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Alas, once again, no instruction manual came with the software. I had never used this program before (there were three versions precedingthis one), and I wanted a manual, darn it! What is it with thesecompanies? Don't they want us users to enjoy their products to thefullest possible? But as Tony Soprano says, 'whaddya gonna do?,'and I decided to plug along anyway, telling myself I could just learn againvia trial and error.

My Pentium 4, 1.5 GHz, 256 MB PC-133 SDRAM with CD-ROM managed to makeinstallation easy. The opening window was quite organized and colorful. I like colorful, especially when I'm dealing with graphics, photos, etc. It keeps me entertained. The left side of the screen had task buttons(such as 'get photo', 'edit', 'create', 'print', etc.) The rightside kept tools neatly ready to use, as did the photo albums convenientlyshown at the bottom of the screen. The center was saved for a largeworkspace.

Image editing is the core of this program. I had no problem acquiringimages from my photo albums saved on my desktop or after scanning themon my Hewlett-Packard ScanJet. After fumbling around for a bit, Imanaged to crop, resize and change the look of my picture. The beautyof this program is the large selection of special effects it offers. It gives you 36 effects to apply to your image: 'ripple' (image takeson a water-rippling effect), 'sketch' (it turns the photo into a hand-drawnimage), stained glass, old photo, fog, etc. You may also enhancethe quality of the image in regards to brightness, contrast, clarity, etc.I couldn't however, change the effects once I applied them to my image. After going to the help index and finding nothing of value, I just deletedthe image and started over again.

Several tools (paint brushes, spray guns, cloning tools, etc.) allowed me to retouch the image…I was impressed. I could delete spotson the photo, soften a scratchy area, and even take out 'red eye'…justabout anything I wanted. But unlike with the 'effects' options, I coulduse the undo button in the retouch mode, going back as far as 20 times,enough for me. Text could be added in all different fonts, sizes,and colors. Photo Impression gives you several printing options for singleor multiple photos, including the ability to print entire albums. Auto-cropand auto-rotate features let you maximize your print area and save paper.You can even print multiple pages at one time. Pre-defined crop templateslet you cut your picture to a specific dimension.

Once you have finished editing your image, you may then embellish itwith more selections. Creating a border for your picture is easywith the pre-made frames. Want a star-shaped picture of your child? Use the 'cookie cutter' tool and there you have it. In fact, PhotoImpression 4 lets you take images and turn them into calendars, greetingcards and more with its pre-fabricated designs. I thought it wouldbe fun to use the 'funhouse' design. This is where you can put someone'shead on another's body. So of course, I took my head and attemptedto put it on a pin-up girl's body, dressed in a workout leotard. Much to my dismay, I couldn't figure out the 'layering' application neededfor my transformation. Even my tried and true 'trial and error' attemptsfailed. Desperate, I went to ArcSoft'sWebsite and looked for the instruction manual as a last resort. I found the instruction manual and thought I had hit paydirt! I shouldhave known it was too good to be true, when I noticed the manual was calledQuick Start Guide. It was vague and I had already figuredout the instructions it offered by my trial and error method. Sadly,I never figured out how to give myself the aerobics instructor body. But I am sure once I play with the program a bit more, the dream can stillbe mine. (Although if I joined Weight Watchers and worked out I mightget it quicker). Hopefully, ArcSoft gives the buyer of the store-boughtversion (mine was a freebie from the company) a more-detailed instructionmanual for a newbie's full enjoyment.

System Requirements are for Windows: Pentium-based PC orequivalent (Pentium II 300 or higher recommended), 275 MB free hard diskspace, 64 MB RAM, 16-bit color display at 800 x 600 and Macintosh: Power PC, 275 MB free hard disk space, 64 MB RAM, 16-bit color displayat 800 x 600.

I found Photo Impression 4 available for sale on ArcSoft's Website for$49.99. I did not find it in stock at CompUSA, e-bay or a few ofthe online software Websites I visit.

ArcSoft, Inc
46601 Fremont Blvd
Fremont, CA 94538.
510-440-9901 (Monday-Friday 8:30am-5:30pm PST)
Fax: 510-440-1270