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
    2010-09-08T14:21:02+00:00

    What is Windows 98 mode and how do I run it?  Thanks!

    It is a compatibility mode that you can set for any program file or shortcut. Right click on the file and pick Properties. On the Compatibility tab choose the desired OS from the drop down list provided after you tick the box for "Run this program in compatibility mode for:".  You can also use this option on the program installation file, which is often useful in getting older software to run in a newer OS. There is no guarantee however that any particular software will run properly even if you do this.

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  2. Anonymous
    2010-09-08T14:27:43+00:00

    This is SO DEPRESSING!

    I have built a large t-shirt and novelty item business entirely based on designs created over the past 10 years using Microsoft PictureIt!   The program was perfect for that.  PictureIt! makes it exceedingly easy to create precise transparent images and layers mixed with text.

    I just switched to Windows 7, but I've been looking for a replacement for PictureIt! for several years, since Microsoft stopped upgrading it.  I tried Microsoft Digital Image 2006, but it corrupts any .MIX file I open that contained text.  Digital Image 2006 is indeed great for photos -- but it's a huge step backwards for text and graphics.  

    I am angry that Microsoft would force us to buy yet another upgrade to Win7 just so that we can run old programs.  Hey Microsoft - How about throwing a bone to any certified PictureIt! user and giving us a free way to emulate WinXP?

    Otherwise I've got to keep a separate old PC running just for PictureIt!

    If you've got any installable XP or older Windows OS disk you can run your PictureIT in a virtual machine. Download and install MS***Virtual PC 2007  (not the virtual PC for Win7 Pro/Ultimate).***Create a virtual machine running your older Windows OS in V-PC 2007 and then install PictureIT into that.

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  3. Anonymous
    2010-09-19T07:36:28+00:00

    I, too, am very disappointed with Microsoft's decision to no longer support Piture It!. I have been using this software for years and found it simple and very versatile. I would even be glad to purchase an upgrade of Picture It! so I could use it in Windows 7. I will be shopping for a new PC in the very near future and, while I've never used an Apple, will seriously consider that option first. Microsoft, you've left many users in a lurch with unuseable files created in Picture It!....shame, shame!!!

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  4. Anonymous
    2010-09-21T12:50:54+00:00

    I, too, am very disappointed with Microsoft's decision to no longer support Piture It!. I have been using this software for years and found it simple and very versatile. I would even be glad to purchase an upgrade of Picture It! so I could use it in Windows 7. I will be shopping for a new PC in the very near future and, while I've never used an Apple, will seriously consider that option first. Microsoft, you've left many users in a lurch with unuseable files created in Picture It!....shame, shame!!! 

    Recently I was annoyed by ArcSoft fornot allowing my version of their PhotoStudio software to be updated for Windows 7. Even though the update exists. As luck would have it Wacom gave me a free copy of Photoshop Essentials with my new tablet, so raspberries to ArcSoft. 

    You'll find that the same problem exists with any proprietary file format that hasn't been adopted by 3rd party software writers. My preferred graphics app was Corel Photopaint but that's gone by the wayside too. I still find the odd unconverted .CPT format photo in my archives. That's why it is best to stick with using a defacto standard graphics file format like TIF, or even BMP, or convert your existing files to that format. Pretty much any graphics program can work with those formats so the chance of being left in the lurch is slim. While BMP is a "flat" file format TIF allows for working with multiple layers in your images/graphics.

    If PictureIT has a mass file conversion utility that would be the way to go. Good replacement graphics software varies in price from free to 'you're joking, right?". Cheaper than a Mac by a long shot.

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