Useful PSP Info
by Maureen Williams

As you continue to work with Paint Shop Pro you will accumulate many different add-ons to enhance the basic program. If you get into good housekeeping habits early, you will find the different components much easier to find as you work with tutorials or just play with the  program.

To save putting strain on the start-up process of PSP it is advisable to save all these extras in a separate location. If you continue to add files into the Jasc Programs folder for PSP, you will find the program takes a lot longer to start-up and may be prone to locking up. This also means creating a back up of your data is much easier without saving unnecessary files. In the case of system crash all the additions you have added are safely located elsewhere and a re-installation will not affect your data.

Creating a New Location

The way I get around this is to create a mirror folder for the tubes, filters, masks etc on a separate drive if you have one or where you save your data (e.g. My Documents).  I have called my folder "Program Folders" and keep it just for additional files or add-ons. Note: In PSP version 8 this folder and the relevant sub-folders are automatically created for your in your My Documents folder and is called My PSP8 Files.

Once you have created your new folder click on  Windows Explorer  Icon and then navigate to the Jasc program folder on the C Drive. If you did a typical installation the path will be C:\Program Files\Jasc Software Inc\Paint Shop Pro 7.

Note: If you don't have a Windows Explorer icon on the Desktop go to Start, Programs and locate Windows Explorer. Right click on the file and select Create Shortcut. Left click on the Windows Explorer (2) file and drag it out onto the desktop.

Open another window in Windows Explorer  and navigate to where your new "Program Folders" folder is located. You should now have two windows open - one showing the folders in the Jasc PSP folder and another window showing your new folder with nothing in it.

Highlight the required folders in the C drive and then right click and Copy. Not all the folders are required - only make copies of the ones accessible through Preferences, File Locations as shown in the image below. 

Go to your new "Program Folders" folder, double click to open it and then Paste the copied folders into your new folder.

Some of these folders may be empty if you are just starting out. However, so we don't have duplicates of the Jasc components in your new Programs Folders location delete any shown in the C Drive location, leaving only those you have created or downloaded in your new location.

I have shown my Plugins folder here but the same principle applies with each folder.  Whenever you unzip a new zip file or get a tube, selections etc go to the relevant folder in your Programs Folder and create a new sub-solder.

As you can see, I have lots of sub-folders for each of the different plugins I have on my system!

Changing the Preferences

We now have to tell PSP where to find these new locations.  Click on Files, Preferences, File Locations.

In the File Locations window you will notice a series of tabs across the top of the window.  Click on each one of these tabs to update your new file locations.

The top line will show where your PSP main program folder is located. Tick Enable this path and the Use sub folders boxes. Ensure the Save to Path box is NOT ticked.

In the second line enter the location for your new folder. You can click on the Browse button to navigate to the new location. Tick all the boxes for this one. This will tell PSP where to find the new folder and in future, when you create your own tubes, gradients etc it will save them into this same location.

If you have another location this one can be set up in the third line. Make sure the Save to Path box at the bottom of the window is NOT ticked.

Repeat this procedure for all the other tabs, redirecting PSP to the new folder location.

Saving your Files

When I save my own files for brushes, gradients, masks, tubes etc I always prefix the file name with my initials (e.g. MW-diamondlogo.tub) so I know which ones are mine and to keep them all together in the folders. You will find when you begin to download other presets from tutorials that this is a common naming convention used by many tutorial writers.

Backup your Data

To do a backup of your data all you need to do now is save a copy of your Program Folders folder.

Zip Files

When you download a zip file from a tutorial you will be faced with a window similar to this one.
I'm using Dap Download which allows you to resume broken downloads. Although not everyone uses this utility the Windows download facility will have the same type of info located somewhere in the download box.

If you don't already have a common download folder or an efficient housekeeping system, create a new sub-folder in your My Documents location called Downloads and save all your internet downloads there. This will mean you will always be able to find where you have saved your zip file.

If you need to change the Save to location click on the Change button.

Your file locations won't look like mine but this will give you an idea what I mean.

Unzipping Files

Once you have downloaded the zip file use Windows Explorer to locate your file.

There are a number of ways to unzip files - this is how I do it. Cuts out a couple of steps.
Right click on the zip file, locate the Winzip icon and then click on Extract to here.

This will then unzip the the contents of the zip file into your folder. By doing it this way you will then be able to see what is in the file and you can then transfer the contents to where they are supposed to go.

What Goes Where?

When you unzip a file from a tutorial they will contain files with different extensions. In order for them to work properly in PSP it is necessary to transfer them to the correct folders. In some cases the tutorial writer will tell you where to unzip the files - others don't!

The following chart will show you what folder you should transfer the most common extensions to and what they are used for. If you don't already have separate folders for each of these components in Version 7 it is suggested you create one - see info at the top of this page.

In Versions 8 & 9 these additional folders are automatically created when you load PSP. They are located in My Documents in the My PSP8 Files or My PSP9 Files folder.