Adobe Announces Creative Suite 4

Today, Adobe announces Creative Suite 4, encompassing all new versions of the Creative Suite applications--Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Acrobat Pro, Dreamweaver, Flash, Fireworks, Contribute, Premiere Pro, After Effects, Soundbooth, OnLocation, and Encore. For the first time, all Creative Suite applications are on the same release schedule, allowing for better integration and a more consistent and streamlined user experience between applications.

The Creative Suite application of primary interest to this site's readers is Photoshop, so I'll give you a summary of some of the new features and enhancements coming in Photoshop CS4, with a detailed review to come. I also hope to provide a new feature summary on Illustrator in the coming weeks.

One of the most obvious enhancements brought to Photoshop CS4 is the addition of an Adjustments panel. (What we used to call palettes are now being referred to as panels. The Adjustments panel is completely new, however.) This brings all of the available adjustments into one centralized place that is easier to access and more streamlined because it eliminates the cumbersome dialog boxes of versions past. Now when you select an adjustment, the controls appear immediately in the Adjustments panel, yet you still have access to the rest of Photoshop. In addition, the use of adjustments automatically creates a corresponding layer mask, so users are nudged toward less destructive adjustment methods, even if they might not know what a layer mask is for.

There is one entirely new adjustment called Vibrance, which seems to be a more intelligent saturation adjustment. The Adjustments panel also offers several presets for each of the adjustments which can be selected with one click, and further refined in the Adjustments panel.

Another new panel is the Mask panel which unites all the functions for creating and refining both vector- and pixel-based masks. The color range command has also been upgraded and moved into the masks panel for making color-based selections more easily.

The user workspace has once again gotten some attention in this release of Photoshop, this time with the introduction of a tab-based interface with self-adjusting panels. The tabs are a welcome feature, with the added bonus of being able to group tabs and arrange document windows in a number of ways. And the self-adjusting panels make rearranging the workspace a lot less fussy.

Photoshop is also taking advantage of the trend toward larger and wide-screen monitors, with the addition of a new Application Bar across the top of the window. This toolbar holds often-used tools such as a link to launch Bridge, "Show Extras" (previously buried in a submenu), zoom controls, and window and workspace organizing options.

Many of the older tools in Photoshop have also been reworked in Photoshop CS4, such as the dodge, burn, and sponge tools. These older tools were often abandoned because they just didn't work very well, in light of Photoshop's newer technologies. Now these tools operate much more intelligently, preserving the tone of the image you are adjusting.

Another big underlying change in Photoshop CS4 is that it now takes advantage of the OpenGL capabilities provided by today's powerful graphics cards. This enables smoother screen refreshes and clearer previews when zooming and panning. Part of this change allows users to adjust brush size by dragging the mouse rather than using the keyboard or clicking. It also allows for the new Rotate View tool, which enables users to spin the canvas to any rotation--without transforming pixels--for more comfortable arm movement while painting and retouching. When the document canvas is rotated, the rulers, grids and so on, are also adjusted to match the orientation in which you are working.

One of the most impressive new features of Photoshop CS4 has got to be the content-aware scaling, which some of you may have heard referred to as "seam carving." Previously, when you scaled images up or down in Photoshop, it would create new pixels or throw them away, with no intelligence as to which areas of the image were most important. Now Photoshop can detect detailed areas of the image and leave those areas untouched when sizing up or down. This is all done automatically, but if you need more precision, it can also be set to protect a selected area of the image. This is one of those features that you really need to see in action to appreciate!

All the features I've discussed above are from Photoshop CS4 Standard. There are several standard features I have not yet explored myself, as well as new features in Photoshop CS4 Extended, Camera Raw, and Adobe Bridge (which has received a significant overhaul).

I've gone on long enough for one post. But stay tuned… over the coming weeks, I hope to publish more on the new features of Photoshop, Bridge, Camera Raw, and Illustrator. Let me know in the comments what you're most interested in, and I'll do my best to accommodate! In addition, other About Guides will be covering many of the new features in the other Creative Suite applications, so keep checking back for new links and information. Meanwhile, you can see Adobe's Creative Suite 4 Web Broadcast by visiting www.adobe.com/go/somethingbrilliant.

Adobe Creative Suite products will begin shipping in October. They are available for pre-order from the Adobe Store today. (Buy Direct: Adobe USA Store)

More on Creative Suite 4:

Jennifer Kyrnin - About Web Design
Jennifer has a lot of Creative Suite 4 information including reviews of Dreamweaver CS4 and Contribute CS4.

What's New in Adobe InDesign CS4
Desktop Publishing Guide Jacci Howard Bear provides a run-down of what's new in InDesign CS4.

dekePod Buy or Die: Photoshop CS4
Deke provides a third-party, impartial, and highly opinionated review of the new software... In just five minutes, you'll know whether you want to upgrade or not.