For image editing in your browser, do you get the Pixlr? I do! And I can do easy image editing with my Chromebook using Pixlr Express or Pixlr Touch Up. I’ve written a little about Pixlr in my Chromebooks for Graphic Design post from 2/28/14, but  here I’d like to focus on Express and Touch Up.

The Pixlr Express app is merely a link to pixlr.com/express/. It is an intermediate-level tool in Pixlr’s suite, which also includes Pixlr Editor (the most advanced) and Pixlr-O-Matic (the most basic). All are browser-based image editors that require an internet connection. However, Pixlr Express is available for Android and iOS. Pixlr Touch Up, on the other hand, is essentially an offline version of Pixlr Express, but with fewer features. It is available as an app in the Chrome Web Store. For quick  and basic image editing it is the perfect tool for Chromebooks. If you are working with an internet connection, you can open images from and save them to your Google Drive. Images can also be opened from and saved to a local drive. Pixlr Touch Up does not appear to work with Google Drive Offline.

With Pixlr Touch Up you can

• Crop
  
• Resize
  
• Rotate
  
• Add Text
  
• Add effects
  
• Enhance color
  
• Adjust contrast
  

I am normally a Pixlr Editor (or Photoshop) user, but if I need only a quick crop or enhancement, I often use Touch Up even when I’m working on a PC.

Screencastify and TechSmith Snagit (both availabe in the Chrome Web Store) are both surprisingly worthy (yet basic) screencasting tools. For Chromebooks, they sure beat the heck out of alternatives like Hangouts Live on Air or the Skiblz Cam extension, especially for creating software tutorials. Screencastify is a Chrome extension, while Snagit has both an extension and an app that must be downloaded in order for it to function properly. Snagit will do both screencasting (recording motion & audio) and screen capture (grabbing still screenshots).

Lucidpress users may not even notice the difference right away. The new Lucidpress page editor's look is almost identical to the old editor, with one exception. The Properties Bar is gone, and the Dock has floated out to sea. They have been replaced by the Context Pane, a much more user-friendly menu of formatting options. 

As the name suggests, the Context Pane interacts with the user, showing the necessary formatting tools based upon the item selected by the user. No longer do you need to search out such formatting tools in the Dock. Click on some text; the text formatting tools appear. Select a graphic and the graphic editing tools pop up. Simple. Of course, isn't that what lucid means? I believe it is! The Context Pane makes Lucidpress even easier to understand than before!

The Lucidpress videos on my Video Tutorials page were created B.C.P. (Before Context Pane). Not to worry, however; the tools and features are all the same, so you can still learn how to create with Lucidpress by watching my videos. The Context Pane just makes the formatting tools easier to find because they pop up for you! And even in A.D. (After Dock), you will still find tabs inside the context menus helping you find more specific tools. Kudos to Lucidpress for making the easy even easier with the new Context Pane!

Watch for my upcoming video tutorial about the new Lucidpress page editor. In the meantime, below are some screenshots from the video.