Ulead My Scrapbook 2

The problem with sticking photos in a scrapbook is that glue doesn't last forever and your efforts can quickly look quite shabby. My Scrapbook 2 helps you create virtual pages on your computer that can be printed, so you won't have to physically cut and paste again.

It divides the job of making a scrapbook into three tasks: browsing for photos, editing them and arranging them onto pages. A film strip at the bottom of the screen works as a repository for your chosen images, so you can always find them, no matter which task you are working on.

The browse area consists of a Windows Explorer-type view on the left side of the screen. Unfortunately, you cannot change the width of the pane so if you have lots of folders to work with, it can become hard to navigate them. Double-clicking on an image opens the editing window and automatically adds the photo to your collection.

The final stage is the Project screen where you can edit the pages of your scrapbook, but the process feels more convoluted than it should be. The program doesn't allow you to create a multi-page scrapbook, so you have to print each page individually, meaning that each new page has to be created separately.

We were rather surprised to see the user guide recommending printing pages out and sticking pictures and photos onto the pages once they themselves were glued onto a scrapbook. This does give you the opportunity to save photo paper but seems to defeat the object of using a computer in the first place.

This is a slightly confused piece of software and compares badly with alternatives such as Spaark Photoprintables that lets you arrange photos on special paper made for their binders. What's more, most photo-management programs will perform most of the functions here.

Contact: Ulead 0870 027 0972
www.ulead.co.uk