Enhance your projects with Graphics Toolbox....

As a member of the TOS Crew, I have had the past month to experiment with Graphics Toolbox, a graphics editting software that allows ordinary individuals to create some pretty neat projects. Over the last seven or eight years, I've used a couple of different graphics softwares, one a free download and one that was part of our old computer's suite of programs. And I have made some pretty neat stuff, so I came at this with high expectations. So, as I approached Graphics Toolbox, I was most interested in just how much I would actually be able to do, how easy it would be, and what I could do with it. The creator of this product was kind enough to provide some instructional sessions and videos for those of us learning to use Graphics Toolbox, and it was after I watched one of those videos that I finally got the hang of it.

Okay, if you're like me, before you buy anything, you want to know just what it will do for you and if it's worth the price. You see, I have been very pleased with the capabilities of the free software I've been using for several years now, but I know it has limitations. So, I kept the GT (Graphics Toolbox) manual pulled up while I learned just what GT had to offer me. Would it be as easy to learn? No, it was not nearly as easy to learn. I have become conditioned to Windows and its drop-down menus, and I had to get used to the format and functionality of GT. Now, once I played around with it a while, I got used to the icons and how they are the key to using this program, so that's not a big deal to me.

Something else was ease of use compared to what I had been using.....once I got used to the format of GT, then it was almost as easy to use as the software I'm accustomed to. Honestly, for those of us used to the world of right-clicking and dragging and dropping, it felt very stilted to use initially, like everything took two or three steps longer than it should. But, as I became more familiar with it, I realized it has more capabilities than what I was using. I can control elements of my projects with, I think, a greater deal of precision. Now, if what you want doesn't require a lot of pixel-by-pixel precision, there are other programs out there that will get the job done for less money. But this one will let you get really precise with color and position and size. I will say, though, that I found the text menu on my older program has more flexibility about rotation and sizing.

Graphics Toolbox also comes with many graphics you can use in your projects, from a small amount of layout templates to a fairly large collection of computer generated illustrations of objects. Below you can see two of my projects. One is a birthday invitation, minus the words, of course, and the other is a sample scrapbook page. I used one of the built in templates for the invitation, and used the frame subcommand to wrap a ribbon effect around my scrapbook page. Here's how precise GT will let you get. I was even able to play around with the individual colors in the ribbon frame. Which reminds me to tell you that you can set up your own color cards within the color card icons, so you can have all your colors organized by your own system.

Okay, here is my bottom line on Graphics Toolbox. It's $149, but they offer a free 30-day trial period. Try it out and see if it fits your needs. If it doesn't, you're not out anything. If you're seriously looking for graphics software, you need to check out several products, anyway, to know what they offer so you can make a wise decision before you buy. So, no, I can't say, go get your wallet and buy it right now, but I can say it is a software that does offer a lot of graphics capability to non-professionals, IF you are willing to read the instructions and the videos and practice. And I am excited about using it to create projects here at home and for our homeschool resource group. I also think this is a product that will work well for me in conjunction with my old one that I'm used to, and I am fairly sure I should be able to use it with additional templates I can find free online.

You need to check other reviews online, too, from other TOS Crew members and other creditable sources online.