New Features in
Paint Shop Pro 6.01 and 6.02

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The major changes in Paint Shop Pro were made from Version 5 to 6. I will briefly describe the updates from 6.0 to 6.01 and 6.01 to 6.02 in this section.

Changes in Paint Shop Pro 6.01. Paint Shop Pro 6.01 includes a new feature along with several enhancements and improvements to program operation. A brief description of the most significant changes in this version is provided below.

New Features

  • Paint Shop Pro 6.01 now allows you to easily post files to Jasc StudioAvenue.com, their new online community for sharing files with others.

Feature Enhancements

  • The program has been updated for greater compatibility with Microsoft Windows 2000;
  • The program now synthesizes bold, italic, or normal TrueType and PostScript variants of a font if one or more installed variants are present;
  • Several new cameras are directly supported through the Jasc Software Digital Camera installation program;
  • Control and output improvements have been added to Multiple Image Printing, including: (1) Page Setup is accessible in the Multiple Image Printing interface; (2) Page Setup and Close buttons have been added to the Multiple Image Printing toolbar; (3) One or more images can be loaded directly into Multiple Image Printing from Paint Shop Pro Browser; (4) Registration and crop marks can be added to output; (5) The printing quality has been improved;
  • Foreground and Background color selectors have been added to the Recent Colors dialog box;
  • The Picture Frame Wizard can now add a frame to the outside of an image;
  • The Adjust Highlight/Midtone/Shadow dialog box allows the user to set values using either the Linear method (as offered in Paint Shop Pro version 5) or the Dynamic method introduced in version 6.0;
  • All Preset Shapes are available as selection types with the Selection tool;
  • The layer group value can be decreased by right-clicking on the Layer Group Toggle button;
  • Additional keyboard commands are available in node editing mode as indicated in the application help file.

Improvements to Program Operation

  • Multiple Image Printing has been updated to address issues with remembering printer settings and determining proper page margins;
  • Supported CorelDRAW (.CDR) files open properly when stored on drives other than the program's host drive;
  • Vector object display is refreshed when toggling between Paint Shop Pro and other open applications using the + keyboard combination while in node editing mode;
  • The outline of odd-numbered width lines is properly positioned in relation to the tool cursor when creating lines using the Draw tool;
  • When cutting or copying a vector text selection on a path, the unselected path is no longer placed in the clipboard;
  • An issue that could cause application instability under Windows NT4 and Windows 2000 when creating vector shapes has been corrected;
  • A problem that could cause the application to stall when resizing the canvas of large images has been corrected;
  • Ampersand characters in file names appear correctly in Browser tool tips;
  • The Redo command restores Horizontal and Vertical Perspective deformations applied with a negative percentage effect value;
  • The Undo command will now remove layers added to an image by dragging them from the Browser;
  • When closing Animation Shop frames exported to Paint Shop Pro via the File > Close command, a confirmation prompt to update the source animation is displayed;
  • The Full Screen Preview and Full Screen Edit modes support secondary monitors under Windows 2000 and Windows 98;
  • The Page Setup dialog box retains margin values when the system's Measurement System is set to "Metric;"
  • A problem that could cause application instability when enabling or disabling the "Display large text and icons on palettes" setting has been corrected;
  • The Gradient Editor properly functions if all preset gradients are deleted in either the Gradient Editor or Windows Explorer;
  • A problem that could cause application instability when using the Copy Merged command when a floating selection is outside of the image canvas has been corrected;
  • Image resolution is properly retained when saving Windows or OS/2 Bitmap (.BMP) format files;
  • Selections loaded from an Alpha Channels are properly placed in duplicates of the original image.
 

Changes in Animation Shop 2.01. Animation Shop 2.01 includes several enhancements and improvements to program operation. A brief description of the most significant changes in this version is provided below.

Feature Enhancements

  • The program has been updated for greater compatibility with Microsoft Windows 2000;
  • The Frame View scroll bar now allows the user to scroll horizontally within a frame when the full width or height of a frame is not visible at the current zoom level;
  • The application file format preferences now include a page for setting PostScript preferences;
  • When dragging-and-dropping frames between two animations, the center of the source animation registration mark can be snapped to the center of the target animation registration mark by holding down the key;
  • Foreground and Background color selectors have been added to the Recent Colors dialog box;
  • Multiple Image Network Graphic (MNG) output support has been improved for greater compatibility with other applications;
  • When performing system intensive operations on large files, a "Busy" cursor is displayed to indicate program status.

Improvements to Program Operation

  • The Undo and Redo commands support changes made by the Optimization Wizard;
  • AVI files open when dragged-and-dropped on the application icon;
  • Registration marks are positioned properly after resizing an animation;
  • Duplicate and inaccurate hotkeys have been corrected throughout the application;
  • The Banner Wizard's "Transition" page retains settings when using the Back button;
  • Current and selected frames retain their selection state after using the Optimization Wizard;
  • An issue that could cause a "Server busy" error when dragging images from the Paint Shop Pro workspace or Browser and dropping them into Animation Shop has been addressed;
  • When zooming in, the Zoom tool now centers the frame on the point being clicked;
  • Entries in the "Number of colors" droplist of the Colors tab in the Customize Optimization Settings dialog box have been renamed to "3", "7", "15", etc., to accurately reflect the wizard's ability to utilize transparency;
  • The Animation Wizard allows the user to continue assembling an animation if one or more of the images cannot be loaded. If the user attempts to add problematic files, a message box will display to indicate the problem. After responding to this message box, the application will return to the Add Files section of the wizard;
  • When placing text in a frame, the text will be placed correctly in relation to the selected alignment option.
 

Changes in Paint Shop Pro 6.02. The following improvements were implemented in this version:

  • Antialiasing of circular selections produces smoother edges;
  • The "Browse" button in the Custom Brush dialog box properly supports folder selection;
  • A new StudioAvenue.com account can be created directly from the Send to StudioAvenue.com dialog box by pressing the "New User" button;
  • Synthetic bold characters are rendered accurately under Microsoft Windows NT 4.0;
  • The "Print" action assigned to the Paint Shop Pro 6 Image file type works correctly through Windows Explorer;
  • The program will set a default directory if an "Output folder" location is not specified in the Batch Conversion dialog box;
  • A connection issue affecting direct camera support for some Olympus, Fuji, and Polaroid models has been corrected.
 

Changes in Animation Shop 2.02. The following improvements were implemented in this version:

  • The Optimization Wizard now blends partially transparent pixels correctly when the document canvas is opaque;
  • Frames are now correctly placed when created via drag and drop from the Paint Shop Pro Browser.
 
Graphics: Paint Shop Pro 6.02
Scanner: Hewlett Packard ScanJet 6250C Professional Series
Web Page Editor: Macromedia Dreamweaver 3.0