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
    2011-12-12T23:56:45+00:00

    I am surprised to read that Picture It is not compatible with Windows 7.

    That's a bummer! Years and years ago, 2004, Picture-It came as part of my system bundle. I really didn't use it till about 3 years ago. So for several years it sat dormant and unused. But when I tried a few other commercial mainstream packages I was dismayed at the complexity. Still avoiding using PI because it was a pack-in (that's all shovelware I was thinking) - I was pleasently surprised at how easy and and basic it was. And yet at the same time how much versatility is packed into the UI. I've used it to make cards and signs of all types, and modify existing store-bought cards.

    Never having done a CD jewelcase inset before, I figured what the ****. I tried it and had my sheet done within 15 minutes. I proceeded to lollygag around for another hour just experimenting and looking through my pile of photos. To see what else I could brew up.

    Sometimes there is no need for the latest and greatest in software, old-school works best. Sometimes upgrading is really downgrading. And old software really cruises on new hardware. No bloat, no extraneous garbage. Picture it! is it!

    I believe we are at the point where getting a new operating system just to get the latest and greatest is really detrimental. Faster, better, newer, isn't always the way to go. And every piece of new software has its entourage of obligatory bugs that need to be worked through and updated.

    Software you've accumulated over time sometimes doesn't have a modern-day equivalent. But it does have the advantage of immediate familiarity allowing you to get to work with a minimum of fuss. It also has a lot of the bugs worked out (generally speaking), and the ones that are not, well, you're aware of them and work arounds would have been developed.

    Personal Computing is really all about the applications and your own content you create and work with. Users get flustered when things in those areas get broked up and screwed with.  All these things need to transfer to a new o/s, if they don't then it's a potential deal breaker.

    If I need to keep using XP or do virtualization to keep Picture-It around, then so be it!

    If you gotta have Win7 on modern hardware AND still want your old-school software, it's probably best to use virtualization. Take some time and learn the ins and outs how it all works.

    In some cases virtualization can work better than running on old hardware - what with all its quirks and  possible failure points. Not to mention efficiency and speed, and my personal pet peeve of all the tedious settings. Virtualization can be a real asset here!

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  2. Anonymous
    2011-12-21T19:51:30+00:00

    I really used mine a lot, and I think it is sad that even on my old windows xp it no longer works. I get error codes and messages. I paid a lot of money for this program and can not even use it on my old computer due to some updates. You need to get on the ball and find away to either update or make  a newer but comparable product for us to use

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  3. Anonymous
    2011-12-22T00:35:34+00:00

    Amen, i totally agree.

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  4. Anonymous
    2012-01-13T03:25:40+00:00

    Why make it so difficult?   There are thousands of Windows users who want you to bring back PictureIt!, so why not do it?  If we have to go out and test a dozen different softwares to get the same results we used to get, we might as well switch to MAC, Linux, etc.

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