Software from A to Z

A: Audio Software	B: Business Software	C: Converting Software	D: Dictation Software
E: Easy Software	F: FTP Software	G: Graphics Software	H: Hardware
I: International	J: Jamming Software	K: Keep (Protect & Save)	L: Live Broadcasting
M: Mobile Software	N: New Programs	O: Optimize	P: PDF Software
Q: Quick	R: Recording Software	S: Social Sharing	T: Typing Software
U: Utility Software	V: Video Software	W: Web Access	X: eXpress
Y: YouTube Software	Z: Zip Software

Fast and Free Photo Red-Eye Removal

We've all seen it—those glowing or red eyes on an otherwise great photo. There are numerous solutions out there to correct this common problem, but if that is all you want to do, you don't want to spend a lot or be forced to learn about photo editing and navigation in a fancy photo program. PhotoPad photo editor is free and user-friendly, and will help you remove all the red eyes from your pictures, and more.

To eliminate those red eyes, click the Red-Eye button on the Effects tab, then click the red spot on your photo. A blue circle will appear, and you can adjust the circle size by dragging the edge, or move the circle around by clicking inside the circle and dragging. For greater accuracy, zoom in on the eye first. That's all there is to it. Download PhotoPad to try it out and explore the other easy-to-use photo touch-up features.

G is for Graphics

NCH Software ABCs Series

Graphics, photos, pictures and images: we are a very visual society between the tv and media we consume, to the pictures we share online. NCH graphics, image and photo software is available to help you edit photos, convert image formats or add pictures to other projects with software like Disketch CD and DVD labeling software to add that finishing visual touch to your discs.

Also included in our graphics software are some programs that might not immediately jump to mind because they are used in a business environment. Our graphics team also works on Barillo barcode generator and CardWorks business card software. Graphics are important not only in media but also in a professional setting, and we plan to expand the graphic tools we offer in the future to include even more useful applications. For example, we are currently in the early stages of development on a program for creating flow charts and diagrams. Our current range of graphics software includes:

• Barillo barcode generator
  
• CardWorks business card software
  
• Disketch CD DVD label software
  
• PhotoPad photo editing software
  
• Pixillion image converter
  

<<< Previous: F is for FTP

Next: H is for Hardware >>>

NCH Software ABCs

We have put together a series of posts looking at many different aspects of NCH Software and what you can do with software. The gimmick is an A-Z tour of our software, but we�re confident it will thoroughly introduce you these different facets of the NCH Software world.

A is for Audio B is for Business C is for Converters D is for Dictation E is for Easy F is for FTP G is for Graphics H is for Hardware I is for International J is for Jams K is for Keep L is for Live M is for Mobile N is for New O is for Optimize P is for PDF Q is for Quick R is for Recording S is for Sharing T is for Typing U is for Utilities V is for Video W is for Web Access X is for eXpress Y is for YouTube Z is for Zip

First: A is for Audio >>>

Don't Panic, Photo Recovery Software

If you take a lot of photos, you have probably experienced that moment of panic when you connect one of your memory cards to your computer and you don't see anything there. Where could the photos be? Oh no! This should have lots of pictures from my vacation to Bali and my daughter�s ballet recital on it! What happened?!? First make sure you are looking at the right memory card, and if you are, before you mourn the loss of those photos, there still might be hope.

When electronic files get "deleted," whether they were on a memory card or a hard disk, the space they occupy is typically only flagged as free to have something else saved there. So recovering a "deleted" or "missing" file is only a matter of using a program like Orion Photo Recovery Software to scan for the pictures that have been mistakenly flagged as free space. With Orion, you can search your computer or any external device, such as a memory card or your camera, for these files, restoring them to their former visible glory for you to share, print and save.

Create Your Own Photo Mosaics for the Holidays

Give a unique and personalized gift this holiday season as well as share and preserve memories, make a photo mosaic image with PhotoPad photo editing software. The photo mosaic feature is similar to the collage feature but it builds a larger, composite image out of your photo collection using many small images. Unlike the mosaic posters and photos you may have seen on sale at the mall, the mosaics you make with PhotoPad can contain dozens of pictures all of your family and friends.

This a really fun tool to play with since there are a lot of different options and settings to experiment with as you edit the photo mosaic to get the results you want. You can change the numbers of tiles, swap out the template image which is the "big picture," change the folder that the tile images will be taken from, and the size of the image. I changed the background color of the image and made the mosaic smaller to add border around my mosaic.

On the Insert tab of PhotoPad's menu, click the mosaic button and select the image that will be used as the template for the mosaic. The level of detail in the mosaic is proportional to the number of images in the Tile Collection folder and the number of tile columns and rows specified in the Mosaic Image Properties. The default amount of tiles is rather low, so I recommend increasing the initial numbers. I also encountered mixed results when I only had 20 images in my Tile Collection folder. I saw a much greater variation in my final mosaic image when I had dozens of images in the Tile Collection folder, so make sure you give PhotoPad a good variety of photos to choose from.

PhotoPad is free, so download PhotoPad today and try out the mosaic feature. And if you like PhotoPad, check out more of our software gift ideas including PhotoStage slideshow software for another fun way to combine your photos into a unique and personal gift.

Wedding Slideshow Creation with PhotoStage

One of the the truly wonderful things about PhotoStage slideshow software is that it can be used for so many different things. We've had stories in our blog about making stop-motion videos, digital storytelling, making a music video and more. PhotoStage is ideal for preserving memories of all kinds of events, and one of the big events that more and more users are beginning to use PhotoStage for is making a wedding slideshow to share with friends, family, guests and more.

The Daily Wedding Blog recently wrote about creating wedding slideshows with PhotoStage as a digital addition to the traditional framed photo and photo album that couple keeps. Just one of the great things about putting together a slideshow is how easy they are to share, whether you post the finished slideshow to Facebook or burn them to a DVD and send them out with your thank yous. The possibilities are endless and there is no reason to limit yourself. You may only get one wedding album, but there is no reason you can't make multiple wedding slideshows, maybe one for the bridesmaids that also includes pictures from the bachelorette party and another version for the groomsmen. If you're getting married we hope you will use PhotoStage for making wedding slideshows, and for more inspiration and tips on planning a wedding without breaking the bank visit the Daily Wedding Blog.

Slideshow Software Doesn�t Have to Be Difficult

As further proof that PhotoStage is the best slideshow software, we can now add a 5 star review from the editors at CNET to its accolades. We strive to make our software easy and intuitive and were thrilled to have the editors comment that "PhotoStage Slideshow Producer shows that slideshow makers don't need to be difficult to use to produce great results," and going on to say:

"We were pleasantly surprised to find that PhotoStage offers a narration feature that let us add our own music to our slideshow; you can even record your own voice, if you have a microphone. The Save step gave us numerous options for saving our newly created slideshow, including saving it as a Flash file, DVD movie, or a data disc, or we could save it to our hard drive or portable device. It took a few seconds to save, but in no time, we were able to play our newly created slideshow back. PhotoStage Slideshow Producer will appeal to users of all skill levels."

� CNET

You can read the complete review of PhotoStage Slideshow Software on download.com, or download it now to get started making your own slideshow presentations right away.

Pixillion Mac Image Converter Software

One of the things NCH is best known for is our converting software. Take virtually any audio file and make it an mp3 for your iPod with Switch MP3 Converter, and not being able to watch a video on your computer is never a problem when you have Prism Video Converter. Video files in particular used to plague me at home on my Mac because of platform compatibility issues. Now Mac users can add another converter to their arsenal with Pixillion Image Converter which recently had its first Mac release.

What makes Pixillion great is that it isn't just another conversion program, additional options allow you crop, resize, rotate and compress your digital photos during conversion. And for any photographers out there not only can you batch convert but you can add watermarks to protect your images as well. So if you have photos, and we know you do, take a look at Pixillion Image Converter to help you reformat your pictures.

Web Designers: Why You Don�t Need DreamWeaver

DreamWeaver is supposed to be a one-stop shop for web design. The package offer is very tempting to the beginning web designer in search of web-design training wheels, or even the small business owner who is comfortable working with HTML but needs help with everything else. But unless you can get DreamWeaver as part of a larger Adobe Suite, buying it alone is hardly worth it. Here, we break down the stages of designing a basic website and show how to avoid paying hundreds of dollars for something you really don�t need.

Concept Design

Obviously, the first place to start is with a paper and pencil. If you�re putting a site together for a client, ask as many questions about their design aesthetic as you can think of. If the site is for you or your business, make sure you cover all the functionality you need. Jot down the structure of the website as a chart or on separate pages. Plan everything out before you go to the computer.

Cost of Concept Design: $0

Graphic Layout

Not only is it nice to see what the site will look like before you do all the hard work, but a good digital mockup of your site will be easy to slice up for the images you�ll put in the code. Many designers use PhotoShop, but if your site doesn�t need to do back-flips and speak Martian, you can easily get away with using a more basic image editor.

PhotoPad Image Editor allows you to work with digital pictures, resize, and edit as you need for your website, then save in a web-friendly format. You can also add text and get a good feel for the layout you�ll be building into the site.

Cost of Graphic Layout: $0

To the Trenches: the Text Editor

This is where I geek out, so there�s no way I want a program that is going to do the coding for me! And the sooner you can wean yourself off the idea that web design can happen like any WYSIWYG word processor, the better. Plain and simple, you will have to know HTML and CSS to build a website. Once you�re comfortable with these two peas in a pod, any text editor will do. You want a fancy one, you say? Sure! Get one that color codes your tags for easy readability. Go big, but be sure to go free. There are several free, quality text editors out there that are more than qualified for this job.

Cost of Text Editor: $0

Test, Test, Test

Testing is a matter of opening your .html files in a browser and making sure they don�t look funny. And last time I checked, browser downloads are free.

Cost of Browsers for Testing: $0

FTP to Your Web Host

Your website is ready for the big time, finally! But how to get it off your local machine, and out into the World Wide Web? FTP, of course. You�ll do yourself a favor to find one that is easy to use, reliable, and can guide you through the initial setup with your web host.

Classic FTP is all of these. It has an intuitive interface that doesn�t get in the way of the functionality, and it stores your connection settings so that making updates to your site later on is absolutely painless.

Cost of FTP Software: about $45

There you have it. Web design without DreamWeaver, for a highly reasonable price. Try it. You�ll probably like saving money and getting just as much accomplished in the meantime.

PhotoPad: Proving that Change Can be Good

PhotoPad Image and Photo Editor has a new look. It now uses tabs to sort the categories of features, effects, and filters to make more efficient use of the toolbar. Each time you click a new tab, the toolbar displays the options associated with that tab:



Remember when we first started seeing tabs in our Internet browser windows? At first we had to get over the impulse to keep numerous windows open and play the memory game with the task bar, but we recognized the convenience they provided us. Now we�re getting used to tabs atop some programs, such as Word and Excel, which Microsoft calls a ribbon. The initial change was stilting to those of us who had become experts at navigating the labyrinth of menus and options, but we�re starting to get used to this change too.

My point is, even though we resist it, without change we wouldn�t grow and develop.

When developing software, the rule of thumb is to stick with what people are comfortable with, or what they are used to seeing. That way, people won�t spend too much time looking around the interface before they can actually start using their new program. Another rule of thumb is to do what is best for your users. Sometimes these rules clash, and decisions have to be made. That�s what happened with PhotoPad.

PhotoPad is a product with lots of features, options, and cool buttons. Imagine all the possible photo manipulations there are, and then imagine designing a program that will organize all those features into the most user-friendly way possible. Then imagine that you are going to add features to the program over time, and need to plan for where those features might go. Enter tabs. They allow us to display many more options along the toolbar than one static toolbar would.

I know a lot of you are dubious. If you never got used to the Microsoft ribbon, and you really miss the menus. But believe me, everything that was in the menu is now on this tab, and the tabs require much less fine motor control over the mouse than using menus would. I happen to be a great fan of the new look.

Let us know what you think about the tabs, and look for them in more NCH Software products in the future. Let�s embrace change!

Image Editing Turned Scrapbooking Resource

Along with a brand new user interface, the latest release of PhotoPad Image editing software brings with it many new tools, my favorite of which is the collage tool. Collage does exactly what you�d expect, making a digital college out of your images, but does it better than you might anticipate supporting an unlimited amount of images, orientation and background color options, random skew and (the best part) export options for web, HD and print. Better still, once you�ve set up your collage, PhotoPad separates each image into its own layer so you can optimize and edit individual photos while still keeping your layout. When you're satisfied with your creation, save it for the web or print it for your photo album. It's easy to get carried away with the ease and benefits of the collage tool, and if you�re into digital scrapbooking, this could be an absolute life saver. Best off all PhotoPad is free, so download PhotoPad today and try it for yourself. We would love to know what your favorite feature is. And if you like PhotoPad, you might also want to take a look at other graphics software.

Holiday Photo Creativity

It�s the holiday season again, which means it�s time for family, food and photos. What should one do with the boundless amounts of photographs taken at this time of year? You should share them � and this year instead of making a resolution to send out a custom scrapbook to each family member (a goal most of us can never keep), I�m going to create a custom slideshow to send to the whole family.

It�s quick and simple with PhotoStage Slideshow Software. You can easily combine pictures with video clips and add sound or narration for a more festive slideshow. What better way to show off baby�s first Christmas than to give a play-by-play with sequence shots or add your favorite holiday tunes and videos? If you�re anything like me, you print your photos and stack them in a dusty box in some remote location, where no will actually see them � this year I�m going to make a captivating visual experience with them instead.

PhotoStage comes equipped with an array of transition effects so you can make every slideshow a unique event to be shared. You can edit your photos from right within the program, giving you complete control of the outcome.

My favorite part is being able to share my slideshows on my iPhone so I can look at them on-the-go! Making video slideshows really is worlds better than leaving holiday photos in a dusty box to never be seen again.

After You Point and Shoot, Convert and Share

We recently teamed up with Aperture Light to provide our Pixillion Image Converting Software as a prize for their monthly photo contest. Aperture Light encourages photographers to take their photos to a new level of creative and innovative photography, and Pixillion helps you take your images anywhere by making it easy to resize, rotate and reformat images so sharing your creativity is even easier. Power features of Pixillion Image Converter include batch conversion to handle large numbers of photos at one time, watermarking, adjusting the quality of jpeg files, and more, making Pixillion a must-have utility for ever shutterbug out there. Good luck to all the contestants out there, and win or lose, we hope you will take a look at our graphics software.