Introduction

About Photoshop Elements

Photoshop Elements is a sophisticated image editor designed to allow business users and
amateur graphic designers produce high-quality images for use in print and on the Web. It
includes most of the powerful tools from Adobe Photoshop but in an easier-to-use format
(and an easier-to-afford price). Among other formats, Photoshop Elements is capable of
opening the following kinds of image files: JPEG (.jpg), GIF (.gif), TIFF (.tif), Bitmap (.bmp),
and PNG (.png).

 

Opening Photoshop

Click on Start, Programs, Adobe, Photoshop Elements, then Adobe Photoshop Elements.

The Elements Interface

The Photoshop Elements interface (without an image open) appears as follows:

• The Menu bar organizes virtually all of Elements' commands by topic.
• The Shortcuts bar offers buttons for common tasks. (If a button's function is unavailable
  at any given time that button will appear grayed out.)
• The Toolbox holds buttons for the various cursor tools used to select and edit images.
• The Options bar allows you to change optional settings for each tool. The Options bar
  changes depending upon which tool is currently selected.
• Palettes are additional windows which help with some of the more complex Elements tasks.
  The Palette window offers access to various Palettes. You can access a palette by
  clicking on its tab, or drag the tab out of the well to keep that palette on the desktop.

Images are displayed within smaller windows called Canvases.

 

Opening an Image File

 

1. In the Menu bar, click on File then Open.
2. A window labeled Open appears. Navigate to the drive and folder where the image is stored,
   and click on the file you want.



 

3. (You'll notice that when you select a Photoshop format image, ending in .PSD or
   .PDD, the image is previewed in a thumbnail-size box located at the bottom of the
   Open window. This feature is handy if you don't remember which images you named
   what. Unfortunately, it's not available for web-friendly formats like .JPG or .GIF.)

 

4. Click on Open. (Double-clicking on the file will also open it.)

 

5. The image will appear in the Photoshop image display area.

 

Repositioning Images

Often when you scan an image you'll find you have to place it sideways on the
scanner bed to get it to fit. As a result, the scanned image is displayed sideways.
Elements offers several tools for repositioning (or reorienting) digital images.

Rotating the Canvas:

1. In the Menu bar, click on Image and then Rotate. You'll get a submenu of options.
2. The middle section allows you to rotate the entire picture, turning it around its center.

Original image	Canvas 90° Left	Canvas 90° Right	Canvas 180°

Flipping the Canvas:

Imagine that your image is on a slide. Flipping the image turns the slide over,
either on itshorizontal or vertical axis. (Flipping creates a mirror image.) Compare
these examples of flipping the image on its axis with the example of rotating the
image 180° around its centerpoint (the last image, above).

Original image	Flip Canvas Horizontal	Flip Canvas Vertical

 

Custom Rotation:

You can also use Elements to rotate an image clockwise or counter-clockwise
to any angle you choose.

1. In the Menu bar, click on Image, then Rotate, and then Canvas Custom...


2. A Rotate Canvas window appears.
   
   
3. Enter the angle and direction you wish to rotate the object:
   (Right=Clockwise, Left=Counter-clockwise)

Original image	Image rotated 45° right	Image rotated 45° left

 

 

Oops!

 

If you are unsatisfied with the changes you've made to an image, you can
undo them before saving the image. Once you save an image, the changes
are permanent.

To undo changes: in the Menu bar, click on Edit then Undo.

 

Resizing Graphics

There are two elements of a picture which can be resized. Resizing the canvas
provides a larger workspace, while leaving all the elements of the current
picture alone. This can be useful if you want to create a composite image out
of a collection of smaller images. Resizing an image actually zooms or shrinks
the elements of the image (and the canvas along with it).

Original Image	Resized canvas (the image is the same size, but the white space could hold a caption or more graphics)	Resized image

Resizing the Canvas:

1. In the Menu Bar, click on Image, then Resize, then Canvas Size...

 

2. The Canvas Size window appears:

 

3. Change width or height, or both. The drop-down menus will allow you to choose different
   units of measurement, including centimeters, pixels, and percent of the current values.

 

4. The Anchor (white square in the grid) represents the current image. You can click in the grid
   to reset the anchor, if, for example, you wanted to add workspace only above, below, or to
   one side of the current image.

 

5. Click OK.

Resizing an Image:

1. In the Menu Bar, click on Image, then Resize, then Image Size...
2. An Image Size window appears. Follow the steps in the graphic below to resize an image.
   
   
   
3. The check box at the bottom right, Constrain Proportions, will either maintain the scale of
   the image (when checked), or stretch or squash it as you resize (when blank).
4. Pixel Dimensions and Document Size affect the same qualities: the height and width of
   the image. Pixel Dimensions are used when talking about electronic display; the Document
   Size values are used when talking about printed images.
5. The drop down menus (indicated by arrow buttons) in the Image Size window may be used
   to select different units of measurement. For example, the Pixel Dimensions may be adjusted
   in terms of percentages instead of pixels, and the Document Size may be adjusted in terms of
   inches, points, picas, or percentages instead of centimeters.

 

Cropping Images

1. In the Toolbox, click on the Crop Tool .
2. Using the mouse, move the cursor over the image. You'll notice that the cursor now looks
   like the design on the crop button.
3. Select the area of the image that you want to keep. Click on the image and continue to hold
   down the mouse button as you drag the cursor across the image until the area you want to
   keep is surrounded by a rectangle. Then let go of the mouse button:
   
   
4. To crop the image,
   • hit the Return key, OR
   • Double-click on the selected portion of the image, OR
   • in the Toolbox, click on the Crop button again and, when asked if you want to crop
     the image, click on Crop,
   • OR in the Menu bar, click on Image then Crop.

Only the part of the image that you selected will remain:

Adjusting the Image Appearance

Photoshop Elements offers several tools for adjusting the appearance
of images by altering settings such as brightness, contrast, polarity, and
color balance. The tools are available through the Menu Bar by
selecting Enhance.

This web site covers only a few of these tools. See the Photoshop
Elements Help file under "Working With Color" for more
detailed information.

Brightness and Contrast

The Brightness/Contrast dialog box lets you make simple adjustments
to the tonal range of an image by moving sliders to the left or right.
You can adjust the entire picture (which is the default), or change
only a certain area of an image by selecting that area with the Lasso
or Rectangular Marquee tools.

Changes to Brightness wil make the entire selection appear lighter or
darker; changes to Contrast will shift the darker pixels in an image toward
black, and the lighter pixels toward white. The adjustments made through
this dialog box cannot be limited to a certain color range or channel.

Hue/Saturation

The Hue/Saturation command allows you to change the colors in an image.
You can adjust all colors in the image (the "Master" levels), or individual
channels of color (reds, yellows, greens, cyans, blues, or magentas). If you
do not select a portion of the image with the Marquee or Lasso tools, the
changes are applied to the entire image.

In this example, the tower was outlined with the Lasso tool; the Blues channel
was selected, and then shifted toward a saturated red color.

Variations

The Variations option (in the Enhance menu) allows you to see
thumbnails of different alternatives for adjusting color balance, contrast,
and saturation of your image. You can choose to alter the Shadows,
Midtones, or Highlights of the image, or choose to alter the Saturation
of all the colors in the picture. This may be easier than working with the
individual channel sliders.

 

Invert

Invert switches the polarity of an image, changing a negative to

a positive or a positive to a negative. This command is in the
Image menu, under Adjustments.

Adding Text

To add text to a file, click the Type tool in the Toolbox. Horizontal type is the default, but vertical type is available by clicking and holding the Type button.

 

Clicking in an image with the Type Tool puts the tool in edit mode and the Options bar displays your options for working with text.

 

 

Screen Captures

Photoshop Elements does not offer a screen capture function, but on
Windows computers you can use the Print Screen key to do a screen
capture and then paste it into a blank image.

1. In the Windows desktop, open any programs or windows that you
   want to appear in the screen capture.
2. Press the Print Screen key to capture the entire screen, or Alt and
   Print Screen to capture only the active window. This captures the
   screen image at your monitor resolution.
3. Open Elements. In the Menu bar, click on File and then New to open
   the New File dialog box.
   
4. In the Photoshop Menu bar, click on Edit and Paste to paste the
   screen capture into the Elements image file.
5. Manipulate and save the captured screen image as you would any other image.

 

Changing the Size of the Image File in Bytes

When using image files for the Web, it's important to remember that
the larger the file size in bytes, the longer it will take to load on a Web
browser. If the person trying to view the page is accessing the Internet
via a slower modem, they may give up on your site if it takes too long
. Elements offers several ways to reduce the size of an image file. Each
of these methods can lessen the quality of an image file, but there are
times when a small sacrifice in quality can significantly improve the
download speed.

Don't Include More Information than You Need

It is possible to use the reader's web browser to resize an image. Let's
say you've scanned an 8x10 picture of Philander Chase, but you only
want to use it at 4x5 on your Web page. You could write your Web
page to display the large image at the smaller size, but you can cut
every reader's download time in half by resizing the image first.

Similarly, monitors only display at a resolution of 72 dots per inch
(DPI), while most laser printers can go to about 300 DPI.Since the
file size grows as it has to track more dots, you can save quite a bit
of memory by choosing an appropriate resolution.

Changing the File Format

Different image formats have been designed for different purposes.
The GIF format is good for line art with basically flat areas of color
(like most logos). The JPEG and PNG formats have been designed
to work well for more intricate lines and areas with gradations of
color (like photographs). Choosing the right format can help you mak
e the smallest file that still looks good.

For example, a 755KB uncompressed TIFF file saved as a
compressed TIFF file is 695KB. The same file saved as GIF file is
155KB. Saved as a JPEG file, it's 54KB. Changing the file format
may change the quality of the image, but sometimes it's worth the
reduction in image quality to improve loading time. One option for
choosing a file format is to use the Save As option in the File menu.

Save for Web

The easiest way to make Web-friendly images is the Save for Web
option in Elements. This offers an excellent way to compare versions
of your image in various file formats, and under different compression levels.

1. In the Menu bar, click on File then Save for Web.

2. The Save for Web window appears. The window allows you to preview up to twelve different versions of your image and do a side-by-side comparison with the original, so you can see if you will lose much image quality. At the bottom of each pane, the file size and estimated download time for each version are given, so you can see how much time you're saving your readers.

Encoding File Information in your Images

You can include information about the images you make within many
image file formats (including Photoshop format, TIFF, JPEG, and GIF).
This can be a useful way of documenting your images without having to
rely on file names or external documents.

To Enter Information About a File:

1. From the Menu bar, choose File and then File Info...
   
   
2. The Caption window opens.
   
   
3. Choose a Section and enter appropriate data.
   
   
   • The Caption section can be printed under the image
     (when printing from Photoshop Elements), or displayed
     in a Web browser's title bar (when the image is displayed
     alone). It might be a good place to describe the subject
     and setting, or details of how the image has been manipulated
   • The Copyright & URL section gives you a place to store
     basic information about your right to the image. You can
     include a URL as conatact information.
   • The EXIF section can import photographic details from a
     digital camera, such as date and time, resolution of the
     original image, compression, and ISO, f/stop, and exposure
     information. A digital camera's manual should include more
     information about EXIF annotations.

Tips, Recipes, and Help

 

Elements has a number of features which can help you use its features.

The Hints Palette

The Hints palette provides more information about tools and palettes.
Just click the Hints tab in the Palette Dock (or pull the Hints palette
onto the desktop), and then place the cursor over a tool or palette which
interests you. For more information on the tool, click the More Help button.

Using Recipes

The Recipes palette provides step-by-step directions for a variety
of image-editing tasks, from removing red-eye and rotating an image
to adjusting color and creating special effects. To explore your
options, open the Recipes palette and select a category from the
drop-down menu. Specific recipes will then display; just choose one
and follow the steps.

Help

Adobe Photoshop Elements comes with extensive help written
in Web-page format. The Help menu in the Menu bar will take
you to the Table of Contents. (A topical index and a search
feature are available once you have opened Help.) There are
also tutorials available for some of the more complex features
(such as working with layers, and making animations).