Contents 1. Welcome .......................................................... 1 Welcome ................................................................................................................ 3 New features ......................................................................................................... 4 Installation ............................................................................................................. 6 2. Getting Started ..........................................
Contents 5. Applying Image Effects .................................. 55 Overview: Applying special effects ............................................................ 57 Using filter layers .............................................................................................. 58 Using the Filter Gallery ................................................................................... 64 Applying 2D layer effects...............................................................................
Contents 8. Painting, Drawing and Text .......................... 125 Painting and brushes .....................................................................................127 Stamping and spraying pictures ...............................................................129 Erasing.................................................................................................................131 Using patterns ..............................................................................................
1 Welcome
2 Welcome
Welcome 3 Welcome Welcome to PhotoPlus X6 from Serif—more than ever, the best value in image creation and editing software for any home, school, organization, or growing business. PhotoPlus is the number one choice for working with photographs and paint-type images, whether for the web, multimedia, or the printed page. PhotoPlus has the features you’ll need...
4 Welcome New features • 64-bit Operation for Faster Photo Editing PhotoPlus X6 is fully optimized for operation on 64-bit computers, and will automatically install for 64-bit operation accordingly. Open photos of large image size, especially raw images, in an instant! Benefit from all-round faster PhotoPlus performance. • Intelligent Brush-based Selection Use the Smart Selection Brush Tool to create fast accurate selections which intelligently grow to objects and edges in your image.
Welcome 5 • Latest Noise Reduction Technology Remove noise from photos taken in low-light conditions or at high ISO camera settings with the new Noise Reduction filter. Available via RAW import or PhotoFix, both luma and chroma noise can be removed using independent controls. • Non-destructive Cropping Enjoy the ability to uncrop any previously cropped images at any time in the future. Ideal if you want to re-crop your image again or if you change your mind about the original crop.
6 Welcome Installation Minimum: • Windows-based PC with DVD/CD drive and mouse • Operating system: Microsoft Windows® XP* SP2 (32 bit) Windows® Vista (32 or 64 bit) Windows® 7 (32 or 64 bit) Windows® 8 (32 or 64 bit) • 512MB RAM (1GB RAM for 64-bit operation) • 821MB free hard disk space (including PhotoPlus Organizer). • 1024 x 768 monitor resolution Additional disk resources and memory are required when editing large and/or complex images. * Requires Microsoft Windows Imaging Component.
2 Getting Started
8 Getting Started
Getting Started 9 Startup Wizard Once PhotoPlus has been installed, you're ready to start! • For Windows Vista/7: The Setup routine during install adds a Serif PhotoPlus X6 entry to the Windows Start menu. Use the Windows Start button to pop up the Start Menu, click on All Programs and then click the PhotoPlus icon. • For Windows 8: The Setup routine during install adds a Serif PhotoPlus X6 entry to the desktop. Use the Windows Start button to pop up the desktop, and then click the PhotoPlus icon.
10 Getting Started Use the Choose Workspace drop-down list to choose your workspace appearance (i.e., Studio tab positions, tab sizes, and show/hide tab status). You can adopt the default workspace profile , the last used profile , a range of pre-defined profiles, or a custom workspace profile you've previously saved. As you click on different profiles from the menu, your workspace will preview each tab layout in turn.
Getting Started 11 Starting from scratch PhotoPlus deals with two basic kinds of image files. We'll differentiate them as pictures (still images) and animations (moving images). The two types are closely related, and creating either from scratch in PhotoPlus involves the same series of steps. PhotoPlus lets you create an image based on a pre-defined canvas size (e.g., 10 x 8 in).
12 Getting Started 4. (Optional) Select a Color Mode, choosing to operate in RGB or Grayscale mode. 5. (Optional) Select a Bit Depth of 16 bits per channel for projects which require higher levels of color detail. Otherwise a bit depth of 8 bits/channel is used as default. 6. (Optional) Select a background type in the Background drop-down list. 7. • When painting from scratch, you'll normally choose White.
Getting Started 13 To open a recently opened PhotoPlus Picture or graphic (via Startup Wizard): 1. From the Startup Wizard (at startup time or via File>New from Startup Wizard.), select your SPP file or graphic file from the Open section. The most recently opened file will be shown at the top of the list. To see a thumbnail preview of any file before opening, hover over its name in the list. 2. Click the file name to open it.
14 Getting Started To open any image file: 1. From the Startup Wizard (at startup time or via File>New from Startup Wizard.), click Browse. OR Click Open on the Standard toolbar. 2. In the Open dialog, select the folder and file name. To open multiple files, press the Shift or Ctrl key when selecting their names (for adjacent or nonadjacent files). 3. Click Open to open the desired image as a maximized document.
Getting Started 15 Saving a file The process of saving differs depending on the type of file you are working on, the file's current saved state and the file type you want to save. PhotoPlus lets you work on (and save) one of several file types: • An open PhotoPlus Picture (.spp) file is project-based and so preserves 'project' information (e.g., layers, masks, paths) when saving the file. • For a currently open image file you can edit and save the image back to its original format.
16 Getting Started To save your currently open image: • If you've altered the background layer only and no layers, paths, or masks have been added, you can save (without prompt) the altered image to its current base name (shown in the window title bar) by choosing one of the above Save options. Changes are included in the image. OR • If you've added layers, paths, or masks to your image, when you click a Save option you'll be asked if you want to preserve the "project" information.
3 Layers, Masks, and Blending
18 Layers, Masks, and Blending
Layers, Masks, and Blending 19 Introduction to layers If you're accustomed to thinking of pictures as flat illustrations in books, or as photographic prints, the concept of image layers may take some getting used to. However, they are one of the most powerful features in PhotoPlus, allowing you to adjust and manipulate your photos in a variety of ways in a non-destructive environment.
20 Layers, Masks, and Blending Kinds of layers In a typical PhotoPlus image—for example, a photograph you've scanned in, a new picture file you've just created, or a standard bitmap file you've opened— there is one layer that behaves like a conventional "flat" image. This is called the Background layer, and you can think of it as having paint overlaid on an opaque, solid color surface. You can create any number of new layers in your image.
Layers, Masks, and Blending 21 • Text layers work like Shape layers, but are intended exclusively for text. (See Creating and editing text; p. 150.) • Fill layers contain an adjustable solid color or gradient fill. (See Fill Layers; PhotoPlus Help.) • Adjustment layers apply corrective image adjustments to lower layers. (See Using adjustment layers; p. 38.
22 Layers, Masks, and Blending Selections and layers With few exceptions, you will work on just one layer at any given time—click a layer on the Layers tab to activate and work on that layer. Tools and commands generally affect the entire active layer. However, if there's a selection in place, tools and commands are limited to the pixels inside the selection. Selections are independent from layers. They don't actually include image content—they just describe a region with boundaries.
Layers, Masks, and Blending 23 • To create a new standard layer above the active layer, click the New Layer button on the Layers tab. Dragging a file from Windows Explorer and dropping it onto the current window also creates a new layer from the dragged image. • Click the New Fill or Adjustment Layer button to apply a Fill Layer or an image adjustment layer. (See Fill Layers in PhotoPlus Help and Using adjustment layers on p. 38.
24 Layers, Masks, and Blending To control layer content: • To select all layer content use Select>Select All or Ctrl+A. To select non-transparent regions on a layer, Ctrl-click on a layer thumbnail. Use Select>Invert or Ctrl+Shift+I to select transparent regions. • To move layer content, select one or more layers containing the content to be moved (from the Layers tab), then drag with the Move Tool with no selection area present (press Ctrl+D to remove any selection).
Layers, Masks, and Blending 25 Adjusting opacity/transparency Opacity and transparency describe essentially the same thing. They both describe the extent to which a particular pixel's color contributes to the overall color at that point in the image. Fully opaque pixels contribute their full color value to the image. Fully transparent pixels are invisible: they contribute nothing to the image. In-between pixels are called semi-transparent.
26 Layers, Masks, and Blending To set a tool's opacity: • Select the tool (e.g., Paintbrush Tool) and from the context toolbar either enter a percentage Opacity value directly or use the slider (click the option's right arrow button). To set a layer's opacity: • Select the layer in the Layers tab and adjust the Opacity setting at the top of the tab—either enter a percentage Opacity value directly or use the slider (click the option's right arrow button).
Layers, Masks, and Blending 27 Using masks Masking can also be applied to adjustment and effect filters, where you can isolate regions (e.g., an image background) to which you want a filter to be applied. (See Using filter layers on p. 58). Similarly, you can use studio-based filter masking on adjustments by using PhotoFix (see p. 46). Creating the mask Before you can use a mask, you have to create it on a particular layer.
28 Layers, Masks, and Blending To create a mask: 1. Select a layer in the Layers tab. This is the layer where you want to create the mask, and select specific region(s) if desired. 2. Click the Add Layer Mask button to create a Reveal All mask (or Reveal Selection if there is one). Instead, Alt-click the button for a Hide All Mask (or Hide Selection).
Layers, Masks, and Blending 29 Editing on the mask When you create your mask you immediately enter Edit Mask mode, where you can use the full range of painting tools, selection options, flood fills, gradient fills, and effects to alter the mask's grayscale values. These manipulations cause corresponding changes in opacity, which in turn changes the appearance of the pixels on the layer itself. The image window's titlebar shows "Mask", indicating that a mask is currently being edited.
30 Layers, Masks, and Blending It's sometimes helpful to switch on the View Mask setting, which hides the layer and lets you see only the mask, in all its grayscale glory. For example, a Reveal All mask appears pure white in View Mask mode—the white represents a clear mask with no effect on the underlying layer pixels' opacity. View Mask can also be useful in the latter stages of working on a mask, to locate any small regions that may have escaped your attention.
Layers, Masks, and Blending 31 Using blend modes You can think of blend modes as different rules for putting pixels together to create a resulting color. In PhotoPlus, you'll encounter blend modes on layers or effects. The colors of an upper layer blend with colors of the lower layer in different ways according to the upper layer's blend mode. To set a tool's blend mode: • Select the tool and use the drop-down list (displays Normal by default) on the tool's context toolbar.
32 Layers, Masks, and Blending
4 Making Image Adjustments
34 Making Image Adjustments
Making Image Adjustments 35 Introduction to image adjustments A major part of photo-editing is making corrections (i.e., adjustments) to your own near-perfect images. Whether you’ve been snapping with your digital camera or you've just scanned a photograph, at some point you may need to call on PhotoPlus’s powerful photo-correction tools to fix some unforeseen problems. For photo-correction, several methods can be adopted.
36 Making Image Adjustments Overview: Adjusting image colors PhotoPlus provides a number of different adjustment filters that you can apply to a selection or to an active standard layer. Typically, these adjustments are used to correct deficiencies in the original image. The adjustment can be applied in one of several ways: • via the Adjustments tab, as an adjustment layer (non-destructive). • via PhotoFix, a studio environment for managing and applying cumulative adjustments (non-destructive).
Making Image Adjustments 37 • Color Balance: Lets you adjust color and tonal balance for general color correction in the image. • Replace Color: Tags one or more ranges of the full color spectrum that require adjustment in the image, then apply variations in hue, saturation, and/or brightness to just those color regions (not to be confused with the simpler Replace Color Tool).
38 Making Image Adjustments Instead of the manual tonal adjustments above, the PhotoPlus Image menu affords a number of functions you can apply to correct shadow/highlight values in an image automatically. Adjust>AutoLevels or Adjust>AutoContrast may do the job in one go; if not, you can use Adjust>Levels. or Adjust>Shadow/Highlight/Midtone. (See PhotoPlus Help for details.
Making Image Adjustments 39 An adjustment layer is created by selecting an adjustment from the Adjustments tab. As its name suggests, an adjustment layer is considered a layer so it will appear in the Layers tab on creation. Unlike the other layer types, adjustment layers don't store content in the form of bitmap images, text, or shapes.
40 Making Image Adjustments The following adjustments are available: • Levels: Adjust contrast and tonal range by shifting dark, light, and mid-tone values. • Curves: Fine-tune lightness (luminance) values in the image or color channel using a line graph. • Color Balance: Adjust color and tonal balance for general color correction in the image. • Brightness/Contrast: Vary brightness and/or contrast. • Hue/Saturation/Lightness: Vary hue, saturation, and/or lightness values.
Making Image Adjustments 41 To create an adjustment layer: 1. From the Adjustments tab, select an adjustment. You can choose a default adjustment or a named preset by expanding the adjustment entry (click ). 2. In the Layers tab, the new adjustment layer is inserted above the active layer. The adjustment is applied to all underlying layers. 3. From the Adjustments tab, change the applied adjustment layer's settings to suit your requirements.
42 Making Image Adjustments To save an adjustment layer as a new preset: 1. Select and then modify an adjustment layer in the Adjustments tab. 2. Click 3. From the dialog, name your custom adjustment layer, and click OK. Add Preset. Custom adjustments will appear under the adjustment's type in the tab's adjustment list. To modify an adjustment layer: 1. Click the adjustment layer's name in the Layers tab. 2. From the Adjustments tab, modify the applied adjustment layer's settings.
Making Image Adjustments 43 Clipping adjustment layers Clipping allows you to restrict the scope of an adjustment layer, i.e. the adjustment influences only the layer immediately below it, rather than all underlying layers. To clip an adjustment layer: • Click Clip to Layer Below on the selected adjustment layer (in the Adjustments tab). OR Right-click the adjustment in the Layers tab and select the same option.
44 Making Image Adjustments To unclip a selected layer: • In the Adjustments tab, click Clip to Layer Below. One additional benefit of the clipping feature is that you can apply a mask to a lower layer (thumbnail circled below) so that adjustment layers above that are "clipped" to that lower layer. This saves you creating a mask per adjustment layer.
Making Image Adjustments 45 Retouching tools The Tools toolbar includes an assortment of comparatively simple pressuresensitive brush-based tools that come in handy at various stages of photo editing. Retouching tools work on Background and standard layers, but not on text layers or shape layers.
46 Making Image Adjustments Using PhotoFix PhotoFix provides an image adjustment environment within PhotoPlus which simplifies the often complicated process of image correction. The studio environment offers the following key features: • Adjustment filters Apply tonal, color, lens, sharpening, and noise reduction filters. • Retouching filters Apply red-eye correction, spot repair, straightening, and cropping.
Making Image Adjustments To launch PhotoFix: • Click PhotoFix on the Photo Studio toolbar. Let's get familiar with the PhotoFix interface showing a non-default Split horizontal view. (A) Retouch tools, (B) Main toolbar, (C) Main Workspace, (D) Histogram, (E) Filters, (F) Favorites.
48 Making Image Adjustments Adjustments overview Adjustments are made available to the right of the main window from the Filters section. Here's a quick overview of all the adjustments hosted in PhotoFix, some tool-based and some available as filters. Retouch tools: • Red Eye Removes the dreaded red eye effect from subject's eyes—commonly encountered with flash photography. • Spot Repair Removes skin blemishes and other flaws.
Making Image Adjustments 49 Filter-based: • Noise Reduction Use Luma and Chroma adjustments to reduce noise in photos taken in low light or from cameras with high ISO settings. • White Balance "Cool down" or "warm up" your photo by adjusting lighting either by selecting presets or customizing temperature/tint combinations. • Lighting Simple adjustments to a photo's exposure, brightness, contrast, shadows, and highlights. • Curves Correct the tonal range of a photo, i.e.
50 Making Image Adjustments To apply an adjustment (from a favorites preset): 1. From the Favorites tab, scroll the tab to review the categorized adjustments; select a preset or custom thumbnail. 2. Click OK. When applied, your image layer is automatically converted to a non-destructive filter layer with a PhotoFix adjustment entry nested under the filter layer entry. To apply an adjustment (using custom settings): 1.
Making Image Adjustments 51 Using PhotoFix masks Masks in PhotoFix adopt the same principles as layer masks (see p. 27). In PhotoFix however, masking is used to apply adjustment filters to selected "painted" regions of your image or to protect painted regions from change. Painting is used exclusively to create PhotoFix masks. Each new mask comprises the selected mask region, plus a set of adjustments applied to that mask. You can change the adjustments associated with the mask at a later date.
52 Making Image Adjustments To apply a mask: Create Mask from the main toolbar. 1. Select 2. In the Mask Brush pane, select the 3. Adjust the settings to suit your requirements. For example, adjust Brush Size to paint larger or more intricate regions. 4. In the Mode drop-down list, choose one of the following options: Add Region tool. • Select: Choose this if you want to apply the filter only to the regions you paint. This is the default setting.
Making Image Adjustments 53 Adding multiple masks So far we've looked at an individual mask applied to an image. However, PhotoFix also supports multiple masks where a different set of adjustments can be applied to each mask. You can therefore build up a patchwork of masked regions for absolute and selective control of image adjustments. To apply additional masks: 1. In PhotoFix, click the down arrow on the Filters heading. 2. From the drop-down list, select New. 3.
54 Making Image Adjustments To edit a mask: 1. From the down arrow on the Filters heading, select your mask name (a check indicates selection). 2. Modify your adjustments as described previously. Saving favorites If there's a specific filter setting (or combination of filters) you want to keep for future use it's easy to save it as a favorite. PhotoFix stores preset and custom favorites together in the Favorites tab. You can even create your own categories (e.g.
5 Applying Image Effects
56 Applying Image Effects
Applying Image Effects 57 Overview: Applying special effects Special effects are grouped into different categories, i.e. distort, blur, sharpen, edge, noise, render, stylistic, and artistic, which offer you a diverse choice of creative opportunities in PhotoPlus. Before going ahead and applying your effects, it's a good idea to review Using filter layers (see p. 58) before deciding on your approach, i.e. whether you work non-destructively or destructively.
58 Applying Image Effects Using filter layers If you apply a filter effect to a standard or background layer, the layer is permanently altered. However, if you want the flexibility of being able to edit your filters at any point in the future (and don't want to destroy the layer contents) you can convert your standard or background layer to a Filter Layer (e.g., L_213).
Applying Image Effects 59 To convert to a filter layer: • In the Layers tab, right-click a standard or Background layer and choose Convert to Filter Layer. The layer now shows the letter "F" indicating that it is now a filter layer, and ready to have a filter applied. To add filters to the filter layer: 1. Select the filter layer. 2. Add an adjustment via the Image menu (see p. 36). OR Add an effect via the Effects menu or via the Filter Gallery (see p. 64).
60 Applying Image Effects Managing filter groups and specific filters When you apply a filter to a filter layer it automatically creates a filter group. This allows you to store and manage a selection of filters more easily— you'll be able to control multiple filters in bulk by operating at the group level, e.g. to hide/show, delete, apply blend modes, and opacity to all filters simultaneously.
Applying Image Effects 61 Editing filters The core objective of filter layers is to host filters applied to your image. Once a filter is applied, it's likely that you may want to edit it at a later date. To edit a filter: 1. Double-click the filter entry, e.g. Gaussian Blur. OR Right-click the filter and select Edit Filter. 2. The filter can then be edited via dialog or Filter Gallery. Adjust the filter and click OK. Using filter masks In an identical way to layer masks (see p.
62 Applying Image Effects To create a filter mask (from a selection): 1. Make a selection on which your mask will be based, e.g. a brush selection around the subject of interest. By default the area outside the selection is masked (i.e. not affected by the filter), while the selection area retains the applied filter. If you want to do the opposite, choose Invert from the Select menu. 2. In the Layers tab, select the filter layer to which you wish to apply a filter. 3.
Applying Image Effects 3. 63 Right-click the created filter group and select Add Mask from the flyout menu and then one of the following from the submenu: • Reveal All for a transparent mask • Hide All for an opaque mask. A mask thumbnail appears to the left of the filter name. 4. Paint or draw on your image using a suitable grayscale value set as your foreground color. The mask thumbnail updates accordingly. The mask thumbnail would apply a mask which produces a vignette effect.
64 Applying Image Effects Using the Filter Gallery The Filter Gallery offers a one-stop studio environment for applying single or multiple filter effects. The gallery hosts sets of filter thumbnails which are categorized into different effect categories (e.g., Distort, Blur, Sharpen, Edge, Artistic, Noise, Render, etc.). Thumbnails are shown in expandable categories. The Filter Gallery offers the following key features: • Application of individual or multiple filter effects simultaneously.
Applying Image Effects 65 To add a filter in the Filter Gallery: 1. Expand your chosen effect category by clicking the to collapse). Expand button (click Click on an effect thumbnail to apply it to your image. The applied filter is shown in a Filters stack in the lower-right corner of the Filter Gallery. The properties of any selected effect will be displayed in the expanded area under the effect name—you can alter and experiment with these at any time.
66 Applying Image Effects Use the Undo button to undo recent changes to the filter (or the Redo button to re-apply the changes). 2. Adjust sliders (or enter input values) until your filter suits your requirements. Some filters offer check boxes, drop-down lists, and additional controls (e.g., Advanced settings). The large preview window updates automatically as you adjust any values.
Applying Image Effects 67 To replace a filter: 1. Ensure Replace selected is checked. 2. Select the filter you wish to replace by clicking anywhere in the filter's pane. On selection, the selected filter shows a lighter background, e.g, Gaussian below. 3. Select a replacement filter from an effect category. Your selected filter is replaced in the stack with no change made to the existing stack order. The order in which effects appear in the effect list may produce very different results.
68 Applying Image Effects Applying 2D layer effects Layer effects can be applied to the contents of standard layers, text layers, or shape layers. Standard or "2D" layer effects like shadow, glow, bevel, and emboss are particularly well adapted to text, while 3D layer effects (covered elsewhere; p. 70) create the impression of a textured surface.
Applying Image Effects 69 • Drop Shadow adds a diffused shadow "behind" solid regions on a layer. • Inner Shadow adds a diffused shadow inside the edge of an object. • Outer Glow adds a color border outside the edge of an object. • Inner Glow adds a color border inside the edge of an object. • Bevel and Emboss/Inner Bevel adds a rounded-edge effect inside an object. • Bevel and Emboss/Outer Bevel adds a rounded-edge effect (resembling a drop shadow) outside an object.
70 Applying Image Effects Applying 3D layer effects 3D layer effects are just as easy to apply, but they’re a bit more complex than their 2D cousins (see p. 68). Actually, there’s an easy way to get started with them: simply display the Instant Effects tab and preview its gallery thumbnails. In the tab you’ll see a variety of remarkable 3D surface and texture presets grouped into wide-ranging "themed" categories (e.g., Glass Text, Abstract, Wood, Metal).
Applying Image Effects 71 If you want to have complete flexibility when creating 3D effects, you can click the Add Layer Effects button on the Layers tab.. The dialog is shared for both 2D and 3D effects—simply check the 3D Effects box and experiment with the settings (enable other 3D check boxes as appropriate). For more information about creating 3D filter effects, see PhotoPlus Help.
72 Applying Image Effects To apply 3D Effects: • • Add Layer Effects on the Layers tab and check 3D Effects Click in the Layer Effects dialog. Adjust the "master control" sliders here to vary the overall properties of any individual 3D effects you select. • Blur specifies the amount of smoothing applied. Larger blur sizes give the impression of broader, more gradual changes in height. • Depth specifies how steep the changes in depth appear.
Applying Image Effects 73 Transparency The uniform transparency of a layer and its objects (with 3D layer effects applied) can be controlled via the Layers tab with the Opacity option (see rear heart shape in example below). However, for more sophisticated transparency control, transparency settings can instead be set within the Layer Effects dialog.
74 Applying Image Effects Merging bracketed photos High Dynamic Range (HDR) merge, or tone mapping, is used to combine bracketed photos or scanned images from film, each shot taken at different exposure levels (typically one each for highlights, midtones, and shadows) and within seconds apart. Your camera can't capture all exposure levels in a single shot, so by bringing together multiple photos you can expand your image's dynamic range which would otherwise be impossible in a single shot.
Applying Image Effects 75 For good results, it's important to bear the following points in mind: • Many modern cameras offer auto-bracketing which automatically takes several shots at different exposure levels. A two-EV spacing is considered to be optimum for most occasions. Alternatively, shoot with manual exposure set. • Always shoot the same scene! Your output is based on a composite of the same scene. • Take as many shots as is needed to cover your required dynamic range.
76 Applying Image Effects To select and merge bracketed photos: 1. From the Startup Wizard, click HDR Photo Merge. OR Select HDR Merge from the File menu. 2. From the HDR Source Files dialog, click Add. 3. Browse to, then select multiple files from the chosen folder—use Ctrlclick or Shift-click for selecting non-adjacent or adjacent images. Click Open.
Applying Image Effects 77 5. (Optional) Check Infer film response curve to affect a tone curve needed to accurately process scanned images (from camera film). Otherwise, keep unchecked for digital camera use. 6. Click OK. The Merge HDR dialog is displayed, showing a preview of your intermediate HDR image. Don't worry if your initial results look less than desirable. You're only half way towards your stunning image but you'll need to modify the HDR image using a series of adjustments next.
78 Applying Image Effects 10. From the next dialog, you'll be asked if you want to save the intermediate HDR Image or just continue as an untitled project. • Click Yes to preserve the HDR image. This saves having to select, align, and merge images again, but you'll still need to reapply any adjustments previously made. Select a file location, file format, name for your file, then click Save. The file format, OpenEXR (.exr), Radiance (.hdr), or HD Photo (.hdp), can be chosen from the drop-down list.
6 Manipulating Images
80 Manipulating Images
Manipulating Images 81 Making a selection In any photo editing program, the selection tools and techniques are as significant as any of the basic brush tools or commands. The basic principle is simple: quite often you'll want to perform an operation on just a portion of the image. To do this you must define an active selection area. The wide range of selection options in PhotoPlus lets you: • Define just about any selection shape, using various drawing and painting techniques.
82 Manipulating Images To cancel the selection (select nothing): • From the Select menu, click Deselect. The opposite of selecting nothing is selecting everything... To select the entire active layer: • Choose Select All from the Select menu. For partial selection of opaque pixels, you can Ctrl-click the layer thumbnail (in Layers tab). If your image has multiple layers, and you switch to another layer, the selection doesn't stay on the previous layer—it follows you to the new active layer.
Manipulating Images Lasso Tools flyout 83 Freehand Selection Tool—lets you draw a freehand (irregular) line which is closed automatically to create an irregularly shaped selection area. Polygon Selection Tool—lets you draw a series of straight-line segments (double-click to close the polygon). Magnetic Selection Tool—lets you trace around an object edge creating a selection line that snaps to the edge as you drag.
84 Manipulating Images For any selection tool, the context toolbar includes combination buttons (New*, Add, Subtract, and Intersect*) that determine the effect of each new selection operation.
Manipulating Images 85 Selecting layer opacity/transparency New layers are transparent (they have an alpha channel) , but once you've placed pixels on the layer you'll be able to select between the layer's pixels (i.e., their opacity) and remaining transparency. To create a selection from a layer's opacity/transparency: • For selection of Opacity: In the Layers tab, Ctrl-click on the layer’s image thumbnail. • For selection of Transparency: As above, but additionally select Invert from the Select menu.
86 Manipulating Images To select a color range: 1. Choose Color Range from the Select menu. The Color Range dialog opens with a selection preview window. 2. To make an initial selection: • To tag a particular color or tone group, such as "Reds" or "Midtones," choose the group’s name from the Select drop-down list. OR Click Color Picker to sample a chosen pixel color from the image in your workspace.
Manipulating Images 87 Storing selections You can store selections (i.e., just the marqueed region and per-pixel selectedness data) as part of either the current image or any open image file, and load a stored selection at any time. It's often useful to be able to "grab" the same region of an image at different phases of working on it.
88 Manipulating Images To store a selection: 1. Make a selection on your image. 2. Create Channel From Selection. The In the Channels tab, select channel appears with a default name (rename via double-click if needed). Use New Channel on the Channels tab to create an empty channel on which you can design (e.g., paint) in grayscale for different levels of "selectedness". To load a selection: • In the Channels tab, select Create Selection From Channel.
Manipulating Images 89 Modifying a selection Once you've used a selection tool to select a region on the active layer, you can carry out a number of additional steps to fine-tune the selection before you actually apply an effect or manipulation to the selected pixels. Transforming the selection The Selection Deform Tool on the Tools toolbar's Deform Tools flyout lets you transform, scale or rotate any already drawn selection area.
90 Manipulating Images Making the selection larger or smaller If the selection you've made isn't quite the right shape, or doesn't quite include all the necessary pixels (or perhaps includes a few too many), you can continue to use the selection tools to add to, or subtract from, the selected region. To add or subtract to/from the existing selection with a selection tool: • Select the tool and drag while holding down the Shift or Alt key, respectively.
Manipulating Images 91 To modify a current selection: 1. From any Selection context toolbar, select Modify Selection. 2. From the Modify Selection dialog, you can enter a specific pixel value for the type of operation you require. 3. • Feather: Use to apply feathering to the edge of an existing selection (but before applying any editing changes). Enter the width (in pixels) of the transition area. A higher value produces a wider, more gradual fade-out. See Soft-edged and hard-edged selections on p.
92 Manipulating Images The Modify item on the Select menu (or right-click on selection) provides a submenu with the above options, along with other intelligent selection options: • Grow and Similar both expand the selection by seeking out pixels close (in color terms) to those in the current selection. Grow only adds pixels adjacent to the current selection, while Similar extends the selection to any similar pixels in the active layer.
Manipulating Images 93 Soft-edged and hard-edged selections Anti-aliasing and feathering are different ways of controlling what happens at the edges of a selection. Both produce softer edges that result in smoother blending of elements that are being combined in the image. You can control either option for the Standard and QuickShape Selection tools, using the Feather input box (or slider) and Anti-alias check box on the context toolbar.
94 Manipulating Images Manipulating a selection Moving the selection marquee Sometimes, you need to adjust the position of the marquee without affecting the underlying pixels. Any time you're using one of the selection tools, the cursor over a selected region changes to the Move Marquee cursor, which lets you drag the marquee outline to reposition it. You’re only moving the selection outline—not the image content inside it. You can also use the keyboard arrows to "nudge" the selection marquee.
Manipulating Images 95 Using the Move Tool The Move Tool is for pushing actual pixels around. With it, you can drag the content of a selection from one place to another, rather than just moving the selection outline. To use it, simply click on the selection and drag to the new location. The selected part of the image moves also. • If nothing is selected, dragging with the Move Tool moves the entire active layer.
96 Manipulating Images Cut/Copy/Delete/Paste Cut and copy operations on selections involving the Clipboard work just as in other Windows programs. • To copy pixels in the selected region, press Ctrl+C or click the Copy button on the Standard toolbar. (You can also choose Copy from the Edit menu.) • To cut the selected pixels, press Ctrl+X or choose Cut from the Edit menu. • To delete the selected pixels, press the Delete key or choose Clear from the Edit menu.
Manipulating Images 97 When pasting from the Clipboard, PhotoPlus offers several options. • To paste as a new image in an untitled window, press Ctrl+V or click the Paste as New image button on the Standard toolbar. (Or select from the Edit>Paste menu.) • To paste as a new layer above the active layer, press Ctrl+L or choose Paste>As New Layer from the Edit menu. • To paste into the current selection, press Shift+Ctrl+L or choose Paste> Into Selection from the Edit menu.
98 Manipulating Images Changing image and canvas size You probably know that image dimensions are given in pixels ("dots of paint" that comprise a screen image). In PhotoPlus there are options to change the image size and to change the canvas size, but what's the difference and how do you perform each resize? Changing image size Changing the image size means scaling the whole image (or just a selected region) up or down.
Manipulating Images 99 To resize the image for on-screen display: 1. Choose Image Size from the Image menu. 2. Select the Resize layers option to link the Pixel Size (screen) settings to the Print Size or Resolution settings. 3. To retain the current image proportions, check Maintain aspect ratio. Uncheck the box to alter the dimensions independently. 4. Select a preferred scale (either "Pixels" or "Percent") in the drop-down list. 5. Select a resampling method.
100 Manipulating Images Changing canvas size Changing the canvas size just involves adding or taking away pixels around the edges of the image. It's like adding to the neutral border around a mounted photo, or taking a pair of scissors and cropping the photo to a smaller size. In either case, the remaining image pixels are undisturbed so there's no distortion. You will change the canvas size when: • you want to add a border to your image (without changing the size of the image itself).
Manipulating Images 101 To change canvas size: 1. Choose Canvas Size from the Image menu. 2. Enter New Width and/or New Height values (the current values are also shown for comparison). Alternatively, select the Relative check box to enter the number of units you want to add to the existing width and height values—for example, 5 pixels, 1 cm, 100 points, 10 percent, and so on. 3. In the Anchor box, click to position the image thumbnail with respect to edges where pixels should be added or subtracted.
102 Manipulating Images Straightening photos As an image adjustment, the Straighten Tool can be used to align a crooked image back to horizontal (e.g., restoring proper horizontal alignment in a scanned image that wasn't aligned correctly on the scanner). Use the tool to trace a new horizon against a line in the image—the image automatically orients itself to the drawn horizon.
Manipulating Images 103 To straighten (via Straighten Tool): 1. On the Tools Toolbar, expand the Crop Tools flyout and click the Straighten Tool. 2. On the context toolbar, choose an option from the Canvas drop-down list. This lets you decide how your straightened image will be displayed: • Crop - Crops and adjusts the straightened image so that it displays on the largest possible canvas size, without displaying any border.
104 Manipulating Images Cropping an image Cropping is the electronic equivalent of taking a pair of scissors to a photograph, except of course with a pair of scissors there is no second chance! Cropping deletes all of the pixels outside the crop selection area, and then resizes the image canvas so that only the area inside the crop selection remains. Use it to focus on an area of interest—either for practical reasons or to improve photo composition.
Manipulating Images 105 To crop unconstrained: 1. From the Tools toolbar's Crop Tools flyout, select the Crop Tool. Ensure the Unconstrained option is set in the context toolbar's first drop-down list. 2. Drag out a rectangle to create an unconstrained rectangle, then fine-tune the areas dimensions if needed by dragging the edges. You can constrain the crop area to a square, by holding down the Ctrl key while dragging. 3. To crop to the designated size, double-click inside the crop area.
106 Manipulating Images To crop to a specific print size or resolution: 1. Select the 2. Then either: Crop Tool from the Tools toolbar. • For print sizes, choose a pre-defined print size (expressed in inches or centimeters) from the first drop-down list in the context toolbar. Both portrait and landscape crop regions can be selected—e.g., 4 x 6 in for portrait, 6 x 4 in for landscape).
Manipulating Images 107 Using rule of thirds Use the Thirds grid check box on the context toolbar for improving photo composition. A 3 x 3 rectangular grid with equally spaced lines (two vertically, two horizontally) is superimposed on top of your photo when the check box is selected. Moving and resizing the grid allows the main subject of your photo to be offset and balanced against a foreground or background feature within the photo.
108 Manipulating Images Destructive (or permanent) cropping Destructive (or permanent) cropping can be applied to any image by selecting the Destructive option on the Crop Tool's context toolbar before applying the crop. Applying a permanent crop to your photo will reduce the file size of your project. Cropping in destructive mode permanently discards the pixels outside of the crop area. If your opened photo is cropped and you then click Save, it will be permanently altered.
Manipulating Images 109 Flipping and rotating Flipping and rotating are standard manipulations that you can carry out on the whole image, the active layer, a path, or just on a selection. Flips are used to change the direction of a subject's gaze, fix composition, and so on, whereas rotation is an orientation tool for general purpose use.
110 Manipulating Images Deforming The Deform Tool (Tools toolbar) lets you move, scale, rotate, or skew a selection or layer. Start by making a selection if desired, then choose the Deform Tool. For either selection or layer, a rectangle appears with handles at its corners and edges, and a fixed point (initially in the center of the region). If there's no selection, the rectangle includes the whole active layer. For example, a layer can be deformed using scale and skew operations.
Manipulating Images 111 Mesh warping The Mesh Warp Tool (Tools toolbar) works like the Deform Tool outfitted with complex curves. It lets you define a flexible grid of nodes and lines that you can drag to distort an image, or part of an image (or layer). You can edit the mesh to vary its curvature, and even custom-design a mesh to match a particular image's geometry—for example, curves that follow facial contours—for more precise control of the warp effect.
112 Manipulating Images To hide the mesh for a better preview of the image: • Hide/Show Mesh button on the Mesh context toolbar. Click the Click again to reveal the mesh for editing. The Deform Mesh option makes it easy to move, scale, skew, or rotate a mesh region about a fixed point; a region is the area enclosed by multiple nodes. It works just like the standard Deform Tool (described on p. 110) but on multiple nodes instead of individual ones. To deform the mesh systematically: 1.
Manipulating Images 113 Using Cutout Studio Cutout Studio offers a powerful integrated solution for cutting out part of an image on an active Background or standard layer. In doing so, you can separate subjects of interest from their backgrounds, either by retaining the subject of interest (usually people, objects, etc.) or removing a simple uniform background (e.g., sky, studio backdrop).
114 Manipulating Images Selecting areas to keep or discard A pair of brushes for keeping and discarding is used to "paint" areas on your active layer. The tools are called Keep Brush and Discard Brush, and are either used independently or, more typically, in combination with each other. When using either tool, the brush paints an area contained by an outline which is considered to be retained or discarded (depending on brush type). A configurable number of pixels adjacent to the outline area are blended.
Manipulating Images 115 Changing output settings You can set the level of transparency and pixel blending at the cutout edge by adjusting the Width output settings. Control of the cutout edge lets you blend your cutout into new backgrounds more realistically. To change output settings: 1. Drag the Width slider to set the extent (in pixels) to which "alpha" blending is applied inside the cutout edge. This creates an offset region within which blending occurs. 2.
116 Manipulating Images
7 Color and Grayscale
118 Color and Grayscale
Color and Grayscale 119 Color modes PhotoPlus operates in several color modes to let you work in standard and higher levels of color or tonal detail—these are 8-bits/channel RGB (or 8bits/channel Grayscale) and the more detailed 16-bits/channel RGB (or 16bits/channel Grayscale). Editing in 8 bits/channel mode will use 256 levels per color channel, as opposed to 16-bits/channel, which uses 65,536 levels per channel. As a rule of thumb, use 16-bit working for "as-your-eyes-see-it" image accuracy.
120 Color and Grayscale If you no longer need to work at a high level of detail (16 Bits/channel), you can convert your image to 8-bit mode which results in smaller file sizes and allows you to take advantage of PhotoPlus's range of special filter effects. To switch from 16-bits/channel to 8-bits/channel working: • From the Image menu, select Color Mode, and pick an 8-bits/channel option from the submenu. To check which mode is currently set, the Title bar shows the mode after the file name, e.g.
Color and Grayscale 121 To set the mode: • Choose an option from the drop-down list. Defining colors Now, a few things to remember about how these colors are used: • When you draw a selection, shape, or use the paintbrush tools, you could apply the foreground color. • However, the black text in the design could be created after swapping foreground and background colors using the tab's button.
122 Color and Grayscale As you move the cursor around your photo, a swatch appears displaying the color under the cursor. 2. (Optional) On the context toolbar, set the Sample Size (pickup region) as a single "Point Sample", "3 x 3 Average" or "5 x 5 Average" area. The last two options lets you sample an "averaged" color over a square pixel region, ideal for sampling halftone images, i.e. when point sampling is not suitable. 3.
Color and Grayscale 123 OR 1. On the Color tab, click and move the mouse pointer (dropper cursor) around the Color Spectrum. As you move the dropper cursor around the spectrum, the tab's active color swatch updates to the color at the cursor position. 2. Left-click in the spectrum to set a new foreground color, and right-click to set a new background color. • On the Color tab, use the slider(s) or enter numeric values in the boxes to define a specific color. The selected swatch updates instantly.
124 Color and Grayscale Storing colors If you want to save colors that you want to work with frequently, you can store them in the Swatches tab as thumbnails (this avoids continually defining colors in the Color tab). The Swatches tab hosts galleries of categorized color thumbnails. If hidden, make this tab visible via Window>Studio Tabs. You can store your currently selected foreground color (in Color tab) to the currently selected category (e.g.
8 Painting, Drawing and Text
126 Painting, Drawing, and Text
Painting, Drawing, and Text 127 Painting and brushes The Paintbrush Tool and Pencil Tool on the Tools toolbar are the basic tools for painting and drawing freehand lines on the active layer. They work on Background and standard layers, but not on text layers or shape layers. The tools work by changing pixels on the layer. The Paintbrush Tool applies anti-aliasing to its brush strokes to ensure brush edges appear very smooth irrespective of the brush's Hardness setting.
128 Painting, Drawing, and Text If you scroll down the gallery, you’ll note that some brushes have hard edges, while others appear fuzzy, with soft edges. The hardness of a brush is expressed as a percentage of its full diameter. If less than 100%, the brush has a soft edge region within which the opacity of applied color falls off gradually.
Painting, Drawing, and Text 129 Brush options The Brush Options dialog, accessible from the context toolbar's Brush option, lets you customize a brush or define properties for a new one. As you vary the settings, you can see the effect of each change in the preview window. Painting using pen tablets Brush strokes can be applied directly to the page by using your mouse or, if available, a pen tablet; the latter method is ideally suited for applying pressuresensitive strokes to your project.
130 Painting, Drawing, and Text To draw with the Picture Brush: 1. From the Tools toolbar's Brush Tools flyout, select the Brush Tool. Picture 2. On the Brush Tip tab, pick a brush tip from one of the categories. To control image elements, right-click a brush from any Brush Tip tab category, and choose Brush Options. 3. From the context toolbar, set the opacity and size of the image elements produced by using the Opacity and Diameter option.
Painting, Drawing, and Text 131 Erasing Sometimes the rubber end of the pencil can be just as important to an artist as the pointed one. The Eraser Tools flyout on the Tools toolbar provides ways of enhancing an image by "painting" with transparency rather than with color. Use the Standard Eraser for replacing colors in an image either with the background color or with transparency (on Background or other standard layers, respectively).
132 Painting, Drawing, and Text To erase with the Standard Eraser: Standard Eraser from the Tools toolbar's Eraser Tools 1. Select flyout. 2. (Optional) Change attributes, especially brush Size and Opacity, on the context toolbar. For erasing with an airbrush effect or hard-edged brush, check the Airbrush or Hard Edge option.
Painting, Drawing, and Text Contiguous 3. 133 Discontiguous • With "Continual" sampling (the default), the reference color is repeatedly updated as you move the cursor. Sampling "Once" means erasure is based on the color under the crosshair when you first click. Use the "Background Swatch" setting to use the current background color (Color tab) as the reference. • You also have the option of protecting the current foreground color from erasure (Protect foreground).
134 Painting, Drawing, and Text Using patterns The Pattern Tool (Tools toolbar's Clone Tools flyout) lets you paint a pattern directly onto your canvas. In effect, it "clones" any pattern bitmap you’ve selected while providing the flexibility to paint wherever you wish, and control opacity, blend mode, and so on. Like the Clone Tool, the Pattern brush picks up pixels from a source—in this case, the bitmap pattern—and deposits them where you’re drawing.
Painting, Drawing, and Text 135 Filling a region Filling regions or layers is an alternative to brushing on colors or patterns. Making a selection prior to applying a fill, and setting appropriate options, can spell the difference between a humdrum effect and a spectacular one. The Fill Tools flyout on the Tools toolbar includes two tools for filling regions with color and/or transparency: Flood Fill and Gradient Fill. In addition, you can use the Edit>Fill command to apply either a color or pattern fill.
136 Painting, Drawing, and Text To use the Fill command: • Choose Fill from the Edit menu. The Fill dialog appears. • For a flood fill, set the Type to Color. • Choose whether the fill color is to be the current Foreground color, Background color or a Custom color. • Specify the blend mode and opacity of the fill. If you check Preserve Transparency, transparent areas will resist the flood color; otherwise, everything in the selection or layer will be equally washed with the fill.
Painting, Drawing, and Text 137 Gradient Fill Tool Whereas solid fills use a single color, all gradient fills in PhotoPlus utilize at least two "key" colors, with a spread of hues in between each key color, creating a "spectrum" effect. You can fine-tune the actual spread of color between pairs of key colors.
138 Painting, Drawing, and Text Applying a gradient fill on any kind of layer entails selecting one of the fill types, editing the fill colors and/or transparency in a Gradient dialog, then applying the fill. However, gradient fills behave differently depending on the kind of layer you're working on. On standard and Background layers, the tool creates a "spectrum" effect, filling the active layer or selection with colors spreading between the key colors in the selected gradient fill.
Painting, Drawing, and Text 139 To apply a gradient fill: Gradient Fill Tool from the Tools toolbar's Fill Tools flyout. 1. Select 2. Select a fill type from the context toolbar. Choose Linear, Radial, Conical or Square. 3. To choose a preset or to edit the fill's colors and/or transparency values, click the color sample on the context toolbar. The Gradient dialog appears, where you can select a preset fill from the default or a pre-defined gallery (select a category e.g.
140 Painting, Drawing, and Text To change a text or shape layer’s fill type, or edit its color(s): • Double-click the text/shape layer (or right-click and choose Edit Fill). OR • Choose the Gradient Fill Tool and use the context toolbar. Either option lets you choose a fill type, and/or click the color (or gradient) sample to edit the fill.
Painting, Drawing, and Text 141 When retouching, for example, you can remove an unwanted object from an image by extending another area of the image over it (note the pickup area is positioned over the sea rather than the original boat). The tool acts on the active Background or standard layer, and can even clone all layers (including Text layers or Shape layers). To clone a region: 1. From the Tools toolbar's Clone Tool. 2. Change properties, if necessary, on the context toolbar. 3.
142 Painting, Drawing, and Text Drawing and editing lines and shapes For drawing and editing lines and shapes, the Tools toolbar includes the following drawing tool flyouts: The QuickShape Tools flyout featuring an assortment of tools for creating rectangles, ellipses, polygons, and other shapes. The Line Tools flyout features straight lines, plus freehand pen and curved pen lines. Overview Each of the drawing tools has its own creation and editing rules, as detailed below.
Painting, Drawing, and Text 143 Creating additional shapes Shape layers can store more than one shape, and it’s up to you where additional shapes are created. This decision is made easy by use of the context toolbar when the QuickShape or line tool is selected. The toolbar displays a series of combination buttons which determine the layer on which the shape will be placed and the relationship the new shape will have on any existing shapes on the same layer. New—adds the shape to a new shape layer.
144 Painting, Drawing, and Text Creating and editing QuickShapes QuickShapes in PhotoPlus are pre-designed contours that let you instantly add all kinds of shapes to your image, then adjust and vary them using control handles—for innumerable possibilities! The QuickShape Tools flyout lets you choose from a wide variety of commonly used shapes, including boxes, ovals, arrows, polygons, stars, and more. Each shape has its own built-in "intelligent" properties, which you can use to customize the basic shape.
Painting, Drawing, and Text 5. 145 Drag out the shape on the image. It displays as an outline; hold down the Ctrl key while drawing to constrain the aspect ratio. To create a filled bitmap from your QuickShape instead, choose the Fill Bitmaps button instead of the Shape Layers button. Filled bitmap QuickShapes can only be created using the shape's default settings, and once created, cannot be adjusted using the Node Edit Tool.
146 Painting, Drawing, and Text To edit a QuickShape: 1. Click its layer or path name in the Layers or Paths tab, respectively, to select it. If on a Shape layer, make sure the layer's path thumbnail is selected (it has a white border; arrowed below) to allow the path to be edited with the Node Edit Tool or Shape Edit Tool, i.e. 2. From the Node Tools flyout, use either: • Node Edit Tool (Tools toolbar) to click on the shape The and readjust any of the shape's handles.
Painting, Drawing, and Text 147 Creating and editing lines Lines can be drawn by using dedicated tools from the Tools toolbar's Line Tools flyout. The Line Tool produces an anti-aliased straight line in PhotoPlus, which is just a very thin shape. The line can be of varying Weight (thickness) and can be constrained to 15-degree increments, by holding down the Shift key as you drag.
148 Painting, Drawing, and Text To edit a line: 1. Click its layer name to select the layer. 2. To move, resize, scale, skew, or rotate the line, choose the Shape Edit Tool. This deform tool works by manipulation of the bounding box around the line—drag on a corner or edge. (For details on its use, see Deforming on p. 110.) 3. To reshape the line, choose the Node Edit Tool. The line consists of line segments and nodes (points where the line segments meet).
Painting, Drawing, and Text 149 Sharp Corner means that the segments either side of the node are completely independent so that the corner can be quite pointed. Smooth Corner means that the slope of the line is the same on both sides of the node, but the depth of the two joined segments can be different. Symmetric Corner nodes join line segments with the same slope and depth on both sides of the node. To edit a node: 1. Select it with the Node Edit Tool. 2.
150 Painting, Drawing, and Text Creating and editing text PhotoPlus makes use of two text tools, i.e. • The Text Tool, for entering solid text on a new layer. Use for eye-catching or subtle captioning (opposite) and titling equally. • Text Selection Tool, The for creating a selection in the shape of text (for filling with unusual fills). The Layers tab designates text layers with a symbol.
Painting, Drawing, and Text 151 To edit existing text: 1. With the text layer to be edited as the active layer, choose the standard Text Tool and move the mouse pointer over the text until it changes to the (I-beam) cursor. 2. Click on or drag to select areas of text—this lets you insert or overwrite selected text, respectively.
152 Painting, Drawing, and Text To create a text selection: 1. Click the Text Tools flyout (Tools toolbar) and choose the Text Selection Tool. 2. Click at the location on the image where you want to begin the selection. OR Drag across the page to size your text selection according to requirements. Release the mouse button to set the point size. 3. (Optional) On the Text context toolbar, set the selection text attributes to be adopted by the new selection (e.g., the font and point size). 4.
9 Print, Export, and Share
154 Print, Export, and Share
Print, Export, and Share 155 Printing For basic printing primarily to desktop printers, Print Studio offers an exciting, comprehensive, and versatile printing solution for your photos. (A) Print Mode, (B) Print Mode Options, (C) Page Layout,(D) Templates, (E) Open Images The easy-to-use studio environment lets you select from a variety of print templates, each designed for either single- or multi-image printing.
156 Print, Export, and Share • Print Layout templates Use for multi-image standard print sizes (in portrait/landscape orientation), passport sizes, and mixed print sizes. • Contact Sheet templates Use for multi-image template-driven thumbnail prints—great for creating labels! For any mode, you can also create your own custom template from an existing template. Currently open documents will be used for printing, although you can add more directly within Print Studio. To print (using templates): 1.
Print, Export, and Share 157 4. To insert a particular template into the central page layout region, simply click its gallery thumbnail. 5. Depending on print mode, decide on which image(s) are to be used for printing, i.e. • For Single Image templates, you can select a different image from the lower image gallery. • For Print Layout templates, right-click a gallery thumbnail and select Fill Layout with Image. All occupied or empty cells in your layout are replaced.
158 Print, Export, and Share 6. (Optional) From the left-hand pane, click the button to expand Image Options for sizing and rotating images (see below) in cells: • Enable Fit image to cell to make the image fit within the cell boundaries. • Enable Fill cell with image to scale the image to fit all of the cell. • Check Rotate for best fit to make portrait images fit cells of landscape orientation (and vice versa) to make maximum use of cell space. 7.
Print, Export, and Share 159 To print using your own layouts: 1. Click the Print button on the Standard toolbar. The Print Studio appears. 2. From the Mode drop-down list, select Single Image, Print Layout, or Contact Sheet. 3. In the Layout section, select a custom or standard print Size. 4. (Optional) Follow image sizing and rotating instructions described above. To store the current page layout with images: • Click Save Layout on the image gallery.
160 Print, Export, and Share Sizing and rotating images in cells The Print dialog helps you size or rotate your image(s) to fit a cell(s) according to Image Options settings. When the dialog is opened, the default settings above will be adopted. It's likely that some fine tuning might be needed, e.g. a portrait image may best be rotated to fit a cell of landscape orientation. If further images are added from the image gallery, they will also adopt these settings.
Print, Export, and Share 161 Here's a visual breakdown of the different options. Fit image to cell/Fill cell with image These options toggle respectively between fitting the image to cell dimensions (it will scale the image width to cell width or image height to cell height) or making the image completely fill the cell, losing portions of the image from view.
162 Print, Export, and Share Cropping images in cells If you're looking to be more specific about which areas of your image to print, you can crop your image instead of using the above Image Options. PhotoPlus supports some sophisticated cropping options, especially the ability to crop using the image or the image's cell dimensions. To crop an image: 1. From the dialog, select an image from the lower gallery and click Crop Image. 2.
Print, Export, and Share 163 Setting viewing options The following global viewing options will be applied to every page. Show Cells Show Margins When checked, each cell border is displayed within which the image is placed. When checked, margin guides are shown in blue. Grid When checked, a dot snapping grid is applied to the layout—cells will snap to the grid to aid cell positioning. Use the input box and/or Color swatch to enter a grid interval (spacing) or pick a different grid color via a dialog.
164 Print, Export, and Share Exporting to another file format In many situations, you’ll want to save a file to one of the standard graphics formats. In PhotoPlus, this is known as exporting. Exporting an image means converting it to a specified graphic file format other than the native PhotoPlus (.spp) format. This flattens the image, removing layer information.
Print, Export, and Share 165 Exporting images To export an image: 1. Click Export from the File menu. 2. From the Export Optimizer dialog, use the Options tab to specify the Export Area, resampling method, file Format, and format-specific options such as bit depth, dithering, palette, and compression. 32-bit install only: If the Width/Height, Scale or dpi settings are set too high, a cross will appear over the image preview and the Export button will appear grayed out.
166 Print, Export, and Share To adjust the preview display: • Zoom Out or To change the display scale, click the buttons, or rotate your mouse wheel (if available). Zoom In • When zoomed in, you can also pan around different portions of the image, by clicking and dragging on the image with the hand cursor. • For various preview displays, click one of the View buttons to select Single Preview, Dual Preview, or Quad Preview.
Print, Export, and Share 167 Batch processing The batch processing feature is especially useful if you want to repeat the same operation again and again... Batch processing allows you to: • Use Macros: uses preset or custom macros as part of the batch process. • Change File Type: to bulk convert images to a new file type (with different file properties if needed). • Resize Images: to resample images to various widths, heights, or resolutions (using different resampling methods).
168 Print, Export, and Share You may be wondering how batch processing affects photos currently loaded in PhotoPlus. PhotoPlus’s batch processing only operates on source folder contents and not on the currently loaded photos themselves—so these remain unaffected. However, as a visual check, you will see each photo temporarily being loaded and converted one-by-one in the Photo window during batch processing. Check the output folder via Windows Explorer to ensure the results are as you expect.
Print, Export, and Share 169 Changing image size As well as changing file formats, PhotoPlus can use batch processing to alter image sizes in bulk (using a choice of resampling methods) via Resize Images. Typically, this is a quick and easy way to make your images scale to a maximum image dimension (height or width) with aspect ratio maintained, to absolute image dimensions (with stretching/shrinking to fit), scale by percentage, and scale by resolution (DPI).
170 Print, Export, and Share Resampling Method • Pick a method from the dropdown list. Use Nearest Pixel for hard-edge images, Bilinear Interpolation when shrinking photos, Bicubic Interpolation when enlarging photos, and Lanczos3 Window when best quality results are expected. The list is ordered according to processing times (fastest to slowest). Changing file names It is also possible to define a Destination File Name for the files to be processed by selecting the dialog's Modify button.
10 Additional Information
172 Index
Index Contacting Serif Contacting Serif Support Our support mission is to provide fast, friendly technical advice and support from a team of experts. Serif Support on the web Service and Support support.serif.com Twitter twitter.com/serifsupport Facebook www.facebook.com/SerifSupport Additional Serif information Serif on the web Serif website www.serif.com Forums http://forums.serif.com http://youtube.
174 Index North American office (US, Canada) Phone (Registration) 800-794-6876 Phone (Sales) 800-489-6703 Phone (Customer Service) 800-489-6720 Support 603-886-6642 For international enquiries, please contact our main office. Credits This User Guide, and the software described in it, is furnished under an end user License Agreement, which is included with the product. The agreement specifies the permitted and prohibited uses. Trademarks Serif is a registered trademark of Serif (Europe) Ltd.
Index 175 Copyrights Digital Images © 2008 Hemera Technologies Inc. All Rights Reserved. Digital Images © 2008 Jupiterimages Corporation, All Rights Reserved. Digital Images © 2008 Jupiterimages France SAS, All Rights Reserved. Portions Images ©1997-2002 Nova Development Corporation; ©1995 Expressions Computer Software; ©1996-98 CreatiCom, Inc.; ©1996-99 Cliptoart; ©1996-99 Hemera; ©1997 Multimedia Agency Corporation; ©1997-98 Seattle Support Group. Rights of all parties reserved.
176 Index
Index 11 Index 177
178 Index
Index 16 bit images, 119 2D layer effects, 68 3D layer effects, 70 8 bit images, 119 Add Layer Mask, 28 Add Mask, 28 adjustment layers clipping, 43 using, 38 alpha (opacity) channel, 85 antialiasing, 93, 127, 147 background color, 12, 120 Background Eraser Tool, 132 Background layer, 20, 96 batch processing, 167 bevel (layer effects), 69 blend modes, 31, 129 bracketed photos, 74 Brightness/Contrast (adjustment), 49 browser (web), 166 Brush Tip tab, 127 brushes custom picture, 130 hard-edged, 127 bump maps
180 Index Deform Tool, 110 deforming meshes, 111 scale and skew, 110 selections, 89 Deselect, 82 Disable Mask, 30 Documents tab, 13 downsampling, 169 drawing and painting, 127, 142 Drop Shadow (layer effect), 69 effects filter, 57 layer (2D), 68 layer (3D), 70 special, 57 ellipse drawing, 144 selecting, 82 Emboss (layer effect), 69 Eraser tools, 131 erasing, 131 Export Optimizer, 165 exporting an image, 164 extracting images, 113 feathering, 91, 93 features, new, 4 fills flood, 135 gradient, 137 pattern, 13
Index creating, 23 extracting parts of, 113 filter, 58 hide/show, 23 Layer to Background, 23 opacity of, 26 Promote to Layer, 23, 96 selecting, 22 shape, 142 soloing, 23 text, 150 using 2D effects, 68 using 3D effects, 70 Lens Distortion (distortion effect), 49 Lens Vignette (distortion effect), 49 letter spacing, 151 lighting, for 3D layer effects, 71 lightness, 120 Linear (gradient fill), 137 lines, drawing, 142 Load Selection, 88 luminance, 120 Magic Wand Tool, 83 Magnetic Selection Tool, 83 mask comman
182 Index Print Studio, 155 printing cropping to print sizes, 106 images, 155 profiles (for color management), 119 Promote to Layer, 23, 96 PSD format, 12, 164 PSP format, 12 QuickShape tools, 144 Radial (gradient fill), 137 Rasterize, 23, 151 rectangle drawing, 144 selecting, 82 red eye (removing), 48 resampling, 170 resizing images, 98 in bulk, 169 on export, 165 selection, 90 resolution, changing (via Batch processing), 169 Retouch tools, 45 Revert, 16 RGB color mode, 120 rotating, 109 Rule of thirds, 10
Index straightening, 48, 102 support, 173 Swatches tab, 124 system requirements, 6 technical support, 173 text adjusting size and position of, 151 creating and editing, 150 creating selection in shape of, 152 layers, 21, 150 typographic control, 151 using layer effects on, 68 Text Selection Tool, 83, 150 183 Text Tool, 150 tiling (print option), 156 Tolerance property, 83, 132, 135 tone mapping, 74 transparency, 25, 73, 136 Use all layers, 22 vector shapes, 142 vignetting, 49 Warp tools, 73 warping, 73,
