Top 5 Photoshop CS6 Beta automated options

The Photoshop CS6 Beta release has given us a clearer view of what to expect from the subsequent official launch.

There are many cool new additions from a creative viewpoint, from new Blur Filter styles to even more extensive Content Aware functionality.

But it’s some of the smaller additions that sometimes slip under the radar that have also seriously impressed.

More intuitive and one-click automated options have been included, improving production capabilities even further in this next-gen software.

Here is our top five, with reason why.

5. Layer search

New to the Photoshop CS6 Beta is the Layers search, or Pick a filter type drop options. From Categories i.e. Kind, Name, Effect, Mode, Attribute, Color, and sub-categories users can now instantly locate lost layers.

This is great news for those of you who produce photomanipulations and comp-heavy projects, which overload your layers palette.

4. Crop tool

The Crop tool is now far more intuitive, when coupled with GPU improvements. Now, instead of you moving your crop to an image, your image moves to the crop, making it easier to see how your image translates in your definable area.

There are also a set of easily definable View presets, including Rule of Thirds, Golden Ration and more. There’s also a one-click option to rotate your crop selection between landscape and portrait.

3. Auto backup (check name)

This may not be groundbreaking from a creative point of view, but for those working on time intensive projects the last thing you’ll want is Photoshop crashing and losing hours worth of work.

Activated from the Preferences>File Handling options, users of the Photoshop CS6 Beta can choose to Save As to Original Folder and designate timescale for automatic saves.

2.  Auto Adjustment options

There is an Auto option already available in Photoshop CS5. But the Photoshop CS6 Beta once more has hidden value with new auto adjustment options.

To activate this simple apply either a Curves or Levels adjustment, and then activate Auto Options from the fly-out menu. Here you’ll find the Enhance Brightness and Contrast option, which offers great results with one-click.

1. Adobe Mercury Graphics Engine

This has to be one of the most significant upgrades to Photoshop CS6 Beta. This is a workhorse behind the scenes, improving the speed of many key functions such as Crop and Liquify tools, scrubby zoom, and more, fully supporting and enhancing render times within software.

For more updates on Photoshop CS6 Beta go to www.advancedphotoshop.co.uk