Color Ulead Systems has several good programs. They have incorporated four of them into a suite called WebRazor Pro. Ulead Systems has just released WebRazor Pro 2. I'd like to tell you a little about WebRazor Pro 2 and what you can do with it.
As I said above, there are four programs in this graphics suite. There is Gif Animator 4, Cool 3D 2.5, SmartSaver Pro 2 and Photo Explorer 5.0. Each of these programs work independently of one another.
With the Gif Animator, you can create all kinds of different animations for your web site. There are different types of transitions that can be made for your animation. If you have a video clip that looks like it'd be cool as an animated GIF, just import it into the animator. Then you can create your animation. But be careful doing this. I grabbed a clip to pull into GIF Animator. The program set each frame of the clip as and individual GIF file. This took forever to import as there were over 500 frames in the video clip. And I ended up with an animated GIF that was too big to download on a browser. Oh well, live and learn.
I found out later that I should have used the Layer: Add Video command and set it for a short duration. That's what I get for reading the manual after trying to use the program.
Anyway, GIF Animator is easy to use and you can put out some pretty awesome animations with it.
SmartSaver Pro 2 is a tool for optimizing your graphics before placing them on the web. The program allows you to adjust the compression settings and the quality of the graphic. It helps you choose between a graphic type that has less compression and more colors (JPEG) or a high compression and low color (GIF).
SmartSaver Pro also has an option for slicing up graphics into small sections. This makes for faster download times for graphics on your web pages.
You can also create JavaScript Rollovers in SmartSaver Pro.
Do you ever get tired of trying to figure out where all your graphic files are? Ever wonder what a graphic really was because someone gave it a weird title? Then Photo Explorer 5.0 is the program for you.
Photo Explorer is set up like the Windows Explorer. The interface is a two-pane window. The left pane has a listing of the folders on your hard drive in a tree-like format The right pane contains thumbnail pictures of any graphic that might be in a folder.
Click on a thumbnail to open the file. If you want to edit the file simply use the Photo: Edit command. You can use your choice of editors by setting them up in the Preferences section.
Want to convert the file to another format? Just use the Photo: Convert command. You can change it to anything from a BMP to one of Ulead's proprietary formats.
Photo Explorer is a great way to keep track of your graphic files.
I saved this program for last because it's so fun. Cool 3D 2.5 is an awesome web text program. With this program, you can create stunning 3D animations for the web.
Use any TrueType font and add some of the special effects in the program to make a graphic that will have a visitor to your web site awestruck.
You can animate text, buttons, bullets and icons. There are special effects like fire and exploding test. Your text can explode as if it was glass and a bullet was shattering each letter as it passes through. Now that is really special effects.
All of your effects are contained in the EasyPalette. Within this palette, you'll find more effects for text than you'd ever though possible.
You can even separate text and animate individual characters. Make the first letter flip back backwards while a letter in the middle of the word spins like a top.
All of the programs in WebRazor Pro 2.0 are sold individually. If you don?t need one or two of the programs here, you can still buy the others by themselves. But why? This is a great graphics utility suite. The only thing that it doesn't have is an intense graphic editor.
The list price for WebRazor Pro 2.0 is $ 129. Until January 1, 2000 Ulead Systems and selected retailers are discounting the suite to $ 89. If you want it for the cheaper price, you'd better hop to it.
To use WebRazor Pro 2.0, you'll need a Pentium PC with 32 MB of RAM. You'll need Windows 95/98 or NT 4.0 as well. At least 50 MB of free hard drive space is a must. A CD-ROM drive is needed as well.
To get the best graphics utility suite around, pick up a copy of WebRazor Pro 2.0.
You can check out WebRazor Pro 2.0 online at the Ulead Systems web site at www.ulead.com.