2 GETTING STARTED
Prerequisites
Before you begin the lessons in this book, make sure that you and your computer
are ready by following the tips and instructions on the next few pages.
Requirements on your computer
You’ll need about 900 MB of free space on your hard disk—around 400 MB for
the lesson files and up to 550 MB for the work files that you’ll create as you work
through the exercises.
Required skills
e lessons in this book assume that you have a working knowledge of your com-
puter and its operating system. Make sure that you know how to use the mouse
and the standard menus and commands, and also how to open, save, and close files.
Can you scroll (vertically and horizontally) within a window to see content that
may not be visible in the displayed area? Do you know how to use context menus,
which open when you right-click (Windows) / Control-click (Mac OS) items?
If you need to review these basic and generic computer skills, see the documenta-
tion included with your Microsoft® Windows® or Apple® Mac® OS X software.
Installing Adobe Photoshop Elements 12
Before you begin the lessons in Adobe Photoshop Elements 12 Classroom in a Book,
make sure that your system is set up correctly and that you’ve installed the required
software and hardware. You must purchase the Adobe Photoshop Elements 12
software separately.
For system requirements and instructions for downloading, installing, and setting
up the software, refer to the topics listed under the header “Up and running” at
http://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop-elements.html.
Accessing the Classroom in a Book files
In order to work through the exercises in this book, you’ll need to download the
sample image files and other resources from your Account page at peachpit.com.
You can either download the entire Lessons folder before you begin, or download
the files for individual lessons as you need them. Keep the lesson files on your
computer until you’ve completed all the exercises.
Your Account page is also where you’ll find any updates to the lessons or to the work
files. Look on the Lesson & Update Files tab to access the most current content.
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Note: In this book,
the forward slash
character ( / ) is used
to separate equivalent
terms and commands
for Windows / Mac OS,
in the order shown here.