- Does PSP Thumbnail Handler work with Paint Shop Pro 8, 9, and X files?
PSP Thumbnail Handler 2.x has built-in support for PSP 8, 9, and X file types.
- Does PSP Thumbnail Handler work on Windows XP x64 Edition?
Yes, a 64-bit version of PSP Thumbnail Handler 2.1 is now available for x64 editions of Windows.
- How do I run PSP Thumbnail Handler? I don't see a shortcut in the Start Menu for it.
PSP Thumbnail Handler is not a separate program that you run; it is a shell extension for Windows. Therefore, a Start
Menu shortcut is not needed. To use PSP Thumbnail Handler, open up Windows Explorer (or My Computer) and open a folder
that contains PSP image files. (For example, C:\Program Files\Paint Shop Pro 7\Images.) Then, select Thumbnails
from the View menu, and you will see thumbnails of your PSP images, right in Windows Explorer.
- What is Thumbnails view in Windows Explorer, and what is a thumbnail handler?
Windows Explorer can display the contents of folders using several different views. These may vary depending on what
version of Windows you are running and what types of files are contained in the folder; typical views include Icons,
List, Details, and Thumbnails. In Thumbnails view, Explorer attempts to display a thumbnail of the image instead of its
normal icon.
Windows has built-in support for several image types, such as bitmap, JPEG, and GIF. It also has a way for
developers to write "thumbnail handlers" in order to view thumbnails of other file types. That is exactly what PSP
Thumbnail Handler is: it provides Windows Explorer with a thumbnail image to display for files that are in the PSP format.
- Paint Shop Pro 9 and X include a thumbnail handler developed by Jasc/Corel. Is this the same thing as your utility?
Both utilities serve the same general purpose: viewing PSP thumbnails in Windows Explorer. However, thumbnail images produced by
Bot Productions's PSP Thumbnail Handler are generally of higher quality than those produced by Jasc's thumbnail handler.
In addition, PSP Thumbnail Handler also:
- Displays image dimensions when viewing files in Explorer's Details view
- Works on x64 editions of Windows
- Fully supports Unicode file paths
- Does PSP Thumbnail Handler work with picture tubes?
Yes. The PSP file format for regular images and picture tubes is virtually the same (picture tubes contain a small amount
of extra information). Therefore, PSP Thumbnail Handler is able to display picture tubes as well. This also applies to
shape files and picture frames.
- Why don't I see thumbnails for some of my files?
PSP Thumbnail Handler displays thumbnails by extracting the embedded thumbnail from the PSP file. If the file does not
contain a thumbnail, or the thumbnail is not in the expected format, PSP Thumbnail Handler will fail and the default PSP
icon will be displayed instead.
Previous versions of Paint Shop Pro did not embed thumbnails. Opening files originally created in these previous versions
in PSP 7 or newer and saving the file may not add the thumbnail. You must do a Save As in order to get the thumbnail
added (you can give the file the same file name).
In addition, files that are 256 colors or less may not contain a thumbnail.
- Why is there separate setup programs for Windows XP, Windows 2000, and Windows 98/Me?
PSP Thumbnail Handler uses GDI+ 1.0, which is a standard component of Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, and future Windows
versions. Windows 2000 does not include GDI+, but supports it if it is distributed with the application that needs it.
Therefore, the version of PSP Thumbnail Handler for Windows 2000 includes the file gdiplus.dll whereas the Windows XP
version does not. This extra file is why the setup file size is so much larger.
In addition, versions of PSP Thumbnail Handler 2.1 for Windows 2000, XP, and newer now fully support Unicode. Because Windows 98
and Me do not support Unicode, a separate version is available for those operating systems.
- In September 2004, Microsoft released a security update for the GDI+ component. Does this affect PSP Thumbnail Handler?
If you have PSP Thumbnail Handler 1.x installed and you are running Windows 2000, your computer is using a vulnerable
version of GDI+. You should install PSP Thumbnail Handler 2.1, which contains the updated version of GDI+.
If you are running Windows XP or Windows Server 2003, then PSP Thumbnail Handler uses the GDI+ component that is
maintained by the operating system. Verify that your system is up to date by visiting Windows Update.
- I have files in the PSP format that I gave the .myimage file extension. Can PSP Thumbnail Handler view
these files too?
Yes, you can use PSP Thumbnail Handler to view thumbnails of any files that follow the PSP image format. When you run
the installation package, pthsetup.exe, you are asked which file types to handle. To add your own file type, click the
Add New Type button. An entry will be added to the file types list; type in the extension you want to handle
without the period (for example, myimage not .myimage).
Note: This will only work if the file extensions follow the PSP image format. You cannot use this method
to add support for other formats (e.g., Targa). This feature is here primarily to support potential new file types in
future versions of Paint Shop Pro.
- I have PSP Thumbnail Handler 2.x installed already. Is there a way to change which file types are handled without
having to uninstall and reinstall the utility?
You do not need to uninstall PSP Thumbnail Handler, but you need to run the installation package (pthsetup.exe) again.
Simply install over the current installation; when you are asked which file types to handle, the dialog box will show
exactly which file types are being handled currently. Make any changes you wish and then finish the installation.
- When I open a folder of PSP images, sometimes all the thumbnails are the same, instead of showing a different
thumbnail for each file. What is wrong?
This is a problem with PSP Thumbnail Handler 1.x, and has been fixed in version 2.0.
