Photoshop 6 or 7?

[amanoffewwords]

When not repairing or installing PCs I develop websites for companies. Up to know I have been using a combination of Macromedia's Fireworks, ACD See and Paint Shop Pro for the graphics side of things [but PSP keeps on crashing on my system, even after an OS reload so I haven't really used it much since having it).

I'd like to perfect my graphics skill so I'm thinking of obtaining a copy of either Photoshop 6 or 7 from eBay (there are a couple of good deals from apparently serious and legit sellers at the moment).

The question is: is there much difference between version 6 and 7 - I have heard that 7 - 8 brings a faster application and behind the scenes improvements, but does it go in leaps and bounds between 6 and 7?

I'm leaning towards version 7, a snip at around £21 (current bid).

Any thoughts from Photoshop users?

Thanks
Charles

[joe2812]

I bought PS 7 and had no trouble...loved it... and the sites I could create with it (excluding those done in Dreamweaver) were some of my best.

After my reformat I lost PS 7 and unfortunately no idea where the disk was, so obtained a (perfectly legal and not downloaded in any way) version of Photoshop CS, which had gone that little bit further than 7.

CS will have a few more bits than 7, which has a few more than 6 etc etc, you get the jist.

At the end of the day you can do sites on all of them to pretty much the same standard, but given the choice i'd have 7 over 6 any day.

Enjoy!

[amanoffewwords]

Thanks got 7.0 in the end. Now just got to find a book to tell me how to use it properly. I will soon become a master and will be able to answer any intricate query anyone may have.

Not.

[joe2812]

http://www.good-tutorials.com

:ok:

[Windle Poons]

I have used PS for graphic design for many years and have recently upgraded to PS CS. A few years ago the graphic design led to web design, and I now use PS and IR almost exclusively for design along with Macromedia Flash (where required or requested). Dreamweaver has now been consigned to being a way of organising and uploading sites as opposed to a design tool. I find PS & IR CS much more friendly for website design, especially when using slices and rollovers in ImageReady. I believe ImageReady is the most under utilised of the Adobe packages, and web designers who dismiss it, do so to my benefit! You did the right thing going for 7 if CS was not an option.

If you need a book I would recommend one by Tanya Staples called "Photoshop CS and ImageReady CS for the web." Whilst specifically for CS, the techniques can almost all be used in PS7 as well, although the screenshots will not be 100% accurate for the PS & IR 7 layout. Go here (http://www.lynda.com/products/books/pscshot/) for more info on the book. I'm not sure if she did a PS7 version before this.

It has loads of great info on optimisation, type, layers, slices, rollovers, animation etc. etc. The one thing it covers that I don't think is available on IR7 is saving animations in SWF as opposed to GIF format.

If you are new to PS & IR it will lead you through the techniques step by step, and if you are more advanced it will still give you a whole load of tips and ways to improve your workflow. It cost me £38.99, but it has paid for itself many times over.

Good luck and above all have fun....:ok:

WP - errrr a bit of a PS IR devotee I'm afraid. :O

[amanoffewwords]

Thanks for the link joe2812 - duly bookmarked for a revisit.

And thanks for the info Windle Poons - in the end I went for Adobe's classroom in a book for PS 7 - looked like the kind of thing for me, a snip at £33 :rolleyes:, but got to start somewhere.

I'm not intending to use PS for web design - quite happy with DW MX - though I may change my mind as I go along. By the way, did you create your fira-design site with PS? Looks pretty cool and I like your philosophy - pretty much the same as mine - a customer once asked me what it was and I said "well the bottom line is - not to take the p..s" (in terms of my charges) and that has worked very well in the last 4 years on my own.

In passing I should mention that I have a copy of Paint Shop Pro 7 which does pretty much the same as PS but it kept crashing despite a fresh OS re-install so I wanted something more solid and guess what PS crashes when I open File Browser :rolleyes:, which luckily I don't need as I prefer ACDSee.

Enough rambling, to the book...

Cheers
Charles

[Evo]

Enough rambling, to the book...


Please continue! I've just installed Photoshop 7. That was the easy bit. W*rk is demanding too much time at the momet so I haven't really had a chance for a play with it, but any tips would be welcome :)

[amanoffewwords]

Well Evo, I'm in the same boat, but I have used it successfully to a few basic effects to a logo or two and I'm currently on page 2 of the book I mentioned :rolleyes:

One thing I came across which wasted two hours of my time while I checked every setting and uninstalled re-installed PS:

I was adding text to a logo but it was stubbornly formatting itself at font size 26 - that's when I discovered the tool preset (just under File in the menu) :mad: - how I got it to preset I do not know....wasn't me, honest!

So there's your first tip. Beware of automation!

Cheers
Charles