UPDATE 4: I give up.  After months of frustration I've decided to throw in the towel.  Now all Corel does is load and not allow me to do anything.  Everything I click gives an error beep.  I have no interest in seeing if the latest version fixes anything because the version I paid for never really worked at a usable level.  PhotoShop, PhotoShop Elements, gimp, Serif PhotoPlus are much more viable alternatives to use.  It's so sad that such a great product was ruined by a company that puts ZERO care into their work.  Corel should just kill this product or sell it to competent developers.  I'm uninstalling this and never turning back.

UPDATE 3: Despite the adware (which I believe the complaints might have reduced), I decided to try to work with this.  I really think that it's sad that a piece of software that has been around for years and has been put up as a commercial PhotoShop competitor runs much more slow than its open source counterpart.  The UI may be better but all the loading and waiting kills that benefit.  I'm going to try to see if I can deal but at this moment, I'm actually starting to appreciate the lightweight nature of GIMP.  By the way, I switched to PaintShop Pro back in the day because PhotoShop was such a huge hog!  How ironic!

UPDATE 2: I'm sorry, I just had to add that I think it's really low class for software that I *PAID* for to have embedded popup ads in it!  If you want to advertise in software GIVE IT FOR FREE!  I had written the review before receiving two popup ads.  I'm sorry this is unacceptible!  I lowered the ranking one point as a result.

UPDATE 1: I found a way to mitigate the sluggishness of the navigator.  If you only stick to using the "Computer" tab in the navigator and don't catalog any of your images, the performance is okay.  Even so, the navigator is still pretty bad.  For instance, in the image viewer, there is no way to get to the editor.  You have to exit the viewer than right-click the image in the explorer instead.  That's just bad... REALLY bad.  I've also found that X6 can be default to open directly in Edit mode.  While not ideal, it is a step forward.

ORIGINAL REVIEW:

The reason I ranked it three is because while the editor itself has improved, the navigator is just as dog slow as it has been since X3.  It is 100% useless.  The idea is that you're supposed to be able to bookmark folders in the navigator that  you can access quickly for editing and other tasks.  However, the execution of this idea is so pathetic they should have not even bothered.

This software could be five-star but the bloatware really brings it down two notches.  An ideal product would be just the editor and all of it's features alone without this albatross of bad software it is burdened to carry.  If removing the navigator were an install option, I'd gladly welcome it.

Now the editor itself has really improved like I said.  If you saw my X4 review, I had said that the context menus made absolutely no sense and the UI was designed by rank amateurs.  This version appears to have addressed my earlier complaints.  While not ideal, the menus are more sensible and contexts properly applied.  The toolset is pretty sharp, I LOVE adjustment layers, and overall I'm impressed with the improvement on the edit side.  Unfortunately, the excess baggage of the Navigator (Manage Tab) weighs it down.  Just avoid it at all costs.  I really wish there was a way to just rip it out.  It's just that horrible.

To be honest the real reason I bought this was that the price was low enough (thirty) to take the risk given that the previous versions were horribly bad.  I was also getting tired of using the kludgy interface of GIMP.  The extras like FaceFilter and Perfectly Clear add to the value of the package but I would not pay much more than what I paid for it.

So in a nutshell here's why you buy PaintShop Pro X6:

1) Tired of the GIMP UI
2) Adjustment layers
3) Heavy discount

The bottom line is what price you're willing to pay to not have to deal with GIMP's quirks.  You can get just about the same quality of image editing out of GIMP but some of its quirks are pretty unbearable.  PaintShop Pro eliminates that burden at the cost of heavy bloat.  Although it's not as bloated as PhotoShop the mother of all bloatware.
UPDATE 4: I give up. After months of frustration I've decided to throw in the towel. Now all Corel does is load and not allow me to do anything. Everything I click gives an error beep. I have no interest in seeing if the latest version fixes anything because the version I paid for never really worked at a usable level. PhotoShop, PhotoShop Elements, gimp, Serif PhotoPlus are much more viable alternatives to use. It's so sad that such a great product was ruined by a company that puts ZERO care into their work. Corel should just kill this product or sell it to competent developers. I'm uninstalling this and never turning back. UPDATE 3: Despite the adware (which I believe the complaints might have reduced), I decided to try to work with this. I really think that it's sad that a piece of software that has been around for years and has been put up as a commercial PhotoShop competitor runs much more slow than its open source counterpart. The UI may be better but all the loading and waiting kills that benefit. I'm going to try to see if I can deal but at this moment, I'm actually starting to appreciate the lightweight nature of GIMP. By the way, I switched to PaintShop Pro back in the day because PhotoShop was such a huge hog! How ironic! UPDATE 2: I'm sorry, I just had to add that I think it's really low class for software that I *PAID* for to have embedded popup ads in it! If you want to advertise in software GIVE IT FOR FREE! I had written the review before receiving two popup ads. I'm sorry this is unacceptible! I lowered the ranking one point as a result. UPDATE 1: I found a way to mitigate the sluggishness of the navigator. If you only stick to using the "Computer" tab in the navigator and don't catalog any of your images, the performance is okay. Even so, the navigator is still pretty bad. For instance, in the image viewer, there is no way to get to the editor. You have to exit the viewer than right-click the image in the explorer instead. That's just bad... REALLY bad. I've also found that X6 can be default to open directly in Edit mode. While not ideal, it is a step forward. ORIGINAL REVIEW:

The reason I ranked it three is because while the editor itself has improved, the navigator is just as dog slow as it has been since X3. It is 100% useless. The idea is that you're supposed to be able to bookmark folders in the navigator that  you can access quickly for editing and other tasks. However, the execution of this idea is so pathetic they should have not even bothered. This software could be five-star but the bloatware really brings it down two notches. An ideal product would be just the editor and all of it's features alone without this albatross of bad software it is burdened to carry. If removing the navigator were an install option, I'd gladly welcome it. Now the editor itself has really improved like I said. If you saw my X4 review, I had said that the context menus made absolutely no sense and the UI was designed by rank amateurs. This version appears to have addressed my earlier complaints. While not ideal, the menus are more sensible and contexts properly applied. The toolset is pretty sharp, I LOVE adjustment layers, and overall I'm impressed with the improvement on the edit side. Unfortunately, the excess baggage of the Navigator (Manage Tab) weighs it down. Just avoid it at all costs. I really wish there was a way to just rip it out. It's just that horrible. To be honest the real reason I bought this was that the price was low enough (thirty) to take the risk given that the previous versions were horribly bad. I was also getting tired of using the kludgy interface of GIMP. The extras like FaceFilter and Perfectly Clear add to the value of the package but I would not pay much more than what I paid for it. So in a nutshell here's why you buy PaintShop Pro X6:

1) Tired of the GIMP UI
2) Adjustment layers
3) Heavy discount

The bottom line is what price you're willing to pay to not have to deal with GIMP's quirks. You can get just about the same quality of image editing out of GIMP but some of its quirks are pretty unbearable. PaintShop Pro eliminates that burden at the cost of heavy bloat. Although it's not as bloated as PhotoShop the mother of all bloatware.