BaltimoreWill

But I learned something today, specifically where the executable is for store apps. That answer is \Program Files\WindowsApps. It's a hidden folder with very tight security, but a little tinkering with permissions allowed me to navigate to the proper folder and select the executable. Then Organizer opened it without a problem. It felt as if I were trying to get at the nuclear codes.

This is the dialog in Adobe Organizer for setting a secondary editing app: You cannot type in the field - you must browse. When you browse, only .exe files may be selected.

I want to configure Adobe Organizer with a "supplemental editing application," to wit: paint.net. However, Organizer requires a path to the executable. That's why I need to know where PaintDotNet.exe is. The deployment on this PC was via the Microsoft Store. On my previous PC, I used the downloaded app and had no trouble making this connection.

I know the shortcuts I need but I would still like to see some additional icons on the toolbar. I'd vote for a customizable toolbar but from past posts it looks like there is some resistance to that. (Not complaining, just observing.) The additional icons I'd like to see in the toolbar are Copy Merged, Paste to New Layer, and Paste to New Image. You'll note that the functions I'm asking for are all mechanical operations, not drawing functions, and thus fit with the theme of the other icons in the toolbar. I believe this small set of icons will improve productivity, in the same manner as the incredibly valuable Crop to Selection icon. Another post talks about a Save as JPG icon on the toolbar. I support that idea but I'd rather see Save for Web, ala Photoshop and Photoshop Elements. Let Save/SaveAs be for the native PDN format and Save for Web be for flat files. Then have a setting that lets the user choose which raster format (PNG, JPG, GIF, TIFF, etc.) is the default. If this separation were present, it would probably be easier to build automatic flattening, restoring the layers after the save without having to ask the user if it is okay to flatten.

There has been a lot of discussion here about how Save As works, along with complaints about the image being flattened when it is saved to a JPG or PNG. At the outset, let me say that I agree with the way Save As works because it is consistent with other software. The real problem is that PDN does not have the equivalent of Photoshop's Save for Web (SFW) feature, also available in the much less expensive Photoshop Elements product. SFW is, in effect, an alternate save mechanism designed to save flat files without disturbing a multi-layer native file (PSD for Photoshop, PDN for Paint.Net). It exists to support Web developers (hence the name) and that is exactly why and how I use it. Adobe's SFW provides the following: Choice of flat image format (PNG, JPG, GIF, etc.). Image quality (compression ratio) Resizing (simple entry of size, nothing fancy) Automatic flattening without affecting original Preview Requests file name for flat file The presence of such a feature in PDN would eliminate most of the Save As and Export As complaints I have seen here.

No, it doesn't. But it takes longer to perform these steps in PDN than it takes in Adobe Photoshop Elements (PSE) and when you're doing a lot of editing those seconds can add up. The result is that I use PDN a lot for quick and dirty edits, such as grabbing a screen capture, cropping it, and saving the result to be used in an email message or a Web tutorial or something like that. In these cases I almost never keep the original, so PDN is very, very fast. But when I want to keep the original, I almost never use PDN. I have hundreds of PSE-compatible PSD files from over the years and almost no saved PDN files despite having used it since version 1. If PDN was faster to use for more of my work, I'd probably use it more. I don't want anyone to misunderstand me here. I like PDN and I recommend it constantly. It has gotten consistently better and I expect that to continue. I posted here because I agree that the way Save currently works is not as good as it could be and there are exemplars for how it could be better.

The missing ingredient here is the equivalent of Adobe's "Save for Web" feature. Save for Web is an alternative Save that does not induce the "flipping" behavior you mention. The primary file one is editing remains untouched and, more important, uncollapsed. Resizing is part of Save for Web. I much prefer the Adobe approach because it is not necessary to resize on the canvas prior to saving and the original remains untouched after the Save for Web.