If you need a bar to match your background or some of your other graphics, it is very easy to make your own. You start with a line, expand it, fill it in with a solid color or pattern of choice, invert, and then chisel it. Bang, it's done. For the benefit of those who are just beginning to learn PSP, I go into more detail below. Drop me a line at JJJPEMom@aol.com if any of the instructions are not clear. Hints:
If you make a mistake, hit UNDO at the top of the tools bar until you get back to the step you were on before you made the mistake.
To find out which icon represents which tool, move your mouse slowly over the top of each icon; the name of the tool pops up.
This is a sample line, you can adjust the height and width of the graphic to accommodate your project needs. Your height should be large enough for the finished size of the bar + whatever graphic you want to put on top of it. Don't worry if you miscalculate though, you can always add borders or crop the image to size later.
Select New Image/Resolution=72/Width=600/Height=50/Pixels/Pixels-inch/Background Color=White/Image type=16.7 million colors.
Select the Line tool. Line type=Normal/Width=2/Antialias checked. Any foreground color will do, as long as it's not the same as the background color. Start the line at the left side of the image box; hold the left mouse down while you pull the line to the length you want (make sure the line is straight), then release. You will know the line is straight when there are no kinks in it.
Choose the Magic Wand and click on the white portion of the graphic. You should see the moving lines (marching ants) around the whole box. Now go to Selections (top tool bar) and select Invert. The marching ants should be around the line only.
Go to Selections again; Choose Modify/Expand. In the dialogue box, select 7 for the number of pixels and click ok. (4-7 is best for this method of creating bars; you still get some beveling at the corners).
The next step is to either choose the color you are going to use, or which pattern you want to match. If you're trying to match an existing color or pattern, open the graphic containing that pattern. To match the color, make sure the graphic is a jpg, or increase the colors to 16.7 million. Then choose the Dropper tool and left click on the color you want. The foreground color will turn to that color. Choose the Flood Fill tool; settings are Fill Style=Solid Color/Match Mode=None/Tolerance and Opacity=100. Left click inside the graphic to pour in the color. If you are matching a pattern, you will have to pour the pattern in. Here are some patterns you can experiment with. Right click on a pattern and choose save as:
Click on the graphic with the line in it (click on the colored bar, not inside the window). Choose the Flood Fill tool; settings are Fill Style=Pattern/Match Mode=None/Tolerance and Opacity=100. Click on the Options box and select the pattern you want to match. Position the Flood Tool in the part you want to fill, and left click. If your pattern was too large and doesn't fill the way you want, you can resize the pattern (then you'll have to re-choose it under options). The large pattern below, for instance, is too large for a fill. Note that you can't tell what the pattern is in the filled line. The same image reduced 20% fits fine; now you can see the pattern.
When the pattern or color has been filled in (I used the blue metal pattern from above); go to Selections/Invert.
Now go to Image/Effects/Chisel. I used settings of Size=45 and Transparent. If you use a smaller size, the pattern will get darker, if larger, the pattern gets very light. Click ok. Now your bar is ready.
If you have graphics you want to add to it, you may want to add borders (make sure the background color on the panel is the one you are using, white in this case). If you have anything in your tubes section (PSP ver 5.0 or higher only) that is suitable for your subject, it's an easy, seamless way to add a graphic. The little bear on my line at the top is from a tube. Click here to find out about tubes. This is a link to a page which includes numerous links to sites that have free tubes to download, as well as many sites that feature tutorials on how to load and use them.
