PhotoShop 6.0 by Adobe

PhotoShop continues to grow with version 6.0. As the web continues to expand, so PhotoShop is keeping up. It is very much a tool for web graphics as well as more traditional media.

The key development is support for vector data. Text handling has also been improved. There is a new class of layers, fill layers, to enable you to create editable patterns, solid color, and gradient fills.

Web developers can now create sliced images and assign URLs directly within PhotoShop. However for rollovers, animations or image maps, you still have to launch ImageReady. This is included in the package and integrated with PhotoShop so that they can share all of the new data types.

We found running the two packages a little confusing. We also didn't like the delay in switching from one to the other, as a temporary file is saved to disk.

ImageReady now offers weighted optimisation, allowing you to control the amount of JPEG compression, GIF dithering, and lossy GIF colour reduction. You can certainly create some small, but potent web graphics.

Version 6.0 is a major upgrade and should keep PhotoShop in the leading position within its category: Professional graphics.