Photo Editing with Adobe Photoshop

[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

[haikai]

i've never used the Album version of photoshop, but if it follows the logic of the regular photoshop in any shape or form then it shouldn't have the limitations you are experiencing... even if it's a trial version.

are there different "open file" options? since this is an "Album" version, i presume it doubles as an image viewer in addition to being an image editor. perhaps when you open a file in one "mode" you can't use the option available in the other one.

as for viewing files, maybe the Album version has some neat options that i don't know of, but i generally prefer using external dedicated programs to view files. just for instantaneous start up times and being able to quickly browse images without the image-editing clutter.

hai

[quinn]

Hello Hai,

Thanks for your response.

From what I can see there doesn't appear to be different "File open" options. There is a "find" by file name which I thought would work since the original "unedited" file name is different than the edited file name which Adobe automatically puts _edited after the file name when it is saved.

However, when I try to retrieve the "original" file name it only retrieves the edited image. This seems particularly strange since they have 2 different file names!

[haikai]

well, i downloaded the trial version myself to see if i could see what the problem was. when i edited an image, it wrote a new file with _edited appended, as you said, and it seems to insist on using the edited version unless you tell it to revert to the original image and thereby discarding your edited version. it's strange that it doesn't allow you to have multiple versions of an image (unless you happen to change the file name and "get" it again. i think the idea of this program is that the edited file is supposed to be the final version and it just keeps the original around on file in case you want to remove the edits. of course, i'm sure the true purpose of this could be explained if i read the quick guide in the help, but i'm too lazy

this program does seem like a pretty neat way to organize your photos although my camera came with a program that is kinda similar to this too. it's disappointing that i don't even have control over how this album program saves files (formats, compression options, even something as simple as renaming the file). i know this is probably an attempt to make things easier for beginning users, but in this case it's just more confusing

sorry i couldn't be of more help. i think if you want to have more predictable control over your image editing you're better off with photoshop elements or something like that... it's not a great deal more complex and you'll have a lot more powerful tools anyway.

hai

[quinn]

Hai,

Thanks so much for all your efforts! I really appreciate you downloading the trial version of the software to see if you could figure out the source of the problem.

I agree with your recommendation about purchasing the 3.0 version of Photoshop. I think that will be on my "to do" list this weekend!

Thanks again

[speaklightly]

The lastest version of Adobe Photoshop Album, I believe, is 2.0.

The latest version of Adobe Photoshop Elements, I believe, is 3.0

Were you thinking about Elements?

Sarah Joyce

[quinn]

Joyce,

Yes, I was thinking about Photoshop Elements 3.0 which has the added advantage of also including the Photoshop Album software.

Thanks

[gary_hendricks]

Originally Posted by quinn

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 think this is probably a design issue with Adobe Photoshop Album. In trying to simplify the interface for beginners, they've caused problems like the one you highlighted. I will go and try my copy of Adobe Photoshop Album 3 later to see if the problem can be rectified.