Requirements: PowerPC with Mac OS 7.5 or later, 32 MB RAM (64 MB recommended), 80-120 MB hard disk space, color monitor with at least 256 colors, CD-ROM drive.
 
Introduction
Apple Wizards has a standard policy to review software apart from prior versions. We don't rate ClarisWorks 5.0 based on whether a user should upgrade from 4.0, though we will make comparisons with version 4.0. Instead, we rate ClarisWorks 5.0 on its own merits. However, Photoshop is something so different that it warrants a modification of this rule. After all, most purchases of Photoshop 5 will come from people that have used prior versions — Photoshop's not an application you just "pick up" when you have the need for it. As such, this review will be solely an "upgrade or not" kind of review. I'll focus mostly on the new features. If you're curious as to the final decision, just remember... I gave it 5 stars.
 
It's History
 
The History palette is probably the
best thing to happen to Photoshop
since layers were added in version
3.0. The History palette encourages
experimentation. Depending on
your RAM and scratch disk sizes,
this palette can save hundreds of
actions performed on a file. Suppose
you add a blur and 25 other effects
to an image, then decide you liked
it better 20 steps ago. Simply click
on that step in the History palette
and you're transported through
time.
The History palette also offers the
History Brush — you can paint parts
of an image in the history onto a more recent one with this brush. It can produce some startling results. As with any new tool, it takes a while to get used to, but once you become acquainted, you won't go back.
 
Re-Edit This!
A big gripe with many regarding Photoshop 4.0 has been that text, once placed, becomes a regular group of pixels, just like anything else. Resizing or otherwise "playing with" the text resulted in undesired effects. Users longed for Illustrator-like control over their text. Gripe no more! Photoshop 5.0 features re-editable text, and it's fantastic. Double-clicking on the word "Text" in the graphic below (see "It's All in the Effect") would bring up the text dialog, whereby I could change the letters, font, size, kerning, color, and several other things.
Frankly, this is probably the most useful tool I've seen. As a graphic designer, both for this magazine and for my own web design business, I use text in images frequently. Re-editable text saves me time, and the old saying applies: time is money.
Before you go off thinking that perhaps re-editable text isn't as cool as
I am making it out to be, let me explain one of the niftiest things I've done. I placed some text. I then changed the color and the baseline to get it just the way I wanted. Next, I applied a drop shadow. I skewed the text so that it seemed to disappear into the distance. After all of that, the text was still re-editable. I changed "The dog went to the bank" to "I want to see if this re-editable text really works." This re-edited text then assumed the shape, shadows, color, and even the skew of the previous text. That, my friends, is amazing.
 
It's All in the Effect
 
After you're done playing with re-
editable text, you'll probably notice the
re-editable effects. In the graphic at
right you'll notice an "Δí" character in
a black circle. That denotes that an effect
has been applied to the layer. In the top layer, a drop shadow was applied, and in the middle, a bevel and emboss was applied. These effects can be created on any layer ‚Äî text or otherwise ‚Äî and include Drop Shadow, Inner Shadow, Outer Glow, Inner Glow, Bevel and Emboss. As with the re-editable text, you can manipulate these five effects, in combination or alone, to achieve many varieties of different effects. Double-clicking the Δí character brings pops up the effects dialog box for quick changes.
Note that each new form, text or otherwise, which is applied to a layer with an effect, also assimilates that effect. If you make a rectangle on a layer with a drop shadow applied to some text, the rectangle gets the drop shadow as well. This is both a cool feature and an annoyance (should you forget about it).
Effects not included in that set of five are not re-editable, but that is understandable.
 
It's the Little Things that Matter
Yes, it is indeed. The little things do matter, and they include:
Mac OS 8.x Grey
Photoshop 5.0 now blends in with the latest Mac OS, with new grey buttons and improved sliders, text boxes, and other important aspects of the interface. It's easier to look at and easier to work with — more functionality is fit into the same space, or less space, in many cases — through slightly re-organized menus, sliders, and such. Yes, I did say that menu items were moved, but before you flip out and remember the hard time you had when you moved from Photoshop 3.0 to 4.0, let me assuage your worries by saying that all important command keys are the same and that only a few menu items were shifted to more logical homes.
New Tools and Features
Some new tools are bound to pop up in every new version of Photoshop, and 5.0 is no exception. Some are:
• a new eyedropper that allows you to select and retain up to four different colors (very useful)
• a "rule" tool to measure angles and distances (somewhat useful)
• a host of new gradient types (finally)
• vertical text tools (quite useful)
• the history brush (very interesting)
• magnetic lasso that snaps to edges of color (quite useful)
• new layer features include creating layers via a cut or copy (useful during the tutorial)
• an "auto-select layer" when dragging feature comes in handy (but can also be annoying — I've turned this feature off)
• many more!
Help Me!
Yes, even Adobe Photoshop now has a good help system. Pressing the help key brings up a help box in "QuickHelp" format (the same format ClarisWorks and Claris Emailer use). It's quite handy, if you're a beginner. I didn't use it too much... but those familiar with the QuickHelp system will realize that it's very easy to use. You can even use virtual stick-it notes to leave messages for yourself.
 
The Rest of the Lot
There are a bevy of other features I have neglected to mention, partly because nobody wants to read a 40-page review, and partly because I don't find them terribly important. They are:
• Enhanced Actions palette — The new Actions palette allows you to record a wider variety of actions with a wider variety of filters. It does, indeed. In fact, the Actions in PS 4.0 often fell short of my requirements, but I will now begin using Actions because of this enhancement.
• Simulated 3D Transform — Frankly, this tool is annoying. Some may use it, but I found it a pain to work with. If you're going to manipulate 3D images, do them in a separate application or get them right before you bring them into Photoshop.
• Spot Color and ICC/ColorSync support — I used this with mixed emotion. I don't often share files across computers, so I don't often use the ColorSync support; and I don't often produce graphics for print, so the Spot Color didn't hold any fascination for me. Some may find these quite useful, and I'd encourage those people to get someone else's opinion on these new features.
 
Annoyances
There are two things that annoy me to no end. I may be petty for not wanting to adapt how I work, but so be it. They are:
• The History palette — It's not saved with the file, nor is there any preference to save it. Every time you open the Photoshop document, the History palette is blank. I'd gladly allow my files to grow in size by 500% in order to save their history, but it's impossible. The work-around is to use the "snapshot" feature, but I found it to be a mediocre solution at best.
• Default Layer Effects — Each time you want to apply one of the five re-editable effects to your graphic, you are greeted with the defaults. In the case of Outer Glow, these defaults are a putrid and pale yellow, screen mode at 75% opacity, a blur of 5 pixels and 0 intensity. I usually end up changing each and every one of those. Why the pale yellow can't be replaced by my foreground color, I have no idea. Simply put, it's dumb. The work-around, as long as you're applying similar effects to multiple layers, is to use the "copy effects" feature and then "paste effects" onto a separate layer.
 
Conclusion
If you own Photoshop 4.x and you can scrounge up 200 bucks, go get this upgrade. If you're new to Photoshop and graphic design in general, what can I say? It's the de facto image tool. After your email client and your browser, it'll probably be your most-used application.
