Photoshop CS6 = Better UX & Faster Productivity 107
I've been using Photoshop CS6 for a while and I have to say that the interface and user experience is a big improvement. Instead of releasing more new tools, Photoshop CS6 put a lot of focus on the basics — the essential tools that we use very often such as crop tool, type, layer group, and save. For example, now you can apply effects on layer group, keep cropped pixels, type styles, and save in background. These simple enhancements result in increase productivity.
Better Layer Right-click Menu
Now the layer color can be set via the layer right-click menu. In the previous versions, it requires 5 clicks to set a layer color (right-click on the layer > click Layer Properties > click on the color dropdown > click to select a color > click Ok). Now it can be done with just 2 clicks (right-click on the layer > click to select a color). That is 3 clicks less!
I think the layer color can be further minimized by placing the color icon horizontally without the color labels. The color label is not quite necessary in this case. So it would be like the Mac file right-click menu.
Crop Tool
In CS6, the crop grid automatically activated as soon as the Crop tool is selected (this reduces one mouse drag). The new Crop tool allows you to rotate the image instead of the crop handles. It also introduced some nice crop options such as constrain ratios (16x9, 5x7, 2x3, etc.) which are great for cropping photos for print.
My favorite new crop option is the "Delete Cropped Pixels" checkbox. To crop an image and keep the cropped pixels in the previous versions, you would need to manually edit the canvas size and re-position all layers.
Transformation Values
CS6 added transformation values which is very handy. When transforming an object, it tells you the dimension of the object. This is useful when sizing an image on the mockup. The transformation value can be turned off at Perference > Interface.
Searchable Layers Panel
For an average design mockup PSD, it can easily contain more than a hundred layers. Sometimes it is quite difficult to look through the layers. The new Layers palette allows you to filter the layers by kind, effect, mode, color, etc. or search for specific layer name.
Character & Paragraph Styles
For web designers who use Photoshop to design mockups, the new Paragraph and Character Styles is a big thing. Think of it like CSS styles. You can create styles for body text, headings, titles, links, captions, etc. and apply to the text layers. When you edit the styles, it will automatically update the text layers. Not only will this save time, but it also makes your mockup text more consistent.
Layer Group = Layer
Now the layer group is treated like a single layer. This means you can apply layer effects directly on the layer group. Before CS6, you need to either flatten the layer group or convert it to Smart Object in order to do this.
Multiple Layers
Photoshop CS6 now allows you change blending mode, lock, layer color on multiple layers. You couldn't do this in the previous versions. Also, in case you are not aware, now you can use Cmd+J to duplicate multiple layers.
Auto Save & Background Save
Finally, auto save in Photoshop! No need to worry about software crashes any more. Beside auto save, there is a new background save. This means you can still use Photoshop to work on file while another file is saving. This is particularly useful for editing large files such as large size illustration or print design. The auto save and save in background option is available under Perference > File Handling.
More...
There are new features in Photoshop CS6, here is a good video that summarizes everything.
On a brand new high end pc running win7 i’ve found the creative cloud programs, photoshop and illustrator cs6 to be fundamentally slower to respond than cs5.5, it pains me. I’ve tried tweaking the performance settings but to no avail, using a Wacom in illustrator and trying to select a simple shape lags so much its like pulling teeth. I’m about ready to go back to 5.5. It’s horrible, why can’t they just make speedier versions of their last programs rather than adding bulk?
You are right louie,,because you can move faster which the last programs perform the certain task where you force to get a high speed.I’m so inspiring to share this.
One things that really keeps bugging me is that ‘ stroke ‘ options have been moved up in CS6 and every time i open the properties…. i am always looking for it at the bottom… may be its because i still using.. CS6 at home and CS5 at workplace.
Your post really helped me to understand the photoshop. It has great details and yet it is easy to understand.
you know I was pretty skeptical when another designer at work switched over to cs6 but reading this short article convinced me to give it a go. Two features in particular – character and paragraph styles will save me tons of time and give flexibility to my site mock-ups, and treating layer groups as layers will allow me to stay more organized while non-destructively editing. thanks for the write up.
I highly agree on layer label colors. The right-click menu is just way too long even on a high resolution screen. Kind of annoying. But the feature is welcomed and the stated solution would be superb!
Oh man that crop tool. Took a little time to get used to but in the end it works a lot better. Rule of thirds guidelines were there in CS5 as well (don’t know about earlier versions).
I do think the searchable layers is a bit overdone. You should just manage your layers the right way giving them descriptive names and put them in folders. That way you’ll still know how to handle that PSD when you open it up later!
All in all I think Adobe did a great job on creating the CS6 version of Photoshop.
Kind regards,
Ruud Voost
http://www.creativitea.org, your daily cup of inspiration
That look like wonderful, I hope to use CS6 as early as possible.
I’ve tried tweaking the performance settings but to no avail, using a Wacom in illustrator and trying to select a simple shape lags so much its like pulling teeth.
I can’t wait to try out the new photoshop.
his program is fantastic. I loved the design of the photo.
I was using PS 5 but when I see the futures of PS6 I try it and I must say this is better then old.
color is very impressive, I want to learn. thanks
Thanks for this review, you convinced me to upgrade.
I do think the searchable layers is a bit overdone. You should just manage your layers the right way giving them descriptive names and put them in folders. That way you’ll still know how to handle that PSD when you open it up later!
Wow!!! this current version seems to be really washed and make up!! i mean, those news behaviour are on the right way. I was some kind of dissapointed with the last css5 version… :D
Finally! An Auto-save feature. I had many frustrating moments when my PC or laptop just crashed and I forgot to save the thing! And I was almost finished, too. LOL. I still have the CS5 version and I would like to explore this one. Are there any additional features for the content-aware option?
I like its new lens blur . It has three types of effects, which work live if the graphic card supports the new Adobe Mercury Graphics Engine.
I have to say I’m extremely disappointed with CS6 for Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign. The user interface, if you’re on a Mac, seems to have a look and feel more akin to a PC program, and I have to say there is now less clarity when using it. This is just a personal gripe though. The fundamental problems however are many – a couple to note are: When using Photoshop the program now creates file sizes that are 4 or 5 times larger than my previous versions, not so bad when you’re working on web graphics but when it comes to promotional display graphics it’s a killer, where once I was working on 300 to 400MB files now they’re exceeding 2GB and this is with no more than 20 to thirty layer items, once above 2GB Photoshop will not save the documents.
Screen render in Photoshop isn’t great but is woeful in Illustrator particularly when scrolling. I am running an iMac i7 Quadcore with 8GB of RAM, this however does not seem adequate for running CS6 which sends my hard drive into overtime when in use writing to virtual memory. Both Illustrator and Photoshop cause my system to dramatically slow and saving documents is like stepping back into the 90′s watching the timer spin around and around and around… My productivity levels have dropped significantly since using this version, which, as I work for myself, is lost money. All in all it’s a very poor release.
Little long but happy to read it. It helped me so much.
I’m a big fan of the layer colors and the autosave feature. Once I learned about that I now know I am never more than 5 minutes without a save.
Wow, I think its time to upgrade! I am still using CS4…