Product Reviews

Corel has done more than simply tag the word 'Photo' onto the name Paint Shop Pro. It has pulled out all the stops to make this latest version of its flagship image-editing program more appealing to novices, while retaining the advanced functions that make it a worthy rival to Adobe Photoshop Elements.

A key component is the new Organizer, which is an image manager for searching, sorting and browsing thumbnail representations of digital photos. These can be tagged for identification, viewed as slideshows and sent via email.

The previous version of Paint Shop Pro came with a separate program for image management, but the new integrated Organizer is miles better. It has automated tools for enhancing slideshow pictures, but when you want to get down to some serious editing, simply double-click a thumbnail.

Organising your workspace

PaintShop Pro can soon get cluttered with the image manager open at the bottom, tool palettes docked on the right, the usual Windows toolbars and menus along the top and the primary toolbox on the left, and things are even worse for beginners who want to keep the Learning Center open. The Learning Center is a simple side-panel that guides you through the whatever task you're trying to do.

The best way of banishing screen clutter is to use the function keys to toggle the palettes and toolbars off and on. With a couple of keystrokes, you can go from information overload to a completely clear editing space and a few minutes spent learning the main keyboard shortcuts is time well spent.

For

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those unfamiliar with advanced editing techniques involving masks, layers and selections, PaintShop Pro Photo XI offers a host of automated and semi-automated adjustments that require no previous editing experience. Among other things, you can correct lens distortion, change colour balance, sharpen or soften an image and remove unwanted foreground or background objects from pictures. Intelligent makeover tools let you apply an instant tan, whiten teeth and remove spots, and art media tools can turn photos into paintings. There are also lots of creative effects involving reflections, distortions and other bits of photo trickery.

New features

New in this version is an automated colour changer that swaps one colour for another, a Films and Filters option that makes digital pictures look as if they were taken on conventional film using optical filters, and a skin-smoothing feature for wrinkles and fine lines. There's also an easy-to-use tool for simulating depth of field by making foreground objects sharp and backgrounds softer, and a really neat way of making photos look as if they were taken in one of seven earlier eras of photography.

Slideshows are created in Corel's proprietary Snapfire format, which means recipients have to download a free copy of Snapfire from Corel's site before they can view them. A time-limited Plus edition of Snapfire is included with Paint Shop Pro and this can create slideshows as in DivX video format, but after 30 days this facility is lost unless you pay for an upgrade to Snapfire Plus.

With the right skills, you can achieve all of the above effects using any professional image editor, but PaintShop Pro puts the same results within reach of everyone. Expert users have not been forgotten and there is RAW image support for a wider range of digital cameras than before, and the curves and levels dialogue boxes have been reworked with histograms to give greater control over critical image adjustments. While such minor improvements are welcome, they are hardly sufficient to justify upgrading. It's targeted at new users who are eager to take their digital photography to the next level.