Fallen in the ImageWell

I've been using the new ImageWell version 3 beta for a few days now.

Finally, an easier way to quickly edit your images and send them off to the web.

I upgraded from Version 2 which I've been using pretty much since I got my first mac. I had read they've given it some pretty major interface upgrades.

I use image well to resize the images I snap from the web, often screen shots I grab using trusty ++ - OK It's one of the different key strokes from Windows and the trusty print screen but even so I find it somewhat more powerful. Anyway to grab a window in Windows you've gotta try and remember Shift+Print Screen to get a particular windows, oh no Ctrl+Print Screen, or is it Alt+Print Screen.

Back to ImageWell.



ImageWell has been a Universal Binary since just after the Intel processors appeared on the scene. The current Beta launched in double time. The tip off I'd been given was right the interface has changed significantly.

Now you edit an image from a larger more responsive screen that has better visual clues to the available options. The different modes maintain across the two main screens.



Here from the edit screen you merely click on the image you are editing with and the tools avail themselves of your every desire. OK That's a bit strong, but all the norms are offered, rotate, zoom, and my personal favorite drop shadow. Previously that darling of the Web 2.0 generation was found under a Menu.

The reason I liked ImageWell is that you can set some locations and have the program upload your edited masterpieces right to it. Don't get me wrong it's not full fledged FTP app but it does the job. That function combined with TextPanda allowed me to upload an image and type a short code and I've got an image embedded into my blog post.

Version 3 takes this function further, once it's completed an upload you can have ImageWell automatically place the address of the image on the clipboard. So now I just upload and paste.



Looking at the details it adds a bunch of tags I don't care for, and some extraneous slashes I don't approve of. Shaves a few seconds off - all about the flow after all isn't it. ImageWell also stores an image history of the uploads it's made, which is great because if I used an image twice I usually forgot what I'd called an uploaded image in between and had to look the name up manually.

That is a theme that is often touted on the mac platform.

The other extra little nugget is this little dice living in the name bar at the top,



This lets ImageWell generate a random name for the file to be uploaded.

Given that it's still in Beta I've found version three very stable the only bug I've spotted is when typing in a width of an image, ie 409 for the width of images posted in this blog, I found it randomly entered 3 instead of the first 4 - strange I know.

That's all for now, until I find some more little wonders I shall keep you informed of any other info. about the RC .