Photoshop Elements 7: The Missing Manual

Photoshop Elements 7: The Missing Manual

by Barbara Brundage
Released October 2008
Publisher(s): O'Reilly Media, Inc.
ISBN: 9780596521332

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Book description

Photoshop Elements 7 includes lots of new tools for sprucing up your photos, like the Scene Cleaner that lets you get rid of unwanted elements and the Smart Brush that makes touch-ups a breeze. But the one thing you won't find in Elements is reader-friendly guidance on how to get the most out of this powerful program. Enter Photoshop Elements 7: The Missing Manual, ready to explain not only how the tools and commands work, but when to use them.

With this bestselling book (now in its 5th edition), you'll learn everything from the basics of loading photos into Elements to the new online photo-sharing and storage service that Adobe's offering (for free!) at Photoshop.com. There's so much to Elements 7 that knowing what to do -- and when to do it -- is tricky. That's why this book carefully explains all the tools and options by putting each one into a clear, easy-to-understand context.

  • Learn to import, organize, and fix photos quickly and easily
  • Repair and restore old and damaged photos, and retouch any image
  • Jazz up your pictures with dozens of filters, frames, and special effects
  • Learn which tools the pros use -- you'll finally understand how layers work!
  • Create collages and photo layout pages for scrapbooks and other projects
  • Fix your photos online and synch the changes to your own photo library

As always, author Barbara Brundage lets you know which features work well, which don't, and why -- all with a bit of wit and good humor. Dive into Adobe's outstanding photo editor and find out why this Missing Manual is the bestselling book on the topic.

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Table of contents

  1. A Note Regarding Supplemental Files
  2. The Missing Credits
    1. About the Author
    2. About the Creative Team
    3. Acknowledgements
    4. The Missing Manual Series
  3. Introduction
    1. Why Photoshop Elements?
    2. What You Can Do with Elements 7
    3. What’s New in Elements 7
    4. If You Have a Mac
    5. Elements vs. Photoshop
    6. The Key to Learning Elements
    7. About This Book
      1. About the Outline
      2. For Newcomers to Elements
      3. The Very Basics
      4. About → These → Arrows
      5. About MissingManuals.com
      6. Safari® Books Online
  4. I. Introductory Elements
    1. 1. Finding Your Way Around Elements
      1. The Welcome Screen
      2. Organizing Your Photos
        1. Photo Downloader
      3. Photoshop.com
      4. Editing Your Photos
        1. Your Elements Tools
        2. Panels, Bins, and Palettes
          1. The Project bin
          2. The Palette bin
        3. Getting Help
          1. Guided Edit
          2. Photoshop Inspiration Browser
        4. Escape Routes
          1. Undo
          2. Undo History palette
          3. The one rule of Elements
      5. Getting Started in a Hurry
    2. 2. Importing, Managing, and Saving Your Photos
      1. Importing from Cameras
        1. The Photo Downloader
      2. Opening Stored Images
        1. Working with PDF Files
      3. Scanning Photos
      4. Capturing Video Frames
      5. Creating a New File
        1. Picking a File Size
        2. Choosing Resolution
        3. Choosing Color Mode
        4. Choosing Your File’s Background Contents
      6. Using the Organizer
        1. The Photo Browser
        2. Creating Categories and Tags
          1. Working with tags and categories
        3. Albums and Smart Albums
      7. Searching for Photos
        1. Browsing Through Photos
        2. Using Tags and Categories to Find Photos
        3. Searching by Metadata
      8. Saving Your Work
        1. The File Formats Elements Understands
          1. The not-so-common file formats
          2. About JPEGs
        2. Changing the File Format
      9. Backing Up Your Files
        1. Online Syncing and Backups
        2. Organizer Backups
        3. Making Quick CDs/DVDs
    3. 3. Rotating and Resizing Your Photos
      1. Straightening Scanned Photos
        1. Straightening Two or More Photos at a Time
        2. Straightening Individual Photos
      2. Rotating Your Images
        1. Rotating and Flipping Options
      3. Straightening the Contents of Your Image
        1. Straighten Tool
        2. Free Rotate Layer
      4. Cropping Pictures
        1. Using the Crop Tool
        2. Cropping Your Image to an Exact Size
        3. Cropping with the Marquee Tool
      5. Zooming and Repositioning Your View
        1. Image Views
        2. The Zoom Tool
        3. The Hand Tool
      6. Changing the Size of Your Image
        1. Resizing Images for Email and the Web
        2. Resizing for Printing
          1. Resampling
        3. Adding Canvas
    4. 4. The Quick Fix
      1. The Quick Fix Window
        1. The Quick Fix Toolbox
        2. The Quick Fix Control Panel
        3. Different Views: After vs. Before and After
      2. Editing Your Photos
        1. Fixing Red Eye
        2. Smart Fix
        3. Adjusting Lighting and Contrast
          1. Levels
          2. Contrast
          3. Shadows and Highlights
        4. Color
          1. Auto Color
          2. Using the Color sliders
        5. Sharpening
        6. Touch Ups
        7. Quick Fix Suggested Workflow
      3. Adjusting Skin Tones
  5. II. Elemental Elements
    1. 5. Making Selections
      1. Selecting Everything
      2. Selecting Rectangular and Elliptical Areas
      3. Selecting Irregularly Sized Areas
        1. Controlling the Selection Tools
      4. Selecting with a Brush
        1. Refine Edge
        2. The Selection Brush
        3. The Magic Wand
        4. The Lasso Tools
          1. The basic Lasso tool
          2. The Magnetic Lasso
          3. The Polygonal Lasso
      5. Removing Objects from an Image’s Background
      6. Changing and Moving Selections
        1. Inverting a Selection
        2. Making a Selection Larger or Smaller
        3. Moving Selected Areas
          1. The Move tool
        4. Saving Selections
          1. Making changes to a saved selection
    2. 6. Layers: The Heart of Elements
      1. Understanding Layers
        1. The Layers Palette
        2. The Background
      2. Creating Layers
        1. Adding a Layer
        2. Deleting Layers
        3. Duplicating a Layer
        4. Copying and Cutting from Layers
      3. Managing Layers
        1. Making Layers Invisible
        2. Adjusting Transparency
        3. Locking Layers
        4. Blend Mode
        5. Rearranging Layers
          1. Arranging layers with the Move tool
        6. Aligning and Distributing Layers
        7. Grouping and Linking Layers
          1. Linking layers
          2. Grouping layers
        8. Merging and Flattening Layers
          1. Merging layers
          2. Flattening an image
      4. Adjustment and Fill Layers
        1. Adding Fill and Adjustment Layers
        2. Layer Masks
      5. Moving Objects Between Images
  6. III. Retouching
    1. 7. Basic Image Retouching
      1. Fixing Exposure Problems
        1. Deciding Which Exposure Fix to Use
        2. Fixing Major Exposure Problems
        3. The Shadows/Highlights Command
        4. Correcting Part of an Image
          1. Correcting color with a brush
      2. Controlling the Colors You See
        1. Calibrating Your Monitor
          1. Getting started with calibrating
        2. Choosing a Color Space
      3. Using Levels
        1. Understanding the Histogram
        2. Adjusting Levels: The Eyedropper Method
        3. Adjusting Levels: The Slider Controls
      4. Removing Unwanted Color
        1. Using the Color Cast Tool
        2. Using Color Variations
      5. Choosing the Color You Want
        1. The Color Picker
        2. The Eyedropper Tool
        3. The Color Swatches Palette
          1. Saving colors in the Swatches palette
      6. Sharpening Your Images
        1. Unsharp Mask
        2. Adjust Sharpness
        3. The High-Pass Filter
        4. The Sharpen Tool
    2. 8. Elements for Digital Photographers
      1. The Raw Converter
        1. Using the Raw Converter
          1. Adjusting the view
          2. Rotating, straightening, and cropping
        2. Adjusting White Balance
        3. Adjusting Tone
          1. Saving your settings
        4. Adjusting Vibrance and Saturation
        5. Adjusting Sharpness and Reducing Noise
          1. Choosing bit depth: 8 or 16 bits?
        6. Finishing Up
        7. Converting to DNG
      2. Photo Filter
      3. Processing Multiple Files
        1. Choosing Your Files
        2. Renaming Your Files
        3. Changing Image Size and File Type
        4. Applying Quick Fix Commands
        5. Attaching Labels
          1. Watermarks
          2. Adding captions
    3. 9. Retouching: Fine-Tuning Your Images
      1. Fixing Blemishes
        1. The Spot Healing Brush: Fixing Small Areas
        2. The Healing Brush: Fixing Larger Areas
        3. The Clone Stamp
      2. Applying Patterns
        1. The Healing Brush
        2. The Pattern Stamp
      3. Color Curves: Enhancing Tone and Contrast
      4. Making Your Colors More Vibrant
        1. Using the Hue/Saturation Dialog Box
        2. Adjusting Saturation with the Sponge Tool
      5. Changing the Color of an Object
        1. Using an Adjustment Layer
        2. Replacing Specific Colors
        3. The Color Replacement Tool—Using a Brush to Replace Colors
      6. Special Effects
    4. 10. Removing and Adding Color
      1. Method One: Making Color Photos Black and White
      2. Method Two: Removing Color from a Photo
      3. Creating Spot Color
        1. Brushing Away Color
        2. Erasing Colors from a Duplicate Layer
        3. Removing Color from Selections
        4. Using an Adjustment Layer and the Saturation Slider
          1. Editing a layer mask
      4. Colorizing a Black-and-White Photo
        1. Tinting an Entire Photo
          1. Using a Layer style
          2. Additional tint effects from the Content palette
          3. Using Colorize
    5. 11. Photomerge: Creating Panoramas, Group Shots, and More
      1. Creating Panoramas
        1. Manual Positioning with Interactive Layout
      2. Merging Different Faces
      3. Arranging a Group Shot
      4. Tidying Up with Scene Cleaner
      5. Correcting Lens Distortion
      6. Transforming Images
        1. Skew, Distort, Perspective
        2. Free Transform
  7. IV. Artistic Elements
    1. 12. Drawing with Brushes, Shapes, and Other Tools
      1. Picking and Using a Basic Brush
        1. Modifying Your Brush
        2. Saving Modified Brush Settings
      2. The Specialty Brushes
        1. Making a Custom Brush
      3. The Impressionist Brush
      4. The Pencil Tool
      5. The Paint Bucket
      6. Dodging and Burning
        1. Dodging
        2. Burning
      7. Blending and Smudging
        1. Blend Modes
        2. The Smudge Tool
      8. The Eraser Tool
        1. Using the Eraser
        2. The Magic Eraser
        3. The Background Eraser
      9. Drawing with Shapes
        1. Rectangle and Rounded Rectangle
        2. Ellipse
        3. Polygon
        4. Line Tool
        5. The Custom Shape Tool
        6. The Shape Selection Tool
      10. The Cookie Cutter
    2. 13. Filters, Effects, Layer Styles, and Gradients
      1. Using Filters
        1. Applying Filters
          1. Filter menu
          2. Effects palette
          3. Filter Gallery
        2. Filter Categories
        3. Useful Filter Solutions
          1. Removing noise: Getting rid of graininess
          2. Adding noise: Smoothing out repair jobs
          3. Gaussian Blur: Drawing attention to a foreground object
          4. Radial Blur: Producing a sense of motion
          5. Color correcting with the Average Blur filter
          6. Improving skin texture with the Surface Blur filter
      2. Adding Effects
        1. Using Actions in Elements
      3. Adding Layer Styles
      4. Applying Gradients
        1. The Gradient Tool
          1. Using the Gradient tool
        2. Gradient Fill Layer
        3. Editing a Gradient
          1. Using the Gradient Editor
          2. Transparency in gradients
          3. Creating noise gradients
        4. Saving Gradients
      5. Gradient Maps
    3. 14. Type in Elements
      1. Adding Type to an Image
        1. Type Options
        2. Creating Text
        3. Editing Type
          1. Smoothing type: anti-aliasing
      2. Warping Type
        1. The Warp Text Dialog Box
      3. Adding Special Effects
        1. Text Effects
        2. Type Gradients
        3. Applying the Liquify Filter to Type
      4. Type Masks: Setting an Image in Type
        1. Using the Type Mask Tools
        2. Creating Outlined Type
          1. Using the Stroke Layer style
          2. Using the Type Mask tool
  8. V. Sharing Your Images
    1. 15. Creating Projects
      1. Photo Collages
        1. Creating Multipage Documents
      2. Working with the Content and Favorites Palettes
        1. The Content Palette
        2. The Favorites Palette
      3. Photo Books
      4. Greeting Cards
      5. CD/DVD Jacket
      6. CD/DVD Label
      7. Online Creations
    2. 16. Printing Your Photos
      1. Getting Ready to Print
      2. Ordering Prints
        1. Ordering Prints Online
      3. Printing at Home (from the Editor)
        1. Page Setup
        2. Print Window
          1. Color management
      4. Printing at Home (from the Organizer)
      5. Printing Multiple Photos
        1. Contact Sheets
        2. Picture Package
    3. 17. Email and the Web
      1. Image Formats and the Web
      2. Saving Images for the Web or Email
        1. Using Save For Web
          1. Save For Web file format options
        2. Previewing Images and Adjusting Color
      3. Creating Animated GIFs
      4. Emailing Your Photos
        1. Emailing Images
          1. Individual attachments
          2. PhotoMail options
          3. PDF slideshows
    4. 18. Online Albums and Slideshows
      1. Online Albums
      2. Other Ways to Share
      3. Slideshows
        1. PDF Slideshows
          1. Simple PDF slideshow
          2. Making a PDF in the Slide Show Editor
        2. Using the Slide Show Editor
          1. Slide Show Preferences
          2. Creating your slideshow using the Slide Show Editor
          3. Adding special effects
          4. Saving and sharing your slideshow
      4. Flipbooks
      5. Sharing Photos with Yahoo Maps
  9. VI. Additional Elements
    1. 19. Beyond the Basics
      1. Graphics Tablets
      2. Free Stuff from the Internet
      3. When You Really Need Photoshop
      4. Beyond This Book
  10. VII. Appendixes
    1. A. The Organizer, Menu by Menu
      1. System Menu
      2. Welcome Menu
      3. File Menu
        1. Get Photos and Videos
        2. New
        3. Open Recently Edited File in Editor
        4. Catalog
        5. Make a CD/DVD
        6. Copy/Move to Removable Disk
        7. Backup Catalog to CD, DVD, or Hard Drive
        8. Restore Catalog from CD, DVD, or Hard Drive
        9. Duplicate
        10. Reconnect
        11. Watch Folders
        12. Rename
        13. Write Tag and Properties Info to Photo(s)
        14. Move
        15. Export As New File(s)
        16. Page Setup
        17. Print
        18. Order Prints
        19. Exit
      4. Edit Menu
        1. Undo
        2. Redo
        3. Copy
        4. Select All
        5. Deselect
        6. Delete from Catalog
        7. Rotate 90° Left
        8. Rotate 90° Right
        9. Auto Smart Fix
        10. Auto Red Eye Fix
        11. Edit 3GPP Movie
        12. Adjust Date and Time
        13. Add Caption
        14. Update Thumbnail
        15. Set as Desktop Wallpaper
        16. Ratings
        17. Visibility
        18. Place on Map
        19. Remove from Map
        20. Show on Map
        21. Stack
        22. Version Set
        23. Color Settings
        24. Contact Book
        25. Preferences
      5. Find Menu
        1. Set Date Range
        2. Clear Date Range
        3. By Caption or Note
        4. By Filename
        5. All Version Sets
        6. All Stacks
        7. By History
        8. By Media Type
        9. By Details (Metadata)
        10. Items with Unknown Date and Time
        11. By Visual Similarity with Selected Photo(s)
        12. Untagged Items
        13. Items Not in Any Album
        14. Find Faces for Tagging
      6. View Menu
        1. Refresh
        2. Media Types
        3. Hidden Files
        4. Details
        5. Show File Names
        6. Show Grid Lines
        7. Show Borders Around Thumbnails
        8. Expand All Stacks
        9. Collapse All Stacks
      7. Window Menu
        1. Hide Task Pane
        2. Timeline
        3. Quick Share
        4. Properties
        5. Upload Progress Window
      8. Help Menu
        1. Photoshop Elements Help
        2. About Photoshop Elements
        3. Patent and Legal Notices
        4. Glossary of Terms
        5. System Info
        6. Registration
        7. Updates
        8. Online Support
        9. Online Learning Resources
      9. Welcome Button
      10. Undo
      11. Redo
      12. Display Menu
        1. Thumbnail View
        2. Import Batch
        3. Folder Location
        4. Date View
        5. Show Map
        6. View Photos in Full Screen
        7. Compare Photos Side by Side
      13. Editor Menu
        1. Quick Fix
        2. Full Edit
        3. Guided Edit
    2. B. The Editor, Menu by Menu
      1. System Menu
      2. Welcome Screen
      3. File Menu
        1. New
        2. Open
        3. Open As
        4. Open Recently Edited File
        5. Duplicate
        6. Close
        7. Close All
        8. Save
        9. Save As
        10. Save For Web
        11. File Info
        12. Place
        13. Organize Open Files
        14. Process Multiple Files
        15. Import
        16. Export
        17. Automation Tools
        18. Page Setup
        19. Print
        20. Print Multiple Photos
        21. Order Prints
        22. Exit
      4. Edit Menu
        1. Undo
        2. Redo
        3. Revert
        4. Cut
        5. Copy
        6. Copy Merged
        7. Paste
        8. Paste Into Selection
        9. Delete
        10. Fill, Fill Layer, Fill Selection
        11. Stroke (Outline) Selection
        12. Define Brush, Define Brush from Selection
        13. Define Pattern, Define Pattern from Selection
        14. Clear
        15. Add Blank Page
        16. Add Page Using Current Layout
        17. Delete Current Page
        18. Color Settings
        19. Preset Manager
        20. Preferences
      5. Image Menu
        1. Rotate
        2. Transform
        3. Crop
        4. Divide Scanned Photos
        5. Resize
        6. Mode
        7. Convert Color Profile
        8. Magic Extractor
      6. Enhance Menu
        1. Auto Smart Fix
        2. Auto Levels
        3. Auto Contrast
        4. Auto Color Correction
        5. Auto Sharpen
        6. Auto Red Eye Fix
        7. Adjust Smart Fix
        8. Adjust Lighting
        9. Adjust Color
        10. Convert to Black and White
        11. Unsharp Mask
        12. Adjust Sharpness
      7. Layer Menu
        1. New
        2. Duplicate Layer
        3. Delete Layer
        4. Rename Layer
        5. Layer Style
        6. New Fill Layer
        7. New Adjustment Layer
        8. Change Layer Content
        9. Layer Content Options
        10. Type
        11. Simplify Layer
        12. Group with Previous
        13. Ungroup
        14. Arrange
        15. Merge Layers
        16. Merge Visible
        17. Flatten Image
      8. Select Menu
        1. All
        2. Deselect
        3. Reselect
        4. Inverse
        5. All Layers
        6. Deselect Layers
        7. Similar Layers
        8. Feather
        9. Refine Edge
        10. Modify
        11. Grow
        12. Similar
        13. Load Selection
        14. Save Selection
        15. Delete Selection
      9. Filter Menu
        1. Last Filter
        2. Filter Gallery
        3. Correct Camera Distortion
        4. Adjustments
        5. Artistic
        6. Blur
        7. Brush Strokes
        8. Distort
        9. Noise
        10. Pixelate
        11. Render
        12. Sketch
        13. Stylize
        14. Texture
        15. Video
        16. Other
        17. Digimarc
      10. View Menu
        1. New Window for…
        2. Zoom In
        3. Zoom Out
        4. Fit on Screen
        5. Actual Pixels
        6. Print Size
        7. Selection
        8. Rulers
        9. Grid
        10. Guide Presets
        11. Annotations
        12. Snap to
      11. Window Menu
        1. Images
        2. Tools
        3. Color Swatches
        4. Content
        5. Effects
        6. Favorites
        7. Histogram
        8. Info
        9. Layers
        10. Navigator
        11. Undo History
        12. Palette Bin
        13. Reset Palette Locations
        14. Welcome
        15. Project Bin
        16. Image Windows
      12. Help Menu
        1. Photoshop Elements Help
        2. About Photoshop Elements
        3. About Plug-In
        4. Patent and Legal Notices
        5. Glossary of Terms
        6. System Info
        7. Registration
        8. Updates
        9. Online Support
        10. Online Learning Resources
      13. Welcome Button
      14. Undo
      15. Redo
      16. Organizer
    3. C. Installation and Troubleshooting
      1. Installing Elements
      2. Installing Elements
      3. Registration
      4. Scratch Disks
      5. Troubleshooting
  11. Index
  12. About the Author
  13. Colophon
  14. Copyright

Product information

  • Title: Photoshop Elements 7: The Missing Manual
  • Author(s): Barbara Brundage
  • Release date: October 2008
  • Publisher(s): O'Reilly Media, Inc.
  • ISBN: 9780596521332