This two-toned nature of PaintShop Pro means that you likely want to think about your understanding of editing software before making a choice, though it can be switched back if you prefer.
Software has moved on from this sub-menu reliant interface layout, and this only makes it harder for any level of user to get to and use the functions they need. There are heaps of tools available but the majority are stowed away in menus at the top of the screen, regardless of which style you select. It’s a good first impression, actually, but it doesn’t quite serve its purpose as well as it is perhaps intended. The former is a brighter, clearer UI that can be customized more finitely by the user, while the latter literally switches to a darker UI more familiar with practically every photo editing software since Photoshop adopted the gray theme. The software comes with two ‘styles’, Essentials and Complete, which is almost like choosing to be part of the light side or the dark side. There’s something of a duality about PaintShop Pro. Newcomers to image editing will have their hands full, but experts will have all they could hope for.
Paintshop pro 2018 review full#
PaintShop Pro, then, has its pendulum swinging heavily towards the professional editing demographic and its software – available for $79.99 alongside a 30-day free trial – is crammed full of features to match this purpose. Some will focus on providing a cloud-based service, others on vector editing or helping create great social media images, while the rest can be divided up by their respective target audiences. Those days have since flown by, and nowadays there’s a bevy of choices and options open to the would-be photo editor, which means that it’s particularly important for developers to specialize. Imagine a time when Corel’s long-running PaintShop suite was in a two-horse race with Photoshop. Imagine a time when you could count the features of these tools on a pair of hands. Imagine a time when photo editing software came on a disk. A lot of superfluous or repetitive effects.