Using PSP 7 Workspace in PSP 8

I know that I've heard more than one person complaining that they "HATE" PSP 8 cuz they're not used to the layout and therefore, can't follow most tuts... I understand you frustration, my friends... But here is a tip that will help you until (and if) you get familiar w/ the new format... go to....

File/Workspace/Load.... choose PSP7

It looks exactly like 7, but still has all the extra goodies. No more ripping out your hair trying to find stuff :o)

Fixing PSP Registry

Sometimes (oh hell, if you have a puter and play with graphics, this will prob happen), when you install and uninstall programs over time, your puter gets loaded down w/ unnecessary stuff.. You think you get rid of it w/ regular maintenace, but -- don't be fooled!! lol.. You will have 'dead end' registry keys that lead to nowhere thereby using precious memory and just plain slowing the performance of your beloved puter!

For my fellow PSPers, here is a tip to get your tools working right...

**Note**

You do NOT lose tubes or plug-ins, but...you will have to reset your preferences, your toolbar will go back to the original, so redo that if you have customized it, and you loose any custom colors you have saved in your color palette.

PSP registry settings must be deleted to allow PSP to rewrite them the next time you open the program.

Follow this procedure....

START > PROGRAMS> JASC SOFTWARE>PSP7

IMMEDIATELY after you click the PSP icon, press and hold CTRL+ALT on your keyboard.

PSP will ask you if you would like to delete the registry settings, click YES.

After this procedure, PSP should run normally.

Deleting Browser Caches

PSP creates a browser cache when using the browse function in PSP. This enables faster loading of graphics. However if graphics are moved around, stored elsewhere or deleted the browser cache remains the same size and can get very large taking up valuable space. It is advisable to delete them frequently to allow a build of a fresh cache in your files.

To do this go to Find files and type in "jbf" without the quotation marks. You will see all the pspbrwse icons appear. Select them all and press delete on your keyboard. The next time you browse in PSP new caches will be built.

Keeping File Sizes to a Minimum

I came across this tip over at Animation Lessons from a very talented animator called 'Stampede Mike'... I thought it was great advice and thanks, Mike, for sharing!

It's not necessarily how many frames an animation has that determines it's size. You're right... the color palette is one factor.

There's a lot of things going on in a gif that can affect how much pixel information is stored, and I think this is the biggest factor affecting the size of a gif.

  • The dimensions of an animation. More pixels, more Kilobytes.
  • The number of pixels that change from frame to frame. An optimized gif does not need to keep all the information on a frame, only the pixels that are different from the previous frame.
  • The nature of the color on the animation. Large blocks of identical colors compress very well on a gif. That's helps keep my 'toons at a reasonable size. Photo type images do not compress well because they don't have those large blocks of color.
  • Transparency often leads to a size increase. I don't quite understand this one, but I believe it has something to do with the fact that a frame has to 'cover its tracks' from the previous frame in this case. I rarely use transparency because of this, and because of the ugly edges around the animation when anti aliasing or drop shadows are used. Just not worth the hassle.

    • Creating Previews of Tubes

    First, you will need to create a folder for your previews. I keep my previews in a sub-folder of my tubes folder, and have named it 'Previews', but you can place yours anywhere you like, with whatever name you like. Some people even choose to keep their tubes and previews in the same file. It's all up to you.

    Now that you have your folder set up, we're ready to create our previews.

    Go to File/Batch/Process

    The 'Batch Process' window will pop up. At the very top, you will see the contents of the folder that the window is currently directed to. You will need to browse to the folder containing the tubes for which you wish to create previews. Just below the folder view, and right after 'File name', you will see 'Files of type'. Make sure it is set to display 'All Files'. Then select all of the tubes files above by clicking on a blank place on the white field and pressing Control + A on your keyboard. (If there are any non-tube files in this folder, you can deselect them, one at a time, by holding down on the Control key while clicking on the individual file names.)

    Towards the center of the Batch Process window, you will see where it says 'Save Mode'. Make sure this is set for 'New Type'.

    Then, under 'Save Options', you will need to choose the file type you wish to use for your previews. I have mine as JPEG files, because they tend to be smaller than GIF files, but you may use whichever you like.

    After choosing a file type, you will need to 'Browse' for your previews Folder. When all settings are correct, click on 'Start, at the top of the Batch Process window.

    The current window will close, and a new one will pop up, and will show the progress of converting the tubes to gifs or jpgs. The previews will be given the same file names as the tubes.

    Now you're all set. When you're trying to remember whether or not you have a particular type of tube, all you have to do is look at your previews. Isn't that so much easier than having to open PSP and browse through them that way? I think it is!


    Off-Site Links



    At the above link, you will find lots of helpful little tips for PSP 8. It even has a 'glossary' of sorts, with brief explanations of such things as 'Bump Maps', CMYK Profiles, Deformation Maps, and more. Also included are tips on which previous version tools need to be converted for use in version 8.


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