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First Impressions of PhotoShop CS4
With the announcement of Adobe Photoshop CS4, I was excited to check out all the new features that would make designing more efficient. I was able to download the trial version and experience the excitement of playing with the new version of the greatest design software ever.
Before a trial was available, I visited adobe.com to read up on some of the features Adobe would be bringing to the table with the latest iteration of their flagship product. It looked like 3D and film features topped their list, so it wasn’t anything that made me too anxious to buy it. I was however intrigued by some of the other little tweaks they made to the interface as well as the content-aware scaling tool.
Installing PhotoShop CS4
First off, let me say that PhotoShop is always a task to install. But it being as powerful as it is, I don’t mind the wait. It took a good amount of time to get it up and running, especially with all the “side order” applications it comes with.
First Impressions of PhotoShop CS4
The first thing I did after opening PhotoShop CS4 for the first time was find a nice picture of people on the beach. Seeing as how my company had a recent beach day, some photos that fit my requirements were on hand. I immediately tried out the content-aware scaling tool. It didn’t quite work out as I expected as it stretched out some foreground elements. It might have been the picture I was using as it did work well on other images.
It’s The Little Things That Count
What I was most impressed with were the little tweaks and refinements that helped speed up my workflow. The first thing you’ll notice when opening up PhotoShop CS4 is the new approach to the interface. On Windows, the menu/title bar of the chrome is significantly reduced in size allowing for more working space. Also, they’ve introduced some new icons up top to make basic tasks more convenient, such as a zoom dropdown window arrangement tool.
One of the best improvements is the ability to pan passed the document edges in maximized standard screen mode. This leaves the rulers visible (not behind the toolbar).
The new masks and adjustments palette is a real time-saver as well. It also eliminates the need to drag the pop-up window around to see what you are adjusting.
In Summary
Even though there may not be a significant amount new features for certain applications, PhotoShop CS4 brings some much needed interface tweaks that will improve your overall efficiency. Is it worth the price tag? If you are a serious designer, yes.
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