| Wow! Jasc has really made some changes to Paint Shop Pro in their newest version 8. The first thing you may notice if you've used the program before is the new interface design. On the right of the interface you'll see the new palette views. Instead of floating all over the interface, they're docked on the right which I appreciate very much. I also am impressed by the new toolbar layouts. The tool palette has also changed as you look at the left side of the interface. Although the tool palette has the ability to be moved where ever you want it, I've always had it on the left. Jasc has also moved some of the tool options so that instead of in an option in the old tool options palette, they're now in the tool palette on the left making it much easier to get to and use. A lot of the old dialogs have been changed also and I must say they have made a change for the better. They all are easier and more intuitive to use than in previous versions. A lot of work went into the new functionality and design of Paint Shop Pro 8. 
Along with the changes to the interface, there are many other changes that have enhanced Paint Shop Pro 8. There is a Learning Center Window that you can use to get up and going with Paint Shop Pro 8 or use it to refresh your memory about the program. Some of the new tools are: Background Eraser Brush - This new tool is really great for taking out sections of an image by replacing a selected area with transparency. Selecting a colored area is a simple as left clicking while dragging your mouse to remove color. Warp Brush - The Warp Brush is a super fun tool that allows to you quickly and easily distort portions of an image with brush strokes. Straighten Tool - Have you ever scanned a photo and no matter how many times you scan it, it just comes out crooked. Well the new straighten tool will take that image and straighten it out. It's very simple to use and you achieve terrific results with it. Enhanced Deform Tool - This new tool allows you to change an image by scale, shear, distort, rotate, and perspective. Enhanced Retouch Tools - The retouch brushes that were part of the Retouch tool in previous versions of Paint Shop Pro are now separate brushes in the tool palette. Enhanced Crop Tool - You can now choose from preset sizes for cropping images and you can also crop an image by aspect ratio. Layer Groups - You can apply effects to all layer within a group without effecting other layers below the group. Mask Layers - Masks are now separate layers instead of attributes of other layers. Tablet Options - You can vary the color, density, opacity, rotation, size and thickness of brush strokes based on pressure, tilt, altitude and more. Enhanced Selections - There is a new Edge Seeker mode that improves making a selection when running along an edge. There are new effects and filters also! They include: Black and White Points Feature - You can set the tonal range of photographs and bring out image detail without losing information. Lens Distortion Correction - This is cool. You can correct images that have that pincushion, barrel, or fisheye distorted look. Balls and Bubbles - Check this out! It takes just seconds to create balls and bubbles in which you can set transparency, light, shine, etc.   
Halftone - Create halftones with your images Soft Focus - Create glamour shots with this effect. Magnifying Lens - Too cool tool! Create a magnify effect with much effort. Lens Distortion - Create fisheye, barrel or pincushion effects Offset - Create more precise seamless patterns Seamless Tiling - Although we were able to create easy seamless tiles in previous versions of Paint Shop Pro, the new tool works much better and has more options. This is a very cool tool! Other features include Enhanced Print Layout, more file types (JPEG 2000, PDF, WBMP), EXIF photo information, WIA Support along with more new presets, scripting, enhanced batch processing and new file extensions that make them easier to recognize. And there's more, but what you really need to do is download the demo and try it out for yourself. Simply amazing! All in all I give Jasc Software a triple thumbs up for the advancements and enhancements made in Paint Shop Pro 8. I highly recommend this new version. It has terrific tools you need to create and edit images. Check out the Jasc web site for much more information on Paint Shop Pro 8. You'll be glad you did. | 