Graphics apps acquired in Jasc deal are adapted for nonprofessionals with "Learning Center," where tools carry plain-language labels to help users learn photo manipulation without the jargon.Corel has unveiled its first updates to versions of software developed by Jasc, which was purchased by Corel in October 2004.
Paint Shop Pro X and Corel Photo Album 6 are refreshed iterations of digital-imaging software initially created by Jasc. Since the acquisition was done early in the development cycle for the versions, the result is applications that combine Jasc's flagship software with Corel Corp.'s focus on usability, said Blaine Mathieu, Corel's general manager of digital imaging.
"Corel has a relentless focus on usability testing, and the acquisition of Jasc was done early enough in the cycle that we could take advantage of that focus," said Mathieu.
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Updates to each application are significant, he added, with enhancements targeted mainly at helping users to discover new features, streamline tasks and create preferences for photo manipulation and storage.
The most notable advancement in Paint Shop Pro X is the software's Learning Center, which organizes tools by task rather than keyword. Appearing as a menu box on the side of the screen, the Learning Center offers assistance in "plain language," said Mathieu.
For example, options include "improve a photo" or "print collection of photos," rather than "crop" or "print."
Beta testers of the application commented on how the Learning Center expedited photo manipulation, and even advanced users were surprised by how easily they were able to uncover features they weren't familiar with, Mathieu noted.
With Photo Album 6, significant enhancements include a photo downloader that automatically downloads, rotates and saves photos to an area of the hard drive that is predetermined by users. This makes photo storage easier, Mathieu said, because it allows users to create albums automatically rather than store thousands of unorganized photos on a hard drive.
New Photo Trays are included to help users sort photos quickly for e-mailing, printing or uploading to Web sites.
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Also of interest to users will be the photo recovery option, said Mathieu. Corel research has shown that people rarely have effective backup procedures in place, and often lose photos if a network sputters or a hard drive crashes.
"The photo recovery tool encourages people to make backups," he said. "It will also undo a deletion. Basically, with both of these releases, we're helping users to edit, organize and save their digital photography in a more advanced way."
Graphics Tools 
