Ch 2: Getting Acquainted with Photoshop’s User Interface

Photoshop CS6 EssentialsBy Scott Onstott

Ch 2: Getting Acquainted with Photoshop’s User Interface

File Storage Requirements• Images take up space according to how

many pixels they are made up of.• You can specify the dimensions of a new

document in pixels, inches, cm, mm, points, picas, or columns

• When specifying a document’s size in units other than pixels, the resolution (in pixels/inch or pixels/cm) is used to calculate how many pixels will be created.

• The Image Size is an estimate of how much RAM and disc space the file will consume.

Ch 2: Getting Acquainted with Photoshop’s User Interface

Photoshop’s User Interface• Familiarize yourself with all the

parts of the UI• Learn the jargon used to identify

the UI elements such as panel, dock, application frame, options bar, and so on.

• Using the correct terminology will help you to understand this book and will enable you to ask directed questions about Photoshop.

Ch 2: Getting Acquainted with Photoshop’s User Interface

Application Preferences• There are many user-configurable

preferences in Photoshop• Access preferences from the

Photoshop menu in Mac OS and the Edit menu in Windows.

• You can jump directly to a specific page within the Preferences dialog box from the Preferences cascading sub-menu.

• Reset preferences by holding Opt+Cmd+Shift while launching Photoshop

Ch 2: Getting Acquainted with Photoshop’s User Interface

Saving Keyboard Shortcuts• You can change keyboard

shortcuts by choosing Edit > Keyboard Shortcuts

• Shortcuts are arranged in three groups: application menus, panel menus, and tools.

• Expand the hierarchy and locate the command or tool you are interested in and then click in the shortcut column

• Press any combination of modifier keys to record the shortcut and click Accept

Ch 2: Getting Acquainted with Photoshop’s User Interface

Shortcut Keys• Active keyboard shortcuts are

listed in the menus• Learn frequently used commands

shortcuts as you use them and then start to transition from using menus to using the keyboard to increase your productivity

• Mac OS uses symbols to represents its modifier keys

• The Mac Command key is equivalent to Windows Ctrl ley

• The Mac Option key is equivalent to Windows Alt key

Ch 2: Getting Acquainted with Photoshop’s User Interface

Arranging Documents• You can open documents in

windows or in tabs (controlled by a preference setting on the Interface page)

• The Arrange Documents drop-down menu on the Application bar has many different options for tiling tabs

• You can also convert between tabs and windows by choosing Float All in Windows from the Window > Arrange sub-menu

Ch 2: Getting Acquainted with Photoshop’s User Interface

Dragging and Dropping• Drag and drop document

window their title bars or from tabs to float or dock documents

• You can work with tabs, windows, or a combination of both

• The application background underlies all document tabs and windows

• The document background surrounds each document, whether the document uses a tabbed or windowed interface

Ch 2: Getting Acquainted with Photoshop’s User Interface

Document Backgrounds• You can see the document background by

zooming out enough so that the effective size of the document is smaller than its window, or by resizing the document window larger than the pixels inside it

• Select the Paint Bucket tool and right-click the document background to choose Gray, Black, or a Custom color. You can change the background color to contrast with the image you are viewing

• Full Screen with Menu Bar and Full Screen modes maintain separate document background colors

Ch 2: Getting Acquainted with Photoshop’s User Interface

Accessing Tool Flyout Menus• Most of the tools in the Tools panel have

flyout menus hiding additional tools• You can access hidden tools by pressing

Shift and the letter of the visible tool• For example G selects the Gradient tool.

Shift+G selects the Paint Bucket tool. • Pressing Shift and the shortcut letter

cycles back to the original tool after all the items in the flyout have been selected one at a time