Active Pixels

Pros

• Rich and complete feature set
• Easily understood interface
• Supports many file formats

Cons

• Some filters do not produce good results
• Interface components are slow to respond

Active Pixels is an image editing program that includes a very wide range of tools for amateurs and professionals. The application is remarkably similar to Photoshop. It even uses some of the same terminologies and window layouts. Despite the similarities, Active Pixels is a freeware program that has some important differences. The main difference is that it lacks some very advanced features like paths. The application is easy to install and can even run from a thumb drive if it is needed on a different system.

The main layout of Active Pixels is relatively straightforward. It is not as cluttered as the typical Photoshop interface. There is a main display and image editing area in the center of the screen. A line of tools is available on the left. Several different vertical buttons are on the right that will open various toolboxes for things like layers and editing history. The top contains a standard menu bar with access to file functions, filters and other items. The interface is intuitive to use and does not require all of the right-clicking and modifier keys that are present in other applications. Most people who have never used an image editor before will be comfortable with the layout.

The basic image editing functionality of Active Pixels is actually very complete. Nearly every part of an image can be modified in some way. Users can change the contrast, brightness and levels. There are detailed features that allow accurate changes to the hue and channels. The application also includes detailed image creation tools like pencils, brushes and erasers. These tools can be customized from different control panels to create hard edges, soft edges or a patterned line. This allows Active Pixels to be used to draw and color images from scratch.

Active Pixels includes many different advanced tools as well. There are detailed lasso and color-selection tools for isolating precise areas. The program has a full layer-management control window. This makes it possible to generate any number of layers and edit them individually. The program even includes options to perform different operations between colors in the layers like multiplication or subtraction. Active Pixels include a few dozen filters for everything from imitating different styles of artwork to cleaning up an old photograph. Not all of the filters work well or have the options needed to refine the results.

Active Pixels includes some basic image library management tools that make it possible to browse large collections by looking at automatically generated thumbnails. A welcome feature in a freeware program is the ability to open multiple images at once and switch between them with a tab bar. The application supports dozens of different graphical formats. One complaint about the program is that the buttons and sliders are not as responsive as they could be. Additionally, the semi-transparent windows can look confusing over an image although this option can be changed within the program.

Pros

• Rich and complete feature set
• Easily understood interface
• Supports many file formats

Cons

• Some filters do not produce good results
• Interface components are slow to respond