Adobe Photoshop Version 6 Review
June 4, 2001
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Since the inception of digital editing, graphic designers have
debated whether Macs or PCs were the best computer system to
use. They have, however, always agreed on one thing:
Adobe Photoshop
is the software tool to use.
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Originally the program was used for printed material by large
advertising firms, but is now also commonly used by individuals
for their own Web site graphics and personal images. The
industry standard has just gotten better with what is perhaps
the largest update since version 3.0 was released back in 1994.
Finally Vectors Prevail
This latest version now includes the ability to use vector-based
drawing tools. If you are wondering why the vector image aspect
is so interesting perhaps you need a quick overview of the
difference between vector and bitmap images. A bitmap image is
made up of small squares called pixels. While pixels are
excellent for photographs they don't re-size very well at all,
creating images that are either quite blurry or have jagged
edges. Vector images are actually mathematically generated. This
means that they won't deteriorate. They remain smooth when the
image is re-sized producing a better quality image. If you are
looking to have the images printed the same principal holds
true, even when done in a large format — the image remains
smoother. This allows users to create truly gorgeous graphics,
with gradients, transparencies, and other aspects looking much
smoother and easier to blend together. If you were to double the
size of a vector image not a single detail would be lost.
New Interface Means Happier Users
In this latest version, Adobe has made an excellent move by
streamlining the interface. In previous versions the option
boxes were constantly viewable on the screen, which annoyed many
users. They have been replaced by a tool options bar that is
located directly below Photoshop's menu bar. For example,
selecting the gradient tool in previous versions allowed the
user to shade colors and change the opacity in the palettes. The
different types of gradients — linear, radial, etc.
— however, were only available in the toolbar. This meant
that basically the tool options were in two totally different
areas. The options now are very neatly placed in the toolbar
across the top of the screen, putting everything within easy
reach.
Type Anything, Anywhere You Want
Another great new feature will create a lot of head turning with
Photoshop veterans. Remember that huge dialog box that came up
when you wanted to type something? Now just simply type directly
on the image and see the results instantly. Once the information
is entered on the graphic, the font settings can be adjusted in
the Options bar at the top of the screen. Here you can edit the
font type and size, set the anti-aliasing, and adjust the
alignment of the text, in addition to other settings. Text can
also be edited using the Character palette, which is basically
the same as the one in
Adobe Illustrator,
allowing veteran users to feel at home. One other highlight: the
new version allows the user to colorize the type character by
character. This eliminates the need to align text sections in
order to have different colors as in previous versions.
How Do You Like Your Characters?
Along with the ability to type directly on the image, a new and
improved type engine gives the user typographic control over the
page layout. In previous versions the user could control the
kerning, leading, baseline shift and other things. With version
6, the user can now control paragraph options such as advanced
justification options, first line indent, and built-in
hyphenation for the English language. In addition, the user can
also add space to the beginning or end of paragraphs and create
blocks of type that automatically wrap at the end of a line.
Another feature is the ability to balance justified type —
the single line and multi-line composer. Photoshop 6 now
supports Ligatures and Old Style characters. Some critics
thought it would take years for Adobe to have these controls,
but it is in fact here today with this newest version.
The latest version provides the ability to manipulate text into
various forms including arches, arcs, distortion, squeezes,
warps and stretches — during which the text maintains it
editability. Some veteran users may not like the new effects,
but rookie Photoshop users may find these effects useful for
some projects.
Add Some Style to Those Layers
Adobe introduced Layer Effects in version 5.0, giving
users a way to apply effects such as drop shadows, glows, bevel
and emboss, inner shadows, and others to an entire layer at one
time. This means that as you updated the layer, the effects on
that layer would be updated as well. This became popular with
users and was very useful in creating special effects. These are
called Layer Styles in the latest version. New styles and
new features have also been added. There was quite a lot of
effort put into this aspect; in turn you will see a whole new
level of special effects. These can be used in combination with
user-customized settings to create custom styles. These custom
styles can then be saved for future use. The user is then one
click away from applying these complex effects to any layer. In
addition, Photoshop 6 comes with almost 100 preset styles for
creating Web buttons, texture effects, and textual effects. This
certainly could change the way a lot of things are done.
Slice and Dice Those Images - Page 2
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