Well, let's begin by opening the application. Once you have Photoshop open and running, you'll notice that on the left is a tall, skinny toolbox with many icons which represent graphically the function(s) they perform. That's right; many of the tools have multiple functions (just to make things more interesting.)
On the Right hand side of the window you'll see a 'stack' of palettes which allow you to control the characteristics of the TOOL you've selected in the Toolbox.
Click on 'FILE' and select 'NEW' from the drop down menu. When you do, another option box appears with the word 'NEW' in the title bar. Below that, you'll find option boxes where you can enter the parameters that define your new image workspace.
Place your mouse cursor in the NAME space and create a filename of your choice. "TESTPIC" might be a good choice, but that's up to you.
Next, TAB into the WIDTH option box and type 5, tab to the width UNITS option and click the "DOWN" arrow. A drop-down option box appears with several unit options available. Select 'INCHES'.
Tab to the HEIGHT option box and type 7, tab over and be sure 'INCHES' is selected there as well.
Accept the default RESOLUTION (which should read 72 pixels per inch), and leave the MODE and CONTENTS defaults at RGB and WHITE (background).
Click on OK and an empty, WHITE rectangle will appear in the workspace. It represents a 5x7 inch picture. So let's create a basic picture in the space. At the same time, you'll see that a horizontal panel has opened up in each of TWO of the palettes at the RIGHT side of your screen. One is the HISTORY TAB. It has a small rectangle with the title you gave your work.
Below that is a BLUE bar with the word NEW. The HISTORY palette records EVERYTHING you do to your picture. Really handy if you want to change something immediately or dump a whole BUNCH of changes all at once.
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