PhotoDraw2000: Pasted Screenshots Appear Fuzzy (295604)

SYMPTOMS

When you paste or insert screenshots or bitmaps into Microsoft PhotoDraw2000 version 2, the image may appear fuzzy. Text is particularly fuzzy, and the image does not print sharply.

CAUSE

This behavior can occur because, by design, PhotoDraw uses antialiasing to smooth the bitmaps and text that appear in the bitmaps. There is no way to turn off the antialiasing functionality. This behavior usually occurs when the image is pasted as either a smaller or larger image than is optimal for the proper rendering of the visual information.

WORKAROUND

You can improve the appearance of the screenshot by applying the Blur and Sharpen effect to the screenshot object. To do this, follow these steps:

In the workspace or in the Picture list, select the screenshot that you want to modify.
On the Touchup menu, click Blur and Sharpen.
To sharpen the object, move the Blur/Sharpen slider to the right or enter a positive value in the Blur/Sharpen box.

Typically, a value between 15 and 30 sufficiently sharpens the image to an acceptable clarity level.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article.

MORE INFORMATION

Antialiasing is the blurring of the jagged "stair-step" appearance in graphical elements such as lines, curves, circles, and particularly in text. Jagged edges occur when the resolution of an image is too coarse to achieve the appearance of smoothness. Therefore, antialiasing is used to blur the roughness of a jagged line by shading or coloring neighboring pixels. This technique makes the transition between light and dark (or between two colors) less distinct and therefore less visible, but at the cost of making objects appear more blurry.