For instance, Adobe puts a search box right on the Help window menu bar so that you can call up a list of search-result links.īut the face-lift looks a bit botched. Of all of Photoshop Elements' offerings, the help system has undergone the most extensive changes-all in an effort to make help information easier to find. Unfortunately, Elements still doesn't include Photoshop's most useful tool for photographers, the Healing Brush, which magically fixes lines and wrinkles. There's also a Quick Fix dialog that aggregates a variety of existing enhancement tools. Additional modest enhancements include the ability to display EXIF metadata, such as camera model and shot settings, in the File Browser, and updated layouts for Web pages and printing Picture Packages. The new Selection Brush lets you select soft-edged areas of your image that you want to delete, cut, or crop, but it requires extremely precise mouse work for real accuracy.Įxperienced designers will love Elements' overhauled paint engine, straight from Photoshop 7.0, but we don't think potential Elements customers will need such a sophisticated engine. Its batch-processing options (standard among similar editors) allow you to convert, rename, and resize an entire directory's files-for example, all of the cryptically named files imported from your digital camera. Based on our experience with a beta copy, only Elements' native support of Mac OS X justifies spending $69 to upgrade from version 1.0 or from a competing product.Įlements' full lineup of new features isn't terribly compelling, however. But as a next step up from newbie image editors such as Microsoft Picture It, Photoshop Elements 2.0 misses the mark it's still too complicated. In fact, Adobe's Elements 2.0 even tosses in a few interesting new features and enhancements.

Based on our experience with a beta copy, only Elements' native support of Mac OS X justifies spending $69 to upgrade from version 1.0 or from a competing product.įor $99, this stripped-down version of Photoshop delivers all of the digital image-editing tools that most graphics enthusiasts need.

For $99, this stripped-down version of delivers all of the digital image-editing tools that most graphics enthusiasts need.

Adobe photoshop elements reviews