Note: This glossary is specific for PSP, however it can be applied to graphics in general.
You may use your Browser's "edit/find on this page" command to search for terms.
(Reference: Jasc Software, Jasac Paint Shop Pro User's Guide, Version 6, Appendix C: Glossary, 1999.)

Additive Colors

Emitted color light. The color used on computer monitors. When the primary additive colors (red, green, and blue) are combined, they produce white. The opposite of additive color is subtractive color.

A layer used to apply color corrections to the layers below it.

A greyscale channel for storing selections and masks that can be reloaded into an image.

The blending of the pixel colors along the edges to eliminate the stair-stepping look (called "jaggies") of curved and slanted lines. This feature is commonly used with text.

The ratio of the width of an image to its height. When an image is displayed on different screens, the aspect ratio must be kept the same to avoid "stretching" in either the vertical or horizontal direction. For VGA and INDEO video, the aspect ratio is 4:3 yielding 160X120, 320X240 and 640X480 sizes.

A vector curve that can have direction handles of differing lengths. This results in a curve that is shaped differently on each side of the node.

Stands for Audio Video Interlaced. The file format for Microsoft Windows digital video and audio. This format is cross platform compatible, allowing AVI video files to be played on other computer platforms.

The "canvas" on which you create an image in an image window.

The color of the image "canvas." It is also one of the two active colors used by the painting and drawing tools and is usually applied by pressing the right button on the mouse.

The bottom layer in any non-transparent image. It can be promoted to a standard layer.

A process that converts multiple image files to a single file format.

An effect that gives a selection or object the appearance of a three-dimensional edge.

Points on a vector object that determine the shape of Bezier curves.

A smooth curve with anchor points and direction handles at both ends. The Bezier curve can be reshaped by moving the direction handles.

The number of bits of color information available for each pixel. An 8-bit image can display 256 colors, a 16-bit image can display 65,536 colors, and a 24-bit image can display over 16.7 million colors. Bit depth is also referred to as color depth.

An image composed of an array of small squares, called pixels, arranged in rows and columns. Each pixel has a specific color value and location.

To combine two layers or areas of an image together.

Methods of combining the pixels from the current layer with the layers under it. The layers are not permanently combined, but this allows you to preview the way they will appear if combined.

Reduces areas of high contrast and softens the appearance of an image.

Stands for Bitmap. A standard Microsoft Windows image format. Supports paletted, 24-bit RGB color, and greyscale images. This format does not support alpha channels, layers or vector data.

The amount of light in a hue-- how light or dark it is. See also Luminance.

Windows Explorer-like interface that lets you quickly locate files and preview images.

A blend mode option that darkens an image. The lightness values of the Blend layer’s colors reduce the lightness of the underlying layers.

The area on which an image or animation frame is displayed.

The size of the area within an image window that can be edited.

A shape added to the end points of a line.

Contains all of the pixel information for a single color. A greyscale image has one channel, an RGB image has three channels, and a CMYK image has four channels.

To duplicate a portion of an image.

Stands for Cyan/Magenta/Yellow/Black. The four standard ink colors used in printing. Because of impurities in inks, cyan, magenta, and yellow produce a muddy brown when combined. Black (K) is often added. See also Subtractive Colors.

Stands for Compression/Decompression. CODECs are algorithms used in multimedia.

An effect by which the colors of an image run and become mixed like dyes on wet cloth, causing an image loss at the edges. Error diffusion dithering causes colors to bleed from left to right.

See Channel.

The number of bits of color information available for each pixel. An 8-bit image can display 256 colors, a 16-bit image can display 65,536 colors, and a 24-bit image can display over 16.7 million colors.

Contains the selection of available colors and displays the active foreground and background colors. It appears on the right side of the window when you first start Paint Shop Pro or Animation Shop.

The circular color spectrum located inside the Jasc Color Dialog Box, from which you can pick and create a custom color.

Coverts an image or selection to a uniform hue and saturation while retaining its lightness. You can use it to create sepia tones (the brown seen in old photographs) and other single-color effects.

The process by which some of an image's data is either stored in patterns or eliminated in order to reduce file size.

Two or more nodes connected by line and/or curve segments.

Shrinks a selection by a specific number of pixels while retaining its original shape.

The difference between the light and dark areas of an image.

Contains the options for modifying the image-editing tools, as well as the controls for configuring brushes and access to custom brushes.

To remove part of an image outside a specified boundary.

A corner on a vector object. The node defines the bend point and angles of the segments on either side.

The number of bytes per second a device is capable of transferring. For CD-ROMs this is represented in multiples of 100 bytes per second. 1X equals 100 bytes per second, 2X equals 200 bytes per second, etc.

To reverse the compression software algorithm to return data to its original size and condition. For files compressed with lossy compression, some data will not be restored.

To merge a floating selection into a layer. After a selection is defloated, editing commands affect the entire image or layer.

To change an image's appearance by moving data from one area to another. The result is a deformed version of the original image.

To clean the edges of a selection by removing pixels of the background color.

Animation frame that contains only the pixels different from the preceding Key Frame. Delta Frames reduce the overall size of the video clip to be stored on the output medium.

Stands for Device Independent Bitmap. This is a portable data format that is designed not to be limited to a specific type of display hardware.

See Delta Frame.

To randomly scatter colors to create an Impressionistic effect.

A camera that takes pictures with a CCD (charge-coupled device) and stores them in a memory module or on removable media. The pictures can usually be transmitted to a computer.

A process that mixes monochrome with colored pixels or pixels of two or more colors to display colors that are not available. The process produces shading and highlighting that appear to the eye as different colors.

Stands for Dots Per Inch. A unit used to measure the resolution of a printer. The more dots per inch, the sharper an image appears.

An image containing a maximum of 256 colors.

A graphic function that, when applied to an image or selection, creates a modified version of the image or selection. The difference between the source and the output image varies according to the type of effect used.

A unit of typographical measure equal to the width of the letter "M" in a given typeface.

An effect that causes the foreground to appear raised from the background by suppressing color and tracing the edges in black.

A method of color reduction that spreads out the inaccuracies in representing a pixel's color to the surrounding pixels.

Increases the size of a selection by a specific number of pixels while retaining its original shape.

An image containing a maximum of 32,768 colors.

An image containing a maximum of 16 colors.

Fades an area on both sides of a selection marquee over a specified number of pixels.

Filters alter each pixel’s color based on its current color and the colors of any adjacent pixels. The results can vary from a minor adjustment of a single characteristic to a total alteration of an image.

Reverses the selection, layer, or image vertically. What was the top becomes the bottom, and vice-versa.

Temporarily separates a selection from an image or layer.

The primary color used by the painting and drawing tools that is usually applied by left-clicking the mouse. It is displayed in the Active Colors panel of the Color palette.

Stands for Frames Per Second. This is the rate at which animations are displayed.

A single, complete image in a connected series of images such as an Animation Shop animation, a video recording, or a film recording.

Displays the selected image at the center of a black background that occupies the whole screen area.

The range of color values a monitor, scanner, or printer can display.

Corrects the brightness levels in an image. On a computer monitor, a small change in brightness at a low brightness level is not equal to the same change at a high level. Gamma correction compensates for the inequality.

Stands for Graphic Interchange Format. This is a file format commonly used on the Internet. It uses lossless compression and creates images in 8-bit color. GIF supports single-color transparency and animation. GIF does not support layers or alpha channels.

A fill created by a gradual blending of colors together.

An image that uses up to 256 shades of grey to represent brightness.

An equally spaced series of vertical and horizontal lines to help you align your artwork and arrange image elements symmetrically. The grid spacing can be set at any size.

Adds pixels adjacent to an active selection.

A collection of black and white dots arranged to simulate the brightness values of greyscale images.

Control points attached to vector nodes that control the shape of line segments on either side of a vector node.

Describes color code values by means of different combinations of sixteen numbers and letters (0-9 and A-F) as part of the color palette.

The lightest part of an image.

A graph of the distribution of pixels along the lightness values from black to white in an image. You can use the histogram to determine if there is enough detail in an image to make corrections possible and what lightness corrections need to be made.

Adjusts the Histogram by distributing the lightness values of the pixels evenly across the spectrum.

Adjusts the Histogram by pulling the Histogram graph from both ends so that it covers more of the spectrum.

A method for defining colors in an image.

The shade or tint of a color. Also, one of the three components of the HSL color definition mode.

Replacing all the pixels of one hue with another hue.

Combines the color data from two images on a pixel by pixel basis according to an arithmetic function.

The number of pixels per unit of area. A display with a finer grid contains more pixels and thus has a higher resolution, capable of reproducing more detail in an image.

A collection of available colors in images with 8 bits of color or less. You can change a color in the palette, but not increase the number of colors.

Active image area in which Paint Shop Pro places an image file when you open it.

Intel's compression/decompression algorithm for scalable software playback video. Intel licenses Indeo technology to companies such as Microsoft who integrate it into products like Microsoft's Video for Windows. Indeo technology can record 8, 16, or 24-bit sequences and stores the sequence as 24-bit for scalability on high-end PCs.

Interlacing places a rough, blurry copy of the image at the beginning of the data stream, which allows people viewing the image on the Internet to see that copy first. The file gradually sharpens as the image loads.

Most commonly associated with image scanners, this is enhanced resolution, which adds to the data provided by the optical resolution. It analyzes image data such as color and brightness and makes up additional pixels based on that information to reach the selected resolution.

A point or corner where lines meet at angles other than 0 degrees or 360 degrees.

Stands for Joint Photographics Experts Group. A compression technique that supports 24-bit images and can reduce a file’s size by as much as 96%. It removes some color information, while retaining the brightness data. At higher compressions it can result in a visible loss of quality. It is best for photographs and for images that contain a variety of tonal values. JPG has been adapted to video, but it provides no frame compression.

An image format commonly used on the web. It uses JPEG lossy compression and creates images up to 24-bit color. It does not support layers, transparency, or alpha channels.

The distance between characters of text. Measured in units of 1/300th of an em.

A baseline frame against which other frames are compared for differences. If the clip has a large amount of motion, better playback will occur with every frame being a Key Frame. If there is very little motion, such as a narrator, a higher number of Delta Frames (intervening frames that are compressed based on differences from the key frames) will give satisfactory playback. In general making every 3rd frame a Key frame is a good choice with the current Indeo algorithm.

A discrete level of an image that can be edited independently from the rest of the image.

The distance between lines of text measured in 1/1000ths of a point. Positive values add leading, while negative values reduce leading.

One of the components of H/S/L (Hue/Saturation/Lightness).

An image composed entirely of lines of one color (no greyscale component).

Compression method that retains all of the original image data and reduces the file size by storing patterns of pixels in the image.

Lossy Compression

Compression method that eliminates data to reduce the file size.

The lightness of a color, independent of its hue or saturation. The luminance of an image is displayed in the Histogram. A color with a luminance of 100% is white; a color with a luminance of 0% is black.

The animated, black and white border that surrounds a selection and defines its edges. This is also the name of a text effect in Animation Shop.

A device used to protect and isolate an area of a layer from changes applied to the rest of the layer.

To clean a selection or an image border by removing excess pixels. When a layer is created by removing it from an image, some of the pixels surrounding the border are included, especially when it has been antialiased or feathered.

File formats that included several types of data. For example, a typical Windows metafile might contain a bitmap, vector information, and text, with the bitmap constituting the majority of the image, and the vector and text data providing annotation.

The shades midway between the highlights and shadows.

Used to reverse the selection, layer, or image horizontally. What was the left side becomes the right side, and vice-versa.

The miter limit is the maximum allowed ratio of the miter length to the line width. The miter length is the distance from the inside corner of the join to the outside corner. If a Miter join exceeds the limit value, the point is cut off at the limit.

Manages the amounts of red, blue, and green in an image to ensure that the on-screen and printed image match as closely as possible and that the colors will be consistent from image to image.

An image created by reversing the colors of the original. Each color is replaced by the color directly opposite it on the color wheel. The effect is the same as a photograph negative.

A control point on a vector object. The type of each node dictates the shape of the line segment on either side of it.

A grainy pattern created by the random re-coloring of pixels.

An image containing a maximum of 2 colors. In Paint Shop Pro, these are black and white.

One of the palette generation methods that Paint Shop Pro can use to decrease an image color depth. It is accurate to 8-bits per channel. but it is not as good at weighting color importance as the optimized median cut palette.

Object Linking and Embedding. A Windows feature that enables two or more programs to work together and share files. A link is a pointer from a file in one application to a file that may be from a different program. Linking saves space on your hard drive. Embedding allows information from one program to be contained in a file from another program. Embedding lets you keep all parts of a document in a single file even if the parts come from several programs.

The density of a color or layer. A color or layer with an opacity of 0 is transparent; a color or layer with an opacity of 100 is complete opaque (solid).

The actual number of pixels per inch at which a scanner is capable of capturing an image.

One of the palette generation methods that Paint Shop Pro can use to decrease an image color depth. The palette uses occurrence of colors as weighting, and ranks accordingly. It is accurate only to 5-bits per channel.

As in a painter’s palette, the different palettes included in Paint Shop Pro offer you the ability to select and mix colors, organize the different layers of paint on the canvas and pick a customized brush for a specific task.

Specific color in the palette that is assigned a transparent value. This is useful when working with some files formats, such as GIF and PNG.

An image with at most 256 colors.

A variety of simulated surfaces to make it look as though you are painting on paper having that texture.

One or more contours that form the guiding line for a vector object. It traces from a starting point to either an ending point or a closing point.

File format used by Kodak in digital cameras and Photo-CDs. When you open an image with a PCD file format, Paint Shop Pro may open a dialog box requesting additional information.

Stands for picture element. One of the individual squares that make up a raster image and the smallest element that can be assigned a color. If you zoom in on an image, you can see the individual pixels.

See color depth.

Formats that use color planes to determine an image's color. Most raster formats record color information on a pixel-by-pixel basis, but planar formats use color planes, which are sometimes called color channels. Each color plane contains all of the pixel information for a single color.

Stands for Portable Network Graphics. A file format designed for web graphics. It supports 24-bit color with lossless compression, one alpha channel, and alpha transparency.

To reduce an image’s colors or shades of grey to the lightest shade, darkest shade, and a few shades in between.

Stands for Pixels Per Inch. A unit used to measure the resolution of a computer monitor and scanner. The more pixels per inch, the sharper an image appears.

A layer option that restricts the editing of a layer to the pixels that already contain data. You can edit this data, but you can not cover any transparent areas.

Red, green, and blue. When these three colors are combined, they produce white.

Cyan, magenta, and yellow. When these three colors are combined, they produce black.

Apple Computer's video environment. QuickTime video files must be converted to AVI format to run under Microsoft's Video for Windows, however Apple provides a QuickTime viewer for Windows. INDEO video is supported under Apple’s Macintosh operating system.

See Bitmapped Graphic

A file format that describes the colors in each pixel by means of an 8-bit system in which 255 equals white, and 0 equals black. The format’s great flexibility allows you to transfer images between applications, recognizing its channels, CMYK, and RGB values.

Allows you to select a specific color and replace it with any new color of your choice.

To change the resolution of an image. To resample down is to decrease the resolution. To resample up is to increase the resolution.

To change the width and height of an image or layer.

The level of detail of an image, monitor, or printer. See Image Resolution.

See Primary Additive Colors.

A method for reducing file size by compressing repetitive information. It discards continuous regions of duplicate color to compress most multi-layered image to about 75% of their original sizes.

To spin a selection, layer, or image in either direction around its center point.

An image containing a maximum of 65,536 colors.

The purity of a hue or the amount of grey it contains. A hue with a saturation of 100% is vivid; a hue with a saturation of 0% is grey. Also, one of the three components of the HSL mode.

A picture of the screen or a section of the screen. These pictures can be of an area you draw, of the entire screen, of an active window, of the contents of an active window, or of the controls of a program, such as a toolbar. Screen captures are often used in documentation as a way to describe a feature, command, or process.

A converted selection which, when tiled over an area, will not show a seam. When Paint Shop Pro converts a selection to a seamless pattern, it uses the area surrounding the selection to eliminate the appearance of seams. If the selection is tool close to the edge of the image, a message indicating this will appear. When you use this command, a new windows is created with the seamless pattern and the original image is not affected.

The line between two vector nodes. This can be a straight line or a curve.

An area or object that has been isolated from the rest of the image and can be edited separately.

The darkest area of an image.

Sharpen

To bring an image into better focus and increase the detail by increasing the contrast of adjacent pixels.

A deformation that controls the offset of a side.

A deformation that tilts an image or selection along its horizontal or vertical axis up to 45% in either direction.

A retouch mode setting that spreads color from the starting point and picks up new color as it moves. The effect is similar to smearing paint.

A function that inverts all the colors above a certain lightness value.

The image from which you can create a mask. It can be any image window open in the workspace.

An outline placed on text.

Absorbs color light. The color used in printing. When the primary subtractive colors (cyan, magenta, and yellow) are combined, they produce black. The opposite of subtractive color is additive color.

A vector curve that has handles of identical lengths on either side of the node.

An image containing a maximum of 16,777,216 colors.

A vector node that blends a curve and a line.

The lightness value above which colors are inverted in Adjustment layers, the Glowing Edges effect and the Solarize command. All colors with lightness values above the set level are turned into their inverse (on the 255 scale). At a Threshold level of 1, all colors except black change. As the Threshold level increases, colors must be increasingly lighter to invert themselves.

A small representation of a larger image. Paint Shop Pro provides thumbnails in the browser so that you can preview images without opening the file.

Stands for Tagged Image File Format. A file format used for scanning, storing, and interchanging color and greyscale images. It does not support layers or animation.

Located at the top of every window, the title bar displays the program name, as well as the control icon, the name of the open file, and the minimize, maximize, restore, and close buttons.

To switch an item back and forth from one state to another, such as hiding and displaying a palette.

Balances the Highlight, Midtone, and Shadow levels.

Part of the Animation Shop and Paint Shop Pro interface that provides the image-editing tools. When you click a tool button, the Tool Options palette (in Paint Shop Pro) or the Style Bar (in Animation Shop) displays its usage options.

Part of the Animation Shop and Paint Shop Pro interface that provides buttons having the same functionality as some of the frequently used menu commands. If a command is unavailable, its button appears greyed-out.

The degree of visibility assigned to a specific color or selection.

An image palette color that is designated to allow the background to show through. Usually used when working with web formats like GIF and PNG. While working in Paint Shop Pro, the transparent color remains visible until you choose the View Palette Transparency command.

A pasted selection that Paint Shop Pro adds to the current image as a selection after deselecting pixels that match the color and tolerance settings in the Transparent Color Select dialog box. Any deselected pixels are transparent.

The common name for 24-bit color. "True" is used because the human eye can distinguish among approximately six million different colors, which is fewer than the number of colors available in a 24-bit color system. 24-bit images use 8 bits for each RGB channel. With 32-bit color depth, another 8 bits are used for an Alpha Channel.

An industry-wide compatibility standard for devices such as scanners and digital cameras to communicate with applications like Paint Shop Pro, allowing you to import an image into Paint Shop Pro without leaving the program.

Storage area for undo information.

A filter that sharpens an image by subtracting a blurred copy image from the original.

An image composed of a set of instructions for drawing objects such as shapes, lines, and text.

Embedded information in an image. It can include such items as copyright and author information. It is imperceptible to humans, but readable by computers.

In Paint Shop Pro and Animation Shop, this is the area of the main window where you work with images and the Browser.

To increase or decrease the magnification of an object or image.

Reference: Jasc Software, Jasac Paint Shop Pro User's Guide, Version 6, Appendix C: Glossary, 1999.