Photoshop® Elements 7 for Dummies®

Introduction

What was once a consumer-grade, low-level program for beginning image editors and a junior cousin to the powerful Adobe Photoshop program has evolved and matured to stand on its own merits now in version 7.0 for Windows and (as is often the case with the release of this program) later on the Macintosh. As of this writing, Elements is available on the Mac only in version 6. However, Adobe's history with Photoshop Elements is that the Mac version typically follows several months after the Windows release.

You won't find much comparison between Adobe Photoshop Elements and Adobe Photoshop in this book, nor will you see any suggestions that you should consider using Photoshop for one thing or another. We don't make suggestions simply because Photoshop Elements is a powerful tool that satisfies many needs of amateurs and professionals alike.

Why should you buy Elements (and, ultimately, this book)? The range of people who can benefit from using Elements is wide and includes a vast audience. From beginning image editors to intermediate users to more advanced amateurs and professionals, Elements has something for everyone. We'll even stick our necks out a little and suggest that many Photoshop users can benefit greatly by adding Elements to their software tool cabinets. Why? Because Elements offers some wonderful creation and sharing tools that Photoshop hasn't yet dreamed of supporting. For example, in Photoshop Elements 7, you can create postcards, greeting cards, and photo ...