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

Download ScreenHunter Free 6.0.203 in Softonic

Format Factory's supported formats include WMV, AVI, MPG, MP3, WMA, AAC, JPG, PNG, GIF, and many more. Better still, Format Factory supports media formats used by most major portable devices, including PSP and iPhone.

The app is very easy to use, although it does have a slightly unintuitive interface. Format Factory's file browser doesn't appear until you select the target format, which is a bit weird, but as long as you know this it's no problem. You can select individual files to convert, or complete folders, and also tweak some basic conversion settings.

Format Factory isn't particularly original but what makes it really useful is that it handles images as well as audio and video. Most converters like this only handle audio and video, so adding images to the mix gives it an edge, especially considering it's free. We also like the Audio Joiner in Format Factory, which allows you to take two separate clips, join them together and then convert them. It would've been nice to have preset profiles for mobile conversions, but you can't always have it all in a free app!

Format Factory is an excellent conversion tool for anyone who converts between video, audio and images on a regular basis.

Download Format Factory 2.90 in Softonic

Download 3DField 3.5.3 in Softonic

Supports to extract the text of PDF to convert. Supports converting the encrypted PDF file. You can convert the whole PDF file at once or you can choose specific pages. Supports to customize DPI when convert PDF to SWF, Image format. Supports to customize SWF frames rate. Supports Flash6 format compression to compress the output SWF file size. Supports converting PDF files into Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Html etc documents. Preserves the original PDF text,table, layout etc in the generated document. Supports converting PDF to PowerPoint with preserve the original content, layout etc. Automatically resize Word/RTF page to fit your converted Excel page size. Supports to merge PowerPoint slides to single PDF/HTML/Gif/TIFF file.

It provides user-friendly interface. It can simultaneously convert different formats to one certain format once. It is a standalone program which does not need Adobe Acrobat software support. Supports to add files by dragging and dropping Supports to save and load the converted file list. Supports to choose the entire folder to convert.

Our goal is to make easy-to-use applications for home users, professionals and companies. The tool offers an easy access for both the beginners and experts.

Download Ailt Document Image Converter Pro 5.5 in Softonic

If you want to make your photos just that bit more fun or pretty, but don't want to be messing around with things like layers and saturation, you should check out Photo Frames & Effects without delay. This little app is lovely to use. It's easy to find your way around, looks good, works perfectly and has plenty of help.

Over 60 effects

In so far as effects and frames, Photo Frames & Effects can offer you over 60. You'll see them divided into Edit, Effects and Filters in the left-hand side of the window, and then sub-divided into further effects. You can preview every change, and either revert to your original, or keep the new one.

Easy to use

When a Photo Frames & Effects effect has different variations, you'll see them at the top of the interface. You can click through these easily, seeing which looks best with your photo, and at every step you have the option to revert back to your original image. You can then print or save your Photo Frames & Effects creation.

Make your photos stand out with minimal effort with Photo Frames & Effects.

Download Photo Frames & Effects Free 1.12 in Softonic

Premium advantages:

Unlimited creative freedom including graphic design & text layout
3D design (e.g., for logos)
Advanced image editing
More professional design templates
Dynamic effects
Additional customization options
Diverse e-commerce options
Create Flash animations (e.g., banners)
Advanced search engine optimization
Universal website management

Download Xara Web Designer Premium 7.1.2.18080 in Softonic

Artweaver is the perfect tool to give free rein to your imagination and creativity. It includes more than a dozen different brushes – each of them with their own tweaks and settings - to create all sorts of effects. The brushes try to convey the feeling and result of using actual drawing tools, and I have to say they do a pretty good job!

Some of the brushes included in Artweaver are acrylics, chalk, charcoal, felt pens, pastels, oils and pencils, among others. There are also a few special filters and adjustments you can use when editing images, but the program's main focus is on drawing.

Artweaver stands out for some other interesting features, like support for layers and transparency, a history windows like the one in Photoshop and a comfortable, customizable interface.

Artweaver is a powerful drawing tool with an great selection of brushes to create impressive works of art.

Download Artweaver 3.0.2 in Softonic

They say the first impression is what counts, but in the case of Screenpresso this could be a bit misleading. At first sight, Screenpresso seems to be the standard, simple screen capturing tool with no outstanding features. But after using it for a while you'll find it hides quite a few interesting aces up its sleeve.

To begin with, Screenpresso lets you choose between installing the program on your hard drive or using it as a standalone, portable app, which is always nice. After that, the programs sits unobtrusively in your system tray, from where you can access its main functions. There's also the possibility to use keyboard shortcuts, though unfortunately you can't customize them.

Screenpresso captures the image on your screen in several ways: full screen, user selected area, active window and even scrolling captures, which works great to have a screenshot of a complete website from top to bottom. The program lets you save images to all popular formats and keeps a history of all recent captures.

But that's not all: Screenpresso features a simple yet handy image editor that enables you to work on captured images. Just double click on any thumbnail in Screenpresso's history window and you'll be able to add shapes, text balloons, a blur effect or a nice border with reflections in no time. The history window also includes a link to share captured images directly on Twitter.

Screenpresso is an apparently simple screen capturing tool that hides very interesting features. Really worth a try!

Download Screenpresso 1.3.0.1 in Softonic

1. You can remove unwanted image frames to be encoded into GIF animaton. Most video to gif conveter on the web cannot do this. 2. Extract video to image frames and convert image frames to GIF animation in one program. 3. Good image quality, but small file size. 4. Free to use.

People who want to create GIF animation from video clip, so that they can use GIF as avator or share it on the web.

Download Free Video to GIF Converter 2 in Softonic

Once installed on your system, Shotty sits unobtrusively in the system tray. The program icon gives you access to its image capturing functions – with a left click – and also to a context menu with configuration options with a right click.

Shotty lets you grab the whole screen, a selected area or the currently active window, and save the captured image to your hard drive. As an extra, Shotty supports transparency effects in Windows 7 and Vista, which is very useful if you plan to save these images as .PNG and edit them later on in Photoshop. If you only need to do some quick editing, such as cropping, adding blurred areas or marking important spots on the image, you can use Shotty’s built-in editor.

But the best feature in Shotty is undoubtedly its ability to share the image online right away, uploading it to one of the photo sharing services supported by the program: ImageShack.us, Twitpic.com, DirectUpload.net and others. Unfortunately the behavior of this feature was a bit erratic, as it didn't seem to work properly unless you enabled the 'Show configuration before upload' option.

With Shotty you can easily capture an image on your desktop and share it online in just a couple of clicks.

Download Shotty 2.0.2 in Softonic

That said, you’d be hard pressed to say that anything else about this program is simple - reviewing Blender was like one of those nightmares where you suddenly realize that you are in deep water, but don’t know how to swim.

Full of features

Amazing in its variety, flexibility and features, Blender is huge, and a single review just doesn't seem to do it justice. For the uninitiated, the interface is overwhelming. There are bunches of panels and bars, all full of explanations and icons, with tooltips for everything. It is also completely customizable, as you can add and remove sections as desired, as well as moving them around and resizing.

Beneath the options menus are Blender’s functions, ranging from rigging and modeling to animation and game creation. In fact, Blender 3D has so many features that listing them all here would take hours, so take a peek at the definitive guide here. Among the more surprising elements included in the program are a built-in text editor, audio playback/editing and a game engine.

Steep learning curve

Blender has no configuration options to speak of as all the program's features can be toggled from the main interface. It is really a program for experts, or for users who hope to become much more proficient. Although there are good Blender tutorials on the website, this 3D modeling program is not something to casually play around with. Beginners would probably be better off, in fact, having a look at something more accessible, such as Google SketchUp.

If 3D creation is your thing and you don't have a copy of Blender, you're almost certainly missing out.

Blender is a hugely impressive 3D modeling program that is likely to scare off the uninitiated.

Download Blender 2.61 in Softonic

Reviewing Blender Portable was like one of those nightmares where you suddenly realize that you are in deep water, but can't swim. Amazing in its variety, flexibility and features, Blender is a huge program, and no matter how thorough the review, it just doesn't seem to do it justice.

Blender Portable is a no-install version of the 3D content creation suite. As it doesn’t need installation, there is no messing around with managers or complicated set-up processes. You simply open the file, and away you go. For the uninitiated, the Blender Portable interface is a little overwhelming. There are a large number of different panels and bars, all full of explanations and icons, with tooltips for everything. The interface is also completely customizable, as you can add and remove sections as desired, as well as moving them around and resizing them.

Beneath the options menus are a world of functions, ranging from rigging and modeling to animation and game creation. In fact, Blender Portable has so many functions that listing them all here would take hours, so take a peek at the definitive feature guide here. Among the more surprising elements included in the program are a built-in text editor, audio playback/editing and a game engine.

Blender Portable has no configuration options to speak of as all the program's features can be toggled from the main interface. It is really a program for experts, or for users who hope to become much more proficient. Although there are good tutorials on the website that will get you making basic animations and 3D creations, Blender Portable is not a program that casual users would - or should - play around with. If 3D creation is your thing and you don't have a copy, you're almost certainly missing out.

Blender Portable is a hugely impressive 3D creation program that is very likely to scare off the uninitiated.

Download Blender Portable 2.60a in Softonic

it supports various picture file,including flash file,gif,png and so on.and it can help you collect your favorite wallpaper and easy to restore it.

it supplies several screensaver modes,like dynamic text,flash file,floating bubbles and clock.whatever you want,you can always pick it out from them.especially,it can automatically download internet pictures.it's not just a screensaver,but a system helper.you can press one key to go into screensaver,it can protect and beautify your computer.

you should try it if you want your desktop splendid and individual while you don't want to find beautiful pictures by yourself.you can block some pictures you dislike and copy your favorites to your local folder.

Download Splendid Desktop Helper 1.53 in Softonic

PDF is undoubtedly a great format to share documents, but it's not that good when you need to edit. If you need to edit a PDF, you can always try converting the file to some other more easily editable format.

With Total PDF Converter you can convert PDF documents to a wide variety of formats (DOC, XLS, BMP, JPG, HTML, TXT and more), quickly and easily - although larger documents can take a while. Conversions are done via an step-by-step wizard that walks you through the whole process. The Total PDF Converter wizard also includes different configuration settings, depending on the target format you've chosen.

Total PDF Converter features a simple interface that shows the contents of system folders and lets you select multiple files for batch converting. It's not the best-looking in the business, but it is very usable. As with all PDF converters though, results do vary, so don't necessarily expect miracles.

Total PDF Converter lets you easily convert PDF documents to a variety of other document formats.

Download Total PDF Converter 2.1.189 in Softonic

This batch processing function is a real godsend, allowing you to resize, rotate, add shadow, flip, round corners and convert colors in multiple images in one single batch. ImBatch has various options, and not all of them have helpful alt text, so it might take a few goes to get to grips with it. Basically, add the images on the left (drag and drop or use the little add button), and specify the modifications on the right.

One of ImBatch's best features is the ordered way you can apply the changes. By using the Add Task button, you can specify the changes and the order in which you want them applied. As you add tasks, you can make further specifications, such as what size you want the images to be saved as.

Finally, pick the save specifications (name, format, location). Then hit ImBatch's large green go button (top left) and off it goes!

ImBatch is an all-round great app. It's free, highly configurable, fast and works as expected. Download it now!

Download ImBatch 0.8.5 in Softonic

Convert PSD to PDF format to protect PSD source files. Compress BMP files to a single PDF or multiple PDF files.

Fast Conversion JPG To PDF converts hundreds of JPG to PDF document in few seconds normally. Even if you have large JPG files, JPG To PDF will be 300% faster than other converters. You can not imagine how fast it does until you use it. No Need Acrobat Installed JPG To PDF has a stand-alone conversion engine, which works without Acrobat PDF or other PDF software. Portable Version JPG To PDF has a portable version which let people convert JPG To PDF files anywhere.

PDF Creator Convert scanned TIF or JPG to PDF document. eBook Converter Make an eBook with your JPG materials. Photo Album Maker Create a PDF photo album from JPG photos. PSD Protection Convert PSD to PDF to protect PSD source files.

Download JPG To PDF 2.2.1 in Softonic

Ever get bored with unimaginative icons? Icon Craft can change all that.

Icon Craft is a full-featured icon creation and editing tool. It allows you to design and modify icons and cursors, both animated and static. You can also create icon libraries, download existing icons to modify and even make icons from photos and images.

Icon Craft starts by asking you to choose what task you want to perform. If you choose to create a new icon (rather than modifying an existing one), you’ll be able to select the precise measurements and color depth you need, ranging from 16x16 to 256x256 pixels, and from monochrome to True Color + Alpha (32 bits).

You will then be taken to an editing screen that allows you to control almost every aspect of icon creation. There is an extensive toolbar with drawing and text tools, effects, color options and pre-made shapes, among many other options. The editing window is nice and large for ease of use, and there are hotkeys available for almost every option.

Unfortunately, the Icon Craft trial version allows you to save only seven icons and irritatingly urges you to register at every opportunity.

Icon Craft is a comprehensive and fun tool for creating your own icons; it’s just a pity its trial version limitations are so obvious.

Download Icon Craft 4.50 in Softonic