1. What are the six main sections of the Photoshop work area?

A. The Menu bar (along top left) contains File, Edit, View etc. menus.
B. The Tool options bar (under menubar) shows properties of the "current" tool that a user can choose. For example, with the Type Tool selected, the tool options bar allows the user to choose the font family, font style, font size, etc.
C. The Toolbox (along the left-hand side) allows the user to select the tool, i.e. to determine in what way he or she will be editing the work.
D. The Palette Well (top, right) is a compact area to have palettes that are not fully displayed.
E. The Palettes (along the right-hand side) are collections of associated options.  For example the color palette allows one to select the color mode, background, color, foreground color. etc.
F. The Image Window corresponds to the file/document one is working on.  In CS2 the Image Window has a status bar along the bottom which allows the user to display a number of features of the current file.

2. How would you reset your Palette locations?

On the menu, go to Windows/Workspace/Reset Palette Locations.

3. How would new Photoshop users activate the Tool Tips command?

On the menu, go to Edit/Preferences/General .... On the resulting dialog box, make sure that Show Tool Tips is checked in the Options area.

4. Where can you change how your cursor is displayed for different tools?

On the menu, go to Edit/Preferences/Display & Cursors ... (or if you went to Preferences/General, then hit the Next button until reaching the Display & Cursors dialog box or select Display and Cursors from the drop-down list at the top of the dialog box). Here one can select from a variety of options such as precise which provides cross-hairs so that one can set see precisely where the effect is being applied or standard which will vary the cursor icon according to the tool being used.

5. I want to add an additional Plug-in Directory. What would I have to do to activate this?

On the menu, go to Edit/Preferences/Plug-Ins & Scratch Disks ... Checking the box Additional Plug-Ins Folder brings up another dialog box that allows the user to select a folder containing the plug-ins that one wants availaible to future projects.

6. If you want to record a log of all the edits you perform on an image, where would you activate this function?

On the menu, go to Edit/Preferences/General ... , check the History Log checkbox in the lower half of the dialog box.  This option allows one to track the changes made to an image (either as part of the file -- the metadata option) or a separate file.  It can track basic session information or more detailed information about how the file was modified.

7. What does it mean if you are working on a large Photoshop file and see the alert, "Your scratch disk is full"? What are some of the solutions available to you?

A computer's physical memory refers to the actual RAM chips installed on its motherboard. The memory must be shared with the operating system, other application software, and data files (in this case image files).  As any of these may require more capacity than there is memory, one extends the effective amount of memory on a computer by designating a part of the computer's hard drive as virtual memory. Photoshop refers to the virtual memory as the "scratch disk," so the message "Your scratch disk is full" indicates that one has insufficient memory (physical plus virtual) to handle the current manipulation of the image file. The link <http://www.adobe.com/support/techdocs/316693.html> suggests several options for handling this situtation.

One approach is to reduce the resolution and thus the file size of the image (by going to Image/Image Size). The other basic approach is to expand the virtual memory.  There is the computer's general virtual memory which can be expanded.  There is also a way to let Photoshop know about other drives that might be used as vitual memory by going to Edit/Preferences/Plug-Ins and Scratch Disks .... The above link mentions defragging, which while a good idea in general, seems to me to be more about speed than capacity.  They don't mention shutting down other applications that might be running and installing more memory.

8. What are some of the advantages of using the File Browser instead of a desktop folder?

The menu option File/Browse brings up an interface that allows one to search for and open files in Photoshop.  When opening the files on one's own system, it shows more information than the File/Open approach.  For instance, examining the metadata tab on the lower left-hand side of the interface, I can see that the studentfile2.psd (the horses) have undergone a free transform operation in which it was rotated -7.8 degrees. The File/Browse option also allows one easy access to the Adobe Stock Photos which is reached by clicking on the link on the top left-hand side.  

9. Describe the difference between a 'flattened' PSD file and an 'unflattened' PSD file. Why would you use one form of the file over the other?

A work in Photoshop may have multiple layers, which are useful when manipulating complicated images.  An unflattened Photoshop file (PSD) keeps these multiple layers in tact so they are available at a later time, to another user, etc. A flattened file, on the other hand, has only one layer -- the multiple layers are collapsed into one.  One loses the ease with which the file can be further edited, but one gains in portability in that more applications can handle the flattened file and that the file is smaller in size.

10. Describe two ways to create images in Photoshop.

A. On the menu, go to File/New ..., a dialog box will arise for the user to make various decisions concerning the new file to be opened.
B. Using the keyboard shortcut, Crtl+N, that is, hitting the Control key and N key simulatneously, opens the same dialog box mentioned above.   

11. I want to specify that my file be saved with all layers, with annotations and as a copy. Where would I administer these commands?

On the menu, go to File/Save As ..., a dialog box will arise for the user to make various decisions concerning saving the file.  These include those mentioned in the question -- whether to keep the layers or flatten the file (the Layers checkbox should be checked to keep the layers), whether to keep annotations/notes (the Annotations checkbox should be checked to keep notes, the checkbox will be grayed out if there are no notes or other annotations), and whether to save as a copy (The As a Copy checkbox should be checked to save the file as a copy).

12. Where would you find subcommands for Menu items such as File, Edit, Image, Layer, Select, Filter, View, Window and Help?

When one clicks on the main menu item on the menu bar, the subcommands associated with that menu appear beneath it.  For example, when one clicks on File in the menu bar, a list of options including New ..., Open ..., Browse ..., etc. appear below File.

13. What does a small black triangle in a Menu subcommand indicate?

A small triangle next to a menu subcommand indicates that there is an associated submenu for which the subcommand serves as the main menu item. For example, clicking on Image and mousing over Mode automatically opens a submenu containing options such as Bitmap, Grayscale, etc.  Options that are currently unavailable will be grayed out.

14. What do three small dots after a Menu subcommand mean?

The three dots are known as an ellipsis.  Their use is menus implies that the option is not a simple one and that more input from the user is needed.  A dialog box will arise allowing the user to supply additional information or choose one or more parameters from sets of options.

15. How would you bring up the Status Bar?

In CS2, the status bar is along the bottom of the Image Window which holds the working area for the image file being edited.

16. If I wanted to check the amount of RAM and scratch disk used to process my image as I work on it, where would I look?

The status bar along the bottom of the Image Window displays information about the file being edited.  One can change the infromation that is displayed by clicking on black triangle and then on Show and finally on the option of one's choice.  In particular, one can select the Scratch Sizes option to display the amount of Ram and scratch disk used.

17. What are some of the benefits to using the Status Bar while you work on a file?

The status bar can provide any of a number of pieces of information regarding the file, such as file size (including an estimate of the flattened file size) or the current tool being used or how long the last operation took.  It allows one to track the selected property as the file is edited or to switch between properties to examine the current status.  

18. What file format is most used for continuous tone images that are prepared for web use?

JPEG is a format suited for presenting photographs and the like on the web.

19. If you wanted to create an animated image or a transparent image for a web site, which file format would you save as?

GIF is a format suited for presenting drawings/graphics (images with limited colors, up to 256) on the web.  

20. What file format(s) will preserve layers in your file?

Unflattened PSDs, TIFFs and PDFs all preserve the layers of one's image file.

21. What are Keyboard Shortcuts and why would you want to use these?

A keyboard shortcut is a way to perform a task by typing selected keys rather than using the mouse to proceed through menus.  They are generally much faster, the only problem is that one has to remember them.

22. If you want to create your own custom keyboard shortcuts, how would you go about doing this?

On the menu, go to Window/Workspace/Keyboard ShortCuts & Menus and the click on the Keyboard Shortcuts tab. Click on the arrow next to a main menu item to find its subcommands.  One can then highlight a subcommand that does not have an associated keyboard shortcut (e.g. File/Place ...), a textbox opens up under Shortcut, type the proposed shortcut (e.g. Ctrl+.), it will warn you if the shortcut is already being used. Then click the Add Shortcut button which should now be enabled. Click the OK button to accept the change and close the dialog box.  The keyboard shortcut should now give rise to the desired task.  Furthermore, a reminder of it will appear next to the menu subcommand.

23. Where can I quickly find Keyboard Shortcuts for Menu Bar commands?

When a menu is opened, one sees not only the subcommands but also in many cases the corresponding keyboard shortcuts.  For instance, across from the menu subcommand File/Save for Web is its keyboard shortcut Alt+Shift+Ctrl+S which will have the same effect (bring up the same dialog box).