It has been a while, so I don't know when I last asked for help here. I have been in and out of hospital, and have finally been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. This question then is for the benefit of my wife who is now trying to accumulate and annotate some old photos.
On purchasing an Epson scanner, we were given some Photoshop version that was unusable on the iMac. After some dialogue, Epson agreed and sent me a copy of Adobe Photoshop 6. I am entirely unfamiliar with this product, so please tread lightly. In any event, having added a text box to each and having dave them, she decided to edit one or two. Unfortunately it appear that the file is saved as a "background layer" and no amount of effort will unlock the file for editing. If anyone knows (a) how to avoid this happening in the future, and (b) how to access the file for editing, I'd appreciate it very much. Please don' get too complicated. My background is math and physics, and I know diddly about art or photography or image editing and so on, or in particular anything about Photoshop.
Thank you.
David.
Hi Dave,
Sorry to hear of your diagnosis, I hope you get better. As to the Photoshop problem - Photoshop works in layers, as you have discovered. By default, the first layer is called background, and it may be locked for editing. To unlock it and remove its background attribute, just double-click on the layers name in the layers palette. You can access the layers palette under the Windows menu if it isn't already visible. When you double-click a layer, a dialog appears allowing you to rename the layer, and also by default this action converts the special "background" attribute to a normal layer, i.e. one that has transparency as an option - the background layer is the only one that can NOT be transparent. This also unlocks the layer - i.e. the lock icon next to the layer's name in the layer palette will clear.
Also by default, all layers created above the background layer have a transparency option. You may only edit one layer at a time, and the layer that is highlighted or selected in the palette is the so-called "current" layer, the one your edits will affect, also indicated by a pencil icon to the left of the layer's name. To the left of that little icon is an eyeball icon, which indicates whether the layer is visible. This can be handy for hiding distracting elements while you focus on the layers of interest.
Having said all that, you can do all your edits right on the main layer without ever adding another layer in PS6. My recall is fuzzy though on "text" layers, which became separate from image layers somewhere around version 6. In that case, text will be produced on it's own layer. This is so that text remains editable, otherwise it's just a bunch of pixels and cannot be edited as text.
Layers can be combined. Look at the top right of the Layer Palette's window and you will see a small right-pointing arrow. Click this and the layer option menu will appear, and it is in here you will see a variety of "merge" or "flatten" options. These allow you to combine your layers once you are finished with them. You will have to flatten images before you can save them in TIFF or JPG formats, so this will be helpful. Saving the file as a native Photoshop file allows you to retain the layers, for ease of future editing.
Hope that isn't too much at one gulp, and my apologies for my fuzzy memory on PS6, it's been a few years!
Happy Mac'ing!
Dan
Quote from: David on January 14, 2010, 03:47:32 PM
This question then is for the benefit of my wife who is now trying to accumulate and annotate some old photos.
Some might find the Photoshop route a bit onerous if the goal is to annotate a photo. Should your spouse find that to be the case, here is another suggestion:
Every Mac includes a copy of Preview. Preview can open a wide range of formats, and as long as the scanned images can be opened in /Applications/Preview.app, they can be annotated there as well, viz: Tools > Annotate > Add Text
The text can then be selected and the typeface, size, and colour varied to render more legible.
...b
PS. I also looked into iPhoto, another application included with every Mac. The make 'Book' option (http://www.apple.com/ilife/iphoto/print-products.html) does let you add text in a limited fashion (and of course order a beautiful bound book of photos).
PPS. I also came across an old Macworld article that describes how to 'trick' iPhoto into letting you annotate photos by selecting the 'Card' option, rather the 'Book' option, annotating your photo there, and then printing off only a single page of your card -- the page with the photo. It sounded a bit ungainly to me, but here is the article: Create stunning slide shows (http://www.macworld.com/article/54292/2006/12/jandigitalphoto.html), MacWorld.com, by Derrick Story, Dec 7, 2006
Quote from: Dan Millar on January 14, 2010, 04:16:54 PM
Hi Dave,
Sorry to hear of your diagnosis, I hope you get better.
Thanks, but it won't. With this kind of cancer, by the time it's found, it's too late. That's life. At age 72 no complaints.
Anyhow, thank you for the sound advice, but when I do as you say, I can then do any sort of additional editing, such as red-eye removal, type in a new txt box, ...
but I can not edit the text box that was already done. That is, it seems to be no longer separate from the rest of the image.
David.
Quote from: ben schmidt on January 14, 2010, 04:56:55 PM
Quote from: David on January 14, 2010, 03:47:32 PM
This question then is for the benefit of my wife who is now trying to accumulate and annotate some old photos.
Every Mac includes a copy of Preview. Preview can open a wide range of formats, and as long as the scanned images can be opened in /Applications/Preview.app, they can be annotated there as well, viz: Tools > Annotate > Add Text
Thanks, Ben. However, the text can then not be edited after saving the file.
David.
I use Preview to annotate images and have a way of being able to edit the text later.
When I open an image named 'Filename' with Preview, I use the Annotate button to add text.
I then use the File > Save As command to change the name to 'Filename+'.
The original file remains unchanged, so when I want to edit the text I open the original file and start fresh with new text.
Once again using File > Save As 'Filename+' which gives me the option to replace the previous 'Filename+'.
By choosing to replace, I have completed my text editing.
Quote from: David on January 14, 2010, 07:40:09 PM
However, the text can then not be edited after saving the file.
True David.
You could always "save as" in Preview after the annotation, and in that way you could retain the original, unannotated photo file. You could even ahead of time 'Get Info' on each of the original files, and lock them so they could not be accidentally changed.
But if you're good with the complexity of PhotoShop 6, it'll do the job. If you find you need any other alternatives, just ask.
best, ...ben
I don't compare one operating system with another. Like political parties or religions, there's little difference in the long run. In this case I'll be going back to using PaintShop Pro on the PC laptop until I gain some mastery of Photoshop ...or my wife does. I must say though that I find it a bit frustrating that a reasonably powerful program like PhotoShop, a product of a worldwide company, should be so non-intuitive, or so lacking in it's Help section. Perhaps it's just that I don't like surprises such as this change of editing capability on saving and re-opening. However, I'm not here to whine.
A bit off-topic, but.... We're off to see the grandchildren for a few days. Thanks to all for their kind assistance.
David.
Hi David,
Photoshop is NOT designed for casual users, and it is priced accordingly. PhotoShop 6 should have a manual with it, unless, as part of your scanner "bundle", they didn't ship it to save costs. I still have my manual for PhotoShop 5, which you can have for future reference/learning, though they did change a few things in PS6, most notably something called "layer styles" - but thats an advanced feature you can discover yourself once you get a grip on the basics. As a mathmetician, you may understand Photoshop better if you think of it as a multi-plane 2-D environment for calculating pixel values, each layer containing different values which can be summed in a myriad of ways, adding, multiplying, subtracting, etc, with the total sum being the resulting image.
Photoshop can do exactly what you are trying to do, as can PaintShopPro, but you'll be happier using your Mac with Photoshop, mostly because Macs handle file types better than PSP - more import/export options, drag-n-drop, etc.
To understand layers a little better, think of each layer as a piece of glass or acetate upon which you create pixels, with all pixels being initially opaque and where there are no pixels, the layer is transparent. Each layer can be modified individually without affecting the others, and each layer can be moved. like a piece of glass, so its stacking order can be modified. Layers can be made partially transparent, or summed with the layers beneath it. Stacking order is important because of this summing.
A text layer is a little different, as it is not made of pixels, so you can edit it just like a word processor, until the file is "rendered" (to pixels, not Syria). Once text is rendered, it becomes pixels and therefore, uneditable as text. However, the benefit is you can come back to the file any number of times to modify the un-rendered version. When you save the file, it saves as a .PSD (PhotoShop Document), and all layering info, etc., is saved in that format. When you "export" the file, it will be "flattened", that is, all layers are summed to become one layer. This is necessary as the layers are not supported by most other file formats - TIFF being the exception - and saves a lot of space as well because each layer is saved like an entire image in the .PSD file.
So, in the end you will have a master file which you can come back to and edit anytime, and the derived files in whichever format suits your purposes - JPG for email and web, flattened TIFFs for printing, etc.
I know the learning curve is both long and steep, but I think your maths background will actually come in quite handy because digital imaging is all about the math!
Let me know if you want the manual, and we'll find a way to get it to you post-haste...
Happy Mac'ing
Dan
PS: a page layout program will also let you do what you are trying to do, perhaps even more easily. The only one I can recommend is Pages from Apple's own iWork, as both InDesign and Quark cost even more than PhotoShop. A word processor could even do this job, but the setup is too convoluted, and of course, the image editing tools are horrible.
Quote from: Dan Millar on January 15, 2010, 03:13:43 PM
PS: a page layout program will also let you do what you are trying to do, perhaps even more easily. The only one I can recommend is Pages from Apple's own iWork, as both InDesign and Quark cost even more than PhotoShop. A word processor could even do this job, but the setup is too convoluted, and of course, the image editing tools are horrible.
For my vector drawing needs I use OmniGraffle (http://www.omnigroup.com/applications/omnigraffle/). It'd be overkill for annotating photos, but it's trivial to drop a JPEG into it, add editable text of any typeface and colour, and then export as JPEG. Also saving the .graffle file would allow re-editing the text.
For this specific problem, annotating some photos, along with some red-eye correction, I'd look first at the free iPhoto app included with every Mac. The red-eye tool's built-in, and for annotating I'd look long and hard at the make (http://www.apple.com/ilife/iphoto/print-products.html) book (http://www.apple.com/ilife/tutorials/#iphoto) function. It's not a perfect match for the problem as presented, as iPhoto's make book function allows annotation to be entered on certain pages, but not the ability to annotate arbitrary photos. Maybe someone whose created an iPhoto book could jump in here?
I'll jump on that - iPhoto books/cards etc. is a no-go, only certain pages allow text, and only in very specific places, and saving and printing only certain pages is a logistical mess. Omnigraffle may be okay for combining text and images, but lacks even the most basic image-editing tools.
Preview does not allow you to add text to an image in the way David needs, annotations do not print, and only work on PDF files, at least not in versions previous to SL, and since you need Classic or OS 9.0 to run PS6, I presume David cannot do that either, or use iWork as I suggested previously.
David, the reason the text becomes pixels is because you may have inadvertently "flattened" the PhotoShop file - rendering the text layer into pixels, and combining the image layer and text into one layer of just pixels. As I said, saving the file as a PSD with the text layer intact will allow you to re-edit the text. You must "export" the file or "save as a copy" to one of the other, pixel-based formats, like JPG, TIF, PNG, etc. in order to keep the PSD file's layers intact.
Let me know if I've mis-understood your actual requirements or software limitations, the offer for the manual still stands...
Happy Mac'ing!
Dan
Annotation will work on ANY file that Preview will open provided you have the Annotate button installed in the Toolbar.
This installation is done by selecting View > Customize Toolbar and dragging the Annotate button up and dropping it onto the Toolbar.
To annotate any image, click and hold (for about 1 second) on the Annotate button in the Toolbar, select Note.
When the cursor is moved over the image, it becomes + that can be clicked and dragged diagonally and dropped to create a text box.
After creating the text, click outside the box to hold the text in place.
The text box can then be repositioned by clicking on the text to expose the box and clicking and dragging inside the box.
Once you save the file no further editing can be done, but you can now print the file with the annotation included.
Preview does not allow that type of annotation in any version previous to Leopard, (not SL as I previously stated - my bad) but I think the point is David doesn't have access to these tools with his setup - or does he? If he does, then Preview may be all he needs... otherwise PhotoShop has all the image correction, touchup and compositing tools you could ever need or want, and that's what all these other programs don't have.
I've been using Photoshop since version 1, so my learning curve has been gentle and long, but nothing else comes close to Photoshop's image-editing capabilities. Yes, it is expensive, but David's was free, and there are some great on-line resources to help him, or anyone else, get over the speed bumps. Here's a tutorial on layers from a great photoshop resource - PhotoShop Cafe:
http://www.photoshopcafe.com/tutorials/layers/intro.htm
David, maybe you could help us out a bit here - what is your setup? You mentioned an iMac, but that doesn't narrow it down very much, does it?
Happy Mac'ing!
Dan
I use Photoshop 3, but this should apply to later versions:
I annotate all photos that I want to keep, by resizing the image "canvas size" to add a blank strip at the bottom. Then typing in the annotation on the blank strip.
I save as a JPG file.
If I wish to correct the annotation later, it is easily done using the "eraser tool"
to wipe out one or more characters. Then typing in the new characters.
I find it easier to standardize on the type size, e.g "9 point".
Quote from: Dan Millar on January 15, 2010, 05:30:04 PM
Preview does not allow you to add text to an image in the way David needs, annotations do not print, and only work on PDF files, at least not in versions previous to SL,
In an earlier posting (http://www.mugoo.com/smf/index.php?topic=2083.0) David had reported upgrading to Snow Leopard. And in Snow Leopard (OS X 10.6), I can confirm
Preview.app works as I and MacMoore described. I used Preview.app to open both JPEG and PDF files, and then used the Annotation function: Tools > Annotate > Add Text
In both cases, when I saved and then reopened the files, the Annotated text was still there. As well, the Annotated text printed in both test cases.
But your point is well-taken that Preview.app is a candidate tool to address
only the Annotation component of David's challenge. I would still recommend another tool, iPhoto (http://www.apple.com/ilife/iphoto/) or better, to address red-eye reduction.
PS. For discussion, another low-cost possibility for annotation has occurred to me:
Comic Life by Plasq.com. It's relatively low-cost at $US25, and depending on the vintage of one's Mac, a free copy may even have been included in the Applications folder. While the examples posted (http://plasq.com/comiclife/) are well,
comic bookish, it's possible to layout a single photo in Comic Life and annotate it using any typeface/colour, not just using garish ones. And Comic Life does have nice integration with iPhoto. So a possible photo-editing+annotation workflow might be to (i) import the photos into iPhoto, (ii) correct any red-eye there, and then (iii) open Comic Life to annotate photos using Comic Life's built-in view of your iPhoto library.
Yes, Preview has those basic annotation capabilities - and Comic Life's as well - good call Ben! But, without David's system info, we're shooting in the dark!
If David is using a current version of the Mac's OS, then I will also throw Pages from iWork back in the ring, a simple page layout program that is not expensive(~$100), and can easily do the editable text with a photo function, layout books, cards, calendars, or whatever, and with iPhoto as your digital darkroom, you can forget all about Photoshop.
My question is, if PhotoShop 6 is working, there must be an old version of the OS being used, as PS6 will only launch in either Classic OS or OS 9? Perhaps the scanner only works with a Photoshop plug-in?
David?
Happy Mac'ing!
Dan
Sorry for the delay, but I've been a bit under the weather. Thanks for all the replies. I believe that the problem was in saving as a JPG and trying to edit that. The initial default format can be edited, so it's a matter of retaining that as well as the resulting JPG until all is said and done. Then any changes can be made to the original and re-saved, overwriting the old JPG. My wife had fun trying to get all images the proper size to fit one of those stand-alone slide show devices for the living room and make the font look the same size in each. Such a game.
David.