How useful are tuts for older PS versions?

[Hanarky]

Since this time I take it very serious with learning PS, I have started to sort out and bring my tutorial collection in order.
Class instead of mass

Now I have PS7 and no experience with older versions, but a lot of tuts for PS 4, 5 and 6.
I guess, the ones for 4 and 5 can be sorted out, but how does it look with the ones for PS6. Have there been big changes? I do not want to learn obsolete stuff and probably will get difficulties anyway to understand what is to do with the changes to newer versions.

Any comments?

Hanarky

 

[MindBender]

If you're refering to tutorials about the actual program and using it's features, then yes, toss the older versions prior to 7.

If you're talking about techniques for creating artwork and actually using photoshop, there isn't anything too old. There are techniques posted at GN from the original Kai Power Tips based on version 2.x that still hold true and provide some great ideas and techniques that are useful to this day.

Don't discount something just because it's older, in fact, often those techniques are more solid because they understood things much more thouroughly due to not having features in the program that would build things for you. Reading through tutorials like this will give you a much greater understanding of technique and thinking things through.

$0.02

 

[Erik]

Mindbender said it all, and better that I wopuld have done.
My favourite book on Photoshop is bt JohnPaul Caponigro. I suppose it is abouit version five or so (I use 7), but it is timeless.

The only reason I got 7 was because I bought a license for 6 in the "upgrade" period and got it for free. I know people working with 5 on a G3, and they make me stand in awe.

What can change, and certainly has changed, are shortcuts, and the places where you find some features.
But, to be honest: using shortcuts makes one dependant, and when one begins, it is, in my very personal opinion of course, better not to use them at all, and start by learning where which feature can be found. Some people know a lot of shortcuts without really knowing what they do.

Example: clicking the right icon at the bottom of the layers panel will indeed create a new layer, but going to layer>new does show a multitude of options that weren't there otherwise.
)
$0.3 ( [:I folk on the hill, you know...

 

[Hanarky]

Thanks for your opinions.
And yes, my questions was about techniques. Good to know, that I can use the older ones. There are some really nice ones.
My biggest problem indeed, when trying one out was shortcuts and to find the right menu or submenu to do, what I am supposed to do. But now, exercising every day with PS7 and better understand the translation of the menu in german, it gets easier so slowly to know, where to go.
I will keep the old ones
Thanks

Hanarky

 

[AppleCider]

Welcome, Harnarky!

As for shortcuts:

I have to disagree with Erik a little bit here (as much as I admire and drool over his art!) Everyone works different, and I'm a keyboard person, so I LOVE shortcuts. Not that I memorize every one (who can??) but I do memorize the ones I use most. To me, it makes say, copying a layer simpler (Cmd/Cntrl-J) or bringing up the Hue-Sat (Cmd/Cntrl-U) or filling with the foreground color (Alt/Delete). Etc.

That said, I do agree with Erik when you first get a program (any, not just PS) you should poke around and find out what features are there. The shortcuts come later.

And I definitely agree that tutes for older versions can work very well. Good tutes will tell you what version is involved, but there are things that you can do with almost any version of PS. (I wouldn't go further back than say, v. 5, though)

 

[markzebra]

Actually AppleCider is closest on this one? I'm a shortcuts only man too, and set up F key shortcuts for anything else that I want.

There have actually been no major changes in built-in keyboard shortcuts at all since version 3 to 4. So all the basic shortcuts (and many of the others) have been around for a long time. (6 temporarily introduced the annoying alt click on layer to rename it thing, but thats all really)

All older tutorials (versions 4, 5 and 6) are still valid and will work without any changes - so don't dump them. There are now sometimes better and simpler methods for doing things, but they still work.

 

[MindBender]

So all the basic shortcuts (and many of the others) have been around for a long time.

I wouldn't say that is entirely true, the tools palette has changed several key functions in almost every version. Especially from 5.5 to 6 to 7. Lots of combinations and stuff. Also there were lots of additional shortcuts added because of the auto-functions and such. Some tools don't exist anymore either. There isn't any airbrush tool as such in 7 while there still was in 6. So now the key goes to something else.

It's nothing that couldn't be relearned quickly, but it has changed.

I'd have to agree in part with Erik in that you should really learn as many different methods of getting to the commands you want as you possibly can, since there are often different results gained by each method.

I would say, though, that shortcuts (especially keyboard combinations) are an integral part of using Photoshop (or any production software). I rarely have issues going from Adobe product to Adobe product or from version to version. Although, being used to Adobe, I do have trouble using things from Macromedia hehe.

 

[Hanarky]

well people, maybe I was a bit unclear about my problems with tuts of older versions, which involves everything written here. As for shortcuts, so I use a few meantimes, that I know now and they are quiete practical. But most functions I still do with going to the menu or rightclicking. I remember, when I started exercising PS early this year (with a few months break to learn Flash), for example in some tuts has been a command: press D. Lol, I pressed D and didn't see any changes and no explanation what this command does. Today I know, that this swaps back-and foregrund color. When I started to learn I had no clue. Some shortcuts didn't work at all, like Mindburner mentioned, others brought down new windows and I had no clue later, when working on a new tut, how to get down that window again, with the instruction for e.g. open the Hue/saturation window without further explanation where to find. I admit these things often prohibited my fun and I gave up totally enerved. But as I can see now, this was NOT a fault of the PS versions, but due to badly written tutorials and my lack to write things, that were a bit difficult to understand as a reference in my own words or to learn the basics first, before trying advanced tuts. And as a Noob asking in forums to prove, what an idiot I am, wasn't my thing either (still wonder, why so many german forums are so unfriendly, IMO). And yes, I remember looking around for the airbrush and not being able to find it in the tools palette,lol. How can that be, when I have a little pic showing me exactly where it should be in a tut? Hahahaha [confused]

Long words, short sense: You really have to get known with the menu and palettes to know, where to find what feature you need, to know, what the single tools do. Only yesterday I learned, that the move tool does more than just moving, duh. And then the thingy with the shortcuts can come, but I don't think, that I ever will get very accustomed to it. [honesty]

As for certain techniques, so I am glad to hear, that nothing has changed a big lot. As said earlier, I have no experience with older PS versions, that's why I asked. I will continue to work with older tuts.

Hanarky


3[ 3[ 3[ a Borg smily, oh great !

 

[Erik]

Suppose you want to select the pencil tool, for example:

then the shortcut you have to press is:

in PS3: P
in PS4 Y
in PS5 N
in PS6 B (and press B or shift B to toggle)

etc etc.


I myself also use many shortcuts (even the Alt series in Win which I particularly like, and simple double click on the workspace to open a doc etc) but for people who start learning Photoshop, it is, imo best not to start with them because they don't offer any insight in the program. Later on, they introduce themselves automatically into the workflow.