Adobe Photoshop CS6 Beta

Adobe just unveiled the beta version of Photoshop CS6. Adobe Photoshop CS6 beta with redesigned User Interface and Sixty five new features. You can download it free from Adobe labs and try it yourself. The beta is fully functional and will work until the final release comes out. It also works alongside any version of Photoshop you have installed—it will not delete it. Fans of the dotted lines in Illustrator now get the same vector tools in Photoshop. Additionally, every slider for the Camera Raw 7.0 plug-in (exposure, contrast, etc.) has a freshly tweaked algorithm. And for anyone who’s ever looked on helplessly as Photoshop locked itself up during a long file save, projects can now save in the background while you work on other things.

Adobe’s also made some refinements to existing features. The liquify tool, for instance, now has a larger maximum brush size, and works in real time so you can see the effect in real time. Adobe’s also added two features to complement Content-Aware Fill, which was first introduced with CS5. These include one for moving objects to different part of the image, and one for patching up a spot with content taken from another part of the picture.

With change comes some potential readjusting, though. In addition to adding more functionality, Adobe’s overhauled the UI so that it has a dark background like Adobe Lightroom (this is customizable, to an extent) with a generally cleaner smattering of icons and menus.

Learning Resources & Reviews on Photoshop CS6:

• Photoshop CS6 beta overview: Russell Brown’s favorite 6 features in Photoshop CS6 beta
• Photoshop CS6 beta overview: Julianne Kost’s favorite 6 features in Photoshop CS6 beta
• Photoshop CS6 beta: New Content-Aware Technology – Bryan O’Neil Hughes
• Adobe Photoshop CS6 – My Top 6 Favorite Features – Terry White
• See tips and tutorials for getting started in the Photoshop CS6 Kelby Learning Center
• Sneak Peek #1: In this video taken straight from the laptop of our Senior Product Manager, Bryan O’Neil Hughes, get an early look at some of the things the Photoshop team is working on for Camera Raw.
• Sneak Peek #2: Get an early look at a popular Facebook fan request – background save and the most powerful liquify tool ever, from Photoshop Product Manager, Zorana Gee.
• Sneak Peek #3: Product Manager, Zorana Gee, gives a hint at what’s to come – creating dashed and dotted lines with just one click in Photoshop. A top requested feature brought to life!
• Sneak Peek #4: See more advanced features of Photoshop Content-Aware technology. Straight from Photoshop Senior Product Manager Bryan O’Neil Hughes, this video shares how to seamlessly move or remove an object from an image.
• Sneak Peek #5: Get a peek of what sharing presets will be like in the future. We’ve also addressed dozens of requests from our Photoshop community, called “just do its” or JDIs.
• Sneak Peek #6: Here’s a peek from Photoshop Product Manager Stephen Nielsen of a tool that will add blur to any image without masks, layers or depth maps.
• Future Innovation: Video & Photoshop: Get a glimpse of what the Photoshop team has been working on, when it comes to video and Photoshop. You won’t believe what you can do when you unite the power of Photoshop with easy and approachable video editing tools!
• Sneak Peek #7: See the 3D capabilities to come in Photoshop CS6 Extended, including enhanced performance and the ability to change the position, color, material, shadow, and light source of a 3D image.
• Comprehensive list of JDI’s (Just Do It) features in Photoshop CS6
• Photoshop CS6 Learning CenterFree Photoshop CS6 preview course with Deke McClelland
• bjango.com – blog post – Photoshop CS6 improvements –  The Photoshop CS6 beta is now available. It includes a ton of big and small improvements over previous versions. Here are the ones that matter to me, as an interface designer: Covers Layer Search; Vector pixel snapping; Layer Styles on Groups; Group Clipping Masks; Paragraph Styles and Character Styles; Strokes on paths.
• Ice Flow Studios – YouTube video tutorials – See What’s New In Photoshop CS6
• DP Review – Product Review for Photographers – Photoshop CS6 Beta: New Features for Photographers
• CNET – Product Review – Adobe revs Photoshop’s engine (hands on)
• Macworld – Product Review – First Look: Photoshop CS6 Beta is dark, swift, and content aware
• Gizmodo – Producet Review – Photoshop CS6 Is the Best Version In Recent Memory—And It’s Free Now
• Time Techland – Product Review – Adobe’s Photoshop CS6 Beta: Even a Little More Magical
• Photoshop Cafe – Tutorials Videos – Photoshop CS6 BETA New Feature Videos
• Engaget – Product Review – Adobe unveils Photoshop CS6 beta with redesigned UI and 65 new features, download it for free today
• CNET – Stephen Shankland- Product Review –  With CS6, Photoshop takes a step toward VideoshopNew Features in Adobe Photoshop CS6 Beta
  

  Brushes

  • HUD brush resize and hardness can now change opacity
  • Increase brush size to 5000px
  • Change color dynamics to per stroke instead of per tip (user option for old behavior)
  • Brightness/contrast slider for textures when painting
  • Brush projection for static tips
  • Brush cursor reflects brush dynamics for round and captured tips

  Eyedropper

  • Show the sample size popup for the various eyedropper tools (black point, white point,
  • etc.)
  • Add ignore adjustment layers options bar item for the eyedropper
  • New mode for eyedropper to select layers current and below
  • File formats
  • Read common stereo image pair formats (JPS, PNS) Allow for more bit depths in TIFF files
  • Read BIGTIFF format
  • Give the user choices regarding how they want transparency treated in OpenEXR on file open

  Grammar

  • Policed throughout app
  • Use consistent grammar style in the title of dialog windows (no commands such as “Choose a color:”)

  Layers

  • Add a contextual menu item that deletes a layer effect not just disables it
  • Add dither options to Layer Styles for Gradient Overlay and Gradient Stroke
  • Allow 00 or Shift 00 to work when setting layer/fill opacity (previously no way to get 0%)
  • Add bicubic sharper & bicubic smoother options when free transforming layers
  • Allow changing of blend modes for multiple layers at once
  • Allow locking of multiple layers
  • CMD+J to duplicate layers and layer group
  • Allow changing color labels to multiple layers at once
  • Layer tooltips to include layer name (if defined)
  • Opt+click on toggle arrows (groups and effects) in layer panel should close all targets
  • Show blend if/Blending Effects badge on layer
  • Show correct opacity and blend mode values for hidden layers
  • Tab goes to next layer on inline layer rename, SHIFT + TAB goes to previous
  • New command to raster layer effect into layer, merging the selected layers into themselves
  • Reorder effects in the layers palette to match the Z-­­order style/blend mode (bottom most effects in termsof blending order, drop shadow is below the other effects

  Liquify

  • Resize Liquify brush with shortcuts
  • Increase maximum Liquify brush size Add option to load last mesh

  Presets

  • Add new document presets for common devices (e.g. iPhone, iPad, etc.)
  • Add new Gradient Map presets for toning and split-­­toning
  • Sticky reorganization of tool presets (changes persist after re-launch) Add Contact Sheet II as an Automation option

  SDK

  • Add the ability to return an array of guides in a document from the scripting SDK
  • Add ability to access tool name associated with the tool preset name via scripting

  Selections

  • Make the marquee, lasso, and mask panel feather values support decimal places like the feather dialog
  • Remember feather radius when showing dialog for selection from a path

  Transform

  • Improve dragging of vector curves
  • Don’t hide smart object icon when transforming a layer
  • Rotate 90 with even x odd pixel dimension to be smooth (bjango.com)
  • Undo or disable auto -­­rotate on open

  UI

  • Remove the app bar and reduce the drag/app bar over 30%
  • [Windows] New/open document to context click on a document tab (has always been on Mac, now Windows too)
  • Add “Don’t show again” checkbox to Purge warnings

  Miscellaneous

  • Enable Split Channels for documents with layers
  • Select Hex field by default and allow clipboard pastes with # in contents (i.e. #fffffff)
  • Increased GPU stability by prequalifying GPUs on the fly before use
  • Auto-­­select the best resample method based on the type of resize
  • Enable Invert and Threshold adjustments for masks in 32 -­­bit
  • Hold SHIFT during startup to disable 3rd party plugins
  • Add warning message that 16 -­­bit images cannot display their file size in the Save as JPEG dialog
  • Add command to insert “lorem ipsum” for type