Altering a photo matte

[Goldie]

I wonder if someone could tell me how to alter the edges of a matte that will back a photograph in a scrapbook layout. Right now the graphic is in .png format and I would like to make the edges look either pinked, scalloped or weathered. Does anybody know how to do this.

Any feedback will be appreciated.

[Goldie]

I wonder if someone could tell me how to alter the edges of a matte that will back a photograph in a scrapbook layout. Right now the graphic is in .png format and I would like to make the edges look either pinked, scalloped or weathered. Does anybody know how to do this.

Any feedback will be appreciated.

[Grafixman]

If you mean modifying the shape of the image's transparency, there are various ways of doing this in PhotoImpact.
One is to use the 2D path tool. If you are familiar with working with bezier curves, you can create your shape with the bezier tool, then choose the Selection option from the 2D, 3D,etc, dropdown box. Select the image with the Pick tool, invert the selection and delete the excess parts.
Another way is to use the mask mode. With the image selected, click the mask icon, and paint the areas you want to delete with black using any paintbrush you want. Clicking the mask icon again returns you to normal mode and the areas you painted black should become invisible.
The second method works much like using the object eraser tool, which you could also use to modify the edges of your png image. The advantage of using the mask mode is that more brush type is available so you could achieve a greater variety of edge styles than the object eraser tool.
You could also try clicking on the premade mask designs in the Easy pallette. This loads the designs as selections which you could drag and resize to fit your image. Then you could invert the selection and delete the excess parts.
Play with PI some more and you'll undoubtedly discover more ways of doing this.
Or visit this:
http://www.eastofthesun.com/pi5/masks.htm
Stephanie's tutorials would help you learn a lot in using PI.
Her site:
http://www.eastofthesun.com/
Click on the PI Tutorial Archives. Even earlier versions' tutorials are invaluable.

[Goldie]

Thanks, I will try your suggestions. I use PIXL but have been thinking of upgrading to PI10. I have a lot of memory issues with this program and am wondering if all versions do the same thing or is this just a glitch in XL.