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v2.2 Alpha 1 Initial Impressions


Crazy Man Dan

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Man, you guys rock! I just downloaded v2.2a1, and I'm thoroughly satisfied.

The toolbox no longer extends into the color picker (in "Less" mode) with the rulers on as it did in the last version. It was a very minor issue, but it's great to see it resolved.

Also, I can't say enough about the way selection work now. I remember Rick mentioning this solution in a reply to someone a few days ago, and it sounded like it just may work. After using it, however, it works perfectly! It just makes sense; it fixes the small annoyance of having a tinted selection when coloring, but also shows you exactly what you have selected at the time. Perfect solution.

Also, the selection transformation is a welcome addition and pulled off very well. And the image quality after resizing is usual Paint.NET: excellent.

I did notice a few "irregulars." When switching the Fore- and Background colors, the combo box in the Color Picker window behaves strangely. When one first clicks on the switcher arrows, switching the Fore- and Background color for the first time, the Color Picker selection box changes from "Primary" to "Secondary." However, if clicked again to switch them back, the selection stays at "Secondary" instead of following the color back to "Primary." In fact, it never changes back to "Primary" once it has changed to "Secondary," regardless of how many times the Fore- and Background colors are switched.

Also, it may be wise to put in the status bar (similar to how it is done with the Magic Wand) how to add/subtract from your selection. I was able to figure it out once I remembered the way Paint.NET usually functions (left-click for default action, right-click for secondary actions, [CRTL]+click for extended options), but it would probably be a good idea to tell users outright how it works.

Well, it's Alpha software, so of course there will be some "irregulars." But as for the basic functionality, I couldn't be happier to see what I see here.

Yet another well-done improvement.

Dan

I am not a mechanism, I am part of the resistance;

I am an organism, an animal, a creature, I am a beast.

~ Becoming the Archetype

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Glad you like it so far, it's been 4 months since v2.1 was released and I'm happy to finally put out an update. Comments:

Man, you guys rock! I just downloaded v2.2a1, and I'm thoroughly satisfied.

The toolbox no longer extends into the color picker (in "Less" mode) with the rulers on as it did in the last version. It was a very minor issue, but it's great to see it resolved.

Yes we changed from using 'group boxes' to using 'header labels'. You'll see that things are grouped with text and a horizontal line, but not a full rectangle surrounding a logical grouping of items. This enabled us to shrink things down a little, and is kind of a nice aesthetical change. It also keeps everything from overlapping at 1024x768 with a 1 unit tall Windows taskbar.

Also, I can't say enough about the way selection work now. I remember Rick mentioning this solution in a reply to someone a few days ago, and it sounded like it just may work. After using it, however, it works perfectly! It just makes sense; it fixes the small annoyance of having a tinted selection when coloring, but also shows you exactly what you have selected at the time. Perfect solution.

Yeah I'm definitely liking this change too. You get to see exactly what you're selecting while selecting it, but then when you want to interact with it and have an idea of what the boundaries are, you can focus on just the pixels.

Another minor change related to selections: turn on the rulers, then make a selection. You'll see the selected area highlighted in the ruler as well.

Yet another minor change: While drawing a selection, you can hold down the other mouse button to change the origin of the selection. For example, if you are drawing a rectangle and then start holding down both buttons, then move the mouse, the rectangle will move but not change in size. Then let go of the other mouse button (but keep the first one down!) you may resume adjusting its shape. It's hard to describe but very natural to use. This works with all selection and drawing shapes. Perfect for when you get something the right size but are a few pixels off.

Also, the selection transformation is a welcome addition and pulled off very well. And the image quality after resizing is usual Paint.NET: excellent.

Next up: selection transformation. And by that I mean just the selections, and not the selected pixels. You'll note that in the terminology I use I make a clear distinction between "selection" and "selected pixels." Right now we have implementation selected pixel transformation. The UI is still rough draft, it will get better.

I did notice a few "irregulars." When switching the Fore- and Background colors, the combo box in the Color Picker window behaves strangely. When one first clicks on the switcher arrows, switching the Fore- and Background color for the first time, the Color Picker selection box changes from "Primary" to "Secondary." However, if clicked again to switch them back, the selection stays at "Secondary" instead of following the color back to "Primary." In fact, it never changes back to "Primary" once it has changed to "Secondary," regardless of how many times the Fore- and Background colors are switched.

This is a bug I noticed a few days after v2.1 was released (oops). But I'm ripping apart that stuff in awhile so I haven't bothered to fix it ;)

Also, it may be wise to put in the status bar (similar to how it is done with the Magic Wand) how to add/subtract from your selection.

I believe we do ... you should get the little help text in the status bar when you click on the tool. The performance for union and subtraction are currently horrific -- I'm wading through a 10-page paper that describes an algorithm that'll help me make it as fast as the xor mode. But hey, it's currently functional at least.

I was able to figure it out once I remembered the way Paint.NET usually functions (left-click for default action, right-click for secondary actions, [CRTL]+click for extended options), but it would probably be a good idea to tell users outright how it works.

Well, it's Alpha software, so of course there will be some "irregulars." But as for the basic functionality, I couldn't be happier to see what I see here.

Yet another well-done improvement.

Dan

Dan, I sent an e-mail to your hotmail account earlier today asking if you wanted to join in a private alpha test ... but then decided to release it publicly :)

The Paint.NET Blog: https://blog.getpaint.net/

Donations are always appreciated! https://www.getpaint.net/donate.html

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Another minor change related to selections: turn on the rulers, then make a selection. You'll see the selected area highlighted in the ruler as well.

Yeah, I was going to mention that, but I forgot about it in the middle of posting. There was just so much to praise..:D

Also, it may be wise to put in the status bar (similar to how it is done with the Magic Wand) how to add/subtract from your selection.
I believe we do ... you should get the little help text in the status bar when you click on the tool. The performance for union and subtraction are currently horrific -- I'm wading through a 10-page paper that describes an algorithm that'll help me make it as fast as the xor mode. But hey, it's currently functional at least.

Whaddya know? It does tell you how! Silly me... Sorry. I looked down there after I began using it, not right after I clicked on it. I was a little late... PHAIL'D!

Dan, I sent an e-mail to your hotmail account earlier today asking if you wanted to join in a private alpha test ... but then decided to release it publicly

I'm honored that you considered me for a private Alpha test! But this way, everyone can enjoy the new features.

Just an update: I just finished my classes for my AAS (I mean just finished, like earlier tonight), so I can get back to working on a few more tutorial ideas I have. I did manage to make a new layout for the site that will contain them, however. It rocks (if I do say so myself...), and it's made completely using Paint.NET! :D

So, I'll let you know when I finish something, so you can update your tutorials page with the new ones.

Well, that's all for now. Keep up the good work, 8)

Dan

I am not a mechanism, I am part of the resistance;

I am an organism, an animal, a creature, I am a beast.

~ Becoming the Archetype

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Until we have a button or something for that, simple rename or delete "PaintDotNet.Strings.de.resources" (the '.de' part is important) in the installation directory.

The Paint.NET Blog: https://blog.getpaint.net/

Donations are always appreciated! https://www.getpaint.net/donate.html

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Use anti-aliasing! It's really useful, and makes your edges smooth!

And to rotate you picture, go to Image -> Rotate/Zoom. Then grab the wireframe sphere on the left (actually, it's the only wireframe sphere there...) and move it around until you like it!

I am not a mechanism, I am part of the resistance;

I am an organism, an animal, a creature, I am a beast.

~ Becoming the Archetype

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