Possible forum 'standard' free image/photo programme-Photofiltre

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Please evaluate if you would like to

I have been searching for some time for a free image/photo programme  that we could adopt as a forum standard, so that we can swap  info/methods/files for jobs like cutting, pasting, downloading and  manipulating graphics without spending a fortune on a commercial  product.

I have found this one

http://www.snapfiles.com/downloads/photofiltre/dlphotofiltre.html


and have used it to do all the things I need to do to produce examples  of downloaded, resized and cut-and-paste images for back-scenes and  modelling.  It opens to a zip file.

I have 'Norton' checked it and it runs through Iobit spy-ware without  any problems, so I ask if all those who are familiar with like products  to have a try-out, if it is deemed suitable I shall suggest to Senor Bob  that we adopt it.

It is reasonably intuitive to Photodraw/Photoshop users and there is a help site with tutorials.

Doug

Last edit: by Chubber


'You may share the labours of the great, but you will not share the spoil…'  Aesop's Fables

"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy" - Benjamin Franklin


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I've used photofiltre before and it is quite good and easy to get to grips with. May not be suitable for Mac users though :sad:
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I have downloaded the program and tried it Doug and it seems as good as any other, and a freebie of course. Makes sense to me if we are all talking about the same piece of software.
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"May not be suitable for Mac users though"

:cry::cry::cry::cry:

I think the Photoshop software was about £1,400 so I'm quite pleased it's not redundant!

http://dddioramas.webs.com/

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If you are looking for an image manipulation program that supports all the major platforms and is free then "The Gimp" is probably as good as any.  It's user interface is maybe a bit different but it's pretty powerful. Just a thought.

Cheers
Dave
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[user=2]Robert[/user] wrote:
I have downloaded the program and tried it Doug and it seems as good as any other, and a freebie of course. Makes sense to me if we are all talking about the same piece of software.

Hullo, Bob, thanks for your try-out. I have been trying to select a window, copy it and paste to a new document and then get it to print out consistently to the correct, i.e. demanded size with little success. I've wasted most of the day trying and re-trying, I got it to work once but not since. I shall have another try and see what happens.

Frustrated Doofer.

'You may share the labours of the great, but you will not share the spoil…'  Aesop's Fables

"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy" - Benjamin Franklin


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Hi Guys, I use http://www.faststone.org/ simple easy and free.

 

Mike:oops:
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Hullo, Mike,

I have Faststone and love it, it can

1.   download a picture of a building, like an office block

2.   crop and save to file an element such as a window

3.   allow a succinct re-size of that window to fit a scale model

4.   allow it to be printed out


BUT

unless I am being very thick you can't  put several of that window on 'one piece of paper'  together with  other slightly different windows or other element and print them all out at once.

I have even tried its facility to compile a PDF contact sheet but that is a sledgehammer and nut scenario.

I have tried saving the same window as 4 different jpegs but, again, whilst you can print multiple pictures they will each be on separate pieces of paper.

You could open a Word for Windows file, insert several text boxes and paste in the same picture into each box, only if you have a full  Word for Windows, I don't think the Word with MS Office will cope with it.

I'm off back to the drawing board!

Doug


Last edit: by Chubber


'You may share the labours of the great, but you will not share the spoil…'  Aesop's Fables

"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy" - Benjamin Franklin


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Doug

I don't know anything about faststone but I've just tried copying the same picture into a number of text boxes in word (Office 2008 for Mac) and it works fine.
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Woody, could you please try again, setting something to, say 19x15mm and seeing what you get?  I can do a copy from an open Faststone page and paste it into a word document though it does not print out at 19x15 notwithstanding I have checked all 'scaling' commands.

I'm happy using my MS Photodraw programme, but I'm trying to find a way to help people like Peter Mac without them spending £90 on a programme they may hardly ever use.

Doug

'You may share the labours of the great, but you will not share the spoil…'  Aesop's Fables

"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy" - Benjamin Franklin


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Ok I placed a text box and then inserted a picture from file, then right clicked and selected format picture. I then had options to change the size. I changed the height to 1.5cm and the width to 1.9cm and clicked ok

printed and measured and prints to correct size. click on text box and copy and then paste as many as you like. Job done

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I've loaded Office up [my poor old groaning 'pooter :lol:] and co-incidentally done the same, yes that works OK using 'Format Picture', though it's hardly intuitive and relies on having to have

a.   Something like Faststone to do the cropping [true, a good freebie]

b.   At least MS Office Word

I wonder if the slightly Pooter-phobic amongst us will do it?

I like the idea of Faststone to capture bits of downloads because you can set gamma correction 'live' and use the compare pictures function to see, for instance if all your various disparate elements are of about the same brightness.

HHhhm.  I'll have another look at some of the other freebies, thanks, Dave for the Gimp reminder, I have that too, but it's a bit of a toughy [at least for me, I found it worse than Corel Draw to pick up.

Time for a little SLW to wind down with, I think.

Doug

'You may share the labours of the great, but you will not share the spoil…'  Aesop's Fables

"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy" - Benjamin Franklin


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I tried Photonet last night as suggested, but still don't think it will be what we want. I'll keep looking.

Doug

'You may share the labours of the great, but you will not share the spoil…'  Aesop's Fables

"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy" - Benjamin Franklin


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I agree, Martin Serif page plus is brilliant. I've mentioned it here on the forum in the past.
I've used it to make background buildings. It will layer as much as you want. I did find it a bit tough to learn, and I have to say I've already forgotten how to operate it :lol:
It was a free download too.

Mike
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I'll stick with Photoshop. :)
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Thanks, Martin,

I have downloaded it and had a 5 minute play…….. [haven't you anything better to do than play with that computer…you still haven't finished clearing up the tomato bed, and there is wood to stack up, and……]


It already looks better than the others. I was a little reluctant to try it as it requires registering, promises to send you bumf etc, but during the installation there is a chance not to install toolbars for 'Ask' etc.

I'll get back to you later when I have done some of my chores!

[In 5 minutes I've managed to open a downloaded building, select and copy a window frame and save it ready to use elsewhere, hopefully]

Doug



'You may share the labours of the great, but you will not share the spoil…'  Aesop's Fables

"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy" - Benjamin Franklin


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I'm not sure I understand this conversation, in fact I suppose I am sure that I dont, but it sounds like something I could find very useful so bear with me please if I ask the following. First a photo.



I am hoping to model Exeter St Davids station and this is a shot of the gable end of the main station building. If you look at the first floor you will see two arched contraptions - they are actually not windows because they were boarded up behind them but they actually look like window frames. The front elevation has no fewer than 64 of these and with the two end ones 68. My model will have to be smaller but will still involve 44 of these window type shapes side by side. Is somebody saying therefore that with some of this software I could take the photo above, scale it down to 4mm/ft and then print it out with all 44 adjacent to each other to provide me with a template from which to work?:???:

Les

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Like this, Les?  I think one of our real eggspurts could do this in a format that York models could cut from 10 thou plasticard as an overlay…?

Doug

'You may share the labours of the great, but you will not share the spoil…'  Aesop's Fables

"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy" - Benjamin Franklin


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Which piece of software was that done in Doug?
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That was done in MicroSoft Photodraw, Bob.

Doug

'You may share the labours of the great, but you will not share the spoil…'  Aesop's Fables

"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy" - Benjamin Franklin


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