PSP LESSONS

Frequently Asked Questions

Answers to questions asked by members in the course of learning PSP are being compiled 
 and added to this page as a Help Resource for future eggers who are new to PSP

Attachments

How do I attach a graphic file to post?

In PSP
Make sure you have saved your file as a jpeg or gif .
Go to File>Send and your email program will automatically open.
You will notice that your file is now attached.
Type in the subject details and any messages and send to the recipient of your choice.

In OUTLOOK EXPRESS
Type in the subject details and any messages.
Go to Insert>File Attachment and locate the folder where your file is saved.
Select the file and click on attach. Send to the recipient of your choice.

In OUTLOOK or EUDORA
Type in the subject details and any messages.
Right click on START button (bottom left of screen) and select EXPLORE.
When Windows Explorer opens navigate to the folder where your file is saved.
Select the file, hold down the left mouse button and drag it across onto your email. Release the mouse button, your file is now attached and ready to send to the recipient of your choice

Beginners

Yes, by all means. Check out  http://htmlhelp.rootsweb.com/imagehelp/psp7/

Cleaning images

COWS

How do I clean an image?

Go to Lesson #5 for step-by-step instructions.

What is a COW?

Challenge of the Week. This could be a tutorial or other activity designed to expand your knowledge of PSP.

Dingbats

Dingbats
& Wingdings
- what's
the difference?

Dingbat
characters

Downloading lesson images

What is a dingbat?

A dingbat is the name given to a font which has pictures rather than the letters usually associated with the word font. There are many dingbat fonts available to choose from.

What is the difference between dingbats and wingdings?

Wingdings are the Windows version of dingbats.

I know that every dingbat has a keyboard character associated with it, but how can I quickly choose which one I'd like to use?

There's a couple of ways you can do this. 

(a)  type each wingding on a page (using Word, Excel, Notepad) and type the corresponding keyboard letter that goes with it. Print out a copy and place in a plastic sleeve in a binder.

(b)  use a font manager like The Font Thing. This font manager will show you what picture is available for each keyboard character and will also allow you to install the fonts into your Windows Fonts folder.

If you are unsure how to load a font go to the Loading Fonts tutorial on the Resources page.

(c) go to Start>Accessories>System Tools>Character Map and select font. When you hold your mouse over a picture you will notice a box will appear with the letter associated with that picture in it.

When I try to download a picture in the PSP lessons it says it's not supported. I can't get the picture to come up - what should I be doing?

Right click on the image and then click on Save Picture As and save it to your computer. Make sure you remember where you save it and then open PSP and open the image from there.

Email applications

Why does my file appear as an application/octet-stream instead of an image/jpeg when it's posted?

Go to the tutorial tutorial for Checking Outlook Express Send Options.

File formats

Flood fill tool

Fonts

You may not have the file type associated with PSP. Go to File>Preferences>File Format Associations and tick the check box beside CompuServe Graphics Interchange (*.gif).

Why is the tolerance box "greyed out" when  using the flood fill tool?

If the Match Mode is set to "All Opaque" or "None" the Tolerance function will be "greyed out".  Select RGB, Hue, Brightness or Opacity to enable it.

Where can I get free fonts, e.g. dingbats?

Do an Internet search (type in free dingbats.) You will generate lots of pages to look through.

Good "Housekeeping"

Gradients

Grid lines

I've only accumulated a few files and already I'm losing track of where everything is. Is there a good rule of "housekeeping" or something?

Go to Good Housekeeping for PSP on the Resources page.

Create a separate folder away from the Jasc Program Folder (maybe in My Documents or on a separate drive if you have one) and call it Paint Shop Pro, PSP Play Things  or something similar and within it you can set up sub-folders.

Example sub-folders: - Eggers PSP, Tutorials, Patterns, Textures, Gradients, Images, Tubes, Selections, Brushes, Masks, Animations etc.

In the Eggers PSP folder you might want additional sub-folders for Lessons, Tutorials etc.

In the Images folder you might include sub-folders for Artists, Line Art (b&w images) etc.

In the Tutorials folder you might want to set up separate sub-folders for each Tutorial and save everything relevant to it within that folder e.g. zip files, selections etc.
(see also Helpful Tips section)

How do I apply a gradient?

In the Styles Palette where the foreground and background boxes are, click on the arrow head to the right and select Gradient. Double click on the color box and the Gradient box will open. From here you can make your choices. PSP comes with a selection of gradients.

Making your own custom gradients is easy too.

I can't see grid lines & can't find where to get them?
 

PSPv7
To turn grid lines on and off go to View>Grid.
To change the grid go to View> Change Grid & Guide Properties.

PSPv6
To turn grid lines on and off go to View>View Grid.

To change the grid go to File>Preferences>General Program Preferences>Tab>Rulers & Units

What exactly are grid lines?

Think of grid lines as being like a piece of graph paper that you can change to any proportions - helpful for lining things up.

Helpful Hints

To record settings, styles etc for future reference go to Image>Image Information. In the Current Image Information select the Creator Information tab. Use the description panel to note any relevant details.

Whenever you reduce an image, sharpen it
In PSPv7 go to Effects>Sharpen>Sharpen.
In PSPv6 and older versions go to Image>Sharpen.

Plugins, Tubes, Brushes, Textures, Patterns etc - by now you're probably beginning to accumulate quite a few filters and freebies - rather than placing them in the recommended PSP folders (and risk losing them if PSP should crash) it's a good idea to keep them in folders in another location. e.g. C: drive, My Documents or another drive if you have more than one hard drive.

Working on a Tutorial - Set up a separate folder and put any zip files, selections, images etc in it. When you go to work on the tutorial everything will be there at hand. You might want to include the tutorial (html) instructions from the web page - to do this go to File>Save As and save to your folder. Alternatively, print out tutorial and place in a ring-binder ready for future reference.

Image sizes

I've installed PSP -
what do I do now?

How do I work out what size the image I'm working on is?

The numbers that appear in the bottom right of the Status Bar show the information for the image you are working on (active image). e.g. 321 x 350 x 16 million - 329 K Bytes. This tells you that your image is 321 pixels wide by 350 pixels high, it is set to 16 million colors (true color) and the file size of the image is 32.9Kb in kilobytes.

I've installed PSP - what do I do now?

Go to the Beginner's Lessons on the Tutorials page for all information, resources and lessons in one convenient location.

Be sure to check the Tools & Workspace  - it will save you a lot of confusion. Also browse through other pages on the website before you begin the first lesson. Doing this will provide answers to many questions you will inevitably ask.

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Layers

What is the difference   between
flattening & merging
layers?

Where can I find out more about layers?

Go to http://www.homestead.com/psp7tutorials/LayerBasics.html

What is the difference between flattening images and merging layers (visible & not) and which command should be used when?

When you Merge Visible all layers visible in the layer palette will be locked together and become one. Turning off a layer (clicking on the eye glasses) makes it invisible and it won't be included in the command. 

Example of  Merge Visible - "Interlaced Scrolls" tutorial - adding the selections for the scrolls, top and bottom and then merging before copying, mirroring etc, thereby saving time. Applying an effect like a drop shadow to more than one layer is another example. With Merge Visible the background remains transparent (checkerboard pattern showing) enabling you to apply a background colour if desired.

Remember to do a save in .psp format to preserve the layers (before you merge visible) in case you need to go back and make changes. You can Undo backwards beyond a Merge Visible instruction but if you save after merging and then reload your file you will only get the merged file.

When you Merge All (flatten) this groups everything together and places a background behind it. If you save as a .jpeg you will see it automatically has a white background behind the image. After flattening, you cannot manipulate the layers or change background colour. 

Magic Wand

Masks

Menu Bar

Multiple Cells
in Picture Tubes

Must I have PSP?

I click on the butterfly in multiples like it said I could do, but I can't get the magic wand to color anything.  I have it activated and set to the right settings but it will not color. 

This is easy - now I know the problem! The Magic Wand is only used to select the area(s) you want to colour not to apply the actual colour. Once you have done this and have the marching ants around the chosen area(s) select the Flood Fill tool (the one down towards the bottom that looks like a paint can) Now either Left Click to apply the Foreground colour or Right Click to apply the Background colour.

I want to use a mask but I can only open three - a circle, rectangle and square. A list shows in my browser but I can't open any of them. How do I get all of the masks listed in the lesson?

If the list is showing in your browser it will show where the file is located. If you used the default location when you first loaded PSP it should be C:\Program Files\Jasc Software Inc\Paint Shop Pro 7\Masks. Once you have established where the file is go into PSP, Masks, Load from Disk and in the Look in Box locate the file listed in the Browser. Select the mask you want and you're on your way.

I've "lost" the menu bar - how do I get it back?

Full Screen Edit or SHIFT+A toggles the Menu Bar on and off.  Go to View and it's at the top of the drop down box.

Full Screen Preview or SHIFT+CTRL+A allows you to view your image in full screen mode. ESC or CTRL will restore your workspace.

(Ref: Lesson 10B - Multiple cells, Picture Tubes, part 2) I selected each bird (not the transparent background with the bird) then copied and pasted as a new selection. I suspect this is wrong. What was I supposed to do?

You did the correct thing copying and pasting as a new selection (Ctrl+E). With multiple cell tubes, the original picture you use to build the tube must be all on one layer. You can construct your multiple cell tubes using multiple layers and when it looks the way you want it, Merge/All Visible Layers. Make sure image is cleaned and all background removed before pasting into master image.

Must I have PSP to participate?

No, not at all. You can use other software, e.g. Corel, Photoshop etc. Most of the commands in the different programs work in the same way - you just may have to search around for them.

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Original images

Other
graphics programs

The lesson says, now close the original image - what original image?

The original image is the one that you duplicated (you did  duplicate it, didn't you?) when you first opened it.

Important - always duplicate your original image and work on that copy.

When things go awry (& they do) you'll still have your original image intact.

I'm using Corel. Where can I get additional information?

Go to http://www.designer.com/home/default.asp
This is an online community for Corel product users.

I'm using Photoshop. If  you can't help me, where do I go next?
Go to Allexperts Q & A forum
http://www.allexperts.com/getExpert.asp?Category=1028

For other links go to the Adobe Photoshop page

Patterns

Photoshop .dll files

Pixels

Plugins

Preferences

Printies

How do I find the list of available patterns? I could only see the "bean thing" pattern. (ref: Lesson - Bonus One)  

Click on the arrow to the right of the small window and you will be presented with a choice of patterns in thumbnail format.

Note: any images that you have open in your workspace will also appear in the pattern list - scroll to top of list to see.

Photoshop .dll files

To use plug-ins originally created for Photoshop you must have these two .dll files on your system to be able to open the plug-ins in PSP. You can download them HERE.

What exactly is a Pixel?

A pixel stands for a picture element - one of the individual squares that make up a raster image and the smallest element that can be assigned a color. If you zoom in on an image you can see the individual pixels.

I downloaded some plugins to the PSP Plugins folder but why aren't they showing up?

Plugins which have been developed to run in Photoshop require two .dll files to be able to use the plugins in PSP.   Make sure you have the Photoshop .dll files loaded on your computer.

In PSP go to File>Preferences>File Locations. Select the Plug-ins tab and you will see that there are 3 folder options. Below is an example only of how setup might look (you will still have empty folders for 2 and 3 at this stage): -

      Folder 1: C:\Program Files\Jasc Software Inc\Paint Shop Pro 7\Plugins

      Folder 2: C:\Program Files\Photoshop\Photoshop Plugins

      Folder 3: C:\Documents and Settings\user\My Documents\PSP\Plugins

Browse Folder 1, click on the Plugins folder and expand folder (you will need to have "enable sub-folders" checked). From here you should be able to locate the plugins, if yes, click ok, return to PSP and close out of PSP. Re-open and the plugins will now be available for selection.

If you cannot locate the plugins you will need to do a bit of "sleuthing" around -it means that you have saved it to a folder other than PSP Plugins.

* see Helpful Hints for Plug-ins folder suggestions.

What are Printies?

Printies are scaled down versions of life-size items - they are used by dollhouse and miniature enthusiasts to bring to life their creations.

In egging, printies can be added to dioramas etc to add realism to your designs.

Using PSP (or other graphics applications) pictures can easily be resized to fit the size egg you are using.

e.g. a picture of a fireplace in the back of an egg with your own figurines in the foreground.

Resizing Graphics

How do I resize a graphic?

Go to Compressing Images to Share on the Internet or Resizing an Image for information on resizing and compressing image file sizes.

What is the best way to "save" PSP tutes on my zip drive or cd for future reference?
What format should I save it as and what program will I need to use to view them again once they are saved?
Will I be able view the picture references as well as the text?

From the web page you are viewing the tutorial on go to File, Save As and then select where you want to save it to. This will save the tutorial in html format (same as the web page) and you can view it just by double clicking on the file. It will open in Outlook Express or whatever your Browser is same as if you were going to the web page.

What is a selection? (ref: Lesson 3)

A selection is the area surrounded by the marching ants. If you select the Magic Wand and click inside one of the sections of the butterfly you will see the marching ants (dotted lines) appear. Notice that the marching ants don't quite reach the black line.

So how do I modify that selection?
The instructions said to remember "when making new selection areas to modify the selection area by expanding 1 pixel."

Go to Selections>Modify>Expand and the expand selection box will open. Put in the number 1 where it's highlighted and click okay. You will now see that the marching ants are 1 pixel closer to the black line.

Should I save selections in a special folder?

It's a good idea - they'll be much easier to keep track of if you do.

I downloaded the zip (containing selections) for the interlocking ovals tutorial and unzipped them to a PSP selections folder. When I tried to open them in PSP I got a message "the specified file cannot be identified as a supported type". Do I have to delete everything and try again?

No, you don't need to delete anything. To open selection files (with the extension .sel) in PSP you need to start with a new image and click on Selections>Load from Disk. Locate where you have the selections stored and then click OK. All you will see is an outline of marching ants which you then flood fill with a colour to be able to see it.

Why can't I change the vertical and horizontal settings to -3 as indicated in the instructions using the sliders?

Don't worry about trying to move the sliders - just type in what you want in the highlighted areas. This applies to any options where there is a slider bar.

What do the numbers at the bottom right mean?

information relevant to the current image you are working on, e.g. The  numbers showing on the Status Bar at the bottom right provide size, color and KB's.

Why doesn't text show up in my image when I can see text in the set up box?

If you have checked Selection rather than Floating in the Create As area at the bottom of the Text Box you will only see an outline of the text rather than the text itself.

I want to do the text effects in Lesson ? (metallic, welcome, cutout, beveled fill, neon etc) . . . but how do I create a white image?

Select File>New and when the New Image box opens click on the arrow to the right of Background Colour in Image characteristics panel. From the drop down menu choose White (or other desired colour - e.g. foreground, background) and click ok.

I opened the text tool box and found webdings, but I'm dashed if I can get the size 250, I can only get 72. Also how do I change the font color and centre the text.

To get size 250 for the text just type in the figure in the little box where the 72 is showing. The scale only shows up to 72 but you can type in any figure up to 250.

In the screen shot below I had Vector selected but for normal text you need to select Floating. To "fix" the text and stop it floating click on CTRL+D (or Selection, Select None) To move the text or dingbat use the Mover Tool - the one that looks like a double ended arrow.

Click for a larger view

Where can I review the tools I'm going to be using?

Go to Workspace & Tools

I only have the trial version of PSP and am wondering if that makes any difference?

No, not at all. It is fully functional for 30 days, after which time you will need to purchase it. The 30-day trial refers to 30 days from the date of installation not 30 days of using the program over a period of time.

What is a tube?

A tube is like a rubber stamp (note: - can be quite addictive.) PSP comes with a selection of tubes and many more are available for download from the internet. If you are looking for a specific tube go to http://www.karenls.com/
 

When you learn to make your own tubes you will liken it to cutting away and removing the background from a piece of wrapping paper, leaving you with just the image, which you will then save with a transparent background.

For more information on Saving & Choosing Tubes go to the Resource page.

Ulead Art Texture Plugin

I downloaded the Ulead Art Texture Plugin but why won't it work?

Installing Ulead Art Texture is different to most plugins - you have to run an install program. 

To install double click on the At10f.exe file. When it asks for the location to save the file (or similar wording) put it where you have your other Plugins  (create a sub-folder called Ulead). 

You will need to go into Preferences in PSP and tell it where this folder is.

What is a WET?

WeekEnd Theme. An image or idea is supplied for you to use your own imagination and creative flair to produce a piece of digital art.