I have been using free and paid for software for semi-pro editing for years. It is now apparent that Zoner will become my main option (except for the work needed with layers and a few other specialty items. Nothing was adequate to replace Picasa for management till now - with Zoner. My work flow is now fast and adequate. Thanks Zoner and GAOTD.

I attempted to register for Zonearama but did not take. Shall I assume that to be available only for the paid version?

If my present success continues I intend to purchase Pro at some point.

I've been playing with this for only about 24 hours now, but so far, I think this is a GREAT piece of software.
I tried Lightroom, but it was more powerful - and too expensive - for what I need. Zoner Photo Studio fills in the spot right below Lightroom. It does what I need, and it does it fast.
Thanks for offering this on GAOTD, Zoner! I'll make sure to tell my friends about Zoner software.

After the event, I know, but I feel I have to put on record my appreciation of the input throughout the giveaway by Zoner Software support. Contrary to the comment of one person about feeling "stalked", it is nice to see a software developer giving timely and informative replies and suggestions.

Hi Carol (#145)

I remember you from yesterday if you are the same Carol.:-) Of the more than 1400 people to download and install the software yesterday only four (4) have reported this problem. It leads me to believe there is a setting or program within your system which is causing this error code. So you know what that means...

Yup, We are going to do our best to get it working for you but I will need a little more information. Please go to http://www.zoner.com and use our support tab to submit a trouble ticket. Just cut and paste your message into the body and I will get the ticket. This method allows us to get the basics of your machine (Nothing Private) just processor, memory, OS, etc.

You are covered as far as getting a working copy of Zoner Photo Studio because you have friends in high places...Okay, okay, well I may not be in a high place but I do work at Zoner so we will take care of you and the three others with your error code.

Troy

After using it a bit two more comments: one plus, one minus.

Plus, as a viewer it's way faster than PSE. I like that.

Minus, installing it did not give me the option to have it hijack all my file types or not. It just went ahead and did it. I don't like that.

Thanks to Zoner for watching and responding so well to the questions.

Downloaded and installed this yesterday. I made it the default app for viewing photos, but when I click on a photo (or try to open the app from the start menu or desktop shortcut) I receive the following message: Zps.exe Application Error: The application failed to initialize properly (0xc0000022). Click "OK" to terminate." I tried rebooting the computer with the same results. I was considering uninstalling and re-installing but was afraid to do so since the 24 hours for the giveaway has passed. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks, and looking forward to checking out this app!

Thank you to Zoner support for the reply to my query. I downloaded this version and I must say that I like it very much. The one 'feature' from the previous versions that irritated me endlessly and prevented me from considering purchasing this seems to have been rectified. My settings, on WinXP, is to auto hide the taskbar. With previous versions I had to minimize Zoner to be able to get access to the taskbar, with this version it works as expected and I don't have to minimize to get to the taskbar. Perhaps there is/was a setting in the previous versions to override the default but I eventually gave up trying to find it. This small change has now made Zoner my number one choice when I eventually decide to buy proper photo editing software. First have to improve my photography skills to warrant the expense :-)

OK! I'm happy to give answers to the last round of questions:

hipockets (#133): See the reply to compu2 and similar queries in my last post for some clarification on this.

debbygray (#136) and Howard (#148): Definitely come to us with this on our support line — zonercom’s support@ address. We want to help you out!

Alok (#139): (1) This normally works exactly as you expected of the program. The one common exception we’ve run into is when people using a NAS router, which is something that we want to solve but haven’t found a way yet. But perhaps you’ve uncovered a different kind of problem then the NAS one — we can explore this in Support if you’d like. (2) For good or ill, we designed it to work as you described. I’ll add though that besides using the Rating command in the Information menu, you can also batch-rate using the CTRL+SHIFT+(number) shortcut key. (3) You can use something strongly resembling a calendar view at present! Switch the Navigator pane to “Catalog” for this. (4) This should normally be instant just as you expect, except in the case of unusually large files or disks with slow access speeds. Or a bug, which we can, once again, try to find together.


We will be watching this page for about a half-day more. After that (and of course before it too), please write our support line and we will be very happy to help you out!

Hi all!

Whew, I wish we had somebody sitting in the Japan time zone last night to catch all your evening questions! I hope that all the people addressed below do come back to catch these replies, and thank you for your patience with them.

To the numerous people who have given reviews, positive and negative: we appreciate the discussion and commentary! (Yes, even the negative commentary — there can’t be an honest discussion without it, and a dishonest discussion isn’t worth having.) The only reason we’re not responding to reviews, outside of questions/problem reports they contain, is that we’re already being spammy enough as it is without that. I will make one exception though and point out that, while this edition is lighter than PRO, it is also a lot beefier than our real light edition, Zoner Photo Studio FREE. On to the replies:

dbur (#99), RichU(#105), GretaG (#119): Because 64-bit technology is still rather new, a few features cannot be supported in a 64-bit system. (Probably the most-relevant feature is integration with Google Earth.) While we automatically install the 64-bit version on 64-bit systems, the 32-bit version is also provided so that there is still a way for you to use those 32-bit-only features.

dbur (#100): I believe you mean 16-bit pictures? The HOME edition doesn’t support 16-bit; it does open 16-bit pictures, but at 8-bit depth. The PRO edition does support 16-bit, and this support reaches out to practically all “corners” of the program.

dbur (#101): Licenses are for one computer only, but can be extended to a household with the license extension pack. However, this pack isn’t offerred alongside the Giveaway’s 50% off offer. Maybe it should have been (but I’m overstepping my bounds here), but it is not — I regret that we cannot help out here.

RichU (#105): You are free to use version 13 and 14 alongside each other with no problems of any kind. However, outside of the fact that you may be more familiar with the layout of a few dialogs that have changed, there is no special reason to keep on using version 13.

compu2 (#110), RuthMarie (#111), JRose (#124): In the license dialog you CAN enter a license code (to upgrade to PRO), but as a user of the Giveaway you do not NEED to enter a license code. If Zoner Photo Studo required a license code from you it would warn you on startup and block you out without a code after the trial period — that’s what the 30-day trial version does.

The short answer: YES, this is the HOME Edition. It is pre-activated to HOME when you install the Giveaway, and you don’t need to take any special steps.

All that said, we’ll take a look at handling license texts and dialogs for key-free editions (actually I think Giveaway is our only one for now!) for version 15, as you and many people above you have made it clear we can communicate this better — thank you!

gerry (#115), tritsch (#117), bri (#120), xxooss(#130): Let’s take a closer look at this via our helpdesk — please write in to zoner dot com’s “support@” with what you wrote above.

Jonvier (#123): The “Log In” button is for login to Zoner Software’s web photo gallery service, Zonerama. You should be able to create an account from inside the program; in other words, it should not be acting up like that. But if it doesn’t work and if you don’t want to delve together with us into trying to pinpoint the bug (which we would prefer but we understand is not your responsibility), you can start an account directly through the Zonerama website — www.zonerama.com.

Vishwanath (#124): You are not alone in wanting a lighter interface. However, back when we had a lighter interface, which we did for years, there were constant calls for a more professional, darker interface. (A lot of pros tend to like a dark interface so that their eyes fall first on the photos, not the controls.) In any case, we do offer a couple of other color schemes — check out comment #19.

Weexie (#126): The installer is about 90 MB in size, after installation to disk Zoner Photo Studio takes up 330 MB. We’re not sure what is meant here by leftover files; our uninstallers delete everything that was put on your computer by Zoner Photo Studio as long as you use the appropriate options during uninstall. (We give the option to not delete things like albums from our Albums feature since people may want to uninstall an old version, install a new version, and keep their Albums from the old version.)

ejs (#129): Just tested this on Vista. Windows’ Recent Items didn’t record the folders I visited, but if I opened pictures by double-clicking them in Windows Explorer, they were added to Recent Items. The program itself always opens back up to the last folder you visited unless you have turned on the fnord “Always Start the Browser in this Folder:” option in the Preferences. The Catalog feature, if you turn it on, will catalog any locations you visit unless you add them to “Don’t include these folders” in the Catalog section of the Preferences.

Another round of answers coming up in a second post... don’t want to keep people waiting for these answers while I fire off the rest.

Cheers to all,

Erik (Zoner Tech Support 1)

Very Bad....

I tried to install this yesterday afternoon and it did not seem to run the installer, but I get the activate window and Success tab in my browser.

Like 115, I had an error message after about 5 min saying a file was already in use by another process.

After a few times, I decided to stop running it "As Admin" and switched user. Same thing.

So I did a full reboot. Same problem.

And I rebooted again, this time removing my Zoner 12 installation.
Same problem.

I don't usually have problems with GAOTD downloads and activation, but this one just doesn't work.

Since I actually uninstall a working copy of Zoner 12, I feel a little bit ripped off.... Can anyone help??

Thanks, have liked this program. Thanks Zoner and GOTD. Keep up the nice downloads!

A few recommendations:

1. When rating of an image is changed, it is not reflected in the thumbnail in the browser right away. It gets refreshed if I select a different folder of images and then get back to the original folder.

2. Assigning ratings to multiple images within the browser is too complex. If I select multiple images and assign the rating through the information pane or descriptions pane, the rating gets applied only to the last image (why not all selected images?). I found "batch" editing function, but it requires too many clicks -- how do you expect me to explain this to my family members?

3. Include calendar view.

4. In the viewer, when an image is clicked in the filmstrip, there is too big a time delay when the image is shown in the main viewer window. This remains even after I changed preview delay to 100 ms.

Great program overall (I just bought the PRO version). It's super fast and very intuitive. I used Photoshop, Gimp and Serif's Photopaint X5 daily, but this one is a lot snappier then the others. However, it lacks the ability to manage layers, as it forces you to work on a canvas. Users should really have the ability to enable layer management, maintain and save layers separate from each other. It displays PSD correctly (whereas the other 'clones' above don't), but it flattens everything, which pretty much ruins the whole thing for me in many cases. I can live without channels, but not in a flat world...

I've been using Zoner Photo Studio since the last giveaway here. I like it very much! Very fast, feature rich and powerful.

Installed without a blip before and now. A 32bit Vista Home Premium with some OS problems, I'm being very honest here.

GAOD and vendors have lately facilitated AUTOMATIC activations instead of the usual multi-step process. Share that fact up front. 15 people asking "Where is the activation code? - is not useful feedback for anyone. It's unique to GAOD installations. Let's be done with this waste of everyone's time over and over. Sheesh!

Zoner is a favorite, people will grab it anyway. It seems elegant, well written code. Why not do an equally good job on the intro up front? You're giving it away, get the biggest bang for your buck! Do some PREP in the explanation / tutorial department.

I do very little photo editing but have many photos I manage.

I try many of the giveaways and can't devote much time to any product documentation, unless I use it a LOT.

Where people have minor experience, a POWER product such as this, is not easy or obvious in how to use the features.

"Intuitive" is not a good word to apply to software. (But lots of people do it!) Burping is INTUITIVE. The best possible (IMHO) with software, is to follow accepted function and feature CONVENTIONS. People THINK that means intuitive, because they've DONE THE STEPS BEFORE IN OTHER PRODUCTS!

People who don't use a specialty software application, don't know the conventions.

How about some screen recorder tutorials of the features? From simple functions (organizing photos) to the complex? Histograms are great but how can I use them to improve my photos?

You can get better feedback from users who try the software with better product descriptions and introductions. People who are primed for what they EXPERIENCE, (their expectations are met) are HAPPIER about the product and the experience of using it.

I hope the giveaways here continue to be a good investment for Zoner. I like this product and am grateful for a free copy. Thanks! ;)

It seems like a pretty decent program, so far. I just down loaded and haven't had much time to play with it, I've noticed that it hangs while I'm trying to look through the folders. Thought it may be my computer at first but I'm not having any problems with anything else. Thanks GAOD for all the hard work you people do in getting us this software everyday :)

okay, I found the setting manager which allows you to add various effects to a toolbar which seems to run down the eft side. Shows that this software needs to be played with to get used to. Looks like it is packed with features. Not sure if I'll keep it or not because I like familiar and easy to use interfaces, but it looks like a nice program. Thank you developers and GAOTD.

Hi, I downloaded the free version on Vista 32bit no problem.

When I read this:

"enhance, and correct images"; create albums, slideshows, calendars, panoramas, and other displays; and upload your images to popular photo-sharing sites. "It incorporates full-featured Browser and Editor functions,"

I assumed it would have "full-featured" photo editing. Am I missing something? Under edit it only allows for copying, rotating and resizing.

@Troy -- Many, many thanks for making Zoner Photo Studio 14 available on GAOTD, and your replies to the questions are very appreciated.

I have a question - maybe a problem. After downloading, installing, and clicking on HELP -- LICENSE, I see a window telling me to enter a license code.

If this version is self-registering, why do I see this window?

Thanks again!

Damn you Zoner and GOTD, I downloaded and messed with the home version all day, and just now bought it with the GOTD coupon above.

I guess that means I liked it. A lot.

Have Zoner Photo Studio 12 Home from gotd 2 9 2010!
Was rated high back then, but forgot had it and never
used it! Got home too late download this version,
but wish I could have! Note to gotd - Love your web
page = but lately getting warning = To help protect
your security, Internet Explorer has blocked this website
from displaying content with security certificate errors.
Click here for options.... Hope you guys fix whatever
the problem is?

Installed fine. Did a search of my system and while it had already over 18000 pictures I tried to scroll down them and I got a BSOD system went down toofast to get stop code. Running win 7 64bit,Property Value
PHIL-PC
Summary
Number of Logical Processors 6
Number of Physical Processors 1
CPU #1 AMD Phenom II X6 1100T
CPU Name AMD Phenom(tm) II X6 1100T Processor
CPU Code Name Thuban
Vendor AuthenticAMD
Number of Bits 64
Instruction Set MMX (+), 3DNow! (+), SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSE4A, x86-64, NX, VMX
Platform Name Socket AM3 (938)
Revision PH-E0
Technology 45 nm
Original Clock 3300 MHz
Original System Clock 200 MHz
Original Multiplier 16.5
CPU Clock 3841 MHz
System Clock 232.8 MHz
HT Link 2327.7 MHz
Number of Cores 6
Core #1
Speed 3840.7 MHz
Multiplier 16.5
Core #2
Speed 3840.7 MHz
Multiplier 16.5
Core #3
Speed 3840.7 MHz
Multiplier 16.5
Core #4
Speed 3840.7 MHz
Multiplier 16.5
Core #5
Speed 3840.7 MHz
Multiplier 16.5
Core #6
Speed 3840.7 MHz
Multiplier 16.5
Virtual Technology Supported Yes
Hyper Threading Supported No
Cache
L1 Data Cache 6 x 64 KBytes
L1 Instructions Cache 6 x 64 KBytes
L2 Cache 6 x 512 KBytes
L3 Cache 6144 KBytes
, 12 gigs of ram and Radeon HD5850.

installed, used 5 minutes. very impressed (this is my very 1st post!)
i hope it can be used discreetly - ie: can i look at filthy nasty or top-secret pictures without being 'tracked' by "Recent Places"? Except for this caveat i, for 1st time, highly recommend a GAOTD or GOTD (thankfully abbr is not one letter shorter...) Hopefully Zoner will comment on this and make it useful to others... ty.

I really like this program! It must be easy and fast! Thank you!

Thanks again, GOTD and Zoner!

Hi everyone,

If anyone reads this, I would like to know why the file size is 88.7 MB and 326.32 MB when downloaded to my computer? I had Zoner 12 then 13 previously but had to uninstall since it wasn't working for some reason so it can't possibly be nearly 300MB in leftover files. I have Revo Pro which uninstalls all leftovers on x64. I'm just curious.

Anyway, thanks a lot GOTD and Zoner for this great software!!!

Have a great one everybody :-)

Installed like a breeze. I would have liked a brighter window. Dark places are not to my taste. I am yet to explore in detail. But looks we have lot of tools available. Very happy. Thank you GOTD.

For those of you who are having questions about the registration of this program, the answer seems to lie in #63, Zoner support reply to Joan #49: there is no need to enter a key as it is already activated for this giveaway. The key entry form should have been removed because it causes more confusion, imho. (HELP>LICENSE). However, the other option there is to select "Choose a license", and HOME is the only choice. So I selected that and hit OK and I'll know soon enough if that works. Anybody else have a better answer for this? That said, this program has a lot of goodies and I'm looking forward to learning to use its many features. I appreciate the help menu! Thank you Zoner and as always, GOTD!

I have read almost all the comments and although there is a lot of chatter about the license, I don't see anything about the "Log in" option in the top right corner of the opening window.When I try to create a new account, a quick window opens that says something about error connecting to server, then when I click on Create an Account," nothing happens. So, why can't we log in and use whatever you can use by creating an account? (I imagine having a log in allows you to publish pictures to the web or something web related. Does anyone have an answer to this?

#46 Zoner and #50
You did not read Giovani's comment. The 24 hours the is referring to is the time allowed to download the software for as long as you want

Why not process(one-click save edited file) button? for fast creat web jpeg or creat new jpeg file.

This morning and this evening (Windows 7 home premium 64 bit) neither windows built-in extractor nor 7zip think this is a valid file. Worked nicely on my friend's 32bit laptop earlier today.

How do you tell if it registered? In the "help" section, under the "about" sec. it should be there but it's not. Any ideas???

This is a very nice program. I actually prefer it over Photoshop elements 9, at least for organizing. It's a lot faster. And I'm not sure why so many people are requesting RAW editing. I just tried it and was able to load and edit a RAW (CR2) Canon file from a 60D.

Cannot download, have tried several times. Says empty folder. So sad, was looking forward to trying this.

I never had trouble installing GOTD downloads until two weeks ago. After downloading I get a Firefox page that opens and says, "Zoner Photo Studio 14 HOME Edition activated - what next?" It has not installed (I searched for it, and checked in control panel), and the Firefox doesn't seem to direct me anyplace, nor does any other screen appear. I downloaded three more times. I'm sure I'm doing something wrong, but I don't know what. I've asked in this forum before, but no one responded. I hate to keep missing what looks like great software. Can anyone help? Thanks.

I only speak up if something here is really bad or really good. When it comes to
editing graphics and photos, Zoner Photo Studio is not only very good, I would
rate it as being the BEST GAotD that I've come to enjoy over the last three
years. It is truly a first rate, professionally written package... (even if I prefer
the "Create Custom Crop Selection..." of IRFAN View).

Best wishes to all,
Peter

I like it. It's similar to Adobe Lightroom, but not as intimidating.

Zoner Photo Studio 14 Home Edition gives you complete control over your collection of digital photos. It allows you to acquire photos from your digital camera as well as from a scanner. It also makes the task of sorting, organizing and browsing through your digital photos a lot easier. This amazing software helps you to personalize and improve your photos by making it easy to use special effects on your digital memories.

With this software, you will gain complete control over your digital pictures. If you have a huge collection of photos, you can easily organize them with Zoner Photo Studio. It helps you create, store and keep track of all the metadata that is embedded in your digital collection. It also helps you label your pictures by giving them names and dates and other information. It will also search and filter your pictures so that finding them becomes very easy.

This software has a number of tools that will help you improve your digital pictures. Quick Fix Tool is an excellent example of the type of tools this software puts at your disposal. The Levels tool provides you with an excellent means of manually working with your image histograms.

When you shoot photographs, you will certainly want to share them with others. Zoner offers you many different tools to help you share and publish your photographs. You can print photos in different ways, and you can create web galleries and even burn your photos to CDs as well as to DVDs.

As an advanced user of Adobe Photoshop, my copy of Zoner Photo Home Edition was in daily use right up until the day I decided to upgrade to the Professional version. Now, I use Zoner Photo Studio 14 Professional Edition twice as much before!

Highly recommended!

@Zoner Software Support 2 :

You said following Help >> License, I would see that I have the Home edition. However, the default radio button is on the License area. If I select the 2nd option, where "Home" is listed, and click "Ok," the radio button goes back up to the area where it has blank fields and says "Paste from Clipboard."

Are you saying that even though the blank fields for License are the default, this version is registered? I don't understand.

Regards,
Ruth Marie

Downloaded and installed fine on XP2 sp3. However when I go to HELP>LICENCE I am being asked for a licence number. I did select the HOME licence alternative but when I restarted and went to HELP>LICENCE I was again asked for licence code. Is the program activated or not?

I love you ZONEEEEEER.......

This took quite a bit of testing but I believe I've reached a conclusion about this software.

Foremost, this is not a tool that involves a lot of technical expertise. It is a tool for the layman with which he or she can accomplish many (not all) effects and photo corrections/manipulations with a minimum of fuss. This simplification of the tools available does not often leave the professional photo editor with many complaints either.

There are some things that it lacks. There are no layers (as has been mentioned) which are invaluable to image editing software. This also means that there are no masks. This to me is another crucial shortcoming that could be added despite the lack of layers. I also didn't find any paint brushes other than a standard round brush with hardness, opacity, etc.

Lastly, I find myself confused by the choices in keyboard shortcuts for standard tasks that I've grown accustomed to using in Photoshop. To me, the ALT key is used as the antithesis for any tool you are using (selections/deselections, brighten/darken, etc.) but I had to hunt around sometimes to find what Zoner Photo Studio uses.

All in all, this software at this price is absolutely wonderful as a feature-rich tool for casual users. For high-end users, stick with a more costly and feature-rich product.

I had the same problem as some of the other writers. I downloaded three zips, tried some custom installs and no joy. Looks like a good program.

However, as #81 commented, uninstall works VERY smoothly.

I don't care what anybody else says, it’s good to see Zoner here taking an active interest in the comments. To me, this indicates a commitment to the users not always seen by companies in general, let alone software producers!!

Zoner reps:
I searched my computer and found Zoner Photo Studio 13, both 32 and 64 bit. I also found Zoner Editor 13, both 32 and 64 bit.
Will installing Photo Studio 14, cause problems with Editor 13? Will Editor 13 work with Photo Studio 14? Is there any reason to keep Photo Studio 13 after installing 14?

Thanks for being here for us!

RichU

I liked Zoner13- 14 should be great too!

When I want to do something specific in gimp, I just search the web. I soon am reading step by step instructions, perhaps requiring a plugin/script, and then with a link to that.
- Otherwise Irfanview. Basic edits. Handles old 8bf PS plugins. Doesn't have tagging/database functions that I know of. Wastefully defaults to 24bit color "depth" though your image may need less (e.g., 8bit)
- RWPaint has something like macro recording. Useful if same processing sequence for similar photos and end use, such as all the "inside" icons in a multi-ico (Gimp can do the same, but right now I don't recall how, except that the capability was obvious when I applied my same set of edits to each "inside" icon)
- Paint.NET is popular.
Some other free/oss bitmap editors handle layers. quickly check by searching the app name with the word Layers.

I think I've see older Corel paint (or similar Corel app) free (seemed were legitimate Corel offers, but maybe for small time period?)

SO far, I am loving this program! Thank you! I use Photoshop CS4 but this is easy fr my grandkids to use, and I can see myself using it too as a Photo Oranizer. Very nice interface. I may find things I would wish were different as I use it, but for now, I find this very nice - especially for free!

I think I saw that if I buy the Pro it is only allowed on one computer. Is this true?

With PSE I get to install on two computers, which is nice for at work and at home or remote on my laptop. I only use one at a time anyway.

In the help I see support for RAW files as well as 'full?' support for 64 bit images.

Can someone with experience comment on these for us?

I have been using PSE9, but it has only limited support for 64bit images. I like it but it seems some functions just don't do what I want them to. Such as when I adjust lighting I can brighten dark spots, but they built the slider form 0-100 and won't let me go neg to darker dark spots. To do my lighting adjustments I have to use multiple tools. I'd rather cover it all within one tool.

Is Zoner better in this respect in any way? Sorry to ask rather than figure it out myself, but with only one day to try I won't get that far.

Thanks.