Photoscape includes just about everything you need to view, optimize, edit, print and have fun with your photos. In fact, it's so complete that many would call it a free Photoshop alternative. Sure, it's not quite up to the level of Photoshop, but it's truly a great alternative to Adobe's big shot - and it makes photo editing a lot more fun!

One of the first striking elements in Photoscape is its uncommon interface design. From the program's main window you can choose what you want to do: view pictures, optimize those that didn't come out so well, print several photos on a single page collage-style or perhaps add any of the dozens of filters and special effects included in the program.

Other extra tools featured in Photoscape are a file renamer, a color picker, a screen capture tool and even a RAW converter.

There's really nothing negative to say about Photoscape. Just download it, test it, love it and keep it forever. It's free!

Download Photoscape 3.6 in Softonic

The new Adobe Photoshop CS5 keeps the same interface design introduced in CS4, with some slight changes. The application shows a minimalist design, with titles reduced to mere lines, nested tool windows and a tabbed working area that makes working with multiple files at the same time a lot easier.

If you’ve already worked with the previous Adobe Photoshop CS4 you won’t have problems in switching to the latest version; if you haven't, you may find this menu arrangement a bit confusing at first.

The major new feature in Adobe Photoshop CS5, however, is an extraordinary set of completely new tools developed to improve the way you work with your images and create more attractive, professional-looking pieces of art.

Among the new features in Adobe Photoshop CS5 we find the content-aware healing brushes, which let you remove any object or detail from an image while magically filling in the space left behind; the smart selection tool, thanks to which selecting difficult elements like hair or tree leaves will be much easier; the so called wet brushes, which behave like real life brushes in terms of paint mixes and and the fun puppet warp tool, with which you can move, stretch or warp selected elements in an image.

As usual, the interface in Adobe Photoshop CS5 is highly flexible, which means you can customize the menus, brushes, patterns, tools presents and almost everything you find on the program. We also recommend getting used to Adobe Photoshop's keyboard shortcuts, as they'll save you loads of time and mouse clicks.

Adobe Photoshop is definitely an application for professionals and as such, has quite a steep learning curve. But this long process of learning does have a reward: the more you practice with all the tools, filters and effects included in Adobe Photoshop, the better results you achieve. Also, there is a huge quantity of web resources, tutorials and manuals all over the internet.

Finally, don't forget that Adobe Photoshop CS5 is a powerful application that can get quite heavy on system resources, especially when you start opening more and more high-resolution documents with multiple layers.

Though probably overwhelming for beginners, Adobe Photoshop CS5 is simply a must-have for anyone with an interest in imaging, particularly professional photographers and designers.

Download Adobe Photoshop CS5 Extended in Softonic

After the release of any program bugs will crop up sooner or later. Even if they aren't very serious, they can still hinder your work. Photoshop 7.0.1 is no exception. Adobe Photoshop 7.0.1 Update eliminates these problems and brings improvements such as:

- Fixes scale errors

- Improves compatibility with QuarkXPress

- Accelerate the opening of multiple windows

- Stores JPEG metadata correctly

If you use Photoshop 7.0.1, the Adobe Photoshop 7.0.1 Update is an essential download.

Download Adobe Photoshop 7.0.1 Update 1.0 in Softonic

You’ll find a complete set of tools in CorelDRAW Graphics Suite: CorelDRAW, an intuitive vector-based illustration tool; Corel PHOTO-PAINT, a powerful image editor for all sorts of graphics; Corel PowerTRACE, a bitmap-to-vector converter; Corel CAPTURE, a simple, one-click screen capturing tool; and finally Corel CONNECT, a file browser especially designed to help you manage all your media in the Corel suite, the computer or the local network.

All the apps in the CorelDRAW Graphics Suite are designed with ease of use in mind. Not only do they feature clear, intuitive interfaces, but they are also thoroughly documented. Though created for professionals, advanced amateurs can also benefit from CorelDRAW Graphics Suite and all its features: clean workspace, customizable menus, and lots of filters and effects.

The only thing we missed in CorelDRAW Graphics Suite was better integration between all the apps included in the suite.

These days professional designers and photographers seem to choose Adobe products over Corel ones. But CorelDRAW Graphics Suite is undoubtedly a great pack of designing and editing tools that’s well worth a try.

CorelDRAW Graphics Suite is a excellent collection of apps for professional design, vector illustration and page layout.

Download CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X5 in Softonic

Just like the original program, Photoscape Portable is an excellent photo editing tool that includes just about everything you need to view, optimize, edit, print, and have fun with your photos. Its free and runs from your USB stick without having to install anything, and without leaving any trace.

Photoscape Portable catches the eye from the outset with its unusual interface design, where a round-shaped menu gives you access to all the tools included in the program. You may want to browse photos, optimize those that didn't come out so well, print several photos on a single page collage-style or perhaps add any of the dozens of filters and special effects included in the program.

Other extra tools featured in Photoscape Portable are a file renamer, a color picker, a screen capture tool, a RAW converter and even a tool to create animated GIFs.

We really have nothing negative to say about Photoscape Portable. Just download it, test it, love it and keep it forever!

Download PhotoScape Portable 3.5 in Softonic

With Microsoft Publisher you can create, edit, customize and share all sorts of marketing material with ease of use and professional results. From simple greeting cards to more elaborate newsletters, Microsoft Publisher includes everything you need for your work.

One of the most outstanding elements in Microsoft Publisher is the amount of templates it includes to get you started; you’ll find one for almost anything: brochures, business cards, calendars, labels, flyers, award certificates and more. Besides this material, Microsoft Publisher also lets you work with images, clipart and predefined shapes.

The text and image tools included in Microsoft Publisher make document layout easier and more creative. You can see results in real time as you change text fonts and apply new colors. And once the document is finished, Microsoft Publisher gives you a wide range of options to save or export it, such as PDF or JPG. On the downside, the program still lacks support for InDesign and QuarkXpress documents.

Microsoft Publisher is Office’s application for designing, customizing and sharing all sorts of publications in an easy way.

Download Microsoft Publisher 2010 in Softonic

Let’s quickly go through what you can do with GIMP. The painting function has the essential clone, airbrush and pencil tools and a powerful gradient and blend tool. You can also create and save your own brushes and patterns for later use. GIMP lets you manipulate your photos, adding layers, doing Bezier and polygonal selections or setting text. Load and save animations in a frame-as-layer format and batch process all your photos for quick editing. The multi-windowed interface can be moved around to fit your needs and resized according to your desktop space

What’s more, GIMP can be expanded with over 100 different plug-ins and extensions available on the GIMP’s website. These apply in majority for layer effects such as render, distort or blur and make a great addition to the ones already present in the program. The website is also home to a variety of GIMP tutorials for people who want to brush up on their skills.

While GIMP is user-friendly, the installation process can be a bit scary. Because the application works under the GTK Runtime Environment, you will have to install this kit to successfully launch the program. The process is fairly lengthy and some error messages tend to pop up. If you persist, however, you will be able to install Gimp properly on your PC

Despite this fairly hazardous installation process, GIMP is a program we recommend. Whether you’re out of dough or are looking for a free alternative to Photoshop, GIMP is excellent image manipulation software with all the tools you’d expect. The friendly interface and expandability make this a program of choice.

GIMP - the reference in open-source image manipulation.

Download GIMP 2.6.12 in Softonic

The new Adobe Illustrator CS5 uses the same interface style as the rest of applications in the Adobe suite: a clean, almost minimalist window with reduced toolbars, nested windows and support for tabbed documents – which makes it easier for you to work on several projects simultaneously.

Adobe Illustrator is the perfect tool for all kinds of design. Whether you’re a professional web designer or you just want to create a poster and some invites for a friend’s party, your creativity will be boosted with Adobe Illustrator's impressive set of drawing tools, brushes, color processing tools and gradient effects – not to mention the wide array of filters and special effects with which you can add the final touch to your drawing.

As with any other vector drawing tool, Adobe Illustrator feels really complex for first-time users: toolbars full of strange icons, many new functions and features to learn... Luckily the program includes a bunch of templates to get you started, as well as a thorough help section where you'll find the answer to all your doubts and problems.

Adobe Illustrator is seamlessly integrated with other Adobe tools (such as Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Dreamweaver), something that makes your work more powerful if you're already used to working with Adobe apps.

Adobe Illustrator is the reference when it comes to vector designing and drawing. It features an impressive set of tools, filters and effects and is perfectly integrated with other Adobe apps.

Download Adobe Illustrator CS5 in Softonic

There are a lot of desktop painting programs out there available to download. Some even come as standard when you buy a new Windows PC.

PowerPaint's developers post that PowerPaint is "the best tool to replace Windows Paint." By all accounts, it certainly boasts more features than its stripped down counterpart. Even in the "Image" drop-down menu alone, you can turn your drawing or photograph gray, halftone, invert the blacks and whites within the picture, adjust the brightness and contrast and much more. PowerPaint also comes with a bunch of pre-made basic shapes, lines, arrows, stars and banners. These are just simple examples of clipart, but it's certainly convenient to have them already installed.

In addition, PowerPaint has different types of texture brushes to add special effects to your images. You can fill in the background with a specific color and even insert an additional photograph into the image you're already working with.

It's no substitute for the more powerful programs like Paint Shop Pro or Adobe Photoshop, but PowerPaint is a pretty handy and free image editing alternative.

Download PowerPaint 2.50 in Softonic

This nicely designed image editor features the simple interface everyone loves to have in applications, but at the same time offers a surprisingly wide array of tools and options you would only expect to find in large graphic suites.

Paint.NET lets you work on several images simultaneously, has support for layers, keeps an action history that lets you undo any changes, and includes a variety of drawing tools (brushes, geometrical shapes). You'll also find several special filters and effects that can turn your image into an oil painting or a pencil drawing in just one click.

That said, don't expect Paint.NET to be some kind of free Photoshop alternative. If you use the Adobe app to work on your images, you'll surely miss many tools in Paint.NET. For everyone else though, this is a perfect tool for daily simple image editing.

Paint.NET sits somewhere between a basic editor and a complex graphic suite, featuring a nicely designed interface and a bunch of handy tools for quick photo optimization and retouching.

Download Paint.NET 3.5.10 in Softonic

This photo editor resembles Photoshop in many aspects, from the way menus and windows are laid out on its interface to the keyboard shortcuts used for many actions. It also includes similar tools, like the magic wand, the gradient, the polygonal lasso and others. What's more, it supports working with layers. Active Pixels also includes some extra embedded apps, such as a red-eye fixer, a picture browser and a screen capture tool - although it only grabs full-screen images.

That said, bear in mind that this free photo editor is not as powerful as Adobe's big shot. Despite the large number of filters and effects included, some of them lack proper configuration settings. I specially disliked the way sliders are designed: they're very uncomfortable to use.

In any case, Active Pixels is an excellent photo editor that can be very useful for those cases in which you don't have Photoshop at hand or you just prefer to use a lighter app to perform the same tasks.

A great photo editor with which you can edit and optimize images, all for free.

Download Active Pixels 3.05 in Softonic

Maybe this generous selection of editing tools is responsible for PaintShop Photo Pro's lengthy installation process.

It has so many different windows, palettes and toolbars that it feels a bit overwhelming. Our advice here is to spend as much time as necessary customizing it to your needs and, of course, trying out all the program’s buttons and menus.

We especially liked the Express Lab, a special tool to quickly fix common image glitches.