THE
MOST
IMPORTANT
ACCESSORY,
BEFORE
YOU
DO
ANYTHING
IN
PHOTOSHOP,
IS
A
NOTEBOOK!
PHOTOSHOP
REMEMBERS
WHAT
YOU
DID
OR
SET
LAST
TIME,
SO
IF
YOU
DO
NOT
RECORD
WHAT
IT
WAS
BEFORE
YOU
ALTERED
ANYTHING,
YOU
MAY
HAVE
TO
RE-INSTALL
TO
GET
BACK
BASIC
RECOMMENDED
(DEFAULT)
SETTINGS!
RECOMMENDATION:
As
at
November
2001,
prices
for
memory
on
current
and
recent
computers,
using
SDRAM
modules,
is
very
inexpensive.
Buy
NOW
to
seriously
upgrade
your
computing!
Addendum:
Although
memory
has
risen
(March
2002)
it
is
still
a
bargain
buy
and
definitely
the
best
and
least
expensive
way
to
upgrade
your
computer.
However
.....
if
using
Win
98,
remember
that
it
cannot
normally
function
if
more
than
512MB
is
installed.
The
Main
Set-Up
is
important
and
most
of
this
comes
in
the
*FILE/PREFERENCES/GENERAL
item
(in
later
PhotoShop
versions,
it
is
under
the
EDIT
menu
item)
(in
case
you
are
very
new
to
computing,
by
this
we
mean
clicking
on
the
MENU
item
FILE
(on
the
top
left
of
the
Photoshop
screen)
then
when
the
drop-down
menu
appears,
scroll
down
to
the
item
PREFERENCES,
then
click
on
MAIN
on
the
secondary
menu
that
appears
to
the
side).
When
you
click
on
GENERAL,
you
will
get
a
dialogue
box
covering
the
GENERAL
settings.
To
get
to
the
next
settings
box,
just
click
on
the
NEXT
button.
This
way
you
can
scroll
through
all
the
settings
option
boxes,
which
are
shown
with
comments
below.
*
Preferences
in
PhotoShop
6
and
6.01
are
under
the
EDIT
menu.
There
are
a
few
changes,
like
the
Brushes
are
now
under
the
top
menu
but
otherwise,
it
is
mostly
the
same
and
hardly
affects
those
using
PhotoShop
for
equivalent
darkroom
work!
JPEG
compression
values
now
go
from
0
to
12,
compared
to
previous
0
to
10.
For
saving
files,
just
use
the
lowest
level
that
still
claims
to
be
in
the
HIGH
quality
bracket!
The
main
points
to
set
are
as
follows
(the
box
title
is
shown
underlined):-
GENERAL
-
Leave
this
as
set
by
Photoshop
SAVING
FILES
-
Leave
this
as
set
(unless
you
know
what
you
are
doing!)
DISPLAY
&
CURSORS
-
Check
(click
to
put
dot
in
circle
alongside
the
item)
BRUSH
SIZE
and
PRECISE.
When
you
do
this,
you
will
find
when
you
use
the
Dodge
Tool
(It
lightens
when
you
hold
down
the
left
mouse
button
and
darkens
if
you
hold
down
the
ALT
key
whilst
then
holding
down
the
left
mouse
button)
you
will
get
a
nice
circle
showing
where
you
are
working
-much
easier
than
guessing.
(Note
this
circle
will
disappear
if
the
CAPS
LOCK
light
is
alight
on
your
keyboard).
You
can
make
larger
circles
by
clicking
on
the
right
pointing
solid
arrow
to
the
right
of
the
Brush
Tool
Box
to
reveal
a
drop-down
menu,
then
selecting
NEW
BRUSH
to
show
a
dialogue
box
in
which
you
can
type-in
a
new
brush
size.
Try
one
at
250.
You
can
create
several
different
brush
sizes
and
note
that
in
the
lower
part
of
that
box,
you
will
see
a
diagram,
in
which
you
can
click
on
the
handles
to
change
the
shape
of
the
brush
and
also
click
on
an
arrow,
to
drag
the
shape
to
any
angle
you
wish.
Try
making
several
-
some
vertical,
some
horizontal
and
others
at
angles.
This
also
makes
for
easier
working
when
using
the
Rubber
Stamp
tool
as
you
can
also
select
different
brush
sizes
and
shapes
you
have
created.
Don't
be
tempted
to
whizz
about
or
your
memory
could
disappear
-
rapidly.
This
is
where
the
RAMDef-XT
memory
manager
utility
(see
Links
page)
is
essential
to
avoid
crashes,
TRANSPARENCY
&
GAMUT
-
Leave
this
as
set
UNITS
&
RULERS
-
Just
select
inch
or
cm
units
to
choice
GUIDES
&
GRID
-
Leave
this
as
set
PLUG-INS
&
SCRATCH
DISK
-
This
is
more
complicated!
If
(a
BIG
"IF")
your
computer
has
been
set-up
properly
for
Photoshop,
you
would
have
a
separate
drive
(or
more
likely
a
separate
"Logical
Drive")
devoted
solely
for
use
by
Photoshop
as
an
area
where
it
can
store
images
as
you
work
on
them.
For
example,
I
have
a
(logical)
drive
of
1.8
Gb
purely
for
use
as
a
scratch
disk
by
Photoshop.
This
is
an
area
on
a
large
hard
drive
sectioned
off
so
the
computer
thinks
it
is
a
separate
hard
disk
drive;
it
is
formed
by
partitioning
the
large
disk
into
separate
areas,
then
making
those
areas
Logical
Drives
-
the
computer
will
then
see
them
as
separate
disks
in
their
own
right.
By
having
a
large
scratch
disk
only
for
use
by
Photoshop,
you
make
life
much
simpler
and
PS
works
more
efficiently
and
certainly
more
quickly!
If
you
have
not
got
this
facility,
you
will
need
to
ensure
your
Drive
C
(if
that's
all
you
have
got)
is
kept
tidy
by
running
a
Disk
Defragmenter
utility
-
you
should
find
one
via
START/PROGRAMMES/ACCESSORIES/
SYSTEM-TOOLS/
DISK
DEFRAGMENTER.
This
will
free
up
areas
on
your
hard
disk
by
collecting
bits
of
files
scattered
about
all
over
the
place,
thus
leaving
nice
larger
free
areas
for
use
by
Photoshop!
However
-
BEWARE!
We
have
found
that
whilst
this
worked
fine
under
Windows
95,
using
under
Windows
98
has
resulted
in
having
to
re-install
Win-98
and
all
programmes
several
times
(until
the
reason
was
discovered)
due
many
errors
in
all
sorts
of
different
programmes
that
were
not
present
before
the
defragmenter
was
run!
Our
advice
(if
you
only
have
one
large
drive
C)
is
get
a
smaller
second
hard
disk
fitted
(Small
today
means
about
3.2
Gb
or
4.3
Gb
-
now
when
I
consider
I
used
only
40
Mb
for
about
seven
years
.
.
.
.
.!)
and
get
that
split
into
three
partitions
and
thus
three
drives.
Designate
one
for
Photoshop
to
use
as
its
Primary
Scratch
Disk
(about
1.8
Gb),
one
for
Windows
to
use
as
its
Swap
Disk
(=
Virtual
Memory
-
about
400
Mb)
and
the
third
keep
for
trying
out
programmes.
If
you
cannot
do
this,
get
someone
who
can
to
install
and
configure
it
for
you.
You
would
then
simply
alter
the
settings
in
this
box
to
point
to
the
drive.
The
Windows
swap
disk
settings
should
be
set
via
the
Device
Manager
facility
-
we
cannot
go
into
this
here
but
anyone
familiar
with
Windows
settings
should
be
able
to
do
this
for
you
if
you
do
not
know
how
to
set
about
this
task.
A
well
set-up
computer
for
digital
imaging
-
and
computing
generally
-
would
have
its
HDD
partitioned
with
logical
drives
to
suit
specific
requirements.
Sadly,
they
usually
come
as
one
large,
totally
inefficient
Drive
C
only,
that
ends
up
a
nightmare
of
inefficiency,
wasted
space
and
usually
"Scratch
Disk
Full"
error
messages!
(One
possible
other
solution
is
latest
"Partition
Magic"
programme)
MEMORY
&
IMAGE
CACHE
-
If
you
have
64
Mb
of
RAM
in
your
computer,
change
the
default
(Default
=
what
Photoshop
is
set
to
when
installed)
setting
for
Memory
Use
by
Photoshop
to
70%
instead
of
the
50%
Default
value.
If
you
have
128
Mb
or
more,
set
this
to
75-85%.
Note
that
whilst
there
is
a
dramatic
speed
increase
upgrading
from
64
Mb
to
128
Mb,
going
from
128
Mb
to
256
Mb
or
more
is
hardly
worth
the
cost.
Photoshop
uses
the
Scratch
Disk
extensively,
so
most
waiting
time
is
not
down
to
too
little
Memory
or
a
slow
processor
but
more
to
how
fast
it
can
write
to
and
retrieve
from
the
Scratch
Disk
on
the
HDD.
Read
our
article
covering
settings
for
the
Epson
1200/750
about
how
to
close
Photoshop,
after
saving
the
image
file
you
have
worked
on,
to
free
the
Scratch
Disk
before
printing.
THIS
IS
ESPECIALLY
IMPORTANT
if
you
only
have
one
drive
(e.g.:
"C")
as
the
Scratch
Disk
-
if
not
cleared
by
saving
your
image
file
then
closing
Photoshop
(it
only
clears
its
scratch
disk
when
closed)
then
re-opening
before
printing
-
could
be
hogging
valuable
hard
disk
space
that
might
be
needed
by
the
Print
Spooler
to
store
its
information
before
and
during
printing!
Files
stored
on
your
hard
disk
could
be
badly
fragmented.
Whilst
you
may
appear
to
have
lots
of
free
space,
you
could
have
lots
of
small
bits
of
space
instead
of
the
large
single
area
spaces
needed
by
Photoshop
and
the
Print
Spooler.
Result
is
the
print
job
stops
part
way
through,
with
an
error
message
saying
not
enough
disk
space
available
to
complete
the
job!
Time
wasting,
frustrating
and
expensive!
Perhaps
even
puzzling,
before
you
read
this!
Think
of
it
thus:-
You
have
a
large
block
of
concrete
that
can
only
fit
into
a
box
large
enough
to
accommodate
it.
You
could
have
a
thousand
smaller
boxes
that
could
take
a
hundred
blocks
in
small
pieces
but
it
must
go
into
a
box
intact.
Is
that
clearer?
If
you
are
using
Win-98
and
really
need
to
defragment
your
hard
disk
drive
-
I
can
only
wish
you
the
best
of
luck!
I
got
Blue
Screens
of
Death
in
several
programmes
which
had
run
well
before
defragmenting!
(I'm
back
to
Windows
95
&
trying
NT,
Linux
and
OS/2
Warp
-
excellent
but
only
runs
PS
2.5
LE)
ADDITIONAL
MEMORY
CONSIDERATIONS
Several
people
have
reverted
back
to
using
Photoshop
4,
after
experiencing
complete
freeze-ups
with
Photoshop-5.*
under
Windows
98
-
and
in
(fewer)
cases,
Windows
95
too.
In
brief,
this
is
mainly
because
of
the
multiple
undo
modes
in
the
later
editions
of
PS
(ie:
5,
5.2
and
5.5).
There
is
a
most
useful
utility
(RAM_Def_XT)
for
FREE
automatic
management
of
your
computer
memory.
Brilliant
in
action
-
prevents
crashes.
See
LINKS
page
which
has
download
link
from
this
website
-
use
left
column
link
or
visit
http://www.zdnet.com
or
http://www.tucows.com
and
do
a
search
for
this
so
you
can
then
download.
Brilliant
utility.
"OPTIONS"
You
should
have
noticed
that
for
each
tool
you
select,
the
OPTIONS
tab
on
the
top
right
toolbox
(which
has
Navigator
too)
changes
to
suit
the
selected
tool.
For
example,
if
the
Magnifier
is
selected,
it
becomes
Zoom
Options.
The
most
useful
aspects
concern
the
percentage
of
action.
For
example,
with
both
the
Dodge
and
Rubber
Stamp
tools,
you
can
set
the
density.
For
the
Dodge
tool,
set
to
around
3%-5%
-
gives
greater
control
for
darkening
and
lightening
(repeated
use
gives
additive
effect)
and
you
can
also
select
Highlights,
Midtones
and
Shadows.
As
one
example,
you
can
darken
branches
against
the
sky
without
darkening
the
adjacent
sky
-
extremely
difficult
in
a
conventional
darkroom!
For
the
Rubber
Stamp
(cloning)
tool,
selecting
100%
replaces,
selecting,
say,
25%
ghosts.
As
an
example,
if
you
have
a
gap
in
trees
with
plain
sky,
you
could
clone
25%
of
another
part
into
that
area
-
or
50%
-
or
100%
to
choice.
A
bit
like
in
the
darkroom
when
part
of
the
image
is
printed
over
a
similar
gap
in
the
branches.
As
I
have
said
all
along,
the
skilled
darkroom
worker
will
find
ways
to
use
the
tools
to
achieve
what
he/she
would
have
done
in
the
darkroom
-
sometimes
with
greater
difficulty.
One's
Personal
Vision
(Artistry
&
Creativity,
if
you
prefer!)
is
still
the
dominant
tool
for
high
quality
work
in
any
media!
IMPORTANT:
GOOD
PRACTICES
The
best
advice,
to
ensure
freedom
from
memory
loss
(Altzheimers
a
la
Photoshop?)
as
you
complete
any
action
and
are
satisfied
with
same,
save
the
file,
close
Photoshop,
re-open
Photoshop
and
the
file
-
this
clears
memory
and
the
scratch
disk
area
(not
always
completely
but
at
least
clears
90%
most
times).
Always
save,
close,
re-open
per
aforegoing
before
printing
to
avoid
halting
during
printing.
(This
should
not
be
necessary
if
using
RAMDef
XT
Memory
Manager)
Use
the
JPEG
file
format,
setting
"7"
(up
to
&
including
PS
5.02)
or
"8"
for
(PS
6)
in
the
dialogue
box
for
compression
ratio
(Yes
-
it
does
work!)
and
when
you
size
the
image
(even
if
you
do
not
actually
change
the
size!)
set
the
printing
resolution
to
360dpi.
See
our
other
article
giving
a
working
schedule,
published
on
this
web
site
and
as
a
Technical
Information
Leaflet,
which
accompanied
the
ZPS
Newsletter
2/1999.
By
the
way,
we
have
found,
contrary
to
published
advice,
that
saving
a
file
in
the
JPEG
format
several
times
appears
to
have
no
effect
on
quality!
If
you
are
not
a
member
of
the
Zone
8
Photographic
Society
(membership
details
are
available
by
sending
an
e-mail
using
the
link
shown)
you
will
not
have
access
to
the
free
advice
facility
on
photographic
conventional,
digital
imaging
and
related
computing
topics
nor
all
other
membership
benefits
such
as
Newsletters,
informative
e-mailouts,
Forum,
Gallery,
Meets,
Technical
Information
Leaflets,
etc!
