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Tutorials (coming soon)
? I need to Position objects very precisely, but Photoshop's
rulers measure in fractions of an inch. How can I gain
more control over where I place the cursor and individual
objects?
Using inches as your unit of measurement won't give you fine enough increments for precise positioning. Try switching to pixels as your basic ruler unit, then learn how to use grids and guides to help you place things exactly where you want them. Just follow these steps:
1. From the File menu, select Preferences I Units & Rulers. You'll see the dialog box shown in Figure 1-1.
2. From the drop-down list in the Rulers box, choose pixels.
3. Another drop-down list of each of the Photoshop preference options appears at the top of the dialog box.
4. Choose Guides & Grid, and make sure the "Gridline every" field shows "l pixels."
5. Click OK to return to Photoshop's main screen.
6. Make sure you have rulers, grids, and guides visible. You can toggle them by pressing COMMAND/CTRL-R to turn rulers on and Off, COMMAND/CTRL-; (semicolon) to turn guides on and off, or COMMAND/CTRL-" (quotation mark) to turn grids on and off.
7. If you'd like to have selections and objects snap to the guides you create, press SHIFT-COMMAND/CTRL-; (semicolon).
You can now drag a guide onto your screen by placing the cursor on the left or top rulers, holding down the mouse button, and releasing it when the guide is positioned properly You'll find more information on setting up preferences in Chapter 2, "Setup and Preferences," and additional tips on positioning selections and objects in Chapter 5, " Selections and Paths."
? How much memory do I need to run Photoshop?
Photoshop uses a lot more RAM than you might think, and eats it up in different ways, depending on whether you're using a Windows machine or a Macintosh. However, a safe rule of thumb is to have four to five times as much memory as the largest file you plan to edit, plus an additional 8MB or more of RAM for Photoshop itself and your operating system. That is, if you frequently work with 3MB files, you should have a minimum of 12 to 15MB available for Photoshop, plus 8 to 16MB or more for your OS and the application. In practical terms, that means you'll need 24 to 32MB of memory to avoid making Photoshop swap out part of your image to your hard disk (which is thousands of times slower than memory). I run Photoshop on a Power Macintosh with 64MB of RAM, and a pair of Windows NT and Windows 95 machines that each have 192MB of memory
The reason that Photoshop is such a memory hog is that, in essence, it duplicates a file in memory each time you do things like create a layer, take a snapshot, or apply a filter that the program may
? My Photoshop images frequently print too large, or too small. How can I change the final output size on my printer?
While you can change the relative size of your document with most printer drivers' Scaling option, Photoshop gives you an easier way There's no need to resize the image and perhaps sacrifice some quality. Instead, simply tell Photoshop to adjust the final size whenever the image document is printed. Just follow these steps:
1. Select the area you want to print, or, if you'd like to print the entire page, make sure nothing is selected, using Select I None, or by pressing COMMAND/CTRL-D.
2. Access the Image I Image Size dialog box.
You can press OPTION/ALT-1 twice if you'd like to practice the keyboard shortcut.
3, In the Print Size area, type in either the width or height that you want for your final image or selection. If the Constrain Proportions box is checked, a chain icon linking the width and height fields will show. When you type a value into either field, the other one changes to reflect the other size using the same proportions.
4. Click OK.
The new size You've indicated will be used automatically whenever the image is Printed from within Photoshop.
? It's bothersome to have to locate the Options palette every time I want to change the attributes for the current tool. Is there a faster way?
To change attributes for a given tool, just double-click the button on the Tools palette for the given tool and the Options tab will pop to the front. You can then change any attributes related to that tool.
2. Access the Image I Image Size dialog box
You can press OPTION/ALT-1 twice if you'd like to practice the keyboard shortcut.
3. In the Print Size area, type in either the width or height that you want for your final image or selection. If the Constrain
Proportions box is checked, a chain icon linking the width and height fields will show. WHEN you type a value into either field,
the other one changes to reflect the other size using the same proportions.
4. Click OK.
The new size You've indicated will be used automatically whenever the image is printed from within Photoshop.
? It's bothersome to have to locate the Options palette everytime I want to change the attributes for the current tool. Is there a faster way?
To change the attributes for a given too, just double-click the button on the Tool palette for the given tool and the Option tab will pop to the front. You can change any attributes related to that tool.
? How do I duplicate a selection?
To duplicate a selection on a layer, just point at the selected object ,,Keith the Move tool while holding down the OPTION/ALT key Then drag away from the selection and a duplicate will now be selected. To place, a duplicate of a selection on its own new layer, press COMMAND/ CTRL-C, followed by COMMAND/CTRL-v (the Copy and Paste commands). The duplicate will be placed on a new layer, and will remain selected.
? How can I quickly fill a selection with the foreground or
background color?
You'll need to learn several techniques, because Photoshop handled, fills on transparent layers differently than on layers that already contain a background color, and you'll need to access the Fill dialog box, shown here, if you want to use less than a 100 percent fill in your selection.
Adding 100 Percent Fills
* To fill a selection on a transparent or non-transparent layer
with the foreground color, hold down the OPTION/ALT and DEL keys simultaneously
* To fill the selection on a non-transparent layer with the background color, simply press the DEL key
Photoshop won't fill a selection on a transparent layer with the background color when you press the DEL key Instead, you'll need to swap the foreground and background colors (by pressing x to exchange them), then press OPTION/ALT-DEL to fill the selection with the "new" foreground color. Press x again to return the foreground and background colors to their former status.
* TO apply the foreground color only to the areas in a layer that contain image pixels without needing to make a selection first, press OPTION/ALT-SHIFT-DEL. To fill with the background color only to areas in a transparent layer that contain pixels, press COMMAND/CTRL-DEL-
* Filling using a Percentage d or background colors
TO fill using a percentage of the foreground you'll need to access the Fill dialog box. Just follow these steps:
1. Press SHIFT-BACKSPACE (in Windows) or SHIFT-DEL (on the Macintosh) to display the Fill dialog box.
2. In the Use field, you can select Foreground or Background from the drop-down list. You can also choose Black, White, 50 percent gray, or fill from a snapshot, saved version, or pattern. More information about filling from a snapshot, saved version, or pattern can be found in Chapter 6, "Retouching and Compositing."
3. in the Blending area, type in the amount of opacity you want, from 0 percent (transparent) to 100 percent (completely filled).
4. If you want to fill only the areas of a transparent layer that contain pixels, check the Preserve Transparency box.
5. To merge the fill with the rest of the image in the selection, choose a blending mode from the drop-down Mode list.
? How do I select an image found on one layer?
Many veteran users of Photoshop have had problems making the transition to the significant changes Adobe made in how layers are handled in Photoshop 4.x. In the previous version, you could select the layer you want to work on from the Layers palette, then select the whole layer by using the COMMAND/CTRL-A keys or by using Select I All. You then needed to use the Move tool and move the layer slightly, which commanded Photoshop to select only the parts of the layer with an image on it.
The procedure has been simplified in Photoshop 4.x. just hold down the CTRL key while clicking on the layer you want to use in the Layers' palette. Photoshop automatically selects whatever pixels are in use on that layer.
? How can I make my Photoshop 4.O files compatible with
other versions, programs, and platforms?
First, find out what file format can be handled by the platform your Photoshop file is destined for. Then, use File I Save a Copy and select that format. Photoshop will only save files in image formats. Here are some tips:
Most file formats saved by Photoshop can be read easily by another copy of Photoshop, regardless of the platform. Macs and PCS can each read TIF, PCX, PICT, and PSD files created on the other system. The exception to the first tip is when a user is working with Photoshop 2.5. When exchanging files with a Photoshop 2.5 owner, use the TIF format. You can also use the Files I Preferences I Saving Files dialog box, to tell Photoshop to save in a Photoshop 2.5 format by default. * TIF and PSD formats both preserve saved selections, but only Photoshop's native PSD format preserves your layers. * If your file will be read by a non-Photoshop application, the TIF format is usually your best choice. Some older applications have difficulty reading compressed TIF files, so you may want to uncheck the LZW Compression box in the TIFF Options dialog box that pops up when you save a TIF file.
* To transport a file between Windows machines and Macintoshes, use PC-compatible disks, if possible. Most recent Macintoshes can read PC media directly.
? How do I change the foreground and background colors?
The color swatches on the bottom of the toolbox determine the foreground and background colors. To change a color, use one of these techniques:
* In the Swatches palette, click on any color patch in the library to change the foreground color to that hue. Note that the cursor changes to an eyedropper when it passes over the Swatches palette. You can create your own libraries of swatches and save them for a later reuse. Hold down the OPTION/ALT key to change the Bachground color to that of the current patch.
* To "dial" in colors, access the Color palette.
You can click on either the foreground or background color swatches, then use the slider to create a specific color using red, green, and blue values.
* The color ramp at the bottom of the Color palette can also be used to select the foreground and background color quickliy. The cursor changes into an eyedropper when passed over the color ramp. Just click to set the foreground color, or OPTION/ ALT click to set the background.
* For more precise color selection, double-click the foreground or Background swatches on the toolbox to produce the Color Picker. You can type in values for red/green/blue, as well as for hue, saturation and brightness; cyan, magenta, yellow, and black; or the L*a*b components L (lightness), a (green to red), and b (blue to yellow).
* The Color Picker also has a large Color palette that can be used to choose a specific hue by clicking in the area conntaining the color you want. The color range of this palette can be changed with the rainbow slider in the middle of the dialog box.
* To choose a color from a color-matching system, such as Pantone or Trumatch, click the Custom button on the Color Picker, and select the system and hue you want.
? Even after changing dialog box settings, I find that a filter is too strong. Is there anything that I can do?
Press COMMAND/Ctrl-Shift-F to produce the Fade dialog box. You can move the slider to reduce the effect of the filter from 100% all the way down to zero. If the Preview checkbox is marked, you'll be able to see the effects of your changes on the original image as you make the adjustments. The Fade dialog box can be moved to one side to give you a good look at the image workspace. You may also blend the filter effects and the underlying image it was applied to by choosing a mode from the drop-down list.
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Shadow Conspiracy! (a must have) If you want the action, remember to right click on the picture, and select "Save Link As..."
Stitches! If you want the action, remember to right click on the picture, and select "Save Link As..." If you want the action, remember to right click on the picture, and select "Save Link As..."
Checkers If you want the action, remember to right click on the picture, and select "Save Link As..."
Predator! If you want the action, remember to right click on the picture, and select "Save Link As..."
Toy Story If you want the action, remember to right click on the picture, and select "Save Link As..." Disco Funk! If you want the action, remember to right click on the picture, and select "Save Link As..." Wet Paint! Note - For some reason, this action, like Dr. Storm, sometimes displays the message "Could not load because of disk error. If this occurs, download the ZIP PACK! It works perfectly off the Zipped pack ... I can't figure out why downloading changed the file size by 1 bit. If you want the action, remember to right click on the picture, and select "Save Link As..."
Tile Viewer! This Action takes the guess work out for you! By using your image, Tile Viewer actually creates a new window and replicates your image in a repeating tile - exactly how you would find it on the Internet! If you want the action, remember to right click on the picture, and select "Save Link As..." You do nothing! Just click play, and Dr. Storm will fix you up right! Note - For some reason, this action sometimes displays the message "Could not load because of disk error. If this occurs, download the ZIP PACK! There seems to be no problem then. If you want the action, remember to right click on the picture, and select "Save Link As..." Bad Trip ... The title says it all. If you want the action, remember to right click on the picture, and select "Save Link As..." |
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