Adobe XD users will be familiar with the new beta version of Photoshop on the web. For others, the interface has been redesigned. What are the features of the online version? What are its advantages? Franck Denis, graphic designer and DTP expert, explains.
Photoshop on the web is a simplified workspace. Users can share their work with clients or colleagues. They in turn can comment on or revise these publications by making basic changes. The undeniable advantage is that there is no need to load the software onto your computer. All you have to do is log in with your Creative Cloud login or, if you don't have a licence, receive an invitation from the author of the file.
Certainly, some of the features that made Photoshop famous are intentionally missing. Nevertheless, we find the essentials there. The functionalities cover most of the needs in terms of retouching, colorimetric adjustment and photomontage.
A simplified workspace for faster, more intuitive handling
Understanding the concept of menu, tool palette, windows and control bar is not easy when you are new to Photoshop. All trainers will tell you: learners get lost in the multitude of features scattered in every corner of the interface. They experience – at least initially – difficulty retaining all this information. With Photoshop on the web, Adobe has managed to simplify the interface by “lightening” its features.
It takes a little time for philistines to become familiar with this online application. But Photoshop users find their little ones very easily there. They thus benefit from very practical new features, such as the tool Transformation or displaying transformation options.
On the windows side, Adobe has only kept the essentials. Layers and Properties have the same characteristics as the original version. Quick Actions allows you to obtain automatic clippings and access predefined lighting and colorimetry parameters. Document Info groups the characteristics of the file such as the size of the image, its resolution and its colorimetric mode. As for Comments, it is the same principle as what we find in other methods of sharing the Adobe suite.
Collaborative sharing on the web: a real advantage
Sharing via Creative Cloud is not an innovation in itself. Users of the Adobe suite have already had access to these services since 2013. What really changes with this beta version is that it is now possible for people invited by the author of the document to modify it without having to download the software. Provided, of course, that they have sufficient knowledge to use this lite version of Photoshop.
What about people who don't have the required skills? It is always possible for them to leave general or specific comments by posting pins in places requiring modifications.
This solution offers an undeniable advantage. Users can exchange or intervene directly or subsequently on the document in a way that could not be simpler.
Live, because people working remotely can make changes to the same file (.psdc) from a browser such as Chrome, Edge and soon Firefox, while communicating by telephone or videoconference.
A posteriori because – if the interested parties cannot meet – everyone can leave comments or instructions that the author(s) of the file can carry out later, after having received notification.
The limits of the Photoshop application on the web which are not really any
Seasoned Photoshop users rest assured. What is on the web is not intended to stay on the web. Photographers, retouchers, digital painters, etc., all professionals who use Camera raw ; apply filters to their dynamic objects; use the vector shape tools, might see a disadvantage in not being able to reuse them online.
Never mind ! All files shared on the cloud are accessible from the desktop software or can be downloaded. Thus, what is not possible with the tools of the web version can be done locally and directly updated remotely.
Who is Photoshop for the web for and for what uses, ultimately?
It is obvious that Photoshop for the web, as its name suggests, is primarily intended for the production of content for digital media. Impossible, for example, to convert an RGB profile to a CMYK profile or to open a RAW file imported from a camera, only PSD; PSDC; PNG; JPEG; TIFF; HEIC; PSB. It is also impossible for a digital painter to modify the parameters of their brushes or those already present in the solution.
Photoshop for the web is above all a solution that opens up a new avenue for remote collaboration for its future users.
A photographer, for example, can use it to upload his work once it has been “developed” on Lightroom online. An agency or communication service can import visuals, create graphic montages intended to enhance its website and feed its accounts on social networks, then submit them for approval by sharing the link giving access to the files.
Another can export them to JPEG, PNG, TIFF, PSD and even WebP formats to integrate them into various digital media.
Ultimately, anyone involved in a project carried out on Photoshop can easily participate in the design and creation of a visual support. It saves itself the endless exchanges of emails and attachments that can escape his attention.
This online solution is not currently intended for use on mobile phones or tablets.. On the other hand, she has everything from an application designed to make the processing and use of images accessible to as many people as possible in a simple and rapid way. Without being completely revolutionary, the use of Photoshop for the web could help to change collaboration practices and increase productivity gains, particularly when it comes to teleworking.
