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To find an item in this Glossary, use Find (CTRL + F),
entering a keyword or keywords in the "Find what" box.
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Airbrush Tool, Using

The Airbrush tool simulates painting with an airbrush or spray can. To use the Airbrush:

• Active the airbrush tool by clicking its button on the Tool palette
• On the first tab of the Tool Options - Airbrush palette, set the brush tip shape and other options to determine how the Airbrush applies paint.
• Select the styles and textures on the Color palette. You can use foreground and background solid colors, patterns, or gradients when painting with the Airbrush, as well as foreground and/or background textures.

Shortcut: The keyboard "shortcut" to activate the Airbrush tool is "U".

Animations - Saving Images As Transparent Gifs

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!

Animations - Using Layered Images

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!

Be careful that everything that you want to appear constantly in your animation exists on every layer of the PSP file! For instance, if you have a teddy bear standing outside a blinkie, you'll need to create 3 layers with the teddy bear on it, and merge one with each of the 3 blinkie layers!

Another item often forgotten is the watermark - unless you want it to pop out only once during the animation, you need to merge a copy of the watermark with each layer of the PSP file while you are still in Paint Shop Pro. To do this, create a new layer and add your watermark. Position your watermark where and how you want it to appear, and then duplicate this layer as many times as you need to so you can merge it with each layer of the animation. Now merge one of the watermark layers with each layer of the psp file:

• Hide all layers except one watermark layer, and one animation layer.
• Merge visible layers.

Repeat the above process until all watermark layers have been merged! Now make all layers visible, save your image in PSP format, and you're ready to go to Animation Shop!

In order for multilayered PSP files to work correctly, Animation Shop must be configured to keep layers as separate frames. To configure Animation Shop this way, open Animation Shop and choose File...Preferences...General Program Preferences. Click on the Layered Files tab and check "Keep layers as separate frames". 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!

Bezier Lines

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, but when you're making the curve, it's right under your cursor, sort of "stuck" to it (see point C in Image 2, or point D in Image 3). 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.

One more "sticky" point - if you start a Bezier line, and change your mind mid-stream, as it were - after point A, or after point B, or after point C - PSP still wants to complete the line, and the next time you click on the canvas, or anywhere in the workspace, PSP will continue that line, and you'll have lines you never expected coming from your cursor! Often people frantically click, ending one line and starting another, and the lines keep coming! They're like sticky cobwebs - you just can't seem to shake them off! But you can - just press the ESC key and you've interrupted the line!

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

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 point - 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:

Border, Add

To add a border to an image, choose Image...Add Border

To add a border of the same width around an image, be sure Symmetric is checked, and enter the border width in any one of the boxes - the rest will be filled in automatically. If you want different widths for different sides of the image, UNcheck Symmetric and enter the width for each border.

Border, Select

To select a border you have just added, click on the border with the Magic Wand tool . Unless otherwise indicated, be sure the following values are set for the Magic Wand tool: Match Mode = RGB Value, Tolerance and Feather = 0, Sample merged UNchecked). Left-click within the border, and you will see the selection marquee (commonly referred to as the "marching ants") surrounding the border.

Note: If your image contains any pixels near its edges that are the same as the color of your border, use this alternate way of selecting the border:

• Choose Selections...Select All.
• Contract the selection by the number of pixels in the border by choosing Selections...Modify...Contract.
• Invert the selection by choosing Selections...Invert Selection.

You should now have ONLY the border selected!

Brush Strokes Artistic Effect

To apply the Brush Strokes effect, use Effects...Artistic...Brush Strokes.

Brushes, Using Custom

To use a custom paint brush, activate the Paint Brush tool .

On the Tool Options palette, click on the Cursor and Tablet Options tab - this is the second tab (indicated by the green arrow below). Be sure Show brush outlines is checked (circled in green on the Cursor and Tablet Options page overlay) - this will make it easier to place your corner brush precisely.

Click on the Paint Brush Options tab (yellow arrow) to return to the first page of the Tool Options palette.

Click on the "Brush Types icon" in the upper right-hand corner (red arrow). Select Custom in the drop down menu to activate the Custom Brush dialog box:

Left-click on the brush, or on the arrow beside the brush window to select a brush from those available. You will get a pop-up box similar to this:

Note: When you move your cursor over a brush, the path to that brush will pop up. Sometimes it is handy to know this information!

When you have selected your corner brush, click OK. On the Tool Options palette, you will need to adjust the Size of your brush depending on the size of your image. You can also adjust the Opacity, Step, and Build up.

Chisel Effect

To apply the Chisel Effect, choose Effects...3D Effects...Chisel. This effect adds a three-dimensional border to an image, using the background color to color the chisel area if that option is selected.

Color - Finding the Color You Just Used

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!

Color - Set From An Image

To set your foreground color to a color from your image, activate the Dropper tool and left-click on the color you want.

To set your background color to a color from your image, activate the Dropper tool and right-click on the color you want.

To use the color you have set from an image, set the corresponding style to Solid Color (see Solid Color, Set A Style To below).

Color Replacer Tool, Using

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 ",".

Colored Edges Effect

To apply the Colored Edges effect, choose Effects...Artistic Effects...Colored Edges.

Colorize An Image

To colorize an image, use the Colorize command, which replaces all colors in an image or selection with a single color and saturation while leaving the lightness values unchanged. To apply the Colorize command, open the Colorize dialog box by choosing Colors...Colorize (or press SHIFT + L). Drag the Hue slider to the left and right, or type a number in the box to change the hue. Drag the Saturation slider to the left or type a negative number to reduce the saturation; drag it to the right or type a positive number to increase the saturation.

Colors, Select

To set the foreground and/or background colors, use the Solid Colors panel at the top of the Color palette:

The box on the left is the foreground color, and the box on the right is the background color. To select a solid color, left-click a color box to display the Color dialog box. Click a color and then click the OK button.

You can also select colors using the Active Styles Panel. To do so, left-click the small black arrow in either Style box on the Color palette:

On the resulting pop-out box, click on the "Solid color icon":

Then left-click on the color now in the Style box to display the Color dialog box, click a color, and click the OK button.

If you have the Active Styles boxes set to Solid colors, and you select your colors using the Solid Colors panel, these colors also appear in the Active Styles boxes.

Copy A Selection or Image

To copy a selection to the clipboard - an area of your computer’s memory used for temporary storage - while leaving the original image intact, choose Edit...Copy. From the clipboard, you can paste an image into a different image, or a different area or layer of the same image.

Shortcut: CTRL + C

Cutout Effect

To apply a Cutout Effect, choose Effects...3D Effects...Cutout.

Deformation Tool, Use

Use the Deformation tool to rotate, resize, skew, and distort layers, floating selections, and images. To activate this tool, click on the Deformation tool button on the Tool palette. The Deformation handles and guides appear on the image. Deform the image by dragging the handles:

• Resize vertically by dragging the center top and bottom handles.
• Resize horizontally by dragging the center left and right handles.
• Resize horizontally and vertically at the same time by dragging the corner handles.
• Rotate by dragging the center bar.
• Change perspective by pressing CTRL while dragging any of the four corner handles.
• Apply a skew/shear effect by pressing SHIFT while dragging any of the four center handles.
• Distort (move the corner) by pressing SHIFT + CTRL while dragging any of the four corner handles.

To apply the deformation, either click the Apply button on the Tool Options palette or double-click the image.

Shortcut: The keyboard "shortcut" to activate the Deformation tool is "D".

Deselect An Image

To deselect an image, choose Selections...Select None.

Shortcut: CTRL + D

Drop Shadow Effect

To apply a Drop Shadow Effect, choose Effects...3D Effects...Drop Shadow.

Duplicate An Image

To duplicate an image, choose Window...Duplicate.

Shortcut: SHIFT + D

Eraser Tool, Using

Use the Eraser tool to replace colors in an image with the background color or with a transparency. When you drag the Eraser across a raster layer, all the pixels in its path become transparent. When used on a background, the Eraser produces a different effect, acting lika a paintbrush in reverse! When you use the right mouse button, it "paints" with the foreground color, and when you use the left mouse button, it "paints" with the background color.

The Eraser tool retains the information it has removed from a layer - to restore the erased image, right-click and drag the Eraser over the transparent areas.

Shortcut: The keyboard "shortcut" to activate the Eraser tool is "E".

Fine Leather Texture Effect

To apply the Fine Leather Texture effect, choose Effects...Texture Effects...Fine Leather.

Flip An Image

To flip an image, choose Image...Flip.

Shortcut: SHIFT + I

Flood Fill An Image Or A Selection

Activate the Flood Fill tool, and left-click within the image or selection to fill with the foreground color, pattern, or gradient, or right-click within the image or selection to fill with the background color, pattern, or gradient.

Gaussian Blur Command

To use the Gaussian Blur command, choose Effects...Blur...Gaussian Blur, and set the Radius as directed.

Shortcut: CTRL + C

Gradient, Set A Style To

To set either style to Gradient, left-click on the small black arrow on the Style box (shown here for setting the foreground style):

and then left-click on the "Gradient icon" in the pop-out box:

Left-click on the gradient now in the Style box to display the Gradient dialog box, and set the gradient options as directed.

The Styles (1) include Linear, Rectangular, Sunburst and Radial. With the Linear style, you set the angle of rotation by dragging the rotation needle inside the gradient swatch box (2), or by using the numeric edit controls of the Angle box (3).

With the other three styles, set the center of the gradient by dragging the crosshairs (4) on the gradient swatch or by using the numeric edit controls of the Horizontal and Vertical boxes (5).

To reverse the colors in the gradient, select the Invert gradient checkbox (6).

The Repeats option (7), which applies to all gradient styles, is used to set the number of times to repeat the gradient pattern in the image.

Left-click on the gradient in the gradient swatch box, or on the arrow beside the gradient swatch (8), to select your gradient. Scroll until you find the gradient you want, left-click on it, and click OK. The gradient name (9) will appear above the gradient swatch box.

Grid, Using

Grids are available to help you align your artwork and arrange image elements symmetrically. You can display or hide the grids for the image windows. When you display the grids, they appear in all open image windows. You can set the preferences for the grid spacing at inches, centimeters, or pixels. You can also set the horizontal and vertical spacing and the line color for all future grids. Use the General Program Preferences on the Rulers and Units tab to change the settings.

To display or hide the grids:

• Choose View...Grids, or
• Press CTRL + ALT + G

After you display the grid, you can change and save the color, units, and spacing separately for each image window. If you save an image as a PSP7 file, when you close and open it again, the grid appears as you saved it. To change the grid properties for an open image, use one of the following methods:

• 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;
• Double-click the ruler; or
• Choose View...Change Grid and Guide Properties.

When you have the grids and/or the guides displayed, you can use the Snap to feature to automatically align your paint strokes and objects with the grid lines or the guides. The snap points represent the handles on the bounding boxes around objects. Your choices are Upper Left, Upper Right, Lower Left, Lower Right, Left, Right, Top, Bottom, and Center. It is important to remember that the snap to point is on the object which is being placed - it is the point on that object you want to align with the grid lines. This will happen automatically if the object gets close enough to those lines!

The Snap to setting applies to objects you create or paste that have a bounding box around them, such as selections and vector objects.

To turn the Grid Snap feature on or off, choose View...Snap To Grid or select the Snap to grid check box in the Grid and Guide Properties dialog box. When the grids and/or guides are on, you can set an alignment point for objects, and you can change the default snap influence. The snap influence value determines how close (in pixels) your cursor or object must be to a grid line or guide before it is automatically aligned along it.

In the following diagram, I have tried to illustrate what happens with a maroon 25x25 pixel square selected and being inserted onto a 100x100 pixel image whose horizontal and vertical spacing are both set at 20. The grids are displayed, and a small white square has been added to emphasize the snap to point on the maroon square:

Upper Left	Top	Upper right
Left	Center	Right
Lower Left	Bottom	Lower Right

Guides, Using

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.

You can use the snap to feature with guides as well as with grids. See Grid, Using above.

Inner Bevel Effect

To apply an Inner Bevel Effect, choose Effects...3D Effects...Inner Bevel.

Layer, Activate

To activate a layer, click on its Layer Name button on the Layer palette.

Layer, Add Raster

To add a raster layer to an image, choose Layers...New Raster Layer.

Alternate methods: Right-click on any layer in the Layer palette and select New Raster Layer from the pop-up menu. The new layer will be added above the current layer. Or left-click on the Create Layer button in the upper left corner of the Layer palette.

Shortcut: Press SHIFT while clicking the Create Layer button to bypass the Layer Properties dialog.

Layer, Convert To Raster

To convert a vector layer to a raster layer, activate the layer and choose Layers...Convert to Raster Layer.

Alternate method: Right-click on the vector layer in the Layer palette and select Convert to Raster Layer from the pop-up menu.

Note: Merging layers always results in a raster layer, whether the source layers are vector layers, raster layers, or a combination of both!

Layer, Delete

To delete a layer, drag the Layer Name button to the Delete Layer (trashcan) button at the top of the Layer palette, or right-click on the Layer Name button and choose Delete from the pop-up menu.

Layer, Duplicate

To duplicate a layer, activate the layer, and choose Layers...Duplicate.

Alternate methods: Right-click on the layer in the Layer palette, and select Duplicate from the pop-up menu. Another way to duplicate a layer is to drag its Layer Name button to the Create Layer button in the upper left corner of the Layer palette. 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.

Layer, Move

To move a layer up or down within the stack of layers, click its button on the Layer palette and then do one of the following:

• Choose Layers...Arrange...Move Up or Move Down. Each time you choose the command, the layer moves up or down one level.
• Choose Layers...Arrange...Bring to Top to place the layer at the top.
• Choose Layers...Arrange...Send to Bottom to send the layer to the bottom of the stack, or just above the Background layer, if there is one.
• On the Layer palette, drag the Layer Name button up or down to a new position in the stack.

Layer, Rename

To rename a layer, open the Layer Properties dialog box (see Layer Properties Dialog below), type a new name in the name box, and click the OK button to close the dialog box. The Layer palette displays the new name on the Layer Name button.

Alternate method: Right-click the Layer Name button on the Layer palette, choose Rename from the pop-up menu, type the new name, and press ENTER.

Layer Blend Mode, Changing

The Blend mode for each layer is displayed on the Appearance tab of the Layer palette:

The layer blend modes are methods of combining the pixels of the current (active) layer with the pixels of the underlying layers. You are not combining the layers permanently; you are previewing the way they will appear if combined. To combine layers permanently, you need to merge them. The current layer whose blend mode you are changing is the Blend layer. The pixels of this layer are blended into the result of the combination of the pixels of all the underlying layers, not merely the layer directly underneath it.

To change the Layer blend mode, click on the arrow at the end of the Layer Blend Mode box - the resulting flyout menu will list the available blend modes. Alternately, activate the Layer Properties dialog box (see Layer Properties Dialog below) and select the Blend mode from the drop down box. Click on the Help button for more information on each blend mode.

When you select a blend mode from the Layer Properties dialog box or Layer palette, PSP applies the blend to all pixels in the layers. Use the controls on the Blend Ranges tab of the Layer Properties dialog box to limit the pixels that the blend mode affects. By setting opacity based on brightness or channel value, you can drop colors out of the current layer and make other colors show through. For a further discussion on using the Blend Range controls, click the HELP button on the Blend Ranges tab of the Layer Properties dialog box.

Layer Opacity, Changing

The Appearance tab of the Layer palette displays the opacity bar for each layer:

At an overall opacity of 100%, the default value, a layer is totally opaque and none of the underlying layer shows through. As you drag the slider to the left to reduce the opacity, the underlying layer begins to appear. To set the opacity of a layer, do one of the following:

• Drag the Opacity slider on the Layer palette , or
• Enter a value for the Opacity in the Layer Properties dialog box.

Layer Properties Dialog

To open the Layer Properties dialog box, use one of the following methods:

• Right-click the Layer Name button and choose Properties from the pop-up menu.
• Click the Layer Name button and choose Layers...Properties from the main Menu bar.
• Double-click the Layer Name button.

Layers, Hide and View (Unhide)

To hide all layers, right-click on any Layer Name button and choose View...None from the pop-up menu.

To hide a single layer of an image, click on its Visibility button - the little eye glasses to the right of the layer name . The Visibility button will display a red "X" to signify the layer is no longer visible .

To view (unhide) 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 view (unhide) 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 view (unhide) any single layer, click on its visibility button to remove the 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.

Layers, Merge All

To merge all layers of an image, choose Layers...Merge...Merge All (flatten).

Alternate method: Right-click on any layer in the Layer palette and select Merge...Merge All (flatten) from the pop-up menu.

Layers, Merge Visible

To merge only certain layers of an image, you need to leave only those layers visible, and "hide" the rest of the layers. To "hide" a layer, see Layers, Hide above. Once you have hidden all the layers you are NOT merging, activate one of the "visible" layers and select Layers...Merge...Merge Visible.

Alternate method: Right-click on any "visible" layer in the Layer palette and select Merge...Merge Visible from the pop-up menu.

Locking Transparency

The Lock Transparency option restricts the editing of raster layers to the pixels that already contain data. This option is useful when changing the color or texture of a layer, among other things. By default, the Lock Transparency button of a layer on the Layer palette displays a red "X" because this option is not active. Use either the Layer Properties dialog box or the Layer palette Lock Transparency button to control this option on a layer.

To control this option, do either of the following:

• Click the Lock Transparency button on the Appearance tab of the Layer palette.
• Select or clear the "Lock Transparency" check box in the Layer Properties dialog box.

Note: You can lock a layer transparency any time; remember to unlock it before trying to add to the layer!

Mirror An Image

To mirror an image, or reverse it horizontally, choose Image...Mirror.

Shortcut: CTRL + M

Move An Object

To move an object, activate the Mover tool. Left-click on the image and drag to its new location.

No Style (Null), Set A Style To

To set either style to No Style (also called Null), left-click the small black arrow in the corresponding Style box on the Color palette:

On the resulting pop-out box, click on the "No Style (Null) icon":

Noise Command

To add noise to an image, choose Effects...Noise...Add.

Paste Into A Selection

To paste the contents of the clipboard into a selection, choose Edit...Paste...Into Selection.

Shortcut: CTRL + SHIFT + L

Pattern, Set A Style To

To set either style to Pattern, left-click on the small black arrow on the Style box (shown here for setting the foreground style):

and then left-click on the "Pattern icon" in the pop-out box:

Left-click on the pattern now in the Style box to display the Pattern dialog box, and set your Scale (1) and Angle (2) as directed.

Left-click on the pattern in the pattern swatch box, or on the arrow beside the pattern swatch box (3), to select your pattern. Scroll until you find the pattern you want, left-click on it, and click OK. Open images used as patterns will be at the top of the pop-out pattern box. The pattern name (4) will appear above the pattern swatch box.

Plug-in Filters, Applying

To apply downloaded plug-in filters in PSP, choose Effects...Plug-in Filters and find the Plug-in Filter you want on the flyout menu. Depending on the number of filters you have installed, you may have several plug-in filter lists (Plug-in Filters 1, Plug-in Filters 2, etc.). The filters will be listed alphabetically within each list, and from list to list.

Note that several filters require the installation of 2 other files into your WINDOWS SYSTEM folder before they will work. These files are msvcrt10.dll and plugin.dll, which you can get HERE. If you are running WINDOWS 98 or WINDOWS ME, install these files in the C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM folder; if you are running WINDOWS 2000, these files go into the C:\WINNT\SYSTEM32 folder; finally, for WINDOWS XP, install these files in the C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32 folder.

Presets, Use

To use a preset in any PSP effect, select the preset from the Presets drop-down window on the effect dialog panel.

Recent Colors Dialog

For a quick change of colors, right-click on the color box to open the Recent Colors dialog box. The top section always displays the same basic 10 colors or grays. For color images, 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 displays 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.

Retouch Tool, Using

The retouch tool is used to lighten, emboss, change the saturation, and make other retouches to your image. The Retouch tool is usually used on a specific area. It is generally easier to retouch an image if you zoom in on this area to get a closer view. If you want to limit the retouching to a specific area, select the area before using the tool.

Activate the tool by clicking its button on the Tool palette. On the first tab of the Tool Options palette, set the brush tip shape and other options.

Note: 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!

Here is a brief summary of the effect produced by each retouch mode:

Mode	Effect Produced
Lighten	Increases brightness (works on RGB values)
Darken	Decreases brightness (works on RGB values)
Soften	Smooths edges and reduces contrasts
Sharpen	Heightens edges and accentuates contrasts
Emboss	Causes foreground to appear raised from background by suppressing color and tracing edges in black
Smudge	Spreads color from the starting point and picks up new color as it moves, similar to smearing paint
Push	Similar to Smudge mode, but does not pick up any new color as it moves
Dodge	Lightens and brings out the details in areas that are in shadow - produces lighter areas - the opposite of Burn mode
Burn	Darkens areas in the image that are too light - the opposite of Dodge mode
Saturation Up	Increases saturation (affects HSL value)
Saturation Down	Decreases saturation (affects HSL value)
Lightness Up	Increases lightness (affects HSL value)
Lightness Down	Decreases lightness (affects HSL value)
Hue Up	Shifts hue up (affects HSL value)
Hue Down	Shifts hue down (affects HSL value)
Saturation to Target	Applies the saturation value equal to that of the foreground color without affecting the hue or lightness
Lightness to Target	Applies the lightness value equal to that of the foreground color without affecting the saturation or hue
Hue to Target	Applies the hue of the foreground color without affecting the saturation or lightness
Color to Target	Applies the foreground color without affecting the luminance

Once you have set your options, click the image where you want the brush stroke to start and drag the mouse to apply the retouch effect. Release the mouse button to end the brush stroke.

Shortcut: The keyboard "shortcut" to activate the Retouch tool is "Z".

Resize An Image

To resize an image, choose Image...Resize. If the image has more than one layer, select the Resize all layers checkbox to resize the entire image. Leave the box unchecked to resize only the active layer.

Shortcut: SHIFT + S

Note: If you resize using "Bicubic resample" in the Resize type box, you may not need to sharpen the resulting image! However, this depends on the image chosen, and you might have better results using "Smart size", and sharpening!

Ripple Effect

To apply the Ripple effect, choose Effects...Geometric Effects...Ripple.

Rotate An Image

To rotate an image or layer, choose Image...Rotate. In the Rotate dialog box, select the direction and degrees of rotation. To rotate every layer in a multi-layer image, select the All layers check box. Clear the box to rotate only the current layer.

Shortcut: CTRL + R

Sculpture Texture Effect

To apply the Sculpture effect, use Effects...Texture Effects...Sculpture.

The Sculpture effect accentuates the edges of an image so they appear embossed or sculpted. It overlays the result with a semi-transparent colored pattern. In the "Pattern" panel, click the Pattern box or bar and select the pattern to apply - the available patterns are stored in the Patterns folder.

Note: When you move your cursor over a pattern in the Pattern selection box, the path to that pattern will pop up. This should help you find the pattern you are looking for!

Select An Entire Image

To select everything in an image, or select all, choose Selections...Select All.

Shortcut: CTRL + A

To select all the pixels on a layer, you can use one of these 4 methods:

• Select the entire image (CTRL + A), and then float the selection (CTRL + F) - this will select all the non-transparent pixels on the layer.
• Use the Selection tool to draw a rectangle around the image, or part of the image you want to select, and then click within the rectangle - a marquee will appear around the image, or part of an image, that is within your selection.
• If the image is predominately one color, you can use the Magic Wand tool to select the image. Use the Tolerance option to vary similarity to the selected pixel other pixels must have in order to be selected. A tolerance of 0 will select ONLY those pixels with exactly the same RGB value as the selected pixel.
• Choose the Magic Wand tool with Match Mode = All Opaque (called All Pixels in previous versions of PSP) - this will enable you to select only areas containing pixels (no transparent areas are selected)!

Selection, Contract

To contract a selection, choose Selections...Modify...Contract, and enter the number of pixels by which you want the selection to contract.

Selection Marquee, Hide

To hide the Selections marquee (the "marching ants") when it becomes distracting, choose Selections...Hide Marquee! Toggle the marquee back on the same way!

Shortcut: CTRL + SHIFT + M

Note: The selection remains active even when the marquee is hidden!

Selection Marquee, Move

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!

Selection, Copy

To copy a selection, choose Edit...Copy. This command places a copy of a selection on the clipboard while leaving the original image intact. From here you can paste it into a different image or into a different area or layer of the same image.

Shortcut: CTRL + C

Selection, Float

To float a selection, choose Selections...Float.

Shortcut: CTRL + F

Selection, Invert

To invert a selection, choose Selections...Invert.

Shortcut: CTRL + SHIFT + I

Selection, Load From Alpha Channel

To load a selection from an alpha channel, activate the layer in which you want to place the selection, and then choose Selections...Load from Alpha Channel to open the Load From Alpha dialog box. To load a selection from the active image, leave the current image name in the Available Documents box. To load a selection from another image, highlight its file name. Then, in the Available Alpha Channels list, click the selection you want to load.

Selection, Load From Disk

To load a selection from disk, choose Selections...Load From Disk. On the Load Selection Area dialog box, navigate to the folder where you placed your selections, and double-click on the selection you want to load (or left-click on the selection, and click the Open button). The dialog box closes and the selection appears in the image.

Selection, Make With the Magic Wand

To make a selection using the Magic Wand tool, move the Magic Wand over the area you want to select - the center of the crosshairs is the point. Click the color or area you want to select - a marquee surrounds the selection.

Note: In my tutorials, unless otherwise specified, the Magic Wand tool options should be set as follows: Match Mode = RGB Value, Tolerance = 0, Feather = 0, and Sample Merged NOT checked.

Selection, Modify

To modify a selection, choose Selections...Modify. Choices include Contract, Expand, Feather, Grow Selection, Select Similar, and Transparent Color.

Selection, Paste As A New Image

To paste a selection as a new image, choose Edit...Paste...As New Image. This command creates a new image from the selection.

Shortcut: CTRL + V

Selection, Paste As A New Layer

To paste a selection as a new layer, choose Edit...Paste...As New Layer. This command creates a new layer from the selection in the same or a different image.

Shortcut: CTRL + L

Selection, Paste Into A Selection

To paste a selection into a selection, choose Edit...Paste...Into Selection. This command resizes the pasted selection to the size of the selection it is pasted into.

Shortcut: CTRL + SHIFT + L

Selection, Promote to Layer

To promote a selection to a layer, use one of the following methods:

• Choose Selections...Promote to Layer. The name of the new layer is Promoted Selection.
• Right-click on the Layer Name Button of a floating selection and then choose Promote to Layer from the pop-up menu. The name of the new layer is Promoted Selection
• Cut or copy the selection and then press CTRL + L or choose Edit...Paste...As New Layer. The new layer will be created above the current layer, and will have the default name, Layerx, where "x" is "1", or one higher than the highest similarly-named layer in the image.

Shortcut: CTRL + SHIFT + P

Selection, Save To An Alpha Channel

To save a selection to an alpha channel, choose Selections...Save to Alpha Channel to open the Save to Alpha dialog box. The image name appears in the Available Documents box and the Preview displays the selection. In the Available alpha channels list, double-click the New Channel option. When the New Channel box opens, type a name for the selection. Click the OK button. The selection saves to the alpha channel and both dialog boxes close.

Note: There are only 24 alpha channels available within a PSP image - when you try to save the 25th selection, you will get this warning:

If you click NO, you will be returned to PSP without saving the selection. If you click YES, you will see the Save To Alpha dialog box, and you can either select one of the available alpha channels, overwriting it, or delete one of the available alpha channels, and then click on New Channel (at the bottom of the Available alpha channels list) to open the New Channel box.

If you do not want to replace or delete one of your alpha channels, you can save the selection to disk!

Selections, Making Proportional Selections

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!

Shapes, Make Them "Regular"

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!

Shapes, Make Them Specific Sizes

When you are asked to draw a rectangle or any preset shape in a tutorial, the status bar at the bottom of the screen gives you some valuable information. When the status bar is enabled and you move your cursor over the workspace, the coordinates of the cursor appear in the status bar. When you begin drawing, several more numbers appear on the status bar:

The first pair of numbers, or coordinates, always indicates the cursor starting position. The second pair of coordinates indicates the moving cursor position as you draw out your image, and will continue to change until you stop moving the cursor. The third pair of numbers, which also changes as you move your cursor, indicates the dimensions of your image (width by height).

Therefore, if you want an image of a specific size, watch that third set of coordinates!

Sharpen

To sharpen an image, choose Effects...Sharpen...Sharpen. For more control over the amount of sharpening that occurs, choose Effects...Sharpen...Unsharp Mask - I like to start with Radius = 2.00, Strength = 50, and Clipping = 5!

Solid Color, Set A Style To

To set either style to Solid Color, left-click the small black arrow in the corresponding Style box on the Color palette:

On the resulting pop-out box, click on the "Solid color icon":

Then left-click on the color now in the Style box to display the Color dialog box, click a color, and click the OK button.

Status Bar, Enable

If your status bar is not enabled, enable it by choosing View...Toolbars, and checking Status Bar in the pop-up menu.

Styles, Switch

To exchange the foreground (stroke) with the background (fill) style, click the Style Switcher:

Text, Add

To add text to an image, activate the Text tool . Click the image where you want to place the text to open the Text Entry dialog box, which contains the options for setting the content, font attributes, alignment, styles, textures, mode, leading and kerning. Set text options as indicated, and type the text in the Enter text here panel.

Texture, Setting Foreground or Background

To set a foreground or background texture:

• Left-click the arrow in the Texture box - this displays the Textures menu:
• Click on one of the icons to turn the feature on or off:

  - ON, use a texture, or
  - OFF, don't use a texture.

• After setting the texture feature to ON, click inside the Texture box to display the Texture dialog box - from the drop-down box, choose a texture. The box displays the textures installed with Paint Shop Pro and any you have created.

  Note: When you move your cursor over a texture in the Texture selection box, the path to that texture will pop up. This should help you find the texture you are looking for.

• Click the OK button - the texture appears in the Texture box.

Texture Effect

To apply a Texture Effect, choose Effects...Texture Effects...Texture.

The Texture dialog box has 3 columns - the left column contains the texture swatch. Click on the texture swatch or bar to select a texture from those available - the available textures are stored in the Textures folder.

Note: When you move your cursor over a texture in the Texture selection box, the path to that texture will pop up. This should help you find the texture you are looking for.

Enter the values listed in the tutorial for the other fields.

Tiles Texture Effect

To apply the Tiles effect, use Effects...Texture Effects...Tiles.

Tubes (Picture Tubes), Create

To create your own Picture Tube from an image, the image must be 24-bit, and must have only one raster layer with a transparency. Choose File...Export...Picture Tube, and set the file options:

• In the Cell Arrangement panel, enter 1.
• In the Placement Mode box, choose a placement mode, usually Random.
• In the Selection Mode, choose a selection mode - use the Help button for an explanation of selection modes.
• Type in the name you want for your tube in the Tube name box - PSP will add a .tub extension to the name.

Vectors, Adding Nodes

To add a node along an existing contour, press CTRL and move the cursor over the segment where you want to add the node. When the cursor changes to display the word "ADD" ( ), click the line - the new node appears!

Note: In the realm of nodes, LESS is often BETTER - do not add nodes unless you have a specific purpose or goal in mind! The trick in using vectors and node editing is to name the nodes correctly so that the arms do the work for you! The more nodes you have, the more complex your work becomes, and the more lumps and bumps you risk having to smooth! To become proficient, practice with different types of nodes to see what they can do for you! See Vectors, Node Types below for a brief explanation of each node type.

Vectors, Defining or Changing Node Types and Handles

To define or change a node type or one or both of its handles (the handles govern the segments before or after the node), activate the node so that it becomes black. Then right-click on the node, and choose Node Type from the pop-up Node Edit menu. The current node and handle types will be grayed out with selector dots in front of them! You can choose any of the non-grayed out node or handle types.

You can also change the type of several nodes by pressing the shift key while selecting them. To select all nodes, press CTRL + A, or double-click on a node! Then right-click to access the pop-up Node Edit menu.

Shortcut: There are many shortcuts to defining or changing node types and/or handles. Some of the common ones include:

• CTRL + S - symmetric node
• CTRL + X - cusp node
• CTRL + 1 - curve before
• CTRL + 2 - curve after

Remember, the node must be activated (click on it to turn it black) before using the shortcuts!

Vectors, Changing the Shape of a Vector Object

To change the shape of a vector object, enter Node Edit and drag any node to change the contour's shape. Note that if you drag a segment instead of a node, you move the entire contour!

Another way to change the shape of a vector object is to move the control arm handles of a node. When you activate a node, its control arms, with handles at the endpoints, become visible:

Move your cursor over one of these handles - when the cursor shape changes to , click and drag the handle!

Note: Sometimes the control arms are not visible when a node is selected, or only one of the handles is visible. I've found that when I want to make both handles visible, changing the node type to symmetric (CTRL + S) usually helps! However, when a node has lines (rather than curves) on either side of the node, there is no need for a handle on the line side of the node, as the length of the line segment can be changed merely by moving the node itself! Changing the node to symmetric also changes both the before and after segments of the node to curves!

Vectors, Determining Node Types

To determine the type of any node, place your cursor over the node, and read its type on the status bar at the bottom of the screen. It will say something like this:

"Base Point" means the node is neither the starting nor ending point of the curve. "Cusp, Curve Before, Line After" gives you both the node type and the handle types. The "(258 312)" entry represents the coordinates of the node's location on the canvas.

You can also determine the node type by activating the node so that it becomes black, right-clicking on the node, and choosing Node Type from the pop-up menu. The current node and handle type will be grayed out with selector dots in front of them! Here is the pop-up menu for the node whose status bar entry is shown above:

Vectors, Entering Node Edit

To enter Node Edit, you must have a vector object selected. To select a vector object, click on the Object Selector tool , (or press Q in the keyboard). If your Options palette is visible, your cursor will automatically jump to that palette, which will contain 3 items: Node Edit, Properties, and Edit Text. The Edit Text button will always be grayed out, unless your vector object is text! If the Node Edit button is grayed out, activate it by clicking on your vector object. Now click on the Node Edit button. Your vector object will lose its fill and you'll see only its outline! And instead of a bounding box surrounding the object, there are points (nodes) along this outline. Note that as you move your cursor over your object in Node Edit, it changes format:

• When it is a plus sign with small arrowheads at each end ( ), you can move the nodes.
• When it is a small plus sign with no arrowheads ( ), you can add nodes.
• When it is a small curve ( ), you can move the entire vector object.
• When it says START ( ), you can move the node - this node is the start of the curve that makes up the vector object.
• When it says CLOSE ( ), you can move the node - this node is the end of the curve that makes up the vector object, and will be just to the left of the START node.

If your Options Palette is not visible, you can enter Node Edit by activating the Object Selector tool , right-clicking on a vector object, and then choosing Node Edit from the pop-up menu.

Vectors, Exiting Node Edit

To exit Node Edit, use one of the following methods:

• Press the ESC key. PSP exits Node Edit without applying any changes.
• Right click on a node and choose Quit Node Editing from the pop-up menu. PSP applies the changes and exits the Node Editing mode.
• Press CTRL + Q. PSP applies the changes and exits the Node Editing mode.
• Click outside the image. PSP applies the changes and exits the Node Editing mode.

Vectors, Making Selections From Vector Objects

Sometimes as you are working with vector objects, you want to make a selection from the vector object, to save either to disk or an alpha channel. The best and easiest way to do this is to activate the Object Selector tool , select the object, and then choose Selections...From Vector Object. That's all there is to it!

Shortcut: SHIFT + CTRL + B

Vectors, Modifying A Vector Object's Properties

There are four ways to access the Vector Properties dialog box:

• Double-click on the object's Layer Name button on the Layer palette.

  Note: 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 Layer Name buttons of all the vector objects on the layer, click on the plus sign that appears next to the vector layer icon ( ).

• Right-click on the object's Layer Name button on the Layer palette, and choose Properties from the pop-up menu.
• Choose the Object Selector tool , select the object you're interested in, right-click anywhere inside the image and choose Properties from the pop-up menu.
• Activate the Object Selector tool , and press the Properties button on the Tool Options palette.

The Vector Properties dialog box allows you change many things about your vector object without recreating it! These include:

• The name assigned to the vector object.
• The stroke type and/or color, and size.
• The fill type and/or color.
• The line style for the lines of the object.
• Whether the object is to be visible or invisible (used for paths for text).
• Its antialias status - in case you forgot to check Antialias before creating your object!

This is very handy when you have been working on an object, and now want to change its color, or the width of the outside line, or you forgot to add a border (stroke) and now find you need or want one!

Vectors, Node Types

To determine the node type of a particular node, see Vectors, Determining Node Type above. There are actually 3 node types - tangent nodes, corner or cusp nodes, and curve nodes, which are either symmetrical or asymmetrical! The other options in the Node Type pop-up menu describe the node handles which govern the segments before and after the node. Here's a brief explanation of each node type:

• Tangent Node:
  • Has a curve segment on one side of the node, and a line segment on the other side of the node.
  • Has a single handle, on the curve side of the node - the direction of the control handle is always the same as the direction of the line.
  • Allows a curve to bend seamlessly with a line.
• Cusp Node:
  • Used to define a sharp change of direction in the path.
  • Arms move independently.
  • Arms need not maintain any relation to each other.
  • If there are line segments on both sides of the node, there will be no control handles. If there is a line segment on one side of the node, with a curved segment on the other side of the node, there will be only one handle. This will look similar to the tangent node with the single control handle, but unlike the tangent node, the control handle's direction does not have to follow the direction of the line!
• Curve Node, Symmetric:
  • Path is a smooth curve on each side of the node.
  • Arms always equal in length.
  • Arms always maintain a straight line.
• Curve Node, Asymmetric:
  • Arms move independently, and can have different lengths.
  • Arms always maintain a straight line.

Note: The default node type when entering Node Edit for the first time on a vector object (other than some vector lines) is Cusp!