Contents: Tips and Information / F.A.Q. / Tutorials / Basic Guide

Photoshop 6.0 is a very difficult program to describe in a Web Tutorial but I'll do my best.

TEMPORARY PROBLEM!: When you open Photoshop immediately go to the Edit Menu > Preferences > Plug ins & Scratch Disks. You should see a field called "Scratch Disks." If the First section is called "Startup Disk" you must change it to either TempWork, or, if TempWork is not available, then the second NetbootHD in the list. Click OK then close Photoshop and re-open it. Don't ask.

Tips and Information

1. When doing anything with Photoshop, or any program, you should always save all your work on the TempWork hard drive! Never ever ever ever attempt to open any files off a Zip Disk or save any files to the Desktop. The Desktop of these computers is connected to the MML Server and saving work to them will cause your computer to crash (same with a Zip Disk) and you will lose all your work because when the computer reboots it deletes everything that was on the Desktop. Be safe and make yourself a directory on the TempWork drive. If you don't see the TempWork drive, any drive that looks like this: will do. Never use a drive that looks like this:
   
   
2. SAVE, SAVE, SAVE your image repeatedly while working on it. This goes for anything and everything on the computer, be it text, audio, or video, but it is worth repeating. It is extremely frustrating to lose work, so just SAVE.
   
   
3. A note about image types. When you go to save a file, you will be presented with a list of format options. There are four main imaged types that are used. You can basically ignore the rest. Click me to see popup of the image types in Photoshop.
   
   1. Photoshop. This has extension .PSD (PhotoShop Document). This format strores all the elements of Photoshop editing. Layers, Layer Masks, saved selections, alpha channels, etc. If you're editing an image and you haven't finished, this is the only format you can use. It is also uncompressed so it takes up the most room, but has the best quality.
   2. TIFF. Tiff files are used mostly for print images (i.e.: inkjet printer or offset printer). You can choose to have a compressed or uncompressed image. If you scan an image, I suggest you save it as a TIFF so you have a high-quality image to begin editing or to print. TIFF files don't store any Photoshop information except alpha channels.
   3. JPEG. JPEG images are used predominantly on the Web. JPEG can be very highly compressed. Typically JPEGs are used to compress photographic image files (as opposed to graphical images like icons and text). So if you want to email a picture of your new hat to grandma or post it on a website, save as a JPEG file.
   4. GIF. GIF files are a web designers dream come true (or worst nightmare). GIFs can compress graphical images (i.e.: icons, text, etc) to very very small file sizes if done correctly. This translates into faster page loads for people who use modems (most people) and therefore people like your website better. How to properly use GIF compression is a lecture on its own, so I won't discuss it here.
   
   
4. Resolution. Typical screen resolution is 72 dpi (Dots Per Inch).

F.A.Q.

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Tutorials

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MML's Basic Guide to using Photoshop

COMING SOON

That's it! If you have any other questions, or think that the information supplied here is unclear, off-base, or just plain wrong, feel free to contact Aaron Kovalchik.

9/28/01, Aaron Kovalchik