Photoshop Elements 2: the complete reference

This comprehensive guide to Photoshop Elements - a low cost image editing software package for business professionals and hobbyists. It offers in-depth coverage, step-by-step projects and an image bank online.

Acknowledgments	p. xix
Introduction	p. xxi
Part I Photoshop Elements Orientation
1 Installing Elements for Peak Performance	p. 3
Elements Installation	p. 4
Macintosh Installation	p. 4
Windows Installation	p. 5
Setting Up the Maximum Fidelity Display	p. 7
Calibrating Your Monitor	p. 11
Instrument Calibration of a Monitor	p. 13
Using Color Profiles for Input and Output Devices	p. 13
Tweak for the Peak in Performance	p. 14
Software Considerations	p. 16
More on Tuning Photoshop in Preferences	p. 21
Installing Third-Party Plug-Ins	p. 24
2 What Elements Does Best	p. 27
Perfectly Suited for the Busy Business Pro	p. 28
Recipes for Navigating Complex Tasks	p. 28
Quick Fixes	p. 29
One-Click Tricks	p. 32
Specialized Tools and Commands	p. 36
Multi-Level Undo	p. 41
Hints: Online Help for Just About Everything	p. 42
Instant Effects	p. 43
Built-In Panorama Building	p. 47
3 Touring Elements' Functional Components	p. 51
The Splash Screen	p. 52
The Welcome Screen	p. 54
The Menu Bar	p. 57
The Shortcuts Bar	p. 146
The Palette Well	p. 148
The Status Bar	p. 149
4 The Palettes	p. 153
Palette Well	p. 154
5 Tools and the Toolbox	p. 187
The Toolbox	p. 188
The Tools	p. 189
6 A Deeper Look at Recipes	p. 229
Using Recipes	p. 231
Recipes by Category	p. 231
7 The Art of Selections	p. 253
The Purpose of Making Selections	p. 254
Lifting Selections to New Highs	p. 255
Tuning a Selection's Edges and Position	p. 257
Saving Your Selections	p. 266
Quick Selections with Select Similar and Grow Commands	p. 267
Cool Tricks with the Magic Wand	p. 268
8 Understanding Layers	p. 277
Introducing Layers	p. 278
Basic Layer Manipulation	p. 282
Layer Types	p. 287
Layer Masks	p. 294
Stacking Order and Layer Interaction	p. 301
Working with Groups of Layers	p. 303
Layer Transparency	p. 306
Merging Layers	p. 309
Converting Layers	p. 310
Applying Filters, Effects, Styles, and Blending Modes to Layers	p. 311
9 Blending It All Together	p. 317
Using Blending Modes with Tools and Options	p. 319
Painting with Blending Modes	p. 320
Dodging and Burning with Blending Modes	p. 322
Lighting with Blending Modes	p. 325
Creating Special Effects with Blending Modes	p. 326
The Blending Modes	p. 329
Using Blending Modes with Layers	p. 340
Definitions	p. 344
Part II The Digital Darkroom Workflow
10 Collecting, Cataloging, and Managing Images	p. 349
Getting the Picture Into Your Computer	p. 350
Understanding File Types and Their Purposes	p. 362
Managing Images	p. 375
11 Getting Into Shape: Resizing, Stretching, and Distorting Your Images	p. 391
Image Damage Insurance Strategies	p. 392
Resizing Strategies	p. 397
Transformations	p. 403
Cropping Your Images	p. 409
12 Correcting Exposure, Contrast, and Color Balance	p. 413
Automatic Image Correction	p. 415
Correcting Exposure	p. 416
Correcting Contrast	p. 425
Correcting Color Balance	p. 428
Converting an Image to Black and White	p. 434
13 Retouching and Repairing	p. 439
Replacing One Part of the Image with Another	p. 441
Putting Your Retouching on Layers	p. 443
Eliminating Shadows, Stains, and Blotches	p. 443
Getting Rid of Dust, Scratches, and Other Unwanted Artifacts	p. 447
Red Eye Removal	p. 450
Do Fence It In	p. 450
Adding Shadows and Highlights	p. 450
Adding Texture	p. 455
Smoothing Over the Rough Spots	p. 459
Sharpening the Focus	p. 461
Changing the Shape of Things	p. 465
Putting It All Together	p. 470
Part III The Special Effects Workflow
14 Filter Effects	p. 473
Using Filters	p. 474
Artistic Filters	p. 475
Blur Filters	p. 487
Brush Strokes Filters	p. 492
Distort Filters	p. 498
Noise Filters	p. 510
Pixelate Filters	p. 514
Render Filters	p. 518
Sharpen Filters	p. 522
Sketch Filters	p. 524
Stylize Filters	p. 536
Texture Filters	p. 543
Video Filters	p. 549
Other Filters	p. 550
15 Creating Special Effects, Text, and Shapes	p. 555
Creating Special Effects with Filters	p. 556
Text and Shapes	p. 606
16 Painting in Elements	p. 617
Using a Pressure-Sensitive Tablet Versus Using a Mouse	p. 618
Preparation for a Painting	p. 619
Using the Brush Tools for Painting	p. 622
Masking with Selections	p. 640
Painting with the Clone Tool	p. 642
Painting with Textures and Patterns	p. 645
Moving Digital Paint Around	p. 648
Editing Tools	p. 651
Photo Painting	p. 655
Painting from Scratch	p. 659
17 Making Composite Images	p. 663
Taking the Right Pictures for a Composite	p. 665
Making Drop-Dead Knockouts	p. 669
Managing Your Composites	p. 680
Layer Tricks for Compositing	p. 683
Part IV Preparing Your Photos for the Web, Print, and Presentation
18 Publishing Your Images to the Web	p. 691
Image Formats for the Web	p. 692
Optimizing Images for the Web	p. 694
Publishing Photos to a Web Gallery	p. 717
19 Printing Your Images for Presentation	p. 727
Printing What You See on Screen	p. 728
Understanding the Longevity Issue	p. 730
Sizing the Image for Maximum Print Quality	p. 731
Printing Only Specific Layers	p. 733
Place a Caption or a Signature	p. 733
Print More Than One Picture on a Page	p. 734
Index	p. 741

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