Vector graphics

Adobe Photoshop is so dominant when it comes to print and Web-based bitmap-editing that, in many ways, it has come to define the whole field...

Throughout its long and chequered career – first under MetaCreations, then Procreate and now Corel – Painter has always stood out as the artistic and creative computer application bar none. The reason is simple: Painter's unique range of natural media brushes.

With advanced packages such as the latest Photoshop (to be reviewed next month) Adobe is the leading software developer when it comes to traditional graphic design...

A simplified interface, strong photo-to-art Focus and the low price make painter essentials a great buy.

When you think of photo editing, the chances are you think of Adobe Photoshop. However, the majority of non-professional users don't need Photoshop's high-end power and can't justify its cost. That's where Paint Shop Pro (PSP) comes in. Its low price is definitely its initial attraction, but that has never stopped it aiming high. At times, as with version 6's introduction of vector layers, it has even left Photoshop trailing behind. However, version 7's minor fiddling was a serious letdown and as time passed, it began to look as if PSP had run out of steam. Version 8, though, shows this isn't the case.You begin to realise how fundamental the overhaul has been as soon as you load the application.

One way to get your Website's logos and page titles to literally stand out is by making them 3D. Xara3D is designed to make the whole process a cinch.

The Quark-killer has finally landed. For the last year, the hype about Adobe's replacement for the worthy but old-fashioned PageMaker (reviewed issue 22, p108) has been building to fever pitch.

With its enhanced interface, support for transparency and new collaboration features, it’s the best release in years.

A Color palette generator. This is a small program for generating colored palettes for scientific u...

Quickly display or hide the application palette. Designed for systems 8.5 and above, this control p...

When Macromedia released the first Dreamweaver almost three years ago it was welcomed with open arms by professional Web developers.

QuarkXPress defines and dominates high-end publishing in much the same way as Adobe Photoshop does photo editing.

Microsoft prepares to march into Adobe territory with its forthcoming suite of graphics and web development software.

EclipsePalette is a color palette and screen color capture program designed for both web designers a...

Click without clicking. Created by a company who design hardware and software for those with disabi...

FreeHand has had a long, distinguished career since its launch 15 years ago, but time has caught up with it. While Macromedia concentrated development on its Web-oriented MX applications, FreeHand was put on the back burner and fell seriously behind its main rivals CorelDRAW (see issue 60, p54) and Adobe Illustrator (see issue 51, p88). So, is this latest release evidence of further decline, or has FreeHand finally risen to the challenge?

Before we move on to image re-touching, a brief word about file formats. Its a good idea to make security copies of your original image files, so if you happen to make a mess of it you can start from

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Melody composing software