As you know, your digital camera embeds background info into your photos (called EXIF data) and Photoshop embeds its own info when you edit the image (called File Properties). However, in Photoshop CS you can add your own info (called IPTC data) in the IPTC area within the Metadata palette in the File Browser. This is where you might embed your copyright info, Web site, or other comments that people viewing your file might find important. To add your info, just click to the right of any IPTC item that has a Pencil icon in front of it, and a field will appear where you can enter your own custom info.

Do your Photoshop .psd file sizes seem a little large? It may be because of a preference setting that makes Photoshop save a flattened version of your Photoshop image, along with your layered Photoshop file.

Why does Photoshop do this? Because there's a slight possibility you might share this file with someone using Photoshop 2.5 (just like there's a slight possibility that Congress will vote to cut their own salaries), and Photoshop 2.5 didn't support layers, so it can't read your layered document. But because, by default, that flattened version is included in your layered file, guess what2.5 can open the flattened image. What luck! Who cares? I'd rather have smaller file sizes all year long, and if you would too,

go under the Photoshop menu (the Edit menu in Windows), under Preferences, under File Handling, then in the File Compatibility section, for Maximize PSD File Compatibility, change "Ask" to "Never." Think about this one for a minute and you'll wonder why this is turned on by default. Think about it for two minutes and you'll wonder why it's in Photoshop at all. Don't spend too much time on it, or you'll start to wonder who's the poor soul that's stuck on version 2.5.