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USING PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS 8
Glossary
Last updated 7/26/2011
scanning The process of converting a tangible image, such as a slide or print, into a digital image by using light shining
onto sensors such as Charged Couple Devices (CCDs).
scatter Determines how brush marks are distributed in a stroke.
scatter spacing Determines the spacing between elements in a brush stroke.
Scitex file A high-resolution file for use with proprietary Scitex systems. Photoshop Elements can open Scitex files that
are in RGB color mode.
scratch disk Photoshop Elements’ own virtual memory system, which uses any disk drive or drive partition with free
space. You can designate scratch disks to be used whenever there is not enough RAM to perform an operation.
screen resolution The dimensions of the pixel grid used by a monitor.
selection A part of an image selected for manipulation of any kind—duplication in a layer, color correction, deletion,
rotation, and so on. The selection consists of all the pixels—fully or partially selected—contained within the selection
boundary.
selection module A plug-in that enables you to make a selection in Photoshop Elements, such as the TextureSelect
plug-in that is used by the Magic Selection Brush tool and the Magic Extractor.
sepia print A photograph in tones of brown. Photo-editing programs simulate this antique look by applying special
effects.
shadows The darkest elements in an image, and the degree of detail that is discernible in those the dark portions. (See
also
“highlights” on page 296.)
shape layer A layer that contains vector-based shapes. (See also “layer” on page 297.)
sharpening In photo-editing programs, any functionality that enhances the details at the edges of photographed
objects and people. Sharpening is often applied as part of in-camera processing as well, although no sharpening is
applied to camera raw file images. (See also
“Unsharp Mask” on page 303.)
sharpening halo An artifact, seen as a bright ring or line around edges, caused by too much sharpening. (See also
“artifact” on page 291.)
silhouette A dark mass outlined against a light background.
simplifying Converting a text layer, shape layer, solid color layer, gradient layer, or pattern fill layer to a regular image
layer. You must simplify these layer types before applying filters or using the painting tools.
single channel images An image that contains one channel such as a bitmap-mode, grayscale, or indexed-color image.
16-bit grayscale A high-bit image mode that can contain thousands of shades of gray. Photoshop Elements supports
flattened 16-bit images (it does not support layers in 16-bit images).
skewing Deviation of the content of an image from a vertical or horizontal axis. Skewing can be a camera artifact or
an intentionally applied effect.
slices Portions of an image in Photoshop that divide the image into functional areas. Slices are not supported in
Photoshop Elements.
smoothing A technique for averaging the values of neighboring pixels to reduce contrast and create a soft, blurry
effect.
spot channels A Photoshop channel that contains a spot color such as a Pantone color. Photoshop Elements does not
support spot channels.
sRGB An RGB color space that’s now a standard on the web. Most computer monitors can display only the colors in
the sRGB color space. (See also
“color space” on page 293.)
