IHaveNoName

I think you'll have to provide examples of the types of images and backgrounds you want to remove. It depends on several factors how easy or difficult that is going to be. If the foreground subject matter is a simple shape then it should be easy but the more complicated the elements you want to separate from the background are the more difficult it becomes to do a good, clean job.

An obvious solution would be to open PDN and create another image with a x2 or more (than the pictures in question ) canvas size and import the two images you want to compare as layers. A transparent background for the canvas might be useful but not essential. With the two images in different layers you could also make the top one partially transparent so you can see the layer below through it if you move it over that. I've used this idea myself on a number of occasions to align or edit text perfectly to match particularly when I'd forgotten to keep the text in a separate layer and it could not be simply copied.

Just a guess but I'm thinking now the OP may be wanting to make an animated GIF sequence from a series screenshots taken from a video game and has just used the wrong terminology in his original post.

Unless you explain fully and provide an example of what you're trying to do people here who may be able to help you can only guess at what that is.

I was thinking something could be done to replicate the sort of thing the OP may want using pyrochild's Trails plugin.

I don't think you can do that for the context menu Edit option, the Default Program settings for image files are what opens that not the default editor. Unless MS have changed that with Windows10/11 and given you a specific Default Program > Picture Editor setting the default is still MS Paint. I've checked Win7 and read that didn't change for 8/8.1. In the Control Panel > Programs > Default Programs > Associate a file type or protocol with a program, the list of associations for PDN do not include its use as the Picture Editor. I think the OP may need a registry edit to change the context menu source or use a third party file association program to do the same. In fact I do not know of a third party program which can do that and works with Windows 10/11. The one I do have works with earlier Windows but still only allows you associate/disassociate image file types by their extension just like the Windows Default Programs menu does. Registry editing may still be the only way. EDIT I do not want to check it with all image file types BUT I think if you associate PDN as the default program for opening everything ie. JPG, PNG, GIF, BMP etc it may also change the editor in certain cases. So if that is what you are happy with it is at least worth trying. Good luck reverting them back to the previous defaults and default icons afterwards. You have been warned! However my suspicion is that it only works for file types that Windows Photo Viewer does not support because I've tested it with .DDS, which I have PDN set as default to open and it also uses PDN as the editor.

Not sure I understand what the OP is trying too do or why but it sounds as if he's talking about extracting icon files from .EXE. If so then the program I use for that is Resource Hacker. A lot of anti-virus/malware will flag it as suspicious or worse but I've found it very useful particularly when I want to replace an .EXE's icon. That usually occurs when a software developer updates an icon and it looks awful. You can use it to replace whole icon groups hidden within the .EXE, not just its main display icon. That can, usually, be replaced more easily using Windows right mouse click context menu > Properties. Where does PDN come into this? Well that's what I use for creating my own icons and icon groups saving them using the Icons (*.ico) plugin. I have used a trial version of a professional dedicated icon creation graphics program and although that had far more options than you get with PDN ultimately it is the picture quality that matters. What I've found is that with most simple icon designs PDN is not just adequate for the uses/display resolutions I use it is indistinguishable in practice from those made by that dedicated icon creation tool. Here's an icon (group) I made using PDN a long time ago for Speedfan a PC fan speed monitoring tool:-

The first part is impossible to advise you on without knowing more about the whole picture and the "graphic image" you want to switch out. The second part should just require you to create another layer above all the existing layers (if any) and add the text to that. Doing this is recommended anyway as when adding text you might well want to edit it or change the font, color or size used later. IMHO you should always save .pdn files unflattened, in fact I think it pointless saving as a .pdn otherwise.

I don't think there is any hope of you even slightly improving the document's readability by sharpening or increasing the contrast. If the original image files are at the same resolution as the one you posted, 480 × 640, you are flogging a dead horse. The finest text detail probably occupies only a single pixel block at that resolution and all that enlarging it will do is make that block bigger. No doubt, you have discovered this yourself. As ^ ^^ said, the only solution is to re-photograph the document at a far higher resolution, the highest your camera has available. I recently had to copy a till receipt to provide proof of purchase and I was amazed how good my relatively cheap £90/$120 digital camera was when used at its maximum 4K resolution. But a few other things - for any type of document or image copying always position the camera perpendicularly to the document, not at an angle. Get as close as you can so it fills the screen. Don't use the digital zoom to do that if your camera has that option. For best results use a tripod or some other form of support. Even with the 'magic' of anti-shake processing it won't be as sharp as it could be if you use such support. For the same reason use the self-timer or a cable release to trip the shutter.

The obvious thing to ask the OP first is what OS system is he using and does he have PDN set to check automatically for updates and, if so, did he click to update without checking on the system requirements for the v5 series version. As there is, AFAIK, no safety net warning stopping him doing that it is possible the download and attempted install of an incompatible version of PDN has messed up his previous installation. I could be wrong, I hope I am, but without more details it seems to fit the information the OP has provided.

On English/US/EU and anywhere using a English or using most EU languages keyboards the R, F and C keys are all in the same position. You just have to hold ALT and press each in turn but TBH it is not much more effort or quicker than opening PDN's Recent list and using the Clear List option. However I would be in favour of a PDN settings option to clear history on exit, I could see that being useful.

How Windows handles some file association matters has been poor or at least unhelpful as far back as Windows XP. https://www.winhelponline.com/blog/cant-add-program-to-open-with-menu-list-windows/ You either have to registry edit or use a third party program to disassociate it if an inappropriate program gets added to the Opens With list. I've not had this particular reverse of that problem: adding to the list but the are plenty of threads out on other forums which suggests that, as you've found, simply choosing an alternative program to open, in this case, an image file does not always automatically add it to the Open With menu. I do not know and have not found any third party program which will simply add the option to the Open With menu. Trying a work around (as I later found is also suggested in the MS forum thread below): selecting it as the default, risks having to disassociate it from being the default for all the other image file types too. Adding it as a separate right-click main context menu option by creating a new shell key is even more complicated than what is suggested below. https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/how-to-add-a-program-to-open-with-menu-in-windows/9cf96860-256f-49ca-a78a-6ce20f34eb17?page=2 The only 'solution' that is offered to fix this 'bug' is to registry edit which is not something I'd recommend unless you're confident you know what you're doing and, vitally, have created a registry backup beforehand. If somebody knows of a better solution, like a method or program that will do this for you, I'd be interested to know myself.

Another way of doing it, particularly if you're using single colour text , even black, in the text layer, is to use BoltBait's: Color Balance tool. That has three sliders for each of the three primary/complimentary colours. Just adjust one or more to get any any text colour change you want. When done you can use the Hue/Saturation tool or other colour/tone modification tools to give you even more adjustment options.

It just seems this matter is really just about where the poster posted the thread; that's completely understandable. It wastes RB's time sifting through reports etc about problems not related to the current version. However I see that this thread was actually moved here from the PDN general questions and discussions forum. The original poster was not to blame for that, he actually posted in the right place. So how do you stop that sort of mistake happening? It won't stop all such incidents but how about creating a sub-form for older versions trouble shooting and questions with the clear warning to users that it will have no support from RB or any of the plugin creators etc or at least those not minded to respond? If a thread about an older version is posted in the wrong place there would now be somewhere dedicated to such matters to move it to rather than simply closing it. That way it might cut down some of those posting in the wrong place. That is mostly through ignorance, I suspect, because they have not understood the troubleshooting/bug thread is only for the current PDN version. Those accidentally using or choosing to use older versions of PDN and/or plugins, for the many good reasons there are for that, would have somewhere to go to ask for help too, ensuring that they don't feel rejected or embarrassed that they've wasted RB's valuable time.

I'm sorry I just don't understand this attitude in regard to questions about using older PDN versions. It seems to me, from a promotional and marketing perspective, counter intuitive. There are plenty of people here who are willing to answer questions about using those versions if they can. What does it matter if a particular user wants to use those older versions? They're still potential PDN enthusiasts who will eventually migrate to the newest version. Surely there should be a friendly welcome to the fold not the thread immediately closed after a curt response to update their PC and/or OS if such questions are asked? You do not have to answer or take any part in the conversation, it doesn't waste your time if you just ignore them and let those who, for often good reasons, can only use previous PDN versions at least get some help from others here with the time and inclination to respond.

I'll be interested in the answer to this myself. I do not have a colour printer, 'just' a Brother b/w laser printer. I'd noticed long ago that the preview of colour original photographs when using PDN or any other graphics program with a print option with the Brother laser printer set as default will only display the preview in b/w. I'd assumed and pretty sure it is indeed something to do with the default printer or printer drivers on my PC. Why am I so certain? Because in the Printer options for the preview my Brother b/w laser printer is listed but in the same selection menu you're provided with Microsoft XPS Document Writer, a virtual print tool. If you select that instead the photo-preview swaps to colour. That's not a coincidence. So I'd guess in the OP's case that it is not a printer problem or fault but a printer driver or printer settings issue. How the print preview is behaving is normal if the printer attached is only capable of b/w printing. But maybe it could even be something very simple: have you actually checked to make sure your colour printer is the default printer selected in the preview pane? Have you checked it has not been accidentally swapped to grayscale? Also I am thinking - what happens if it has run out of coloured ink? Might it have some sort of fail safe that reverts it to grayscale in such circumstances?

Ah-ha, the 'new is better' creed. I've had arguments with other, mostly, US posters in regard to software updating. More work for the software creators undoubtedly to accommodate old and new but, if the adoption of newer software limits choices, reduces features, forces unnecessary features or those you do not want then is new better? I'd answer: no and I can give software examples where this is unquestionably true and one of those would be Firefox. But as there are alternative browsers, particularly those based on FF like Waterfox, Pale Moon and others. You can keep one of those up to date, without compromising your general use of a preferred browser or browser version because it doesn't work 100% on a certain web site. But it is up to the user to do this, as I agree, it is not the creators job to try to accommodate everyone. However it would be nice if they tried with something that should be relatively simple like signing in or posting. No criticism intended here, just to make that clear. Seasons greetings to all.

It hasn't worked 100% with the older version of FF I prefer to use as a primary browser on one of my PCs. I've not seen that particular problem though, I can sign in without issue. The trouble for me is that it won't open the posting option. However on the same PC an up to date alternative FF based browser works perfectly as does up to date FF which I have on another PC. I've just used it to sign in to be able to post this reply.

On a Win 7 PC I've had no problems either opening the image in PDN, Windows Photo Viewer or MS Paint both copying the image posted here or direct from the link provided. I've used the 'Inspect Element' Windows context menu tool and in both cases it is shown as being a JPEG and not any other format. I also tried saving the download as "All Files" rather than JPEG, which can sometimes be a cause of problems if the extension is wrong, and still had no trouble opening it with any of those programs. It displays, for me, at all times as a 1600 x 1086 JPEG. Definitely recommend you use PDN in preference to MS Paint whatever the cause of the issue.

The main problem is the background. Doing anything specifically to the blade area of the sword is made much more difficult because of the black background. You need it to be against a transparent background and once the effect is to your satisfaction you can add the background in a layer below it. But as it is anything like glow or soft outlining of some sort can not be applied without the background also being affected. So the first job is to cut the sword image out from the background and do a much cleaner job than appears to have been done already. It looks like the sword has been cut and pasted from somewhere else. There must be better source photos or images of Viking type long swords than the one used. Try finding a suitable example that already has a transparent background.

All looks very interesting and must have been a lot of work. But until my PC new build is completed which will, very reluctantly, be using Win 11 (all of which has had to be put on the back burner for the time being) I'm still going to be on good old Win 7 mostly so I will not be updating PDN from the previous version from now on. No problem for me; I recently used PDN 3.5.something for a simple graphics job when I was using a Win XP VM. Still worked perfectly.

So essentially you want to put a rectangular border around the photograph but also have the option to increase the size of the photo inside the rectangular frame. Yes? Should be simple; you just need to create a new image 2700x2025 in size with colour/transparency of choice. Then you use Layers > Import from File to add the 840 x 484 photograph as a new layer above it. That way you can resize, rotate or move it wherever you want against the background in the layer below. When working on photographs or anything else where you want to add a border it is the best way to do it. I'd also recommend you use Chris Vandermotten's "Object Align" plugin. It allows you to centre, re-centre or align as desired a layer so you can easily achieve an even border all round, if that is what you want. Once everything is done you can save it as a PDN file, preserving the layers in case you want to adjust it again later. Then save it as JPG, PNG or whatever you want. That save process will include flattening the two layers into one.

In Windows file/folder views can you change the view from the default (extensions hidden) to one that shows the actual extension being used by that particular 'PDN' file? Often problems like this can be because the file has been accidentally doubled tagged eg. .xxxxxxx.png.PDN or something similar. Its easily done when you're prompted to save a file Windows will offer suggestions but as the full file name including the extension eg. xxxxxxxx.png. You end up saving a PNG file as a PDN one or visa versa. You're not being allowed to change the name though and that doesn't fit but its still worth checking that it is not something simple like this first.

Not sure what you mean by the little black square. It sounds like you have both Primary and Secondary colours set to white so you're not going to see any text if you're using a white background. Font colour is changed using the Colors GUI tool. The Primary colour is used for the font colour; to change it you just change the primary colour using the colour selector options in Colors tool or by using a custom colour. As long as you've selected the Primary colour rather than the Secondary one changing the font colour should simple. I would point out that the existing text colour will not change if the text cursor has been cancelled, the cursor must still be blinking to change the existing text. I think that might be the problem you're having. It is always best to use a separate layer (transparent background) for the text. That way if you want to change the colour of all the text you can do that without it affecting any other part of the image. Apologies for the crudity of this diagram but I hope it will enlighten.

If the above ^ ^^ advice doesn't bear fruit:- There's a possibility your browsers default download folder has been used (or changed) and if you check what that is you may find the download. With Firefox and its derivatives the default location is found under Tools > Options > General tab > Downloads Normally I just use my browser's downloads tool but I have had things like this happen because I've downloaded something previously to a custom location using a download manager. The download manager adds that custom location to the options list and if you don't change it (easily forgotten) that location will be used as the default for the next download too. There are other possibilities - I doubt anything like this is what has happened here but there's one well known file sharing web site that downloads to your RAM. It then should offer you the option of moving it to a location of your choice once finished. But if that isn't done, for whatever reason, a copy is made to the usually hidden Users\Specific User Name\AppData\Local\Temp folder or somewhere mad like that. Of course they don't tell you this.