I've tried to use this tool to convert a color image to B&W, but the whole process seems much more complicated than the fast and effective Channel Mixer that we had with PE2. Moreover, while there are many published hints on using the Photoshop Channel Mixer for this conversion, there are no guidlines for using this tool for B&W. For instance, should the 6 sliders add up to some total value, comparable to 100 for the original tool? Can you have a single channel set with both darken and lighten values, or should one of them be returned to 0? What is a good place to start, and what would be a recommended adjustment order? This is like a nail gun when all I want is an honest hammer and nail.

minutae:text on page 161 refers to Figure 5.31. What it really wants is Figure 5.29 on previous page. The real Figure 5.29 is missing.

I would love to know this as well. I bought the book mainly for this purpose. I had upgraded to Elements 3 and couldn't use the hidden elements from 2. I have read and read the book and to me it just does not explain in depth how to do this. Maybe it just seems confusing because it was so easy in the previous version. I have been coming to this site for months looking for the answer and no luck. However I am glad that someone else had the same question. Maybe one day Richard will answer it.

It was easier in the previous version, perhaps, but that same function was not available at the time I was putting the book together. You have to think about it differently, but really this is the same thing.

As far as settings, the totals should add up to about the same (sort-of; I have had a change of concept as far as that goes; it really depends on the image exposure and lighting conditions--and what you want to achieve). The calculations are a little different: add the numbers for the opacity layers that are called ADD and subtract the numbers for the layers called SUBTRACT. Usually you will want to use either the add or subtract for any one component. HOWEVER, you can use both to get additional effects.

The layer composite you get with the function as I set it up is exactly what you get with the Channel Mixer. However, this also offers more options for customizing--which, if you are using Channel Mixer for conversion to B&W, you will want to have--because you can work positive and negative value sliders separately. For example, you can get something that resembles a solarizing effect by setting as follows:

Red Subtract 0
Green Subtract 100%
Blue Subtract 0
Red Add 100%
Green Add 100%
Blue Add 0%

You can't do a similar thing with Adobe's Channel Mixer.

if you have specific settings that you like to use in channel mixer, I can tell you how to set them up.

Crashbowman (and others who are looking for answers!)

...Please ask questions if you have them instead of waiting around for an answer. If you have the question, it is very likely that other people have the same one. If no one asks, it would have to be luck that i would answer it. I would hope to have seen many more questions on this forum. it requires reader participation.

Thanks!

Richard,

Thanks for the prompt response. I really appreciate it. I guess I should have been a little more specific in my post. I really started looking for the answer here before there was even a Hidden Elements 3 forum. I got the book right when it came out and there was not a forum yet. I have just periodically came back around, looking on the website as well. I think I was just shocked yesterday when I saw jbrucechen's post was from March and he still did not have an answer. I will not hesitate to ask more questions. Thank you so much. I got to thinking yesterday and more today when I read your post that the old version had a posititve and negative side to it as well. Making it in my mind now much more similiar to the old version.

Thanks again.

I guess you have to think about this one a little more -- but Adobe can't take this one away ;-) . The hidden one could disappear with any new version.