This list is an ongoing project, so I will add to this page whenever I get the time, and/or any great new ideas - hopefully the time and the ideas will all come to me at once. :) Also, I will welcome your ideas and contributions if you have any. You're always welcome to email me at the link above and I'd be happy to include any great tips or tricks you have, of course giving you due credit. If you have any other ideas or suggestions, comments etc. about this page those are always welcome too.

Where possible, I've cross-referenced the information below with the tutorials (if any) that relate to them. I hope you find this list useful in your work with PSP8.

Tips are shown in alphabetical order. All latest tips are shown in RED.

Note: The tutorials on this page may be downloaded or printed out for personal use only. No tutorial must not, under any circumstances, be taken from this site in its entirety or in parts and passed around Yahoo or MSN Groups, re-posted on other websites or passed on to other individuals. Placing a link on your Group's site or your own site is fine, and passing links around is also fine. But links ONLY please, and remember to acknowledge that they are external links, otherwise many of your visitors will assume they are still on your site. There are logos available on my resources page if you wish to use one. Thank you for your co-operation.

Last updated January 5, 2004

1.   Background Eraser: Using the background eraser? Make sure you have precise cursors turned on first. With this tool it's verrry important to know exactly where the middle of your brush (i.e. cursor) is so you won't accidentally wipe out some of your foreground image. Turn on the precise cursors and the crosshair will be visible. File>Preferences> General Program Preferences>Display and Caching>Use Precise Cursors. Like to learn more about this right now? You'll find more information right here.

2.   Browser Bug: I've noticed a little bug with the thumbnail Browser. If you're using it to find or just look at image files on your hard drive in V8 (jpgs, gifs, etc) sometimes the thumbnails won't show up properly. All you will see is an icon for PSP8 in the browser instead of a thumbnail of the image. To overcome this, just click twice on the icon in the browser and the image will open as normal in PSP. Once it's open, just go to File>Save As and voila - it will now appear properly in the Browser Window. (If you get the 'File Already Exists, replace file?' message just click OK). I have no idea why this happens, but I suspect it may be a memory issue.

3.   Eyedropper Tool: To quickly find out the RGB value of the color(s) of an image you have open in PSP, just run the eyedropper tool over it and it will tell you.

4.   File Extensions: Don't like the new '.pspimage' file extension? Well, you can easily change that. If you'd prefer the old '.psp' extension, when saving your file just add '.psp' onto the end of your file name, and click OK. If you just click OK without adding the extension on yourself, it will save with the default '.pspimage' extension.

5.   File Won't Open: A lot of people in the original Beta newsgroup complained that if you clicked on a psp.image or psp.tub file in a Windows folder (such as My Documents etc.) it would open PSP, but not the image itself. This is a problem that seems to persist. A fix for it was posted in the news group, and this is what it says:

Go to Explorer>Tools>Folder Options>File Types;
Scroll down to Jasc PSP Picture Tube (or PSP image etc.) highlight it and then click on advanced;
In the area that gives the path to the .exe file, delete /dde and add "%1". (Make sure there is a space between the quote marks after .exe and the ones before %).
Check the box that says Use DDE and in the DDE Message box type in [open(%1)]

You can also use this trick if there is a problem opening up other PSP file types, such as Masks, Selections etc. (Quoted from the Beta Newsgroup, and originally suggested by Sol Adler from the Resources newsgroup).

Note: this information is primarily for Win 98, ME and 2000. Windows XP users may have to try something a little different....or work around these instructions somehow.

6.   Fonts and the Text Tool: Did you know you don't have to have a font installed onto your hard-drive to use it? It can be anywhere you like - in any folder or even on a disk or CD-Rom - for you to use it. All you have to do is to double-click on the font icon you wish to use and leave it open on your desktop (you can reduce it down to your Windows status bar so that it doesn't get in the way of your PSP work). Click on the text tool in PSP and you'll see it added to the drop-down list of fonts on the tool ribbon. When you've finished using it, all you have to do is close the open font window on your status bar. This saves having to have hundreds of extra fonts installed in your Windows Fonts folder, leaving it free for only the native Windows fonts if you'd prefer it that way.

7.   Images - using V8 images with previous versions of PSP: To use your PSP8 images with Versions 5, 6 or 7, when saving your image click on the 'Options' button on the Save dialogue box. Save as the PSP version you want your image to work with.

8.   Keyboard Shortcuts (1): Customize them! Unhappy with the new keyboard shortcut commands? I think I'm probably one of the few people who don't use them, but if YOU do and you don't like the changes, the good news is you can customize them. Right click anywhere on the toolbox ribbon. Customize>Keyboard, or go to Help>Keyboard Map. I have a tutorial which shows you how to do all this in more detail, if you'd like to check it out you'll find it right here.

9.   Keyboard Shortcuts (2) Did you know that all of the keyboard shortcuts appear next to the commands on the drop-down menus? Even the ones you assign yourself ; for instance, if you decide to reassign the letter "L" as your keyboard shortcut for creating a new raster layer, after you do so (you may have to exit out of PSP and open it up again for it to work) it'll appear on the drop-down menu.

10.   Layers (1): If working with layers, to move one layer at a time in your image vertically or horizontally (note - this will move the entire layer, not just the object on it), hold down the shift key with the right arrow key to move the layer to the right (or the left, up, or down - with the arrow keys located on the right-hand corner of the keyboard). Still a little lost when it comes to layers? I have a pretty intensive tutorial on the subject you may be interested in, called Understanding Layers. (Well, what else was I gonna call it? ;-)

11.   Layers (2): Did you know you could copy whole layers from one image to another? You'll need two open images on the PSP desktop, the original one you want to copy the layer from, and the new one you're copying the layer to. All you have to do is to click on the actual layer on the open layer palette, and drag it straight on top of the open image you're copying it to. You don't need to have the layer palette open for your new image, just plonk it straight onto the image itself.

12.   Layers (3): If moving text, objects etc. around on a layer directly above the background with the move tool, make sure your cursor is directly over whatever it is that your moving, otherwise PSP will assume you wish to promote the background to a layer, and keep pestering you with the auto actions pop-up.

13.   Preset Converter: Frustrated because you've lost all your favourite presets since trading up to V8 from V7? Well, here's some good news. The new scripting feature in V8 offers a preset converter. So, if you've got a heap of V7 favourites all is not lost. View>Toolbars>Script...and then scroll down the drop-down list of presets until you see 'PSP7 Preset Converter' (Note: Unfortunately this doesn't work with the inner bevel presets due to a technical glitch). :-(
Thanks so much to Niki for this great tip!

14.   Prevent palettes docking automatically: I KNOW I've already put this one in the Survival Kit, but I think it's worth repeating here. If you don't want to accidentally dock some of the palettes (they can take some getting rid of at first if you're not sure how to fix them) then go to View>Docking Options and DESELECT the check boxes. Some you may want to keep up there (the tool options and learning centre for instance) however to start off with, I recommend you don't have anything else checked, otherwise something like this may be the result. (Just hit the 'Back' button when you're through). Help Mr. Wizard! These suckers can quickly attach themselves to places you DON'T want them anywhere near, even - as you can see - filling up your entire screen. To get yourself out of this fix, go to View>Customize and deselect those check boxes. Remember to always keep a favourite workspace saved as well ready to reload quickly, as this can also get you out of trouble. Instant happiness ;-)

15.   Printing: Print Layout. Here's a quick tip that I used in PSP7 and it hasn't changed for V8. To position your image on the preview layout, just drag the image from the preview pane on the left of the screen over onto the main preview of how it will appear on the page. Want to make it bigger? Simply click on the image, and then drag the corners out (or drag them inwards towards each other) to change the size of the printed image.

16.   Reset Button on the Effects and Adjustment dialogue boxes: This is one of the most important tools in PSP8 - and strictly speaking, it's not even a tool at all. What it will do however, is allow you to re-set the tools to default really fast and this is a very important thing to know, especially when you forgot to reset a tool if you're in a hurry. You'll be in for quite a shock if you click 'OK' to apply your settings - you'll end up with whatever settings you used when you last used the tool! Of course you can always change them the 'normal' way - i.e. by changing each setting yourself - but IMHO it's best to reset them first; it's a good habit to get into, and can save much head-scratching and bewilderment later on :)

17.   Resolution of New Image: One thing I've noticed about the snazzy-new Create New Image dialogue is that the default resolution is now set to 200, instead of 72 dpi as it was with previous versions of PSP. Why, I dunno.....I mean I just USE the thing, I'm no expert :). However if like me, you'd rather the default was set on 72, it's easy enough to fix up. Just go to File>Preferences>General Program Preferences and click on the Units tab to bring it to the front. Where it says 'Default Resolution', just slide that sucker on down to 72.000 and click 'OK'. Now, it MAY be alright to let it go at that, but I found that by opening up a new (it can be blank) image and saving it straight away with the new resolution, seemed to keep the new default (72dpi) better than just changing the setting and shutting PSP down straight after (i.e. the next time you open it, it may revert back to 200 again). It's what worked for me, anyway :)

18.   Save File as Last Type Used. If you have several files to save of one particular type you can set PSP to keep saving in that particular file format. Go to File>Preferences>General Program Preferences>Display and Caching and check the 'Re-use last type in file dialogue box' option. Otherwise, PSP will attempt to save your files as native .pspimage files by default. To re-set it again to the default option, just clear the check-box.

19.   Screen Captures in PSP8. Screen capturing in PSP8 is as easy as it ever was in PSP7. The only difference is that the icon for the screen capture tool is different: Everything else works exactly the same way. If you plan to use it frequently, for the sake of convenience stick it up there on the shortcut bar (like I have). For those of you to whom screen captures are still a complete mystery, I have a tutorial in the works.

20.   Tool Ribbons: Watch out for the 'disappearing' tool ribbon options. Some of the tools (the pen tool, for example) have several other options that slip off the edge of the interface, simply because there's no room for them up there. If you look closely, you'll find small arrows...click on these to expand the menu horizontally and explore all options. (This may not be a problem on larger monitors? I wouldn't know, I've only got a 15 inch one).

21.   Toolbar Icons - make them bigger: Would you like to change the size of the icons on the toolbar to make them easier to see? To change the size of the icons, go to View>Customize>Options and under 'Toolbar' select Large icons.

22.   Toolbox Customizing: If you don't like the order of the tools in the toolbox flyouts (i.e. you have to click on the Selection tool - which you mightn't use a lot - to get to the Magic Wand, which you DO use a lot)...then this is pretty easy to fix. To bring your favourite tools onto the main part of the toolbox and not hidden away in a fly-out menu, just highlight the tool and drag it right off the flyout and straight onto the toolbox. Easy!

23.   Tubes - how to use V7 tubes in V8. Wondering if you can use your existing PSP7 tubes with V8? Well you can, and you don't even have to do anything special to them. I've got all the low-down on that right here on the tubes page.

24.   User Interface - customize it to how YOU want it to look: Made a colossal boo-boo with your settings, and you're losing sleep over it?! It's easy to fix! Simply go to Preferences>Reset preferences> and reset these to default. Also, if you'd like a quick way of putting everything on your interface (shortcuts, tools, etc.) instead of dragging them up there one by one, you can do that as well. Preferences>Reset Preferences>Make all Toolbars/Palettes Visible on Screen. Again, I cannot stress strongly enough - make sure you have your favourite workspace saved before you start experimenting, just in case ;-).

25.    View Menu: Did you know that there is a another way of accessing the bottom-half of the View Menu (i.e. just the Toolbars, Palettes, Magnifier, Docking Options and Customize) rather than having to go to the View menu itself all the time? Just right-click anywhere on the menu bar, the shortcut bar or tool ribbon and a small pop-up menu will appear.

26.   Workspaces (1): To keep your workspace always looking exactly the same (i.e. to keep toolbars and palettes exactly how you want them to always appear) once you've customized your workspace, save it. File>Workspace>Save. To load up a saved workspace: File>Workspace>Load. Note: this should also save your customized keyboard shortcuts.

27.    Workspaces (2): If you prefer to work with the 'old' look PSP7 workspace, the closest thing you're gonna get to that in V8 is to load up the V7 workspace within 8 and work with that. File>Workspace>Load>Paint Shop Pro 7.

28.   Zooming (1): Did you know you can zoom up and down easily with your mouse? With an open image, pressing the left button will zoom in (i.e. increase the size of your image) while pressing the right button will zoom out (decreasing the size of your image). Scroll mice should also be able to do this with the scroll button. Alternatively, you can also zoom up and down instantly with the "-" and "+" keys on the number pad.

29.   Zooming (2): One of the things I miss now is having the 'view normal' command on the View drop-down menu so I could quickly get back to viewing an image at normal size after zooming in for close-up work. If you're like me, and (waaaaah! ;-) want it back, there is a solution. Make sure you have an image open, and then go to View>Customize>Commands> then scroll down to View on the Categories dropdown list, select View and then over in the right-hand dropdown list select Zoom to 100%. While still selected, drag this up onto the shortcut bar. Tip: when dragging commands to the shortcut bar, always make sure you drag it to the left-hand side of the divider, otherwise it won't appear up there at all. Extra tip! In case of 'mishaps', always have your favourite workspace saved (see Tip No. 11). Like even more help with this? I've written a tutorial on how to create shortcuts to your favourite tools.

30.   Zooming (3). Want to zoom in on just part of your image? For the quickest way of all to zoom in up to 500%, with your image open, go to View>Magnifier and run your mouse over the exact part of the image you wish to zoom in on. Voila! Instant magnification. Magnificent!

31.   Zooming (4): To make sure your image is filling the image window (i.e. if you don't want all that extra space between the edges of your image and the actual window itself) open the zoom tool and click on the 'fit to screen' box (the first of the three window boxes). Note: you can also do this with the Pan Tool open.

And finally, the best tip of all! Visit the BIGGEST and the BEST list of tips and tricks online, the amazing Suz's Place List!