Mac

Windows

Running Windows 3.x? Some applications may require the win32s 32-bit extensions in order to run in Windows 3.x. If you haven't already got win32s installed, click here to set it up. Or wait, and if you have problems with a Win 3.x application, install win32s then.

Expires after 15 days

Ulead's top-notch GIF animation program will help bring some sparkle to your Web pages, without their grinding to a halt. See also Cool3D in the Multimedia section...

Web link: www.webutilities.com

This fully functional demo expires after 20 hours use

Totally Hip's WebPainter is a vector and bitmap animation tool aimed at the Flash market. The floating toolbox and palettes plus the layered storyboard metaphor will be familiar to Photoshop and PhotoAnimator users. WebPainter creates a variety of Web file formats including animated GIFs, AVIs and QuickTime movies. It features 'onion skins', tweening, transition effects and filtering.

Requires Apple QuickTime 3 (go to the Multimedia page if you need to install...).

Web link: www.totallyhip.com

Trying to match up colours for your Web pages? Load Eyedropper from the Windows Taskbar and a magnifying tool attaches itself to your mouse pointer. Move your mouse around and this handy tool reveals the RGB or hexadecimal value of any pixel.

Web link: www.inetia.com/eyedroppereng.asp

Nendo is a 3D modelling and painting package that uses a digital clay environment with an interface that's simple enough for a novice and powerful enough for a pro. Nendo comes with a large selection of textures and exports VRML files as well as 3D Studio, Lightwave and Direct X formats.

Web link: www.nichimen.com

An image management and viewing solution built on a relational database that stores a reference to all the images in your collection and allows you to assign multiple attributes (keywords) or descriptions to them for performing Boolean searches. Creates HTML thumbnail indexes for you to view with a Web browser or publish to the Internet.

Web link: www.xequte.com/smartpix.html

Shareware limited to 30 days use.

Create graphics that hog less Web bandwidth. This program lets you eliminate the hassle of repeatedly making changes to your graphics, saving them, loading them, and then undoing the changes until you find the best settings. Instantly see changes to your images (adjustments to compression ratio, colour depth, dithering, colour palette, etc.) in real time. You can also quickly compare up to five variations of a file.

Version 4 adds 3D text, improved compression and a preview feature for all image manipulation.

Web link: http://WebOpt.com

ThumbsPlus
v3
(W3.x)

Award-winning ThumbsPlus is a great help for keeping control over all the graphics used within a Web site. It displays a small thumbnail of each graphic file in a folder, handling many graphic file formats, fonts and animations, and can launch your graphics editor, move files to different folders, create slideshows and convert files into other formats in batch jobs.

Web link: www.cerious.com

We bring you a selection of plugin filters suitable for use with Adobe Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro and other compatible graphics applications.

Copy the plugins to your compatible graphics program's plugins or filters folder – you will usually need to restart your program for the plugins to become available.

• AFH Beveler – add nice beveled sides to your images (see the readme...)
  software/windows/graphics/pspplugs/afhbevel

• NVR BorderMania 3.0 – create a variety of border effects (see the readme...)
  software/windows/graphics/pspplugs/borders

• Johann's Filters – generate patterns and blurs (see the readme...)
  software/windows/graphics/pspplugs/johann filters

• MediaSpark Filters – edge effects including vignets
  software/windows/graphics/pspplugs/spark
  Web link: www.mediaspark.com

• Plugin Manager v2 – now you'll need something to organise all those plugins (after the 30-day trial period the program will stop functioning) (see the readme...)
  software/windows/graphics/pspplugs/plugin manager/setup.exe

Recently updated

JPEG Optimizer is an excellent image compressor, giving you a lot of control over the quality and file size of images. The many options include the ability to apply different compression levels to selected areas of an image. If you need to apply the same compression to many images, use batch mode.

Web link: www.xat.com

FilterFormula is an Adobe-compatible meta-plugin filter (also works with PSP and Corel PhotoPaint) that allows you to create image filters by using a syntax similar to the 'C' programming language.

This shareware version has some restrictions.

Web link: ATS/Graphics

Paint Shop Pro
v3.11
(Win 3.x)

JASC's Paint Shop Pro is becoming more and more a serious contender in the graphics software market. Now into version 5 (released for Windows 95 in April), it comes as close as you could expect to doing the magic of Adobe Photoshop and is indeed compatible with most Photoshop plugins and has some additional tricks up its sleeve. Have a go with this evaluation version.

Web link: www.jasc.com

Mac OS

NOTE: The Mac programs on this CD are mostly in archived 'HQX' (BinHex) files – they can be extracted with several applications, including Stuffit Expander (which is on the CD...). Clicking on the links below should set the process in motion. You may receive a message that the file cannot be loaded into Simple Text — if so, start Stuffit and then open the HQX file you want from within Stuffit.

Totally Hip's WebPainter is a vector and bitmap animation tool aimed at the Flash market. The floating toolbox and palettes plus the layered storyboard metaphor will be familiar to Photoshop and PhotoAnimator users. WebPainter creates a variety of Web file formats including animated GIFs, AVIs and QuickTime movies. It features 'onion skins', tweening, transition effects and filtering.

Web link: www.totallyhip.com

The six Photoshop (and compatible) plug-ins included in WebVise Totality are graphic tools for the Web – you get WebVise GIF and WebVise JPEG compression engines, a powerful GIF Animator, digital watermarking software, a hybrid colour engine, and an optimized dithering engine capable of reproducing any colour accurately on the Web.

This demo version allows seven GIF, seven JPEG and seven animation uses.

PhotoGIF lets you create and edit GIF files and is ideal for creating Web graphics. This tool is a plug-in for use with Adobe Photoshop or other compatible programs. This version fixes bugs, improves the interface and includes the PhotoGIF Filter for better integration with Photoshop-compatible image editors.

The unregistered version does not allow you to save files.

Here are some sets of more plug-in filters suitable for use with Adobe Photoshop and other compatible graphics applications.

Unpack the HQX files (using Stuffit Expander or similar) and copy the plugins to your compatible graphics program's plugins or filters folder – you will usually need to restart your program for the plugins to become available.

• Photoshop Dither Filters – implements two dithering algorithms that are optimised for printing on laser printers
  software/mac/graphics/pshop_plugins/dither filters
  /ditherfilters-1.8.cpt.hqx

• MediaSpark Filters – edge effects including vignets
  software/mac/graphics/pshop_plugins
  /media spark/filters.sea.hqx
  Web link: www.mediaspark.com

(Recently updated)

Graphic Converter converts graphics... simple! Make various adjustments and save/convert images in a wide range of file formats. The program includes high-end editing tools for graphic manipulation, as well as the ability to use Photoshop-compatible plug-ins. It also offers batch conversion and slide show capabilities.

LightningDraw/WEB is the latest addition to the award-winning LightningDraw family of products. The program is specifically designed for creating fast-loading, space-efficient graphics for the Web, and is the first product to support compact vector media within QuickTime 3.

LightningDraw/WEB has a wide range of powerful drawing and typography tools that will enable you to add sophisticated enhancements to your Web pages.

DeBabelizer specialises in graphics file conversion, both of content and between different formats, including powerful batch processing. The Lite version has a reduced features list compared to the full version 3. See the Equilibrium Web site for more information.

Web link: www.equilibrium.com