Any Other Dinosaurs Out There? Need PhotoDeluxe Business Edition 1.0 Help (Restore after Crash)

GR
Posted By
Gail_Ruth
Jul 29, 2008
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4594
Replies
91
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Closed
Gator Kimble ~

I see that none of these Gimpys actually answered your question. Unfortunately, the answer is no. You cannot restore the session from your temp file. I hope you’ve long since redone your work by now.

Incidentally, my Photodeluxe Business Edition 1.1 works fine on my XP desktop, and so far it’s also working just fine on my Vista laptop. I just set it to Windows 2000 compatibility on both systems. It does need to be installed from an original disk, though.

How to Master Sharpening in Photoshop

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DM
dave_milbut
Jul 29, 2008
I see that none of these Gimpys actually answered your question

I know. nobody reads post #1. <rolling eyes>
BL
Bob Levine
Jul 29, 2008
I see that none of these Gimpys actually answered your question.

And I see that you have trouble reading from the beginning. Is there some reason you saw fit to revive a long dead thread in which the question was answered in very first post…two months ago?

Bob
DM
dave_milbut
Jul 29, 2008
wow. slow! maybe you should upgrade your operating system… 🙂
G
_Gator_Kimble
Jul 29, 2008
Bob,

I have no idea how this topic was revived – that is, procedurally. In the course of answering many posts, I started an e-mail correspondence with a guy who still uses PBE 1.0. I e-mailed him a message on a new glitch in PBE (leaving artifacts when moving text or cutting and pasting selections within an image). I haven’t heard from him since I did so. Perhaps, somehow, my message to him became a new post. How that would occur is beyond me, but I’ve been in the computer business long enough that nothing much surprises me anymore.

I believed your assertion ("No. Trash the file. Bob") from the moment I read it because, operating in a Windows world, I knew that not many utilities are built to recover from fatal errors. I prefer the UNIX/Linux world where that’s usually one of the initial design considerations.

I also prefer UNIX/Linux because things tend to work as advertised more often, and often more quickly. In the process of creating a flyer for a new restaurant in my area, I started out using PBE under WinXP Pro SP2, but it left the artifacts I mentioned above when I moved text. I switched to GIMP and, after much delay in learning it, finally produced a flyer that looked great on "print preview".

However, on printing, I got only a tiny upper-left corner, much magnified, of the flyer. I checked every setting that might even remotely affect the pixels-per-inch ratio. Tinkering with them made no difference. I salvaged the project by writing the GIMP image as a PNG file, then opening it in PBE and printing it.

When the flyer was successfully used, the restaurant owner wanted a slight modification to change it from special- to general-purpose. I booted Ubuntu Linux, ran GIMP there, opened the special-purpose PNG file, completed the edits in mere minutes, and printed in the desired "zoom" on letter-size paper using the same GIMP settings that, in the Windows version, would have produced an impressive stand-up cardboard flyer for a movie-theater lobby. (Whew! I haven’t written a sentence that long since my undergraduate sixth-semester English Literature midterm paper.)

All this verbage is a way of saying that you put the original question to bed long ago in your original post. I’m learning a great deal about image processing in both the WinXP and the Ubuntu worlds, which is intellectually satisfying since I once worked two consecutive jobs where I manipulated images, both with software I wrote to convert between image formats and with a custom-written binary-file editor to convert a scanned image file to one which could be inserted into any stream to any printer.

However, I can’t afford to spend that this much time on image editing because my real strength and my employment objective lies in creating special-purpose software in the UNIX-flavored world somewhere in the Florida Panhandle, near but not home (I’m the bayou variety).

Thanks for keeping an eye on posts, and for your definitive help at the outset.

– ‘Gator sends
G
_Gator_Kimble
Jul 29, 2008
Dave,

I AM upgrading. I’m leaving Windows for Ubuntu Linux. It boots in a third or less of the time for WinXp; it shuts down in a quarter or less of the time; and I can search the file system for files and/or folders in a quarter of the time, or search for strings within files in about a tenth of the time required for even an indexed search under Windows – and I don’t have to tolerate the 45-minute-or-more cidaemon.exe "timeouts" that leave me unable to use Windows while the file system is being indexed…

….and it doesn’t require that I upgrade my hardware and suffer the bugs of Vista, which a .NET-, XML-, XAML-, et. al-knowledgable friend and system architect somewhat grudgingly admits is still routine with Vista. Moreover, there’s plenty of free open-source software for the Linux world. I’ve completely abandoned MS Office for OpenOffice.org. If you check my response to Bob Levine, you’ll find that I trust the Ubuntu version of GIMP much more than the Windows one.

We’re on our way to a much better world for computer geeks.
G
_Gator_Kimble
Jul 29, 2008
Dave,

I just reread your post about Rex sending me a copy of PBE. Actually, since I have a legal distribution CD, it’s not illegal for him to send me a copy.

– ‘Gator sends
JJ
John Joslin
Jul 29, 2008
It boots in a third or less of the time for WinXp; it shuts down in a quarter or less of the time; and I can search the file system for files and/or folders in a quarter of the time, or search for strings within files in about a tenth of the time required

Sounds just like Vista to me. 😉

PS: I’m still waiting for the first "Vista Bug" to bite me after 4 months.
G
_Gator_Kimble
Jul 29, 2008
Response to Gail Ruth,

Thanks for the mention of Win2000 compatibility. That setting may cure my artifacts issue. I’ll try it.

– ‘Gator sends
G
_Gator_Kimble
Jul 29, 2008
Response to John Joslin,

Did you upgrade your hardware to run Vista? I’m running the exact same stuff in parallel – one HD for WinXP, one for Linux, with GRUB to choose which I boot.

Are you a software developer? I.e., are you on the cutting edge of finding Vista bugs?
JJ
John Joslin
Jul 29, 2008
I bought a new workstation and opted, initially against my better judgement, to take Vista 64 rather than the "backgrade" to XP that they were offering. I now like Vista.

I’m not a software developer just an intensive user, but the bugs usually find me when they’re there!
RP
Rose_P._Martin-Stinson
Sep 27, 2008
I am in the same boat, and need a copy of the PBE if anyone can send me a copy. I purchased the HP scanner 5300c and received the PBE with the software. My son cracked the disk, and I cannot get it to load. Please help, if you can send me a copy, I would be very thankful.

Pat
G
_Gator_Kimble
Sep 27, 2008
Pat,

I’ll be glad to help if I can. Please e-mail me directly at

For the record, I believe post #17 by Rex Darley was deleted by the forum host because Rex offered to provide me with a copy of PBE 1.0, and the next post asserted, "that’s against the law rex". As I mention in post #25, it isn’t illegal, provided that the requester proves ownership of the software requested. We can discuss that issue via e-mail.

– ‘Gator sends
M
M._R.
Oct 29, 2008
Hello. I am another dinosaur rangler – Adobe Photodeluxe Business Ed. 1. and I need some assistance with creating transparent backgrounds.

I am attempting to create a transparent background for my own cartoons, drawings, etc., saving them as a PNG, and trying to place them on dark garments at Cafepress. It appears that I am doing everything correctly but then when I send it to Cafepress and place it on the dark tee I am still getting the white canvas around the image.

Can anyone help me with this? And please don’t be afraid to explain it in depth, you know, for dummies. ;D

–M.R.
B
Buko
Oct 29, 2008
Buy either Photoshop CS4 or Elements whatever version is newest. I doubt Photodeluxe saves PNG transparent format. If you buy Elements go and ask how in the Elements Forum as nobody in here uses Elements.
G
_Gator_Kimble
Oct 29, 2008

M.R.,

It’s been awhile since I played with the actual contents of images, and I don’t have a format for PNG. Neither have I dealt with Cafepress, so I don’t know how their equipment interprets image contents. Therefore, you’re getting only theoretical speculation from me.

PNG is a "lossless" format–its compression method preserves the original information about every pixel (unlike JPEG, which "blends" or "averages" the values of adjacent pixels). In either case, every pixel will have intensity values for the three colors. My guess is that, unless you choose a background color that’s the same as the shirt, you’ll always get SOME color everywhere within the image area.

You’ll have to confer with Cafepress to learn what image formats they accept and whether there are special ways of representing empty portions of images; e.g., maybe they have a special background color that’s interpreted as empty (transparent).

I’ll be glad to help in any way that I can. Feel free to e-mail me directly at .

By the way, if you’ve read any significant number of the posts to my original question, including Buko’s response to you, you’ll find that everyone wants you to give up the "obsolete" PBE and buy a current product, except for those who’ve discovered GIMP, which is free. I’m learning GIMP. It takes a lot of study for those of us who aren’t in the photo or illustration business. I’m confident that, when I’ve learned it well enough, I’ll understand much more about how to edit and otherwise process images. However, it’s learning curve is somewhat long. Until then, PBE still works fine for me.
DM
dave_milbut
Oct 29, 2008
gimp is good. just not good enough for some people. and then some people "need" to pay for something to feel like they’re getting something worthwhile… personally, i love it and use it on a couple systems where i don’t have photoshop installed.

but elements is definitely an option for those that want to stay in the photoshop family. that’s why we have choices! 🙂
M
M._R.
Oct 29, 2008
Hi Buko, Gator and Dave.

Thanks for all the input. I am currently pricing Illustrator CS4 – about $700 and Illustrator CS3 – $325 – 400.

I didn’t expect to have to upgrade just to create transparent backgrounds so I’m also going to look into Photoshop Elements – $100.

Anyone know if Elements will do this transparent thing for me?

Gator, as for saving my images in PNG, that is what Cafepress tells us to do, so there must be a way to create the transparent background (per Cafepress instructions) and save it in PNG and then move it to their site.

My only hesitation about GIMP is that I have never had good luck with downloading software. I always seem to get one with a virus and have to spend three days repairing/resetting my computer. And yes I have virus protection, but something always seems to be wrong with the download.

But I am going to upgrade either to Elements or Illustrator.
DM
dave_milbut
Oct 29, 2008
Anyone know if Elements will do this transparent thing for me?

yes. so will gimp.

My only hesitation about GIMP is that I have never had good luck with downloading software. I always seem to get one with a virus and have to spend three days repairing/resetting my computer

click the download link on this page and install it. i PROMISE it doesn’t have a virus! you can send bob levine to my house to kick my butt if it does! 🙂

<http://gimp-win.sourceforge.net/stable.html>
DM
dave_milbut
Oct 29, 2008
cross my heart and hope to have to run all my apps on a celeron if it does! 🙂
TH
Trez_Hane
Oct 30, 2008
Of course, if one hopes to learn how to do anything with the program before the year is out, Elements will come in wayyyy ahead of the GIMP. :^)
DM
dave_milbut
Oct 30, 2008
meh. it’s not that hard to work in gimp if you EVER used an image editor before. PSD users should have no problem. (yes, i saw the smiley, just wanted to make sure nobody was scared off! 🙂 )
G
_Gator_Kimble
Oct 31, 2008
Dave,

I didn’t get e-mail on M.R.’s reply (post # 36) to Buko, you, and me, so I want to deal with his(/her?) decision before I reply to your latest post.

M.R. only wants to make T-shirts. Is it reasonable that he(/she?) pay no less than $100, and as much as $700, for software to accomplish that objective? I’ve bought perfectly good cars for less. (You know a bit about my history along that line.)

You know GIMP much better than I do. Can you tell M.R. how to achieve the transparency desired? I want to know, too, as part of my continuing GIMP education.

All I could think of was to suggest that M.R. change the white background to black or a dark, relatively neutral color. I think I know that, even if one deletes the background, those pixels will still be stored with some RGB values vs. an indication that they don’t exist. Those values, even if 0 (black), would still show on a dark shirt of a different color or shade.

Please enlighten us or refer us to some authority on PNG image representation. I’ll be Googling in the meantime.
M
M._R.
Nov 3, 2008
Hello again.

I have not made my purchase yet but will be upgrading to one of the ones mentioned above.

Dave loves GIMP; Trez loves Elements —

Dave, I will try the GIMP, but you can understand my hesitation if your computer has ever crashed. 😉

Trez, will Elements create a transparent background and keep it that way to be transferred?

Sorry about the mail Gator, I get behind on my emails sometimes. It is my understanding that if you place a black background behind the image you will get the outline of black set against a slightly different shade of black tee. And some of what they call ‘dark’ tees are really blues, greens, etc. So I think once again you would have this same problem. This is why Cafepress tells us to use a transparent background.
JJ
Jim_Jordan
Nov 3, 2008
<http://www.cafepress.com/cp/learn/transparency_ps>

I just followed these CafePress instructions to create a PNG file for a dark t-shirt… but I used GIMP instead.

I don’t understand the hesitation. GIMP is stable. It works. It is free.

If you want to use GIMP without installing to your system, try this version < http://portableapps.com/apps/graphics_pictures/gimp_portable>. You can save it to your desktop, use it, and then delete the folder from your desktop.

Can you tell M.R. how to achieve the transparency desired?

It is the same as using Photoshop. When you create a new document, you are asked if you want the BG to be transparent. If you have an existing document, right click on the layer in the layers palette and choose to add an alpha channel.
J
jclark3779
Nov 6, 2008
I mainly use the EZ Photo Slideshow Program. Is there an identical program out there? Thanks in advance
M
M._R.
Nov 16, 2008
Thanks Jim. My hesitation was not with GIMP per se, it was with any ‘downloaded’ program, as I have had bad luck in the past.

One last question: Will GIMP cooperate with my Adobe Photodeluxe and let me transfer an existing file from AP over to GIMP to work with it?
JJ
John Joslin
Nov 16, 2008
The question should be: can Gimp open files saved with Photodeluxe?

The answer depends on what formats Photodeluxe uses to save files.

Stone tablets? Papyrus scrolls? JPG? PSD?

You tell us!
G
_Gator_Kimble
Nov 17, 2008
John,

PhotoDeluxe 1.0 has a larger variety of output formats, and variations within each of them, than any other image editor I’ve encountered, including GIMP. However, it DOESN’T support transparency in PNG.

– Steve (‘Gator) sends
M
M._R.
Nov 20, 2008
Jim, Josh, Gator:

Thanks for all of your assistance.

To answer the question – I save my graphics as PNG and JPG. They need to be in PNG form to satisfy Cafepress. So, does GIMP allow me to take a PNG and move it into GIMP to work on it and then transfer it from GIMP into Cafepress?

And Gator’s right about PhotoDeluxe. It really isn’t a bad program at all, just limited when it comes to the transparencies.
JJ
Jim_Jordan
Nov 20, 2008
Yes
G
_Gator_Kimble
Nov 24, 2008

M.R.,

Recalling your past bad experience with GIMP, I want to mention a problem I’ve had with the Windows XP-compatible version of GIMP. NOTE: it DOESN’T occur in my Ubuntu Linux version of GIMP. It doesn’t directly bear on your system-crash experience, but I thought I should mention it–maybe on the off-chance that one of our correspondents knows what I’m doing wrong with some GIMP setting or other parameter.

I downloaded my Windows version of GIMP from a primary source, not a "third-party" supplier, so I trust its integrity. That said, I’m worried that GIMP shows my PNG images’ attributes as a particular size and resolution, but prints them as something completely different. E.g., GIMP says an image is roughly 7×10 inches at 144 pixels/inch (p/i or dpi) in and therefore should print nicely on a letter-sized sheet of paper; I just doubled the usual photograph resolution. However, when I try to print it, I get a greatly-magnified portion from a small corner of the image. It’s as if GIMP (or perhaps the printer driver) converts the resolution to something my inkjet printer can handle but forgets to adjust the size. That’s a WAG (wild-a__ed guess) on my part, since I’m not well-versed on my printer and…well, I think I ruled out the driver and the printer, ’cause I just tried printing one of the troublesome files on my laser printer with the identical result.

What’s even more confusing is that the dimensions of the corner are about a quarter (not a half) of the length and the width of the full image; i.e., the corresponding resolution would be 36 dpi.

I can print my images correctly if I save ’em from GIMP, then open ’em in PBE and use the Size/Photo size menu path to set the correct resolution, since PBE usually changes it to 72 dpi regardless of what the file resolution is. Obviously, there’s something I don’t know about that goes on with image resolution in handling the PNG format.
JJ
John Joslin
Nov 24, 2008
Just a wild idea – off the top of my head. Try one of the Gimp forums they may know about Gimp.
F
Freeagent
Nov 24, 2008
Hey John, found this out in the hall –

<sarcasm dripping thick as honey>

– that yours?
B
Buko
Nov 25, 2008
I dropped a brick on my foot the other day.

I was walking with a GIMP. do you think the GIMP forums can help me?
M
M._R.
Nov 27, 2008
Thanks to everyone for your assistance. I will try GIMP.

Happy Thanksgiving to all.
G
gss
Dec 26, 2008
I have a new computer with Vista. It won’t let me install my favorite dinosaur Adobe PD Business Edition. Apparently its 64 bit Vista. My previous Vista computer allowed me to install it, maybe because it was 32 bit.

Question–any programs or tips to force Vista to install it?

Must I bite the bullet to to to Elements or gulp CS4?
DM
dave_milbut
Dec 26, 2008
elements is a good choice.

Question–any programs or tips to force Vista to install it?

install and also run as admin?
BL
Bob Levine
Dec 26, 2008
You forgot the part about sacrificing a goat. Trying to get that software to run on Vista 64 may well require that.

Bob
G
_Gator_Kimble
Dec 26, 2008
Not familiar with Vista, either 32- or 64-bit, and glad that it’s so. This issue is one of the many reasons.

Does Vista 64-bit not have a backward-compatibility feature? XP explicitly does, though it doesn’t always work; and all previous versions of Windows had at least SOME way of running SOME old apps, including 16-bit software.

Obviously, this won’t help gss unless someone has the answer, "Yes, in Vista 64-bit, you do this to get 32-bit apps to run."

I was about to write, "Certainly there’s a way." I’d be glad to hear that Dave’s suggestion works. However, Bob’s tongue-in-cheek response may be on target. After all, we’re dealing with Microsoft here. They know what’s best for us, and we’d better love it, or else.
BL
Bob Levine
Dec 26, 2008
He’s not trying to run a 32 bit app, he’s trying to run an application that was designed to run on Windows 3.x

It’s old…very very old. So I stick with my original advice, sacrifice a goat and hope for the best.

Bob
G
_Gator_Kimble
Dec 26, 2008
Bob,

PBE 1.0 debuted in ’98 and by my reckoning, was designed to run under Win98 or, at the earliest, Win95 while Win98 was in development. It’s most assuredly a 32-bit app, though it has one 16-bit plugin which no longer works and whose absence I don’t notice.

PBE 2.0 was developed and intended to debut in ’00, but was shelved. My guess is that Adobe decided that releasing a pro-quality image-editing app as a freebie, bundled with their other support software included with scanners, competed with products they sold.
BL
Bob Levine
Dec 26, 2008
My mistake then…but I still can’t help but think that an app designed for Win 9x is going to install and run properly on a Vista 64 box.

Anyone got a goat so we can test this out? <g>

Bob
G
_Gator_Kimble
Dec 27, 2008
Bob,

I know. There’s a time to let go. Still, since I’m resisting Vista, still clinging to XP, I figure I’m good for now. Since I’m migrating to Ubuntu Linux, I know I’ll have to switch image editors soon.

I need to send suggestions to GIMP developers about things I prefer in PBE. For example, there are some PBE functions which are context-sensitive; i.e., PBE changes the available actions depending on whether the cursor is over the image or the tool-related windows.

That said, and going back to gss’ problem, I can offer raccoons, ‘possums, a boatload of squirrels, at least one coyote and fox (both tend to come in at least pairs if not families), and maybe a porcupine (it was dark, but the outline and highlights were fairly conclusive). If I’m unusually annoyed, there are some cats loose around my neighborhood that can be a nuisance. Alas, though, not a goat to be found. Not even a sacrificial lamb. If I didn’t live in the city of Belleville, IL, I might be of more help.
JD
Juergen_D
Dec 27, 2008
OK, I tried to install it on a 64-bit Vista machine and I get this error message:

"The version of this file is not compatible with the version of Windows you’re running. Check your computer’s system information to see whether you need an x86 (32-bit) or x64 (64-bit) version of the program, and then contact the software publisher."

I guess that means that it is a 16-bit program.

Juergen
G
gss
Dec 27, 2008
Well, I appreciate all the advice and help. I downloaded the trial version of elements and might sacrifice a bagel or two in the hopes that it gives me the functionality of PBE. If it does, I’ll buy it. It certainly looks different.

Amongst the programs and apps not working on my 64 bit windows, is my proxy hider software.

So, in the words of Gator (I think) I will learn to love Microsoft Vista…maybe sign on to learn about the Mojave project and force myself to learn yet another new piece of software.

I resent the cost and the time to learn when I have stuff that really works.

Sigh

Gail
G
gss
Dec 27, 2008
btw I learned something valuable about PBE to prevent crashes. Don’t have more than a few pics up at once. If you remember to x out of them and have no more than three up at a time…you’re unlikely to crash and more likely to be able to bring up if you puter crashes and you have to reboot.

Don’t know the why…just the how.
G
_Gator_Kimble
Jan 3, 2009
gss (Gail),

Someone else must have mentioned learning to love Vista. I’ll never willingly install it on anything I own, much less use it. I’m migrating everything to the Ubuntu flavor of Linux.

As for why PBE crashes when you open too many images: it has to do with PBE using a fixed-sized work area whose size can’t be changed, and not bounds-checking when it needs more work space. PBE tries to write outside of the space allocated to it. It also may not do a very good job of "garbage collecting" when you close an image (i.e., it doesn’t move blocks of used-memory contents together so that unused space is maximized), so you can still get bitten if you close some small images that weren’t opened consecutively.

Finally, how much memory it needs depends on how many layers are in each image and what you try to do to them. The PBE documentation (Help) mentions the need to merge layers when there’s no longer a need to keep them separate. Now you know why.
P
Phosphor
Jan 3, 2009
I suppose people would continue to use a severely outdated image editing app like PSBE—even though there are far more advanced applications, for free—because they don’t want to learn something new?

Or because they’ve somehow, miraculously, kept old hardware running that won’t handle the new apps?

I’m not sure I understand…
G
_Gator_Kimble
Jan 3, 2009
Phos±four dots,

First, it’s PBE, not PSBE. Second, you’d understand if you’d read the previous posts. I’m done explaining the reasons for using PBE. Finally, I have all the time I can spare for helping those with problems, but none for snipers.
P
Phosphor
Jan 3, 2009
‘Gator…

I read the whole thread, and kept up with it when it was current. I would have forgotten about it if somebody hadn’t revived it today. 🙂

The point is, PSDlxBE is outdated, outmoded, outclassed.

"It’s dead, Jim"

GIMP may be different, but it’s FAR more powerful.

Learn GIMP, and ditch PShDBusEd.

Oh, and it might behoove you to thicken your hide a bit. You ain’t seen sniping if you think of that reply (and this one) as hard, dead shots.

There’s often a good reason why dinosaurs, et al go extinct.
G
_Gator_Kimble
Jan 4, 2009
Phos±four dots,

OK, here it is, point by point:

– "Someone" (I) revived it because another PBE user needed help.

– The product name is PhotoDeluxe Business Edition. Came free with my previous scanner. The filename is PBE.exe. "shop" has nothing to do with it. BTW: check your original post (#66).
bi YOU
capitalized the "s", so I just quoted you.

– I’m learning GIMP. What I’m learning is that

— I don’t need the power of a double-A-fuel dragster to get to work; my cars, including the 43-year-old one, do fine. I don’t buy a complete set of Snap-on tools when I just need a #2 Phillips screwdriver. I DON’T know "some of the Adobe UI conventions". I don’t need to. Neither do I want to learn about channels and all of the professional stuff when I just want to create a flyer.

Now, if you want power in an OS and its tools, switch to UNIX or Linux, as I am. Oh, but you know all that ’cause you read all the posts.

— The Windows version that I downloaded from its source (not some fly-by-night site) can’t print PNG images in the size I specify. My Linux version can.

– "stick
bi you
head in a bucket of Marshmallow Fluff…"? Good stickling, Jim.

– My hide is plenty thick, having protected me through 20 years of active duty. I was trying to be polite and to abide by the rules of this forum. What I find interesting is that
bi your
hide couldn’t deal with my message without having to try to one-up me and get in the last word. Kinda gives the lie to your statement that you "…don’t really care, either way."

– Finally, there are still dinosaurs on this planet. They’re here ’cause they’re the ones who’re tough.

I’m done. I don’t want to get thrown out of this forum by pursuing an escalating discourse with someone who just has to be right.
BL
Bob Levine
Jan 4, 2009
This thread has outlived it usefulness. R/O

Bob
BL
Bob Levine
Jan 4, 2009
All right…after a bit of prodding, I’ve opened this thread up again, but, the first sign of sniping it gets shut down for good.

Bob
G
_Gator_Kimble
Jan 4, 2009
Bob,

Thanks for reconsidering. As I said in my last two posts, I’m done responding to those who deprecate PBE. The product was once a premier Adobe product, and it’s still useful to amateur image editors like I am. Yeah, it’s dated; but it’s a convenient blend of once-high-level features and ease of use. Moreover, I’m still
learning about useful features like cloning, which allows me to quickly replace superfluous objects with the background surrounding them. I haven’t yet found that capability in GIMP.

I’m primarily a UNIX/Linux custom-app coder in numerous languages. When I need to illustrate documentation with images, PBE is quick to learn and handy to use.

As the posts indicate, gss needed advice just 9 days ago. M.R. with the tee-shirt question surfaced 2 months ago, and that issue lasted a month. We’ve helped only a handful of people (including your one-message solution to my original question), but that’s one of the beautiful aspects of forums (fora?) like this. Another is that I’ve learned a lot in the process. Finally, most of the "negative" posts were pure kidding, and hilarious to boot.

I can understand that the need for this topic is fading into history. However, since we still see a few diehard users like me, and we still have knowledgable help like you around, I repeat my appreciation for this source of help. I’m also grateful for the opportunity to contribute whatever I may to other PBE users.

– ‘Gator posts with thanks
P
PhantomJ
Jan 12, 2009
PhotoDeluxe Business Edition has been my baby ever since I can remember. Now I have Vista 64 and am running into the same issues. There must be a fix. I cant’ see parting with it as it took me these many years to get used to it’s terminology, tools and the like.

I’m not in the business of buying new software only to jump over a huge obstacle of learning an entire new tool set. I run a webshop. It takes some of us folks a while to learn a program. And when we do, it goes bye bye. That’s horrible.

I enjoy the polygon tool to cut out images. Then I use Xara’s Web Styler to add shadows. Then upload and I’m done. But my old computer was grumbling with me since it only had 512MB of RAM. I bought a new computer to help me run the business. Now I see I can’t install PhotoDeluxe Business Edition. I could cry! If anyone finds a solution to making PhotoDeluxe Business Edition run on Windows Vista 64, I would dearly love to know how to make it work.
G
gss
Jan 12, 2009
Candidly, I am still struggling. I downloaded the trial of PSE 7 but it is not intuitive to a PBE user. I tried some online tutorials (YouTube is the best source). I will have to buy an entire course to figure it out.

I’ll have to bit the bullet for both the program and tutorial program as well as the time.

I’ve since gone back to Brontosaurus PBE until I make a decision or a miracle happens and someone figures out how to make it compatible with Vista 64.

I also run a business and am constantly learning new programs…fortunately most are easy enough for me to figure out.
P
Phosphor
Jan 12, 2009
My guess is you only think PhotoDeluxe’s UI is more intuitive (compared t PS Elements) because you’re so used to it.

I feel the same way about Photoshop. I’ve been using it for so long I could probably draw a picture of every menu, palette dialogue window and widget, just from memory. Drop me into Painter, though, and I’d feel the same way you do. I can use it, but I haven’t used it extensively enough that is has become second nature like Photoshop.
G
gss
Jan 12, 2009
Any idea whether PSE is very different from Photoshop. If I could cut the ramp up time I’d spend the extra dollars for Photoshop.

Maybe a better question is if PHotoshop would be a quicker learn for a PBE addict.

And that begs a third question…is there a program that would be more intuitive to learn for a PBE addict. Obviously it has to be 64 bit compatible.
P
Phosphor
Jan 12, 2009
If you use it a lot, and want to eventually do everything that is possible with image editing correction and creation, then invest the money, and the effort to learn the big dog Photoshop. You surely won’t regret having the power, once you make up your mind to learn to use it.

If you honestly examine your needs and put yourself more in the hobbyist class, then get PS Elements.

Either way, though, there will be similarities in user conventions (icons, tools, terminology, etc), and new stuff to learn.

You’ll have to do your research and do the inventory of your needs.
BL
Bob Levine
Jan 12, 2009
You’re going to have a learning curve no matter what you do…that’s price you pay for upgrading every 10 years or so.

That said, Photoshop and PSE are both available as 30 day fully functional demos.

Bob
JJ
John Joslin
Jan 12, 2009
Bearing in mind the previous posts I would say:

Photoshop – NO WAY!!

Elements – OK. The learning task is lightened by lots of Wizards that walk you through the steps gently.
JD
Juergen_D
Jan 12, 2009
When I got started with digital images, I went with PhotoDeluxe up to version 4. PBE came in somewhere also. When there were no more upgrades I started with Elements 2. There was a pretty good learning curve. I upgraded periodically to the newer versions and only recently got PS CS4.

If all you need to do could normally be handled in PBE then definitely go with Photoshop Elements (V.7).

Juergen
BL
Bob Levine
Jan 13, 2009
There must be a fix.

Why? As already discussed over and over again, you can’t upgrade an entire system in a vacuum. That software is more than 10 years old. You wouldn’t buy a new car and expect all those spare parts you have sitting in your garage to work in it would you?

My advice is to get yourself a VERY OLD system and run it on that. eBay is teeming with them.

Bob
WE
Wolf_Eilers
Jan 13, 2009
Every time a friend invites me over to shake down their Photoshop problems – Elements, of course – I fumble and stumble, and suck air like a fish out of water. Gad! I so dislike the layout of Elements and it’s ‘friendly’ UI.

I get back home, breathe a sigh of relief, fire up the Big Daddy Photoshop and settle back into a comfy, familiar world.

Elements scares me silly!
JJ
John Joslin
Jan 13, 2009
Don’t put the dinos off Elements Wolf! How long was it before you were comfy and familiar with Photoshop? And how old were you?
DM
dave_milbut
Jan 13, 2009
DM
dave_milbut
Jan 13, 2009
whether you go that way, or elements, or photoshop. necessity is the mother of [knowledge]. you’ll learn what you have to when you need it… grasshoppers. 🙂
QP
Q_Photo
Jan 13, 2009
I used to make my living in the auto body trade. I still laugh when I think back to the time I started a job at a hole-in-the-wall shop. A guy was sanding body filler that covered the entire roof panel of a car. He was doing it by HAND using a long fileboard. I handed him an air powered sander. He had never seen one. He acted like it was some kind of black magic because it cut his time to less than half. About a month later everyone purchased their own sanders.

Point is: Why use seriously outdated tools when more powerful tools are available? Elements 7 is a fairly powerful tool at a reasonable cost. It has much of the "magic" of Photoshop.
Just my opinion…
Q
G
gss
Jan 13, 2009
I know I have to make a move and I am willing to spend the money and ultimately invest the time to ramp up but I wish there was a program to which the migration from the dinosaur would be easier.

Any opinions on whether PSE or photoshop would be an easier migration from PBE? AS I mentioned earlier, I was struggling with PSE and gave up for a while to work on my business. There are a lot things I like about Vista but until I can get my graphics to where I need them I can’t use that new ‘puter.

(I’d be a liar if I said I still didn’t have some hope about using PBE with Vista 64 bit). said with tongue in cheek and tear in eye.
P
Phosphor
Jan 13, 2009
How about this:

Enroll in a local community college to take some Photoshop classes.

You’ll not only get up to speed faster on using the application, but you’ll get an educational discount on the price of the product.

It’s a win/win, mate!
DM
dave_milbut
Jan 13, 2009
but you’ll get an educational discount on the price of the product.

a BIG discount, if you can afford the time…
G
_Gator_Kimble
Jan 13, 2009
gss,

Maybe I’m thinking outside of your plans, situation, or preferences; but I tried thinking outside of the box for a few moments. Here’s what occurred to me:

1. Find out if PBE will run under WinXP Pro 64-bit. My copy is 32-bit except for a 16-bit plug-in which, as I’m now warned on starting PBE, won’t run on my 32-bit machine. (It USED TO. Probably a Windows update took care of that.) If so, maybe consider downgrading from Vista.

a. I’m avoiding Vista like the plague. Everything I read says MS is extending WinXP’s support and availability, and rushing up Win 7, because Vista is a nightmare from them and for PC owners. (I’m sure I’ll get a ration of grief for this comment, but I’m paraphrasing professionals who report IT news in the trade media.)

b. Be careful if you explore this option. One PC manufacturer (I forget which) now charges $150 to DOWNGRADE your PC from Vista to XP.

2. Since GIMP has caused that printing problem for me under WinXP, but runs fine under Ubuntu Linux, maybe consider the latter or another Linux flavor if business restrictions don’t prevent your doing so. Your other software may be available for Linux, or there may be apps which do the same thing. There’s a LONNNNNNNG comparability list, and most software I’ve downloaded in the past couple of years comes in Win, MAC OS X (another possibility), and Linux versions.
b. Both GIMP and Linux are free, as are many of the comparable apps such as OpenOffice.org, which works very much like MS Office. I use OpenOffice.org for both WinXP and Ubuntu work. If you have proprietary apps, the vendors may give you a significant reduction in price for the Linux version, or may even give ’em to you free in hopes of keeping a business customer.
JJ
John Joslin
Jan 14, 2009
Just be aware that Windows 7 is basically Vista with some added features.
QP
Q_Photo
Jan 14, 2009
All of this avoidance of Vista is hard for me to understand. In particular, Vista64 and PsCS4. I love being able to assign more memory to Photoshop.

Going to Vista is similar to meeting a new lady. It is wise to learn how and where she likes to be stroked. That is, if you want impressive performance.

Just my opinion…
Q
BL
Bob Levine
Jan 14, 2009
Just be aware that Windows 7 is basically Vista with some added features.

Not true from my initial use. What it is is Vista with a lot of bloat removed and existing features enhanced to work better. There aren’t all that many new features at all…and that’s a good thing.

The beta took all of 18 minutes to install on a four year old Dell Dimension 9100 with a Pentium D processor and 3 gigs of RAM. Just for kicks I installed the 64 bit version. Every piece of hardware in the system worked, no need to find drivers.

I installed the entire CS4 Master Collection and every seems to work just fine.

I had Vista on that machine earlier and it was SLOW. Windows 7 is far faster, networking much easier. I love the new task bar.

Apple and Microsoft have both seemingly gotten the message. They’re working on fixing what’s broken instead of releasing fancy new broken things. <g>

Bob
DM
dave_milbut
Jan 14, 2009
What it is is Vista with a lot of bloat removed and existing features enhanced to work better. There aren’t all that many new features at all…and that’s a good thing.

that’s what i’m hearing to… 🙂

Apple and Microsoft have both seemingly gotten the message. They’re working on fixing what’s broken instead of releasing fancy new broken things. <g>

2 down, 1 to go? 🙂
G
_Gator_Kimble
Feb 3, 2009
Gail,

Would you mind e-mailing me at about your sole post (#19)? I have a further question, not of general interest. Given Bob Levine’s concern about the amusing but not necessarily helpful banter getting out of control, I want to avoid starting a chain reaction of notifications and posts.

–‘Gator posts
FM
Fran_Munschauer
Feb 8, 2009
I love Photodeluxe and have been able to run photodeluxe 3 and photodeluxe 4 on VISTA HOME PREMIUM 32 bit? until today. I had PD3 on my old Melineum and downloaded 4 from a flash drive. Today, it is either not opening or it is saying "cannot find circle.dll"..even though it is there! This is a real shame . I have Photoshop Elements and just got rid of Photoshop CS3 because they are TOO COMPLICATED..Elements is not too bad but still not as easy as photodeluxe. Someone suggested free or other programs that do not do what PD does..Believe it or not..You can do almost anything with PD..Someone should make this program or one just like it for its simplicity..Oh well,,am going to try to reinstall everything again. Any useful information would be great!
QP
Q_Photo
Feb 9, 2009
"Believe it or not..You can do almost anything with PD" Man, I can’t believe how much time and money I have wasted with Photoshop. I do understand that Photoshop may seem complicated to some people, but Elements? Q
FM
Fran_Munschauer
Feb 9, 2009
I just reinstalled photodeluxe 3 and it is working fine on Vista. Maybe it is a "time" issue,i.e. I am wondering if over time it is going to stop working again. If it does..is there another program very similar to purchase? The two programs that were suggested do very little..not much more than remove redeye.
JJ
Jim_Jordan
Feb 9, 2009
Fran, you could describe what you want to do with an image editor. What features are important?

There are different editors for different audiences. If Photoshop CS3 and GIMP are not suited for you then we really can’t tell what would be suited for you. Those apps can do anything.
G
_Gator_Kimble
Feb 10, 2009
Response to Fran M. and other respondents:

First, to Fran, I apologize for not responding sooner. I didn’t get an e-mail message about your first post.

Next, I started this thread ’cause PhotoDeluxe is an easy-to-use tool compared with its power, but I had a problem with its dying unexpectedly; and I wanted to know whether I could recover my work. Bob Levine quickly disabused me of any such hopes. However, in the process, I learned that I’m not the only one who yearns for SOME power without a steep learning curve.

Those posting recently, including you, Fran, have supported my impression, even if they didn’t intend to. Q Photo, for example, makes fun of the auto-body repairman who used a fileboard. (THIS IS AN ANALOGY, FOLKS, not an exact comparison.) True, a sander does the job faster. However, if the shop loses electrical power, that guy can still do the job. Similarly, my ’66 Mustang doesn’t light up a dashboard signal when things go wrong. However, I can diagnose most of the possible problems using my $8 timing light, my $5 dwell/tach meter, my $4 vacuum gauge, and my $50 shop manual. I don’t have to buy thousands of dollars worth of electronic diagnostic equipment to solve the problem. As for the question, "Why use seriously outdated tools when more powerful tools are available?": a bullet will kill someone. Why use a thermonuclear device? Match the tool to the job. That was a minor message in "Home Improvements". We’ve had shovels for thousands of years. If you’re not installing a 40×20′ swimming pool, just a sapling tree, why dig a 6x6x3′ hole? Who uses a scanner, a word processor and a printer to countersign a check? When all you have to do is minor landscaping, you don’t need a backhoe. A shovel and a rake may suffice; and they take a lot less training than the backhoe. Don’t use an axe to kill a mosquito.

As for the problem at hand, though, I’m puzzled. PhotoDeluxe (PBE) was never released beyond v. 1.1. Fran, are you sure that you were using PBE? Your description of ease of use seems to indicate that you are. Can you confirm which product you’re trying to use?

Also, if something stops working for you, there are several explanations. Among them are viruses of all sorts, MS or Windows updates which alter a .dll used by PBE, and hard disk (HD) errors. The most likely are HD failures. How old is your hard drive? It’s rare, but sometimes Windows doesn’t correct for HD errors perfectly. Your reinstallation may have put PBE in a location on your HD which is more stable than its previous location.

I hate to say it ’cause computers are my way of making a living, but they fail in ways which are sometimes not caught–just like people.
BL
Bob Levine
Feb 10, 2009
Nice analogies…but horribly flawed.

The fact is that timing light and dwell/tach meter will be pretty useless on a new car…just like PD is on a Vista computer.

Bob
FM
Fran_Munschauer
Feb 10, 2009
Wow…so many things to think about…I have Photodeluxe Home Edition 3.1, which came on my old ME, and PDHE 4.0 that I downloaded from a flash drive. I do not have the business edition… YET! I LOVE PD..Surely, the business edition and home edition must be similar. PD does the same thing as photoshop without going cross-eyed when looking at all the varables on the photoshop page..My goodness, I have not found any difference in the capabilities. Obviously you know much more about computers..I have Vista home premium 32. It is about 1 year old.
I reinstalled 3.1 and it works if I open it directly..I can’t figure out how to get it to be recognized as a program this time, so I can’t get it on the "open with" list. PDE worked fine before and so I just assumed that "time" caused it to fail. I do not know about hard drive problems (wish I did) and to my knowledge …don’t think I have viruses? Depending on when I installed either of them, I often got dll issues..missing xx dll. This time there does not seem to be any issues for the time being. I usually want to clean up noise in a photo or correct some minor cosmetic problems..I have Photoshop elements but HATE TRYING TO USE IT. I deleted CS3.I am sure if I wanted to study what all of the symbols mean, etc..using photshop wouldn’t be so bad..but I HAVE A WONDERFUL PROGRAM= PHOTODELUXE that seems to be too oudated. I still will try to use it until the next time it fails. I know that I cannot let my vista update my ITUNES. When I tried to use an updated version, my DVD/CD ROM was knocked out and so I use an older version of Itunes. Last week my CD ROM drive was missing again, until I finally realized that my pc automatically updated to a new version of Itunes…Isn’t that ironic..old Itunes is fine but not when it comes to old photodeluxe? In the future,I would use some of your tips if I understood them. If you keep using your PBE, keep in touch..So yours works fine but then it just shuts down? I never had that happen. I could not open the programs. Finally, I do not know what the differences are between business and home editions.
FM
Fran_Munschauer
Feb 10, 2009
Robert, Why does photodeluxe work for awhile on Vista and then fails in 3-6-12 months? I use PD for photos in music videos. Some photos that are old need fixing up. Sometimes I enhance facial features. Sometimes I make a photo larger..I am not creating art from scratch if that is what you were asking. I just edit photos..remove backgrounds, feather, etc. For me, the photoshop page is so filled with graphics, dimensions, tool pics, that I become overwhelmed.
BL
Bob Levine
Feb 11, 2009
You’re guess is as good as mine…and please…if you want people to read your posts you might want to consider paragraph breaks.

Bob
G
_Gator_Kimble
Feb 25, 2009
Does anyone out there have a copy of PhotoDeluxe Business Edition 1.1? We still have a user who owned it, validly purchased as a bundle with a scanner; but a hungry installer program for another Adobe product ate (deleted) it.

Please, no questions about why she doesn’t want to use another image editor, no suggestions as to what else to use. She just wants PBE 1.1.
JJ
John Joslin
Feb 25, 2009
I got it with a scanner too. It’s still in its original shrink wrapper .

It is so old that I have had it valued at $1000.
G
_Gator_Kimble
Feb 25, 2009
TO: Fran Munschauer

How’s it going with your reinstalled PhotoDeluxe Home Edition? To continue our contact outside of this forum post (say, if the post is closed), e-mail me at Try it just so I’ll know you can contact me.

–‘Gator posts
G
_Gator_Kimble
Feb 25, 2009
Sorry, John. If it’s new enough to be shrink-wrapped, it’s probably made in China; and we know that they don’t sell anything that costs over $6 (hence The Dollar Store, all coffee mugs, etc.).
G
_Gator_Kimble
Apr 3, 2009
To all,

I was just reading Brian Livingston’s "Windows Secrets" column and ran across this tip for a reader who wanted a way to resize many digital photos quickly. Brian replied:

"You bet, Edgar. What you’re really looking for is a tool to resize a whole batch of photos at once. In fact, if you enter the phrase batch resize photos in your favorite search engine, you’ll discover a wealth of options. Add the word free to your search if you want to filter out commercial tools.

For highest-quality batch editing, look at a top-tier program such as GIMP (more info). This free, open-source app is complex, though. Google’s Picasa — also free — is very easy to use and can do batch edits, but I personally find it too limited; the program is primarily a photo organizer that does some light editing as a sideline (more info).

When I need a fast way to resize many photos at once, I use the venerable — and free — IrfanView (more info). The program lets you process whole folders of photos in a snap and gives you good control over the final quality, including the ability to sharpen or otherwise modify all the photos in the batch you’re working on.

IrfanView doesn’t offer the image-editing tools of Adobe’s Photoshop or GIMP, but for basic photo editing and very easy, very fast processing of large batches of photos, the product is hard to beat!"

As I’ve said many times before, fit the tool to the job, not to its currency.

How to Master Sharpening in Photoshop

Give your photos a professional finish with sharpening in Photoshop. Learn to enhance details, create contrast, and prepare your images for print, web, and social media.

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