Ulead PhotoImpact 12
A Software Review
by Nancy Dennis
Member of the Sarasota Personal Computer Users Group, Inc.
Ulead PhotoImpact 12 is now owned by Corel and can be purchased along with all the other great Corel graphics programs online at www.corel.com. You can try it for free or buy direct as either a full version or an upgrade version. Cost: $90 and upgrade $50.
PhotoImpact 12 should really be called a “suite” because the software package includes 5 stand-alone programs that are also integrated into the main photo editing program. These programs include the main PhotoImpact 12 photo editing web and graphics program; Ulead Album and Photo Explorer, which are programs for managing digital and multimedia files; Ulead Gif Animator which is a fully featured program for creating and editing animated graphics for the web; and Ulead COOL 360 where you can stitch together photos to create a 360 panorama. The software box also includes a 300 page manual.
I have used PhotoImpact since version 4 which came with my first scanner. I have upgraded during the years and continue to use PhotoImpact as my number one photo editing program. I am not disappointed with this new version – all my favorite features remain and some new intuitive and professional features have been added. There are new professional features such as Auto SmartCurves (my favorite new feature), Auto Reduce Noise, and Auto White Balance Control. PhotoImpact also supports all photo types including RAW.
PhotoImpact now opens with a Welcome screen where you can select the new ExpressFix Mode as well as seven other modes including Full Edit Mode, Web Mode, Video & DVD Mode, Manage Photos (which opens Photo Explorer), Get Photos, Create New Image, and Photo Project Wizard. There is a new SmartGuide (How-to) Help feature with step by step tutorials on the most common tasks for photos, web and video and DVD projects. There are also some excellent online tutorials at www.ulead.com/learning/pi.htm. In the ExpressFix Mode I found that all the typical photo corrections were easily accomplished. The red-eye correction even includes yellow and green eye which comes in handy when you have cats.
With the Ulead AutoDetector loaded automatically in your Windows startup your memory card is detected and you are presented with a dialog box to open either Photo Explorer or PhotoImpact to begin downloading and saving your pictures. The task can be accomplished easily in either program. I had taken a few photos of our granddaughter at a swim meet under an awning.
The photos were great of her but she was in a shadow with the bright sun behind her. I tried the “SmartCurves” feature and was amazed at how my photo corrected the lighting. The software even detected my model of camera to make the adjustment. All I had to do was click OK to get a perfect photo.
This feature alone is going to save me in time and frustration trying to edit my photos. Whether you are working in the ExpressFix or Full Edit mode PhotoImpact is packed with all the tools you will need to make your photos perfect.
PhotoImpact is also loaded with fun and easy readymade enhancements for your photos. The workspace (which is fully customizable to your work style) loads by default with the “EasyPalette” where you will find Galleries and Libraries full of drag and drop image enhancements, text and path effects, as well as dozens of tasks that can be accomplished using their samples and then update with your own changes. Let’s say for example you have a photo that you would like to print with a nice frame and some text at the bottom. Open the photo and browse through all the ready-made frames – select one and drag (or double click) onto your image. Then select the text tool and type your text where you want it on the photo. Next browse the Text/Path Effects in Galleries and select a text style that you like – double click and viola all the attributes are applied. Of course you can create all the enhancements from scratch using the appropriate tools. You can also add to the Galleries and Libraries any objects that you would like to save and use again.
Once you are ready to print your photo you will find that you may print a single photo, multiples with the most popular Avery templates, or print a poster. There are other ways to “Share” your photos that include making a calendar or choosing from dozens of photo projects that can be emailed or printed. You can also choose to share your photos as a web album or web slideshow. If you choose this option you will need to have your photos all ready and choose an entire folder. The wizard walks you through the process that saves all the files ready to publish to a web site or you can choose to save as an executable file and send attached to an email. The wizard has many customizable features for the web page such as background color or image and font, title, header and footer text, image size, etc. You may also burn the slideshow or album to a CD from here as well. I like that there is a Preview button so that you can take a look at all your settings in a web page view before you complete the task. What an easy way to show family and friends those shots you took at the last family outing. Most ISP’s offer free web space with your monthly subscription so why not use it? PhotoExplorer also offers similar web design and disc burning features.
A nice surprise for me was the free DVD Menu Maker plug-in that I was able to download from the Ulead website. The plug-in helps create menu templates that can be used with Ulead DVD MovieFactory 5 and Ulead Video Studio 10. I have been using Video Studio 10 for all my videos, and now I can create custom menu templates to use for the opening DVD menus. When you are working in Video and DVD mode in PhotoImpact the tool bar changes with the most common tools for the task.
PhotoImpact is not only a program for editing photos but also a Web design program that helps you create professional web pages or components for your web site such as backgrounds, buttons, banners, bullets, separators, and more. The Component Designer was one of my favorite features of the older version of PhotoImpact and I was so glad to see that it is still included, and with added features for DVD menus. The wizard makes it so easy to create professional looking web components that can be saved and optimized for the web or opened in Full Edit Mode to further modify the creation. The components are divided in an easy to find manner. For instance, you may want to work on a Christmas web page. You would select from 16 different Christmas banners and then create buttons and separators to coordinate. If it’s your first time creating a web page then start with one of the Blog templates found in Libraries. Just double click one of the thumbnails that you like and then begin editing in the workspace.
Lastly I would like to mention one feature that saves a lot of time in certain circumstances. PhotoImpact has the ability to save multiple tasks in a macro like format, just like in other programs that allow you to create a macro and then “run” the macro to save time. Let’s say that you have multiple images that are all too dark and that need to be resized for a web page. Using the Quick Command Panel you select the Task tab and create your own set of commands on one photo and save that set so that you can run the commands with a Batch Task to the entire folder. There are over a dozen existing tasks that can be applied as well.
I have only covered the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the features of Ulead PhotoImpact 12. This is a total professional image editing program with both easy and advanced features, and continues to be my first choice among photo editing programs. :
Copyright 2008. This article is from the January 2008 issue of the Sarasota PC Monitor, the official monthly publication of the Sarasota Personal Computer Users Group, Inc., P.O. Box 15889, Sarasota, FL 34277-1889. Permission to reprint is granted only to other non-profit computer user groups, provided proper credit is given to the author and our publication. We would appreciate receiving a copy of the publication the reprint appears in, please send to above address, Attn: Editor. For further information about our group, email: admin@spcug.org/ Web: http://www.spcug.org/
The Sarasota Personal Computer Users Group, Inc. has 1,100+ members and was established in 1982. We are members of the Assoc. of PC User Groups (APCUG), the Florida Assoc. of PC Users Groups, Inc., and we are members of the America Online Ambassador Program.
See http://www.spcug.org for all reviews from the Sarasota PC Monitor, go to the Newsletter Section.