Am I the only one using this program? I can create a page (I'm not making my own graphics at this point) fairly quickly, as well as edit my pictures and organize them too. I have questions for someone more experienced than I am with it.
I have two pages done!

i love photo suite III and use it all the time for editing my photos. i especially like having the ability to package print the photos and have them looking as good as studio purchases.

i haven't tried using the program for scrapbook pages but i certainly can see how easy it would be.

madge

do you save your pictures in? When I edit a picture, it will save in a .pzp file, which is high resolution and large. If I want high quality but in a format that Costco's Online Photo Center will recognize as a picture, what do I save it as? A .bmp? Is there another format besides that to use for them? I guess I have a million questions. Hope you can help me!

To do a page, you go to Compose Project, then click Collages. It's simple. It even has layers so you can layer elements, mattes, pictures, the background, and everything. I've read that other easier programs don't allow you to layer things the way you want. PhotoSuite does.

Thanks in Advance, I hope!
Dawn

pzp files are used by mgi - i haven't found another program that will open up that extension (but i don't have many programs to choose from!) i never thought of using the collage area for building a scrap page - thanks!

i save my pictures for emailing in jpg format. the trick with pictures saved in jpg format is to keep same size or only size once - too many size changes tend to diminish the quality of the original photo - so...always made a working copy and only save that file and then you'll always have an original to have in case you need to start over.

have a good evening - we are expecting a possible 2' of snow overnight!

madge
western PA

Yes, I have a couple copies of each page I have done. The .pzp file is the MGI working copy. From that, I can save the pages in any format I want. I always save one as a .jpg for emailing or posting online. If I need to edit the page at all, I do it with the .pzp file, then overwrite the .jpg so it still gets the resolution from the bigger, higher quality file.
My question is for printing quality. I've heard some use .tiff and some use .bmp. I will have to store these on a disk or I'll lose all my hard drive space! I have one page saved as a .bmp right now, on the hard drive. It's a big file. I think .tiff is supposed to be better, but I am still trying to figure it all out.

tiff files are big cause they are not compressed at all - at least that's what i remember reading somewhere.

for storing your pages - you may want to look into buying an external hard drive. today (black friday) there were several offered for cheap with rebates. that's what i use - infact i have two of them.

madge

Funny you should mention that! My stepson informed my husband the other day that we NEED one for my computer! LOL. We haven't given is a whole lot of thought, although I did see one at WalMart when I was there the other day for about $150. I don't know if that's a good price or not. As far as storage, I have tons on my hard drive, but just to keep it somewhat free, here's what I am doing:

I create a page in MGI (a .pzp file), at 1800x1800 or 3600x3600 pixels (which would work out to 300 dpi in a 12x12 page.) I save it as a .pzp (this is my working copy). When it's totally completed, I save it as a .jpg (low resolution for the family webpage), and as a .bmp (high res.). I also save another copy as a .tif, which I burn onto a disk for taking to have printed.

Do you think it's too many copies? I am wondering if I can do without the .bmp file.
I am keeping track of filenames by calling the first one (for ex.) "dennyplay" (.pzp), dennyplay2 (.jpg) and dennyplay3 (.bmp). And just for example's sake, the .pzp is 2.5Mb, .jpg is 486kb, and .bmp is 37Mb. That's a lot of storage space for one scrapbook page. Oh and of course I also have a tiff file for the ones I save to disk, so add another 37 Mb file to that list. Anyway would you keep a bmp and a tiff?

My MGI is having issues and dh is going to get me PhotoShop Elements. Honestly I really like how simple MGI is and I'm worried I won't figure out PSE! Lol. Maybe we better get one of those external hard drives too!! (I can't upgrade my internal one because I have a laptop.)