We tell you what software & apps to use
WHAT SHOULD
I DOWNLOAD?
Do you need our advice on what software to use? Just email us at
[email protected]19FullEventLogView 1.
http://www.snipca.com/
What you need: Windows 7, 8.1 or 10
NirSoft’s impressive
FullEventLogView is an
alternative to Windows
Event Viewer, with a
much simpler interface.
Let’s say you want to
check your computer’s
logs for recent errors,
simply launch FullEventLogView and look at the events
displayed as a list (with the most recent at the top). You can
re-order these by type (click the Channel heading), Event ID
and so on. Click an event to view its full description in the
lower pane. You can export events (click File, then Save
Selected Items) as text files – useful for sending to someone
who’s helping you diagnose a problem.
This latest version also lets you open and view the contents
of a specific log file – click File followed by Choose Data
Source, then select ‘Load events from single log file’ in the
dropdown menu (see screenshot). Now just click the three-
dot button to browse for the .evtx file you want.
What can I use to stitch
panoramic photos together?
Q
I see that Microsoft has withdrawn Microsoft ICE
(Image Composite Editor, see http://www.snipca.
com/42047) from download. I found this a very
useful program for creating wide-angle panorama images
from a set of photos. Can you recommend a similar free
program I can use instead?
David NewburyA
It’s a shame that Microsoft decided to ditch
support for Image Composite Editor. ICE was a
great tool with a very straightforward interface
and, unfortunately, there’s no like-for-like equivalent
available.
Many of the best panorama tools are included within
expensive paid-for programs, such as Adobe Lightroom
(from £10 a month). Meanwhile, some of the better free
tools, such as AutoStitch (www.snipca.com/42049), haven’t
been updated in a while, so we wouldn’t feel comfortable
recommending them.
The closest thing to
ICE at the moment is
probably Hugin (www.
snipca.com/42043), a
free program that
stitches photos you’ve
taken into panoramic
images. It’s pretty good,
too. Click the ‘Load images’ button (^1 in our screenshot)
then select your shots and Hugin will arrange them in the
preview area. Click the Move/Drag tab and rearrange them
yourself if they’re not in the correct order. Next click Align(^2) – this will analyse the images and attempt to connect
them together in the best way possible. Finally, click ‘Create
panorama’^3. If results don’t look right, there are plenty of
settings you can play with. These aren’t particularly easy to
use though, so refer to its online tutorials if you need help.
There are also several mobile apps that promise to stitch
panoramas seamlessly, but most are fairly poor. One you
could try is Bimostitch (free with ads on Android, http://www.
snipca.com/42044) or (£3.49 on iOS, http://www.snipca.
com/42045). Bimostitch is pretty basic – you just load your
selected images and let the app attempt to stitch them
together. Results can be a bit hit and miss.
IMAGE EDITOR
SYSTEM TOOL
Inkscape 1.
https://inkscape.org
What you need: Windows 7, 8.1 or 10
The latest version
of this excellent
image editor for
vector graphics
introduces plenty
of new features
and improvements,
such as the ability
to include multiple
pages within the
same image file. The
interface has been revamped and now offers a customisable
toolbar and a redesigned export box that lets you preview
your image and select from multiple export formats. The
update also features a new Tiling effect and provides the
option to import vector files directly from a number of online
sources, including Wikimedia.
Though great for creating logos and other illustrations,
Inkscape is not necessarily the easiest program to get the
hang of. We recommend checking out the useful online
tutorials available at the tool’s website to help you get started.
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Issue 633 • 8 – 21 June 2022