New Photoshop 5 Learns to Edit Type

It’s taken several years, but finally Photoshop’s Type tool behaves like… a Type tool!, Photoshop 5, the new version of Adobe’s undisputed leader among image-editing applications, began shipping this week with support for editable text. In previous versions, text entered in the Type dialog box was rasterized directly to pixels, which you then had to alter using Photoshop’s image tools. Also featured in this release are multiple levels of undo and redo via the new History palette, enhanced color management, built-in support for spot-color channels, built-in layer effects (such as drop shadows and bevels), a more robust Actions palette capable of automating almost all of Photoshop’s functions, and more. Upgrades are $199 (for full versions) and $299 (upgrading from the LE "light" version); the retail price is $999. Although the product officially shipped this week, Adobe is reporting a four to six week backlog of orders.