The Quick edit mode
The Quick, Guided, and Expert edit modes are found in the second part of this application: the Photoshop Elements Editor workspace.
As you can see, in the Quick edit mode, the image currently being edited can be displayed in a before, after, or, as seen here, before and after display mode. The right-hand side of the following screenshot displays some of the excellent effects available in this mode:
The following screenshot is an enlarged view of the Quick mode toolbar on the left-hand side of the main edit screen:
During the edit process, you'll use the Organizer to search for and find images that are then opened in one or, depending on your creative requirements, several of the three edit modes. After editing, they are saved and appear updated back in the Organizer. The process of getting images from the Organizer to the editor are dealt with in detail in Chapter 3, The Basics of Image Editing.
As the name suggests, the Quick edit mode enables users to make simple but significant improvements to any picture file using adjustments specifically ordered, so as to produce the best editing workflow. These adjustments can include Smart Fix, Exposure, Lighting (contrast), Color, and, finally, Sharpness.
To make the editing process more visual, both this and the Guided edit mode offer the user a handy before and after viewing window, making it easy to see what the original looked like alongside the new, edited version. All three edit modes are interchangeable. This means that you can easily transfer an image from Quick, to Guided, and to Expert, and back again, should you need to.
This mode also features a range of tools that cover the most commonly used editing tasks. These tools include a Zoom tool for enlarging images, a Hand tool (for moving an enlarged image around the screen), a Quick Selection tool (for isolating parts of the image), an Eye tool (red- and pet-eye fixing), a Whiten Teeth tool (for automatically selecting and brightening teeth in one action), a Straighten tool (for leveling horizons), a Type tool (for adding text to an image), the Spot Healing and Healing Brush tools (for retouching your images), and, curiously, at the bottom of the list (I think these two features really should be at the top of the Tool Bar), a Crop and a Move tool. The performance of each tool, throughout all of Elements' edit modes, can be modified using the Tool Options panel that pops up from the bottom of the screen when clicked on. Additionally, note that each tool has different options. For many time-poor photographers, these features provide a good level of editing capability.
