CS3 Beta Features, Tips and Info

[Nevermore]

Until the final product ships (or until the manuals hit the bookstores!), the only way to figure out what is new is by surfing the net and by playing. I thought it would be a great idea if people would post anything of interest or utility here in this thread to help us all deal with the Beta.

To kick things off, I notice a new tool that belongs to the Magic Wand called Quick Selection Tool. Essentially, it is paintbrush with limited options (NOT any brush you have) that makes a marching ant selection wherever you paint. To be used in conjunction with the new Refine Edge tool that lets you tweak the edges of your selections.

I am going to hold back final judgement of these features until I play a little more but frankly, first impression is that they are for dummies. They don't do anything new that can't be done with masking, quick masking, channels or the like and seem very rough compared to those methods. It may well be that I have to eat those words after further play.

[SteinwaysMom]

It's all Greek to me, Kim. I leave it to you to come up w/the 'for dummies' synopsis.

[Nevermore]

Debra! You are being bad. This is the dummies version! Okay, I will try to explain better. The only problem is better is longer and I have been trying to be a little less verbose. Not that anybody is noticing or giving me any credit for it!

[Pixeldigger]

But we LIKE longer versions!

[Nevermore]

But we LIKE longer versions!
Rotfl. Okay, okay.

To expand my prior post a little:

I got excited when I saw that there was a new tool. The Magic Wand now has a sibling called Quick Select. It operates on the same principal as the selection tools but instead of making squares or circles like the marquee tool or freeform shapes like the lasso tool, this tool uses a paintbrush. When you pick Quick Select, the option menu allows you to tweak the brush.

The brush options are not extensive: you can pick size, hardness, roundness, angle and spacing.

You "paint" in your image with this tool and the marching ants appear around your paint strokes. If you pick a softer edged brush, you will get some feathering on your selection.

I suspect that this tool is meant to be used with another new option called Refine Edge. Refine Edge allows you to tweak the edges of any selection you have made. It deserves a post of its own and I will do one shortly.

So, I suspect you are supposed to make a Quick Selection and then use Refine Edge to make it better. In my opinion, you will not get anything decent using Quick Select and you would be far far better spending your time learning how to paint masks. Even with the addition of Refine Edge, it is difficult to get a decent selection and very difficult to see what is going on. I repeat, you would be better to either paint a mask or even use Quick Mask in order to get a selection. Quick Select is so darn sloppy I can't see any advantage over just whipping out the lasso tool and cleaning up with Quick Mask. Or far far better, quirk brethren, painting a mask which leaves you with a permanent, non destructive selection which can be saved and used over and over again and tweaked to the ends of the earth.

My question to CS3 programmers is simple: why bother? What does this tool provide that is not already in the program in far more sophisticated and technically better ways? They may well have an answer, time will tell. In the meanwhile, if anyone does find some earthly use for this new tool, pray do tell the Raven! I will have to apologise and set the record straight.

[happyrobyn]

The only problem is better is longer ...
Sorry to interrupt here but I thought I would get Troxel's opinion on this statement before we proceed!

[webchyck]

ummm...welll....I haven't actually had any personal experience with LONGER...so I'm not qualified to say...

I know, I know...I cry for myself, too!

[Jeannie]

How is the Bridge operating in this version?
I may download this new version, but definitely not until after Christmas Day :D

[Nevermore]

Jeannie, I LOVE the new Bridge but must honestly report that it sure is flakey. It stops and starts and doesn't remember settings and is just plain buggy. But, oh! when it works, it is a dream. I keep thinking I should use the old Bridge until they work the bugs out but, it works just enough of the time to keep me going for it, lol! Please let us know what you think after you download.

[SteinwaysMom]

What's The Bridge? Sounds like Star Trek hehahah

[Nevermore]

You are just being bad--I know you have PS. Oh, wait, you have 7 right? Sorry. Bridge is either a CS or CS2 thing. Again, apologies, thought you were just trying to wind me. Bridge is the image viewer. Shows you your thumbnails etcetera. Not sure what yours is called, Browser or something but same idea. I don't use any of the cataloguing or labelling in it because I run a different program for that but Bridge is pretty good for seeing all your papers and elements and just clicking them into PS when you are working.

[Rikki]

I just came across a terrific offer from lynda. That is a site for online training usually just for paying members. They offer a free CS3 training course about the new features with Deke McClelland.

To view it go here:
http://movielibrary.lynda.com/html/modPage.asp?ID=327&cid=CS3GOOGL

[Nevermore]

Rikki, big hugs! I just sat through all of them and it is a fantastic way to get up and running! I highly recommend this.

[Rikki]

Kim, I haven#t watched all of them yet, but only a few. But I thought they were fantastic, too. I never noticed all those great new things about the bridge, for example. The different workspaces and that zoom thingy....I'm going to go through all of them tonight. Glad you liked it.

[Nevermore]

I am a big fan of Deke's (his CS2 One on One is just excellent and I will definitely buy his CS3 when it comes out). I missed just about everything new in Bridge until I sat through the videos, lol. I just like how fast it is and how great the thumbnails and preview look.

I do have to say that my beta Bridge is VERY buggy, not stable at all, but I still like it. Can't wait until the product ships, though, so it settles down a bit. I would not recommend this for anyone who isn't patient because it does need some tweaking before shipping. On the other hand, CS3 has not given me any problems at all.

Rikki, please do keep posting here. I am so curious to hear what you think about some of the new stuff. I think I am going to play around with the new clone palette today.

[Rikki]

My bridge is a bit wobbly, too. Every time it opens I get an error message about some script which took longer than expected or so, but it opens ok after that automatically. And some of my thumbnails look blurry, too. But I don't mind, after all it is a BETA version.

I didn't think much of the quick selection tool, but I didn't try it out myself, just watched Deke. I'm a big fan of his, too. I had his PS Bible for 6.0 and since then he is one of my gods, no kidding. Now I divide my attention between him and Scott Kelby, LOL.
I'vw got his Total training DVDs for CS2, and they are brilliant as well. I think the best thing about those PS guys is that they are so funny and not nerdy at all on top of their knowledge...

[Nevermore]

Forgot to mention the Bible! I like Kelby too and watched a few of his podcasts. They definitely do not portrary themselves as nerdy!

Agree with you about Quick Select. Even Deke didn't do a good job with it (IMHO) and I just don't see the point of it at all.

[Rikki]

Are we the only 2 CS3 users here? Where are you all?

I agree with you, though I really am in no position to criticize Deke McClelland, but his selection was subpar (I just learned this expression yesterday from a Seinfeld episode, and have been looking for an opportunity to use it - and here it is, LOL). And with the refine edge tutorial he messed up the hat of the guy as well, I think. Oh well...

[Nevermore]

I have NO IDEA why people aren't using the Beta. I just don't have the kind of will power I would need to resist.

It does feel a tad strange criticizing Deke but I wrote from the get go that I thought the Quick Selection tool was lame and so far not even Deke has been able to persuade me that my judgement is incorrect.

I am going to surf a little when I get some time and see if there are any threads out there of interest, Rikki, and will post them here since there does seem to be a decided lack of enthusiasm by DAQers on this proggie. Still haven't had a chance to use the clone palette but I do like the new BW filter. I am sure that pros will say it is not as good as channel mixing and tweaking but it is good enough for me.

[Pixeldigger]

I just got CS for Christmas, so I am learning how to use that before going one step further. I'll get there eventually.