Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating: 
Summary: Adobe Photoshop Elements 6
Comment: Excellent program with incredible capabilities, but it's going to take a long time to master it due to the complexity of the program (and I am not a novice at computers, by any means). I'm excited about being able to use this program for digital scrapbooking.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Finally, a user-friendly version of PS Elements
Comment: I had tried previous versions of Photoshop Elements as free trial downloads from Adobe and while they had some great features, I didn't like the interface. I especially disliked switching from browsing to editing, which I found to be clunky and cumbersome, and ended up using ACDSee for image organization and minor editing.
When I started reading positive reviews about PSE6, I decided to download the trial version and give it a shot. After using the trial version for about a week, I was so impressed with the changes and improved ease of use that I purchased the software. For the money, I don't think you can do any better.
At first, I was a bit put off by the organizer, which, while a huge improvement over previous versions of PSE that I'd tried, was still not as intuitive as ACDSee or even the basic photo gallery in Vista. But after using it for a few days, I became more comfortable with it. It includes several quick fix editing options, as well as the option to view complete metadata for your photos. Importing photos into the organizer is relatively easy (very easy when you insert your camera's memory card, might take a little work importing from files and folders already on your PC). It will even do an auto red-eye correction as it imports your photos, which is a handy feature.
As for the image editor, I was very impressed by how easy it was to use. By offering three edit modes, Adobe gives users a choice. Full mode is exactly what it says. Your image appears in a window with the complete tool palette and you choose what you want to do. This would be great for users who know what they want to do, and how to do it. Quick mode offers a smaller tool palette, and a task bar that includes the most common editing fixes (lighting, color, etc.) as well as various automatic fixes. Guided mode offers a series of questions that you work through, asking you what you want to do, and then guiding you through the process. For me, this was the easiest way to get started. You always have the option of undoing your edits, or resetting the image.
Once you're done editing an image in the editor, you must close it or when you return to the organizer, there will be a red bar through the middle of the image that says "edit in progress". It's not enough to save the edited image in the editor, you have to close it. I don't particularly mind this, but I'm not sure why it's necessary.
There is a fairly extensive set of user preferences and they're reasonably easy to navigate and control, though there is no option to change the program's dark gray color scheme (see below).
The printed manual that accompanies the software is very basic, and Adobe directs the user to its online help files. I did not find the online help to be especially helpful, so I bought a couple of books (one by Scott Kelby, one by Philip Andrews). These include much more detailed and thorough guidance and they are excellent resources. Kelby's book includes detailed, step-by-step instructions for various editing tasks, while Andrews is more of a quick reference. Between the two of them, I have found more than enough guidance for the tasks I've attempted so far.
Some reviewers have complained about the dark gray color scheme, especially since you cannot change the color. I don't mind the dark gray, but I don't know why Adobe didn't offer several other color schemes to allow users to choose what they liked. Others have said that the program is slow and crashes frequently. I'm using a laptop that's about a year and a half old, with 2GB RAM, and without a separate graphics card, and I haven't had any problems with crashes or slowness. I usually don't have any other programs open when I'm editing photos, but when I do, PSE6 doesn't seem to mind.
I'm very pleased with this version of PSE and it is by far the best image editing software I have used. (Note: several reviewers who have used PSE5 say that version 6 is not a major upgrade, and this may be true. The most recent version of PSE that I had used prior to 6 was version 3). PSE6 is so user-friendly and contains so many features that it has encouraged me to try more advanced tasks that I would never have tried before. It also offers the auto fix options in the organizer and the quick mode in the editor, for newer users or for when you're in a hurry. I think Adobe has done an excellent job of combining a rich feature set with a user-friendly interface.
A note about the current rebate offer: contrary to what one reviewer wrote here, the 6 week time limit refers to the amount of time you have to submit your rebate, and does not mean that you can only get the rebate if you've purchased other software 6 weeks prior to purchasing PSE6. Read the rebate coupon, it's very clear. Furthermore, the upgrade rebate is offered for a variety of non-Adobe products as well as previous versions of PSE6, and the proof required. In my case, I was able to submit a photocopy of the CD for an old version of Paint Shop Pro. The other rebate requirements are easy to assemble: a small tab from the box, your purchase receipt, and the ocmpleted coupon along with proof of ownership of the product you're upgrading.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Best program for price
Comment: I owned elements 2 and 4 and this program is better. cant warrant the expense of CS3 plus elements 6 works great if I get were I learn everything this program does Ill be doing pretty good.
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Good Features, Hard to sue
Comment: Elements 6 has many unusual features, such as being able to remove a face with closed eyes to one with open eyes in order to make a more pleasing end result. You will be able to use RAW images, to organize all of your shots in various precise ways, removing objects you don't want in the shot, and many more creative abilities, including the more normal ones, such as cropping, and full editing capabilities. However, the small book included in the box is almost worthless. It gives you hints about what you CAN do but not HOW to do it. You will need to add a much more detailed informational book to your purchase of Elements 6. It would be extremely difficult to figure out the program without one.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Difficult to Use; Terrible Customer Support
Comment: Why awesome once you know how to use it, this program is buggy and very difficult to learn and customer support is virtually non-existent, unless you want to pay them $30 to answer even the simplest question. We're talking support from India where you can't understand anything they say. If you are a novice, THIS IS NOT THE PRODUCT FOR YOU as customer support simply does not exist.
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