XPost: comp.text.pdf, comp.editors, rec.photo.digital
On Tue, 18 Jun 2024 13:05:14 -0400, Newyana2 wrote:
I've always avoided Paint.Net because it's always required the
latest .Net runtime. It originally started out as a salespitch for .Net.
But since you made it so easy, I decided to download and give it
a try. :)
I'm not an author of any editing programs and I'm aware that you are an
author of programs which do make extensive queries of image formats.
Hence I can't disagree about what you said, which was it was funded by Microsoft for a graduate student to implement an example of a net framework
app that, in this case, was designed to do everything important that
photoshop did.
Paintnet is supposed to be replaced by Pinta, which works on Linux, Mac, Windows, and BSD.
https://www.pinta-project.com/ Current Version: 2.1.2
Last I checked, Pinta wasn't ready for prime time - but it has been a few
years since I tested Pinta.
https://www.pinta-project.com/releases/
Given Pinta works on most platforms, I know it has a GTK requirement,
which it will install if it needs it, but I'm not sure about .NET needs.
https://github.com/PintaProject/Pinta/releases/download/2.1.2/Pinta.exe
Name: Pinta.exe
Size: 57256744 bytes (54 MiB)
SHA256: 5E0A8D5AF1A1807AE6D5C57ED2C1969B5B1AC0A110B2C015C0C8C09DE1F06465
Both Pinta & Paintnet are free & intended to do what PhotoShop does most.
Let me know if there's anything in either that you think is important that
you think PhotoShop does as when I lasted tested, PhotoShop lost big time.
I mostly use PSP 5. I also have PSP16, but Corel made a mess
of it, bloating it with frivolous functions. For editing photos and
doing general graphics, PSP5 does most of what I need. Occasionally
I want to work with RAW photos and I use PSP/Aftershot Pro 16
for that.
What I dislike most about the last known good version of Paint Shop Pro was that it messes with your right click context and pulldown menus like crazy.
That wouldn't be so bad if PSP 5.01 simply undid the menu mess it made when
you uninstall paint shop pro 5.01, but it doesn't. In Windows 10, the paint shop pro 5.01 installer leaves a broken mess of menus behind (ask me how I
know this).
PSP 5.01 even adds a context menu to the recycle bin. Who needs that crap. Anyway the last known good version is here but that doesn't work with javascript turned off.
http://www.oldversion.com/windows/paint-shop-pro
But looking in the Windows 10 archives I see it's also found over here.
https://winworldpc.com/product/paint-shop-pro/5x
They have every version there.
Does anyone know what the last known good version of PSP really is?
I see RAW is not lincuded in Paint.Net's "all image types".
There are a billion plugins for Paint.NET, which is one of its strengths.
https://forums.getpaint.net/topic/114661-can-paintnet-read-raw-files/
And their color picker is a mess. No settings menu...
There's a plugin for that, but I have no experience with that plugin.
https://forums.getpaint.net/topic/26399-plugin-for-a-better-color-picker/
Oh, there it is. A gear
icon way over on the right. But there are almost no settings. And
someone opening that made the color picker go gray! OK, lets's
try restarting.
There's an active forum if you need help in using Paint.NET.
And I'm sure there's ample documentation (just press the "F1" key).
https://www.getpaint.net/doc/latest/HelpMenu.html
I'll draw a rectangle. What could go wrong? Well,
there's no control window to set the color, line thickness, etc.
Ah. You missed completely teh sheer beauty of Paint.NET's methods!
You draw first and then you edit it easily. Very nice indeed.
a. First, draw a box.
b. Then change the color (as desired) or dashes (if desired).
c. Change the width (if desired).
d. Move the corners (if desired) or rotate it (if desired).
With Paint.NET, you first do the thing you're doing, like writing text, and then you change any attribute about that thing that you want to change.
That's the smart way to do it.
Bear in mind that if you use the same colors and shapes and even the same commands after you choose the colors, you can set all that as the default.
The dumb way is the way The GIMP does it.
With The GIMP, you have to decide everything before you do it, even the
text box size, which is a ridiculously absurd methodology (unless you're
doing teh same thing a million times).
Instead
I only see an idiotic History window that keeps telling me what I
just did. It seems that I just drew 2 blue rectangles. Coulda fooled me.
And why are there 100 shapes to choose from when I just wanted a
rectangle?
There are many options. If all you want is a rectangle, ignore them.
The whole thing is very much non-standard and non-intuitive.
Compare it to PhotoShop or The GIMP. Then let me know what you think.
The thing with graphics is that 95% of it is simple and the methods
have been around since the 90s. If someone wants to remove an
object from an image, make Lizzo look like she's not fat, make
Madonna look like she's not old, or make Gisele Bundchen look like
she has hips, Photoshop is tops.
I'm well aware of PhotoshopCS29.0:Filter > Liquify commands where PhotShop
has a nice GUI for easily warping GUI with a circle that *easily* modifies
the picture. You can load and save a "mesh" which is a grid of small,
medium and large sizes with options of "Brush Size", "Brush Density",
"Brush Pressure", "Brush Rate", "Turbulent Jiter", Reconstruct Mode, Stylus Pressure, Reconstruct Options, Mask Options, View Options, etc.
The "Brush Rate" & "Turbulent Jiter" are fixed and unchangable, but the
rest are settable.
However, for just removing blemishes and making people thinner, I prefer
the last known good version (version 1.3) of Vicman Photo Editor, which includes cartoonist.
http://www.vicman.net/cartoonist/
For basic graphics, something like Paint.net is poorly designed overkill.
If you say that about Paint.NET and about The Gimp and Pinta, then what do
you use on Windows that is free that is, in your opinion, better designed?
Remember the whole point of this thread is Adobe is purely evil software.
So what do you use that is free and which is better than PhotoShop is?
And I doubt that it does much
of anything that Paint Shop Pro from 1999 can't do. These days most
of that functionality is a dime a dozen. The only major reason for a
graphics editor is to get an MDI window with layers and multiple undo.
I don't denigrate Paint Shop Pro for anything other than it screws with the menus like you can't believe - and then it doesn't undo what it screwed
with. If you don't believe me on that, then I want to see a screenshot of
your rightclick context menu when you right click on "New" for example.
Checking out Paint.Net was interesting, though. I've seen it talked
about for years now and never actually saw that pitiful excuse
for an interface before.
Try this with any other free Windows program and you will change your mind.
1. First write some text and then change the size & color of that text
2. Then draw a line (not with the pencil but with the arrow)
3. Change that line in shape, length, dashes, color & arrowheads
Having tested every known freeware image editing program available on
Windows, I posit that there is no app that does that better than paint.net.
Mind you, you're welcome to hate paint.net (I hate net framework too).
But you seem to be looking for a reason to hate it.
Just try texting and drawing curved arrows in any other free program.
Nobody does it easier than Paint.net does it (unfortunately).
But if you think PSP is easier to text & draw curved arrows, then try it
and let me know as I gave up on PSP mostly because of its menu hassles.
--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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