Eliminating the browser palette from the workspace when not in use

I don't like my browser palette being so small at the bottom of the workspace as well as taking up the room. I like the browser to open large enough to view the images/tubes therefore, I eliminated the browser palette from displaying on the workspace.

To do this:

Click File>Preferences>General Program Preferences

Click Palettes (located on the left hand side)

Next, on the right hand side located under Allow Docking of, untick each of the boxes for Organizer and Photo tray.

Click OK

Next, place the cursor on the top edge of the browser top bar and drag upward to desired height of the palette. Next, place the cursor on the left hand side of the browser palette and drag to the left to desired position. Repeat for the right hand side of the browser palette.

Once you have it sized as desired, click on the X on the top right hand corner of the browser palette to close it out.

Any time you wish to open the browser palette, just click on the browser icon located on the toolbar in psp. To close it back out, just click the X on the browser top right hand corner.

Customizing the Layer Palette

Icons such as duplicate, merge visible etc can be added to the layer palette to make it faster and easier to use.

To customize the layer palette, right click on a blank area of the workspace and select Customize

On the left hand side of the customize dialog screen, click on Layers

In the right hand window pane, scroll down and locate Duplicate. Place your cursor on the word Duplicate and drag it over to the layer palette blue bar beside the icons located on it and drop it there. Viola, now you have the duplicate icon located on the layer palette eliminating going through menus when you need to duplicate a layer.

Continue the drag and drop for any other additional icons you wish to place on the layer palette.

Eliminate the splash screen loading when opening psp

Click File>Preferences>General Program Preferences

Click on Miscellaneous

Untick the box for Show splash screen when program starts. It will load faster without the splash screen loading.

Decrease the thumbnail size of the layers in the layer palette

This will make the layers in the layer palette a little smaller and less high.

Clicking on File>Preferences>General Program Preferences

Then click on Palettes located on the left hand side

Next, on the far right hand side, change the number in the box from 50 to a lower number for Palette thumbnails.

If you don't like having the browser palette showing the names of each image below them, you can disable it.

Just click on File>Preferences>General Program Preferences

Click on Organizer located on the left hand side and then untick the box for "Show file name with thumbnail images.

Text on a Reverse Circle

Draw the ellipse to the desired size.

Next, Click Image>Flip (This will flip the ellipse of the vector layer)

You can position and resize the ellipse on the image as desired by pulling on one of the corner nodes inward to make the ellipse smaller and pull outward to make the ellipse larger. To move the ellipse into position desired, place the cursor on the center node and move it to the desired position.

If you wish the text to be placed just below the circle rather than inside the circle at the bottom, Click on the text tool and change the number on the text tool options tool bar for Offset by typing a minus and then the number . The larger the number the further below the circle the text will be placed.

Type your text.

If you aren't satisfied with the placement of the text below the line, back out the text in the text box, then change the number in the Offset box and retype your text.

Eliminate the remind me later to register nag screen

After you have installed PSP XI and open it, Just click launch program

Close out PSP XI

Click My Computer>C drive>Program Files>Corel>Paint Shop Pro XI

Locate a folder named PCUUI.

Right click on the folder and select rename

Tap the right arrow key on your keyboard and then type the word OLD and hit enter

The folder's name now should be PCUUIold.

Close out.

The remind me screen won't open again unless you have to uninstall and reinstall PSP.

Rename a Layer on the layer palette

If you wish to rename a layer, just highlight the layer you wish to rename and click on the name in that layer and type in the name you wish. Hit enter.

That's much faster to rename layers than having to right click on the layer and selecting rename from the drop down list.

Editing Selections

Many times when drawing an ellipse as a selection is difficult to end up with it placed exactly where we wish. When this happens, there's no need to repeatedly redraw the selection trying to get it placed to the desired size and location.

This applies for any selection drawn

Draw the selection on the image

Click Selections (located on the top toolbar) and select Edit Selection

The selection changes a red image. (not to worry as once the editing is completed, the selection will be returned with the marching ants)

Next, click on the Pick Tool

Place the cursor on the middle node to move the selection to the desired location.

To increase or decrease the selection size, place the cursor on one of the corner nodes and pull inward toward the middle to decrease the size and outward to increase the selection size.

When satisfied with it, again click Selections on the top toolbar and select Edit Selections. You will notice now that the selection has returned with the ants marching around it.

Moving text

Have you ever typed your text and found that it is too far off the edge of the image to be able to place your cursor on the middle node to drag it over?

No problem. When that happens, just tap the arrow key on your keyboard to move the text in the direction you wish it moved. Repeat the tapping on the arrow key until you have the text moved to the desired location.

Keeping duplicate Layers aligned when moving them

Have you ever had a problem keeping layers aligned when moving them, especially when duplicating and moving them? For instance, a drop falling and you wish to keep each drop perfectly aligned as it falls. This is easy to do.

This method will work for moving any layer up, down, left or right but I will use a drop falling down as an example.

1: Copy and paste the drop tube onto the image.

2: Position as desired (This will be the first drop at the beginning of the animation )

3: Duplicate the drop layer

4: Click on the Mover tool.

In psp X and PSP XI, tap the down arrow key on your keyboard to move this layer down one pixel at a time.

In all other versions of psp, hold down the CTRL key on your keyboard and tap the down arrow key to move the layer down one pixel at a time.

5: Duplicate this layer.

6: Repeat step 4 to move this drop down a bit further than the previous drop.

Repeat steps 5 and 6 for each layer in the animation that you wish to move down until you have completed the layers for the drop animation.

Now all the drops falling in the animation are perfectly aligned as they fall.


I only used the drops as an example but the same method works for moving any layers on the image so that it keeps them perfectly aligned and won't be bouncing all over the place when animated.

Loading Newly-Added plugins without Restarting psp

Have you ever been working in psp and realized that you didn't have a plugin installed that you needed to use and then would have to save the work you had started, close out psp and then install the plugin? Usually, when you add a plugin to your plugins folders, that plugin doesn't appear in the effects menu until psp is restarted.

Here is the solution:

Minimize psp, do not close it out, install the plugin as usual to your psp plugins folder.

When the installation is complete, maximize psp.

Click File>Preferences>File Locations

On the left hand window, click on plugins from the menu

Next, on the right hand side, you will see a black up and down arrow, Click on one of those arrows to change the order of the path entries. It will move the path that was on top to the bottom and the one that was on bottom to the top. It is just reversing the order they are showing.

Click the OK button.

Now the plugin has loaded in psp and the new plugin is now available without stopping and restarting psp.

That one worked as it is what Arti talked me though this even
Now I am a little more PSP knowledgeable than I was before

Thanks, Arti. I never knew that!

I'm lazy so I keep hunting easier and quicker ways of doing things.

I'll keep posting tips for everyone as I explore more in psp. Please feel free to post any tips you have as well. I love to learn new things and especially, as I said, a lazier and quicker way to accomplish something.