Photo Editing with Adobe Photoshop Album

[quinn]

I have been experimenting with a trial version of Adobe Photoshop Album 2.0 in editing some pictures.

I noticed that when I click on a file to edit the image I get a message that says the original image won't be changed and that the edited image will be given a new file name. (which seems better than Paintshop where you have to save the edits under a different file name if you don't want to override the original image)

However, after I finished with my edits and saved the changes I could no longer view the original image when I was viewing all of the images under "My Catalog". I guess I expected to see both the "original" and "modified" image. However, it appears the only place I can see the "original" image is if I double click on the modified image (as if I was going to edit it again) and their I can view the original image.

However, even though I can retrieve the original image there, it doesn't let me make any further changes to the original image. It appears all I can do is make further changes to the image I already edited.

I am not sure if what I am experiencing are simply limitations of the trial version of Photshop Album or if this is the way it works in the full version. It seems strange that I can't edit the original file. Likewise, when I try to make additional changes to the image I did edit, it can only be saved under the edited file name. In other words, I can't create a new file name that might be different from the 1st time the image was edited (for example in the case I wanted to make different types of edits the 2nd time around while still retaining the changes made the 1st time the image was edited)

Any input would be appreciated!

Thanks

[Don Walsh]

I am not sure if the trial version has the Help menu included, if it does then try this. Go to the bar at the top of the page with File, Edit, View, etc. click on Help (or hit the F1 key) and it should bring up a Contents menu. Under Contents scroll down to the fifth bullet down entitled Fixing photos and click on it. When that comes up scroll through until you get to Managing Versions of Photos. It gives you all the information about original vs. edited and options to revert back to original or about making another copy of original to edit in a different manner. I think you have to scrap the edited version if you want to make changes to the original unless you use the copy command and work with another copy. Hope this helps.

Don Walsh

[Don Walsh]

Quinn - looks like you have two parallel threads going on on the same subject posted. One on Adobe Photoshop and the other Adobe Photoshop Album.......Don Walsh

[quinn]

Don,

Sorry about the parallel post. I had trouble yesterday posting the original message. It didn't appear that it got submitted but now it appears it went through twice.

With regard to your earlier email about the Help Menu. When I scroll over to the "help menu" I don't have an option that says "contents". When I click on F1 it brings me to Adobe's internet site.

Perhaps what I am experiencing is a limitation of the starter edition?

[Don Walsh]

Quinn, Just got back in town yesterday, I was stranded out of town for day longer than expected and had read your last post on a computer at my sisters place. I guess the trial version does have limitations in that respect. I wanted to get home here and read more about the way PS Album manages photos as I do have the latest version installed.

I will preface comments on photo editing/filing by telling you that I have PS Album v.2 and it was purchased as an upgrade to the v.1 that I had purchased a year earlier and quite liked. I also have Photoshop CS installed and as both are Adobe products they link quite easily through menu commands. I find that the album is a very easy and effective way to file photos. I have also scanned into my computer about 300-400 35mm slides. It was very simple to create files in numerous categories and sub-categories options in order to file and easily locate photos that I might be looking for.

It also has limited photo retouching, cropping, etc. which I have used on occasion but I tend to use PS for editing and only use the PS Album for fixing "red eye" in people photos. It is much quicker and easier than PS.

I have lifted a few statements from their Managing versions of photos and will limit what they say to what I think is the pertinent information that you would be interested in.

> When you edit a photo, all the changes you make are applied to a copy of the file. This is so that you can revert to the original file at any time.

And on the subject of: Duplicating photos, the following,

>To create multiple versions of a photo which you can edit differently, you can use the Duplicate command to create a copy of the photo. The copied photo becomes a new file on your system and a new entry in the catalog. The copy appears next to the original in the photo well but is no longer linked to the original photo. Photoshop Album appends "-copy" to the file name so that you can tell which version of a duplicate you are working with.<


So in a nutshell, it will do what you want it to do but instead of editing the original and have PA Album just show the edited version in the Photo Well you simply use the Duplicate command first, edit the duplicate and you will have both the original and your edited in the Photo Well and either can be retrieved quickly. Don

Just read on the parallel post that you are thinking of buying PS Elements. If it does come with the full blown versions of Album included for the regular price of Elements then I think you would have a pretty good editing/ filing combo that would be hard to beat for the money!