Articles by Web Editor | Page 10

Almost A Built-In Flattening Shortcut

I say “almost” because it works “almost” all the time. If you have a multilayered file and want to quickly flatten it, you can usually press Shift-Command-E (PC: Shift-Control-E). The only time it doesn’t work is when you have a hidden layer, because what you’re pressing is the new keyboard shortcut for Merge Visible. If all your layers are visible, it flattens them, but if even one layer is hidden, it won’t merge all the layers, only the visible ones. So you can use this “almost” all of the time.

February 27th, 2008 | Web Editor | Tip of the Day | Comments (0)

Layer Group Super-Speed Tip

Want a quicker way to create a Layer Group? Command-click (PC: Control-click) on all the layers you want to include in this new Group. Then press-and-hold the Shift key and click on the Create a New Group icon at the bottom of the Layers palette. This will create a brand new Group consisting of all of your linked layers.

February 26th, 2008 | Web Editor | Tip of the Day | Comments (0)

Want To “Drag Select” Layers? You Need To Turn This On

Although CS2 lets you “drag select” layers (and by that I mean you can drag out a selection around objects on layers in your document, and any layers your selection touches will become active in the Layers palette as if you linked them together), you have to know where to turn this feature on. First, press V to get the Move tool, then in the Options Bar turn on the checkbox for Auto Select Layer. Now, click-and-drag within your image and any layer that falls within your selection becomes active. Now you can move them as one unit.

February 25th, 2008 | Web Editor | Tip of the Day | Comments (0)

Inverting A Mask As You Move It

This isn’t a hard tip, but it’s the kind of thing that only advanced users would want to do. It’s the hidden shortcut for inverting a layer mask as you duplicate it (see what I mean)? Well, anyway, here’s the tip: First hold the Shift key, then click-and-drag the layer mask thumbnail to the layer you want it to appear on. If you want to invert and duplicate the mask (rather than move it), hold the Option key (PC: Alt key) as well—so the shortcut is Option-Shift (PC: Alt-Shift) to duplicate and invert.

February 22nd, 2008 | Web Editor | Tip of the Day | Comments (0)

Moving And Copying Layer Masks

If you wanted to move a layer mask from one layer to another, you used to have to jump through a few hoops, but in CS2 it’s much easier. Just click directly on the layer mask’s thumbnail and drag it to the layer where you want it. If you want a duplicate of a layer mask (rather than just moving it from one layer to another), press-and-hold the Option key (PC: Alt key) before you drag.

February 21st, 2008 | Web Editor | Tip of the Day | Comments (0)

Don’t Want A Gap Between Items? Snap To ‘Em

This one is a lot handier than it sounds. If you’ve ever tried to line up a row of objects, the last thing you want is a little gap between some of them (I just ran across this problem when I was trying to line up a row of television monitors for a video wall I was creating). Well, you don’t have to have that gap anymore, because in CS2 you can actually have the layer you’re moving snap right to the layer you’re trying to align it to. Just go under the View menu, under Snap To, and choose Layers.

February 20th, 2008 | Web Editor | Tip of the Day | Comments (0)

Visual Cues For A Layers Edge

Want to see where the edges of your current layer appear (especially handy if you’re working with layers with soft edges)? Just go under the View menu, under Show, and choose Layer Edges. Now a thin blue border will appear around the edges of the currently selected layer to give you a visual cue of your layer’s boundaries.

February 19th, 2008 | Web Editor | Tip of the Day | Comments (0)

Loading A Layer Selection Has Changed

For years now, when you wanted to put a selection around everything on a particular layer, you would Command-click (PC: Control-click) on that layer in the Layers palette, and it pretty much didn’t matter where you clicked, as long as you clicked. Well, in CS2, it matters. You now have to click directly on the layer’s thumbnail to get the selection to load. So what happens if you Command-click (PC: Control-click) on the other part of a layer (the layer’s name for example)? It highlights that layer, so you can select multiple layers at a time.

February 18th, 2008 | Web Editor | Tip of the Day | Comments (0)

Temporarily Unlinking A Layer

If you have a layer linked to another layer in CS2, you’ll see a Link icon appear to the right of the layer’s name (it appears there now, because the old Link column that used to appear to the left of layers is gone). If you hold the Shift key and click directly on that Link icon, that layer will be temporarily unlinked (you’ll see a red X appear through that layer’s Link icon). To relink it, just Shift-click on that icon again.

February 15th, 2008 | Web Editor | Tip of the Day | Comments (0)

Unlinking All Your Linked Layers With A Single Click

Here’s another one we’ve been waiting (patiently, I might add) for a long time—the ability to unlink all your linked layers with a single click. Just click once on the Link icon at the bottom of the Layers palette and all layers linked to your current linked layer will be unlinked. See, if you just wait long enough.

February 14th, 2008 | Web Editor | Tip of the Day | Comments (0)

Faster Flattening

In the past, if you wanted to flatten an image, there was only one way to do it—go to the Layers palette’s flyout menu and choose Flatten Image. But in CS2, it’s finally right at your fingertips. Just Control-click (PC: Right-click) on any image layer’s name in the Layers palette and choose Flatten Image from the contextual menu that appears. It’s not perfect, but it’s faster than digging through the flyout menu. Note: The options that in the contextual menu depend upon the type of layer on which you Command/Control-click.

February 13th, 2008 | Web Editor | Tip of the Day | Comments (0)

Moving Layer Effects From One Layer To Another

In previous versions of Photoshop, when you wanted to move an applied effect (like a drop shadow or bevel and emboss) from one layer and have it appear on another layer, you’d copy the effect from your original layer, then paste it onto your preferred layer, then go back to the original layer and drag the effect into the Trash. Four steps are just too much. How about only one—just drag the little round “f” icon from the active layer to the layer you want it on, and it relocates to that layer. If you want to duplicate the effect (rather than move it), just Option-drag (PC: Alt-drag) the icon.

February 11th, 2008 | Web Editor | Tip of the Day | Comments (0)

Changing Opacity While You’re Transforming

Until CS2, this was impossible, but now when you have Free Transform active on a layer and you need to change the opacity of the layer you’re transforming, you can do it by just going to the Layers palette and lowering the Opacity setting. But it’s not just Opacity—you can change the blend mode as well. If you do photo restoration, or wind up having to take a head shot from one photo and composite it on another (the groom’s eyes were closed, etc.), you know what a time saver this will be.

February 8th, 2008 | Web Editor | Tip of the Day | Comments (0)

Finally, A Shortcut For Creating A Flattened Layer

I’m not talking about flattening your image. I’m talking about a new layer that contains a flattened version of your whole layered document, without flattening your layers. That’s right—one layer that looks like your flattened document. You could do this in previous versions, but it took a little doin’. Now, it’s just one simple keyboard shortcut, and it even creates the layer for you—it’s Command-Option-Shift-E (PC: Control-Alt-Shift-E).

February 7th, 2008 | Web Editor | Tip of the Day | Comments (0)

Cropping Multiple Images At Once

If you’ve opened multiple images in Camera Raw, you can apply cropping to one of those images and then have that exact same cropping applied to as many other open images as you’d like, in just two clicks. First crop your selected image in the preview window using the Crop tool (C). Now select the other photos you want to crop by Command-clicking (PC: Control-click) on them in the list of open photos on the left side of the Camera Raw dialog. Then click on the Synchronize button. When the dialog appears, from the Synchronize pop-up menu at the top, choose Crop and click OK. All your selected photos will be cropped the same way you cropped the first photo.

February 6th, 2008 | Web Editor | Tip of the Day | Comments (0)

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Photoshop Tutorials

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Flash Video the Easy Way, Pt. 3
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Premiere Pro CS4 Nest Command
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Roundtrip Logo From Illustrator to Photoshop
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Imageready’s Supercharged Eyedropper

In previous versions of Photoshop, you could only use the Eyedropper tool to sample a color from other open images in Photoshop, but for some reason, ImageReady had a supercharged Eyedropper. If you clicked the mouse button within your image and held it down, you could leave your image window and sample colors from, well… just about anything—including your computer desktop or any other open application. Freaky! Fortunately, Adobe finally added this same power to Photoshop’s Eyedropper tool.