jdanniel

I think I got it. I think I understand. Let's hope so. I'm going to mess with it a while and see what happens. Thank you!

Thank you for the reply. Can you please go into a bit more detail? Which layer do I add the text onto? Which layer should I be using to apply the drop shadow? I'm still a bit lost here. Thank you. Jd

Hello everyone. May I please request some assistance with the drop shadow plug-in? I know how to create drop shadow effects without the plug-in, but I'm trying to use the plug-in and am having no success. If I tell you what steps I'm taking, can you please tell me what I'm missing? 1. I open Paint.net 3.5.10 and click the NEW button, then click OK in the New dialog box. 2. I create some plain text. I am using Arial 26 font and solid black color. The Layers window has one layer named Background. 3. I open up the Drop Shadow plug-in and just mess around with it, but nothing happens. I have a feeling I'm missing a step in between steps 2 and 3. Do I need to duplicate the layer, or add a new layer? If I do, what do I have to do once the second layer is created? Something tells me whatever I'm missing is so simple, I'll probably feel like an idiot when the solution is given to me. But what else must I do? Thank you! Jd

I'll be damned. All I needed was one new layer. Sheesh. Thank you!

The Object Align tool seems to work. Thank you. Now...while we are on the subject of these plug-ins: I can't get the Drop Shadow tool to work. Granted, I might not be using it correctly. I know how to create drop shadow effects manually, but it's a pain in the neck. I have not, as of this writing, found instructions that explain how to use the Drop Shadow tool. Let me explain how I'm using the tool. Maybe someone can tell me what I'm doing wrong. 1. I click NEW and create a new window. 2. I set the Primary color to Red, and the Secondary color to Black. 3. Next, I select the TEXT tool. I select the font for my text, and the size. 4. I type the text. 5. I go into Effects, Object, and select Drop Shadow. 6. I adjust the settings as I see fit, lightening up the shadow color a bit, so it's grey and not dark black. 7. I click OK. That's all I do. I see no drop shadow effect on my text. What am I doing wrong? Thank you. Jd

Hello everyone. I'm using Paint.net 3.5.6. I would like to get assistance with centering text, please. I am embedding some text into some photos. I'm placing the text at the very bottom of the photos. However, I'm not 100% sure if the text is perfectly center-justified. Is there a way to guarantee the text is fully and properly center-justified? If so, what is the procedure, please? Thank you! Jack D.

Okay, I think we made some progress here. I tried out the Grim Color Reaper plug-in. I then began to work with the images in Microsoft Front Page. At first, I got very scared. Here's why: That's what I saw in Design mode. I was ready to smash my monitor. Then, I said to myself, "Well, let's see how it looks in Preview mode." And here's how it looks in Preview mode: Voila. It works! Problem solved, it seems. The black background in Design mode totally threw me off. Still does! Maybe it's because that's how a transparent .png file is supposed to look? I've never worked with .png before. I'm going to dabble a bit more with this, and hopefully this plug-in will do the trick with everything else I work with. Thank you for recommending it. Jd

I'm clearly doing something wrong, or else the plug-in isn't working on my system. Here's what I'm getting, before and after: I put borders around the images, so people can see what I'm referring to. As you can see, the text has disappeared. Why? I must not be understanding something. To the author of the plug-in: If you did this as per the instructions in your tutorial, then why is it working for you, but not me? I've done everything you've done, unless I became illiterate since waking up this morning. Grim Color Reaper? Another plug-in? Okay, I'll give it a try. Thanks for being patient with me. I am very frustrated right now. Jd

Hello. I do know how to do this. However, I recently purchased Microsoft Office 2010, and Word 2010 has new features, including drop shadowing. So, that's what I used, and I like the new tool, so honestly, I'd like to stick with it. As for saving as png, that I didn't do, so I'll go back and try it again. However, the issue of text disappearing occurred before saving the image, so I'm still unable to get what I want.

Still not working properly. When I use Alpha Mask, the text completely disappears on screen. I see nothing. What does All Color Information Will Be Ignored mean? Can this be done without the plug-in? I'd like to have alternatives, if possible. Thank you.

Hi everyone. I need help making the background of an image transparent. First of all: I read the tutorial for Alpha Mask, and tried using it, with no success. So, I need further help with this, please. Here's the image I want to make transparent. Quite simple. Here are my questions that I believe the tutorial does not currently address: 1. The image I am using is a JPG. Will the Alpha Mask tool work with JPG images, or do I have to convert the image to GIF format first? In the past, I've used only GIF images when working with transparent images. (I used Paint Shop Pro in the past.) 2. The tutorial does not specify whether or not to use the Mask File/Browse button to open something. Do I use that, or not? 3: It says to copy the image. And it says to check the Paste from Clipboard box. Then click OK. It does NOT say what to do next, if anything. What does the Paste from Clipboard box do, exactly? 4. Once I click OK, is the image modified? Do I save it? If so, what format do I save it in, and what transparency threshold do I use, if I save it as a GIF? Is using this Alpha Mask .dll tool the absolute simplest and quickest way to make an image transparent? Thank you very much. Jd

The Shift key was all I needed. Quick and easy, and it worked. Thank you, everyone! Jd

Hello everyone! I'm using the current version of Paint.net and have a question about highlighting something in an image. Here's an example of an image I'm working with: I want to highlight sections of an image as though I were highlighting text on a page. As you can see, I've managed to figure out how to do this. I used the Rectangle Select tool to select the area I want to highlight. Then, I use Paint Bucket to fill in what I just highlighted. Quick and simple! There's a minor but annoying problem, though, that I can't solve. If you look closely in this image, some of the letters are not highlighted. The letters in question have "enclosed" parts. I don't know how else to describe them. The "p" in 7-Zip, and some of the letters in "Add to archive," have parts that are white and not highlighted. What's the easiest and quickest method to get everything that I've selected highlighted, including the letters? I looked around for a sensitivity or tolerance adjustment, or something like that, but didn't find one. Is there something that does this? Thank you for your assistance! Jd

I think I got it, again.

Hi. I'm not sure how to ensure the layer is transparent. How do I do that, please?

Hi everyone, it's me again. Last week, I formatted my hard drive and reinstalled all my software from scratch. I installed Paint.Net 3.5.3, and now the instructions above for creating drop shadow do not seem to be working anymore. Everything was fine until this new version was installed. Here's the problem: When I set the Lightness setting to -100, the canvas becomes completely black. This never happened before. I then press F4 to set the opacity, and that lightens up the canvas, but I can't do anything else. I switch to MOVE mode from TEXT mode, but I do not see a drop shadow, and cannot manipulate it. What happened? Why have I been able to create drop shadow effects with no problem, and now suddenly with a new version, I can't? Has anyone tried creating drop shadow effects, using the instructions above, with 3.5.3? Did it work for you? Do I have to do anything differently? Thank you! Jd

Okay it's all good! Thank you for your help, everyone! I'm happy now. Enjoy Thanksgiving, those of you who celebrate! Jd

This worked! Okay, this is easier than I thought. One final question--at least for now: Is it possible for the original text to be one color, and the duplicate/shadow text another? For example, can the original text be navy blue, but the duplicate text black, so when I adjust the opacity, it's a light gray? Thank you once again. Jd

Thanks for the mini-tutorial. A few questions: When I open up a new layer, does that mean NOTHING should be on the screen? What I mean by that is this: 1. I open up a new project and just accept the default setting in the NEW dialog box. 2. In the History box, it says NEW IMAGE. Do I add something to the screen now, or wait until I've created a new layer? 3. Assuming I do nothing until I've created a new layer, I create the new layer. 4. I type some text. 5. I duplicate the layer. 6. I select Hue/Saturation. There is no Brightness setting there, but there is a LIGHTNESS setting. Is that what I'm supposed to use? If so, I set it to -100. 7. I use the move tool. It's very difficult to get the duplicate text exactly where I want it. Also, the duplicate text is pretty much the same color and brightness as the original, so it's not really a shadow. How do I rectify that? Thank you! Jd

How do you install it?

Hello. I'd like to get some assistance with Paint.net, please. The main thing I'd be using Paint.net for is drop shadow, but I don't see an easy way to create it. Nor do I see a plug-in for drop shadow. Of course, I could be wrong--and most likely am. All I really want to do is create some text, and have a little bit of drop shadow on it. Here are examples: Nothing fancy, just plain text with a little shadow. I made these drop shadow effects using an old version of Paint Shop Pro. I'd like to use Paint.net to make something like this. I've read a couple of threads about drop shadow, but it seems to involve creating and working with layers. Not being a graphics editor expert, I'm afraid it was a bit over my head. Since Paint Shop Pro and Photoshop Elements both have drop shadow utilities built in, I was surprised to discover Paint.net does not. Or does it? Am I completely missing a feature that will do this? Would anyone please be willing to guide me in the direction of creating a simple drop shadow effect? I would be greatly appreciative, as I would really like to use Paint.net for just about all of my graphic editing needs. Thank you very much! Jd

Hello. It's been a while since I've used Paint.Net, and if I recall correctly, the only plug-in I found for drop shadowing didn't work for me. (Either that, or I just wasn't using it correctly.) I think that version was from 2005 or 2006. I'd like to know what plug-in for drop shadow is the most current, and if it is Vista-compatible? As of now, I still use Paint Shop Pro, primarily because it has a drop shadow tool that I'm familiar with, that is user-friendly. However, I'd like to use as much freeware and open source software as possible. The drop shadow issue is the only thing that is preventing me from making a 100% clean break. Please consider me a newbie, and a bottom-tier graphics software user. I don't do anything particularly sophisticated. Thank you for your assistance. Jd

Hello. I want to make a "favicon" for my web site, and was wondering if Paint.Net does anything along that line, such as converting an image to .ico format. If so, is there a tutorial that explains how to do this? Thank you. Jd PS: For anyone reading this who may not be familiar with a Favicon...Favicon stands for Favorites Icon. If you look in your Bookmarks or Favorites section of your web browser, you will see a customized icon next to the listing for a site. That's a Favicon.

I assume so. It works in Paint Shop Pro, so I'm guessing it is.

Hello. Yesterday, I installed Paint.Net 3.22, along with my Canon LIDE 50 scanner. I am running Windows Vista Home Premium on an HP dual-core PC that's less than a year old. When attempting to scan something, I noticed the Acquire/From Scanner or Camera option in the File menu was grayed out and unavailable. I've looked around for a solution to the problem, but I figured the best source would be this forum. Is there anything I can do or try to get Paint.net to recognize the scanner? Thank you! Jd