Photoshop Elements 8 for Windows: The Missing Manual

CD/DVD Jackets

Elements lets you create CD jewel case inserts and DVD inserts, which appear on the front and back of the case. To make a CD insert in either the Editor or the Organizer, just go to Create → Projects → More Options → CD Jacket; you get a variety of different templates, all the right size to fit in a CD case.

The steps for creating a CD jacket are the same as for a photo collage (Photo Collages), but the layout choices, of course, are different. Pay special attention to the photo placement when choosing your layout: The right side of the layout is the front cover. Turn the "Auto-Fill with Project Bin Photos" checkbox off or on to suit you. (If you have five photos in the Project bin, you don't want to get a five-page CD jacket, which is what may happen. If there aren't enough slots on one page for all the open photos, Auto-Fill just makes extra pages to place the open images. So turn Auto-Fill off if you don't want Elements to use all your open photos.)

Unfortunately, only the "2 Centered" CD-insert layout even approximately marks out the general spine area, where most CDs display their titles. If you decide to enter text that you want to appear on the spine, click the Horizontal Type tool (Adding Text to an Image), type away, and then go to Image → Rotate → Layer 90° Left. Then use the Move tool to place the text where you want it. (You could also use the Vertical Type tool, but usually it's quite a job to get the type to look good, and most English speakers find it ...