PhotoStudio 6 Manual

Copyright 2008 ArcSoft, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

PhotoStudio 6 Manual

Index
Introduction Tools Palette Navigation Palette Working with Layers Working with Colors Menu Commands 02 02 07 08 09 10

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PhotoStudio 6 Manual

Introduction
Welcome to ArcSoft PhotoStudio 6, a powerful photo editing application featuring an array of advanced tools, filters and special effects inside a very friendly user interface. Beginners will appreciate the straight-forward design, while advanced users will love the performance and control. The program includes everything you need to manage, enhance, print, and get creative with your digital photos!

Tools Palette
The Tools Palette contains tools for selecting, viewing, drawing, painting, retouching, and editing images. To find out what a tool does, place the mouse cursor on the icon and a brief description of the tool will appear in the Status Bar. To select a tool, click on its icon or use the shortcut (labeled in tips, for example: "V" for "Move" tool) to select a tool. When a tool is selected, its options will automatically appear on the top of the PhotoStudio workspace. The tools are arranged into the following sections:

Select and Move

The following list contains information for each tool located in Select and Move tool bar.

Select Tool This tool allows you to select fixed-shape (rectangle, ellipse, etc.) portions of your image. To use it, click and drag in the image window. Hold mouse button down to can change the size of the selection. You can change the shape of the selection tool and the -2-

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way it draws from the options on the top of the PhotoStudio workspace. To remove a selection, click on any area outside the current selection or use the Select: None command. To move a selection, click and drag inside the selection area. If you hold the Shift key when selecting, you can make a square or circle selection (if no selection has been made before). Hold the Alt key to remove any area from the current selection. To apply the Area Move Tool operation, hold the Ctrl key while dragging and dropping the selected area.

Area Move Tool This moves a selected area. To use it, click in the current selection and drag it to its new location. The location of the moved area will be replaced with transparency. The entire current layer will be moved if there is no selection.

Freehand Select Tool This tool allows you to create irregularly shaped or polygonal selections. To use it, click and drag in the image window. If you want a polygonal selection--like a star or an octagon--you only need to click the mouse on the points of the polygon in a connect-the-dots fashion. PhotoStudio will automatically connect the points you clicked. Double click to automatically draw a line from the last point to the starting point to complete the selection.

Magic Wand Select Tool This tool allows you to select an area of your image based on color similarity. (In grayscale and black-and-white images, it selects regions of similar darkness.) For example, if your image is a landscape with a blue sky, you can use the magic wand tool to select the sky without selecting the white clouds at the same time. Then you can apply various effects to change the color of the sky. To make this selection, click on the desired area with the magic wand tool. This tool selects everything of that color or a similar color in the image.

Crop Tool This tool removes unwanted area from the image. Use the Crop Tool to define a rectangular or square area. Once the area is defined, the area outside the selection will turn dark. Press Enter, double click or click on the OK icon in the option bar to apply the crop operation. Press Esc or click on the Cancel icon to cancel the operation.

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Transform Tool This tool allows you to transform a selected area. When you choose this tool from the toolbox, four small black squares will appear on the four corners of the image. (If your selection is not rectangular, PhotoStudio puts a temporary rectangular boundary around the image and the squares appear at the corners of this rectangular boundary.) These squares are "handles" and they will disappear when the transformation is completed. Click and drag any one of the handles to modify the selection. You can modify the selection as many times as you want before you activate the operation. To activate the operation, press Enter on your keyboard. To cancel it, press the escape key (Esc).

Draw and Retouch

The following list contains information for each tool located in the Draw and Retouch tool bar.

Pen/Paint Brush Tool The Pen/Paint Brush Tool applies color to the area where you click and drag. The Pen Tool makes completely solid markings of the active color to the area where you click and drag. The size of the Pen can be changed in the Options bar located on top of the PhotoStudio workspace. The Paint Brush tool applies a thick layer of the active color to the area where you click and drag. The size of the Paint Brush tool can be changed in the Options bar located on top of the PhotoStudio workspace.

Spray Paint Tool This tool applies a thick, spread layer of color to the area where you click and drag. You can choose the Opacity and Size of the "spray" to suite your needs.

Clone Tool This tool duplicates one part of your image to another part of the image. To clone an area, hold the Shift key and click the area you want to clone. A plus sign (+) will appear at that location for your reference. Now use the mouse to draw in a new position and it will use the source location to determine the color.

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Eraser Tool The Eraser tool removes color from the selected area returning it to transparent background. Select the opacity and size of the eraser from the Options bar on top of the PhotoStudio workspace.

Gradient Fill Tool This tool fills the current selection or the entire image with a gradient from the foreground color to the background color. A gradient is a transition from one color to another, like a rainbow. To use it, select the desired colors in the Color Palette, click at the point where you want the gradient to start, and drag to designate the length and direction of the transition. In the Options bar,

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Enhance and Fix
The following list contains information for each tool located in Enhance and Fix tool bar.

Text Tool This tool allows text to be added. Select the font and style then type in your text; you can also choose to add a shadow effect to your text. The text will be added in a new layer so it can be easily moved or modified.

Line Tool The line tool allows a straight line to be easily drawn using the active color. Click and hold the left mouse button on the point to start the line, then move the mouse to the point to end the line and release the mouse button. Select the size of the line and choose whether or not to "Anti-alias".

Stamp Tool This tool allows you to place a predefined shape on your image with every click and drag of your mouse. Select the desired stamp, then click and drag a rectangle on the image to define the area to place the stamp. The stamp will be placed in that location using the active color.

Shape Tool This tool allows you to crop your image to a predefined shape. Select the desired shape, then click and drag a rectangle on the image to define the area to place the shape. The image will be cropped to the selected shape.

Eye Dropper Tool This tool makes the color you click on in an image the active color. You can choose the color mode and pixel range in the Options bar located on top of your PhotoStudio workspace.

Red-eye Removal Tool This tool automatically removes the red-eye effect that commonly occurs in

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photographs when the subject looks directly at the camera. Select the Red-Eye Removal Tool and click and drag over the red area.

Pan Tool This tool allows you to pan an image when it is larger than the screen. To pan the image, click the Pan button and then click and drag the pan tool around in the active image. If you double-click on the Pan icon, the current image will automatically fit into the screen. When other tools are activated, simply press the "Space" key on your keyboard and drag the mouse to pan the image.

Zoom Tool This tool allows an image to be zoomed in or out. You can view more details of an image when it is zoomed in; and view an image on a larger scale when zoomed out. Double-click the Zoom icon to return the image back to its original size. Press "Ctrl" and "+" to zoom in on the image while pressing "Ctrl" and "-" to zoom out.

Navigation Palette
The Navigation Palette allows you to view the current image in an "overall mode". There are some functions provided in the Navigation Palette which enable an easy and simple view experience. View Size You can choose a specific value from the drop-down list to view the current image. You can choose a value ranging from 6.25% to 1600%. If you want to view the active photo on a larger scale, choose a smaller value. If you want to view more details of the active photo, choose a larger value. Zoom In/Out You can drag the slider on the scroll bar to magnify or shrink the view of the active image. The View Size option will display the current level of magnification, ranging from 6.25% to 1600%.

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Pan Tool If the active image is zoomed in and it is larger than the preview area of Navigation Palette, a red box will appear in the preview window and your cursor will turn to a hand-shaped icon when it is placed inside the box. The area insides the box will indicate the current image view on your workspace. You can use the hand-shaped icon tool to move around until the box is placed to a desired position.

Working with Layers

Images in PhotoStudio consist of one or more layers. Every image starts out with a background layer that is similar to the canvas when painting. Layers can then be added on top of that background and text, drawings, images can be added, deleted, moved and edited on their individual layer without affecting items on any other layer. Layers start out completely transparent so you can see the background layer through them, except for areas where you've added something to the layer. Most image formats do not support multiple layers. To keep a copy of your image with the layers separate, in case you want to edit it further, you must save it in PhotoStudio's PSF format. If you decide to save in another format, the layers will automatically be merged into a single background layer during the save process. The easiest way to see layers in action is to use the Text Tool to add a line of text to your image. The text will automatically appear in a new layer in the Layer Palette. The Layer Palette The Layer Palette shows a small thumbnail image of each layer. The selected layer will have a blue rectangle around it. Multiple layers can be selected by holding down the CTRL key and clicking on each layer. (This is important for merging layers.) Click on the Eye icon above the layer thumbnail image to toggle the layer on and off. When you are working with multpile layers, this makes it much easier to work on a particular layer. Finally, the layer includes a restriction button that resembles a padlock. When enabled, any drawing over transparent areas of the layer is prevented. This could be useful, for example, to paint text a different color without affecting the surrounding area. Several tools are available directly from the Layer Palette:

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New Layer Creates a new empty layer in the active image.

Copy Copies the selected layer.

Delete Deletes the selected layer in the active image.

Merge Down Combines the selected layer and the layer below it in the Layer Palette into a single layer.

Merge All Combines all the layers in the active image into a single layer.

Working with Colors

You can set the foreground or background color for your images. The foreground color is the color that is applied to your image by the various tools provided in PhotoStudio. The background color helps to determine the effect you get with the Gradient Tool. The background color can be changed to the foreground color by clicking on the switch arrow. Double click on the foreground or background color range to launch the Color Palette. The Color Palette The Color Palette shows a selection of the colors available for editing. Click on the color range selector in the upper left of the palette to switch between the color palettes and smooth gradient palettes (the smooth gradient palettes provide a larger variety of colors).

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As you move the mouse cursor along the smooth gradient palettes, RGB (or HSV) color values of the color will be displayed below the color preview area. When you find a color you like, simply click "OK" to make it the foreground or background color. You can also click on the "+" button to add the color to the My Favorite Colors panel. My Favorite Colors You can add your favorite colors to the My Favorite Colors panel. Several tools are available in the Color Palette:

Add Add current color to the My Favorite Colors panel.

Remove Remove current color from the My Favorite Colors panel. When the foreground and background colors have been selected, simply click on the arrow in the right top corner to switch between them. Click on the Default Foreground and Background Colors icon (in the left bottom corner) to set the foreground and background colors as black and white respectively.

Menu Commands
There are various menu commands provided on the top of the program screen which give you access to convenient options, powerful tools and valuable services. Click any of the following links to learn more about the options in each menu list.

File Menu
The File menu contains commands for manipulating and managing image files. New... This command creates an untitled image file. Set the height, width, bit depth, and default resolution from the dialog. - 10 -

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Open... This command opens an existing image file. Set the image file format, choose the drive, folder, and image filename then click OK to open the file. Close This command closes the active image. If there are any unsaved changes to the image or the image is new, PhotoStudio prompts you to save. Save This command saves the active image in its current file format. If the image is new, PhotoStudio displays the Save As dialog box so that you can specify the drive, directory, file type, and filename for saving. Save As... This command saves the active image with a new filename, file format, and location. Select the folder, type in the filename, set the format from the Save As Type list box, then click on Save. Acquire... This command allows images to be imported directly from TWAIN compliant hardware devices such as scanners and digital cameras. Use the Select Source subcommand to choose the desired device, then use Acquire to open the TWAIN software for the device. Select Source... This command allows you to select a connected device for image acquisition. Image Information... This command lists detailed information for the selected photo. Print This command allows the active image to be printed. Select the desired Printer Profile, Print Settings, Position, and Print Size, then select Print. PhotoStudio will automatically show a preview that allows the image position and size to be modified. If you select "Use a custom ICC profile" option, the image data may be converted by two ICC profiles. And the print effect may not be the one you expected. Filename List The most recently used files are listed at the bottom of the File menu for easy access. Select a file to open it.

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Exit This command closes PhotoStudio.

Edit Menu
The Edit menu contains commands for editing images or selected areas. Undo You can use this command to correct a mistake. You can undo most operations in PhotoStudio, and can undo multiple operations by selecting it repeatedly. The maximum number of Undo commands can be set using the Preferences command. Redo This command reverses the last Undo command. Select repeatedly to reverse multiple Undo commands. Cut This command cuts out the selected area (or the entire image if there is no selection) and places it on the Clipboard. Cutting replaces the selected area with transparency. Use the Paste command to insert the cut area into another location, layer, image or application. Copy This command copies the selected area (or the entire image if there is no selection) and places it on the Clipboard. Copying does not affect the selected area. Use the Paste command to insert the copied area into another location, layer, image or application. Paste This command pastes image data from the Windows clipboard onto the active image in a new layer. The Paste command will be active after using Cut or Copy within PhotoStudio, or within other applications that use Cut and Copy to place graphics content on the Windows Clipboard. Clear This command cuts the selected area (or the entire image if there is no selection) and replaces it with transparency. Fill Color... This command covers the entire layer with a single color. If a portion of the layer is

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selected, only the selected area will be covered. The transparency of the color coat can be selected. Crop This command removes unwanted area from the outside of the image. Use the Select Tool to define a rectangular or square area to keep, then use the Crop command. If no area is selected, the crop command will not be available. Rotate Canvas This command rotates the active image canvas by a specified amount. You can choose to rotate 180 degrees, 90 degrees CW or CCW, or choose Arbitrary to rotate the image canvas by degrees. You can also choose to flip the canvas vertically or horizontally. Add Border... This command generates a border around the entire active image. The border will be transparent area when added. Select the number of pixels to add to each side of the image from the Add Border dialog. A side can be set to zero if, for example, you would like to increase the area along the top only. Image Size... This command allows the entire image to be resized based on pixel dimensions, a percentage of the current size, or the resolution. Make sure Constrain Proportions is checked unless you want to stretch the image from its original proportions. Preference... This command opens a dialog for modifying various default settings in PhotoStudio, such as gamma values, maximum undo times and the type of application background.

Select Menu
The Select menu contains commands for selecting areas and manipulating existing selection areas or "masks." All This command selects the entire active image. If the image has multiple layers, it will select the entire active layer.

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Invert This command reverses the selected area--all selected areas become unselected, and all unselected areas become selected. None This command removes all current selections in the active image. Selections can also be removed by clicking once in any unselected portion of the image. Border... This command selects the areas along the border of the current selection. The command will not be available if there is no selected area. Use Select All followed by Border to quickly select the edges of an image. Expand... This command enlarges the current mask by a specified amount. The command will not be available if there is no selected area.

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Merge Selected This command combines all the selected layers in the Layer Palette into a single layer. To select multiple layers, hold down the CTRL key and click on each layer in the Layer Palette. Layers can be unselected by clicking on them again. Merge Down This command combines the selected layer and the layer below it in the Layer Palette into a single layer. This command is available from the Layer Palette by clicking the icon. Merge All This command combines all the layers in the active image into a single layer. This command is available from the Layer Palette by clicking the Soft Edge... This command blurs the edges of the selected layer with the background layer. This command is useful for removing the "seam" between an image in the background and one on a layer. The higher Transparency and Range Of Edge are set, the more of the layer that will blend into the background. Add Shadow... This command creates a drop shadow behind the current layer to give it a 3-D effect. Drop shadows are commonly used to make text stand out from the background, but works on images and drawn objects in a layer as well. icon.

Enhance Menu
The Enhance menu contains advanced image processing commands including color correction and quality enhancement. Many of these commands are only available for 24-bit color or 8-bit grayscale images. Last Enhance This command automatically applies the enhance effect you used last time to the current image.

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Auto Enhance This command automatically makes a variety of enhancements designed to fix common digital image deficiencies. Brightness and Contrast... This command changes the brightness and contrast of the active layer (the entire image if it only has one layer) or a selected area. Hue and Saturation... * The term hue describes color based on a "color wheel" containing all the colors of the visible spectrum. Adjusting hue changes the color in the active layer (the entire image if it only has one layer) or the selected area to new colors around the color wheel. All the colors in the image or selected area are shifted by the same degree around the wheel. The saturation control adjusts the intensity of the colors in the image. Adjusting hue and saturation for an image are similar to adjusting the tint and color on a TV. Tone Adjustment... This command selectively lightens and darkens the highlights, midtones, and shadows of the active layer (the entire image if it only has one layer) or selected area. Adjusting the highlights, midtones and shadows will affect the contrast of the image. The Tone Adjustment command is similar to the Brightness and Contrast command, but offers more control. White Balance... * This command allows you to remove unrealistic color casts so that objects which appear white in person are rendered white in your photo. Color Reduction... * This command reduces the number of color/gray brightness levels in the image to the number you set. Pixels are mapped to the new value that is the closest. Color Balance... * This command allows you to adjust the values of the color channels, from cyan to red, magenta to green, and yellow to blue, separated by highlights, midtones, or shadows. Color Tone... * This command offers 3 sliders that let you change the color tones of a photo. All colors will be affected.

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Scratch Removal... * This command uses precise, controlled blurring to remove scratches and imperfections in images. Adjust the sliders accordingly and use the preview windows to best enhance your image. Equalization This command redistributes the grayscale or color values of the pixels in an image more evenly. The results will vary depending on the image, but in general, the lines in the highlight and shadow areas will be sharpened. Negative This command inverts the grayscale or color brightness values of every pixel in the selected area or the current layer. The new image will look like a photographic negative of the original. Using the Negative command again will bring the image back to its original state. Smooth Filters The Smooth Filters decrease the contrast between adjacent pixels in the entire active layer or selected area. The effect blurs and softens the edges between objects in the image. If you want to blur the image more selectively, use the Smooth Tool. Sharpen Filters The Sharpen Filters increase the contrast between adjacent pixels in the active layer or selected area. If you want to sharpen the image more selectively, use the Sharpen Tool. Special Filters This option applies a logarithm to the mapping curve of the image, which makes the image brighter. * Note: Options will be grayed out if the current image is grayscale.

Effects Menu
The Effects Menu contains commands for transforming images in interesting, novel, and unusual ways. The best way to understand these commands is to experiment with them. Last Effects This command automatically applies the effect you used last time to the current image. - 17 -

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Composite... This command combines two images by combining the corresponding pixels of the images. It also allows you to adjust the color/grayscale values for all of the pixels in an image by combining the image with itself. The Composite command will only combine images that are exactly the same size and have exactly the same number of pixels. Use the Image Size command from the Edit menu to resize one of your pictures before using Composite if necessary. You can also use the commands in the Convert menu to change the data type of one of your images as well. Special Effects The remaining commands in this menu perform a variety of special effects on the active layer (the entire image if it only has one layer) or selected area. Most of the names give a good idea of how the command will affect the image, however, you can see a preview when you select a particular command before applying it to the image.

Convert Menu
The Convert menu contains commands to change the data type of an image between Grayscale and RGB. You can also split the various channels that make up an image into separate Grayscale image documents and combine different channels to form a single RGB True color image. The program supports 48-bit images which yield higher quality than 24-bit images. Please note that not every editing option is available for 48-bit images. Convert To... Commands The various Convert To... commands change the bit depth of the image. This will also change the number of colors the image can display. When used, a new image is created with the selected bit depth. All layers in the current image will be merged automatically into a single layer in the new image--there is no way to retain the separate layers when converting.

View Menu
The View menu contains commands for managing the PhotoStudio workspace and image display, and showing information about the active image.

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Zoom In/Out These commands magnify or shrink the view of the image from one to sixteen times. The Status Bar displays the current level of magnification in the lower-left corner. Fit In Window This command adjusts the size of your image to fit in any size window. This command is usually used when the current view of an image is larger than the image window. Actual View If you have magnified or reduced the active image, this command changes the image back to its original size. Rulers This command makes a pair of rulers (with pixels as unit measurement) appear along the top and left side of the image. The arrows on the rulers indicate the position of the pointer in the image. The position of the pointer is also displayed in the Status Bar. Clear Reference This command removes the reference you added to the current image. Lock Reference This command locks the reference you added to the current image. If you want to remove the reference, you will need to unlock it first. Add Reference... This command allows you to add a reference to the current image. You can select whether to add a Horizontal or Vertical reference, or manually set its specific position. Show/Hide Commands These commands control whether the noted palettes or toolbars appear in the PhotoStudio workspace. Selecting any of these commands will toggle the item on or off.

Window Menu
The Window menu contains commands for managing the image windows in PhotoStudio. Select from the following list to learn more about the command.

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Tile This command arranges the image windows without overlapping so that you can see all image files simultaneously. Cascade This command arranges the image windows so that they overlap and their title bars are visible. Close All This command closes all the image files opened in PhotoStudio. If there are any unsaved changes or any images are new, PhotoStudio prompts you to save. Image Window List This is a list of all opened image files. The one with a check mark is the active image. Click on a filename to activate it.

Extras Menu
The Extras menu gives you access to valuable services and related product information. In order to access these options, an internet connection is required. More ArcSoft Products Get special deals on related software. Updates and Patches Check to see if a free update or patch is currently available for the software. Available Upgrades Learn about the latest available upgrade for your software. Send Us Feedback Tell us what you think about the software good or bad. Visit ArcSoft.com Go to www.arcsoft.com to learn more about the company and our products.

Help Menu
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This menu contains commands for opening this help file and the About screen. Index Launches the Online Help. About PhotoStudio Launches the product splash screen which contains version and copyright information about the software.

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