Summary of Common Photoshop Elements 2.0 Operations

To view thumbnail images of an entire folder or disk of images, pull down File => Browse... and select the desired folder or disk in the panel on the left. To edit an image, double-click on the small image.

To save changes to an image (replacing the original), click on . To save an image to another file name, location or format, pull down File => Save as..., select the desired location from the Save in ... menu at the top,  select the desired format from the Save as Type... menu at the bottom, then click Save.
To print an image, click on . Click on Properties to select Paper Type and Print Quality. Then click OK and Print. To print multiple images on one page, open the images and click File => Print Layout.
   
To resize an image, pull down Image => Resize => Image Size. 
To crop an image, use the  tool to stretch out a rectangle over the portion that you want to keep, then double-click on the cropped area.
To rotate an image, click Image => Rotate.
To adjust contrast and brightness, click Enhance => Auto Contrast OR Enhance => Brightness/Contrast
To adjust color intensity, click Enhance => Adjust Color => Hue/Saturation.
To adjust color balance,  click Adjust => Auto Color Correction.
To sharpen an image, pull down Filter => Sharpen=> Sharpen (or Sharpen More).
To Quick Fix a photo, click Enhance => Quick Fix or click .
To remove redeye, click on the  tool. set the size and color and click on each eye.
To reduce grainyness on surfaces, click Filter => Blur => Smart Blur.
To brighten up the dark portions of a photo, click Enhance => Adjust Lighting  => Fill Flash.
To reduce the brightness of the light portions of a photo, click Enhance => Adjust Lighting  =>Backlighting.

To "zoom in" OR "zoom out" on an image, hold down the Alt key and use the mouse wheel. Or click View => Zoom In or Zoom Out. Note: zooming in or out does not actually change the size of an image when printed, saved, or exported; it changes only how it is displayed on the screen of Photoshop Elements. To change the actual size, use Image => Resize => Image Size.

To cover up small spots on a picture, you can use the Smudge tool .  Use the Size box in the top toolbar to set the tool size to about the size of the defects.  To use the smudge tool, position the tool on the background color near the spot and drag the tool over the spot.  (Think of it as smudging the wet ink over the spot). 

To cover up large defects (spots, tears, and streaks),  use the Clone Stamp . Click on this tool, use the Size box in the top toolbar to set the tool size to about the size of the defects., then Alt-click on an undamaged background area near the damaged spot and then left-drag to paint over the damage. (This is especially good for covering up damage in a texture or repeating pattern that is undamaged elsewhere in the image). 

To undo changes that you have made to an image, click .  Each time you click it, one more operation is removed.  Click the  tool to "re-do" the operations.

To save a section of an image as a separate file, without changing the original image, use the  tool to stretch out a rectangular area over the desired portion of the image, pull down Edit => Copy, then File => New from Clipboard, then Save as above.
(c) Tom O'Haver (to2@umail.umd.edu), February 2005