Entered CNET Catalog: 07/17/2002
SKU: S2238851
Manufacturer: Adobe Systems
Manufacturer description
Maybe you're the official family shutterbug, recording every birthday and barbecue for posterity. Maybe you just bought a scanner and want to fix up some imperfect film photos you've converted to JPEG files. Or maybe you've got digital red-eye removal down pat and you'd like to try enhancing your photos with special effects or creating Web animations. Then you're ready for Adobe Photoshop Elements 2.0 software! Adobe Photoshop Elements 2.0 software offers the perfect combination of power and simplicity so you can do more with your photos. From quick corrections to creative editing, you can easily achieve high-quality results. Whether you use a digital camera or scan traditional photos, Photoshop Elements makes digital imaging a breeze.CNET editors' review
- Editors' Choice: No
- Reviewed on: 07/16/2002
Of course, if you're already familiar with Photoshop 7.0 or Elements 1.0, you'll feel at home in version 2.0. The standard Adobe interface lets you dock all of your palettes at the top of the screen for easy access and displays relevant tool settings below the menu bar. Elements contains all of the essential image-editing tools, including free-form selection tools and special-effects filters, as well as a few advanced features, such as adjustment layers and gradient maps. We're pleased to see that Elements now includes some basic color management, letting you choose to ignore any color settings in the file or automatically optimize them for Web or print. This is a handy feature for high-quality output and one that version 1.0 didn't have.
Not much new
Experienced designers will love Elements' overhauled paint engine, straight from Photoshop 7.0, but we don't think potential Elements customers will need such a sophisticated engine. Additional modest enhancements include the ability to display EXIF metadata, such as camera model and shot settings, in the File Browser, and updated layouts for Web pages and printing Picture Packages. There's also a Quick Fix dialog that aggregates a variety of existing enhancement tools. Unfortunately, Elements still doesn't include Photoshop's most useful tool for photographers, the Healing Brush, which magically fixes lines and wrinkles.
Help needs help
But the face-lift looks a bit botched. When you click a Help link from the Hints palette or open Help > Photoshop Elements Help, for instance, the program launches a full-sized Internet Explorer window, which covers your work and disrupts your work flow. Worse, when you make a common mistake while working--say, you accidentally attempt to paint a mask layer--Elements doesn't warn you that you've made an error, let alone tell you what type of mistake you made. Adobe does, thankfully, address some of these issues in its improved Recipes window, which, in addition to guiding you through the steps of common operations, now offers to perform some of the steps for you.
No frills
Elements' full lineup of new features isn't terribly compelling, however. Its batch-processing options (standard among similar editors) allow you to convert, rename, and resize an entire directory's files--for example, all of the cryptically named files imported from your digital camera. The new Selection Brush lets you select soft-edged areas of your image that you want to delete, cut, or crop, but it requires extremely precise mouse work for real accuracy.
Of all of Photoshop Elements' offerings, the help system has undergone the most extensive changes--all in an effort to make help information easier to find. For instance, Adobe puts a search box right on the Help window menu bar so that you can call up a list of search-result links.
Under the hood, Photoshop Elements remains a low-rent version of Photoshop. It delivers the essential set of image retouching, selection, and output tools that most nonprofessionals need. If you love Photoshop and already know how to use it but want a program that's cheaper and a little less complex, Elements is the way to go. Otherwise, Paint Shop Pro and PhotoImpact offer a broader selection of features for the same price.
User opinions
Select a User Opinion to view: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
User Rating: 
2/10
Save your money
Pros: To cpmplex & dog slow
Cons: NONE the worst software I have worked with.
User Rating: 
9/10
Not intended for photo-retouching
Pros: great for making website photos, knick knacks, cool photo effects
Cons: not really on the fixing side, minimum fixers
User Rating: 
6/10
Lots of tools
Pros: lots of tools
Cons: Hard to make work
User Rating: 
7/10
I'm buying this!!
Pros: I have only been "playing" with this for 2 days with great results. Very easy to use with the built in recipes. You're able to save pics in a variety of formats. Very user friendly. I'd recommend it to friends & family
Cons: Being a newbie to digital pic retouching, there has been a bit of a learning curve but I am eager to explore and find out more.
User Rating: 
3/10
I'm glad it was free, I would hate to have paid for it!!
Pros: It came free with my digital slr.
Cons: I'm not a professional photographer, so I don't guess I understand the full value of all of the bells and whistles this program has to offer. If you are new to digital photography and want good results from your pictures with as little hassle as possible
User Rating: 3/10
Photoshop Elements 2.0 is SLOOOOW!"
Pros: Installed....waited for folder thumbnails to update....and waited....and waited..... UNISTALLED.
Cons: + Cheap, nice features - Terrible slow
User Rating: 
4/10
Powerful, but slow and awkward, and the rebate is a scam
Pros: Very powerful with many features.
Cons: I agree with an earlier reviewer that it is extremely slow when working with folders that have many pictures. There are many annoying characteristics of the interface (when you open a picture the default folder when you save it is not the one that you o
User Rating: 6/10
Absolute Must for digital photo editing
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User Rating: 3/10
you can do a lot better
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User Rating: 
8/10
Fun to use once you learn it
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User Rating: 7/10
A MUST HAVE if you own a Digital Camera.
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User Rating: 8/10
Light years better than the MS products
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User Rating: 8/10
Excellent photo editing program for the advanced amateur and more!
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User Rating: 
10/10
Photoshop Elements 2.0 is GREAT!
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User Rating: 8/10
good value product
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User Rating: 8/10
Love the new version!
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User Rating: 10/10
Wonderful way to ease into PhotoShop!
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Photoshop Elements 2.0 specifications
- General
- Category Creativity application
- Subcategory Creativity - graphics & image editing
- Version 2.0
- Language(s) English
- License pricing Standard
- Localization English
- Software
- License Type Complete package
- License Qty 1 user
- License Pricing Standard
- Platform Windows , MacOS
- Distribution Media CD-ROM
- Package Type Retail
- System Requirements
- OS Required Microsoft Windows XP Professional , Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition , Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition , Microsoft Windows 2000 , Apple MacOS 9.1 , Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition , Apple MacOS 9.2 , Apple MacOS X 10.1.3 or later , Microsoft Windows 98
- Min RAM Size 128.0 MB
- Min Hard Drive Space 350.0 MB
- Peripheral / Interface Devices CD-ROM
- System Requirements Details Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition - RAM 128.0 MB - HD 350.0 MB , Apple MacOS 9.1 - RAM 128.0 MB - HD 350.0 MB , Apple MacOS X 10.1.3 or later - RAM 128.0 MB - HD 150.0 MB , Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition / Windows 2000 - RAM 128.0 MB - HD 150.0 MB , Microsoft Windows 98/ME - RAM 128.0 MB - HD 150.0 MB , Microsoft Windows XP Professional - RAM 128.0 MB - HD 150.0 MB , Apple MacOS 9.2 - RAM 128.0 MB - HD 350.0 MB
