I’m a Software Engineer. This is probably kind of a lame post but I’m going to add it anyway because it’s a little pet peeve of mine and this may help other non-graphic oriented users who are still picky about preferring to use a tool such as PhotoShop because they do want flexibility and quality, but may have the same confusion in Photoshop when drawing lines.
I don’t really use Photoshop a lot but definitely do a good number of times throughout each month for things other than creating custom graphics.
First off, let me answer this question right now:
What would a developer even use PhotoShop for? I get this question a lot from previous bosses and it annoys the hell out of me because I figure they obviously never document anything or they think that Snag-it is somehow the only tool to use for the job. Sure snag-it is free but personally I think it sucks. Also, good documentation is not always just plain text. It needs screen shots at times to compliment the How-To or whatever you’re documenting. It’s funny because a lot of the people who ask this question that do document mostly use Snag-It or some other photo tool. My current boss uses some hokey tool called Photo Impact but whatever, everyone has their preferences right? If it were me, I’d be using Photoshop, not Photo Impact or snag-it, or anything else, but you know…it’s all relative to each person, especially when engineers are not designers.
PhotoShop is the tool of choice and is essential for me to have PhotoShop or Elements in my toolset. That’s not going to change. Yes, there are open source tools but I am used to PhotoShop…I’ve used it for years.
The two primary uses that I have for PhotoShop on the job are:
Documentation on processes (screen shots, or whatever else)
- I may use these screen shots in documentation I create for the team or even personal so that it’s easy to go back and figure out how to do something or maybe how for example IIS was setup on x server…you get the idea
As a form of Communication
- If you can’t explain to someone what you’re talking about in terms of the UI, then print screen it and use arrows to point to the area or add text to the screen shot to explain what exactly you are referring to. Lots of people just don’t get it until you show them on your live screen or in a screen shot you send to them
- Or if you’re creating training manuals for non-technical users, you’re better off to have both text and pics to go along with it
Why don’t I use Snag-It? To me it just sucks because it simply falls short for decent manipulation or adding of simple elements without looking like some kind of hack job. The text and line tools are just subpar and choppy in terms of resolution. It’s fine for non-technical oriented people or people who just don’t care about clean documentation or documentation that just really is clear and more aesthetic to read. But mainly, Snag-It doesn’t give me professional options to the degree of PhotoShop which means it’s inflexible. I like to be able to really control a lot of aspects when I’m trying to create lines, manipulate colors on any objects, etc. when I’m creating something visually. Snag-It “just ain’t doin it folks”.
I want my PhotoShop! (or Elements is fine also if it has to be cheaper). Yes, please shell out the $500 or whatever $200 for Elements boss. No I’m not joking nor am I crazy or weird or even different than some developers boss; I’m just smarter than you (lol, jk) and I know what tools are effective and work well! I also know other developers who use PhotoShop as well for the same reasons. And yes boss I DO use image programs, why? So I can document things or communicate better with non-technical users through training or whatever these images I create can come in handy for them…which should in your eyes be a good thing for the team and company. And no boss you’re absolutely right, I’m not using 90% of the functionality in PhotoShop; but the 10% that I do use shines and allows me to get that kind of documentation done much faster and much more clear than a hacky tool like Snag-It which to me is just pitiful in terms of quality output. Honestly $250 (Elements) is not a lot of money for a tool for your developer if you decide that $500 (PhotoShop) is too much.
Give me a REAL tool. And why not, it’s good to learn Photoshop anyway even if you’re not a designer. It can help you in any pet projects you may have at home or it may help you on the job in many ways that you don’t realize down the road even if you’re a hard core Software Engineer at heart.
But what pains me the most about Photoshop or Elements is something that’s just ridiculous. It’s a huge usability flaw, at least in my opinion and I’ve seen similar complaints in forums. What is it? It’s this:
a) how to find the damn arrow options on a line or paint tool in PhotoShop or Elements
b) how to find where the line tool resides in PhotoShop or Elements
For a):
Answer: There isn’t an option to add arrow ends with the pencil or brush tool!
Here’s the options for a pencil for example in Elements:
And here’s the options for the pencil in PhotoShop:
See? No ability to add arrows. I think that’s completely ridiculous and bizarre that Adobe hasn’t included that. Well now I have to figure out how I can do that…and after hunting all over, it’s not here!
You have to use the line tool, not the pencil or brush tools in order to get arrows on lines!
I think it’s kind of lame that Adobe does not have this option readily available for the brush and pencil tool. Maybe there is a technical reason they did not add it but having to remember to use the line tool when I really am not using Photoshop every day just seems like a usability flaw as well as a feature flaw. I say feature flaw because I have no option to add an arrow to the end of a brush or pencil.
And for b):
Believe it or not, when you forget this can be frustrating. The line tool is sometimes buried in an unobvious place in Adobe products. A lot of times you’re looking for the line tool icon and naturally one is going to look for some sort of line or pencil in the menu that brings them to a familiar point where they might be able to find that tool. For example when I’m looking for a brush, it’s easy because if pencil is there, I know brush is under pencil, etc. But the line tool is a different story. If you used the rectangle tool or it’s defaulted to a heart or whatever, the line tool is not going to pop out at you instantly like the pencil or brush tools would.
Answer: In Adobe menus, it’s under is the shapes menu, which to me just seems way out of place which again directly relates to lack of usability in PhotoShop:
So what is a line tool doing under a toolbar with a bunch of shapes? No idea.
You may wonder how I can’t remember this after all these years of using PhotoShop but again, I don’t open the thing every day because that’s why we hire graphic designers. I open it maybe 2-5 times a month, but I definitely still prefer to use PhotoShop over any other tool. I’m quick enough in it that really I don’t slow down when using this tool as compared to snag-it or other tools semi-related.
Well, as lame as this post is, I hope this might be of use to other non graphic oriented folks out there ;).
