So far, everything in this book has been about what you can do with Elements right out of the box. But as with many things digital, there’s a thriving cottage industry devoted to souping up Elements. Of course, signing up for a Photoshop.com account (Photoshop.com) gives you access to some extra goodies from Adobe, but there’s a ton of other stuff available, too. You can add new brushes, shapes, Layer styles, actions, and fancy filters. Best of all, a lot of what’s out there is free. And many of the tools are designed to make Elements behave more like Photoshop.

This chapter looks at some of these extras, how to manage the stuff you collect, and how to know when you really need the full version of Photoshop instead. You’ll also learn about the many resources available for expanding your knowledge of Elements beyond this book.