[sommar]

I have been using DIP for a few years & find it does everything I need to do. I am finding that most of the tutorials here are for PSE or PS. I have PSE & a set of tutorials. It seems that there are several steps to accomplish the same things in DIP which are only taking maybe 1 step. I do realize DIP has been discontinued & wonder if I need to 'make' myself learn to use PSE so I won't be left behind. I also wonder if a software program has a life span & that someday & will find my program no longer works. I would like to participate in some of the classes here but don't think I can because of the program I am using.Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

[sheriL]

I started out in DIP, and I did love it. There are some things that seem more labor instensive in pse when you first start, but once you get used to it, it becomes second nature.
As I"ve gotten into pse, I've found it seems to have so much more potential. I actually gave my DIP to my mom, and she's having fun, but when I'm helping her with things, I get a little frustrated because it doesn't work quite like I think it should.
THe other bonus of pse is that it is more widely used, so there are a lot more things available (turtorials, tools, plugins). for it.

[bj7777]

Hi Sommar:

I am new to Scrap Girls as well. I also have used Microsoft Digital Imaging and have been happy with that program. Every time I used PE in the past, I'd go right back to Digital Imaging because it was a great program, excellent results, and user friendly. I just switched to a MAC and determined that I would go ahead and learn Adobe Photoshop Elements 6, a program I've been reluctant to try because its logic to me was very confusing. It seems to be the standard.

I purchased Rozanne Paxman's "Scrapbook Software, Secrets Revealed!" and downloaded the tutorials from Scrap Girls to learn as much about photoshop and scrapbook editing. I am very pleased. My learning curve was slow. After sticking with it, I really am finding it a more versatile program and fun to use. I have found this PSE has many more creative options.....but I totally agree with you. There are several more steps to accomplish the same thing---I've often wondered why PSE doesn't make that part of their program more efficient.

My suggestion would be to go ahead and make the change when you have time to enjoy learning its nuances. Good luck and welcome.

[sommar]

Thanks for these comments. I was happy to see that I am not the only one who feels this way. I do see that I need to try to "like" PSE in order to move on & participate in the classes etc. By chance, I know I will find new & fun techniques to try.

[PBarnes]

I haven't ever used DIP so I can't answer your first question with any authority. I would think that PSE has become the standard for some reason, and that reason might be that it offers the most capabilities with a reasonable ease of use. Thats just a guess. There are a lot of digital scrappers that use Paint Shop Pro too and swear by it.

For the classes here, you might contact the teacher of the class you are interested in and see if they know anything about DIP and could help you with some program specific instructions.

In response to the question about a program's life, I think that is usually only a problem when you are upgrading your computer's operating system. Sometimes older programs won't work with newer OSs. Otherwise, I can't think of a reason that a program would stop working unless it has a bug that would cause it to go haywire.

[TrixyA]

PBarnes, on May 28 2008, 10:41 AM, said:

... In response to the question about a program's life, I think that is usually only a problem when you are upgrading your computer's operating system. Sometimes older programs won't work with newer OSs. ...

Even uploading an upgrade or service pack to your existing OS can cause trouble with old software. My DH "helped me out" once by uploading all of the service packs to my "XP" OS, then left for six weeks (traveling on business). He didn't tell me he had done so and my MS-Office-97 no longer functioned. It took me a while to figure out what happened.

I have no experience with DIP, but love PSP. Sometimes when I read tutorials on PSE/PS, it seems like more work is needed on a lot of their functions. (I'm sure the reverse is true for other functions though.)

[lovinthedigithing]

I have DIP and am scared of PS LOL! But I only have the starter version and can't do shadowing properly or use templates. Can DIP (normal version) use templates? That's something I would like to get into.

[Kimberli]

I am very new to digital scrapbooking but have used DIP to edit my pictures and found it very user friendly. I also have PSE 6.0 but feel very overwhelmed when I try to do anything in there. I will be trying to get used to it with the help of the great people here. I am so excited and nervous to be starting this journey but it will be worth it in the long run.

[Ro]

Hey guys,

The reasons that I didn't do tutorials for DIP include:

1. It is obsolete. Even before it had been obsoleted, I learned (through several customer surveys) that very few digital scrapbookers use it. It wouldn't have been cost effective for me to do one, under the circumstances, because putting together a Secrets program is very labor intensive work.

2. DIP doesn't have the ability to use a lot of the fun snapins... or it uses them in a way that isn't intended. For instance, you can purchase brushes and shapes because we sell them with the PNGS, but you can't actually brush with them and as a result, you miss out on the experience of brushing, which is amazing. It doesn't use actions and styles and those are some of the most fun products of all. And while you can use templates pretty well, the experience is completely different.

3. DIP doesn't save images in a web format correctly. For some odd reason, it pixelates the images slightly. You can tell it because of what it does to the font work. A lot of the time, the text is hard to read because of the loss of clarity. When we first started the company and people were using it more, I could instantly tell who had created a layout via DIP. We had a couple of designers that used it and I had to make them get PSE to save their images out because DIP made it so that the products (and their associated layouts) didn't look like they were built right. We really work hard to present beautiful images for you to look at and DIP created problems.

It does have some user-friendly features and it is easier to get going with. However, the Secrets tutorials will get you going in PSE fast. Kimerli, there is a version for PSE 6. It's actually my favorite issue (most current, too) because I provide you with a kit so you can make the first layout I demonstrate without trying to figure out what things you will use. I also provide an eBook that allows you to find any topic in the program easily. I'm planning to do future versions this way because it has been so helpful to people. Most people can create layouts after 60 minutes or so with it... sometimes less. A few people need to review the movies more, but because they are short one-topic movies, it is easy to do that.

I thoroughly researched DIP before I decided. I actually bought it, installed it, and used it. That is why we have a limited number of DIP tutorials. I wanted to give people some basics about modifying the use of the products in DIP.

Hope that helps!

[Silly]

I used DIP initially too and loved it's ease of use and features but soon found it limiting especially for, as Ro said, brushes.

When I bought my MAC I was forced to go with another software and decided to start with PSE4 which was the only one available for MAC at the time. I've since upgraded to PSE6. Although there are things I miss about DIP, I found having used it made the transition easier - the layers work similarly as do the actions. .

I think if you get into the tutorials and try it in baby steps, you'll find that it really isn't that overwhelming.