Adobe Photoshop 6.0
by Rick Smith (November 1, 2001)
Photoshop 6 is the latest upgrade in the preeminent graphics manipulation software from Adobe. It is an upgrade from Photoshop 5.5 which has worked very well in both print and web for nearly two years and has a very loyal following. Unfortunately, a few people that I have spoken to are a bit resistant to this upgrade, because they fear that they will need to relearn their skills all over again.
Let me point out right away that Photoshop 6.0 is wonderful -- there are many obvious differences to get used to, but you will soon embrace these new changes and wonder how you could have worked without them. If you are still concerned, simply leave Photoshop 5.5 on your computer, since both versions coexist quite nicely.
Some of the most noticeable changes in Photoshop 6.0 are:
No more options tab in the Navigator/Info/Options panel -- all the options are on top, in an "options bar", right under the pulldown menu
No separate brushes menu -- this is now a pulldown menu within the appropriate option bar
Crop tool is no longer hidden under the Marquee tool -- it is a separate tool
Measuring tool is now hidden under the eyedropper tool -- I liked it where it was
Text can now be edited directly on screen - no more special "text area" pop-up box
Web Gallery is much improved -- now it creates a nice group of interactive pages that work well and look good, a substantial improvement from Photoshop 5.5
Cropping now masks the area outside the crop zone -- instead of only a crop line, the outside area becomes shaded -- a very nice touch
There are many more changes I'll be outlining later as I transition from 5.5 to 6.0. Stop back as I explore the changes to Photoshop 6.0 in greater detail, in our ongoing review format.
Right now, Photoshop offers so many features not found in previous versions that I highly recommend this upgrade.
Copyright
© 2001 Rick Smith All rights reserved.
|
