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Photoshop 7.0 certainly isn't a disappointment and its list of new features is long enough to merit the leap from version 6.0 to 7.0. However, this upgrade seems to concentrate on refining the program's existing image-editing tools, rather than introducing any major new capabilities.
Perhaps the most obvious new feature is the File Browser, which sits in the palette docking area in the right-hand corner of the program's main toolbar. The File Browser provides a number of options for viewing and organising your image files.
It's divided into four panes, the first of which works like Windows Explorer and provides a hierarchical view of the contents of your hard disk drive. The Thumbnail pane shows small previews of all the images in a particular folder, while Preview shows a larger view of the currently selected image.
Finally, there's the Metadata pane, which displays 'metadata' that can be stored with each image file, such as the date the picture was taken, its resolution, file size and copyright information.
The File Browser's interface is functional, rather than elegant, and you'll probably have to spend some time readjusting the layout of the various panes to get it set up the way you want it. However, it does provide some handy features. You can add rankings to images and sort them by ranking or by other attributes, such as file name or date created.
There's also a Batch Rename feature that will appeal to photographers.
Digital cameras tend to save their files with nondescript names such as '0001.jpg', which isn't great when trying to locate one picture in a large batch. With Batch Rename you can assign descriptive names to a series of photos all at once.
The File Browser is definitely a useful addition, but it does feel as though it's been bolted on almost as an afterthought and sits rather untidily amidst Photoshop's neat little collection of palettes. Fortunately, one of the other improvements in this upgrade is the ability to create custom workspaces. You can arrange the various tool palettes on screen in any way you want and then save each arrangement as a named workspace. You might have one workspace set up with tools for photo retouching, say, and another for creating rollover buttons for your website.
Once the settings have been saved you can switch from one to the other by selecting the required workspace from the Window menu on the main toolbar.
There are some very neat refinements to the various editing tools as well. The existing Clone tool is often used to remove blemishes from a photograph by copying an unblemished part of the image onto the area that needs to be retouched. This tool isn't always effective, though, as the lighting and texture of the two areas may not match properly.
To eliminate this version 7.0 has come up with the Healing Brush. This works just like the Clone tool, but it corrects differences in texture and lighting so the retouched area more closely matches the image around it.
Photoshop's brush tools have been enhanced in other ways, too. The engine used to create bitmap paint effects has been rewritten so you can now create paint effects such as pastels and charcoal. There's also greater freedom to adjust brush properties such as tilt and texture.
There are many other minor additions, such as a spelling checker, improved controls for creating rollover buttons, and new printing options.
Admittedly, there's nothing quite as attention-grabbing as the Liquefy command that appeared in Photoshop 6.0, but the new Healing Brush feature alone will make this a must-have upgrade for many users.
Contact
Adobe: Waterview House, 1 Roundwood Avenue, Stockley Park, Uxbridge UB11 1AY
Tel 020 8606 4000, Fax 020 8606 4004
www.adobe.co.uk/products/photoshop/
See also:
Quite simply the best photo editing program in the history of the universe. 15 May 2002
Image-editing software that not only lets you manage, correct and enhance photos, but also allows you to create and publish many types of images. 11 Apr 2002All Image Editing & Management
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