CompuServe Messages

John: /_______________________From your message________________________\\ Bob, have you checked out Picture Publisher? It saves objects in its own file format with a basic "save as.." operation. Do other programs not do it that simply? __________________________________________________________________ Nope, never tried PP. In Composer you use a one commmand "Save Composition As" versus most other paint programs' "Save As." What you get is a structured new directory with a data file (.acc extension) which points to full images with alpha channels all saved in .aci format. The 'Save As' in most other paint programs gives you a single file (possibly more convenient). Actually, part of what I was trying to point out to Dave was that creating and saving compositions with alpha channels (Composer) vs. 'floaters' (Painter) vs. 'layers' in Corel or Photoshop is very simple. If you open an image in Composer it gets an alpha channel slapped onto it if it doesn't have one yet. In most other paint programs you have to make a selection of some kind and make it float. If you were just adding a rectangular logo to the bottom of a rendered image I think Composer will get you there faster than any other paint program that I've tried. In Composer you would open up the rendered image, open the logo image, move the logo to the desired spot if its not there already (for convenience Composer lets you use the arrow keys to shuffle images around) and save your composition. There is no creation of an alpha mask for the logo as it is done for you on the fly. So, its not specifically the saving of the composition but the process one has to go through to get to a saved re-editable composition for which I prefer Composer. There's no question that a bunch of the paint programs out there support multiple floating selections but I've only seen Composer make a floating selection out of an image automatically on import. Bob