PSCS help please

I got a new laptop for my birthday and at long last can load the CS3 that my dad gave me at Christmas. I'm a life long PSP user. I've fiddled around in PSE & can use it well enough but CS3 is another thing entirely. Just little things like it not zooming in when I roll the mouse ball are driving me nuts. Where are some good tutorials on it? What are some things you wish the tutorials had told you that you found out later?

Also it appears I have Adobe Bridge as well. Does anyone use it for cataloging/tagging their photos & scrap stuff? I've got ACDSee 9 and it and Vista are not getting along, so I'm thinking of trying out what I have before I pay for something new. I'm thinking of just using Picasa to tag but it doesn't give the easy to see tag view like ACDSee and Bridge. Any other suggestions on tagging software would be welcome since I have to start over again no matter what I choose. Thnanks

I think the zooming in with the mouse wheel is set under the File-Preferences if I'm remembering correctly. I just started using PSCS3 a few weeks ago, so I don't know much about Bridge for tagging, etc. I'll keep my eye on this thread and maybe someone will teach us both.

I used PSP for years and now that I made the switch to PS I can't see myself ever going back!

yep... edit>preferences and then check "zoom with scroll wheel"

i don't use bridge so no advice on that.

I think you can use Bridge for tagging JPG files, but not PNG files...it uses metadata (in the actual files) to store the tags and PNGs don't support that.

The Bridge always slows down my PC and laptop so I've never used it for tagging.

you can use Windows Photo Gallery included with Vista to tag your scrap stuff. Just add the folders that you have the scrap stuff in and it will allow you to add tags. That is what I have been doing and it is working pretty well. Problem is I have two plus years of scrapping supplies to tag and it is taking FOREVER!!!

When you register your software you get a free 30 day trial to lynda.com. I would highly suggest going there and checking it out - they go step by step with videos on how to use CS3 and you can pause whenever you want to so that you can work along side of it. If you find you don't get to everything - you can subscribe to it monthly. I went from Elements to CS and really got a lot out of it and then used it for Dreamweaver and InDesign. HTH!