Hallmark Scrapbook Studio 2

Rating:
Summary: AWFUL!!!!
Review: ***Very*** limited in what it can do. The fact that you can't see two pages next to each other (ever; believe me I tried) is annoying, as are the limited and fickle graphics (some can have their colors changed while others cannot, some resize better than others, lack of backgrounds, poorly organized, etc). I've also had a lot of trouble keeping things like colors consistient; while you can mix up any color under the sun you can't save that color to use again. Even MS Paintbrush has that ability!!!!

However my BIGGEST complaint is the fact that YOU CAN'T CROP DIGITAL PICTURES AT ALL. No reshaping, resizing, cropping, NOTHING. Every single picture is the same size and shape, and tilting or resizing them even a little to fit somewhere can have disastrous effects on picture quality. Oh and don't try resizig it in another program either, once you import it to Scrapbook Studio it automatically puts it back into the boring rectangle. Look up "cropping" in the help guide, and it suggests moving unwanted edges off the screen, and making blank rectangles to cover up extra edges. It's an absolute MESS!!!! If you want to sit and physically crop your own pictures, go right ahead, but if you're going to do all that you may as well scrap the old-fashioned way.

Don't waste your money.

Rating:
Summary: I can't recommend this application.
Review: Despite the higher quality clipart/graphics (I can't deny that Hallmark has some REALLY nice stuff in there!) the ways in which this application "simplifies" things just aren't friendly or functional. Just frustrating.

Rating:
Summary: I can't recommend this application.
Review: Despite the higher quality clipart/graphics (I can't deny that Hallmark has some REALLY nice stuff in there!) the ways in which this application "simplifies" things just aren't friendly or functional. Just frustrating.

Rating:
Summary: Waste of time and money... for now
Review: I had the previous edition for Win98 and thought the new edition for WinXP would have fixed the previous problems but it has not. I was able to load the software fine and it runs well, and the pre-designed templates are great! But... it still won't allow you to import digital photos to shapes other than squares/rectangles. So, at least half of the templates are useless unless you enjoy printing the template and manually cutting out the design (star, oval or circle) and putting a hard copy photo behind the shape. Yes, it is more like real scrapbooking, but come on! I know the technology is out there and it is just a matter of layering. Wait until Hallmark wakes up and smells the Elmers and makes a top-knotch scrapbook program... which we can only hope will come soon!

Rating:
Summary: Terrible
Review: I just bought this and I will be returning it. It has alot of nice templates but they are set up for the pictures to go OVER them which means they have to be shaped and cropped to the exact size of the boxes. What is worse is that when you import your picture into the graphics holders on the page it stretches the image, losing the original aspect ratio. If you want to crop the picture it actually says you must load up the included utility and change the picture there, then import it. Anyone with any experience with this kind of thing will immediately realize how ridiculous a concept that is. What a dissapointment. I wish I read the review here before I bought, now I have to waste my time further with a trip back to the store.

Rating:
Summary: It keeps "freezing"
Review: I just bought this software today and can't tell you how disappointed I am with it. It installed just fine, but every time I try to work on one of the templates it "freezes" in the middle of loading and crashes my computer. This is the most frustrating experience I've EVER had with ANY kind of software, I've even tried uninstalling and re-installing and it still does the same thing. I have the Hallmark Card Studio and loved it, but I can't believe this program is made by the same people. This one's going back to the store as fast as I can drive!

Rating:
Summary: It keeps "freezing"
Review: I just bought this software today and can't tell you how disappointed I am with it. It installed just fine, but every time I try to work on one of the templates it "freezes" in the middle of loading and crashes my computer. This is the most frustrating experience I've EVER had with ANY kind of software, I've even tried uninstalling and re-installing and it still does the same thing. I have the Hallmark Card Studio and loved it, but I can't believe this program is made by the same people. This one's going back to the store as fast as I can drive!

Rating:
Summary: Very Disappointing!
Review: I originally bought the Scrapbook Studio Deluxe, and although I loved the pre-made templates and graphics, was very disappointed that I couldn't get my photos into the layout in the fancy shapes it showed (not even an oval!). When I saw the upgraded version, I quickly bought it, hoping that I would now be able to layer my downloaded or scanned photos into the templates without them becoming distorted or having to manipulate it in another program. Not the case! If working with squares or rectangles I could manipulate my images, but it just isn't user friendly. I can't even crop my photo in the scrapbook program, so I have to estimate in another program and bring it over. My understanding is that the intent of the program, or any scrapbook program is to display and preserve your photos in a creative and appealing way. I don't want to print out a template and manually cut the hole and lay it over my photo. I want it all done in the program. Also, I have noticed that if I tilt a picture to accommodate the layout, it prints out fuzzy with all the pixels at the edges showing. This has not been a problem in other scrapbook programs I have used, nor is it an issue with my printer which is excellent at printing photos. Once again I am highly disappointed that the program did not live up to all that it has the potential for. I will be returning this second version since I am still within the 90 day money back guarantee and hope that the engineers in R&D can create a program to actually work hand in hand with downloaded and scanned photos, and can reproduce images at a much higher quality!

Rating:
Summary: It's good for graphics but that's about it
Review: I saw this in the store the other day and thought what a wonderful idea!! Considering the Hallmark name, I thought it had to be decent. I hate it. I put in the time to learn how to use it. I have a technical bachelors degree and work in the IT field, so you'd think I'd be computer savvy enough to use this. I have hundreds of digital photos and was quite upset to see the note in the instructions to only use the square or retangular templates with digital photos. What??!! That makes it useless to me. $20 down the toilet.

Rating:
Summary: So disappointed...
Review: I saw this in the store the other day and thought what a wonderful idea!! Considering the Hallmark name, I thought it had to be decent. I hate it. I put in the time to learn how to use it. I have a technical bachelors degree and work in the IT field, so you'd think I'd be computer savvy enough to use this. I have hundreds of digital photos and was quite upset to see the note in the instructions to only use the square or retangular templates with digital photos. What??!! That makes it useless to me. $20 down the toilet.