Graphics packages

Home Office Computing, Nov, 1998 by Hailey McKeefry

PhotoImpact 4 2

PhotoImpact 4.2's collection of powerful tools and features puts it closer to a professional graphics program than a starter program for business beginners. However, if you want to take the time to learn, this program provides just about every high-end feature you'll need for creating print and Internet images. It ships with helpful tools for creating tile backgrounds, buttons, animations, and more. In addition, PhotoImpact supports 3D objects and effects--a must-have for Web pages.

Ulead Systems's product design is clean and uncluttered, with all the tools within reach so you don't have to hunt or drill down menus to find them. We found the toolbars weren't at all confusing, despite the depth of power available with a single mouse click.

A standard tool palette (to switch between text, path, selection, transform, zoom, eyedropper, retouching and painting tools) stays at the left of the screen, while the upper toolbar changes according to the tool that you select; a color palette remains at the right for easy color changes. From the menu bar, you can further customize the program's setup to match the way you work. Any negatives? Well, PhotoImpact isn't the best choice if you don't already know the basics of tweaking digital images. There are no tutorials, templates, or wizards, for instance, although the manual and online help give comprehensive information that will answer advanced users' questions. Also, remember to BYOCA (Bring Your Own Clip Art), because PhotoImpact doesn't ship with any.

Picture It 99

The second Microsoft offering in our roundup provides straightforward photo editing capabilities at one-third the price of its more comprehensive counterpart PhotoDraw 2000. Definitely aimed at the art school novice, Picture It 99 starts off with a slide show tutorial that includes several movie clips.

A variety of other features are also aimed at beginners. To open images, you merely drag them from the Open dialog box to the filmstrip located at the bottom of the screen. An Edge Finder automatically traces the edges of an image when performing a cutout.

The right hand side of the screen shows how different elements in the image are stacked; elements can be dragged and dropped to different locations within the pile.

Like PhotoDeluxe, Picture It 99 provides a number of automated fixes for your photos in the form of a Quick Touchup feature. You can also manually adjust brightness and contrast, as well as correcting tints, red eye, dust marks, blemishes? scratches, and more.

Along with the usual array of editing tools, you'll find some fun features for creating zany effects. Our favorite was the stamp art section, which offered a number of stamp styles, images, and sizes that were quick and easy to use. As with all of Picture It's tools, a step-by-step guide at the left of the screen leads you in using the stamps. We spent hours creating cool borders with the edging tool, as well.

When ready to output your images, you'll discover a good array of options, such as printing as thumbnails or reprints, and a couple of vendor-specific ones (printing at Fujifilm or Kodak PhotoNet). The program can also save images for the Web or as Windows wallpaper.