Microsoft Picture It incompatability with Windows 7 and alternatives for .mix files.

Anonymous
2009-12-18T06:22:35+00:00

I have been using Microsoft Picture It for years to design tons of graphics for my business and now I have purchased a new pc loaded with Windows 7 and find that my true love Picture It! is not compatable.  I never dreamed this would be the case for a software that isn't even a decade old or that new pc I just spent thousands on would be sitting right back at the store it came from.  I really feel that Microsoft has cheated me out of something I paid for and invested so much work in by making it unusable and it has brought my small business to a standstill.  What other program is available that is compatable with Windows 7 that will allow me to edit and view existing .mix and other Picture It! format files and contain all the capabilities of Picture It?  I would be willing to purchase additional software from Microsoft to make Picture It compatable to Windows 7 if necessary.

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Apps

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Anonymous
2011-03-14T18:21:06+00:00

Hello all,

I know that you are all disappointed that Microsoft Picture It is not compatible with Windows 7. 

Your feedback would be better heard if you send it to the Windows 7 Feedback site.

http://mymfe.microsoft.com/Windows%207/Feedback.aspx?formID=195

These are your options when software is not compatible:

If the program is not compatible, then you may try to install and run the program in compatibility mode.

Use the following steps:

1)      Right click on the Program

2)      Click on Properties

3)      Click on Compatibility tab

4)      Select Run this program in compatibility mode and select Windows XP, Windows Vista or whatever operating system the program was running successfully.

Refer to the link here: Make older programs run in this version of Windows

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/Make-older-programs-run-in-this-version-of-Windows

If you run Windows 7 Professional or Ultimate version, install Windows Virtual PC and Windows XP mode (http://www.microsoft.com/windows/virtual-pc/default.aspx) and execute your software in Windows XP.

If you run Windows 7 Home Premium, try VirtualBox (www.virtualbox.org) or VMware Player

(www.vmware.com) or any other 3party virtualization software and install a separate copy of Windows XP (either Home Edition or Professional) for that purpose. You can find virtualization software free of charge that will run on Windows 7 Home Premium. 

Sincerely,

Marilyn

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  1. Anonymous
    2015-01-09T17:53:30+00:00

    In case it saves you research time, here is what I have learned to do with Paint.net, sometimes after Internet searches. It's not quite as simple as Picture It!, but quite manageable. I will also want to use the paintbrush and do cloning, removing things I don't like and inserts of various kinds, but haven't yet.

    INSTRUCTIONS FOR PAINT-NET

    CROP

    Click Tools.

    Click Rectangle select or Ellipse select, according to shape required.

    Choose Fixed Ratio or Normal from the drop down list next to the right but one from Tools. Normal is freehand.

    For fixed ratio, enter the height and width in boxes to the right.

    Move the cursor to any of the area that you want to remain and drag the mouse button to define the area.

    It looks as though you can’t adjust the area defined. If you don’t like it, click on a new starting point and do it again.

    Click on the Image button on the uppermost navigation bar. Select Crop to Selection. This will crop the image to the area inside of the dotted outline.

    SHARPEN

    Click Effects

    Hover over Photo and select Sharpen

    Adjust slider.

    If more sharpening needed, Click Effects, then click Repeat sharpen. It will probably be too sharp, so go back to Sharpen and adjust with slider.

    ADJUST BRIGHTNESS AND CONTRAST

    Click Adjustments

    Click Brighteness/contrast

    Adjust with sliders

    ADJUST COOURS

    Click Adjustments

    Click Hue/Saturation

    Use Hue slider to adjust colur to change

    Use Saturation slider to adjust

    ROTATE IMAGE

    For 90 or 180 degrees Click Image, and you’ll see it.

    For finer rotation, click Layers, then Rotate /Zoom, then adjust with top slider and numbers in boxes.

    RESIZE

    Click Image

    Click Resize

    Use the boxes to change Resolution and Pixel size

    John Presland

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  2. Anonymous
    2015-01-05T15:55:45+00:00

    Dear Carole

    Yes - Paint.net is free. The number of programs you can run depends on the capacity of your computer and how much memory the programs use. I have several on my computer and it's not been a problem.

    I should warn that Paint.net didn't, for me, make its procedures immediately clear. I could not make out how to crop and sharpen. I did Internet searches for eg "Sharpen in Paint.net" and got answers. The procedures are not difficult - just not immediately clear. In any cases, Picture It is easier to use. I may end up going on to our other computer, which has Vista and Picture It, to edit pictures. But I'm trying other things which I can use on my everyday computer with Windows 7.

    John

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  3. Anonymous
    2015-01-05T05:25:36+00:00

    My Discs for Picture It are from Microsoft Works Suite 2001. They came with the Windows

    XP program.

    In April I got a new computer with Windows 7.  I have tried to install Picture It many times

    and it has been rejected.  I have printed out your instructions and will try it. Many people

    on this thread have had suggestions on how to install Picture It. Some of it is very confusing.

    Did this work for you - if so why do you want to try Print.net?

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  4. Anonymous
    2015-01-05T04:41:37+00:00

    Hi cemcg(2),

    Let's see......

    These are your options when software is not compatible:

    If the program is not compatible, then you may try to install and run the program in compatibility mode.

    Use the following steps:

    1)      Right click on the Program

    2)      Click on Properties

    3)      Click on Compatibility tab

    4)      Select Run this program in compatibility mode and select Windows XP, Windows Vista or whatever operating system the program was running successfully.

    Refer to the link here: Make older programs run in this version of Windows

    My suggestion is when you download it, save it to a new seperate file w/the name of the program, then run your virus protection to deep scan the program.

    When/if it passes the scanning with no viruses.....(this is from $60.00 worth of experience!).....then

    follow the directions above..

    When you have right clicked on the program, and the properties pop up, then look at the top of the properties thingie, you'll see the Compatibility tab. Click on that. If you have ran PictureIt before on an older program (i.e.) WIN 98, XP, and the program ran well......then set the compat. to that ****.

    Then, click on "Run". Did that help?

    I had Vista on this machine before I had my tech guy completely rework my laptop. I found that the Picture it worked better with 98, and the first version of XP.

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