The standard suite of photo- and video-editing programs from Adobe Systems can cost a webmaster or producer thousands of dollars. Over the last couple years, several free, online alternatives to Adobe's premier application, Photoshop, have appeared. One of the newest and easiest to use is Pixlr.com.
The landing page for Pixlr.com includes a prominent link labeled "jump in." That link leads directly into an elaborate recreation of Photoshop's look and interface.
Pixlr includes most of the standard Photoshop tools, as well as palettes that control image layers and navigation. Pixlr also echoes virtually all of the keyboard shortcuts familiar to Adobe users, but unfortunately, because the application runs in-browser, those shortcuts often conflict with browser-based keystrokes.
Despite that, though, Pixlr offers a host of powerful image-editing tools that may come in handy for budget-conscious webmasters who need to give an image or two a quick brush-up.
Last year, FotoFlexer.com emerged from a large field of online photo editors that includes competitors Fauxto.com and Picnik.com.
In addition to its photo-editing features, FotoFlexer lets users build multiple albums that they can download or automatically add to their profiles on MySpace, Facebook, Photobucket, Yahoo and Picasa.
Webmasters running dating sites can embed FotoFlexer's editor into their sites to give users the ability to improve their photos before adding them to their profiles.
Pixlr also offers a free plugin, or API, that lets webmasters add its functionality to their own websites.
For more information, visit Pixlr.com.
