Software Requirements Specifications For The Ultimate Internet Picture Tool

To all computer software scientists, programmers or engineers out there, here is a great challenge. There are writers like me out there who uses homemade picture to illustrate their "how to" articles. A suitable user friendly freeware or shareware can not be found so far.

If you can identify this software let me know. If it doesn't exists, a great opportunity exists for building one that many writers around the world can use.

The software borrows functions from Adobe Photoshop and Microsoft Power Point. Here is one example of a user using the tool. A picture of a widget is taken by a digital camera. The picture needs to be enhanced via Photoshop like editing tools such as resize, rotate, editing out the background or any unwanted areas, and brightening. Adding text, arrows, and other Power Point graphics may be a piece of cake for the Photoshop (and even GIMP) user but it is difficult and time consuming for an average user. After the image is enhanced via Photoshop, additional editing takes place with Power Point.

In Power Point, the image is enhanced further with labels and graphics. The easy to use text tool puts a label on the picture. The text can be easily resized, colored, and the background of the label can be none, solid, or opaque. Arrows can be added to allow the label to point to areas of the widget, The arrow's color and size can be easily edited. Another graphic such as as hollow circle to highlight a feature of the widget is added. This circle's properties such as color, size, and opaqueness can be adjusted.

The final graphic is saved as standard internet formats such as JPG and resized for suitable internet uploads. For a writer's tutorial, this product will save a lot of time if his or her article is heavy with pictures.

The software user's skill is average Microsoft Power Point or OpenOffice Impress user. The cost must be free or shareware (like OpenOffice and GIMP products). There are millions of starving writers and other artists out there.

If you do make a product like this, the only thing I ask of you is to give me some sort of credit for the software spec.  For example, you can call it the RG Picture Editor For Internet Writers or Romian's Image Editing Tool. Something with RG or Romian.  Thank you.

Even software requirements start off as vague for the first time. This spec will be no different. The list of requirements is in no particular order and can be revised at any time.

The software tool shall:

1. Have Microsoft Power Point or OpenOffice Impress Menu Interface.

2. The images are imported or opened up through a Adobe Photoshop (7.0 is the baseline) or GIMP (2.6 is the baseline).

3. The images can be edited with standard Adobe Photoshop functions. Examples include (not all inclusive):

• Standard functions like cut, copy, and paste
  
• Resize
• Crop
• Rotate graphics and text
  
• Drag areas that are cut or copied
  
• Change brightness and contrasts
  
• Change color of image areas
• Lasso out an area of the image by detecting edges
• Paint fill areas bounded by edges and unbounded
• Provide "eyedropper" tool to match a color
• Provide customized floating toolbox for commonly used functions. The type of toolbox found in Adobe Photoshop.
• Have the option to make backgrounds transparent.

4. The images can be edited with standard Microsoft Power Point functions. Examples include (not all inclusive):

• Add text to image with PowerPoint type properties that can be edited (such as fill color and size, line color and size, etc.)
• Add arrows or lines to pictures with PowerPoint type properties that can be edited (such as line color and size, etc.)
• Add shapes to image with PowerPoint type properties that can be edited (such as fill color and size, line color and size, etc.)
• Position graphics of how they are stacked without using layers. For example, put the label above the picture.
• Group and ungroup objects in the pictures.

The above illustrate the most common functions but advanced tools like adding layers and filters can be added later.