User manual MAGIX XTREME PHOTO DESIGNER 6

Manual 2 Introduction Introduction MAGIX Xtreme Photo Designer 6 is an image editing application, which helps you handle all necessary photo editing tasks quickly and easily. Import all common file formats or scan directly. The integrated browser enables convenient searching for image files on your PC. Images can be discreetly improved, retouched, distorted or transformed into an oil painting. The Task Assistant helps you with practical step-by-step user guidance. Specific image sections, such as people, can be removed from the image for moving or editing with effects. If you want to add them to the image again, they can be semi-transparent, from covering to invisible. You can assign various modes for combining these objects with the main image. All effects/filters can be applied either to the main image or the object or even selectively with the aid of a brush. At the end, the images can be printed flexibly or saved optimized and Internet-ready. www.magix.com Table of Contents 3 Table of Contents Introduction Support Brief Description Draw/Retouch with the brush Effects Mask Objects Tutorial Program interface Quick image optimization and multiple picture editing Detailed image editing Effects & Filters Change image format Working with the Browser The Folder View The File List The Status Bar Working with Images Show images Create, load and save pictures Import Images Print Images Create Panorama Pictures Deform pictures Working with the Mask Select all Remove mask Invert mask Create mask from object Mask > Expand/Reduce selection Vignette Loading/saving the mask The Mask Tools Working with Objects www.magix.com 2 6 8 8 8 9 9 10 10 15 17 28 32 36 37 38 41 42 42 43 44 45 47 48 50 50 50 50 50 51 51 51 51 53 4 Table of Contents Creating Objects Adjust shape Vignette Apply Shadow Include/include all Object order Copy objects from different images and programs The Object Manager Working with Text Objects Text effects Working with Batch Processing Input Actions Output Effects Plugin Filters Paint Color Filters Art Filters Focusing Filters Other Filters Stylising Filters Noise Filters Coarsening Filters Distortion Filters Video Filters Soften Filters The Toolbars Standard Effect bar Tools Zoom The tool settings Object tool setting The mask tools settings The Gradient Tool settings The brush/pen tool settings Configuration Monitor Gamma 53 53 54 54 54 54 54 55 58 58 60 60 60 60 62 63 64 64 67 67 68 69 69 70 71 72 72 74 74 75 76 78 79 79 81 82 83 86 86 www.magix.com Table of Contents Undo/Redo Slideshow Other MAGIX services in detail iPACE Online Services Catooh MAGIX Online Album MAGIX Community MAGIX Podcast Service If you still have questions... Task Assistant PDF manual Program Help MAGIX News Center Index 86 86 87 88 88 90 90 92 93 96 96 96 96 97 97 5 www.magix.com 6 Support Support If you experience any problems with your software, please get in touch with our support team: Support website: http://support.magix.net This website will lead you to the MAGIX user service page, which, among other things, contains the following free offers: · FAQs (frequently asked questions) and general tricks and tips. In most cases you'll find the solution to your problem here. If not, use the Email support form: · E-mail support form. Via the special form you inform our support staff about your system. This information is used to solve your problems quickly and competently. Simply fill out and send with a mouse-click! · Support forum: You are not alone. Perhaps other users had a similar problem and can help you solve yours. Our support staff are also regular contributors. · Download section: Updates, improvements and patches are likewise offered free of charge via download Many problems you may experience are well-known to us, and which can be solved by downloading the latest patch. Besides patches, there are also wizards for checking and optimizing your system · Links: In the links list you will find the contact addresses of all the most important hardware manufacturers. You can also reach our support team by telephone: UK: Denmark: Finland: Norway: Sweden: 0905 118 0888 (25p/min) (open Monday to Friday 9:00 - 16:00 GMT) 077345695 (open Monday to Friday 10:00 - 17:00 CET) 0942597819 (open Monday to Friday 10:00 - 17:00 CET) 021543223 (open Monday to Friday 10:00 - 17:00 CET) 0852507027 (open Monday to Friday 10:00 - 17:00 CET) Email: info@magix.net www.magix.com Support Please have the following information at hand: · Program version · Configuration details (operating system, processor, memory, hard drive...) · Sound card configuration (type, driver) · Information regarding other audio software installed 7 www.magix.com 8 Brief Description Brief Description This section is a brief introduction to the functions of MAGIX Xtreme Photo Designer 6. The following paragraphs briefly describe the basic functions, which will be described in more detail later on. Draw/Retouch with the brush Using the paintbrush or pencil tools you can draw or retouch a picture. To do this, select the corresponding tool and apply the selected colour with the left mouse key. With the tool parameters found at the top you can either select a preset brush or create a customised brush from the palette by selecting a tip and other parameters. There are various further paintbrush tools for special retouching work such as blurring, sharpening or redeye removal. With the fill tool you can quickly fill a selected area or a specific colour in the image with the set colour. Effects For retouching, please select an effect from the "Effects" menu or from the Effects browser. The effects window with the corresponding effect settings is displayed on the right. The effect is applied to the entire image, to a single object or to any mask selection. You can change all effect settings and immediately view the result. The selection mask can be changed at any time, and you can even "paint in" all effects with a brush. An effect can partially affect the image if you increase its transparency at the top of the effects dialog. This is where you can combine the effect with the image in different ways in combine mode. If you are satisfied with the changes, simply close the effects settings dialog and the effect will be permanently applied to the image. www.magix.com Brief Description Mask A mask can placed over the main image, which protects non-masked areas from changes or can be used to create objects. Five different masking options are available: Box mask, circular mask, lasso mask, magic wand, and mask creation using a pencil. You can use the pencil mask to create areas with soft edges (vignettes). The magic wand is useful for "extracting" certain image elements from the background. If one of the mask modes is active, the tool settings will display the suitable configuration options for each respective mode. 9 Objects MAGIX Xtreme Photo Designer 6 allows you to work with objects. A mask is used to select and create a copy of an area that you can move freely over the image. The copy can be reshaped and edited using different colours and effects. www.magix.com 10 Tutorial Tutorial MAGIX Xtreme Photo Designer 6 is a high-quality image processing software package which is directly integrated into MAGIX photo and video software: First of all, this tutorial will introduce you to the software interface of MAGIX Xtreme Photo Designer 6 and demonstrate the practical functions of MAGIX Xtreme Photo Designer 6 using suitable examples on the following pages. The helpful Task Assistant will appear now and then, imparting useful tidbits of information where it can. You'll find all of the described functions in the Tasks menu or via the "1-click" button which starts the Task Assistant. The layout of our tutorial corresponds to the main points found there: Program interface MAGIX Xtreme Photo Designer 6 is a pixel-based image processing program that masters all basic photo operations and has a number of directly applicable effects, filters and distorters for use as presets for your photos. www.magix.com Tutorial 1. Menu bar 2. Toolbar 3. Toolbar + Option horizontal 4. Object Manager 5. Filmstrip view 6. Workspace (in the picture with the selected mask) General usage tips 1. Most functions are usually only selectable and usable once a picture has been loaded via the menu bar: "File" > "Open". So that you always open the correct picture, we recommend using the picture browser. It searches through your folders and automatically shows each photo in a thumbnail view including each title and filesize. Double-clicking on a picture is enough to open it. Furthermore, you can delete, sort or print directly from the picture browser of MAGIX Xtreme Photo Designer 6. 2. Use the mouse wheel to increase or reduce the size of the view of the picture you opened. 3. Via "Window" in the menu bar you can hide or show the symbol bars and options, the Object Manager, the Effects Browser or the filmstrip view. This way you can create the working environment that suits you best. 11 www.magix.com 12 Tutorial 4. When saving a picture either a copy is created or the original is overwritten (see screenshot): Save picture via the menu list: "File" > "Save" or the Save symbol in the toolbar. 5. You can also choose to save pictures for the Internet, which results in them being compressed. Compression settings can be changed in the save dialog. Select "File" > "Save for Internet" from the menu. Object Manager In the screenshot graphic of the program interface you can see the Object Manager (4) to the right, which sorts the various objects or layers of a picture. You always work with the object selected there. Creating objects You can create objects by opening a mask. In the toolbar (3 vertical) you'll find two tools for this purpose: the square mask and the lasso mask for masks that are drawn freehand. You can transform a mask into an object simply by right-clicking on it. In the context menu that appears you'll find the "Object from mask" option. Another way to do this is via the keyboard shortcut for copying and inserting: Ctrl + C and then Ctrl + V. Scale objects You can scale objects proportionally by holding down the Shift key while simultaneously stretching your picture in or out. For this to work, the object's orange-coloured handles have to be active. www.magix.com Tutorial Toolbar Tip: Use the toolbar as a quick access area for all the most important tools, as soon as you're familiar enough with them all. Otherwise almost every option can be found under "1-click" or the "Tasks" menu anyway. These are always ordered in the most frequently used combinations and presets alongside the Task Assistant, which explains everything step by step. Function of the tools ­ select by clicking on the symbol. Select, move, scale or rotate objects. Clip or mask ­ Tool for creating objects & Lasso tool ­ For selecting freehand shapes & Mask with brush ­ Creates a freehand graphics layer Magic wand ­ For selecting sections of a colour Cut ­ For cutting a picture by hand Level horizon Text editing with comprehensive options for text layout Red eye removal Soft-focus effect & Sharpen Marking/Cloning Fill tool ­ Fills masks with the selected colour from the colour field Colour gradient (fade out borders and design backgrounds) Brush for applying effects onto selected areas & Colour pen for drawing freehand or drawing lines Colour dropper (select colours on the screen and the colour appears in the colour field) Magnifying glass ­ For zooming in and out and examining each and every pixel (should you wish to do so). Colour field ­ Here you can select a colour with which to paint Smart, practical and can be used straight away MAGIX Xtreme Photo Designer 6 has two excellent tools that really separate it from the rest of the image processing software out there. Even in earlier versions MAGIX Xtreme Photo Designer 6 had the versatile "Effects Browser" and "Liquid colours" tools for freely designing and modelling your photos. Both of these applications can www.magix.com 13 14 Tutorial be opened from the menu bar. Both have been given extra functions and enhanced in the latest version. The Effects Browser mentioned can be opened via the "FX" menu. There are a number of effects, filters and other presets in it that can be applied to your picture with a single click. In the Effects Browser to the bottom of the screen you have all the picture effects at a glance and don't have to go searching for from within various other tools. If you select one of the options, an Assistant will open, which explains the individuals steps in detail. So as not to be experimenting around on the picture without having a clue what you're doing, you can work with a preview. The preview can be opened by clicking on the red button in the picture. It shows you what effect applying this particular action to your photo will have. To lock the effect, simply click on "Apply". Use this button on the toolbar to open the "Liquid Colours tool" dialog. This is where the fun starts: With the move, grow, shrink, dent, bump, wave & explode options you can really make some wild distortions on your pictures. With advanced options you can set the direction and strength of the distortion. This can all be done using your mouse. Really fun and very, very easy. The following pages describe various operations in MAGIX Xtreme Photo Designer 6, from quick image optimization to individual picture creation ­ similar to the selection of options from the Task Assistant. On the next page we start with "Quick image optimization" and explain "Batch-processing". www.magix.com Tutorial Quick image optimization and multiple picture editing Logically enough, quick picture optimization can also be explained quickly. There are four options in the Tasks menu for "quick image optimization": · Removing red eyes that appear when taking photos with a flash, regardless whether photographed in analogue or digital. · Optimizing lighting to get the best colour value out of over and underexposed photos. · Optimizing picture colour, either to remove colour faults or add colour effects by increasing or decreasing the "colour saturation". · Correcting picture sharpness to help you get more out of shaky recordings by "sharpening" transitions. In the example... In every one of these use-cases there's a step-by-step explanation which can be supplemented if required with brushes or other suitable tools at different strengths and using varying painting shapes. A small, soft brush is preset as the red-eye removal tool, which prevents painting over the edges, which would smudge the white of eyes. Sometimes the tool sizes provided have to be adjusted to your templates. 15 Note: Red-eye distortion can be fixed because the tool removes all the red parts from the selected color spectrum. For this reason, you can turn really bad red-eye into the deepest black, if you like. www.magix.com 16 Tutorial Editing multiple pictures at a time or "batch processing" Do you have lots of pictures to which you want to apply the same change, like, picture size, 90° rotation, brightness & contrast adjustment or increase picture sharpness. These are the typical areas of application for so-called "batch processing". In MAGIX Xtreme Photo Designer 6 you'll find the point "Batch processing" in the "File" menu. The following example demonstrates the usage of batch processing in scaling, i.e. changing the picture size. You start by selecting pictures using the dialog window of the batch processing function and clicking on the "Add picture" or "Add folder" buttons. www.magix.com Tutorial Tip: If you use the thumbnail view of your browser, it's easier to find the pictures you want. Select "Scale" from the "Actions" dropdown menu to change picture size. In "Parameters" you can fine-tune your input. In example, we enter the desired picture size. Make sure that checkbox in the "Aspect ratio" field is ticked. Then enter only value, either the length or the width. the our the one 17 Now select the file type and the target folder where you want to store your picture after batch processing. Click "Start". Your pictures will then be converted at lighting speed and saved to the target folder. Detailed image editing With "Tasks" you'll find six practical options for editing photos in detail in the Task Assistant: · Create panorama picture ­ We show you how to make a panorama picture from multiple source photos. · Crop person/object ­ cut, move around and effectively insert elsewhere. · Design picture title ­ Text design with individual layouts. Carve lettering into your photos! · Brighten areas ­ because some pictures need a bit more light to brighten up dark corners. · Remove scratches and stains ­ give your analogue pictures a chance: Scan them in first, then restore them in style. · Clone ­ Remove annoying objects from a picture simply by moving the mouse over the affected pixels and copying a different section (fantastic for retouching blemishes on skin). www.magix.com 18 Tutorial Panorama It's no coincidence that panorama shots of vast uninhabited expanses and grandeur evoke our most romantic and happiest memories of utopian sunsets and daring climbing adventures from previous holidays. MAGIX Xtreme Photo Designer 6 provides all the romantics and hobby photographers with an enormously able tool for creating personal panorama pictures. You will, of course, need several interconnecting photos. Tip: You should only take photographs in landscape or portrait format. Make sure the photos are slightly overlapping when taking the shots. In the program you can move the pictures around horizontally or vertically, letting you position the identical picture portions on top of one another. Keep an eye on the lighting and adjust the exposure time according to the direction. Stay on one spot and try to move as little as possible when taking the other shots for your panorama picture. www.magix.com Tutorial Panorama: This is how you do it! 19 You can open the panorama picture creation dialog either via "File > Panorama" or by using "Tasks > Create panorama pictures". All of the pictures that are already open in MAGIX Xtreme Photo Designer 6 are automatically displayed in the browser of the new dialog window. From there you can use the mouse to drag them one after the other into the preview list. First sort out the order, then take care of the transitions. You can horizontally and vertically define every transition individually. To do so, you should always select the correct current overlap, for example, [1]<->[2], [2]<->[3], then all you have to do is move around the faders. That's it. Tip: If you are a user of MAGIX Photo & Videoshow deluxe, why not just use this ideas for your slideshow: Add a camera movement to your panorama picture in MAGIX Story Maker. Crop person or object With the lasso you can catch runaway horses just like a cowboy or fish out objects or people from photos. Just use the lasso tool from MAGIX Xtreme Photo Designer 6, it's perfectly suited to it. You can instantly crop any mask you like and then insert them into other photos. Note: A "mask" in MAGIX Xtreme Photo Designer 6 refers to the clipping of a picture that has been selected for the original. Clippings www.magix.com 20 Tutorial can be created in different ways, for example, with the mask tool that always drags up a quadratic shape and is therefore called a "Rectangle mask". Object from mask To be able to crop the "mask" as an "object", you have to right-click on the mask and select "Object from mask" in the context menu (alternately via "Object > Create > From mask"). The object now has orange handles and can be moved around with the mouse. It is now a layer on the picture. All object layers are visible and selectable in the Object Manager. Insert object and set edge blur You can select an object using the mouse and insert it elsewhere. For example: Cut using the key combination Ctrl+X and Insert into a different picture with Ctrl+V. An inserted cropped object can be made less obvious by using a vignette. A vignette creates blurring at the periphery of the picture, i.e. a color gradient around the object. You can freely specify the pixel magnitude of this gradient. You'll find the vignette in the menu bar under "Object" > "Vignette". Your object has to be selected in order to be able to use the vignette. Freehand When you select "Crop object/person" using the lasso tool via the Task Assistant, you create a freehand mask. Crop the object as precisely as possible by using the tool options of the lasso. You can insert or remove sections after selecting the freehand object. So, if you ventured outside the desired object border, the protruding part can be pinpointed and removed from the object mask. www.magix.com Tutorial 21 Photo 1 Photo 2 Photo 3 Step 1: Photo 1: Here, a photograph was taken of the room and we see that the bright light from the window has caused the rest of the picture to be overexposed. Step 2: Photo 2 was taken with a small lens aperture for less light so that the interior is in complete darkness, but the window, as expected, is less lit and what's outside can be seen clearly. Step 3: The photo montage in picture 3 involves the window from photo 2 being cropped as an object using the lasso tool. Then the object is cut out and inserted into photo 1. Step 4: By double-clicking on the object, handles will appear to it sides, which can then be used to scale the object, that is, you can move it around precisely and rotate, stretch or tilt it any way you like. Tips for transforming objects To transform objects, you have to open the tool shown here for selecting and manipulating objects. If you select an object on the workspace, orange-colored handles will appear to its side. You can now access a large amount of tool options: Hint: If you can't see the tool options, you will have to make them visible by selecting "Tool options" from the "Window" menu. www.magix.com 22 Tutorial If you move the mouse over the individual symbols, a "tooltip" will tell you what the option can be used for. Why not simply try a few of them out? You'll probably find the options for perspective distortion quite interesting, but you shouldn't miss the mirroring and rotating options either. You can also use the lock to scale pictures proportionally or block distortions being made. You can change the order of the objects by using the last two buttons on the option list. Multiple objects on the workspace Objects can also be selected by right-clicking the mouse in the context menu. This means: if, for example, the background and two additional objects cover one another on the workspace, then all three layers will be shown in the context menu and can be opened from there. This is a practical function if you're in danger of getting lost among the jungle of objects in a photo montage. Add name Before starting, you should give your objects names in the Object Manager, otherwise the individual layers cannot be differentiated from one another. They can be renamed by right-clicking on the object in the Object Manager. Tip: This is how to create shadowing around objects: Select Object > Add shadows from the menu list. www.magix.com Tutorial Design title of picture 23 Those of you who enjoy creating invitation cards will most likely also enjoy using the text option of MAGIX Xtreme Photo Designer 6. Start the title design either using the Task Assistant or using the text tool. Start wherever you like, the text can always be moved around as a separate object later on. (Want to find object? ­ Always via the Object Manager ­ see red marking) Tip: When you open the text option using the text tool from the toolbar, you can experiment around with shadow as well. Use shadow with a similar colour to get smooth, unfrayed borders. Try out the different settings for letter shadowing, e.g. edge blur, distance and transparency. Once you've confirmed the text object (see figure below), the text will become a mask and can be moved around like an object. www.magix.com 24 Tutorial After double-clicking you can scale, rotate or tilt. When masked, the text objects can also be deleted: simply press the Del key. Reshape texts Among the new feature is an option for distorting the perspective of the text. After creating and confirming a text object, it is masked on top of the picture background. Double-clicking or using the object transformation tool creates an object frame with orange-coloured handles that surround the text object. Select the symbol shown here from the tool options for perspective distortion. Then grab one of the small orange handles in the corner of the object frame using your mouse and drag it in or out, the result can be seen in the picture. www.magix.com Tutorial Selectively brighten areas Brightening things up is all well and good, but what do you do when only specific areas on the picture are in the dark, picture borders in particular. The solution is simple: You can selectively brighten an area. In the example below, the photographer wanted to catch the dusky atmosphere of the beach, but the back border portion of the photo turned out too dark. The light ratios weren't precise enough, so more targeted help was needed. All in all, the picture was brightened up a little, however, a bit too strongly on the buildings and trees in the background. This is how it was done: Select "Detailed image editing > Brighten areas". Step 1: Choose the appropriate tool size. Step 2: Move the brightness, contrast or gamma faders to get the look you want. Step 3: Now mark the areas that you wish to brighten using the tool. The effect can be noticed immediately. 25 www.magix.com 26 Tutorial Step 4: Do some fine-tuning using the brightness, contrast and gamma faders until you have the desired result. If the changes are not precise enough, change the size of the tool. This way you'll be able to see the interior much more clearly. Here we see the outside of a tavern. You can't see any of the inside of the tavern in the photo. Just select the windows and brighten up the scene as described previously. Isn't it amazing how much image information that could still be retrieved?! In the example, brightness and contrast were first applied to the entire motif and then the windows and doors were polished with the paintbrush and "brightness" effect. www.magix.com Tutorial Removing scratches and stains The Task Assistant provides you with a tool for retouching and applying soft-focus to picture errors. We also recommend three tools from the preset toolbar which can be used to restore: the brush, colour-picker and colour gradient. With the colour picker you can select a colour from anywhere on the screen. If you now use the brush to paint, it will apply this exact colour. This way you can skilfully paint over stains, spots, blisters and other sources of irritation. Tip: Use the magnifying glass for detailed tasks like this and use a high zoom factor to catch exactly the colour you want and paint over single pixels that you want to get rid of. Cloning To match our previous topic, "Remove scratches and stains", we'll now have a look at an alternative editing option for retouching pictures ­ this can be found in your Task Assistant under "Detailed editing" > "Cloning". Here you can also get rid of larger distortions. If you want to clone something, you'll need the stamp tool. A usable reference point is required for cloning. In the example below, the problem is that it looks like there's a palm tree balancing on top of the guy's head. This needs to be erased. The sky in the background is perfectly suited as a reference point. In the end, there'll be two pieces of sky: the original and the clone covering the palm tree. And the best thing about it is that you'd never know there was one there in the first place. 27 Tip: You can use this to retouch really small defects, for example, blemishes on skin. Select a reference point from the immediate surroundings of the defect. Zoom into the picture and precisely paint over the distorted points. www.magix.com 28 Tutorial This is how it works: · Select "Effects" > "Clone" · Select a reference point with the mouse for cloning · Then click on the object you wish to retouch. You should now have two points selected at a specific distance from one another. · You can now move the mouse over the object you wish to remove while holding down the mouse button. Here, the pixels from your first reference point are applied to where your mouse goes. Effects & Filters MAGIX Xtreme Photo Designer 6 has an Effects Browser that quickly guides you to where you want to go and provides playful tools like "Liquid colour" and "Transform into painting". You've experienced some of them already in the introduction. Under the menu point "Individual picture creation" you can access these special MAGIX Xtreme Photo Designer 6 features and then employ the help of the Task Assistant to assist you in implementing them professionally. The options in this section are exciting, new and easy-to-use. In the menu of the Task Assistant you'll find four practical options for uniquely and creatively transforming your pictures: · Artistic distortion ­ With "Liquid colour" you can conjure up bizarre pictures and shapes from your motifs. · Transform into painting ­ Learn to appreciate the finer side of image processing with the effects brush for user-defined size, direction, transparency, colour and paper structure. The modern way to "Modern Art". · The rotation effect lets you see the other side of your pictures! · Emboss ­ Add structure and stress to your pictures with the light source, reflection, depth and smoothing options, which help you emboss a material character into them. www.magix.com Tutorial Surgery without artistic malpractice 29 Cheeky fun effects are the results of artistic distortion. Whether it's bumps or explosions, your photos better be prepared for some heavy-handed action and one or two surprises. Use the "Reset" button to revert your photo back to its original state. With "Delete" you can repair the bumps and explosions precisely the way you want. Practical for correcting small mistakes here and there, and not the entire work. Tip: Use the forward and back arrows to undo or redo each and every step you take and fix mistakes without having to start from the start. Turn new into old ­ Transform photos into paintings www.magix.com 30 Tutorial There's a very comprehensive feature to be found in > Paintings. This is because it consists of a dialog window with diverse presets, which pictorially change the optics of your motif: there are various materials like pastels, oils or crayons, various structures like leather, coarse wallpaper or canvas. If you select one of these settings, it will be applied to your entire picture as an effect. But you can also use > "Paint" to apply the effect to a specific area. Our favourite effect: Newspaper print! Emboss The previously colourful picture of an old Cuban car has been decolorized and stylised using "Newspaper print" ("Transform into painting"). The depth of the picture was then changed using the "Emboss" tool. This transforms the photo into an eye-catching screen print. With "Emboss" you can apply extreme filters to your pictures, quite original if you like strong picture effects. To finish, shadowy lettering was positioned in bright red and then rotated, tilted and distorted. Colour with colour gradient Finally, we'll take a look at colour gradients in the Effects and Filters section. MAGIX Xtreme Photo Designer 6 has a number of spectacular colour combinations which let you create your own designs in no time. It's especially suited to creating personalised CD covers or for colouring less successful border gradients. One example would be a sky that is totally white as a result of overexposure. A blue colour gradient can colour in the sky later on. You can use the colour gradient tool in MAGIX Xtreme Photo Designer 6 to select various preset gradients. The options can be found in the tool options list. We recommend using "Glow 2", "Transparent Blue" or "Alpha Blue" for the sky, all of which can be seen in the example. www.magix.com Tutorial Select "linear" if you want to add colour along a line or at the picture border. Additional modes are quadratic, square, etc., which can be used to design or just edit graphics in general. 31 To define your own gradients, click on the option field of the colour gradients and open the Gradient Editor. Once there, click on "Edit" and create your own colour combinations for unique colour gradients. To apply the gradient, select a starting point with the mouse from which the gradient should start and then drag the gradient across the picture (by clicking and holding down the mouse button). The gradient is applied to the entire breadth, unless you previously added a mask to the picture, which woulud result in the colour gradient only being applied to the mask. Colour gradient editor In the colour gradient editor you can exactly specify the start and end points of your colour gradient and even improve the individual colours of each section. First, you should define the transparency of your colour gradient, for the starting point and end point as well. This is decisive as not every gradient should cover an entire picture. For this reason the gradient www.magix.com 32 Tutorial should start 100% transparent. This can be implemented effectively using the preset gradients with the description "Glow". Change image format The Task Assistant provides you with five options under the "Change picture format" menu point: Rotate picture, mirror picture, cut picture, scale picture and change aspect ratio. The first three options are so easy that they don't need any further description at this point. To differentiate between "Scale picture" and "Change aspect ratio" you should use the following example. To the left you can see the sample picture with its original aspect ratio of 4:3. The photo has 1600 x 1200 pixels in the original. When scaling a picture, you change the actual picture size and the number of pixels with it. In the example just one parameter was changed: the height. www.magix.com Tutorial The picture's height has been stretched. 33 If you keep the aspect ratio by checking the corresponding box, the height and width are changed proportionately to one another. To stay with the same example, reducing the height to 900 pixels would result in the width being reduced to 1200 pixels. If, on the other hand, you change the page size, your side areas of the picture will be cut, thereby changing the page ratio and the size of the working area. There are two options here: Either you set the page size as user-defined and specify the width times the height or you select a standard format. Picture 1: In the first case, the user-defined variation, you can enter any picture size you like (3) and specify the exact clipping of your picture by specifying the placement (2): centered, top left, top right, top center, ... bottom and so on. www.magix.com 34 Tutorial In our example, the result remains the same. The borders of the picture are cut off at the top and bottom. A 16:9 format was created. Picture 2: In the second example when selecting a standard format (3): quadratic 1:1, landscape 3:2, 4:3, 16:9 or end-wise 2:3, 3:4, 9:16, you save having to calculate the size and can optimize the picture by setting the size to the standard values. You can specify the placement just like in the first example (2). Set the tick (4) to remove the undesired picture areas. Note: 16:9 is today's normal format for widescreen TV screens. The corresponding image processing is sensible if you want to create matching DVD menu background pictures for slideshows in 16:9 format. www.magix.com Tutorial Screenshot function MAGIX Xtreme Photo Designer 6 has a nifty screenshot function which can be started via > "File" > "Screenshot". You can select from a number of input options in the dialog window to take a photograph either of the entire screen, the active window or the content of the window. It's possible to use the mouse pointer for this. Set a "hotkey". The hotkey is a key which can be used to make screenshots. Put a tick beside "Repeat" to take multiple screenshots one after the other. You can save the whole thing in one place and in the file format of your choice. Select a format from the dialog window and set the storage area. 35 www.magix.com 36 Working with the Browser Working with the Browser Exactly as in Windows Explorer, you can navigate files with the help of a file tree system in MAGIX Xtreme Photo Designer 6. Using thumbnails, you can organise, open, edit, and print images or add a description, organise into albums, and view photos as a slide show. With regular use, large image quantities can be organised easily and efficiently. Open the browser by clicking on the browser button in the effects bar (on page 74). www.magix.com Working with the Browser The Folder View Folder By selecting the folder tab, the computer file system can be viewed in the "tree" format. The contents of a marked folder are displayed in the file list. You can use this button to go one level up in the browser. 37 With this button you can reload the file list. Album Select the album tab to see all existing albums. Albums can also be organised in specific hierarchies. Create New Album: By selecting "New Album", you create a new album in the current directory which remains in rename mode until it is assigned a new name. Create New Folder: To organise albums in specific hierarchies, you can create sub-files here. This way you can, for example, place albums with similar themes into one folder. Add Image(s) to Album: When an album is selected, click on "Add" and the "select images..." dialog opens. Here you can drag & drop files or click on "add" or "add all" to add an image. To verify, click "OK" Delete and Rename Folder and Album: After right-clicking on an album or folder, a pop-up menu appears where you can delete or rename the album or folder. www.magix.com 38 Working with the Browser The File List The right side of the browser window contains the file list, detailing the contents of the currently marked folder or album. Views Images (and other files) can be displayed in 5 different views. Thumbnails: Images are displayed as miniatures, other files are displayed as symbols. Other views include: · · · · Tiles Icons List Details The details list offers up to 6 file information columns (file name, size, type, date last changed, properties, and description). Sorting a column is achieved by clicking on the column title. A further click reverses the sequence of items. Columns can be hidden or displayed in the column sub-menu. Selecting Images · Select a file with left mouse click. · Select a file area by selecting further images while holding down the key. · Select any files by selecting while holding down the key. Search photos The search function is a great assistance in finding photos. Enter any part of the name of the file you are looking for in the "File name" field. The search will produce a list of matching images shown in thumbnail format. www.magix.com Working with the Browser If you are working in album mode, you can insert the search results into the Selected photos field and add to the current album by pressing OK. This function can be opened directly, without having to first open the browser, by selecting the "Search file" menu. Open Open the marked image for editing in MAGIX Xtreme Photo Designer 6 using the "Open" button or by double-clicking a file. Print The "Print several images (on page 46)" window opens when you press "Print". All selected images are located in the miniature list and can then be assigned for printing. Add to current album Use "Add to current album" to add selected images to the active album, by opening the folder and album views and marking one or more images. Slideshow In "Slideshow", you pictures can be played back in a straightforward slideshow. All ticked pictures will be included in the slideshow. If you remove all ticks by clicking once on an empty space in the list, all photos located in the file/album will be included in the slideshow Using the previous/next buttons you can skip or go back to earlier pictures during the slideshow. The slideshow configurations can be set under "File menu > General settings " on the "Slideshow (on page 86)" tab. Copy, Paste, Copy to..., Move to..., Delete and Rename Files By pressing "Copy" in the pop-up menu, the marked files are copied to the clipboard. "Paste" inserts files from the clipboard into the folder/album. 39 www.magix.com 40 Working with the Browser Buttons for "Copy to...", "Move to...", "Delete" and "Rename" If you select "Move to..." or "Copy to..." a dialog window appears for the selection of the target folder. Confirm with OK and the selected files are moved to the target folder and deleted from the output folder. "Copy to..." places a copy of the files into the target folder. "Delete..." moves the selected files in the file view into the waste paper basket (after confirmation). In the album view, the files from the album are deleted, but remain on the data medium. "Rename..." allows a new file name to be assigned. "Rename" is only available for selection if one file is selected. You can then assign a new file name. Rename Sequence If several files are marked, they can be renamed as a unified sequence. In the "rename sequence" window, you can specify a template for the new file names. All occurrences of the # symbol are replaced by sequential numbering whose initial value can likewise be set. When no # symbol is displayed, the numbering is added to the end of the new name. The file extensions remain. Description All files (images, other files, folders) can have their own description added to them. Click with the right mouse button on a file and select "description...", and a text window opens displaying the current description text for editing. The description belonging to a file is indicated in the browser status bar, in the file tool tip, and in the detail view of the description column. Note: The descriptions are stored in the descript.ion file. This format can be used by other programs (some file managers and some image management programs). The descriptions can be read and edited in these programs. As long as you copy, shift or rename files in the MAGIX Xtreme Photo Designer 6 browser, the file descriptions remain. With file operations www.magix.com Working with the Browser in Windows Explorer or other programs that do not recognize the description files, the descriptions are unfortunately lost. JPEG Transformations The JPEG format compresses an image to a smaller size, with some reduction in image quality as a result. The image quality reduces each time it is saved as a JPEG due to the technical nature of the format. The options found here allow you to transform the image without repeatedly compressing the JPEG file. Options include: Horizontal and vertical mirroring, and 90° and 180° clockwise or counter-clockwise rotation. Sorting You can sort pictures in your browser by setting sorting criteria using the "Sort" button. The following criteria are possible: File name, file size, date, file type, properties, image width/height or size, bits per pixel, or the image description. Filter Allows you to set the type of file displayed. Image Information If you glide over a file with the mouse cursor, a reference display window appears in which the file name, image size, depth of colour, type of file, file size, and description are indicated (image size and depth of colour, of course, only for images). 41 The Status Bar The status bar displays information about the currently marked file. From left to right, the fields contain: · · · · · The number of files in folders/albums or the number of marked files The file names or the file path (for albums) File size and the date of the last change Images: Size, depth of colour and abbreviated file format The description, if available www.magix.com 42 Working with Images Working with Images This section briefly describes the MAGIX Xtreme Photo Designer 6 options for importing and creating images, as well as changing their scale, page size, and shape. Show images A loaded image will be scaled in such a way as to be completely visible in full screen mode. You can load as many images as you like into MAGIX Xtreme Photo Designer 6. At the bottom, you will find the film strip view, where all loaded pictures will appear as thumbnails. You can toggle between the thumbnail images by clicking on them. You can view the loaded pictures simultaneously by selecting an ordering scheme (next to each other, overlapping, stacked, tiled) under "Window > Order". Clicking on a picture selects it as the active picture for editing, and it will appear with a lighter frame around it. To view an image maximised, use the "maximise" symbol in the top right corner of the picture window. All other screen elements can be brought to view or hidden on command in "Window menu": · · · · · · toolbars (on page 74), tool windows (on page 74), effect browser (on page 74), object manager (on page 74), film strip view (on page 74) and brush palette (on page 74). www.magix.com Working with Images You can zoom in and out on every image using the mouse wheel or the +/- keys in the number pad. You can also use the zoom slider or the zoom tool provided. By pressing the space bar, the mouse cursor is transformed into a hand, which can be used to move sections and cut-outs. 43 Create, load and save pictures Create Select the "File -> New image..." menu item or press the appropriate button in the "Standard bar". In the dialog that appears, you can either select a size from a list or enter an individual size, choose a "Paper colour" and set the print resolution in dpi. Load Select the option with the same name in the "File" menu to open a file dialog. MAGIX Xtreme Photo Designer 6 can accept the following formats at this time: BMP, DIB, RLE, JPEG, TIFF, PNG, TGA, PCX, PSD, IFF, LBM, RAS, WMF, EMF, PPM, PGM, PBM, Photo-CD, and its own PAI (*.pai) format. Use the browser (on page 36), opened by clicking the browser button, to easily select and search the files you are importing. Save Select "File > Save" to save an image, or choose "File > Save as" to save it with a new name. MAGIX Xtreme Photo Designer 6 can save in the following formats: BMP, JPEG, TIFF, TGA, PCX, PNG, PSD, RAS, PGM, PPM, and its own PAI (*.pai). When you save an image, you have the option of either overwriting the original file or making a copy. www.magix.com 44 Working with Images Save for Internet You can open the JPEG Export Assistant via the menu "File > Save for Internet". This will help you find the correct JPEG correction factor. The original image and the compressed image are displayed side by side so you can see how each selected compression factor affects the quality of the image. This feature enables you to determine the optimum compression while maintaining a reasonable level of quality. The "Output" box displays the resulting file size as well as the corresponding Internet download times at various transfer rates. Note: Saving a JPEG image in progressive mode affects the way it loads when viewed with an Internet browser. It will first appear at a coarse resolution and will gradually improve as the page loads. Keep Exif Camera Information The EXIF (exchangeable image file) format is an international standard that enables meta-information to be encrypted in the file header or application segments of a JPEG file. This meta-information supplies information on the shutter speed, aperture setting, and the date and time the photo was taken. Import Images Import Images via TWAIN Interface By using "File > Import > TWAIN" you can import via Twaincompatible sources (practically all scanners and some digital cameras) with "Select source..." and "Acquire...". A device-specific dialog automatically appears. Creating Screenshots By using "File > Import > Screenshot" a dialog appears for setting screenshots. MAGIX Xtreme Photo Designer 6 can "photograph" either the entire monitor screen, the active window (with frame) or only the contents on screen. This is possible via hotkey or timer (between 1 and 1,000 seconds) functions. If the mouse pointer should be included, activate the appropriate check box. After clicking the "Start" button the desktop will be displayed and the screenshot created either after the timer has elapsed or the hotkey is pressed. www.magix.com Working with Images Print Images Printing an Image By using "File > Print..." a dialog appears offering a print preview of the current image. Positioning and scaling should be made prior to printing. Shortcut: Ctrl + P 45 A Pop-up menu appears when you right-click on an image. Image placement and proportional scaling can thus be made. The tool bar The printer, paper adjustment, and additional printer-specific settings can be changed in the toolbar under "Setup...". Pressing "Print" sends the preview to the printer. The "Automatic new layout" button repositions all images according to the "Layout" tab settings (only available with "print several images (on page 46) "). The "Align on grid" button can be pressed in the toolbar. The image is subsequently aligned on a grid when you move the mouse. The size of the preview can be changed by using either "entire page", "increase view", and "decrease view". The Index Tabs Current Image: Here you can indicate the exact position and size of the image on the paper in millimeters or inches. Alternatively, the image can be shifted and scaled using the mouse. Underneath each active image you can enter text in the text field. Image-specific information can also be inserted automatically in the form of TAGS: Click on the TAG>> button and a pop-up menu opens offering tags for image name, file path, image dimensions, depth of colour, resolution and file description. The text field indicates the existing TAGs. The text generated is displayed beneath the image in the print preview. The selectable font and text alignment applies to all images on the page if several are present. www.magix.com 46 Working with Images Text: A headline or a subtitle can be added to the page to be printed. The standard text which appears under the images can also be specified. Settings: The grid size and parameter dimensions can be specified in millimeters or inches under "Settings". Layout: (only with "Print more images") If you would like to print several images on a page, you can specify the number of lines and columns the paper should contain as well as the spacing between images. Print several images Using "File > Print several images" allows you to place as many images (for subsequent printing) in a preview as you wish. Besides all of the properties available at "Print one image", the following are also of help: The Thumbnail Bar Initially, no image appears in the preview. All images opened in the editor are thumbnails in a bar to the left of the screen (or all marked in the browser if called up from the browser). You can drag & drop individual or several images into the preview. Multiple images are arranged according to the "layout" tab setting. If images are marked, they are also placed on the page by clicking the "Arrange" button. The "Add" button is useful for printing several images. Click on "Add" and the "Select images..." dialog opens. Here you can select and search for further images. The images can be positioned either by drag & drop, by clicking on "add" or "add all" in the "selected images" field. The selected images are then available in the thumbnail bar. www.magix.com Working with Images Create Panorama Pictures The "File > Create panorama pictures" menu item opens a dialog, enabling easy creation of photo montages by gluing images horizontally to create a panorama. The window consists of three parts. At the top is the preview in which you can shift the currently visible cut-out with the mouse. The two magnifying glass buttons allow you to increase or decrease the size of the view. In the lower part of the screen (as with Print Multiple Images (on page 46)) is a bar with thumbnails of all images opened in the editor from which you can click on "Add" and select the images to be added. Multiple or large images should not be opened with the Editor. Instead, add them here. Images can be added in a sequence from right to left via drag & drop or using the "Add" button. The middle part of the window contains the control functions for positioning and overlapping individual images. Since images are inserted from the right, you can correct errors at any time with the "Remove" button. As soon as at least two images are in line, an overlap can be selected for editing, starting between image 1 and image 2. The "vertical" fader changes the vertical alignment (measured in pixels), i.e. the right image is shifted upwards or downwards. The "horizontal" fader sets the overlap of the two images (also measured in pixels). Both images merge into one another within the overlap. You can adjust the overlap with more precision using the "width crossfade (%)" and "position crossfade" controllers. If the crossfade does not cover the whole width of the overlap, reduce the width with the automatic controller. If the crossfade is smaller, specify the position using the position controller. Furthermore, dead areas created from different image heights and vertical alignments can be cut away by activating the "cut edges automatically" option. 47 www.magix.com 48 Working with Images Creating a Panorama To create a panorama with images from your digital camera, photograph a set of images with an overlap of about one-third of the screen of the previous image (when using wide-angle lenses, exceed one third overlap). Make sure the brightness of the images is consistent by setting the aperture and exposure time. Correct any discrepancies by using the brightness/contrast effect. Now load the sequence of images, as described under "Create panorama pictures". Select the overlapping sequence while using the horizontal and vertical automatic controllers to look for suitable positioning. Deform pictures Scale To change the size of an image, select "Image > Scale" and in the dialog window enter the new size and print resolution. Shortcut: Shift + S Rotate/Flip Read more about the rotate and mirror options in the sub-menu "Image > Rotate/Mirror". Using "Rotate freely..." the image can be rotated at any angle. A small preview shows the result. When "automatically clip edges" is marked, the preview displays the clipped image by using ledger lines. Shortcuts Rotate freely.. Rotate 90° left Rotate 90° right Rotate 180° Horizontal mirroring Vertical mirroring Ctrl + R Shift + W Shift + R Shift + E Ctrl + M Ctrl + J Page size If you change the size of an image with "Image > Page size...", the image is not scaled but placed within the new dimensions in the way specified at "Positioning". You can keep the aspect ratio or use one www.magix.com Working with Images of the standard formats that correspond to typical screen and photo aspect ratios. Keep the current aspect ratio or select one of the standard formats that correspond to typical screen and photo aspect ratios. Shortcut: Shift + P 49 Crop to mask The "Image > Crop to mask" menu item requires a mask. If a mask exists, everything outside the mask is removed from the image. Shortcut: Shift + C www.magix.com 50 Working with the Mask Working with the Mask If a mask exists, only the area covered by the mask can be edited, while other areas are protected. However, a mask can be defined only on the main image and not on objects. Additionally, you can create objects from masks, see Working with Objects (on page 53). Select all Selecting "Menu selection > Select all", the entire image will be masked. Remove mask You can remove the mask by selecting the option "Menu selection > Remove mask". Adjustments apply to the entire image. Shortcut: Shift + Del Invert mask The command "Menu selection > Invert mask" inverts the mask, selecting all the points of the image that were unselected in the old mask. Shortcut: Ctrl + I Create mask from object Select "Selection > Create mask from object" to make a copy of the active object which then serves as mask. www.magix.com