Five top features in Adobe Photoshop CC 2014

As with any new release of Photoshop, there are too many new features. We pick the most useful five

Adobe Creative Cloud 2014 was released a couple of months back.

Adobe has recently updated Creative Cloud with new features for 2014. In fact, there are too many features to be able to fit into a write up. But we will try and give you the new features that you should really be looking at and trying to use. In the first of a series of stories on different software included in CC 2014, we look at the latest version of Photoshop and the five most interesting new features.

1. Blurs: Photoshop now comes with two new blur options, path and spin. These are ideal for creating a sense of motion or speed where there is none. For instance, if you have a picture of a windmill in the middle of a field, the spin blur can be used to create the impression of the fans moving at different speeds. On the other hand, the path blur can be used to seem as if the field was being swept by strong winds. All you need to do is create layers of the elements that you want to add the effect to.

2. Focus area: Now the software knows where you were focusing while shooting something and can crop out just that part of the image for you. You can access this feature from Select> Focus Area. It takes a while for the image to render, but it is pretty much spot on with the focus. You will need to do a bit of fine tuning to get the crop right, but this can also be done easily without leaving the feature. It is easier to use with depth of field shots where the focus is clearly on one subject. But this has the potential to make life simpler for those who are not that good with cropping.

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3. Smart Guides: It is now easier to work on object without being hassled by rules and guides. Every object is locked to smart guides, visible when you click the selection tool. Click Alt+select and you can duplicate layers and moves then in a spaced grid. This process lets you easily align and position objects.

4. Package Tool: With regular Photoshop users now getting hooked to the ease-of-use that comes with linked smart objects, Adobe has introduced the package tool that lets you create a folder of the images and linked smart objects so that you can share them in one go. It is a bit like the collect for output option in Quark Express.

5. More fonts: Photoshop now shows missing fonts and directs you to the TypeKit app which gives you access to over a thousand fonts in your Creative Cloud subscription. It is also much easier to previews apps and all you need to do is select the layer with the text and hover the mouse over the font list. The font in the creative changes as you move from one font to the other.

Disclosure: The review was done using a free subscription of Creative Cloud 2014 provided by Adobe India.

Nandagopal Rajan

Nandagopal Rajan writes on technology, gadgets and everything related. He has worked with the India Today Group and Hindustan Times. He is an alumnus of Calicut University and Indian Institute of Mass Communication, Dhenkanal. ... Read More