Paint Shop Pro supports the WIA connection protocol. If your computer has the Windows XP or ME operating system, your camera or scanner uses the WIA connection system, and you connect your camera or scanner to the computer using a USB cable, then Paint Shop Pro and Windows XP or ME will automatically detect when you have connected your camera to your computer.

To download from a WIA camera or scanner with Windows XP or ME:

Connect the camera, card reader, or scanner to the computer using the USB cable.

Choose File > Import > From Scanner or Camera to download the images to your computer.

Some cameras, card readers, and scanners display as a separate drive, and assigned a drive letter on your computer. For example, your camera may display as My Computer\Removable Disk (G:).

To download from a camera, card reader, or scanner that appears as a mounted drive:

Choose File > Open to open the Open dialog. Or choose File > Browse and use the browser to locate the images on the mounted drive.

Navigate to the drive for your camera, card reader, or scanner.

Locate the images that you want to download in a folder or sub-folder of that drive.

Select the images that you want to download, and click Open to open the images in Paint Shop Pro.

Most cameras and scanners are TWAIN-compliant. Use this setting if your camera, scanner, or card reader is TWAIN-compliant.

To import images using the TWAIN interface:

Choose File > Import > TWAIN > Select Source. The Select Source dialog lists the TWAIN-compliant devices connected to your computer.

Note: You only need to select the source the first time you connect to the camera, card reader, or scanner.

Click the name of the device, then click Select.

Choose File > Import > TWAIN > Acquire to run the device’s software.

Do one of the following:

For scanners, perform the scan using the device’s software.

For digital cameras, an Import dialog displays. Select the images that you want to download, and then click Download.

When the device and software finish processing the image, the image is sent to Paint Shop Pro and placed in an image window. The software remains open so you can continue to acquire images or close the software.

Click the Paint Shop Pro icon in the Windows task bar to display Paint Shop Pro and your image.

Choose File > Save As to save the image.

You can take a picture, called a screen capture, of all or part of the computer screen. You can then edit and save the screen capture in Paint Shop Pro. Before you capture screens you should configure the screen capture options.

Add the capture icons to a toolbar: If you frequently capture screens, you may want to create a new toolbar containing the icons for the screen capture command..

Use the Capture Setup dialog to select how you want to capture, how you activate the screen capture, and to set other options.

To set screen capture options:

Choose File > Import > Screen Capture > Setup to open the Capture Settings dialog.

In the Capture group box, select the type of capture:

Area

Captures an area of the screen that you select by clicking once at one corner of the area and clicking again at the opposite corner.

Full screen

Captures the entire computer screen.

Client area

Captures the contents of the active program.

Window

Captures the active window. If a dialog is open, this option captures the dialog. If no dialog is open, this option captures the active application.

Object

Captures an object within a program, such as a menu bar, toolbar, icon, or a document window. When you initiate the capture, you move the cursor over an object and it is highlighted with a rectangle.

In the Activate capture using group box, select the method for activating the screen capture:

Right mouse click

A right mouse click activates a capture.

Hot key

A key (such as F11) or key combination (such as Shift + F1) activates a capture. Select the option, then click the drop-down list to select a key or key combination.

Delay timer

The screen capture is taken a certain number of seconds after you start the screen capture.

Note: These options select the method for activating the capture after you have started the screen capture feature. To start the screen capture, you click the Capture Now button on this dialog, or at the Paint Shop Pro work space press Shift + C or choose File > Import > ScreenCapture> Start.

In the Options group box, select from the following options:

Include cursor

Mark this check box to include the cursor in screen captures. This check box is not available for area captures.

Multiple captures

Mark this check box when you want to take multiple captures one after the other. Start the screen capture, and then press the hot key to activate it multiple times. Clear this check box to have Paint Shop Pro display after you take one screen capture.

Do one of the following:

To start the screen capture feature immediately, click Capture Now. Screen capture settings are saved and Paint Shop Pro minimizes to the task bar. Use the hot key to activate the screen capture.

To save the settings, click OK.

To capture a screen:

Configure screen capture options.

Open or display Paint Shop Pro.

To start the screen capture feature, do one of the following:

Choose File > Import > Screen Capture > Start.

Press Shift + C.

Paint Shop Pro minimizes to the Windows task bar.

Open or display the image or window that you want to capture.

To activate the screen capture, right-click or press the hot key (such as F10) you chose during setup.
If you chose Full Screen, Client Area, or Window during setup, the screen, area, or window is captured.

For Area and Object captures, select the area or object to capture:

For Area captures, click at the starting point of the area you want to capture, then move the cursor to the end point and click again. As you move the cursor a rectangle displays the selection area.

For Object captures, move the cursor until the area you want is highlighted (with a black rectangle around it), then click to activate the capture.

If you selected to take multiple captures during setup, you can now take another capture. Right-click or press the hot key for each screen capture. When you are finished, click the Paint Shop Pro button in the Windows task bar.

When you are finished, you can edit the screen captures as needed and save the image in Paint Shop Pro.

With the Paint Shop Pro Browser, you can view, open, and manage your files.

When you open the Browse window, you have a variety of options for selecting files to open and for renaming, moving, copying, and deleting the image files. You can use the Browse window just as you would Windows Explorer—with the additional help of being able to see the image files you are managing.

To open the Browser:

Choose File > Browse or press Ctrl + B.

To select all files in a folder:

On the Browser menu, choose Edit > Select All or press Ctrl + A.

To deselect all files in a folder:

On the Browser menu, choose Edit > Select None or press Ctrl D.

To select files by file characteristics:

On the Browser menu, choose File > Select.
At the Select dialog, you can select files that have specific file or image attributes, such as name, file extension, size, width, bits per pixel, and date.

Select the file and image attributes, then click OK.

To change the order of thumbnails:

Click the file’s thumbnail and drag it to a new position within the same folder.

To sort thumbnails by file characteristics:

Choose File > Sort to open the Thumbnail Sort dialog.

On the Primary Sort tab, select the primary sort criteria for thumbnails.

To add additional sort criteria, click the Secondary Sort tab, and select additional criteria.

Select the sort criteria, then click OK.

Note: Sorting thumbnails is a one-time operation. The thumbnails will not remain sorted if you add new images or change the properties of the existing files. New images are always added to the end of the list.

To invert which files are selected:

Choose Edit > Invert Selection. All selected thumbnails are deselected and all unselected thumbnails are selected.

To rename files:

Press Ctrl + R or right-click the thumbnail and select Rename from the context menu.

Type the new filename. The Browser does not automatically add an extension.

Click OK.

To copy files: Press Ctrl+Y or right-click the thumbnail and select Copy To from the context.

Select the folder to copy the file to.

Click OK.

To paste files to other applications that support OLE functions:

Press Alt and click the file’s thumbnail, drag it to the application’s button in the Window task bar until the application opens, then move the cursor to the application and release the mouse button.

You can  paste images into any applications that support meta files, DIBs,and BMPs, such as Microsoft Word. If the image has more than one layer, all layers are automatically merged.

To move files:

Do one of the following:

Click the file’s thumbnail and drag it to a different folder in the left pane of the Browse window. You can also select several thumbnails and drag them to a new folder.

Select the file or files, then press Ctrl + M or right-click the thumbnail and choose Move To from the context menu. At the Browse for Folder dialog, select the desired folder and click OK.

To delete files:

Select the file or files you want to delete.

Press Ctrl + Delete or right-click the file’s thumbnail and select Delete from the context menu.

To find files:

Choose File > Find Name to open the Find dialog.

Enter the search criterial and click Find Next or Find All to display the search results in the Browser window.

To rotate files:

Select the files that you want to rotate.

Choose Image File > JPEG Lossless Rotation, and then choose an option to rotate the selected files.

Paint Shop Pro has a native .PspImage format that supports layers, alpha channels, and other features you use to create images. You will find it convenient to save an image in this format while you are working on it and then convert it to a different format after you have finished.

Always save a .PspImage version of your file: To be able to use all Paint Shop Pro features, we recommend you save and edit your files in .PspImage format with a color depth of 16 million colors. You can then use the Save As or Export command to save a copy of the file in the desired output format. Your original image stays intact in case you need to make changes to it later.

You can use the Autosave feature to save your files automatically at specified intervals. This can prevent you from losing your work if your computer shuts down unexpectedly.

Compressing a .PpsImage File

An image file in the .PspImage format can be saved without compression, or it can be compressed to save space. Both of the compression methods that Paint Shop Pro uses are lossless, and reduce the file size without losing any image information. Saving a file without compressing it is the quicker method, but it requires more hard disk space.

Paint Shop Pro uses two compression methods:

Run length encoding (RLE), which is fast and compresses most multi-layered images to about 75% of their original sizes. It works well with images that contain large areas of the same color.

LZ77 compression, which is slower than RLE, but can compress an image to a smaller size than RLE. It works well with photo-realistic images.

Choose a compression option by clicking the Options button in the various save dialogs.

Saving an Image

You can easily save an image with the same file name and location. Note that this will overwrite the original image with the modified image. To save the image using a different name or file format, choose File > Save As.

To save an image:

Choose File > Save to automatically save the image with the same file name and location. This will overwrite the original image with the modified image.

Press Ctrl S

Click the Save button on the toolbar

The first time you save an image, Paint Shop Pro automatically opens the Save As dialog, where you select a location, name, and format for the image. After this, Paint Shop Pro saves changes to the original image without opening the dialog.

To save a new image:

Choose File > Save, press Ctrl S, or click the Save button on the toolbar. The Save As dialog opens.

Use the Save In drop-down list to navigate to the folder in which you want to save the image file. If you frequently save files to the same folder, click the Favorites folder and select a folder from the list.

In the File Name box, type a name for the file.

To save the file in a new format, select the format from the Save As Type list.

If the file format has save options, click the Options button to open the Save Options dialog. Select new settings, if appropriate. If you are unsure of the settings, use the default values. Click OK to return to the Save As dialog.

Click Save to close the dialog and save the file.

You can have Paint Shop Pro display the last used file type when opening this dialog. Select this option in the Dialogs and Palettes Preferences tab of the General Program Preferences dialog.

Saving an Image File in its Original Format

When you save an image and then edit it, the image title bar displays a Modified tag (an asterisk) after the file’s name to indicate the file has been modified. This tag disappears each time you save the file; it reappears when you again edit the image.

If you want to save a file in another format, use the Save As command.

To save a file:

Choose File > Save As or press F12 to open the Save As dialog.

Navigate to and open the folder in which you want to save the image file.

To rename the image file, type a new name in the File name box.

Open the Save as type box, and scroll to select a new format.

If the file format has save options, click the Options button to open the Save Options dialog. Select new settings, if appropriate. If you are unsure of the settings, use the default values. Click OK to return to the Save As dialog.

Click Save to save the image file and close the dialog.

When you save an image using the Save Copy As command, you are copying the original file, not saving it. Use this command to save a version of a file without affecting the original. The dialog contains all the same features as the Save As dialog.

Note: When using the Save Copy As command:

The modifier tag is not affected. It does not disappear from the title bar.

The file name does not change. The copy is titled “Image Name.”

Paint Shop Pro saves the copy to the same directory and in the same format that was last used with the Save Copy As command (not the Save As command).

To save a copy of an image:

Choose the File > Save Copy As or press <Ctrl + F12> to open the Save Copy As dialog.

Use the Save In drop-down list to Navigate to a new folder if you want to save the copy in a different folder. If necessary, use the Up One Level button to help navigate, or the Create New Folder button to create a new folder.

In the File Name box, type a name for the file.

To save the file in a different format, select the format from the Save As Type drop-down list.

If the file format has save options, click the Options button to open the Save Options dialog. Select new settings, if appropriate. If you are unsure of the settings, use the default values. Click OK to return to the Save As dialog.

Click Save to save a copy of the file.