Software: Ulead PhotoImpact 12
Author: MaryLou White
Home Page: Wishing Well Tutorials

Title: Managing Your Easy Palette
Skill Level: Beginner

Description: Learn how to create your own Galleries and Libraries in the Easy Palette and how to save your work in a folder on your hard drive so they are separate from those that came with PhotoImpact. This will insure that you will not lose your work if you need to re-install the program.

WORK MODE
PhotoImpact 12 has several preset work modes. For this tutorial, we will be using the Full Edit mode so all of the tools in PhotoImpact will be available to you.

As you work, use your mouse to drag this along with you to mark your place.

LET'S GET STARTED

As you learn how to create your own objects, fill patterns, presets, etc, you will want to store them in your Easy Palette for fast access. You will need to know how to set up your Galleries and Libraries so you can store your work. That's what you will learn in this tutorial.

The Easy Palette is located in the Panel Manager on the far right side of your workspace. It is used to store fill patterns, presets, objects, effects, and more. The Easy Palette comes with a nice selection of premade items for your use but you can also add your own galleries and libraries with things that you create.

WHICH SIDE IS WHICH?
There are two tabs on the Easy Palette, the Galleries (left side) and the Libraries (right side). You can access either side by clicking on the desired tab.

The Galleries are where the various effects such as presets, bumps, fill patterns, gels, brush effects, etc. are stored, These are all things you can apply to your objects and images. You can add your own presets, fill patterns and other effects. Some things only work on path objects while others work on image objects.

The Libraries contain a nice selection of premade objects that you can use in your projects. You can also add your own objects, masks, templates, completed graphics, flowers, etc.

Don't worry about putting the wrong things on the wrong side - the program won't let you. Objects cannot go in the Galleries and effects such as presets cannot go in the Libraries

The images you see in the Easy Palette are thumbnails only. The actual images are stored in folders on your hard drive.

MANAGING THE GALLERIES
As mentioned above, the Galleries are used to store effects, presets, fill patterns, filter effects, etc. This tutorial shows you how to create your own galleries in the Easy Palette.

It is important to note that if you should have to re-install PhotoImpact for any reason, anything you store in the Easy Palette within PhotoImpact will be lost. You can prevent this from happening by storing your creations in a separate folder somewhere on your hard drive. Create a folder on your hard drive called PhotoImpact Files (or a name of your choice). This folder will be used to store the galleries that you create.

Let's create a gallery where you can store any presets that you should make.

  1. Click on the little "house" on the Galleries tab menu.
  2. Select Gallery Manager on the drop-down menu - then select Create.


    The Create Gallery dialogue box will open. This step is important so do it carefully and refer to the Create Gallery image below.

  3. In the Name Box, type in a name for your gallery. I start all mine with the word My so I know it's mine.

  4. Notice that the Folder name automatically points to the Ulead PhotoImpact folder (yours may look different than mine). However, we want to create our library in our own PhotoImpact Files folder. Click on the Browse button button and navigate to your PhotoImpact Files folder on your hard drive. Click the folder to highlight.

  5. Click the Category dropdown box and select MyGallery. All of your galleries will be created this way. Preview your screen to make sure it is set up properly, then click OK.
Look in your Easy Palette and you will see your new gallery at the bottom of the list.

Look in the PhotoImpact Files folder on your hard drive. You will see a new folder called My Presets. Inside that folder, you will find a file with an .smp extender. The .smp file is where the thumbnails in your Easy Palette gallery are stored. When you create new presets in PhotoImpact, they will automatically be stored in your new folder. If you should have to reinstall PI at some point, you can simply import the .smp file and it will restore all of your gallery files.

ADDING GROUPS TO YOUR GALLERIES

Now that you have a new gallery in the Easy Palette, you will want to add groups under that gallery. You may want categories such as Silver Presets, Suzie's Presets, etc.

The first group is called "Custom Group 1". You can re-name this to something more meaningful by right-clicking on the name and selecting Rename on the menu. You might want to call this group Golds. To add a new group, Right-click on your gallery name. Select New Group. Type in a new group name such as Plaids. Review the other options on this menu to see what else you can do with your groups. It will be worth your time as you learn more and more about PhotoImpact.

Now you're ready to add your fills, effects, presets, etc. to your Easy Palette Gallery groups - however that is not covered in this tutorial.

You may create as many galleries and groups within the main My Gallery group as you want. It's a great way to store your fill patterns, presets, effects, and more.

MANAGING THE LIBRARIES
The Libraries are used to store items you have made such as masks, objects, shapes, templates, etc. This tutorial shows you how to create your own Libraries in the Easy Palette. It's very similar to creating Galleries but with a few differences.

You should already have created a folder on your hard drive called PhotoImpact Files (or a name of your choice). This folder will be used to store the Libraries that you create. It will insure that your libraries are not saved in the Ulead folders and you won't lose them during a reinstall.

  1. Click on the little "chest" on the Libraries tab menu.
  2. Select Object Library Manager on the drop-down menu - then select Create.

    The Create Object Library dialogue box shown below will open. This step is important so do it carefully.

  3. In the Name Box, type in a name for your new Library. I start all mine with the word My so I know it's mine.

  4. Notice that the Folder name automatically points to the Ulead PhotoImpact folder (yours may look different than mine). We want to create our new library in our PhotoImpact Files folder along with our galleries. Click on the button with the three dots and navigate to your PhotoImpact folder your hard drive. Click to highlight, Click OK.

  5. You will then get a dialogue box telling you the folder does not exist and asks if you want to create one - Click Yes.

Look in your Easy Palette and you will see your new library at the bottom of the list. If you check your hard drive, you will find the a new folder with the same name. The folder will contain a .uol file with the same name.

The .uol file is where the thumbnails in your Easy Palette library are stored. If you should have to reinstall PI at some point, you can simply import the .suol file and it will restore all of your library files.

ADDING GROUPS TO YOUR LIBRARIES
Now that you have a new library in your Easy Palette, you will want to add groups under that library. You may want things such as ornaments, wreaths, masks, etc.

To add a new group, Right-click on your library name. Select New Group. Type in a new group name. You may create as many libraries as you like. Review the other options on this menu to see what else you can do with your groups.

Now you're ready to add your own objects to your Easy Palette Libraries - however that is not covered in this tutorial.

BACKING UP YOUR FILES
Since your files are now all in one main folder on your hard drive, backing up your data is easy - just back up your PhotoImpact Files folder to a CD or another hard drive. This lets you repair\reinstall PhotoImpact and your files will be safe.

Look on your hard drive and look in your PhotoImpact Files folder. You should see two folders in there. One will have a .smp file and the other will have a .uol file. These are the index files that will hold the thumbnails for your work.

You will learn how to add your own work to the libraries and galleries in other tutorials. You will also learn how to import presets, fill patterns and more.


You're invited to join the PIRC Fourm! This is an active PhotoImpact Forum where you'll find a wonderful group of warm, friendly, talented, and knowledgeable people who are ready and willing to share their expertise with you. There are creative activities for all levels of PhotoImpact users. This forum is 100% free and everyone is welcome.

Copyright© MaryLou White.
This document may not be translated, duplicated, redistributed or otherwise appropriated without permission.