Photoshop tends to collect users from a variety of backgrounds. From casual users just playing around to professional graphics designers creating professional materials to digital artists creating fantastic artwork to medical technicians analyzing patient images, Photoshop has something for everyone. In fact, there really isn't one specific group of users that you could call the average Photoshop user.

So, with that in mind, the Photoshop CS5 Bible is designed to provide enough information so experienced Photoshop users can get more out of Photoshop, but also so someone who has little or no experience with Photoshop can quickly pick up on Photoshop's interface and become an expert in no time. We discuss advanced techniques and add step-by-step examples to the more complex editing concepts. Although the book is large, most sections in the book are self-contained, so experienced users can simply look up tools they need help with.

This book is really designed to be a desktop reference, but it's much more than the Photoshop online help. We've incorporated examples designed to guide you through various techniques, provide our experience in tips and suggestions, and try to give you a jumpstart on how to leverage Photoshop's features.

The specific purpose of this book is to provide you with the understanding you need to get the very best results. So sit back, load up Photoshop, and enjoy the ride!

To suit the most common needs of readers, we have organized this book into the following parts:

This book was not designed for a cover-to-cover read. For the most part, each section is self-contained. If you are new to Photoshop, take some time to look at Chapters 1 through 6 to familiarize yourself with the environment and digital editing concepts. If a chapter relies on information about another chapter, we note that in the chapter introduction or using a Cross-Ref note.

If you want to know more about a particular workflow in Photoshop, such as color correction or adding text, use the list from the previous section to find the chapter number and read that chapter thoroughly to learn all about the different tools and features you can use.

The book is really designed as a reference source. We have tried to pack in as much of Photoshop's functionality and features as possible so you can look up items in the index and read the sections in which we discuss them.

You should download the example projects from the book's Web site and use them when available. The images in this book are in grayscale except for the color insert (and yes, we really, really wish it was in full color). So it may be difficult at times to see the full effect from the figure in the book. The examples on the Web site let you see what the images look like in full color as well as practice the tasks described in the book. Look at the next section, "Utilizing the book's Web site," to learn what projects are available.

One of the most important aspects of digital images is color. Unfortunately, the book was printed without color. So we have included several of the figures and projects used to generate the figures on the Web site. Some of the items on the Web site are JPEG images, some are PSD projects, and some are AVI files. The great feature of the projects is that many of them have the layers and objects available for you to play around with.

The book's Web site can be accessed at:

www.wiley.com/go/photoshopcs5bible

Throughout the book, you see icons labeled "On the Web Site," noting which figures are available on the Web site. Each note includes a filename that you can use to download the item and try the concepts out for yourself.