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.

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.

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.