Basic, ACE Edition
Frequently asked questions and instructor notes
Note for Adobe Creative Cloud users
This course as originally written and published was designed for the release version of Photoshop CS6. Adobe’s new Photoshop CC, while based on CS6, is a constantly evolving product, and software updates may frequently add or change features.
This book has been tested with Photoshop CC version 14.1.2, current as of October 7, 2013. Most features and activities will be identical in behavior to Photoshop CS6, though not all screenshots and commands will be exactly the same. Photoshop CC also requires Windows 7 or Windows 8: Windows XP is no longer supported. There are additional setup steps, including the manual install of Bridge modules. These are detailed in the following Course Notes topic, and instructors using Photoshop CC should review the course against their own software before class.
Topic A: Classroom setup
All our courses assume that each student has a personal computer to use during the class. Our hands-on approach to learning requires that they do. This topic gives information on how to set up the classroom to teach this course.
Hardware requirements
Each student’s personal computer should have:
· A keyboard and a mouse
· Intel Pentium 4 or AMD Athlon 64 Processor (or faster)
· 1GB RAM (or higher)
· 1 GB of available hard drive space after the operating system is installed
· A monitor with at least 1280 × 960 resolution
· A graphics display card chip (GPU) that supports OpenGL (Note: Activities will still work without OpenGL support, but some features won’t be enabled.)
Software requirements
You will need the following software:
· Microsoft Windows 7
· Adobe Photoshop CS6
· A display driver that supports OpenGL 2.0 and Shader Model 3.0 (Note: Activities will still work without OpenGL support, but some features won’t be enabled.)
Network requirements
The following network components and connectivity are also required for this course:
· Internet access, for the following purposes:
– Downloading the latest critical updates and service packs
– Downloading the Student Data files from www.axzopress.com
(if necessary)
Classroom setup instructions
Before you teach this course, you will need to perform the following steps to set up each student computer.
1 Install Windows on an NTFS partition according to the software publisher’s instructions. After installation is complete, if the student machines have Internet access, use Windows Update to install any critical updates and service packs.
Note: You can also use Windows XP, but the screenshots in this course were taken in Windows 7, so students’ screens might look somewhat different.
2 With flat-panel displays, we recommend using the panel’s native resolution for best results. Color depth/quality should be set to High (24 bit) or higher.
3 Install Adobe Photoshop CS6 according to the software manufacturer’s instructions. After installation, start Photoshop to complete the activation process, and then close Photoshop.
4 Configure Photoshop CS6 on each student computer as follows:
a Start Photoshop.
b Choose Edit, Preferences, File Handling.
c Under File Compatibility, set Maximize PSD and PSB Compatibility to Always. Click OK.
d Close Photoshop.
5 Install Adobe Reader for the default browser by visiting http://get.adobe.com/reader/ and following the software manufacturer’s instructions.
6 Install Adobe Flash Player for the default browser by visiting http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/ and following the software manufacturer’s instructions.
7 If you have the data disc that came with this manual, locate the Student Data folder on it and copy it to the desktop of each student computer.
If you don’t have the data disc, you can download the Student Data files for the course:
a Connect to www.axzopress.com.
b Under Downloads, click Instructor-Led Training.
c Browse the subject categories to locate your course. Then click the course title to display a list of available downloads. (You can also access these downloads through our Catalog listings.)
d Click the link(s) for downloading the Student Data files. You can download the files directly to student machines or to a central location on your own network.
e Create a folder named Student Data on the desktop of each student computer.
f Double-click the downloaded zip file(s) and drag the contents into the Student Data folder.
Topic B: Frequently asked questions
There are no frequently asked questions for this course at this time.
Topic C: Course notes
Photoshop CC changes
When using Photoshop CC, there will be several changes to setup and activities, as detailed below:
Course setup
· Photoshop CC is compatible with Windows 7 with Service Pack 1 or Windows 8. Windows XP and Windows Vista are not supported.
· Photoshop CC and Bridge CC are both required for this course, and should be installed as usual from the Adobe Creative Cloud application. After installation, choose Help, Updates from within Photoshop to install all updates to the applications.
· At the time of writing, the Adobe Output Module used in the “Managing files with Adobe Bridge” unit was not included in the current version of the software. It can be downloaded and installed from http://helpx.adobe.com/bridge/kb/install-output-module-bridge-cc.html.
Activities
· The “View, Actual Pixels” command has been renamed “View, 100%”. This is only a change in menu text and not software functionality, and affects Activities A-1 and A-3 of Unit 6, “Resizing images.”
· The Image Size dialog box has been changed in layout, adding a preview function and a selection of size presets. This minorly affects activities A-2 and A-3 of Unit 6, “Resizing images.”
o The “Resize image” checkbox is now called “Resize” but otherwise functions the same.
o When resampling the image in activity A-3, step 2, students will have to select Pixels from the dropdown boxes next to Width and Height before entering the pixel values.
· In activity A-2 of Unit 7, “Managing files with Adobe Bridge”, the Mini Bridge panel may need to be manually displayed by selecting Window, Extensions, Mini Bridge.
· Topic D of Unit 7, “Managing files with Adobe Bridge” requires that the Output module for Bridge CC be installed. In step 2 of activity D-1, students will need to select the Output workspace from the workspace list.
Topic D: Additional information
There is no additional information for this course at this time.