Everything seems to happen so quickly. In a previous post I mentioned that PSE 7 should be released about mid-October. Well not only did September itself fly by, now it appears that PSE 7 is going to be available at Costco and probably elsewhere on October 6th – this week!
Here are a couple of links to videos that will give you a pretty good overview of some of the new features and how to use them. They should help you decide whether or not to upgrade from PSE 6. Generally speaking, if you have an older version of Photoshop Elements (PSE 3 through PSE 5), it is probably time to upgrade.
The first link is to Linda Sattgast’s web site. Her site and newsletters are basically devoted to digital scrap booking, but they also include lots of tips for anyone using Photoshop Elements. As it turns out, if you purchase PSE 7 from Costco , you will get a CD with some of her tutorials packaged with the program.
Here is the link to a series of videos that describe various new features of PSE 7, as well as some instruction on how to uses them. It is from the Photoshop Elements Users web site.
Finally, one of the major new features in PSE 7 is the ability to sync and backup your Albums online using the Adobe photo sharing plus site www.photoshop.com. Even if you do not have PSE 7, you can still use the tools at this site to fix and share your images.
Over the coming months, I will have tips and tutorials here and on my web site. But in the meantime, check out these links, and please feel free to comment on them here. Also, if there is a particular topic you would like for me to cover, by all means let me know in the Comments section of this blog.
Until next time,
Don
Don's Digital Photo Corner - Blog 
I take lots of family pictures and lots of sports pictures. I have PhotoShop Elements 4 and feel very comfortable with it… but is it time for me to upgrade (to PSE 7??) Will I be happy I did, or overwhelmed with how much I need to learn??! Your thoughts please?
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Hi Susan,
As you probably know, Adobe has been releasing new versions of Photoshop Elements during the fall for the past several years.
One does not have to upgrade to every new version as soon as they are released. However, your’s is getting a bit outdated. Both th Editor and the Organizer have been significantly improved since your version was introduced with several new features added.
Personally, I think it is time for you to upgrade. I suspect you do not have Vista, because PSE 4 is not compatible. Adobe chose only to make PSE 5 and later versions compatible. That’s a good indication of the long term future of PSE 4.
Yes, Windows 7 is coming in several months, but I suspect your next computer will be either a Vista machine or one running Windows 7. So you will be forced to upgrade at thet time.
Obviously, I have made the assumption that you are using PC and not a Mac.
You should not find switching from PSE 4 to PSE 7 a huge change regarding its look and feel, especially in the Editor. Yes, the screen is now a dark gray, but you can lighten it up in PSE 7. Certain features/buttons are relocated and on occasion renamed, e.g. Collections have become Albums in recent years.
The one thing that may impact the way you work is that the Organizer’s internal data base was totally redesigned in PSE 6. PSE 4 cataloges can be converted to the new data base fine. But there was a fundamental change in how the Organizer treats offline pictures when PSE 6 was introduced.
Prior to PSE 6, you could store your images offline on CD/DVDs and still do quite a bit with them using the proxies left behind, especially if you selected the largest proxie size in the preference settings. You could include these offline images in slide shows, email them, view them full screen, and even print a pretty good quality 4×6 print using the proxie without the need to have CD/DVD loaded in the drive.
That all changed with PSE 6. You can still see the thumbnails of images that have been moved offline to CD/DVDs. However, no longer can you even view an offline image full screen (F11) unless the CD/DVD is in the drive, let alone email it etc.
This impacted me in a big way. When I upgraded from PSE 5 to PSE 6, I had thousands of pictures that I had moved off my hard drive onto CD/DVDs. I had to spend a considerable amount of time bringing them all back online so I could use them in Projects etc. It was not fun.
However, if most of your Catalog is comprised of photos still on your hard drive somewhere, you should have no trouble converting your PSE 4 Catalog to PSE 7, as long as it is in good shape with no images needing Reconnecting etc.
Hope this helps somewhat.
Don
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Thank you so much for the information!
Do you prefer PSE 7 over PSE 6?
Thank you,
Susan
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Susan,
I have upgraded each time a new version of PSE has been introduced. I feel I need to do that, because I teach it. As each version is introduced, that is what people find in the stores, so I need to be familar with each new version. At times the schools I teach at do not have the latest version. Right now one is using PSE 6 and the other PSE 7.
Also, for the past three years, I have been a member of the Adobe Beta Test teams for both Photoshop Elements and Premiere Elements. So after working with the beta version of the program for several month, I am always anxious to use the released version.
That being said, since you will be upgrading from PSE 4, I would go with PSE 7. PSE 6 has a reputation of being somewhat buggy (I personally have not been unduely affected by its bugs), and PSE 7 fixed several of them. Some people are having issues with PSE 7 for that matter.
I have never bewen tempted to go back to an earlier version after upgrading each time, even when PSE 6 forced me to change my workflow etc.
To get a better anser you may want to review/monitor the Adobe User Forums. Tthere are some very smart people there.
Hope this helps somewhat.
Don
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Thank you!!
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