Having used software guides since the early 80’s, I found the comfortable readability of this book to be a very pleasant surprise. Since software application and programming guides are designed to be helpful technical resources, they are usually dry and end up on a shelf to be pulled out when needed. But this book held my interest for five straight chapters, and through many other sections as well. Brundage’s precise and friendly writing style, without being flip or condescending, her abundance of rich illustrations, and her thorough coverage, created a new appreciation for the endless possibilities of Photoshop Elements 5.
Another key to maintaining interest is the author’s use of beautiful, full-color photos to demonstrate Elements’ features and capabilities. She often suggests that the reader download the same photo from the Missing Manual web site to give the tool a try.
Also, Brundage regularly provides cross-references to pages containing more advanced material on the present topic or tool. Also, she frequently lists page numbers for other ways of accomplishing the same goal with a different tool. As a result, she can maintain a steady flow of new content without having to exhaust every subject when first introduced.
Through regular use of quarter or half-page boxes with such titles as: Up to Speed, Power Users’ Clinic, Frequently Asked Question, Information Station, Gem in the Rough, Compatibility, Troubleshooting Moment, Workaround Workshop, On the Web, Under the Hood, In the Field, etc. the writer provides answers, hints, tips, technical information, web information, etc. that is not only helpful, but interesting.
Brundage begins with a helpful overview of the Editor and Quick Fix features and capabilities. Then she walks the reader through these from the simplest to the more complex—from simple rotation and cropping to layers, filters, and masks. In later chapters she covers the use of the Organizer, printing, slideshows and flipbooks, and adjusting images for the web or email.
A short resources chapter at the end covers the use of graphics tablets, Internet resources, and helpful Elements plugins. Two comprehensive appendices show and briefly explain every menu and sub-menu in the Organizer and Editor, while a third appendix deals with installation and troubleshooting issues.
One of the most important features of any software guide is a comprehensive index. When I experience a problem using an application or programming tool, I expect to quickly find relevant answers in a book devoted to that product. The Missing Manual has yet to disappoint me in this regard. For example, I recently wanted to know if the “Process Multiple Files” dialog I had opened would overwrite the original image files.
I first selected the Index Tab in Element’s Help window, but couldn’t find this capability listed under any of the relevant letters. Next, entering “process multiple” in the Help Search Box took me to this topic, but Adobe’s one-page explanation failed to answer my question.
Later, at home, I easily found the entry “Process Multiple Images” in the index of The Missing Manual. It pointed to the first of seven pages of description and screen shots that answered my question and thoroughly covered this topic.
I very highly recommend this book for its readability, comprehensive coverage, and extensive resources.
Reviewer: Chuck Thomas, VP of Technology, Bowling Green Area Microcomputer Users Group
|
