PSP7 tutorial - making a custom brush file

This tutorial assumes that you already know how to create and save a custom brush, and shows you only how to make a new custom brush .jbr file, so that you can offer your own brushes for download on your website, or so that you can make separate files of different subject brushes. If you need instruction on creating custom brushes, try one of these tutorials.

http://newdawn.gzinc.com/tutorials/brushes.html

http://www.udraw2.com/sp/psppower/brushesOne.html
First, we must set up a new folder for the brush file. In Windows Explorer, locate your PSP brush file.
Now select File>new>folder
Give your new folder a name. I have called it mybrushes, but you can use whatever name you like.
Now launch PSP7, and make sure that the tool options palette is visible. If it is not, go to View>Toolbars and check Tool Options Palette.
Select the brush tool.
On the tool options palette, click on the paintbrush icon top right (left image below), and from the menu choose custom. Then, on the custom brush control, click on edit paths (right image below)

You will get the file locations box as seen below. When you first see it, the middle box will be empty, and save to path checked on the top one. Click the browse button for the middle box, and browse to the new folder you made, so that its path appears in the box. Your PSP is probably not on an E drive like mine is - for most people the path will start C:\. When you have the path in the box, make sure the two boxes shown are checked. When you check save to path, the matching box in the top path will be unchecked. Click OK to exit the box.
Now create and save your brush in the normal way. If you want more than one brush in this file, create them all, and then return to the new folder in Windows Explorer. You will find that it now contains a file - Ubrush.jbr. This is the file of your new brush/es.
You want to keep this as a separate file, and not add anything else to it, so you need to rename it and move it to the main brushes folder. You already have a Ubrush.jbr in your main folder, and that is the file where your personal brushes are usually placed when you create them. Renaming this one will both keep it from being added to by PSP, and enable you to move it to the main folder without overwriting your existing personal brush file.
When you have renamed it, click on the filename and drag it to the main brushes folder, leaving your new folder empty, for use again when you want to make another file.
Finally, in PSP7, follow the instructions as you did before to get to the file locations box, and check save to path in the box at the top, the path to the main brushes folder, so that PSP goes back to saving in the default file. When you want to make another separate file, you simply check that box on the new folder's path.
If you want to offer your new brush file for download on your website, remember to zip it. Netscape users find that unusual suffix files like .tub or .jbr download as ASCII gibberish instead of as a usable file, unless you offer it as a zip file.
If you find you want to add another brush to this file later, drag the file back to your mybrushes folder, rename it Ubrush.jbr, and check save to path for the folder in the PSP brushes file locator. Any new brushes you create will be added to it, until you rename it, return it to the brushes folder, and check the brushes folder save to path.

If you would like to download the tutorial to work on it offline, DOWNLOAD THE ZIP FILE HERE

© Carol Brooksbank 2001
This tutorial may not be copied to any other website nor distributed in any way. It may be downloaded for personal use only. Links to my tutorials at http://www.caroluk.co.uk/tutindex/ are welcome.

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