The recently released Photoshop Elements 12 isn’t hard to use. However, if you want to learn all its bells and whistles, you’ll want “Photoshop Elements 12: The Missing Manual” from O’Reilly Media.

The 648-page book costs US$44.99 for the print version and $35.99 for the ebook version. It provides jargon-free advice and step-by-step instructions (with illustrations). Readers will learn how to:

° Import, organize, edit, crop, and color-correct photos;

° Repair and restore old and damaged photos;

° Dress up your photos with dozens of filters, layer styles, and special effects;

° Create online albums, email-ready slideshows, and web-ready files;

° Make greeting cards, calendars, and flyers by adding text to images;

° Design photo books, scrapbooks, collages, and other projects;

° Create digital artwork from scratch, using tools to draw, paint, and blend.

The author, Barbara Brundage, has penned “Photoshop Elements: The Missing Manual” since Elements 3. She’s an Adobe Community Expert, and has been a member of Adobe’s prerelease groups since Elements 3. She’s been teaching people how to use Photoshop Elements since it first came out in 2001.

For more information about the book, including table of contents, author bios, and cover graphic, go to http://tinyurl.com/pq26qgj .