A friend of mine recently asked me over to show her how to work her brand new Paintshop Pro, Version 7. When she got her computer, one of the programs I told her she had to get was Paintshop Pro, Version 6.0. She, wanting to get one up one me, went out and purchased Version 7. Being a long time user of Paintshop, I had received the beta version of 7, and had followed along with their tweaks until it was published. I had to admit I was curious to see if they had made changes since the beta, since I had despised it… They hadn't.

PSP 6 vs PSP 7
I have used and bought every version PSP has put out, up to six. It is user friendly and relatively inexpensive compared to Photo Shop. I have looked at Photo Shop and, other than some text manipulation tools I like, I can do most everything they can in PSP 6. (Note: I said most, not all. So, for all you photo shop guru's out there: don't start yelling "foul.")

When I started working in PSP 6 I was amazed at how easy it become to doctor a picture, change it, or add a layer from another picture. The layers, and the control over them, is the big advantage 6 had over the other versions. When tubes that came out in 5 and improved in 6 I was thrilled. Then along came 7…

With 7, they changed the whole layout. If you want to paint, you have to go through several steps that used to be in one little toolbox. Then, when you get the color just right and decide you want to use the spray gun, the color you had is gone instantly, and you're back at going through the steps all over again. I find that infuriating. I had hoped they would have added some cool text tools, but they just made that harder as well. They added some different color effects for text, but it is a very confusing layout to use.

If I had to give PSP 7 high marks in anything, it would be their photograph repair section. It can do wonders to a poor photograph. They have also added lighting.

Bottom Line
Paintshop Pro, Version 6.0, is user friendly. It's good for the beginner and those that demand more. Paintshop Pro, Version 7.0 has too high of a learning curve. As a semi-professional graphic artist, I find this frustrating.

To be fair, it could be the old adage, "You can't teach an old dog new tricks." I just wish they had added the good things in 7 to six. Totally revamping the program like that served no purpose, other than to confuse the older users. Perhaps new users… people who have not used PSP before, will find the learning curve easier. My friend is starting to make progress. Although she constantly asks me how to do something, my answers don't help that much. She has to convert what I tell her into 7.

My suggestion? Buy 6.

Recommendations to new users.
Like with anything new, you have to work with it until you understand it. The nice thing with messing with a photo or painting on the computer is, the image is safe. If you totally mess it up, start over. Short of saving over your original (Which I have done) you can't hurt anything. (The best way to avoid that is, bring up your original, then immediately save it again under another name.) Do not be afraid to try things. Go look at the numerous tutorials that are on the net. When I was learning I saved the good ones to my hard drive so I could read them off line.

Paintshop 6 comes with quite a few filters built in, but one I highly recommend picking up is the spotlight filter by Greg's Factory Output. I have enclosed the url to get it.

Everyone who likes Paintshop Pro have to go and see Al Dawson's digitoils. The art he produces is stunning. He has one free download instruction set that is worth getting, just to pick up the techniques from a real pro. He used version 3.12 and 4, at the time version four dropped the push tool. They fixed that in five and six. So you should have no problem finding the right tools to create his mountain. Mine did not look much like his, but was happy with the result and what I learned doing it was invaluable.

Have fun with it. For photo manipulation or painting, Paintshop Pro Version 6 has what you need at a fraction of the cost of that other program.

My sample of multi-layering, mixing of photo and graphic painting, done with 6.
http://theshadowmatrix.com/outlaw/art/artnineteen.html
Greg's Factory Output I highly recommend the spotlight filter.
http://pspro.aphid.net/filters/gfo.html
The awesome Al Dawson, what he can do with a mouse and Paintshop Pro 3 will blow you away.
http://digitoils.com/howdo.html

Recommended: Yes