I apologize that I don't have any images or video demos for this, or that there is no real index yet. I am working on it, but thought that at least some sort of text for CS4 was better than reading about something 3 years out of date!

INTRODUCTION

Adobe Photoshop has been around for almost 20 years, and was developed by Tom and John Knoll, brothers who had a passion for both technology and art. Originally intended as a way to view and edit images, it's become much more over time, and illustrators as well as photographers, embrace it as the state of the art software for bitmapped images. Adobe purchased the rights in 1989, and Photoshop version 1 was introduced to the visual communications world in 1990.

Many improvements to the original application have been made, and Photoshop CS4 (version 11), while remaining essentially an image making and editing program, is far more powerful in terms of providing a flexible work environment, including the ability to create alterations without damaging an original photo or piece of art.

Integration with Adobe Bridge makes managing images much easier, and the newest interface offers many more options for common tasks, as well as the option to customize the workspace or select from a number of presets.

Before you can work in Photoshop, you need to either open an existing image, or create a new blank canvas. Opening an existing image is simply a matter of choosing Open from the file menu (command O).

Choosing to create a new image (File > New, or Command/Ctrl N) opens the New document dialog box where you can choose a canvas size from a variety of Presets, or to type in dimensions. There are several standard sizes available in the Preset pop-up menu. Or type in the dimensions you want. You may choose to measure your document in inches, pixels, centimeters, etc. If you’ve copied something from Illustrator or another Photoshop document, the dimensions in the width and height fields will reflect the size of what’s in your clipboard.

The “new” dialog box also allows you to name your document, but don’t confuse this with saving it... until you chose “save” from the File menu, your image is just a figment.

The issue of resolution is important; if the image you are creating is going to be used on the web, then 72 pixels per inch is fine. If, however, it's going to be used for print, the resolution should be set anywhere between 150 pixels per inch up to 300 pixels per inch. Resolution refers to the number of pixels per inch Photoshop will use to create the image.

Color Mode is where you determine whether to work in CMYK for an image that was going to be printed, or in RGB for images that will be displayed on a monitor (on a website, for instance). The truth is, working in RGB will keep your files size smaller and you can still use CMYK color values for painting and drawing. If the image will ultimately be used in a printed piece, you must change the color mode once the image is complete. Another benefit to using an RGB color space is that many of Photoshop's filters are not available to use in a CMYK image. Likewise, some of the other formats (like jpg and gif files) can't take advantage of them—but more about file formats later.

Background Contents refers to the color of the "canvas" you're creating. White is the default color, and you can choose from transparent, or any other color you might want. Note, however, that choosing a transparent background will only remain transparent if you save your file as a gif or PNG for the web. Any other format, like tiff (used most for print) doesn't support transparent backgrounds. If you choose a white background, your default layer, “background,” will be locked. You can get around this by double-clicking on the layer name and naming it something different.

In the lower right of the “new” dialog box, Photoshop lets you know what size (in terms of K and MB) your image will be. Remember that as you add information to the file, it will get larger.

If you plan to work with an image you have already scanned in, choose “open” from the File menu. Locate your digital photo or scanned image and double-click on it to open it. Before you do anything, it is smart to choose “save as” from the File menu and change the format to Photoshop. Name the file differently from your scan or digital photo, or save it to a new folder or disk, so you retain the original image for future use.

NOTE: Always use Save As when opening a digital photo for the first time and changing the format type from JPG / JPEG to PSD (Photoshop’s default file format).

Photoshop will automatically add the appropriate file type extension if that option is selected in the Preferences pane (Photoshop > Preferences). Remember that just typing the file format after a file name doesn’t make it so—you have to choose the correct format from the pop-up menu in the Save dialog box.

Always save the original scans; they don’t take up huge amounts of space so it’s no big deal to save them in case you need them again.

Saving your document in the Photoshop format will allow you to use the tools more effectively—the magic eraser and clone tool especially—as well as the “revert” option (under File). Revert lets you get back to the last saved version of your file in cases where changes you have made to it are unsatisfactory.

Everything you do on a computer has a “resolution”—that is, a number of pixels per inch (ppi)—that creates the image you see on your monitor. Since Photoshop draws pixel by pixel, resolution becomes a critical factor in planning your image.

Screen resolution—the number of pixels per inch that your monitor displays—varies depending on the monitor’s settings (you can set a Mac monitor to anything from 640 X 480 pixels to 1600 X 1024 pixels).  The higher the resolution, the smaller the pixels and consequently the more detailed the image. The real issue that you need to pay attention to is where the final image will be used—on screen, or for print.

A print a document with a resolution of 72 pixels per inch looks horrible: you can see each little square (pixel) once it’s translated to paper. The only time you want to actually use a resolution of 72 is if your work will only be viewed on a computer or TV screen, or if you’re just fooling around; experimenting or practicing. Obviously, the advantage to a low resolution is gaining speed, and saving memory. The most common reason for low resolution images these days is for use on the web.

An image resolution of 150-300 is best for print documents, and larger numbers increase the file size proportionally.

Then there is printer resolution: how many dots per inch (dpi) are used to recreate the image on paper. A typical laserwriter has a dpi of 300 to 600. More sophisticated desktop printers can have resolutions of up to 1800 dpi. If the final destination of your image is to a desktop printer, make sure that your image resolution divides into your printer resolution evenly—no remainders.

Finally, there is halftone resolution—how your image is broken into the dots that are required for commercial printing either in black & white, or in color. Halftone resolution is measured in lines per inch (lpi) since traditionally, the screen used to create a halftone is made up of perpendicular lines, through which the image is translated.

In Photoshop, there is a direct link between image resolution (ppi / pixels per inch) and halftone resolution (lpi / lines per inch). A Photoshop image should have a resolution of 1.5 to 2 times that of the halftone screen that will be used in printing. If your image will be printed in the newspaper, with a typical halftone screen of 85 lpi, your Photoshop image should be between 128 and 170 ppi. For a high quality art book, the images might have to be upwards of 400 ppi.

It is important to know where an image will finally end up before you scan it, or before you begin working from scratch. Increasing the ppi later in the game means that the computer will make up (invent) information about what the image looks like: the results are loss of detail and clarity. While scanning at a higher resolution than might be ultimately necessary can be a pain, in terms of time and disk space, it is a lot safer than scanning at a low resolution and sampling your image to a higher resolution later, which you should never do.

This is especially true if you plan on using a Photoshop image in a page layout program like Adobe InDesign or Quark XPress. If you find you need to enlarge your picture within either of those programs, you will only be enlarging pixels—the little squares that make up the image—and not increasing the actual resolution. The result will be highly unattractive, unless, of course, that is the effect you are after. And, frankly, we know too much about computer-generated images, and how sophisticated the technology is at this point, to buy the rationale that you “wanted it to look like a computer image.”

A word about sampling: this is the term used to define changing an image’s resolution. Sampling UP means you are adding pixels per square inch. Since there is no real digital information for Photoshop to process when increasing the number of pixels, it analyzes the existing image, and then invents new pixels based on the information it finds (illustrated by the yellow squares in this illustration. If you were to decrease the resolution (sample DOWN) the existing pixels are merely split/divided into smaller bits.

Suffice to say, it’s always better to sample DOWN than it is to sample up.

If you are cutting and pasting different images to create a montage, it is important that the resolution of each image is close, if not identical. For example: if one image was scanned with a resolution of 100 ppi, and another at 200 ppi, trying to paste some of the 100 ppi image into the 200 ppi image will result in a size that is 1/2 of what you thought it should be. Think about it: you’re taking something that has 100 bits of information per inch. You are putting it into something that contains 200 pixels of information per inch. 100 pixels fills100 pixels, no matter what the ppi is. And, if you are going in the opposite direction, a 200 ppi piece of information is going to take up twice as much space in a 100 ppi file; pasting something that was created at 200 pixels per inch into something that’s 100 pixels per inch will result in its being twice as large.

One difference between Photoshop and its sister program, Illustrator, is in the work window. Where you can place bits of vector art around the artboard in Illustrator—imitating the original hands-on practice of working on a drawing table—Photoshop's image window is the exact size of the image, and more like working on a canvas set up on an easel. The gray area around the canvas in Photoshop will preserve any image that has been pasted into the file until the layers are flattened. However, anything you might paint off the edges disappears forever right away.

Across the very top of the monitor are Photoshop’s menus. Just below is a new panel called the Application bar. This feature has been added to almost all of the CS4 family. It features, in Photoshop, the option to launch Bridge, show and hide guides or rulers, select a view size, quickly select the hand tool for scrolling within an image, the magnify tool for zooming in and out, and Rotate View tool (new!). You can also choose to arrange several open files in several ways, as well as determine the view mode for the program itself.

An Options bar (just under the Application bar) changes depending on what tool you're using. Pay attention to what happens here... a tool might not work as you expect it to, depending on the options selected. See the section on Tools for how to use this terrific feature in detail.

A variety of panels can be opened from the Window menu and include a color palette, swatches, layers, channels, paths, character, history, adjustments, masks, and actions palettes, to name some of the more useful ones. These can float, or remain docked at the right of the workspace. You can collapse them to icons, or enlarge them to see which each one does. You can also rearrange the order in which the are stacked from top to bottom, and even create different groups, depending on your work preferences. Use the Application bar to select a new workspace (which panels are open automatically and how they are arranged), or to save your own.

The Status bar at the very bottom left of the document window has a couple of interesting fields. The first is the magnification; double-click this number to select it and type in a different view size. The small pad icon to the right of that tells you by it’s color whether the document has been saved or not, and whether it’s being managed using Version Cue or not; if clicking on it does nothing, then Version Cue is not active.  Depending on how you’ve chosen to display document information, you can view the size of your image while it’s open as well as the size it will be when saved, or the amount of RAM you are using and the amount of (actual) RAM available. There are options to double-check multiple aspects of the current file; access them by clicking the small triangle to the right and selecting Show >.

Holding the Command key down while clicking here will show you your image area as defined in pixels and tiles (use tiling to print a large image in sections).

Hold the Option key and click to see the image dimensions.

Using the Preferences option under the Photoshop menu will streamline how Photoshop works for you, depending on your, well, preferences.

The General panel handles the fundamental ways Photoshop works. There are a couple of new options here that are fun: Animated Zoom, and Enable Flick Panning. Check them to see the Photoshop developers’ sense of humor. There are others that you should try—Zoom with Scroll Wheel, for instance—but may not necessarily be comfortable to use based on your current mouse settings.

The Dynamic Color Slider option shows you which color you’re going to get as you move the RGB or CMYK sliders when creating a color.

Under the Interface options, you can set what the workspace looks like. Prior to CS4, the interface was very standard, with no bells and whistles. Now all the Adobe programs consume your entire monitor and display documents in various ways. The Interface options are where you can decide whether open documents are displayed with an outline (used to be the default), a drop shadow, or nothing surrounding them.

Remember Palette Locations is very handy, especially when you own your own machine: Photoshop will remember which floating palettes you had open, and where they were on your screen, When you re-launch Photoshop again, they will show up where you left them. Very nice. You can also use the Application Bar > Workspace menu to save the current workspace—especially handy if you share your computer.

Even when there is no document open, a large gray space occupies the document area, preventing any desktop clutter from showing. This can be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on how you’re used to working. To get rid of this, go to Window > Application Frame and uncheck it.

File Handling deals with what you see once you’ve saved a Photoshop image. One of the more valuable pieces here is the option to add the file format extension to your images. This ensures that you’re saving things in the right format for a particular job, rather than just naming the file with any extension you decide to type in. It’s especially important to save your files with the proper extension so other programs can identify them.

Under the Performance section, Photoshop lets you decide how much RAM (energy) you’re willing to dedicate to it, the number of History States (which determines the number of Undos available). Cache Levels determine how fast the screen redraws when scrolling or zooming in. The higher the number here, the faster it will redraw, and the more RAM Photoshop will use. Scratch Disks are secondary and tertiary storage media. If you run out of temporary storage space on your hard drive, Photoshop makes use of the empty disk space in a location you specify. This works best if the second and third sources are permanent external drives, rather than removable media such as a USB stick or an iPod.

The options in the Cursors panel determine what the tool cursors look like while you’re working. This is a hugely personal choice. Since most people who are learning the software for the first time don’t necessarily mess with the default preferences, they’re used to having the Paintbrush tool, for instance, always look like a paintbrush. When you really get into it, however, being able to actually see the size of the brush is very handy. If you like it both ways, you can use the Caps Lock key to toggle between views. If you are left-handed, setting the painting cursors to Normal, and the others to Precise gives you more control, and doesn’t subject you to all the backwards tool icons.

Use the Transparency & Gamut panel to establish the way Photoshop will handle displaying transparent areas in a document, and how it warns you when you’ve selected a color that’s outside the range of your current color mode.

The Transparency options determine whether or not you get a checkerboard pattern in any areas that have no color. This is moderately handy. I prefer no checks, but there are times when being able to see where you’ve neglected to eliminate a background on a layer is useful.

Gamut refers to the colors that Photoshop might be able to display, but your printer may not be able to reproduce. You can choose to have Photoshop “colorize” these areas with gray, or any other color you choose, so you’re aware that there may be issues when the file is printed. To actually see these areas in a document, choose View > Proof Setup, and then View > Gamut Warning.

Units & Rulers options establish your measurement system (pixels, points, inches, and so on), along with a column size feature (used when working on images that will be used in a publication such as a newspaper or magazine; set the column width to match the layout to ensure accurate sizing) and your points per inch preferences. You can set the unit of measure for Width in the New Document dialog box to Columns.

You can change your ruler increments any time while you’re working by Control-clicking in the ruler and choosing a different system from the contextual menu.

The Point/Pica Size option is truly a leftover from pre-digital typesetting, more than anything. Using the PostScript version of 72 points per inch is fine.

The Guides, Grids, & Slices panel lets you choose a color for guides and grids, and how they will be displayed. If you’re working on images destined for the Web, you might want to show the slice numbers as well as determine the color overlay that will show you where they are.

If you have third-party plug-ins for filters and effects, use the Plug-Ins & Scratch Disks panel to point Photoshop in the right direction to find them.

Photoshop was originally developed to “read” all sorts of different image file formats. Once artists got their hands on it, well, it became much, much more, and it still has the power to both read and save files in a variety of formats.

Saving your files frequently is always a good idea, just in case lightening strikes (I kid you not—it’s happened!). In Photoshop, however, you want to pay attention to the file format you’ve chosen.

For general image-making work, it’s best to save in Photoshop’s native format (PSD). Once your image is ready to publish—for printing or uploading to the web, or to use in another program—you will probably need to change the format to something else.

When you are ready to save your work for the first time, choosing File > Save or Save As will bring up a dialog box that lets you determine several things.

The first field lets you name your document. The extension that’s added depends on the file format you choose below. The next menu asks you to specify where you want your document saved. Always remember to navigate your way to your own disk or folder—otherwise, your work will end up in the computer’s Documents folder. If that’s where you want it, fine.

The third option is the file format. Photoshop can save documents in a number of formats—all relevant to one purpose or another.

Until you know what you will be doing with your image, always save in the Photoshop format (PSD). (Remember that even though saving something in a PICT, GIF, or JPEG format may make your file smaller, it will also degrade your image.) This is especially important if you are working on a digital photograph, which are typically JPG images. Save As to change that to PSD, since saving JPG images more than once can degrade the quality of the image without necessarily saving on file size. More about file types later.

Images that will be used in a layout for an ad, or brochure, or other printed matter, should be saved in either EPS or TIF format. Quark XPress requires one or the other of these in order to import the image. (InDesign CS (all versions) can import native Photoshop and Illustrator files.)

Web formats include GIF and JPG. The GIF format is best for straightforward, flat color images. JPG format is most appropriate for full color, continuous tone images and photographs.

Other common formats include PICT—which I use frequently for any scans I use as templates in Illustrator—PNG for images that will be optimized or otherwise altered in Fireworks, and PDF for use in Acrobat documents.

When you choose Save As, the “as a copy” option may be checked by default. Make sure this is what you want to do. If you’re not careful, you will save a copy of what you’re working on, and then continue to work on the original.

I use “Save as” once I have completed an image, flattened it, and deleted any channels and paths I don’t need. I always add the word “flat” to these files, so I can tell them apart from the originals (as in queenflat.psd, for instance). That way, the original, unflattened file is available for editing to suit another purpose.

The heart of any image-making or page layout software is the Toolbar. Photoshop's contains many tools (several dozen!), some of which are hidden behind others, indicated by a small triangle at the lower left corner. Click and hold to drag to a hidden tool. They range from retouching tools, like the clone stamp tool and the healing brush tools, to painting and drawing tools, like the paintbrush and pencil. (http://www.freetimefoto.com/photoshop_cs3_toolbox#eyedropper_tool)

To modify the way a tool works, use the Options bar located at the top of the workspace.

You’ll note in this illustration of the Options bar that you can adjust several aspects of a tool. If something is not happening the way you think it should, always check here to make sure the tool is set to work the way you want it to.

Select the brush tool. At the top right of the Options bar is a brush icon: click on this to open a pop-up palette, and select a preset brush style, or use the sliders to set a size and fuzziness (the higher the number, the harder the edge)

Or, click on the triangle at the top right to establish the look of this panel, and access a list of additional Brush libraries.

SELECTION TOOLS:

Move tool: This will move the selected item(s). If nothing is selected, it will move the entire layer (unless it’s the background layer, which is locked by default).

Rectangle Selection tool: click & drag around an area you wish to select. The dotted lines (a.k.a. “dancing ants / marching ants”) indicate the selected area. Hold the Shift key while you click & drag to constrain the shape to a square. Hold the Option key if you want the shape to draw from the center, rather from the corner.

Ellipse Selection tool: (behind the rectangle tool) you can draw circular selections (by holding the Shift key as you drag), or elliptical shapes with this tool.

Column and Row marquee tools: select a single row of pixels, or a column one pixel wide with these.

Cropping tool: this literally eliminates the portion of your image that is NOT selected. Click and drag around the area you wish to keep. You can adjust the size of the selected area by clicking & dragging the control points. Then, position your pointer inside the selected area, and double-click, or simply press Enter or Return. You can define a final cropping size and resolution in the Options bar if you wish.

Slice tool: if you are working on a fairly large image that is destined for the web, you may want to slice it up into smaller sections. Doing so allows each section, or slice, to load simultaneously which means the entire image will load a lot faster than if it was left whole. Slicing an image does not hurt the original; the slices are exported when you Save or Web & Devices. Slices are rectangles. When you create a slice by clicking and dragging, Photoshop places other slices on the image that it thinks make sense in terms of where you sliced. You can keep slicing to suit your needs, or let Photoshop take care of the rest of it.

Slice Select tool: use this to select a slice to move it, or to adjust the size and shape of it.

Lasso Selection tool: allows you to draw freeform shapes around a selection. In addition, you can add a feathered edge to your selection by defining the pixel width of the feather in the Options bar before you select anything. This can soften the edges just enough so that when you place a copy of an apple (for instance) in a basket, it looks like it’s real, rather than like a cardboard cutout.             

Polygon Lasso tool: instead of dragging a shape, just click corner points to define the shape of the selection. Either finish the shape by clicking on the first point again, or double-click and the selection will complete itself.

Magnetic lasso tool: allows you to select an object with more precision; set the tolerance in the Options bar and this tool will snap to the edge of the object as you draw. You do not have to hold the mouse button down as you draw around a shape, but feel free to click whenever you want to place an anchor point in a specific place.

Magic Wand tool: this is a selection tool, but rather than trace edges, it selects the portions of your image that are similar in color. Click on the part of the image you wish to select, and this tool will search out all adjacent pixels which match that color, and include them in the selection. Define a “tolerance” level for the selection process in the Options bar; set high tolerances to select more shades, or a low number for fewer colors that match (or are close to) the selected color.

Crop tool: click and drag around the portion of an image you want to save. Dancing ants and control points surround the shape, so you can move and resize it. Place the cursor just outside a corner to rotate the dancing ants (a great way to straighten a crooked scan or photo!). Double-click inside the area to execute the cropping, or press Enter or Return.

Eyedropper tool: selecting this tool and clicking on an area of your image will “load” that color as your current fill. You can toggle between any painting tool and the eyedropper by holding the Option key. To change your background color, hold the Option key and click with the eyedropper itself.

Color Sampler tool: this is used to determine and record up to three sets of color information in a document. Click in different areas and the Info panel will open and save the RGB and CMYK information. You can use the tool to move these sampled spaces (they are numbered on the image).

Ruler tool: open the Info panel, and click and drag with the ruler to determine the length of something, as well as the angle.

Note tool: along with the Note panel, you can click with this tool on a spot in an image and record information about it, such as retouching needs, color replacement needs (change the shirt from blue to orange, for instance) and so on. This can be particularly valuable when more than one person is going to be working on the same image file.

Count tool: use this to count the number of objects in an image—stars in the sky, or malignant cells in a medical imaging files. The total clicks is recorded on the image as well as at the top left of the Options bar

RETOUCHING TOOLS:

Spot Healing Brush tool: this is a great tool for disappearing small spots or blemishes in a photo—random dust marks or scratches. It samples the pixels surrounding the area to determine what clicking on the damaged area will produce. This works better by clicking, rather than clicking and dragging. Check the Options bar to experiment with the different settings.

Healing Brush tool: this is similar to the Clone tool (below) except rather than replacing pixels, it resamples pixels and then tries to match the color, texture, transparency, shading, and lighting. Option click to sample an area close to what you want to achieve, then paint over the damaged or otherwise “bad” area. Again, short strokes work better here than trying to scrub around.

Patch tool: use this for large areas that need to be repaired. It uses the same principle as the healing brushes, but you select an area to fix by clicking and dragging around it to select it, then drag the selection to an area that matches what you want. Note in the Options bar that you can drag a desired selected area over a problem area too replace it (Destination), or drag a problematic selected area over a desired area to match it (Source).

Red Eye tool: to remove the red from the eyes of people or animals, gently click on the area; check the Options bar if the results are lacking.

PAINTING TOOLS:

The paintbrush, pencil, eraser, clone tool, and others that fall in the “painting” category, are not only controlled by the Options bar, and the Brush Preset picker (at the top left of the Options bar) but by the Brush panel as well. Make sure, as you experiment with these tools, that you keep the Brush panel open (from the Window menu) and try the various options. For instance, clicking on Other Dynamics (the name) to select it, and then the Flow Jitter popup menu, you can have a brush stroke fade to nothing over a specific distance.

Paintbrush tool: the paintbrush works much like a real paintbrush, laying down (foreground) color, with soft edges. Use the Brushes panel to select the size brush you want, or the Options bar. Use the Options bar to select painting mode, as well as opacity. If you select the Airbrush option, you can also specify how much force is used in the spray using the Flow option.

Pencil tool: this draws in a freeform way, one pixel at a time. That is, it’s a hard-edged line, in the current foreground color. Choose the thickness of your lead by using the Brushes panel. In the Options bar, the auto erase feature erases what you did if you click on the pixel again.

Color Replacement tool: this is similar to painting with translucent ink, or dyes. Select a foreground color and start painting; the strokes will alter the color of what was underneath to tint it with the selected foreground color. This is great for changing a green shirt to a blue one, for instance, when retouching. Or for adding color to a black and white photo, as in the hand tinted photos of old.

Clone tool: This is fun. Hold down the Option key, then click in the center of an object to “load” your image into the clone tool. Then, move the cursor to another place in your document (or even another open Photoshop document!) and click and drag to place a clone of the selected area. You’ll find some interesting choices for cloning tool attributes in the Options bar. (Which is the real fox in my backyard, and which is the cloned imposter?)

Pattern Stamp tool: Pick a preset pattern (or define your own) from the Options bar and paint away.  

History Brush tool: You need to open the History panel for this; after making some changes to an image, select the History brush and then click to the left of a history state to tell Photoshop where in time you want to go. Then start painting; the brush strokes will reveal what the image looked like at that state. A very cool tool that can create some stunning visual effects.

Art History brush tool: as with the History brush, you need to click in the left column of a stage in the history palette before painting with tool. Then use the Options bar to select a method of painting, opacity, mode and so on. It’s kind of fun!

Eraser tools: this is how you erase portions of your image. You can “un-erase” areas previously erased by holding down the Option key as you use the tool. You have to save your image in the Photoshop format before this will work. Check out the different eraser sizes and attributes in the Options bar.

Background eraser tool: you can use this tool to erase the background area of an image—silhouette it—to transparent, rather than the canvas color. The settings in the Options bar determine how it “recognizes” the background, and what it will delete from the image. If you mess up, you can “un-erase” (above).

Magic eraser tool: just click on an area with this eraser and it disappears the whole object—sort of like selecting something with the magic wand, but you don’t need to select anything first. Determine the Tolerance (the range of color affected) using the Options bar.

Gradient tool: you must have some portion of your image selected, or this will fill the entire page. By default, this creates a gradient fill from the foreground color to the background color. Click and drag in the direction you want the fill to follow (i.e. top to bottom, at an angle, etc.). Use the Options bar to choose alternate modes of painting with this tool.             

Paint Bucket tool: fills selected areas with the current foreground color. If nothing is selected, it will fill adjacent, similar, pixels until it “hits” another color. Shortcut this tool by pressing Option and Delete together.             

MANIPULATION TOOLS:

Blur & Sharpen: these tool let you blur or sharpen parts of an image (the blur icon is a water drop shape and the sharpen tool, located behind the blur tool, is a triangle). Use the Brushes palette to select the size of the tool. The effect is subtle. To really see it work, enlarge your image two or three times with the magnifying tool (or command + to zoom in).           

Smudge tool: click & drag through areas to smudge colors—the color of the point where you click first will be smudged into the area you drag. It even works on a pencil line. Use the Brushes panel to choose the size and shape you want to use. The finger painting mode (in the Options bar), assumes you have a gob of paint on your finger as you smudge.

Dodge/Burn tool: much like the authentic skills of dodging and burning photos when they are being printed, these tools allow you to over- (lighten) or under-expose (darken) portions of your image. Behind these 2 tools is a sponge tool, which can either increase the intensity of colors (saturate) or decrease their intensity (desaturate).             

PEN TOOLS:

The pen tools in Photoshop do not draw edges as we know them from Adobe Illustrator, but rather create paths that can be stroked, or filled, turned into selections, and used as masks. Find the Freeform Pen tool, Add Anchor Point tool, Delete Anchor Point tool, and Convert Point tool all behind the pen tool.

Pen tool: this is used the same way as the one in Illustrator: click for corner points and click and drag for curve points.

Freeform Pen tool: draw as you would with a pencil. It creates a path that you can then edit using the Direct Selection tool (located a couple of tools down and behind the Selection Tool).
Add Anchor Point tool: add points to a path.

Delete Anchor Point tool: click directly on a point to eliminate it. If you can’t see any anchor points, open the Paths panel, and highlight the path you want to edit.

Convert Anchor Point tool: change curve points to corner points and vice versa.             

TYPE TOOLS:

Use the type tools to add text to an image. When letterforms are intrinsic to the success of your image, you may choose to rasterize it, in order to have the edges blend better, and appear smoother. While it does produce bitmapped type, it can create sensational effects for display type and web graphics. Make sure your resolution is really high to eliminate obvious “jaggies.”

Horizontal Type tool: after selecting the tool, choose the font family, style, and point size in the Options bar. You will also see the option for how the type is aliased (fuzzy or sharp). Select the text alignment and color. Finally, you can place text along a path, sort of, by using the Create warped text option. This is more like using the Envelope > Warp option in Illustrator.

Vertical Type tool: this types up and down rather than left to right (like a crossword puzzle). Ugh.

Horizontal Type Mask tool: use this tool to save type as a selection and modify it in a channel (if you want) before assigning a color to it. It creates a Quick Mask while you type, and dancing ants after you hit Enter.

Vertical Type Mask tool: as above, only up and down. (Ugh again)

Selection Arrows: use the Selection tool (solid arrow) to move a visible path, and the Direct Selection tool (hollow arrow) to manipulate anchor points and handles.

SHAPES:

The options you select for these tools are important; you can draw shape layers, shape paths, or filled shapes (Fill pixels).

Rectangle tool: hold the Shift key to constrain to a perfect square, and the Option key to draw from the center out.

Rounded Rectangle tool: set the radius of the corners in the Options bar.

Ellipse tool: hold the Shift key to constrain to a perfect circle, and the Option key to draw from the center out.

Polygon tool: use the Options bar to set the number of sides.

Line tool: use the Options bar to determine line width.

Custom shape tool: You need to create some shapes and save them first. To do this, create the shape with the pen tool, make sure the path is selected, then choose “define custom shape” from the Edit menu. Select this tool, and then select the shape from the Options bar. There are also several libraries of shapes to choose from, using the submenu                     

3D TOOLS:

I was surprised to learn that Photoshop had 3D capabilities in versions before this—they were hidden under the Layers menu! Evidently, pressure from 3D artists and animators was enough to bring these tools to the fore and they are now located at the bottom of the Toolbar. You do not necessarily need a 3D file to play with them; Select 3D > New Shape From Layer, and then choose a shape from the flyout menu. After you play with these tools, go through them all again, holding the Option key, to see how that applies a different effect to each.

3D Rotate tool: as the name implies, this rotates the object around all three axis, as in spinning in space

3D Roll tool: this also rotates the object, but only around the X axis (X axis is left/right, Y axis is up/down, and Z axis is close/far)

3D Pan tool: this tool actually imitates how moving a camera around an object would “see” the object, so in addition to it moving left to right, and up and down, it also changes the perspective of the object.

3D Slide tool: this will move the position of the object along the X axis by dragging left or right, or the Z axis by dragging up and down

3D Scale tool: no surprise here; it enlarges or reduces the object—it’s not about putting it further away, or closer, along the Z axis. You can enlarge the object’s thickness or height (Z), by holding the Option key as you drag.

3D CAMERA TOOLS:

This may be hard to grasp unless you are really into 3D (I am not!). These tools set the camera position relative to the object. The 3D tools (above) manipulate the actual object in space. Some of the results may look similar, but you have to remember that one is about the object’s position, and the other (these tools) are about where the “camera” is, in relation to the object. There are a lot of things you can do to a 3D shape with these tools, and lots of options under the 3D menu to play with.

3D Orbit Tool: imagine a shape floating in space, so that you could walk around it, look over and under it and that’s what this tool gives you.

3D Roll View tool: drag with this to sort of roll, or walk around, the (floating) object in a circle

3D Pan View tool: panning is when the camera moves closer, farther away, or from one side to another; it creates the illusion that the object is moving, but it’s the camera instead.

3D Walk View tool: this imitates a still camera while the object moves in front of it.

3D Zoom tool: the camera’s zoom lens in action.

Hand tool: (now also located in the Application bar at the top of the workspace) the hand allows you to scroll around the image area when it is too big to fit entirely on your screen. Click and drag the image to move it around. Shortcut the tool by merely holding down the Space bar and clicking and dragging your image around.

Rotate View tool: this literally spins your canvas around a center point—so if you wanted to work on something at an angle, you can move the canvas, rather than having to tilt your head. This is just a view option—it doesn’t actually rotate the canvas. If that’s something you need to do—to straighten a horizon line, for instance, use Edit > Transform > Rotate, or Free Transform.

Zoom tool: enlarge (click) or reduce (Option click) your view of the document. Click in the center of the area you wish to enlarge (or reduce). Click and drag to zoom in on a specific area. Shortcut the tool by holding down the Space bar and the Command key together (to zoom closer) or the Space bar, Command and Option keys (to zoom out). Double-clicking this tool will resize your document to 100% in size.              

FILE

New / command N: Choosing this will pull up a dialog box which allows you to create a new “canvas.”

Open / command O: This is how you open a scanned image, or open a document you have previously worked on and saved. Photoshop will recognize and open a significant number of file types, including JPG, GIF, PNG, AI, TIF, PDF, and EPS.

Browse in Bridge / command shift O: This feature opens Adobe Bridge. where you can poke around your hard drive, select folders and see thumbnail images of any image files in them. Double-clicking the image you want will open it in Photoshop.

Open As Smart Object: Smart Objects are typically vector-based images from Illustrator. When opened (or pasted or placed) in Photoshop, they retain their vector-ness, and can be altered in several ways, including adding filters.

Open Recent: select from a list of the most recently opened and saved files.

Share My Screen: this launches Adobe ConnectNow, an Internet application that lets you connect with others to collaborate, or trouble shoot. It’s an awesome feature! Remind me to demo it in class for you.

Device Central: if you are designing for mobile devices (a web page that will be seen on an iPhone, for instance) you can use this to either create the document from scratch, or test an existing document to see how it will display on that device.

Close / command W: this closes the active document window. It does not quit the application.

Close All / command option W: a handy way to close all open (and saved) files at once.

Save / command S: this saves your document in any format you specify—there are several to choose from in the “save” dialog box. Once you have saved a file, this just saves changes to the file, with no dialog box to deal with.

Save As / command shift S: this allows you to save your file with a new name, or to a new location. You can change the format of your file here as well—from Photoshop to EPS or TIF, for example, if you will be using the picture in Quark XPress. The “save as” dialog box saves the original file, and you then continue to work on the “saved as” file. Use Save As to save multiple stages in a project, to go back to if necessary.

Save for Web & Devices / command option shift S: this allows you to mess with the format, dithering, number of colors and other aspects of creating an image optimized for the web or mobile device. From this window, “output settings” specifies HTML attributes for the image. You can also test an image for mobile devices here to see how it will look.

Revert: choosing this will reverse any manipulations you’ve made since the last time you saved your document. TIP: if you hate what you’ve done and want to revert but can’t for some reason, just close the window without saving any changes, then open the document (assuming it was saved at least once before) again.

Place: if you want to place an image into an already existing Photoshop document, choose Place. It is a lot like Open except that you will place the image within the open documents, while Open just opens another window. Hit Enter for it to become part of the current image. It will be placed on a new layer and you can manipulate it the same way you would any other portion of the document.

Import: this is the place to access a scanner, so you can scan images directly into Photoshop, without using scanning software as a middle step. And, it may be where you go to retrieve images captured to a digital camera, depending on your software.

EXPORT OPTIONS:

Data Sets to Files: this option is used to export a series of files that rely on an external data set for compilation. For instance, you would set up a text file with categories (called Variables) like Picture, Name, and Description, and then type in the name of the picture, and the picture’s name and description. After creating the Data Set (based on named layers in a Photoshop file that match the variables) export it to generate the files with the data you created. This generates a separate Photoshop document for each item in the data set. It’s pretty cool! (http://www.layersmagazine.com/photoshop-variables.html)

Paths to Illustrator: Any path that you create in Photoshop can be saved and exported to Illustrator, where it can be opened like a normal Illustrator file. The path will be defined by the same anchor points you created in Photoshop, and is fully manipulate-able.

Render Video: You can, believe it or not, import a video file in Photoshop (File > Open, make sure Enable: All Readable Documents is selected) and then add an adjustment layer to it to lighten or darken the video (for instance). Once you’re happy with it (open the Animation panel from the Window menu to preview), select Export > Render Video. Very cool. (http://www.creativepro.com/article/easy-video-editing-photoshop-yes-photoshop)

Send Video Preview to Device: this is used to preview a file that is to be viewed on a television monitor, for instance, to make sure there is no interlace flickering, the colors are correct, and so on.

Video Preview:

Zoomify: this is an application that creates the SWF and HTML documents needed to be able to zoom in and pan around an image on the web. Just open any document and try it. Lots o’ fun.

AUTOMATE OPTIONS:

Batch: this will process the images you specify using a pre-recorded Action. There are several of these available in the default set, or you can record your own and select that instead. A great way to scale and save multiple images automatically, for instance.

Create Droplet: a Droplet is a small application that will batch process a file or the contents of a folder automatically. To create one, simply select this, then select the saved Action you want the Droplet to perform, a location, and so on.

Crop and Straighten Photos: if you should scan several photos in a single document, this option will place them into individual files, and straighten the edges of them, if they were crooked on the scanner. Nice!

Conditional Mode Change: this applies to Actions that you record; it allows Photoshop to perform the Action even if some conditions are not met.

Fit Image: when you select this, you are asked to specify EITHER a height or width, click OK, and the current image is enlarged or reduced to that dimension, scaled proportionately.

Merge to HDR: if you have taken the same photo several times using different exposures, this will combine them, taking the best details from each, to create a stellar image. HDR means High Dynamic Range. (http://www.photoshopcafe.com/tutorials/HDR_ps/hdr-ps.htm)

Photomerge: this uses multiple images as well, and it stitches them together to create a panoramic view.

SCRIPTS OPTIONS:

(http://codeidol.com/graphics/understandig-photoshop/Actions-and-Automation/Scripts/)

Image Processor: very similar to Batch, select the photos you want to alter, where you want to save them, and what Action you’d lie to apply.

Flatten All Layer Effects: if you have applied several Layer Effects to an image, this combines them into a single, flat layer that is no longer editable.

Flatten All Masks: a mask in Photoshop is a secondary thumbnail in a layer that is editable. Selecting this applies the mask to the image and deletes the editable portion.

Layer Comps to Files: you can create several views of a layered file by turning layer visibility on and off, which can be cumbersome if you have jillions of layers. Turn on the ones you want to see for one version of your file, and create a layer comp of it, then turn those off and others on for a different version and create another layer comp. Then, you can quickly flip between the layer comps in the Layer Comps panel, rather than trying to remember which layers to turn off and on again. Once you’ve got several, you may want to export them as separate files, and this is where you do it.

Layer Comps to WPG: WPG means Web Photo Gallery, so instead of PSD files, you’d get JPG files and the HTML to go with it.

Export Layers to Files: if you have a file where you’d like to save the layers separately—say, the text layer(s) separate from the photo layer(s), use this option. It’s a lot easier than duplicating each layer into a new document and saving it manually!

Script Events Manager: if you have saved Actions that you would like to run automatically, you can select them here.

Load Files into Stack: this command opens the files you select all into a single Photoshop file. Once there, you can use Edit > Auto Align, and Auto Blend to stitch them together into a panorama.

Load Multiple DICOM Files: this is used for medical imaging files.

Statistics: as with loading files into a stack, this layers multiple images on top of each other, and then analyzes them based on the stack mode you choose; it doesn’t create a panorama, but rather a composite image highlighting the results of the analysis.

Browse: allows you to browse for scripts that will affect Photoshop, or the current image automatically. Try Applications > Photoshop > Scripting > Sample Scripts > Javascript and double-click the one of your choice.

File Info: this panel of tabbed dialog boxes is used to attach information to your file which can be used by browser applications as well as providing the data required by the Newspaper Association of America, and the International Press Telecommunications Council.

Page Setup / command shift P: determines the printer you will be printing to, the paper size and orientation.

Print with Preview / option + command P

Print / command P:  this now opens a dialog box where you can enlarge or reduce, or reposition your image, add comments and generally have a lot more control over what happens than just “printing.” Once you press Print, you get an additional panel that lets you review the printer, page setup, and so on, based on the printer’s options.

Print One Copy / option + shift + command P: this immediately sends your image to the printer without any dialog box.

Quit / command Q: now located under the Photoshop menu, this will close your document and exit the application. If you haven’t saved something, Photoshop will ask you if you’d like to do that before it shuts down.

EDIT

Undo/Redo / command Z: this undoes, or redoes the last action you took—pressing command Z more than once just flips you back and forth between two states.

Step Forward / command shift Z: if you have stepped backwards several steps, you can move forward again with this command.

Step Backward / command option Z: this takes you back through the last 20 steps you took (more or less, if you have changed the number of History States in Preferences > Performance.

Fade / command shift F: this handy feature allows you to change the opacity of a fill you’ve just made, or the opacity of a filter you’ve just applied. Depending on what you’ve done, you can also change the blend mode.

Cut / command X: you must select something with a selection tool before you can cut it. Once cut, the item will be placed in the clipboard to be pasted somewhere later or until something else is cut or copied.

Copy / command C: this will copy a selected portion of your image and place it into the clipboard so you can paste it somewhere else.

Copy Merged / command shift C: usually, when you select something, Photoshop only looks as the layer in which you are working. “Copy merged” actually copies the content on all the layers within the selection marquee.

Paste / command V: this will place the last thing you cut or copied onto your image area. It will be placed on a new layer.

Paste Into / command shift V: this will paste whatever you copied (or cut) into a selection. You must have something selected before this is an option.

Clear: this will delete the selected object(s) without storing them in the clipboard for future use.

Check Spelling... and Find and Replace Text...: these features works only on text layers that have not been rasterized.

Fill: this will fill the selected element with either the current foreground color, black, white, grey, or a pattern. You can choose from the dialog box whether you want 100 percent color, or something lighter—which will be come more transparent the lower the percentage in the Opacity field. Other options here include influencing the selected area by using the different fill modes available.

Stroke: this will create an outline around the selected item, of the thickness/weight you specify and the position (inside the selection, outside, or straddling the middle) using the current foreground color

Content-Aware Scale / command option shift C: there is no excuse for ever distorting an image again with this amazing feature. It will scale an image in one direction, and preserve the proportion or scale of the main content, while scaling areas that are less “important” in the image. If you are working on an image with a person in it, make sure to turn on Protect skin tones in the Options bar.

Free Transform / command T: you can scale a portion of your image here—larger or smaller, skew (slant) it, throw it into perspective and so forth. Select the area you want to transform with a selection tool first, then use the corner points to make your transformations. Hold the Command key to drag corner points individually. Double-click inside the selected area to complete the transformation or press Enter or return.

Transform: this flyout menu allows you to choose the specific transformations you’d like to make to a selected area of an image.

Auto-Align Layers: if you are merging several different exposures of the same photo, use this (once they are all stacked in the same Photoshop document (see File > Scripts) this will analyze the content of each and realign them so they match. Quite impressive.

Auto-Blend Layers: once you’ve gotten the layers aligned, or if you have created a panorama (also available using Auto-Align), this command will blend the edges so the content is merged, or stitched together, seamlessly

Define Brush Preset: create a shape and select it with the magic want (or use the lasso to create a shape) before choosing this. The shape of the object within the marquee will become available as a brush in the Options bar.

Define Pattern: you must select a portion of your image with the rectangular selection tool first—it cannot be a freeform selection. Choose “define pattern” and give it a name. The next time you use “fill” from the Edit menu, choose “pattern” and select the new pattern to fill a selection.

Define Custom Shape: draw a shape using the pen tool to activate this option. It will be saved in the palette of custom shapes in the Options bar, that you can access once the Custom Shape tool is selected

Purge: this command allows you to clear your clipboard as well as the entire history of your document. Be careful about choosing “history,” since doing so will erase anything you’ve done since you last saved your image. It is a great way to speed Photoshop up, if all the history states are bogging things down, however.

Adobe PDF Presets: if you need to save your file as a PDF, use the options here to select the best format/quality.

Preset Manager: a very handy dialog box that shows you the brush shapes, vector shapes (created with the shape tool and saved), patterns, color swatches, and so forth. You can delete any you don’t want, or reset each category to its default setting.

Color Settings / command shift K: this merely assigns a color profile to Photoshop for display, or print.

Assign Profile and Convert to Profile: these settings determine how Photoshop interprets color information in a document. (http://www.colormanagementinfo.com/page1/page1.html)

Keyboard Shortcuts and Menus: all software comes with a set of keyboard shortcuts that streamline productivity, from selecting tools to performing actions. These two panels allow you to add your own, or modify the defaults. If you choose to modify the default setting, make sure you do so on a copy of the file, rather than the original set.

IMAGE

MODE

Note that the word “bitmap” here is a bit of a misnomer as all Photoshop files are bitmap in nature. In this case, it refers to images that are composed of black and white “bits” only.

Bitmap: images that were scanned as line art, or saved as PICT files will open in Photoshop as bitmapped images (I have to say that this is a bit of a misnomer as ALL images developed or edited in Photoshop are technically bitmapped). In order to work in color, you must change the document’s mode from bitmap—which is just black and white—to grayscale, and then to either RGB or CMYK mode. The item under the Mode menu with the check next to it indicates your current mode.

Grayscale: this is also a black & white image, but uses all the shades of gray as well. To get a bitmap image into gray scale, just select “grayscale” from the list.

Duotone: a duotone is a two color printing process where the darkest portions of the image are printed as one color and the mid-tones are printed in a second color. The lightest areas of the picture remain white (or the color of the paper). You can create tritones and quadtones as well, and define the three or four colors you want to use (by clicking in the white squares).

Indexed Color: this is a limited color mode that has value when work will be exported to multimedia applications. It is commonly used to create GIF format images for use on the Internet. Sometimes, a scanned image will open in Photoshop as indexed color. To change it to RGB, just choose RGB from the Mode menu.

RGB: this is the mode you want to work in, if you are dealing with a color document. R (red), G (green), and B (blue), are the colors which create the spectrum using projected light—as with a TV screen or computer monitor.

CMYK: this is a four channel mode that creates the four process colors used in printing—the reflective colors (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black). If your image will end up being printed using full, or process, color, make sure you convert it to CMYK mode when you are finished; work in RGB—because it is faster and uses less memory—until your image is complete, then choose CMYK.

Lab Color: this color mode is an intermediate step between RGB and CMYK. It eliminates (or, rather, redefines) any colors that might work on your monitor, and won’t print. It is as fast way to work in this mode as it is to work in RGB. Some people contend that if you are going to print in process color, this is better than working in RGB.

Multichannel: when you add a channel to a grey scale image, or delete a color channel from an RGB or CMYK document, the file coverts to multichannel mode. If you choose Multichannel while in RGB or CMYK, you will delete all the color information from the image.

8-32 Bits/Channel: the number of bits in an image determines the quality; 8 bits can recreate 256 colors, while a 16 bit image can contain 65,536 colors. 32-bit color includes 24 bits of color information and 8 bits that dictate opacity, or alpha values.

Color Table: this dialog box allows you to select a different color space. You must be in indexed color mode for it to become an option.

ADJUSTMENTS OPTIONS

The options available under this menu item include those that change the nature of your image—or the portion that is selected. You can invert it (make it negative), posterize it, equalize it, or use a command called Threshold that allows you to get rid of pale, unnecessary information often associated with a scan.

The options here can also change things like lightness, hue, color balance and so forth. They make subtle and not-so-subtle adjustments to an image and this is the place to start if your scan or digital photo is not great.

It also represents the kinds of adjustments you can make to an image using adjustment layers.

In CS4, most of these options are now also available using the Adjustments panel (Window > Adjustments), which is a smarter way to apply them as they do not damage the original image, while making changes using these menu items permanently change the original.

The best way to see what these features do is to open a photograph and play with them.

Auto Tone / command shift L: this will permanently affect your image, and selecting it adjusts the tonal balance of the image automatically. It may or may not make your image better.

Auto Contrast / command shift option L: this will permanently affect your image; selecting this adjusts the contrast in an image automatically.

Auto Color / command shift B: this adjusts the color balance of an image automatically.

Image Size / command option I: this is the place to scale your entire image. It is always better to scale down than it is to scale larger.

Canvas Size / command option B: this is the size of your “paper.” You can change the dimensions here to add additional white space around your image, or to make it smaller. If you make your canvas size smaller than your image, portions of your picture will be cropped off. Click in one of the 9 squares in this dialog box to specify where any additional space should be placed.

Image Rotation: this will turn your image clockwise (CW) or counter clockwise (CCW) in predetermined angles, or you can choose Arbitrary, which allows you to type in a specific angle. You can also flip your image (or a selection) upside down or backwards as well.

Crop: this works like the cropping tool, but you can use the rectangle selection tool to define the area you wish to keep, rather than the cropping tool.

Trim: use this command to eliminate unused portions of your canvas—it’s like cropping, only the computer decides what to cut off.

Reveal All: if you have pasted or placed an image that’s larger than the currently active document, this will show you any parts that went off into the gray space beyond the canvas by actually enlarging the canvas.

Duplicate: this will open another window, of a copy of the current document. You can fuss with bits in this window to test options, then do it for real in the document window when you’re ready.

Apply Image: if two documents are exactly the same size and resolution, you can add one to the other by choosing this option. Depending on the blending mode you chose, the effect can be quite wonderful. This will work from a duplicate of your current document as well as from another source entirely. It does not create a new layer, but permanently affects the currently active file.

Calculations: this dialog box deserves a lot of experimenting. While it is difficult to summarize the options available, suffice to say that you can combine and manipulate channels here—by multiplying, subtracting, adding, and blending their properties. It can provide hours of fun for the curious!

Variables: this flyout menu is where you would create a data set to batch process several images. See File > Export > Data Sets as Files.

Apply Data Set: once the variables have been set, use this to match which layer will contain what information (i.e. a layer called “photo” will contain information from the data set category called “headshot”).

Trap: you must be in CMYK mode for this to be an available option. When you choose it, it allows you to determine how much extra image may be added at the edges of items to avoid white spaces appearing between different colored objects. You should consult with the printer who will be separating and printing your image to help with this figure. In fact, you’d be better off letting the printer establish this once you hand off the file for production.

LAYER

NOTE: Layers are a fairly rich feature and are covered in a separate section, as well as the menu options described here.

NEW OPTIONS

Layer: as in Illustrator, you can have multiple layers of information in your Photoshop files. Here is one place to add a new layer.

Layer from Background: this unlocks the background layer and renames it Layer 0.

Group: this adds a folder to the Layers panel, where you can drag layers to keep things organized.

Group from Layers: highlight several layers and then chose this to have them all placed in a new folder, or group, in the Layers panel.

Layer via Copy / command J: if anything is selected this will place that content in a new layer. If nothing is selected, it will duplicate the layer that’s highlighted in the Layers panel.

Layer via Cut / command shift J: if anything is selected, this will place the selected content on a new layer, and delete it from the original layer.

Duplicate Layer: this will create a copy of the highlighted layer—a handy option for testing things before you make them permanent.

Delete Layer: this will delete the layer on which you are currently working (the one highlighted in the Layers panel).

Hidden Layers: this will delete any layers in the Layers panel that are hidden (not showing).

Layer Properties: choosing this allows you to name a layer (also possible by double-clicking on the layer name in the Layers panel) and assign it a highlight color.

LAYER STYLE OPTIONS

Blending Options: use this to change the blend mode from Normal to one of 24 other options. Blending modes affect how content in layers below the one with a different mode appear. For instance, Multiply acts like a semi-transparent layer and it a great way to add texture to an object on a lower layer, while retaining the object’s shape and shading. Blend if: is a way to control how much colors or shapes on the layer affect the layer below; use the sliders on the Underlying Layer bar to decide whether the upper layer will affect only lighter or darker areas (sliding in from the right will affect the darker portions, sliding in from the left affects the lighter areas).

Note that within the Layer Style dialog box you can select other styles from the column at the left. Checking any one of these will apply that effect to the layer as well. To modify the default settings for any of them, click on the name of the effect in the lists.

Next you will find a host of effects that you can adjust and apply. The changes you make here only affect the active (highlighted) layer. They apply to the contents of a layer, so if the content of the layer goes to the edges of the canvas, watch the edges as well as the image to see the effects you can create. If the content is silhouetted, or surrounded by empty canvas, the effect will be applied to that area on the layer. You can also access several of these effects from the bottom of the Layers panel.

Effects can be modified, once applied to a layer, by double clicking on the effect in the Layers panel. You can also delete them by dragging the word Effects to the trash icon in the Layers panel, or the specific effect you want to remove.

Copy Layer Style: rather than going through the process of applying and editing a layer style you’ve already created to other layers, highlight the layer you want to copy and select this.

Paste Layer Style: once you’ve copied a layer style, select another layer in the Layer’s panel and paste the style.

Clear Layer Style: this is another way to delete any/all styles assigned to the selected layer. Command click to select multiple layers and delete multiple styles all at once.

Global Light: this is interesting; selecting it will ensure than all drop shadows on all layers are aimed in the same direction. It’s also how you can shift shadows from one direction to another. It affects any effect that uses light.

Create Layer: this separates the layer content from the effects, placing each on a new, separate, layer.

Hide All Effects: as you would imagine, this turns off all effects on all layers. To hide them one at a time, you can click on the eye icon in the Layers panel. This does not hide effects that have been placed on new layers (as above).

Scale Effects: depending on the effect, this will move it (a drop shadow moves farther or closer, for instance) or scale it (make a beveled edge thinner or thicker).

SMART FILTER

Smart filters are applied to smart objects. If you don’t happen to have one in your document, highlight the layer where the image you want to affect resides, and use Filter > Convert for Smart Filters. Then add the filter you want to the object/layer.

Disable Smart Filters: turns off the visibility of the filter effect, but doesn’t delete it.

Delete Filter Mask: when a smart object has a filter applied, Photoshop creates a mask layer to expose it. This deletes that mask, but doesn’t affect the effect of the filter. You can paint on this mask (option click it) with black to expose parts of the original object.

Disable Filter Mask: this places an X across the mask, but doesn’t delete it.

Clear Smart Filters: deletes all filters applied to a smart object; you can also just drag them from the Layers panel to the trash icon at the bottom of the panel.

LAYER MASK

Masks, in general, are shapes that will either reveal or hide elements below, and are a good way to silhouette images non-destructively, as well as a way to create shapes

Layer masks are used to create shapes by first filling a layer with a color, and then by painting on the mask (shown as a white rectangle, next to the color in the Layers panel) to reveal or hide areas. Highlight the mask itself and work with a black foreground color to expose what’s below the layer, or white to hide what’s below. To work on the mask without watching the effect it’s having, Option click on the mask. Click back on the layer icon itself to exit editing mode.

You can fill a layer with a solid color, a gradient, or a pattern, and then paint on the mask piece to reveal what’s below, or create a shape as part of an illustration. (See chapters on Mike Carter and Charlie Hill in Best Practice: The Pros on Adobe Photoshop for some terrific examples of this technique.)

VECTOR MASK

Vector masks are created using Paths, and are crisp, vector-based shapes. You can create a path using the Freeform Pen tool or the Pen tool. You can also use any selection tool to create a selection and turn it into a path using the “Make work path from selection” option at the bottom of the Paths panel.

Once a path is highlighted, use Layer > Vector Mask and select Current Path. This will reveal the content on that layer that lies within the path shape and hide the rest.

You can choose Reveal or Hide All to affect the entire layer, without the need to create a path first.

Delete: will eliminate the mask from the layer.

Disable/Enable: will turn the mask off or on, without deleting it from the layer.

Unlink: this separates the layer mask from the layer image, so that you can move the mask or the image around independently. Shortcut this by simply clicking the chain icon in the Layers panel to unlink them, or clicking again to relink them.

Create/Release Clipping Mask / command option G: a clipping mask is a mask by any other name. It either reveals or hides what’s below it. However, the difference between a clipping mask and other options is that it actually connects, or links, to the layer(s) below it, rather than affecting a single layer. Again, Charlie Hill’s illustrations are a great example of how these can be used effectively. Shortcut this command by Option-clicking between the layers; you can create multiple clipping mask layers that all have a different effect on the layers below. Option-click again to disable the mask.

SMART OBJECTS

Smart objects are usually vctor-based graphics that are created using paths, or by pasting something copied in Illustrator (a vector-based drawing program). You can make a pixel-based (bitmapped) image into a smart object as well. In either scenario, smart objects are independent of the Photoshop canvas – that is, they are like objects placed above the canvas and can be altered in a number of ways without destroying the original element (should you want to go back there). They could also be considered symbols in a way in that when you edit a smart object, all instances of it (if you copied and pasted them, or duplicated the layer) are updated. This is true, even if the object was pasted from Illustrator. Very cool.

Convert to Smart Object: if you have a bitmap that you’d like to manipulate without destroying it, select it and then turn it into a smart object here.

New Smart Object via Copy: this will take whatever is in your clipboard and place it as a smart object on a new layer.

Edit Contents: this is like editing the source of the graphic; changes you make in this frame will update on all instances of the smart object. If it’s a smart object pasted from Illustrator, you will be taken into Illustrator to make the changes. Saving the changes updates the graphics in Photoshop automatically.

Export Contents: selecting this will allow you to save the smart object as a PDF, which you can open and edit in Illustrator. Edits to an exported smart object do not update in any PSD where the original may reside.

Replace Contents: you will be asked to find another file to place in Photoshop. This replaces the content of the layer that is highlighted with a new smart object, but does not replace the contents of any other instances of the smart object.

Stack Mode: this is used to alter multiple frames of a video, or multiple exposures of a photo, into a single image. Once all the images, or video frames, are imported into Photoshop, select all the layers and convert them to smart objects. Then you can create a variety of effects by selecting one of many options in the Stack Mode flyout menu. (You might need a dictionary to figure out what some of the options mean, though ;-)).

Rasterize: since smart objects are vector-based, and Photoshop is a bitmap program, or pixel-based, sooner or later you may have to change any smart objects into pixels. Here’s where that happens. Shortcut this by Control-clicking on the image or the layer name in the Layers panel.

VIDEO LAYERS

Video layers are created when a video file is opened as a Photoshop document (File > Open)—you must have QuickTime 7.1 or higher installed on your machine, and Photoshop Extended. Photoshop will recognize and open video in MPEG-1 and -4 formats, AVI, MOV, FLV from QuickTime, and MPEG-2 if you have an MPEG-2 encoder installed. It can also import image sequences (multiple still images that are named in a sequential order).

Unlike using Stack Mode (above) video frames are visible in the Animation panel (Window > Animation). You can set in- and out-points (to edit the length of the video), and add adjustment layers to correct under-exposed or color-cast footage in a nondestructive way. Add animation on top of existing footage, or add captions and titles using additional blank video layers.

You can add a second layer of video footage from a second source. This is represented by a new layer in the Layers panel, as well as a new layer in the Animation panel. Set the layer mode to Multiply or something else to blend them. Very cool.

Add a New Blank Video Layer to add captions, titles, or animation.

TYPE

Whenever you select the type tool, Photoshop adds a new layer for that type, which is a vector-based image. The new layer is automatically re-named for the text on that layer.

Create Work Path: once you’ve typed something, and the type layer is highlighted in the Layers panel, this will create a path in the Paths panel. You can alter this path using the Pen tools, or turn it into a selection. You can also use the path to stroke the text, once it has been rasterized.

Convert to Shape: this actually removes the type, replaces it with a fill layer (see above) and adds a path to the Paths panel.

Horizontal: sets your text along a horizontal (normal) baseline.

Vertical: sets the text on a vertical axis. Don’t go there.

ANTIALIAS: these options set the “fuzziness” of the edges of the text. Depending on the purpose, it can be rendered as very crisp to very smooth. These options are also available in the Options bar when the text tool is selected.

Convert to Paragraph Text: selecting this adds a bounding box, or text frame, around the existing text. It has control points that can be adjusted to determine a specific width and height.

Convert to Point Text: undoes the paragraph mode, above, by deleting the text frame. The text in either mode remains editable until it is rasterized.

Warp Text: select from several presets to bend the text into unusual shapes, very similar to the Envelope option in Illustrator. This, too, can be selected using the Options bar.

Update All Text Layers & Replace All Missing Fonts: if you have opened an older Photoshop file, you may get an alert letting you know that some text might need to be updated before they can be used for vector-based output. If you choose “no” here and then change your mind, use either of these two options to bring it all back to snuff.

RASTERIZE

Shapes and text are among those things that are created as vector graphics (rather than bitmapped ones) in Photoshop. To change them to bitmapped images, for editing using the painting tools or filters, you must select one of these options. If you try to add a filter, or paint on a text layer (one that’s highlighted in the Layers panel) you will be asked if you’d like to raster the layer first. Once you choose to rasterize a vector-based object, it is no longer editable (text) and is actually turned into bits or pixels.

New Layer Based Slice: if you are using the slice function in Photoshop for producing web images, this command will convert the active layer into a slice object for you.

Group Layers / command G: select the range of layers that you want to group together, and then select this; the selected layers will all be placed into a layer folder, or group, in the Layers panel. Rename groups by double-clicking on the group name in the Layer panel.

Ungroup Layers: this releases layers from a grouped set, and eliminates the folder/group from the Layers panel. Shortcut either of these by Option-clicking on the group/folder name in the Layers panel.

Hide/Show Layers: this hides/shows the selected layer(s). You can shortcut this by clicking the eye icon in the Layers panel.

Arrange: Send a layer up or down (forward or backward) with this menu. Select a range of layers in the Layers panel and choose Reverse if you want to reorder the stack. You can manually drag layers up and down in the Layers panel to reorder them as well.

Align: this option aligns the contents of selected layers; if the content goes from edge to edge, this won’t produce any effect. If you want to align a series of elements that are on separate layers, it will use the content of the layers as the edges used to align. You can use the Options bar to do this as well; just select several layers in the Layers panel first.

Distribute: as with Align, this uses the content of the selected layers to space each element along a specific axis (distribute using the centers of each, or edges).

Lock All Layers in Group: this lets you decide which aspects of the layers you’d like to lock: transparent pixels, image pixels, or position. If you’d like to lock all of them, simply click the lock icon in the Layers palette while the group is selected.

Link Layers: select layers that you would like to affect all at once—move, resize, add a filter, etc.—and use this option. You can shortcut by Shift-clicking or Command-clicking the layers and then right-clicking on one of them; select Link Layers from the contextual menu.

Select Linked Layers: even if layers are linked, you can work on them individually by just selecting the one you need. To select them all use this menu option—especially valuable if the linked layers were not sequential in the Layers panel.

Merge Layers / command E: this takes the current layer and smashes it together with the one below it so they become one.

Merge Visible / command shift + E: you can choose to view or hide layers. Merge Visible will turn all visible layers into one, and leave the hidden ones intact.

Flatten Image: this merges all the layers and turns them into the background layer. It will also discard any hidden layers permanently, if you say it’s OK (you’ll get an alert message if any layers are hidden). Only do this after saving your image, and then chose Save As from the File menu to rename this flattened one, so you don’t destroy the original file and its layers.

Matting: this is useful when you paste something from one document into another. It can often eliminate the white or black edges from the pasted object so it blends better into it’s new surroundings.

SELECT

All / command A: this will select the entire image/contents of an active/highlighted layer.

Deselect / command D: will disappear (turn off) any dancing ants.

Reselect / command shift  D: in case you inadvertently deselect something you wanted...

Inverse / command shift I: this will reverse your selection by choosing everything that wasn’t selected when you choose this (not to be confused with “invert” which reverses the colors in the selection). It’s very handy, as sometimes is easier to select what you don’t want (i.e. a fairly solid background) and then inverse the selection to get what you do want (the foreground image).

All Layers / command option A: this selects, or highlights, all the layers in a document.

Deselect Layers: this deselects all the layers in the Layers panel. You can shortcut this by clicking below the background layer in the gray area of the Layers panel.

Similar: if you have a mask layer highlighted, for instance, and you want to select all the mask layers at once, this is the option for you. It selects layers with similar content, whether is just image area, masks, adjustments layers, or what have you.

Color Range: this is similar to the magic wand, but perhaps a bit more confusing. You can select a color, or range of colors in your image using the eyedroppers in the dialog box, and it/they will become a selection when you click OK.

Refine Edge: this launches a dialog box that allows you to really tweak a selected area, and view the anticipated results in several different ways.

Modify: border, smooth, expand, contract and feather are the options available here. Border will create a selection representing a border around your original selection. It’s similar to “stroke” under the Edit menu. Smooth will make it less detailed, depending on the number of smoothing pixels you choose. Expand and Contract add or delete from the edges of a selected area by adding slightly more pixels, or subtracting them. Feathering a selecting creates a faded edge; the larger the number, the larger the area it takes to fade to nothing. You can select a feathering radius in the Options bar when any selection tool is active. If you forget to set it before making a selection, use this menu option to fix that. The Refine Edge option (above) also includes the opportunity to adjust the feather distance.

Grow: use this command when your magic wand has selected most of what you want, and you just need to expand the selection a little bit. The amount added is based on the magic wand tolerance setting.

Similar: this is useful when you want to select all the pixels in your image that are similar in color, even though they aren’t adjacent to each other. This works well in conjunction with the magic wand tool.

Transform Selection: resize and/or rotate the dancing ants—not the image—to get a selection that might be otherwise difficult to make with the tools.

Load Selection: once you’ve saved a selection, you can retrieve the dancing ants by choosing the appropriate number or name from the dialog box that pops up. If you have saved a lot of selections but haven’t named them, they will be named Alpha 1, Alpa 2 and so on. Selections, once saved, are referred to as channels.

Save Selection: whenever you make a selection, you have the option to save it—which will create a channel, and the opportunity for you to retrieve it for future use. It’s smart to save selections. You can always delete them (from the Channels panel) if you find they are useless. Always delete all any extra channels (which is what saved selections become) when you’re done with an image to save on memory size. Remember to Save As so the original is intact for future use.

FILTER

Last Filter / command F: this will apply the last filter you used again.

Convert for Smart Filters: use this to change the contents of a layer into a smart object so you can apply filters without destroying the image.

Filter Gallery: this presents most of the filters available in this menu as a group in a window where you can experiment, one at a time, or add filters upon filters, to get the effect you want.

Liquefy: this is a painting feature that works a lot like filters, Select the desired area, then choose Liquefy. A workspace opens with a variety of tools that allow you to swirl, smush, and otherwise mess with your images pixels. It’s very cool.

Vanishing Point: this tool is used to wrap a flat image around a plane that is in perspective—the side of a cereal box, for instance, or planks of wood on a deck.

Artistic: these filters alter your image in terms of textures, edges and painting effects.

Blur: allows you to blur your image in a variety of manners. Gaussian blur is one of my favorites.

Brush Strokes: more of the same...

Distort: a variety of choices appear under this menu item—spherize, ripple, twirl, etc. Play with them to see what they can do.

Noise: nhis adds visual interference to your image (like “noise” on a TV screen), which can help it look less garish, or create nifty effects for backgrounds. When using a gradient fill, adding a little noise may help to eliminate the banding that sometimes occurs.

Pixelate: this series of filters render your image in several different fashions, from faceting it, to rendering it as a mezzotint.

Render: depending on the foreground color, you can render a cloud-like texture in either positive, or negative (inverted) colors. There is another filter here called Lighting Effects that deserves some exploration. Lens Flare and Fibers are other options as well.

Sharpen: these can soften or sharpen the quality of your picture, depending on what you choose. The options here are worth exploring if the quality of a digital photo is not up to snuff.

Sketch: more choices to alter painting style...

Stylize: like the options under “distort” you have a bunch of things to play with—diffuse, extrude, emboss, trace contour, etc.

Texture: depending on what you chose, these filters add different textures to selected areas.

Video: these two options are appropriate when your output will be to a video medium. Check which is more appropriate for the system you will be using.

Other: again, these filter options do bizarre things to your image—special effects. It is here where you can “offset” a selection to create a drop shadow effect.

Below these built-in filters, you may or may not find 3rd party filters which have been added to the basic Photoshop set. Many of these filters are free for the downloading from various web sites, and others are packages that you can purchase separately.

ANALYSIS

These tools have been added to Photoshop for medical imaging analysis.

3D

With the new 3D tools comes a slew of new 3D options; use New Shape From Layer to select a preset shape to play with the tools. Unless you work in Maya or 3Ds Max or another 3D rendering and animation program, this menu won’t do much for you. If you are into 3D, I apologize; I am not familiar with the more sophisticated applications as I lost patience with rendering times a long time ago :-\

VIEW

Proof Setup: an interesting concept: choosing a mode from this menu will attempt to visually render what your image will look like when printed, or according to standard color parameters, or how it will look to someone who is color blind.

Proof Colors / command Y: a check next to this option means you are viewing the “soft-proofed” color system selected in Proof Setup. It temporarily converts an RGB file into CMYK mode.

Gamut Warning / command shift Y: gamut defines a range of colors that are actually possible to print in CMYK. When this feature is checked, any colors you use which will not print successfully have a grey mask applied to them, so you can see where they are and adjust them.

Pixel Aspect Ratio: the options here refer to where files will be viewed, either as print (square), or on a device (monitor, iPhone, Blackberry, television, etc.). Depending on the output platform, you could choose from several different options.

Pixel Aspect Ratio Correction: this will display your image pixel for pixel—so if you’ve chosen “widescreen” for instance, your image will be stretched left to right.

32-bit Preview Options: because 8 bits of a 32-bit image are about transparency, these options control the exposure and gamma of an image, and highlight compression.

Zoom In / command + : this is another way(besides Command Spacebar Click, or the magnifying tool) to get a closer view of your document. It can enlarge (or reduce) the window as well as the image; change the default in the Preferences > General pane.

Zoom Out / command - : use this to get a smaller view of your image.

Fit on Screen / command 0 (zero): this will alter the view so that as much of your image as can fit on the monitor will show.

Actual Pixels / command 1: if you have used previous versions of Photoshop, this shortcut may throw you for a loop. Command 0 was the shortcut for viewing the alpha channels in a file. Now, it displays the image using its actual pixel per inch setting.

Print Size: this changes your view so you can see exactly how large your image is in real inches. That is, what size it will be when you print it.

Screen Mode:  use these options to hide the panels and enlarge the viewing area, or to hide the panels and menus and enlarge the viewing area. If you get stuck in full screen without menus mode, press esc or F to get back. You can hide panels easily using the Tab key, and Shift Tab together hides all but the Toolbar. Tab or Shift Tab again to get back.

Extras / command H: this will hide the dancing ants of a selection without making it inactive, so you can see what you’re doing better. Once hidden, type command H again to have them reappear. It also hides and shows annotations and guide lines, NOTE: If you’re trying to work on your image and you can’t seem to make anything happen, chances are there’s a selection active and you can’t see it. Always try command H to see if that’s the case.

Show: this allows you to select what extras you want to see—grids, guides, slices, and so on.

Show/Hide Rulers / command R: places rulers at the top and left of the workspace

Snap / command ; (semicolon): this will snap a selection to guides, edges or whatever you choose, as defined by...

Lock Guides / option + command ; (colon): Photoshop has provided those of us with an obsessive/compulsive disorder with guides you can drag from the rulers. Use them to align objects, or for measuring distances. Locking them means you can’t accidently move them.

Clear Guides: removes all guides.

New Guide: this takes obsessive/compulsive to a new layer; specify exactly where you want a guide to be placed in your document. Actually, it’s a great feature, especially when developing graphics for the web.

Lock Slices: if you are creating a web graphic using slices, this will prevent them from being moved.

Clear Slices: I think using other software to create sliced images might be more efficient (Fireworks, for instance), although Adobe had this option before they bought Macromedia. There are many designers who do use Photoshop to create web-graphics and animations.

WINDOW

The options here open panels that make working with Photoshop more efficient. Many are grouped in tabbed sets, so opening one opens others as well. You can “un-tab” them to close those that you won’t use, and rearrange the groups to suit your workflow.

ARRANGE:

If you have several documents open at once, you can arrange them so they are all visible, or bring one to the fore. Photoshop keeps open images in a tabbed format by default, so if you want to separate several images, you can use these to “float” them independently.

WORKSPACE:

This allows you to reset your palettes back to their default positions, and to save the way things are arranged.  CS4 has introduced multiple workspace settings to customize specific workflows. If you are a beginner, Essentials or Basic workspaces are your best choices.

EXTENSIONS:

By default, this opens the Kuler panel, which is connected to http://kuler.adobe.com and displays multiple color combinations—choose to view the most popular, the newest, random, and so on. The kuler site is amazing and I urge you to sign up for it (it’s free). You can add these color combinations to your Swatches panel, edit them, or connect directly to the kuler site.

3D: if you are working with 3D images, use this panel to determine the look of each plane or object in the image; add textures, reflection, transparency, and so on.

Actions: the Actions panel is where you can assign F-key definitions, because using an F-key shortcut is a lot faster than choosing from menus the things you do frequently... For instance, I have my F12 key assigned to equal File > Import > scanner.

Adjustments: this is a new panel in CS4 and I love it. Instead of going up to Layer > Adjustments, I can make a lot of adjustments by just working with this panel. Select the icon for the adjustment, and the panel then displays the options available. There is also a list of presets to choose from, which can speed things up.

Animation: the Animation panel shows you how many video layers you may have in a document, and offers some editing features.

Brushes: the brush panel includes all the preset brush sizes as well as a myriad of effects. You can also access this panel from the top right of the Options panel. This is tabbed with the Clone Source panel.

Channels: the Channels panel is where you can flip between your full color image (the composite channel), the individual RGB or CMYK channels that make up the color image, or black and white channels that can be used to save selections and to create special effects. This is tabbed with the Layers and Paths panels.

Character: this panel lets you select the font, size, kerning, tracking, and specify other aspects of using type. It is tabbed with the Paragraph panel

Clone Source: open several images and Option-click with the clone tool in each to select up to 5 different clone sources. In a new document, add the cloned pixels to separate layers, using different blend modes, to create a montage. Kinda cool! This is tabbed with the Brushes panel.

Color: the Color panel is where you can mix the colors you want using CMYK values, RGB values, HSB values (Hue, Saturation, Brightness), among others You do not have to be in CMYK mode to use CMYK sliders; use whatever system works best for you (I know someone who only mixes her colors using HSB, for instance, which is totally foreign to mixing paints in real-life). The Color panel is tabbed with Swatches and Styles.

Histogram: a diagram shows you where the image information is located, and how much there is at any point along the spectrum of dark to light. This panel is for your information only; to adjust the histogram, use Layer > Adjustments > Levels.

History: the History panel is where you can specify a stage to use for the history and art history brushes. You can also save snapshots of moments in time during your work on an image, and step back and forward in time. The default number of states, or steps, the History palette displays is based on the number of History States specified in Preferences. Revert to previous stages by clicking on any step in the History palette. Actions that occurred after that are dimmed. Step forward again by clicking on a dimmed step.

Info: shows XY, RGB and CMYK info for the pixels you mouse over.

Layer Comps: you can create several views of a layered file by turning layer visibility on and off, which can be cumbersome if you have jillions of layers. Turn on the ones you want to see for one version of your file, and create a layer comp of it, then turn those off and others on for a different version and create another layer comp. Then, you can quickly flip between the layer comps in the Layer Comps panel, rather than trying to remember which layers to turn off and on again.

Layers: the Layers panel is used to create painting layers, rearrange them, add adjustments, masks, and effects in the creation of your image.  See the specific section on working with the Layers panel.

Masks: when you create a layer mask, this panel allows you to modify it in several ways, including adjusting the feather and the density. There is a Refine option that gives you precise control over how the mask looks as well, including the opportunity to invert (reverse) it.

Measurement Log: typically used for medical imaging purposes, this has a host of other uses. See http://www.orangeinks.com/design/photoshop-measurement-log-tutorial/ for an amusing, and interesting, video tutorial.

Navigator: the navigator panel is used to zoom in or out, and to relocate your view of a particular area in a document. Use the slider at the bottom to zoom, and move the red box in the preview pane to relocate the view.

Notes: this is a place where you can add notations to a file so others who may work with it later know what’s going on, or to remind yourself of what you want to do to that area next time you work on the file. Select the Note tool first (behind the Eyedropper) and click on the image where you want to place a comment, then add the remarks to the Note panel.

Paragraph: set paragraph alignment and margins with this panel. Oddly enough, line spacing is found in the Character panel, which is tabbed with the Paragraph panel.

Paths: using the Paths panel is similar to using the pen tool in Adobe Illustrator. Draw with the pen tool to create paths (shapes) that can be used as selections, or clipping paths, among other things. You can turn a selection (dancing ants) into a path using the Make work path from selection icon at the bottom of this panel. It’s grouped with the Layers and Channels panels.

Styles: these are pre-made “formulas” that apply interesting effects to what you paint. Use the brush tool, then click on a style and start painting. This will add a new layer to your document, and once you’ve finished painting, you can actually test different styles by clicking on them in the Styles panel. You’ll see the filters and effect that have been applied to your brush strokes in the Layers panel as well; double-click on any of them to make adjustments. To create your own style, paint a few strokes on a new layer, then apply layer effects to achieve the look you want. Select New Style from the Style panel’s flyout menu at the top right and give it a name. Your new style will appear in the styles panel as a name or icon, depending on the view you’ve set for that panel. The Styles panel is tabbed with Colors and Swatches.

Swatches: swatches are pre-mixed colors. You can think of them as a box of crayons or colored pencils. The basic set contains about 377 colors and shades of gray. The flyout menu at the top right allows you to open a multitude of other color libraries that you can choose to Append (add) to the default set, or replace the default set. If you use the Kuler panel, any color sets you add will be placed in this panel. It’s tabbed with the Color and Styles panels.

Tool Presets: Photoshop has predefined several tool behaviors. Select a tool from this list and it will behave in a specific way. You can also define your own tool behaviors here, using the flyout menu at the top right.

Application Frame: this is the new “look” of CS4, where a large gray area blocks your desktop, essentially enabling Photoshop to take over your entire monitor. If you don’t like that, select this option. It will un-tab any open files and disappear the gray area. Options: this is the Options bar at the top of the Photoshop interface. It would be hard to work efficiently if this were turned off.

Tools: this temporarily hides your toolbar. Choose it again to have it reappear. SHORTCUT: use the Tab key to hide all your tools as well as any other open panels. Use Shift Tab together to hide all the panels except the toolbar.

Using color in Photoshop is fairly simple. You can use RGB, CMYK, HSB, lab, or web color values, among others. Select the method you prefer from either the Colors panel (Window > Colors), or the Color Picker (which opens when you click on the foreground color at the bottom of the Toolbar).

Change the background color by clicking on the square behind the foreground square; again, the Color Picker will show up.

If you prefer selecting colors using the Toolbar, the little arrows at the top right of the color selector allow you to switch the foreground and background colors. You can shortcut this simply by typing the letter X (without the Text tool selected, of course).

When you click on the little black & white boxes at the top left of this area, your foreground and background colors will be restored to black & white. Shortcut this by typing the letter D.

The Colors panel is available from the Window menu. Here you can specify your foreground and background colors by selecting which one you want to change (highlighted with a double box around the icon) and either adjusting your sliders, or by scrolling around in the spectrum area until you have what you want. Unfortunately, unlike the Color palettes in Illustrator and InDesign, it won’t come forward to give you a better visual clue that it’s active.

There are a lot of options in the Colors panel. If you know the percentages of red, green and blue, or cyan, magenta, yellow, and black, you can type them in the appropriate fields. The HSB fields refer to hue, saturation, and brightness values, and L, a, and b refer to a color space based on luminosity.

If you see a triangle with an exclamation point next to the color you’ve chosen it means you may have difficulty printing that color.

To make sure you choose a color that will print, click on the exclamation point and Photoshop will automatically substitute the closest color for you. You may find that this is often not anything like what you wanted. It is up to you whether to use the suggested color, or to go with one that may not print exactly as you’d hoped.

From the flyout menu at the top right of the Swatches panel, you can load a color system—like Pantone—from a library of colors.

You can save the panel either by another name, or to another location. If you use a lot of custom colors in your documents, save your swatches to a disk as a library (ACO file), so you can reload it whenever you need those colors. This can be a life-saver if you have a client that uses a specific color palette!

Once you’ve selected or created a color in the Colors panel, you can save it in the swatches panel by moving your mouse over the gray area at the bottom (it turns into a paint bucket) and clicking. If you want to delete, duplicate, or rename an existing color in this panel, hold down the Control key as you click on it. Hold the Option key to delete a color. Typically, Photoshop will remember any new colors you add to the Swatches panel the next time you launch the program.

When you open a new document, you’re asked to choose the color mode in which you want to work. While anything that’s going to be printed needs to eventually be CMYK, there’s no real problem working in RGB mode. Just use Image > Mode and select CMYK from the options before sending your file to a client or commercial print house.

By the same token, even if you’re working in an RGB document, you can use the CMYK color sliders to mix colors (or any of the other options in the Color palette’s flyout menu).

Finally, another case for working in RGB and then converting your file later is that some of the cool filters in Photoshop won’t work in CMYK mode.

At the top of your screen, you will note a panel that changes depending on the selected tool—the Options bar.

It is here that you can choose the size and shape of the brush, pencil, smudge, dodge/burn and rubber stamp (clone) tools. Note that there is no airbrush tool—turn your regular brush into the airbrush by clicking the airbrush icon in the options panel. (Use the Brushes panel to determine how the airbrush behaves.)

Simply click on the down arrow next to the brush size in the Options bar (top left) to access the various size and shapes.

You also have the ability to change the opacity of the paint by using the slider at the top right of the Options bar, and the ability to change the nature of how you paint using the mode options.

You can toggle from one size/shape to the next using the [ and ](right and left bracket) keys. Change the fuzziness by holding Shift and using the [ and ] keys.  Change the opacity using the numbers on the numeric keyboard (0 being 100% opaque, and 1 being 10%).

For more options and control, click the Toggle Brushes panel icon at the top right of the Options bar. This is where you can change the brush tip in a variety of way, along with determining how the airbrush will paint.

From the submenu to the right of the Brushes panel, you can create a new brush. Either select a solid shape on your canvas, or create a freeform selection, and use Edit > Define Brush Preset, or from the Brushes panel flyout menu, select New Brush Preset, and it will be added to the bottom of the brush options in the Options bar, as well as the Brushes panel (click on Brush Presets at the top left to see them).

You can delete a brush you don’t need or want by selecting it from the panel and choosing Delete Brush from the flyout menu, or Option-click on the brush you don’t want.

Choose Load Brushes from the flyout menu to use brush shapes from a library within Photoshop, or simply select the library you want to open from the list at the bottom of this menu.

When you create a brush shape that you think you will use frequently, choose “save brushes” from the submenu. Keep this little file on your disk, and you can append (open) it anytime you need it.  If you save it in Photoshop’s Brushes folder (Library > Application Support > Adobe > Adobe Photoshop CS4 > Presets > Brushes, the next time you launch Photoshop, your saved library will appear in the Brushes panel’s flyout menu.

As with Adobe Illustrator, you can paint, or alter images, on multiple layers within one document, blending them together when you’re sure you like the effect.

Think of layers as sheets of acetate you place over your image. You can paint on these layers, paste other images, add textures, and adjust the opacity of elements among other things

Layers are especially valuable when working with text in Photoshop because any text you add is always placed on its own layer.

When you open a new file in Photoshop, with a white (or colored) background, the Layers panel will have a locked Background layer. If you chose to have a transparent background, it will be named Layer 1 in the Layers panel. Choosing a transparent background doesn’t necessarily produce a transparent background unless you save the image as a GIF or PNG file down the road.

The eye in the far left column means a layer is visible. You can turn off layers (without trashing them) by clicking on the eye icon. To view only one layer, Option-click the eye icon of the layer you wish to view. To show them all again, Option-click on the visible eye again. Being able to see a layer should not be confused with working on one, however. The only layer you can affect is the one that is highlighted in blue.

To merge layers, turn the eye icon off for all layers you don’t want to be affected, leaving the eye showing only for those layers you want to combine. Then choose Merge Visible (command shift E) from the panel flyout menu or from the Layer menu. Flatten image will achieve the same thing, but you will be asked if you want to delete the invisible (hidden) layers.

When flattening an image—that is, merging all layers into the background layer, any layers not visible will be discarded. You must flatten your image in order to save it in certain file formats.

The only time you want to use this command is when your image is complete. Save your file before you flatten it, and then use Save As afterwards, renaming the file so you don’t eliminate the one with the layers in it.

By default, every new document has a Background layer that's locked. To unlock it, double-click its name and rename it (or leave it as the default name ).

Add layers by either choosing New Layer from the submenu, clicking the Create a new layer icon at the bottom of the panel (it looks like a little pad), or using the keystroke shortcut Command Option Shift N, which will place the new layer above the one that is currently highlighted.

Rearrange layers by dragging them up or down in the panel. You can also move a selected layer up with Command ] (right bracket), or down with Command [ (left bracket).

Hide and show layers to isolate visual information by clicking the eyeball icon to the left of a layer. Option/Alt click an eyeball to hide all but the selected layer: Option/Alt click again to show all the layers that were originally visible.

Duplicate a layer by dragging it to the "create new layer" icon at the bottom of the panel, or choosing Duplicate Layer from the flyout menu. Command J will make a copy of the currently highlighted layer, too.

Layer modes are a powerful feature located at the top left of the Layers panel. Multiply mode is a hands-down favorite, since it allows layers underneath to show through. This is handy for including line work that’s been scanned in as well as for creating subtle textures and color shifts.

Just under the blending modes as the lock options. Locking transparent pixels protects clear areas from being painted. You can still paint areas that already have colors applied. Locking image pixels essentially locks the content of a layer, whether it includes color or not. Locking the position of a layer prohibits you from moving its contents, although the content can still be edited. Lock All prevents altering the layer content in any way. You can still move the layer up or down in the Layers panel when it’s locked, however.

At the top right of the panel is the opportunity to change the transparency of the layer using the Opacity slider. If you apply any layer effects, the Fill slider will fade the fill, and leave the effects in place.

The bottom of the panel contains the options to link selected layers: Shift- or Command-click to select the layers you want to link, then click this icon. The benefit to this is that moving anything (using the Move tool) on one linked layer also moves the content on the other layers linked to it. Select linked layers and click the chain icon to unlink them.

Layer styles (the fx icon at the bottom of the panel) are ways to add special effects to the content on a layer. The possibilities are endless if you select Blending Options from the pop-up list. Click on the box to add a style, and then click on the name of the style to access the options for that style. You can apply any number of effects to a single layer. Save your style by clicking the New Style button.

Double-clicking the style icon next to the layer will reopen the Layer Styles dialog box so you can modify the properties, or add to, or eliminate them. Hide the styles info in the Layers panel by clicking the small triangle to the right of the fx symbol. Hide applied styles by clicking the eye icon. Delete styles by selecting and dragging them to the trash can icon at the bottom of the panel.

Layer masks (gray rectangle with a white circle at the bottom of the panel) can be created using selections or by creating a vector path. They work by blocking out, or revealing, portions of the layer’s content. When a mask is applied to a layer, visual content on lower layers is still visible even though the content affected by the mask is hidden. It’s a great way to silhouette an image without destroying the original.

As soon as you do something to a layer mask, the layer is immediately altered. If you don’t like the effect, you can disable the mask (chose this from the Layer menu) or you can remove the mask entirely (also from the Layer menu).  Applying the mask will combine the mask with the layer and the mask will no longer be editable.

Layer masks can also be used to create artwork from scratch. Fill a layer with color, then add a mask and paint on it with black (to hide) or white to create shapes.

In order to make the Add layer mask icon functional, you must be on a layer other than the default Background layer—either create a duplicate layer, or rename the Background layer (double-click the name in the Layers panel). If nothing is selected, you will get a blank layer mask. If you have dancing ants active, the default action is to show the area within the selection and hide everything outside it.

Edit a layer mask by selecting it, or to edit it directly without seeing the content of the layer Option-click the mask icon in the Layer’s panel.

If you click the link icon between the layer content and its mask, you can move the mask around. Click between them again to relink (thus lock) the mask and layer together.

Adjustment layers (the half-moon cookie icon) are used to apply adjustments you’d find using Image > Adjustments, but again, because they’re applied to layers, the original image is not destroyed. Deleting the Adjustment layer restores the image to its original state. Using Image > Adjustments doesn’t add a layer, but rather affects the actual image in a “destructive” fashion.

Since an Adjustment layer affects all the layers beneath it, you might need to link it to just the layer(s) you want it to influence. Hold the Option key and move it between the Adjustment layer and the one beneath it. When you get the link icon, click to link the layers. The adjustment layer will indent and point to the layer it is affecting with a small arrow.

Layer groups are a great way to organize layers—especially if you use lots of them! Click the folder icon to create a group, then just drag the layers you want to include on top of the folder’s layer. The black outline around the folder layer indicates you’re dropping the layer(s)into the group. You can Shift-click to select several layers in a row, or Command-click to select layers that are out of sequence.

New layers are always added above the currently selected layer, unless you hold the Command key when you click the Create new layer icon in the Layers panel. Holding the Command key will place the new layer below the currently highlighted layer.

You can select a layer and then click the trash icon at the bottom of the panel to delete it. This method results in a dialog box asking if you’re sure you want to do that. Or, you can simply drag the layer to the trash to delete it without the warning.

If file size is not an issue, I recommend saving all your layers, even if they will not ultimately be seen in the final image; just hide them and they won't be visible. This provides flexibility when editing an image later on, should the occasion arise.

Channels are an often underestimate piece of Photoshop. The first four or five channels are established by default.

The COMPOSITE channel, or RGB or CMYK channel, is where your image appears in full color, and this is where you will do most of the work on an image. This main channel is composed of all the RGB or CMYK values used in it.

Then there are three or four more, corresponding to the color mode of the document—a channel each for the red, green and blue used in an RGB document, or channels for the cyan, magenta, yellow, and black. Note that the shortcut to access these channels is command 3, 4, and 5. Accessing the composite channel is command 2, and using command 1 sets the view to 100%. This is a change from previous versions of Photoshop.

You can select to work on these color channels by highlighting them in the Channels panel and adjusting levels, curves, brightness and contrast, and a host of other options using Image > Adjustments.

In addition, you can create new channels that can be used to influence the main or composite image.

These original grayscale channels, called Alpha channels by default, can be loaded as selections, which could then filled with color, or used to erase portions of the main image.

You could think of these channels as silkscreens or stencils: what's white will become an editable area if the channel is used to create a selected area, shades of gray are editable in degrees, and what's black in the alpha channel will protect areas of the main image.

To create a new channel, you can start by using one of the selection tools to create a selection.

From the Select menu, choose Save Selection. You can elect to name the new channel or not. If you don't name it, Photoshop names it for you in numerical sequence—Alpha 1, Alpha 2, and so on.

To use an alpha channel, load it using Select > Load Selection and then select the channel you want to use. Dancing ants will appear around the edges between the black and white areas to show you where the active and protected areas are; what's white here will become editable areas in your main channel, and what's black are areas that are protected. Any grayscale portion of a channel that is less that 50% will not show as dancing ants, but will be editable as part of the selection. You can use any method to fill your selection—paintbrush, gradient, clone tool, etc. and option delete will fill it with the current foreground color.

You can create a new channel by clicking on the Create new channel icon at the bottom of the panel and paint (in grayscale) directly in the channel to create textures and/or gradients that can then be used to influence your main image. You can also copy and paste images from other documents, scanned textures—anything you can think of—into an alpha channel. Invert is (command I) to make it a negative (which is what you’d want, if the results of using the channel as a selection are to be a positive image—just like negatives for printing photos are used in the darkroom).

Making selections is the heart of Photoshop and using the various selection tools is your key to success, whether you're creating an image from scratch, or retouching/editing a digital photograph.

There are five ways to create selections:

• With the Shape Marquee tools (rectangle, ellipse, column, and row)
• With the three Lasso tools (freeform, polygonal, and magnetic)
• With the Magic Wand
• With the Pen tool (see paths)
• Using Quick Mask mode (at the bottom of the toolbar)

Selecting something and moving, copying, or altering it is different in Photoshop than it is in Adobe Illustrator or InDesign, because images are created bit by bit, rather than as objects created as vectors.

To affect changes to a specific area of your image, you must select it using any one—or any combination of—the selection tools. The resulting marquee (dancing ants) acts like a window that allows you to make changes to the area it surrounds, while it protects everything else. You can also use selections to copy, cut or move a portion of the image, or create a copy of it.

You can use any of the Marquee, Lasso and magic Wand tools in conjunction with each other. Simply switch to another tool and hold the Shift key to add to the current selection, the Option key to subtract areas, and Shift Option to intersect a selection. You can also use the icons in the Options bar to add, subtract, or intersect a selection, but frankly it’s faster to use the keystroke shortcuts.

Since holding the Shift key and Option keys also control how a shape marquee is created, you might need to release and press them again to get your selection tool working the way you want it to.

Holding the Shift key as you create a shaped selection will constrain it to a perfect square or circle. Holding Shift also adds to a selection.

Holding the Option key as you create a shaped selection will draw the marquee from the center of the shape. Holding Option will also delete portions of a selection.

To move the contents of a selection, hold down the Command key and drag with the selection tool.

You can move a copy of the selection by holding down the command Option key, and dragging the selection to a new location

You can turn any selection into a channel by selecting Save Selection from the Select menu.

You can modify any selection using Refine Edge in the Options bar, selecting it from the Select menu, or using the keystroke shortcut, command option R. There are a host of other options in the Select menu as well. (see the Select section in Menus)

When you are done using a selection, press command D to deselect everything. If you just want to temporarily hide the dancing ant without deselecting anything, press command H. Press command H again to make the selection visible.

LASSO TOOLS

To work with the Lasso tool, just click & drag your way around the area you wish to select.

You can get a bit more precise, in terms of creating straight lines, by using the Polygon Lasso tool, hidden behind the regular lasso. Just click corner points with this tool and straight lines will be placed between each click. This tool is especially helpful when you have a geometric shape that isn’t a square or a rectangle.

In addition, you can toggle between the Lasso and the Polygonal Lasso while you’re in the middle of making a selection by pressing and releasing the Option key.

The Magnetic Lasso follows a well-defined edge. This tool is at its best when the object being selected and the background have a lot of contrast. If that isn’t the case, you can still use it successfully by decreasing the Contrast setting, and increasing the Frequency setting in the Options bar. Click and then let go of the mouse button to draw, and click wherever you’d like to place additional anchor points. If you make a mistake, you can go backwards, without starting over, by retracing the path and pressing the Delete key whenever you reach an anchor point.

When you’ve surrounded the entire area, the path immediately turns into a selection. If you loose your way and need to get out of the selection process, double-click with whatever Lasso tool you may be using at the time.

PEN TOOLS

If you want to make a selection using the Pen tool, create a path then click on the Make selection from path icon at the bottom of the Paths panel.

If you’ve spent some time with the Pen tool outlining a shape for a silhouette, for instance, focus on the Paths panel and use the flyout menu to save it so you can reuse it if necessary. Saving a path is a lot less memory-intensive than saving a selection as a channel.

Modify paths using the Add Anchor Point and Delete Anchor Point tools, as well as the Convert Point tool. You can also use the Direct Selection tool (hollow arrow) to move points and adjust curve handles. Use the Selection tool (solid arrow) to move the entire path somewhere else on the canvas.

If you do not want to see the path(s) you’ve created, deselect them by clicking in the gray area in the Paths panel. Highlight a path in the Paths panel to have it reappear, and select it with either selection tool to modify it again.

MAGIC WANDS

When you click with the Magic Wand, it evaluates the color you clicked on and goes out from there, selecting any other pixel (bit) that falls within the tolerance level you specified (if you didn’t specify anything, the default is 32), and is adjacent to (touching) a pixel that is already selected. If there is an area of color similar to the one you clicked on, but not in close proximity, it will not be selected. You can select all similar colors to the one you started with—even if they’re not touching—by using Select > Similar, or Shift-clicking each area.

To get a very small range (colors that are very similar), use the Options bar to set the “tolerance” level to a small number.

To get a wide range, make the tolerance level a high number.

When Anti-alias is checked, the magic wand will create a softer edge around the selection. Without this checked, your selection will have a very jagged, pixelated edge.

The Quick Selection wand is more like a painting tool as instead of clicking to select an area, you click and drag around the canvas to add to the selection.  The larger the radius (controlled by the size of the brush) the more area is selected. The smaller the brush size, the less area is selected (more precise). If the tool has selected areas you don’t want, hold the Option key to “erase” them from the selected area.

QUICK MASKS

Quick Mask mode changes the nature of a selection from dancing ants into something more akin (both visually and conceptually) to frisket, or a silkscreen stencil. If you have made a selection and then you choose this mode, all protected areas have (by default) a wash of 50% red applied over them, visually reminding you that these areas are protected. Any area not covered with this layer of color is your actual selection. (To change the color or opacity of your quick mask, double-click on its icon.)

To use Quick Mask, select the area you’re interested in with either the lasso, square marquee, circle marquee, magic wand, or pen tool.

Then click on the Quick Mask icon at the bottom right of the toolbox. The areas where not been selected will be covered by the semi-transparent mask.

The mask can be edited using the painting tools and the eraser, which offer more control sometimes than the selection tools.

Switch between black or white as your foreground color to affect the changes you wish to make to your mask. Black will add more mask (red) and white will delete or erase the mask to reveal what’s underneath. Since the mask is about revealing or protecting areas of an image you are limited to using black, white, or shades of gray (which will “sort of” protect areas, more or less depending on the density).

When you have completed any changes to your mask, click the Quick Mask icon in the Toolbar again, or simply type Q. The dancing ants around the selected area will return and any changes made to the mask become part of the active selection.

This is perhaps the fastest way to make a complicated selection in a fairly accurate way. Once your mask has been edited and returned to a selection, you can save it using Save Selection from the Select menu, or turn it into a path by clicking the Make work path from selection icon at the bottom of the Paths panel.

You can turn on Quick Mask mode without making a selection first, and create a mask from scratch. You won’t see any red until you begin painting areas using a black foreground color. Remember that what you leave exposed will become the active selection.

Or select all (command A) and fill with black (red) using Option Delete. Then paint with white to create the selection.

You can invert the Quick Mask, if necessary to get what you want, using Command I.

Then turn your new mask into a selection by clicking the Quick Mask icon again or typing Q.

Remember, while Quick Mask is active, the painting you do is affecting your mask (and subsequently, your selection) and not the image itself.

Paths in Photoshop are almost identical to the paths you create with the pen tool in Illustrator. They are vector shapes that can be used to create strokes or fills, mask layers, or to silhouette images to use in a page layout program like InDesign.

Click to create corner points, or click and drag to create curve points. Hold the Option key to adjust the handles of a curve point, or Option-click on an anchor point to delete the leading handle (to move from a curve to a corner). If you would like to watch small demos of how exactly the pen tool works in Illustrator (in case you’ve never used it before) click here. When you have surrounded the area you are interested in and are back to the first point you placed, a small circle will appear next to the pen icon to let you know that the path is about to be closed. If you don’t close a path, Photoshop treats the space between the starting and end point as a straight line.

To edit the position of a point or its handles while working, hold the Command key to access the Direct Selection tool, or the Option key to access the Convert Point tool.

Using the pen tool to draw around a shape in your main image will create a new path in the Paths panel called a Work Path until you save it using the panel’s flyout menu.

Paths do not increase file size to the same degree as adding channels does (by saving selections), so if you need to just create a simple shape, doing that using a path is smarter than doing it as a channel.

Select a path to use, or edit, by highlighting it in the Paths panel.

You can edit the path after it is complete by using the Direct selection tool to work on existing points and handles, the Add Anchor Point (pen+) tool to add additional points, the Delete Anchor Point (pen-) tool to get rid of excess points, and the Convert Point (caret symbol) which changes corners to curves (click and drag) or curves to corners (just click). To break a handle, so it doesn’t behave like a seesaw, use the Convert point on the end of the handle.

When you select a path from the Paths panel and make it into a selection, the path itself remains visible, so you can edit it (as above). This feature allows you to edit the path while keeping the original selection active. Clicking on the Make path from Selection icon will revise the dancing ants to match the modifications.

NOTE: remember to deselect the path, once you’ve created a selection, if you plan to delete the contents of the selection, or you will delete the path instead! Use command Z immediately to reverse this error, should you forget.

After using the pen tool to select an area, the path will not be saved unless you choose Save Path from the flyout menu (until then, it’s called a Work Path). Here, you can actually name the path with a word that makes sense. The new path name will appear in the paths panel along with a small thumbnail. A path that has been loaded—that is, active—is shown with a pale blue background in the Paths panel.

Paths can be also created without using the pen tool.

Use the lasso, square marquee, ellipse marquee or magic wand to select an area.

Next choose Make Work Path from the Paths panel flyout menu, or by clicking on the Make work path from selection icon at the bottom of the panel. This will turn the selected area into a path that can be saved in the Paths panel, edited, and used, just like a path made with the pen tool.

Other handy options available from the pen panel flyout menu include Stroke Path, Fill path or Clipping path.

The Stroke Path with... icon at the bottom of the Paths panel allows you to paint a color along the edge of the path. Any one of the painting tools can be used to apply the color. The shape and size for the tool you select and the current foreground color will determine the character of the stroke, so make sure you’ve chosen what you want before selecting this option. Or, select Stoke Path from the flyout menu to select the painting tool you want to use. You’d still need to select the color and size and set any other brush options first in order to apply the stroke you want.

The Fill path with foreground color icon at the bottom of the Paths panel will fill your path with the current foreground color. For more control, use the Fill Path option from the flyout menu.

Select Clipping Path from the flyout menu before sending an image to a page layout program to prevent unwanted spaces from clinging around the image. This can be especially useful when layering multiple images or text in the page layout program. Surrounding the area you want to preserve with a path, and then saving it as a Clipping path creates what’s known as a silhouette. It will prevent any background area from appearing, once the image is placed in a page layout document,

Creating and saving paths can be a time- and memory-saver in the long run. You can also be a lot more accurate with the pen tool than you can with the lasso when selecting something. It’s a handy panel and worth paying some attention to.

Printing to your personal printer from Photoshop is pretty straightforward, but some extra steps are required before you hit the Print button.

Before you do anything, you might want to change your image mode to CMYK if you’ve been working in RGB mode. (If your image will be printed professionally, you definitely want to change it, since that’s how it will be reproduced.) If you want to print just a portion of your image, select it before choosing to print. And if you want to print just one or two layers, then hide those you don’t want to print and Photoshop will ignore them. This is a great way to sample a printed image without wasting time and ink.

When you choose File > Print, or command P, you will get a rather extensive dialog box that allows you to make a lot of decisions before the image actually prints.

Select the appropriate printer from the popup menu at the top, and adjust the paper orientation just below that. If the image is too large to fit on the default paper size, use the Page Setup button. Or check the Scale to Fit Media box to reduce the image for printing (this won’t affect the dimensions of the original file). You can decide how much to reduce your image using the Scale field and typing in a percentage, or by typing in a width or height. As long as these fields are linked together, everything will scale in proportion.

 

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