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From:Nova Development US
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See Product Page
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User Rating: Amazon Sales Rank:#202 |
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 Average Scrapbooking Program, 2008-10-05
I have used this program for about a month now. The graphics are so-so and sometimes the program bogs down because of all of the large files it uses, but overall it is user friendly and accomplishes the task. There are a few things that I specifically don't like about it. One is that when you stretch an item to make it fit there is no option to retain the integrity of the design. The other is that when adding pages to a project, the more pages you add the slower the program works. I like that I can use my own graphics, but importing them into the program also takes time. I would really like a program where I could import everything I want to use in a tray or something and then transfer them easily to the project rather than having to go in and out of the project page everytime I want to add something. Even though it has its quirks, I would recommend this to anyone that is just learning to do digital scrapbooking. For the most part it works!
It's OK, it works, 2008-10-03
My main purpose for this product is creating high quality jpgs which this product does nicely. Just remember to go into "jpg options" in the Export function and increase the quality to 100%. I use my jpgs to make photobooks.
What it doesn't have is good layer support (it has some, but very limited).
It also has a bug with editing their graphics & embellishments that results in diagonal lines across the objects - so if you use their clip art, frames, borders, etc, don't try to edit them (don't change their color, but you can resize them). I've reported the bug & they said there's no fix yet. I noted one of the other reviewers here from April said they also reported the bug "4 months ago", so the bug has been known for quite a while.
One thing I'd like to see in this program is more support for custom templates. You can use their templates or you can create your own, but there's no good way to get your own custom-made template from one project into another. The only way to reuse it is to save it as its own project, then "Save As" to your new project name every time you want to reuse it. I'd like the ability to select my own template when I add a new page, but that feature is not available.
I'm going to give PhotoShop Elements a try and see if I like it better, but if not, this works.
 Missing crucial features--workspace problems, crop problems, etc, 2008-09-27
If you put a large graphic on the workspace, and it extends off the edge of the "page", the edge of the page gets lost under the graphic. I prefer to know where the edge of the page is so that I don't design a bunch of stuff only to find it is off in no-man's land somewhere to the left of where the page actually is. To remedy this problem you have to set guidelines to indicate where the page begins and ends, which is not a big deal...but it sure would be nicer if the graphics slipped under the "mat" that surrounds the "page" instead of just blopping off to the left or right. Know what I mean?
Background images always stretch to fit. So if you use an 8.5 x 11 image on a 12 x 12 layout, it will distort. I'd rather the option to expand the smaller image and "lose" some of it off the bottom or top of the page than have it distorted. You can get around this problem by treating background images like regular embellishments, but then you run into the problem I wrote about in paragraph one. Then it gets confusing because you only have this little tiny pixel-wide guideline telling you where the page REALLY begins and ends.
I can't figure out how to pin images down or lock them down or whatever you want to call it. I've hunted through the paper guidebook and the online guidebook that comes with this thing. Can't figure it out. I don't think this feature is available. This is a big problem, especially if you've chosen to avoid the background problem in the way I described in paragraph 2!
But here is my biggest problem and it was at this point that I decided to trash this program--you can't crop a picture and maintain aspect ratio. If you want a page with three pictures on it, and you want them all the same size and shape...well, you can't do it. Or if you can, the way to do it is so deeply hidden in the program that it's unfindable by me. You can crop the picture, but the cropping rectangle will get taller or shorter as you drag it inward, unless you're a robot with the steadiest hands on the planet. Holding down the shift key doesn't maintain the aspect ratio. There is no checkbox to click to make it maintain ratio. There isn't even a set of boxes where you can look to see what the dimensions of the photo now are! If there were, you could at least say, "Oh, well this photo measures blah by blah, I'll just make sure all the others say that same measurement."
The back of the box says you can return it within 90 days to their main headquarters. I'll be doing so. It's missing too many features for me to use it.
 best scrapbook for digital photos, 2008-09-18
this is the best program. I have a lot of digital photos. I don't have a lot of time to get them all developed so they are all sitting in disks. This program is so easy to take those pictures off that disk and put a page together and throw them into a binder and there is a brag book
I used to do the scrapbooking thing and that was alot of fun but the supplies cost so much. This is one cost and the cost of paper. You can get so detailed or have a simple page. My daughter is 7 and she loves it. She makes one page and then prints one for all of her friends. I had the windows regular version and this time I got the vista version and they are both easy to get going. If you have a craving for scrapbooking and not alot of time this is the best!!!!!
DVD swap for CD - Big problems!!, 2008-09-18
I didn't get to try this program because I needed CD's rather than a DVD. After mailing the card for a replacement, it has been 5 weeks and after e-mailing once and calling Nova Development twice, I have been told that they have no record of receiving the DVD. Amazon has refunded my purchase and I only have a box and an instruction booklet to return to them at this time. I ordered Photoshop Elements 6 from Amazon a couple of days ago. Bad experience with Nova.
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