Photoshop CS4 frustrations

[Eldor]

I've just upgraded to Photoshop CS4 from CS3 and could use a bit of help from someone who knows...

I'm a PC user and have now installed the full Creative Suite Design Premium CS4 on two machines - my desktop and my notebook.

My first issue is that there doesn't appear to be a help file.  Clicking on PhotoShop Help brings up a browser window with ONLY a link to http://community.adobe.com/help in it.  What happened to an actual help file?  Did I do something wrong?  Did the installation somehow fail (on both my installations)?

Another thing I'm finding frustrating is the new window arrangement... having the close button at the top left (after the window title) is really annoying and even if I change to "Float all in windows", it always defaults right back again.  And I often work with multiple documents, especially when I'm putting photos onto a larger sheet to efficiently print on my 24" wide printer, and every time I open a new document it ends up being docked within the previous window and I always have to pull it out before I can select it and move it onto my larger document.  Very annoying.

The main reason I upgraded was that I read that PS CS4 now offers some kind of easy blending for focus stacked images and looking through the menus and tools I was unable to find anything about this.

Maybe some of that is addressed in the help file, and that brings me back to my first issue... no help file.

Can anyone here help me?  

Thanks

[Ben Rubinstein]

I understood that photoshop help  was only web these days. Not particularly impressed by it, it should be an add on feature not a replacement.

As for your problem, click off 'open documents as tabs' and 'Enable floating window document docking'. Should do the trick.

[Rhossydd]

My first issue is that there doesn't appear to be a help file.

Sadly correct. A shocking omission really.

On the top right of the 'help' wbe page you're direcetd to there's a link that allows you to download a help file in PDF format, better than nothing and accessible if you're off-line.

[Eldor]

I understood that photoshop help  was only web these days. Not particularly impressed by it, it should be an add on feature not a replacement.

As for your problem, click off 'open documents as tabs' and 'Enable floating window document docking'. Should do the trick.

Thanks very much, Ben!  That did indeed solve my windows problem.

The new help "system" is very annoying and as I'm often working on my notebook in areas without an Internet connection, particularly frustrating.  And that new system brings you not to a PS-specific help area but rather a generic Adobe "community" help.  SIGH

[Eldor]

Sadly correct. A shocking omission really.

On the top right of the 'help' wbe page you're direcetd to there's a link that allows you to download a help file in PDF format, better than nothing and accessible if you're off-line.

Thank you, but I don't see that.

When I click help, I get a totally blank web page with ONLY a single link appearing to http://community.adobe.com/help.  Clicking on that link brings me to a Search Community Help page (which isn't even PS specific).  And when you start typing "Photoshop" into the search box NO Photoshop CS4 appears - only "Photoshop", "Photoshop CS", "Photoshop CS3" and a few other things like Lightroom, etc.

This new help system is anything but helpful.

How do I find that link to downloading the PDF file you mentioned?

[Eldor]

Sadly correct. A shocking omission really.

On the top right of the 'help' wbe page you're direcetd to there's a link that allows you to download a help file in PDF format, better than nothing and accessible if you're off-line.

Found it!

But what a pain!  I had to go from the first page brought up by the F1 key to the second, then I had to type just "Photoshop" without the CS4 and from THAT page I saw the link you mentioned.  I also saw that it was possible to change the default page the F1 key brings you to, and I've now done that so I go directly to the PS CS4 web help pages.

These basic things really should have been documented with the package.  But I guess that's asking too much.

[Geoff Wittig]

Focus blending of stacked images is available, but it's strictly 'alpha' functionality. As in virtually unusable. It's slower than molasses and you get lots of artifacts that would require much tedious hand-blending of layers. Life's too short. Either limit your focus blending to images with easily masked foreground/background, or bite the bullet and get Helicon focus.

[Eldor]

Focus blending of stacked images is available, but it's strictly 'alpha' functionality. As in virtually unusable. It's slower than molasses and you get lots of artifacts that would require much tedious hand-blending of layers. Life's too short. Either limit your focus blending to images with easily masked foreground/background, or bite the bullet and get Helicon focus.

Thanks for that info, Geoff.

I'll have a look at Helicon.  I've just ordered a 65mm MP-E macro lens and I'm really looking forward to bringing my macro work to the next level.  So far even with three stacked extension tubes, I'm not getting the magnification I want with my 180 or 100mm macros.

Cheers!