Recently Adobe made a huge splash by announcing the release of the Photoshop Lightroom 2.0 Public Beta. For those of you who aren’t aware, Photoshop Lightroom is Adobe’s digital photography workflow tool for professional photographers.

If you’re a registered Lightroom 1.0 user, you’ll be able to download and use the beta for the duration of the beta testing period. If you aren’t a registered 1.0 user, then you can still download and use the beta, but you’ll only be able to use it for a period of 30 days.

Users will be pleased to know that Lightroom 2.0 is available as a 64-bit application, which should cutdown on load and processing times and give users a more streamlined application to work with. Other features include the following:

Multiple Monitor Support -

LR is now optimized for multiple monitors and includes for modes for viewing on an alternate screen (Grid, Loupe, Compare, and Survey).

Enhanced Develop Module -

Users now have the ability to make non-destructive localized dodge and burn modifications to their photos.

Vignettes can now be applied post-crop. Meaning that the vignette will be rendered after the user crops the photograph, thus eliminating the vignette itself being cropped from the final composition.

Revamped Library -

The Library now has a more sleek and streamlined appearance which should simplify things a bit for beginners.

Another aspect of this streamlined interface is the Filter Bar. This feature is located at the top of the Library Module and allows users to instantly filter content based on text, flags, ratings, and metadata. This should make it easier for users to find what they need, when they need it.

Users can now create what is called a Smart Collection. Smart Collections are collections that automatically incorporate images based on a set of user-defined criteria. This is similar to adding rules in a mail application and gives you a tremendous amount of control when creating new catalogs while still giving you the joy of an automated process.

The Keyword feature of Lightroom also received an upgrade. Now when you’re adding keywords to your photos, Lightroom will give you some suggested keywords to help simplify the process.

Playing Better With Others -

Lightroom 2.0 now integrates much better with it’s “older brother” Photoshop CS3. Perhaps the best feature of this integration is the ability to open files in Photoshop as Smart Objects. This allows you to bring a file from Lightroom into Photoshop and edit it non-destructively with Photoshop’s Smart Filters. Of all the enhancements of Lightroom 2.0 this one is definitely in my top-five.

Merging documents between Photoshop and Lightroom has gotten a lot easier as well. In LR 2.0 users have the ability to merge multiple photos into a panorama using Photoshop’s Photomerge feature, combine multiple exposure images into a single Photoshop HDR image, and also load multiple files into a single PSD document with each one residing on its own layer.

Printing Made Easier -

Another area that saw vast improvement in Lightroom 2.0 was the printing module. Users can now create multi-page layouts using the Picture Package feature, and output directly to JPEGS upon print.

In addition to the enhanced features of Lightroom 2.0, Adobe has gone to great links to make sure that you can test the new beta version while still being able to continue your primary workflow in the original version of Lightroom. One such feature that they have implemented is that you will not be able to open LR 1.x catalogs in Lightroom 2.0. This will ensure that you don’t accidentally open your catalogs in the beta program, thus avoiding potential damage or data loss down the road.

If you would like more information about the new Photoshop Lightroom Public Beta, visit Adobe Labs, The NAPP Lightroom Learning Center, or my website at http://www.justinseeley.com.