As an enthusiastic
Adobe Photoshop 6.0 user, I was all excited when
Adobe Systems announced the release of Adobe Photoshop
7.0. When the program arrived, I immediately installed
it with ease. Except for the addition of a few new
tools and the added browser features, Adobe Photoshop
7.0's interface looks similar to Photoshop 6.0.
The professional user as well as the advanced consumer
can certainly benefit from the added features.
The added browser feature makes the manipulation
of photos/images easier since you no longer have
the need to keep the explorer window open in the
background. The browser lets you search through
directories, viewing the thumbnails and displays
metadata (file type and size, creation date, color
profile…) putting image information right at hand.
This info is necessary since the added features
allow you to sort your images using the metadata;
you can sort by height, file type, and file size.
This is a great-added resource for the professional
and digital camera enthusiast.
The "Healing Brush" is one of the remarkable added
features. It improves and restores your scanned
images by removing blemishes, scratches, dust marks,
and wrinkles. Included in this tool are cloning
options to allow you to copy added features including
lighting effects, plus the patch tool gives you
great control in editing a precise and specific
area of your image. Photo retouching is a pleasure
with these added features.
Adobe finally came around and made the needed changes
to the "Brush Tools," it is now easier to choose
size, shape, and functions. The added brush features
let you simulate traditional painting techniques
and you can add special effects and patterns that
produce some amazing results.
Photoshop 7.0 contains a web-oriented application
called Imageready 7.0. Although it is a separate
component, it is tightly integrated into the workings
of Photoshop. Adobe Systems have also enhanced some
of the Imageready 7.0 features by adding a "Rollover
Palette." The rollover palette enables the user
to create phenomenal rollovers, animated gifs, and
image maps. Improved Transparency functions allow
the user to select a color and set the "Map to Transparency"
to apply transparency to each occurrence. Personally,
I find the "dithered transparency" feature fantastic
for gradual fills because it allows for partial
transparency and a gradual fade in color.
Adobe Systems has made one crucial change in Photoshop
7.0. You can now convert your images to WBMP format
(without the use of third party software) and save
your portfolio to a PDA for ease of portability.
The Enhanced Web Gallery Tools are an added bonus,
new styles and color schemes are great! One of my
favorite features is the added password protection
for images.
Obviously, there are a couple of features I did
not mention here. I am a faithful Photoshop user.
Photoshop is industry standard. Though, I must admit
Photoshop in general has a huge learning curve and
all its features aren't as intuitive as some of
the other software packages out there. I have switched
over from 6.0 to 7.0 to see if the changes will
greatly affect the way I work! Well! Two months
later and I am hooked! I rely on the healing brush
and the added browser tremendously.
Photoshop in general, is still the best imaging
editing software. I would highly recommend it to
anyone that is serious about photo editing.
Reviewed by Fran Kiperman
Adobe Systems Incorporated
345 Park Avenue
San Jose, CA 95110-2704 USA
