files
 
frames=name.pspframe and name.pfr
 
tubes=name.psptubes name.tub
 
presetshapes=name.pspshape and name.jsl files
 
presets=preset_name.pspscript. The presets in vs 7 do not work but you can convert them using a script (i think from here www.campratty.com) to use in vs8.
 
scripts=name.pspscript. But put all script files in restricted as some are malicious and can kill windows. You can put your own scripts in the trusted folder. They share a filename with the presets only that presets always precede with the word preset_.
 
Selection files=name.pspselection and name.sel
 
styled lines=name.pspstyledlines and name.sld
 
textures =are .bmp files
 
Workspace=name.pspworkspace or name.wsp

Locking in your colors

Want your colors to stay as you selected them when you switch tools?
In PSP7, tick the box under the Colors called LOCK
In PSP8, tick the box for All Tools under the Colors

Make PSP8 look like PSP7

You can make the PSP8 workspace look more like PSP7
File>Workspace>Load> Paint Shop Pro 7

Open outlines in Animation Shop

Then you won't have to remove the background
import them to PSP then

Paint Shop Pro v3 & Paint Shop Pro v4

Both free and dont expire

Pixel Tricks

To save time, you can draw whole segments by holding down the Shift key while you paint.  You can draw long lines this way and go diagonally.  It will even go a couple diagonally at at time.  Very good trick.  
Color matching: hover your curser over a color and right click ( this works with the paint brush as well as flood fill)

PsP 7 Tip~Disable the Splash Screen

To remove the Splash Screen when you first open up PSP:
 
File/Preferences/General Program Preferences
Click the miscellaneous tab
Untick the box that says "Show splash screen when application starts"
Click OK. 
Do the same thing in Animation Shop

PSP 8 Tip~Keyboard Map

Click on Help>Keyboard Map for a list of all the keyboard commands in your PSP Program
PSP 8 Tip~Setting Plug-in Locations
Paint Shop Pro allows you to use Adobe compatible plug-ins. Use the File Locations dialog to choose folders containing plug-ins and control how plug-ins are used.

To control plug-in functions:

  1. Choose File > Preferences > File Locations to open the File Loca­tions dialog.

  2. From the File types list, select Plug-ins.

  3. Set these options:

  4. Enable plug-ins Mark this box to allow Paint Shop Pro to use plug-ins.

  5. Limit Loaded plug-in files to those with an .8B* extension
    The .8B* extension is the most common plug-in extension. Clear this check box to load plug-ins with other extensions.

  6. Allow file format plug-ins to request pre-filtering of support file types Some plug-ins can open files that Paint Shop Pro also supports. Mark this check box to allow a plug-in to try to open (pre-filter) the file before it opens in Paint Shop Pro.

To add plug-in locations:

  1. Choose File > Preferences > File Locations to open the File Loca­tions dialog.

  2. From the File types list, select Plug-ins.

  3. Click the Add button. A new blank item will appear in the folder list.

  4. Type the full path name of the folder you want to add or click the Browse button to find and select the folder.

  5. Set the options and settings for listed folders:

  6. Enable Directory  Mark this check box to have Paint Shop Pro search for plug-ins in this folder.

  7. Scan Subfolders  Mark this check box to have Paint Shop Pro search the folders inside the folder. Subfolders will not be scanned unless the Enable Directory check box is marked.

Click OK.


Getting in Touch with Other Paint Shop Pro Users

Millions of people use and love Paint Shop Pro. There are many independent (non-Jasc) Paint Shop Pro communities where users share tips and tricks, ask questions, and get answers about Paint Shop Pro. There are Websites, newsgroups, and chatrooms devoted to Paint Shop Pro. As a starting point, search online for “Paint Shop Pro.”

One popular newsgroup is the Usenet newsgroup, comp.graphics.apps.paint-shop-pro, which you can access using your favorite news reader such as Microsoft Outlook Express, or an on-line news reader such as GOOGLE Groups.

PSP tip, Don't cut off your drop shadow!

Edit/copy your graphic then paste it as a new image.
works everytime!

PSP Tip~Creating Textures From Images

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 greyscaleimage as a .bmp image in your Textures folder.

PsP Tip~Making a straight line with draw tool

Hold down the shift key while you are drawing a line to get a perfectly straight line using the draw tool.

PSP Tip~Making fonts anysize

Did you know if you want a font.larger then 72 you can type in 120 ( or any size)
and it would be that size, probably most of you already know this but I was surprised to discover this
~Nick

Also, to view your font just place your cursor into the font style box after you type in the size

PSP Tip~Resizing Images

This method will decrease the need for always having to sharpen your image
 
Resizing Images
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.

PSP~Autosave

When PSP crashes or freezes for some reason and you haven't saved your work,you can lose everything,
Go to File > Preferences > Autosave settings.
This will open the Autosave Settings dialogue box, Tick the 'Enable Autosave' box. Set the time schedule you require, 5 minutes should be sufficient. Click OK. Autosave is now enabled and your work will automatically be saved to the temp file every 5 minutes. If PSP crashes you can re-open and your work will be loaded as before.

PSP~Crop Tool Tip
Crop Tool
Make your selection on the graphic, and double click outside your selected area still on the graphic and your picture will crop automatically
 
From:Skipjacktunafish1Sent: 11/24/2003 2:21 AM
Just add to that :) In animation shop if you click the crop tool and go to options>surround opaque it will select the entire graphic exactly ;)


PSP8 Tip~Cropping Based on Opaque Areas

Use this feature to eliminate transparent areas at image edges. The Crop tool can automatically set the crop area to cover just the opaque (non-transparent)  area of a single layer or an entire image.

Note: Opaque areas that are not rectangular, may have transparent areas remaining after cropping.

To crop to the opaque area of a layer or image:

  1. Click the Crop tool .

  2. On the Tool Options palette, select an option from the Snap crop rectangle to group box:

Layer Opaque  Selects opaque areas of the current layer.

Merged Opaque  Selects opaque area of all layers.

Note: If any layer or the background has a solid color (non-transparent) background, the entire layer or image is selected as the crop area.

  1. Adjust the crop area as needed. See, To define the crop area:.

  2. To crop the image, double-click the image or click Apply .


PSP8~Disable Splash Screen

Under File>Preferences>General Program Preferences click the Miscellaneous tab
Untick the box that says "Show Splash Screen when application Starts"

PSP8~Export Options in Animation Shop

To set the export options in Animation Shop:

  1. In Animation Shop, choose File > Preferences > General Program Preferences, and choose the Layered Files tab. The first option is a check box labeled "Export frames to Paint Shop Pro as layered images"

  2. Your choices are:

  3. If you mark this check box, when you subsequently select multiple animation frames for export to Paint Shop Pro, the frames will be contained as individual layers within one Paint Shop Pro image.

  4. If you do NOT mark this check box, when you subsequently select multiple animation frames for export to Paint Shop Pro, each frame will open as its own Paint Shop Pro image file.

To open frames from Animation Shop:

    1. In Animation Shop, select the frames you want to export to Paint Shop Pro. Only selected frames will be exported.

    2. Choose File > Export Frames > To Paint Shop Pro.

  • If Paint Shop Pro is already open, it will become the active application, and the selected frame(s) will appear. If Paint Shop Pro was not open, it will start up, and the selected frame(s) will appear.

Important Notes about Interactivity

  • While animation frames are open in Paint Shop Pro, the two programs are “linked,” meaning that modifications made on the frames in Paint Shop Pro can be automatically updated to the associated animation in Animation Shop. (To do so, in Paint Shop Pro, choose Edit > Update Back to Animation Shop). You can, however, break this link. To do so, in Animation Shop, choose File > Export Frames > Break Link with Exported Frames. You can also break the link by closing the images in Paint Shop Pro without saving changes.

  • If you also have Paint Shop Pro version 7, be aware that Animation Shop will export selected frames to the most recently used version of Paint Shop Pro.

I don't know about any of you, but the Update Back to Export frames is not in my Edit menu in PSP.  Had to go into Customize toolbars and drag it onto my toolbar...or i can right click on my image and then the option to update is there.

PSP8~Image Resolution

Before you create a new image, think about how you will use it. For example, will you display the image on a Web site, send it as an e-mail attachment, or print it? How you use the image helps you determine the image’s size, resolution, and color depth. All three elements also contribute to the file size of the image.

Image Resolution The number of pixels per inch (ppi) or pixels per centimeter in images. It is important to select an appropriate resolution. Too low a resolution causes pixelation, or large pixels that produce

Before you create a new image, think about how you will use it. For example, will you display the image on a Web site, send it as an e-mail attachment, or print it? How you use the image helps you determine the image’s size, resolution, and color depth. All three elements also contribute to the file size of the image.

coarse output. Too high a resolution adds to an image’s memory requirements without producing a proportional increase in its quality.

Typical image resolutions are as follows:

    • For images displayed on Web pages, use 72 ppi.

  • For images printed to a high-quality printer, set the image resolution to one-half to one-quarter of the actual printer resolution. For example, for a laser printer with a resolution of 600 dots per inch (dpi), use an image resolution of 150 to 300 ppi.

PSP8~Removing Solid Colored Backgrounds

discovered a pretty cool trick
 
every want to get rid of a white background on a gif?..or any solid color for that matter.
Selections>Select All>Modify Color Range
Tick the Subract Color box  and select the color of your background. 
mess with the tolerance and softness sliders until the background disappears.
Selections>Invert then punch the delete key on your keypad.
 
This will give you a nice crisp gif with no part of the background left behind.
 
pretty cool huh?

PSP8~Resetting Cache..and other application prefs

Various program preferences can be reverted back to their defaults.

To reset application preferences:

  1. Choose File > Preferences > Reset Preferences to open the Reset the Application dialog.

  2. Select from these choices:

  3. Reset file locations Mark this check box to reset all file loca­tion settings to the program defaults.

  4. Reset workspace to default configuration Mark this check box to reset the current workspace to the program defaults.

  5. Reset dialog positions and last used settings When you mark this check box, any dialogs that open will appear in their default locations. Also, Paint Shop Pro will forget the last set­tings you used in all dialogs.

  6. Delete all cache files Mark this check box to delete (reset) all existing cache files. Paint Shop Pro saves cache files on your computer to improve program performance. Cache files can become corrupted by computer errors.

  7. Make all toolbars/palettes visible and on screen Mark this check box to view all toolbars and palettes.

Click OK.

PSP8~Saving Images for use with Animation Shop

If you want to save an image for use in Animation Shop, you must be aware of the following:

    • Animation Shop can only open .PspImage format images saved with the PSP 7 or earlier compatibility option. In the Save As dialog, first choose the .PspImage format, click Options, and then choose an earlier PSP version compatibility option.

  • Animation Shop also supports popular file formats such as GIF and JPG. Note that JPEG 2000 is not supported by Animation Shop.


Remove banding from gradients
Sometimes when you save a gradient fill, it appears banded and not blend very well.  You can fix this by Adding some uniform noise, 3%-5%

Resizing

You can resize one layer without changing the entire size of your image
 
On the layer you wish to resize:
Image>Resize
make sure the Resize All Layers box is NOT checked
Put in the values for percentage or pixels
Click OK.
 
*  You may also resize your image to any width/height you wish by UNchecking the Lock aspect Ratio box


Selecting multiple areas without Ctrl Key
If you set up your magic wand settings as follows, you dont have to hold down the Ctrl key while selecting multiple areas:
Make sure that under Mode it says Add (Shift)



THE ABSOLUTE BASICS OF MASKS FOR BEGINNERS

I found this to be a nice easy to understand explaination of masks.
Don't you just hate that when they wont let you link directly to the page you want?  lol
when you get there, click on mask basics on the navigation bar.

Change the outline colour

To change the outline colour - you can use the magic wand, click a piece of outline...
then go to selections>modify> select simular  ||||  then flood fill what it selects.

Using Selections and Deselecting Images

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.

View at 100% and enlarged
While your pixeling, if you zoom in REALLY close like I do, hit shift + w and another window will open, that way you can see it regular size as well as your zoomed in. It saves from having to zoom in and out all the time.



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