PROFESSIONAL Editor Required

Microsoft is downsizing, and the wonderful MDI product line is one casualty. I am looking for a replacement, but the equivalent capability is very hard to find. Capability must service 24-bit graphics on 64-bit Windows platform. Machine is built to support uncompromised graphics editing. Here are the MDI capabilities that must be replaced.

LAYERS: most professional editors offer formats that save layers that can be re-used across unlimited editing sessions. An application that reads PNG layers simplifies archive migration. Each image object is a layer that can be saved as a layer available across multiple sessions and computers for editing with our editor.

SELECTION: any image object (layer) is selected by clicking on it with any editor tool. Multiple layers can be selected and grouped, and grouped layers can be ungrouped or grouped with other groups and layer (s) and later (in any editor session) ungrouped, while preserving all properties of object layers and groups that are grouped across multiple editing sessions (see layers, above). A selection can be made at any time on any image layer (object). Selection defaults a tranparent background.

CUT AND PASTE TOOL: regardless of layer type or purpose, the cut and paste tool must be able to copy the active layer and paste that layer clipping into any open Windows application that displays graphics. Cut and paste tool can select a rectangular, elliptical or custom pixel-by-pixel or click-by-click manually drawn shape. Any selection cut and paste shape has edges feathered (smooth) by default, but cut-and-paste right-click options 0-100 pixel feathering. Any object can have any portion of its editor focus isolated using the selection tool: holding CTRL and making additional selections from the active object selects multiple parts of the object for treatment; for example, treated by subjecting the selection areas to transparency filters as outlined below. Cut-and-paste is also a simple selection tool, only performing a cut-out when user selects a default cut or copy command.

TRANSPARENCY: simply use menu or transparency tool to create a transparency. Transparency can be applied to any object or group at any time. Applying transparency to a layer group or to a vector layer converts that object to a 24-bit raster. Any image object can have transparency applied by clicking on it and selecting a transparency method. Transparency is applied to an entire selected object or to a portion of an object selected using the cut-and-paste (or selection) tool.

EVEN TRANSPARENCY METHOD: even transparency of the selected object is applied to every pixel of the selected object. A 100% even transparency turns any selected object into a 100% transparent shape and maintains the pre-transparency shape dimensions.

GRADIENT TRANSPARENCY METHOD: gradient transparency applies a gradual fade-out towards one edge or towards multiple edges of the selected object, with transparency graduated from 100% opacity to 0% opacity. Frog-eye, shape and compass oriented gradient angles are additional to left, right, up and down, and horizontal center-out and side-in gradient directions.

ARTISTIC TRANSPARENCY METHOD: a selection of artistic effects like swirl shapes are created with one-click editor object selection or by applying artistic transparency to selection (s) of any object.

TRANSPARENCY BRUSH METHOD: transparency defaults smooth edges but options user selected feathering (0 to 100 pixels). Transparency brush has heads of round, square and assorted shapes.

CLONE: a clone tool by default feathers but options user selected feathering (0 to 100 pixels). Clone brush has heads of round, square and assorted shapes.

CANVAS AND IMAGE: A canvas is the workspace containing all of the objects entered into an image project by its author or design team. An image is the rectangular shape, usually a small portion of the working canvas, where finished design elements are displayed. The canvas boundary reflects machine capability (memory and graphics hardware), while the image boundary reflects project requirements. Canvas is a larger and greater workspace. Image is refined to suit specific commercial and artistic requirements. Our editor must provide a dynamic relationship between the canvas and the image. Typically, the image boundary is maintained by a 100% transparency background layer: right clicking the ‘boundary’ transparency and selecting ‘fit image to selected object' instantly downsizes a multi-layer project’s workspace boundary to project layout, which can then be saved in a suitable distribution format. Naturally, downsizing project ‘display’, at the same time greatly reduces project display ‘size’, reducing file size. But layout saves do not in any way impact return to a full-sized workspace, including the pre-layout layers and filter edits. Undo only applies to the current team or author open file session.

CONSIDERATIONS: The above capabilities enable easy professional multi-image patching and customization beside the one-click selection (optioned, of course) choices of typical ‘sexy’ image effects offered by all so-called “professional” image editors.

Photoshop provides only a very limited professional capability; rather than provide tools like easy mouse cut and paste, forms are often used to enter numerical coordinates. Only certain kinds of Photoshop objects and only under certain conditions can have transparency and/or cut-and-paste applied using poorly organized and never project-oriented task isolated arrays of widely varying and sometimes [often] poorly performing groups of tools and layers. Photoshop user interface is an unfinished mess, as almost the entire Adobe package is compromised, replacing consistent professional editing control with sexy tweaks. I do not want an editor limited to sexy tweaks. I do art, not masturbation. I want an editor with uncompromised professional editing capability. My professional image work is strictly task oriented. [Comment on Photoshop’s blatant preference for sex over professional work is not intended to insult anyone, merely stating fact. Nor is this factual assessment of Photoshop intended to reflect in any way on the choices made by Microsoft that terminated its 'end of support' cycle for a professional image editor. Anyone reading this post is free to draw their own conclusions.]

MDI Cut-And-Paste and Transparency and Clone tools are selected with one click, and then applied to object layers with one click. One-click functionality is essential in the chosen replacement editor, even where certain required actions may breakdown original one-click tool selection into optional multi-click mouse and keyboard controls, for canvas and image management as illustrated above.

Welcome, Mark.

Are you talking about MS' MDI scanning format that was dropped from MS Office 2010?

Mike

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Originally Posted by Mark Stewart

MDI Cut-And-Paste and Transparency and Clone tools are ...

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MDI Cut-And-Paste and Transparency and Clone tools are available at all times to apply to all workspace objects (archived and/or imaged).

A PowerPoint slide can be focused on just one object leaving a fully visible workspace, as innovated in the MDI product line, but only flat mono or pre-fab color swatches can get transparency treatment: and the capability removal proceeds in that fashion. PowerPoint is NOT a graphics editor, even if it is the only alternative to MDI offered by Microsoft.

PowerPoint may just be a soiled rag thrown over MDI capability to lock down patents. Microsoft support has otherwise slammed the door in the faces of 15.3 million users of MDI product.

Who knows what Windows 8 or Office 2013 will offer, but judging by public and tech and dev forum content, things are going downhill in the direction of the German (err ... Adobe) cat house. That's economy! Microsoft has ported some of the above MDI functionality to PowerPoint, but none of the above integrated capability exists at this time in any Microsoft product.

Ok.

I have zero idea what your point is. I also have no idea what exactly your request is as regards Xara products.

One last time. Are you referring to Microsoft's MDI document imaging model?

Take care, Mike

I'm with Mike, no idea what you are on about. MDI means Multiple Document Interface where you can have multiple documents under one parent window.

Hi Bill--that was too obvious a definition.

But I remembered that there is a TIFF format spec from Microsoft that uses an MDI (Microsoft Document Imaging) extension. So that is what I was supposing here.

The posts from Mark fit neither definition.

Post count upping?

Take care, Mike

Hi Mike, I think of MODI (Microsoft Office Document Imageing) rather than MDI for that definition.

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Originally Posted by mwenz

Ok.

I have zero idea what your point is. I also have no idea what exactly your request is as regards Xara products.

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This is graphics chat forum Mike - it does not need to have anything to do xara products, and in fact you could say the whole point of this particular forum is to discuss issues that don't ...

it does sound to me more an MODI than an MDI issue

Oops. Didn't realize the section this was in. mea culpa.

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/he...006219360.aspx

Take care, Mike

no probs - we all do it every now and then :)

If the issue is the abscence of the feature in Office 2010 you can install MODI: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/982760

squirrel

Hi Mark, welcome to TalkGraphics. Like the others, I'm not exactly sure what it is you want to replace.

If by chance you are looking to replace Microsoft Expression Design then you should go to Xara.com and download a trial version of Xara Designer Pro. Xara Designer Pro is a vector drawing tool similar to Expression Design, and Xara Designer Pro also works with bitmap and can use most Photoshop standard plugins. It can also be used to make web pages. Xara will import/export PDF and does support XPS.

Xara Designer is a well rounded graphics design program - mostly a create from scratch or make edits to existing digital artwork and is not a document management program like Nuances PaperPort or a high end scanner front end/OCR tool like Hamrick Software's VueScan. Are you looking for a creation tool? Or a management tool?

If we are all off the mark here in understanding your graphics software needs are, please let us know what you want to do, - what job or need your are trying to fill instead of a feature set you are looking for. For example are you trying to go paperless? Are you trying to archive and file documents or image. Are you doing document ocr or restoration? Are you trying to tag and catalog a large collection of existing images using their metadate ? Are you trying to create new images? Are you trying to capture images?

Reading the first post I don't see the application being vector based

reference is made to selection by pixels, and as far as I can see 'vector' is only mentioned once as in respect of a 'vector layer' as opposed, presumably, to a 'normal' [ie raster] layer - in otherwords, its a 'photoshop style' requirement ... as the last but one paragraph tends to confirm

also Expression studio 4 mainstream support continues until september 2015, extended until september 2020 - it is not about to be shut down

@Mark

I am not sure what you mean by this:

Quote:

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things are going downhill in the direction of the German (err ... Adobe) cat house

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but, together with some things you said in post #1, it does make me think that maybe Frank has a point ;)

... I see Mark has xara photo and graphic designer 2013 in his profile...