This book, as the ad says, does exactly what it says on the cover. It is a desktop quick reference for anyone who uses Photoshop, whatever their ability or the job in hand. O'Quinn breaks down the leading image editor into a comprehensive explanation, guide and description of each tool, command, dialog window and option available - quite a feat for such a sophisticated program.
Personally, the timing could not have been better. I work in Photoshop for most of each working day, and have just installed Photoshop 5. Having a clear, no-nonsense guide to new features as well as the old is invaluable. This second edition makes me sorry not to have had the first, on Photoshop 4. It would have saved a lot of time that was spent sorting out the actions and its other new features. It is simply and effectively laid out, with black and white illustrations, from the very first menu option to everyday techniques and shortcuts. Common errors are covered, along with the sort of small details that can save the user time and frustration.
Most of the more creative techniques documented are not ones that I will use, running Photoshop as a digital darkroom to balance colours and crop images on The Irish Times picture desk. Many dozens of pictures are handled each day, and the integrity of the image is paramount. The rule is that anything that cannot be done in a traditional darkroom will not be done in the computer. It is still comforting to have help on hand for day-to-day techniques or for occasions when picture files need that extra little tweak to get the best reproduction possible.