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I was disappointed to see a non-standard interface in a Windows program from Microsoft.
 technofile
Al Fasoldt's reviews and commentaries, continuously available online since 1983

T e c h n o f i l e
Photo editing bonanza: Microsoft's new image editor and two plugins for resizing and rescaling


April 18, 2004


By Al Fasoldt
Copyright © 2004, Al Fasoldt
Copyright © 2004, The Post-Standard

   Image-editing software is finally growing up. I've been using a powerful new digital photo editing program from Microsoft for a few weeks and I'm very impressed. I've also tried two programs that will let you make poster-size prints without the "jagged-edge" look.
   Microsoft sent me Digital Image Suite 9, which comes with two imaging programs -- Digital Image Library, for managing and archiving photos, and Digital Image Pro, for editing photos. I installed Digital Image Suite 9 under Windows 2000. Microsoft says the software runs on any version of Windows except Windows 95. When I ran it on a 256-megabyte PC, it seemed a little slow. It ran quickly when the PC had at least 512 megabytes of memory. The suite won't run on Macs.
   Digital Image Suite 9 lists for $129, but Microsoft is currently offering a $60 rebate to compete with Adobe's industry-leading Photoshop Elements 2.0 software ($80 list). If you don't see it at your local software store, you can order it directly from Microsoft at www.microsoft.com/products/imaging.
   The Digital Image Library was unimpressive, so I uninstalled it after working with it for a few minutes. It's no match for the standard or professional versions of iView Media (www.iview-multimedia.com), which I recommend for serious image management and archiving. (See my reviews by using IVIEW in my site's search form. Go to http://aroundcny.com/technofile.)
   But Microsoft's Digital Image Pro, the photo editing software that comes with the suite, is a delight. It has one major flaw, which I'll explain shortly, but is otherwise easy to use and full of features. It has dozens of photo effects and photo-fixing functions of its own, and can even use Photoshop plugins seamlessly. (Many Photoshop plugins are free. Use PHOTOSHOP as the search term on my site for my report on this.)
   The singular flaw in Digital Image Pro is the program's unnecessarily confusing interface. I was disappointed to see a non-standard interface in a Windows program from Microsoft. I'm sure Microsoft was trying to make its software simple to use without losing any of its considerable power, but it probably should take a few pointers from Apple in this regard. Apple's iPhoto software is unmatched in its interface design.
   But once you learn how it works, Digital Image Pro shines. By default, the program tries to save images as PNG files -- a great idea, because it avoids the problems of image degradation inherent in JPEG images. But be careful if you regularly share your photos by e-mail; computer users who have never upgraded their old PCs or Macs might not be able to view PNGs.
   The two resizing programs are Resize Magic, for Windows only ($30, from www.fsoft.it/imaging/en) and Shortcut PhotoZoom, available in both standard and "Pro" versions from www.trulyphotomagic.com, for both Macintosh OS X computers and Windows PCs. The standard version costs $49; the "Pro" version, highly recommended, is $129.
   Resize Magic is an old friend. I've used it as a stand-alone program for years. The new version is a Photoshop-compatible plugin, and will work within any image editor that supports such plugins. (Microsoft's Digital Image Pro and Adobe Photoshop Elements 2.0 are two good image editors that can use Photoshop plugins. There are dozens of others.)
   The new version does a much better job resizing and rescaling images larger and smaller than the built-in resizing methods in most photo editors. It's also very easy to use.
   Likewise, Shortcut PhotoZoom and Shortcut PhotoZoom Pro are also easy to use and also do well eliminating pixelizaton and the "jaggies" when resizing images. I tested the "Pro" version on Mac OS X and found only one quirk: The software insisted on sharpening images by default. Be sure to turn off that function. Sharpening should be left to the last step in photo editing, not to any resizing or rescaling operations.
   My only other complaint about PhotoZoom is its full name. "Shortcut" should never be part of a program's name because the term is too easily confused with an actual file shortcut. (All items in the Start Menu in Windows and most icons on a Windows desktop are shortcuts.) PhotoZoom comes from a company named Shortcut Software Development in Arnhem, The Netherlands. I urge the folks at Shortcut Development to continue their excellent software work -- under a less confusing name.