Photoshop 5 is poised to meet the ever-rising demands for quality image editing with the addition of key new features in an already comprehensive feature set. These new features include the History Palette, Editable Text Layers, Spot-ColorChannels, and color management support. Each is richly detailed in the second edition to the bestselling Photoshop in a Nutshell. Part of O'Reilly and Associates' outstanding series of "In a Nutshell" books, this book offers the reader an extensive, focused reference to Photoshop 5. Whether toiling with images for the Web, video, or print, in the home or office, this book enables Photoshop 5 users to focus their creative energies on their designs, and not on where to find a certain tool or the right combination of filters and effects.

"We've all seen application books that walk through the GUI, repeating only the facts that are already obvious from the GUI itself," says author Donnie O'Quinn, "In Photoshop In a Nutshell, I've avoided that problem by going deep. I tell you the things that are not obvious, providing the deep knowledge that comes only with years of experience."

This book explains and expounds on every tool, command, palette, and sub-menu. Each item is accompanied by a list of its most common uses and misuses. The book also includes step-by-step techniques for common uses and experience-based advice and solutions for common misuses. The information is organized in an encyclopedic format, following the structure of Photoshop itself. All topics are easy to find and fully cross- referenced, which lets the reader intuitively explore the cause-and-effect relationships of each command.

What the critics said about the First Edition:

"Photoshop in a Nutshell...is an extraordinarily useful desktop reference for Photoshop 4's myriad features. The book is perfect for helping you perform a task you just can't remember how to do. Its 556 pages cover every Photoshop feature and tool, with enough detail to help you accomplish your immediate goal, and practical advice about the best way to use each feature." -Design Tools Monthly, November 1997

"Photoshop in a Nutshell is an encyclopedia for the Adobe application. When you want quick information and a brief list of steps to take to achieve a result or need to know everything about a specific Photoshop activity, grab this book. There is more information and immediate help here than you'll find in a shelf full of the 'dummies' variety. Don't expect long-winded discussions or entertaining side issues though-this is a resource that gets you back to work fast!" -Gill Hennon, contributing editor to Memphis PC Users Group (The Bridge Volume 12, Number 2 - February 1998)

"Finally a 'Nutshell' series book on Photoshop, the book we all have been waiting for. Like other 'Nutshell' books, this one is also geared toward a sophisticated audience. Most photoshop books attempt to teach you the program from the beginning, not always with success. Photoshop in a Nutshell focuses on the details that a user is going to frequent, and covers every aspect of Photoshop 4. With plenty of screen shots and illustrations, this user-friendly, reference guide should be on every serious Photoshop 4 user's desktop." -Computer Literacy Review

"Photoshop in a Nutshell does not disappoint. Highly recommended." -Marc Dacey, Ottawa Computers, Feb 1998

"Authors Donnie O'Quinn and Matt LeClaire list every menu and dialog box you're apt to encounter in Photoshop, consisely explain what they mean, and then tell you what horrible fate might befall your image if you click on this or that. If you're ever exiled to a desert island with only your laptop, Photoshop, and one book, this would be the one to take along. The best part is that it only costs $20...would you believe that? It'd be a bargain at three times the price, nay, more!" -Arthur Bleich, Digital Corner, August 1998