Paint Shop Pro (PSP) is an established and popular software brand, but over the years it’s become dated – an old-style bitmap editor rather than an up-to-date PC photography package. New owner Corel is determined to address this, as shown by the recent release’s change of name to Paint Shop Pro Photo (PSPP).

The main area where PSP has been left behind by rivals is in its general photo management, and Corel tries to improve matters on two fronts. First, it throws in a copy of its new photo management software, Corel Snapfire (page 54). This provides a basic photo downloader for moving images from camera to disk, and a dedicated visual environment for managing images.

More significant are the many improvements Corel has made to PSPP’s integrated Organizer palette, which lets you view folders of all supported image formats as thumbnails along the bottom of the screen. Enhancements include a new option for viewing all images simultaneously; the ability to review and quickly enhance selected images full screen; a new Info palette that lets you add captions and keyword tags; and a new Photo Tray palette, to which you can drag photos ready for further handling and future retrieval. These are all major advances, and there are also advantages to having thumbnail management immediately to hand. Generally, however, PSPP’s Organizer palette still feels underpowered compared to standalone solutions, and it now also feels uncomfortably cramped.

Where PSPP excels is in photo-editing power. In particular, there are more than 50 global colour corrections available from the main Adjust menu, including levels and curves management (now with histogram displays) through to commands for removing purple fringing. In this, Corel has added two more filters: Skin Smoothing and Depth of Field.

The downside is that the sheer range of adjustment power can be intimidating and confusing – when should you use the Salt and Pepper filter, for example, or Texture Preserving Smooth? Thankfully, Corel has made life simpler by picking out just six main filters – including the excellent Clarify – to be accessible from the main toolbar’s Enhance drop-down. In fact, for most photos, all you’ll need is the One Step Photo Fix, which now automatically takes care of colour balance, contrast, clarity, and saturation. The results are generally good, but often you’ll want to fine-tune the process. But again, the Smart Photo Fix dialog is cramped and underpowered.

For more in-depth editing, PSPP’s retouching tools are great, particularly the Makeover brush, which lets you remove spots, whiten teeth and apply a suntan (it might sound tacky, but the results are flattering). Also new is a Colour Changer, which automatically applies existing illumination to the newly applied colour, and an enhanced Crop tool with its own floating toolbar. For creative work, PSPP offers a wide range of artistic brushes, as well as its famous Picture Tube for painting bitmap elements. It also offers layers, with full support for vectors, masks and non-destructive adjustment layers, and dozens of creative effects, including new options for traditional photographic filter effects and a Time Machine filter, which lets you apply vintage-style effects.

In terms of sharing your photos, there’s a Print Layout workspace, which lets you select a template, drag on selected images, resize and reposition them where desirable, and add text. New in PSPP is the ability to email images, albeit in a cramped and ugly dialog. Snapfire continues with a few photo-based projects, but creating slideshows and CD burning are reserved for Snapfire Plus, and there’s no web-based sharing.

By shifting PSP’s focus to target the modern PC-based photography market, Corel is moving in the right direction, but not quickly enough. While PSPP XI provides a lot of bitmap editing power, its weaknesses in terms of management and sharing – highlighted, rather than solved by the inclusion of Snapfire – mean there are better options available to make the most of your digital camera.