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Frequently Asked Questions

What is Pixelmator?

Pixelmator is a fun, easy-to-use, fast and powerful image editor for Mac OS X. The application has everything you need to create, edit, and enhance images.

How is Pixelmator different from other image editing applications?

It’s very different from other image editing applications because it’s the first application of its kind to take full advantage of your graphics card (GPU), it supports the latest and greatest Mac OS X technologies, and it features a transparent user interface designed for work with images.

In other words, Pixelmator is an innovative, very easy-to-use, next-generation, real-Mac OS X image editing application.

GPU? Is that good?

Oh, yes. Pixelmator uses your Mac’s video card for image processing, freeing the CPU for other tasks. So if you have a high-performance card with a bunch of VRAM, you’ll find real-time responsiveness across a wide variety of Pixelmator operations. The technology that helps Pixelmator do that is called Core Image.

Pixelmator is blistering fast on the latest PowerPC and all Intel-based Macs. What’s more, Pixelmator’s future looks very bright because of the impressive rise in GPU performance.

What Mac OS X technologies does it support or use?

Pixelmator supports and uses many Mac OS X technologies, such as Core Image, Open GL, Automator, ColorSync, Dashboard, Spotlight, QuickTime, and many others. Pixelmator is built with a modern Mac OS X-only programming language called Cocoa.

What are the system requirements for Pixelmator?

Pixelmator requires any Mac with Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard.

Will there be a Windows version soon?

We don’t have any plans to offer a Windows version. Pixelmator is very dependent on Mac OS X technlogies. Also, some modern technologies and features are missing in Windows. So it would be near-impossible to create something like Pixelmator for Windows. Switch to Mac?

Does Pixelmator support Automator?

Yes. By using Pixelmator actions in Automator, you can quickly enhance, resize, transform, add special effects, and even convert your images to more than 100 different file formats.

Is there any iPhoto support in Pixelmator?

Yes. You can use the Photo Browser palette in Pixelmator to quickly access your iPhoto Library, events, albums, Smart Albums, and even pictures in your Pictures folder. Just locate your picture in Photo Browser and drag-and-drop it to your Pixelmator composition. It’s that easy.

What about Aperture support?

Aperture support is in the works.

So what tools do I have in Pixelmator for editing my pictures?

Pixelmator has many powerful tools for creating, editing, and enhancing images, including selection, painting, retouching, navigation, transform, and color correction tools. What’s  more, Pixelmator has more than 50 filters and special effects based on Core Image.

What selection tools does Pixelmator have?

Pixelmator has Rectangular Marquee, Elliptical Marquee, Lasso, Polygonal Lasso, and Magic Wand. You can also use Refine Selection to edit your selections.

What painting and retouching tools does Pixelmator have?

It has Brush, Pencil, Gradient, Paint Bucket, Clone Stamp, Eraser, Blur, and Sharpen tools.

What tools could I use for measuring and navigation of Pixelmator images?

You can use Eyedropper, Hand, and Zoom for that.

Are there vector tools in Pixelmator?

No, not yet.

Does Pixelmator support CMYK?

No, there is no CMYK support at the moment.

What color correction tools does Pixelmator have?

Pixelmator has more than 15 Core Image-based color correction tools such as Levels, Auto Enhance, Curves, Color Balance, Brightness and Contrast, Hue/Saturation, Desaturate, Colorize, Replace Color, RGB Channel Mixer, Exposure, Invert, Equalize, Threshold, and Posterize.

What palettes are available in Pixelmator?

There are Tools, Tool Options, Layers, Brushes, Gradients, Swatches, Scratch, Masks, Photo Browser, Apple Color Picker, and Apple Fonts palettes available.

Layers palette? What do I do with that palette?

Pixelmator is a Layers-based image editor. You do not need to work with layers if you are doing simple adjustments or adding filters to your photo, but layers can help you create much more advanced compositions.

What blending modes are available in Pixelmator?

You can use blending modes to blend layers and paintings. Many blending modes are available in Pixelmator, including Normal, Dissolve, Multiply, Darken, Color Burn, Linear Burn, Lighten, Screen, Color Dodge, Linear Dodge, Overlay, Soft Light, Hard Light, Vivid Light, Linear Light, Pin Light, Hard Mix, Difference, Exclusion, Hue, Saturation, Color, Luminosity, Lighter Color, and Darker Color.

You can even use Behind blending mode when working with your painting tools to paint behind the layer.

Does Pixelmator support Photoshop files with layers?

Yes. Pixelmator can open Photoshop images with layers. However, Photoshop layer styles, shapes, adjustment layers, and masks are not supported at this time.

What file formats does Pixelmator support?

Pixelmator supports PSD, JPEG, JPEG 2000, TIFF, PNG, GIF, BMP, PDF and countless other formats.

Does Pixelmator support RAW files?

Pixelmator can open RAW files supported by Mac OS X (please check this list for your camera).

What is Pixelmator’s native file format?

Pixelmator’s native file format is PXM. It is the best way to save and store Pixelmator compositions.

Will there be any updates to Pixelmator?

Yes, we will be constantly updating Pixelmator.

What updates can I expect to see?

You can expect Pixelmator bugs to be fixed (if any), perfomance issues addressed, and new features added. We aren’t talking much about new features that will be available in Pixelmator, because of competition and because we want to surprise you.

Will I have to pay for Pixelmator updates?

No. Pixelmator updates marked as version 1.X are free.

What about upgrades?

It’s a bit too early to talk about upgrades.

What are your priorities when developing Pixelmator?

The number one priority is fixing any issues (bugs, glitches, etc); number two: improving performance, and number three: new features.

OK, I’ve used Pixelmator for a while and have some feedback for you, what should I do?

Go to the Feedback page and let us know about any bugs you find, improvements we could make, or features you would like to see in future versions of Pixelmator.

Where can I learn more about using Pixelmator?

1. Use Pixelmator Help by choosing Help > Pixelmator Help when in Pixelmator application.
2. Check out the tutorials in the Web site's Learn section.
3. Join Pixelmator Forums to discuss any tips and tricks with other Pixelmator users.
4. Download Pixelmator manuals.
5. Visit the Pixelmator Team weblog; from time to time we will post articles about getting the most out of the app.

Where can I get support for Pixelmator?

The Pixelmator Team offers a wide range of support options for new and registered users. Please visit our Support page to find manuals, participate in Pixelmator forums, report bugs, or even contact the Pixelmator Team.

I've lost my license code. How can I retrieve it?

If you purchased Pixelmator on this Web site, type your email address into the After-Purchase Services form. Please let us know if you have any further questions.

I’ve created the coolest picture in my life with Pixelmator, can I show it to you guys?

Of course! We would love to see it. Just send us it to info at pixelmator.com.

How much does Pixelmator cost?

Pixelmator costs $59