Quick Collage

Discuss which third party applications you use to help create your slide shows using ProShow Producer. This is not a forum to promote other slide show software programs.
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Re: Quick Collage

Postby VideoHobbyist » Sat Aug 15, 2009 9:18 am

Rick:

Thanks for the suggestions.

Interestingly, Windows Picture Viewer will not play some of the PSD files created in Quick Collage, whereas Photoshop Elements will open all files created in Quick Collage and show all the layers.

I opened those files in Photoshop Elements 7 that don't play in PSP, saved them as copies and voila they now open in PSP.

The PSD files that Windows Picture Viewer will play show up correctly in PSP. It must be some quirk in the way certain collages are created.

PSD files created directly by Photoshop play well in PSP.

I don't know why this happens but thanks to your suggestions, I can just open the problem files in Photoshop Elements, save them as copies, then import the copies into PSP.

One more question if I might. The PSD collages that open in PSP are flat slides imported as a single layer, whereas the PSD files opened in Photoshop Elements show each layer. As a beginner, I am not certain if PSD files are supposed to import as flat pictues or can be edited in layers. Do you know?

Thanks again for the help.

Regards,

Marty :D

Rik 101

Re: Quick Collage and layers

Postby Rik 101 » Sat Aug 15, 2009 2:43 pm

Hi Marty, Good that you have had some successs

OK a few things, You mention Windows picture viewer showing PSD files??? Are you using XP or Vista?
I have XP and Windows Picture and Fax viewer doesnt have the ability to prview PSD files! so that may be your problem RE Vista, I dont use Vista or know anything about it. (Had it for a while but had so many problems with my scanner and video special fx programs that i went back to XP)

Skip the following if it is too basic but you did say you are new to this :lol:
.psd is simply the naming extension that Photoshop adds to a file that it has created if you dont specifically choose to save as it as something different ie JPEG or TIFF or PNG being common ones. (.png this is useful when you wish to preserve transperency of the background layer of the image) if you are completely new to this then i would sugesst googling for some basic Photoshop tutorials on this.

psd as a file type doesnt mean anything in itself. it can be a complex multilayerd file or just a single background image. so regarding layers, that depends on what you did with the image in photoshop. If you flatten an image (merge all the layers together) it can still be saved as a Photoshop file ( "image".psd ) but it has no layers.
Once again if your are new to this then PM me and i will send you some links to great tutorials on photoshop.
First tho may i suggest the Help menu. I taught myself just about everything using that, this forum and Google

Personally i think theres little value in saving a flattened Photoshop document as a psd. as you cant undo the layer merging so if you simply wish to preserve quality then use TIFF as a format versus Jpeg
Tiffs however are a bigger file size, so unless you intend to print or re-edit multiple times, then saving as a .Jpeg will suffice most times. Alternatively save a copy as a Jpeg along side your original Psd file

As an aside~ For me, as i have plenty of hard drive space I save my photoshop projects with all the layers as it is surprising how often you sometimes wish to come back and redo something or use part of it in another project.
A recent example was a Muli-layerd image that i made 2 years ago, (lots of careful cutouts of rose photos)

Last month I got a booking to film a wedding next year and the bride is having roses as a theme, so my work for the DVD menu and stationary will be much easier. .....back to my PSD file , selected a few choice layers of roses and presto, half my work will be done. This would not have been possible if I had flattened the image

Regarding importing photoshop layers into PRODUCER. I dont know what PE7 has but, in PhotoshopCS3 it is very easy to export a multi-layerd document with each layer being an individual file.

This can be used to produce a cool effect in producer if you have individual layers merge from all directions to create the final image.

To do this go to File > Scripts > Export layers to files. theres a few settings/ options and "viola" :D you are done.
Key frame those files in Producer along with a copy of the whole image and imagination is your only limit.

Not having PE7 im guessing here but a work around would be to "turn off" all but one layer at a time and then "Save as " that layer" make it a png to preserve transperency, back in PE7. turn that layer off and repeat the process with the next and so on. Will take a little extra time but you then have all the individual laers as seperate files

Key points are make sure you choose "Save as" NOT SAVE! as you will run the risk of either overwriting the original document or loose stuff. Secondly use. png as the file type, as otherwise the background " canvas" may come along for the ride! ie the layer when you import in producer will be a big square of wotever your background canvas is set at with the layer image on it. Obviously this is no good to use.

Hope I made sense

Rick

P.S. A quote i like
"Imagination is more important than knowledge, for knowledge is limited but imagination encircles the world"
Albert Einstein

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Re: Quick Collage

Postby VideoHobbyist » Sat Aug 15, 2009 7:20 pm

Rick:

Thanks again for the detailed reply. I am experienced with computers which is my hobby. Most of my work involves video. I am only slightly experienced with Photoshop Elements 7 which I recently installed.

I am running XP Pro. I wanted no part of Vista-still don't.

While I am composing this message, I checked the Windows Picture Viewer and confirm that it can display certain PSD files created by Quick Collage. Others will not display.

All files I created with Quick Collage and saved as either PNG or JPEG display correctly in both the Windows Picture Viewer and PSP.

I wanted to mess aroung with the multi layered PSD files and can do so in PE7. As I mentioned in my earlier post, those mutilayered PSD files load into PSP as a flattened image. Do you know if PSP will load multi layered files? It is no big deal because I can edit them is PE7 and export them as flattened JPEGs and then import those JPEGs into PSP.

There is no File>Scripts>Export Layers command in PE7 so that is not an option for me. Your suggestion for a work around by exporting single layers make sense but that could be a killer with a PSD file of numerous layers.

The question that is not answered in our exchanges is why some PSD files created by Quick Collage will open in PSP and others will not. On the other hand, all PSD files created in PE7 will import into PSP. Who knows?

Regards,

Marty

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Re: Quick Collage

Postby BJOertli » Fri Sep 04, 2009 8:51 pm

Thank you Rick for sharing this - I just watched the video "tutorial" and I will certainly try this. It looks like a lot of fun!! :D
Bonnie
"In every work of genius we see our own rejected thoughts" ~Emerson

lahazard

Re: Quick Collage

Postby lahazard » Sun Feb 14, 2010 5:25 pm

It's amazing the things you will find in searching the archives around here.

This is a really neat little program!

A lot of fun and opening new avenues of creativity for my shows.

Louis

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Re: Quick Collage

Postby RZKYBZNZ » Sat Feb 27, 2010 8:20 pm

Nice little program...Thanks!
Mo' Better Photo Memories
Bring your most cherished memories back to life.

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Re: Quick Collage

Postby rdurga » Sat Feb 27, 2010 8:48 pm

Hi Marty,

In PSP, psd files will show as only one layer (flattened). If you want the image with layers in PSP, you have to save the layers as separate files in photoshop and import them into PSP.

ram

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Re: Quick Collage

Postby HunnyB » Sun Feb 28, 2010 6:03 pm

This is very cool. THANKS
HunnyB
PSP4, Canon EOS Rebel T1i, Canon EF70-300mm lens, Dell Studio XPS 9100 desktop w/ blu-ray burner & Windows 7; hpMedia center pc370n desktop; Gateway Laptop; Epson 4990 scanner; hpC5280 Printer; Adobe CS5; QuarkXpress 8

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Re: Quick Collage

Postby HunnyB » Thu Mar 04, 2010 7:27 am

What's the deal with the "watermark" on all of the projects that you create with this program?
I think you have to "upgrade" to get rid of it, and to use the .psd format. :evil:
HunnyB
PSP4, Canon EOS Rebel T1i, Canon EF70-300mm lens, Dell Studio XPS 9100 desktop w/ blu-ray burner & Windows 7; hpMedia center pc370n desktop; Gateway Laptop; Epson 4990 scanner; hpC5280 Printer; Adobe CS5; QuarkXpress 8

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Re: Quick Collage

Postby Cyclops » Thu Mar 04, 2010 6:17 pm

Try this one - it's free also and there is also a Mac version.
http://download.cnet.com/Shape-Collage/ ... 09348.html

Carol
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Re: Quick Collage

Postby HunnyB » Thu Mar 04, 2010 6:50 pm

Carol, this is the same. Isn't it?
HunnyB
PSP4, Canon EOS Rebel T1i, Canon EF70-300mm lens, Dell Studio XPS 9100 desktop w/ blu-ray burner & Windows 7; hpMedia center pc370n desktop; Gateway Laptop; Epson 4990 scanner; hpC5280 Printer; Adobe CS5; QuarkXpress 8

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Re: Quick Collage

Postby Cyclops » Thu Mar 04, 2010 10:21 pm

Oops, yes it is the same program. I never noticed that the watermark was there before. I did a collage of my grandchildren and put it in a frame and I must have cut off the watermark in the process of fitting it inside the picture frame and just never noticed it.

Carol
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