Adobe Unveils Photoshop Elements 2.0

Adobe Systems has announced the second version of its low-cost photo-editing package, aimed at the home hobbyist and amateur photographer. While Photoshop Elements 2.0 may be cheap, it's far from a cut-down version of its big brother. Like its predecessor, it offers a number of new features that have yet to make it into the full version of Photoshop.

A free trial version of PhotoShop Elements 2.0 is available now as a download. The estimated street price is $99. Registered users of Photoshop Elements 1.0, Photoshop LE, PhotoDeluxe, and other Adobe digital-imaging software products will be able to get a $30 mail-in rebate.

PhotoShop Elements 2.0 supports both the Windows family of operating systems and Apple Macintosh OS X.

User Friendly

The package is designed to meet the needs of users who want a full-featured image-editing package but don't need the professional features of Photoshop 7.0.

The new Selection Brush makes the process of creating selections far easier for the novice. Rather than having to resort to the Marquee, Lasso, or Magic Wand tool, users can simply paint a selection.

Help is always at hand thanks to the beefed-up Recipes, Glossary, Dialog Tips, and Smart Messages. Recipes provide step-by-step instructions for complex techniques, and the 'Do it for me' option alleviates the hard work. The Glossary explains digital-imaging terms in an understandable way, and Dialog Tips provide easy-to-read explanations within dialogs. Smart Messages provide simple context-sensitive help, so you're never left wondering what a particular term means.

The File Browser, which originally debuted in version 1.0 and has since found its way into Photoshop 7.0, has been enhanced and can now handle EXIF (exchangeable image file) data--such as creation date, exposure settings, image size, and resolution--generated by digital cameras.

Photo Oriented

In fact, Photoshop Elements 2.0 adds functions particularly suited to digital photography, which makes sense given the proliferation of digital cameras and popularity of photo-sharing online.

The Quick Fix Dialog provides easy access to common photo adjustments--such as brightness, color correction, focus, and rotation--with tool tips to help with the various adjustments. Users can make corrections in one dialog window and view the original image alongside the edited version.

Users can also create slide shows in Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) that can be displayed on any device that supports the Adobe Acrobat Reader software. Besides Windows and Mac systems, this also includes Palm handhelds.