Adobe Photoshop 6.0 User Guide 6
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©2000 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All rights reserved.
Adobe® Photoshop® 6.0 User Guide for Windows® and Macintosh
This manual, as well as the software described in it, is furnished under license and may be used or copied only in accordance with the terms
of such license. The content of this manual is furnished for informational use only, is subject to change without notice, and should not be
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The unauthorized incorporation of such material into your new work could be a violation of the rights of the copyright owner. Please be sure
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Adobe, the Adobe logo, Acrobat, Acrobat Reader, Adobe Dimensions, Adobe Gamma, After Effects, FrameMaker, GoLive, Illustrator,
ImageReady, InDesign, InProduction, Minion, Myriad, PageMaker, Photoshop, PostScript, PressReady, and Streamline are either registered
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Contains an implementation of the LZW algorithm licensed under U.S Patent 4,558,302.
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Part Number: 90024592 (09/00)
iii
Contents
Getting Started
Registration
............................................ 1
Installing Adobe Photoshop and ImageReady
........... 1
Learning Adobe Photoshop and ImageReady
........... 1
Using Web resources
................................... 3
Other learning resources
Customer support
Adobe Photoshop Basics
............................... 4
...................................... 5
Using tools and palettes
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Opening images in Photoshop and ImageReady
Streamlining your workflow
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Making tonal and color adjustments
Retouching images
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Making pixel selections
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Making edits
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Using layers
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Compositing images
Painting
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Drawing shapes
Creating type
Editing type
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Designing Web graphics
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Creating animations (ImageReady)
Optimizing Web graphics
What’s New in Adobe
Photoshop 6.0
. . . . . . . 12
Superb vector support
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Enhanced vector output
Layer styles
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Interactive image warping
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Enhanced slicing capabilities
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Enhanced support for image maps and rollovers
Weighted optimization
Improved Web workflow
Streamlined interface
. . . . . . . 47
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
iv CONTENTS
Enhanced layer management
Expanded text features
Preset Manager
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Other new and enhanced features
Looking at the Work Area
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Chapter 1
Using the toolbox
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Using the tool options bar
Using palettes
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Using context menus
Viewing images
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Correcting mistakes
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Reverting to any state of an image
Duplicating images
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Using rulers, the measure tool, guides, and the grid
Working with Extras
. . . . . 74
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Displaying status information
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Displaying file and image information
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Annotating images (Photoshop)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Jumping between applications
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Previewing an image in a browser
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Managing libraries with the Preset Manager
(Photoshop) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Setting preferences
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Resetting all warning dialogs
Monitoring operations
Closing files and quitting
Getting Images into
Photoshop and
ImageReady
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Chapter 2
About bitmap images and vector graphics
About image size and resolution
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Changing image size and resolution
Scanning images
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Creating new images
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Opening and importing images
Placing files
. . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Managing files with WebDAV
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
v
Working with Color
Chapter 3
About color modes and models (Photoshop)
Color gamuts (Photoshop)
. . . . . . . . . . 109
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Adjusting the monitor display
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Channels and bit depth (Photoshop)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Converting between color modes (Photoshop)
Converting to indexed color (Photoshop)
Applying colors
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Making color and tonal adjustments
Producing Consistent
Color (Photoshop)
. . . . . . . . 117
. . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Chapter 4
Why colors sometimes don’t match
About color management
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Do you need color management?
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Creating a viewing environment for
color management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Setting up color management
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Using predefined color management settings
Customizing color management settings
Specifying working spaces
. . . . . . . . . 124
. . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Specifying color management policies
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Customizing advanced color management settings
Saving and loading color management settings
. . . 130
. . . . . . . 130
Synchronizing color management between
applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Soft-proofing colors
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Changing the color profile of a document
. . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Embedding profiles in saved documents
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Obtaining, installing, and updating color profiles
Creating an ICC monitor profile
Selecting
. . . . . . 134
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Chapter 5
About selections
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Making pixel selections
Adjusting pixel selections
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Softening the edges of a selection
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Moving, copying, and pasting selections and layers
Working with snap
. . . . 149
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
vi CONTENTS
Saving and loading selections
Deleting selections
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Removing fringe pixels from a selection
(Photoshop) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Extracting objects from their background
(Photoshop) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Drawing and Editing
Chapter 6
About drawing and painting
Drawing shapes and paths
Using the shape tools
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Using the pen tools (Photoshop)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Drawing overlapping shapes (Photoshop)
Using the Paths palette (Photoshop)
Editing paths (Photoshop)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Managing paths (Photoshop)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Converting between paths and selection borders
(Photoshop) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Adding color to paths (Photoshop)
Transforming and retouching
Using Channels and Masks
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Chapter 7
About channels
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Using the Channels palette (Photoshop)
Managing channels (Photoshop)
Mixing color channels (Photoshop)
Adding spot colors (Photoshop)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Using channel calculations to blend layers
and channels (Photoshop) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
About masks (Photoshop)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
Creating temporary masks in Quick Mask mode
(Photoshop) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
Storing masks in alpha channels
Using Layers
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Chapter 8
About layers
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
About layer sets
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Using the Layers palette
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Creating a layered image
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
vii
Grouping layers into sets
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
Moving and aligning the contents of layers
Editing layers
. . . . . . . . . . . 214
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
Creating clipping groups
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
Specifying layer properties
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
Using the Layer Style dialog box (Photoshop)
Setting layer blending options
Using layer styles
. . . . . . . . . 220
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
Customizing layer styles
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
Creating and editing contours (Photoshop)
Hiding portions of a layer
. . . . . . . . . . . 236
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
Using adjustment layers or fill layers (Photoshop)
Managing layered images
Using Type
. . . . . . 242
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
Chapter 9
About type
Creating type
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
Working with type layers
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
Formatting characters
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
Formatting paragraphs
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
Controlling hyphenation and justification
Working with composition
. . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
Setting options for Chinese, Japanese,
and Korean type (Photoshop) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
Designing Web Pages
Chapter 10
About designing Web pages with Photoshop and
ImageReady . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
Creating and viewing slices
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
Selecting and modifying slices
Specifying slice options
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
Creating and viewing image maps (ImageReady)
. . . . . . 286
Selecting and modifying image maps (ImageReady)
Specifying image map options (ImageReady)
Selecting an image map type (ImageReady)
Working with rollovers (ImageReady)
. . . 288
. . . . . . . . . 291
. . . . . . . . . . . 292
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
Creating Web photo galleries (Photoshop)
. . . . . . . . . . . . 297
viii CONTENTS
Creating Animations
(ImageReady)
Chapter 11
About animation
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
Creating animations
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
Working with layers in animations
Viewing animations
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309
Optimizing animations
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309
Viewing animated images in Photoshop
Saving animations
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310
Opening and importing files as animations
Optimizing Images for
the Web
. . . . . . . . . . . . 311
Chapter 12
About optimization
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315
Viewing images during optimization
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316
Choosing a file format for optimization
Optimizing images
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320
Using weighted optimization
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327
Optimizing colors in GIF and PNG-8 images
. . . . . . . . . . . 330
Working with hexadecimal values for color
. . . . . . . . . . . 337
Making transparent and matted images
Previewing and controlling dithering
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341
Setting optimization preferences (ImageReady)
. . . . . . . 345
Using a droplet to automate optimization settings
(ImageReady) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 346
Saving optimized images
Setting output options
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 348
Creating background images
Saving and Exporting
Images
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 352
Chapter 13
Saving images
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 357
About file formats
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 364
Adding file information (Photoshop)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 366
Adding digital copyright information
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 366
Setting preferences for saving files (Photoshop)
Creating multiple-image layouts (Photoshop)
. . . . . . . 366
. . . . . . . . . 367
Placing Photoshop images in other applications
(Photoshop) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 369
ix
Printing (Photoshop)
Chapter 14
About printing
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 375
Printing images
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 376
Positioning and scaling images
Setting output options
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 377
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 378
Selecting halftone screen attributes
Printing part of an image
Choosing a print encoding method
Printing vector graphics
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 382
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 382
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 382
Using color management when printing
Printing with Adobe PressReady
Creating color traps
Printing duotones
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 383
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 384
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 384
Printing color separations
Automating Tasks
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 382
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 389
Chapter 15
About actions
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 393
Using the Actions palette
Recording actions
Playing actions
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 394
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 394
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 399
Setting playback options (Photoshop)
Editing actions
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 400
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 400
Managing actions in the Actions palette
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 402
Using the Batch command (Photoshop)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 405
Using droplets
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 406
Using the Automate commands (Photoshop)
External automation
Index
. . . . . . . . . 410
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 411
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 413
1
Getting Started
elcome to the Adobe® Photoshop® 6.0
application, the world-standard
image-editing, photo-retouching,
and Web-graphics solution. With its integrated
Web tool application, Adobe ImageReady™ 3.0,
Photoshop delivers a comprehensive environment
for professional designers and graphics producers
to create sophisticated images for both print and
the Web. Moreover, Photoshop 6.0 expands the
definition of desktop image-editing by adding new
support for vector-based drawing and editing,
improved tools for producing Web graphics,
and an enhanced user interface, all to your
creative advantage.
W
Registration
Adobe is confident you will find that its software
greatly increases your productivity. So that Adobe
can continue to provide you with the highest
quality software, offer technical support, and
inform you about new Photoshop software developments, please register your application.
When you first start the Photoshop or ImageReady
application, you’re prompted to register online.
You can choose to submit the form directly or fax
a printed copy. You can also register by filling out
and returning the registration card included with
your software package.
Installing Adobe Photoshop and
ImageReady
You must install the Photoshop and ImageReady
applications from the Adobe Photoshop CD onto
your hard drive; you cannot run the program from
the CD.
Follow the on-screen installation instructions.
For more detailed information, see the InstallReadMe file on the CD. The single installer installs
both the Photoshop and ImageReady applications.
Learning Adobe Photoshop and
ImageReady
Adobe provides a variety of options for you to
learn Photoshop, including printed guides,
online Help, and tool tips. Using the Adobe
Online feature, you can easily access a host of
continually updated Web resources for learning
Photoshop, from tips and tutorials to tech
support information.
Adobe Acrobat® Reader™ software, included on the
Photoshop CD, lets you view PDF files. Acrobat
Reader or Adobe Acrobat is required to view many
documents included on this CD.
Using the printed documentation
Two printed documents are included with
the application.
2
Getting Started
Using online Help
The Adobe Photoshop and ImageReady applications include complete documentation in an
HTML-based help system. The help system
includes all of the information in the Adobe
Photoshop 6.0 User Guide plus information on
additional features, keyboard shortcuts, and fullcolor illustrations.
For more detailed information about using
online Help, click the Help on Help button
next to the Content tab.
To properly view online Help topics, you need
Netscape Communicator 4.0 (or later) or
Microsoft® Internet Explorer 4.0 (or later).
You must also have JavaScript active.
To start online Help:
Do one of the following:
• Choose Help > Help Contents (Photoshop) or
Help > Help Topics (ImageReady).
• Press F1 (Windows).
Adobe Photoshop 6.0 User Guide Contains
essential information on using Photoshop and
ImageReady commands and features. Complete
information on all topics is available in online
Help. The printed guide and help also indicate
when a topic, procedure, or command pertains
specifically to Photoshop or ImageReady,
for example, “Choose View > Actual Pixels
(Photoshop) or View > Actual Size (ImageReady).”
The user guide assumes you have a working
knowledge of your computer and its operating
conventions, including how to use a mouse
and standard menus and commands. It also
assumes you know how to open, save, and close
files. For help with any of these techniques,
please see your Microsoft Windows® or Mac® OS
documentation.
Adobe Photoshop Quick Reference Card
Contains basic information about the Adobe
Photoshop and ImageReady tools and palettes,
and shortcuts for using them. Shortcuts are also
included in the online Help.
Using tool tips
The tool tips feature lets you display the name of
tools, or buttons and controls in palettes.
To identify a tool or control:
Position the pointer over a tool or control and
pause. A tool tip appears showing the name and
keyboard shortcut (if any) for the item.
If tool tips don’t appear, the preference for
displaying them may be turned off.
To display tool tips:
1 Choose Edit > Preferences > General.
2 Select Show Tool Tips, and click OK.
Note: Tool tips are not available in most dialog
boxes.
ADOBE PHOTOSHOP 6.0 3
User Guide
Using Web resources
If you have an Internet connection and a Web
browser installed on your system, you can access
additional resources for learning Photoshop and
ImageReady located on the Adobe Systems home
page on the World Wide Web. These resources are
continually updated.
To access the Adobe home page for your region:
1 Open the Adobe U.S. home page at
www.adobe.com.
2 From the Adobe Sites menu, choose your
geographical region. The Adobe home page is
customized for several geographical regions.
When you set up Adobe Online to connect to your
Web browser, Adobe can either notify you
whenever new information is available through
the Downloadables feature or automatically
download that information to your hard disk.
If you choose not to use the automatic download
feature, you can still view and download new files
whenever they are available using the Downloadables command in the Help menu.
To use Adobe Online:
1 In Photoshop or ImageReady, choose
Help > Adobe Online, or click the icon at the
top of the toolbox.
About Adobe Online
Adobe Online provides access to the latest
tutorials, quicktips, and other Web content for
Photoshop and other Adobe products.
Using Adobe Online, you can also download and
view the current version of the Photoshop Top
Issues document containing the latest Photoshop
technical support solutions. Bookmarks are also
included to take you quickly to noteworthy
Adobe- and Photoshop-related sites.
Using Adobe Online
Adobe Online is constantly changing, so you
should refresh before you use it. Refreshing
through Adobe Online updates bookmarks and
buttons so you can quickly access the most current
content available. You can use preferences to
automatically refresh Adobe Online daily, weekly,
or monthly.
Note: You must have an Internet connection and
an Internet browser installed. Adobe Online will
launch your browser using your default Internet
configuration.
2 Do any of the following:
• Click Refresh to make sure you have the latest
version of the Adobe Online window and its
buttons, as well as the latest bookmarks. It is
important to refresh the screen so that the current
options are available for you to choose from.
• Click Preferences to specify connection options.
General preferences affect how Adobe Online
interacts with all Adobe products installed on your
system, and Application preferences affect how
4
Getting Started
Adobe Online interacts with Photoshop and
ImageReady. To see an explanation of each
preference option, click Setup and follow the
prompts. You also can set up an automatic refresh
using the Update Options.
Note: You can also set Adobe Online preferences by
choosing Edit > Preferences > Adobe Online.
• Click any button in the Adobe Online window to
open the Web page to which the button is linked.
• Click the bookmark button ( ) to view
suggested Web sites related to Photoshop and
Adobe. These bookmarks are automatically
updated as new Web sites become available.
• Click Close to return to Photoshop or
ImageReady.
Accessing Adobe Online through the
Help menu
The Help menu includes options to view and
download information from the Adobe Web site.
To view updated articles or documents:
Click Help and choose the topic you want to view.
• Select Show All Files to view all the files on the
Adobe Web site that are currently available for
download.
3 Select Download Options:
• Select Auto Install Downloaded Components if
you want Adobe to start the component’s installer
(if available) as soon as the download is complete.
You can then follow the prompts to install the files.
• Select Download in Background if you want to
continue working in Photoshop, ImageReady,
and other applications while the file downloads.
• Select Notify When Download Complete if you
want Adobe to display a message when the files
have been transferred to your computer.
4 To view a list of files, open the Downloadables
folder and any other folder listed.
5 To see a description of a file, position the mouse
cursor over a filename and view its description in
the Item Description section.
6 To see the location where a file will be installed
if downloaded, select a file and view its location in
the Download Directory section. To change the
location, click the Folder button ( ).
7 To download a file, select it and click
To view and download information from the Adobe
Web site using the Help menu:
Download.
1 In Photoshop or ImageReady, choose Help >
8 To close the Downloadables dialog box,
click Close.
Downloadables.
2 Select a View Option:
• Select Show Only New Files to view only the files
Other learning resources
that are new since the last time you viewed
downloadable files or were notified of them.
Other Adobe learning resources are available but
are not included with your application.
ADOBE PHOTOSHOP 6.0 5
User Guide
Classroom in a Book Is the official training series
for Adobe graphics and publishing software.
This book is developed by experts at Adobe and
published by Adobe Press. The Adobe Photoshop
Classroom in a Book includes lessons about using
Photoshop. For information on purchasing Adobe
Photoshop Classroom in a Book, visit the Adobe
Web site at www.adobe.com, or contact your local
book distributor.
Official Adobe Print Publishing Guide
Provides in-depth information on successful
print production, including topics such as color
management, commercial printing, constructing a
publication, imaging and proofing, and project
management guidelines. For information on
purchasing the Official Adobe Print Publishing
Guide, visit the Adobe Web site at
www.adobe.com.
Official Adobe Electronic Publishing Guide
Tackles the fundamental issues essential to
ensuring quality online publications in HTML and
PDF. Using simple, expertly illustrated explanations, design and publishing professionals tell
you how to design electronic publications for
maximum speed, legibility, and effectiveness.
For information on purchasing the Official Adobe
Electronic Publishing Guide, visit the Adobe Web
site at www.adobe.com.
The Adobe Certification program Offers users,
instructors, and training centers the opportunity
to demonstrate their product proficiency and
promote their software skills as Adobe Certified
Experts, Adobe Certified Instructors, or Adobe
Authorized Learning Providers. Certification is
available for several different geographical regions.
Visit the Partnering with Adobe Web site at
www.partners.adobe.com to learn how you can
become certified.
Customer support
When you register your product, you may be
entitled to technical support for up to 90 days from
the date of your first call. Terms may vary
depending on the country of residence. For more
information, refer to the technical support card
provided with the Photoshop documentation.
Customer support on Adobe Online
Adobe Online provides access to FAQs
(Frequently Asked Questions) and troubleshooting information that provides solutions to
common problems.
Additional customer support resources
Adobe Systems provides several forms of
automated technical support:
• See the ReadMe and ReadMe First! files installed
with the program for information that became
available after this guide went to press.
• Explore the extensive customer support infor-
mation on Adobe’s World Wide Web site
(www.adobe.com). To access the Adobe Web site
from Photoshop, choose Help > Adobe Online or
click the icon at the top of the toolbox. (See “Using
Web resources” on page 3.)
• Read the Top Issues PDF that is available from
the Help menu.
Adobe Photoshop Basics
This interactive overview of Adobe Photoshop offers a number of short lesson modules designed to
introduce the key features of the program. You can complete the modules in sequence, or select individual
ones to design your own program introduction. If you are an experienced Photoshop user, you may want
to quickly review sections of this overview and then skip to “What’s New in Adobe Photoshop 6.0.”
10
Adobe Photoshop Basics
Setting up the work area
Using tools and palettes
The Photoshop or ImageReady work area consists of the image window, the toolbox, the options bar, and a set
of floating palettes. This module shows you the basics of navigating the work area, from selecting tools and
tool options to customizing the display and arrangement of palettes.
Select a tool To select a tool, click its icon in the toolbox. Some tools in the toolbox have additional hidden
tools, as indicated by the small triangle to the lower right of the tool icon. To select a hidden tool, position
the pointer on the visible tool and hold down the mouse button until the tools list appears. Then, click the
tool you want.
Choose tool options When you first start the application, the options bar appears docked to the top of
your screen. This options bar contains option settings for the currently selected tool.
•
To display the options bar if it is hidden, click a tool in the toolbox, or choose Window > Show Options.
•
To move the options bar to a different location, drag the title bar on the left edge of the bar. You can
move the options bar anywhere in the work area and dock it to the top or bottom of the screen.
Options bar
ADOBE PHOTOSHOP 6.0 11
User Guide
Display the palettes When you first start the
application, the floating palettes appear stacked in
default groups. Use the following techniques to
show and hide palettes:
•
To bring a palette to the front of its group,
click the palette’s tab.
•
To show or hide a palette as you work, choose
the appropriate Window > Show or Window >
Hide command.
•
(ImageReady) To show or hide options for
palettes that include hidden options, click the Show Options button ( ) on the palette tab to cycle
through palette displays.
•
To hide or display all open palettes and the toolbox, press Tab. To hide or display palettes only,
press Shift+Tab.
Palette group with Color palette at front
Arrange the palettes Depending on your
available screen area and work needs, you may
want to reposition and regroup the palettes.
Use the following techniques to change palette
arrangements:
•
To move an entire palette group, drag its
title bar.
•
To rearrange or separate a palette from its
group, drag the palette’s tab. Dragging
a palette outside of an existing group creates
a new group.
Click a tab to display a palette stored in the palette well.
•
To dock palettes together, drag a palette’s tab to the bottom of another palette so that the bottom of the
second palette is highlighted. You can move an entire docked group by dragging its title bar. You cannot
dock existing palette groups together.
•
To store an undocked palette in the palette well at the options bar’s right edge, drag the palette’s tab into
the palette well so that the palette well is highlighted. To display a palette in the well, click the palette’s
tab. This technique is useful for providing quick and compact access to palettes.
12
Adobe Photoshop Basics
Display a palette menu Most palettes have menus that contain additional commands and options.
To display a palette menu, click the black triangle at the upper right of the palette. (For palettes stored in
the options bar, first display the palette and then click the black triangle in the palette’s tab.)
Opening images in Photoshop and ImageReady
Photoshop and ImageReady let you open or import a variety of source images. You can create new images,
import digital images saved in various formats, and scan or capture images from an imaging device.
(Photoshop) Specify color management settings Before opening or creating new images, specify the color
management settings you want to use. Photoshop color management features are designed to help keep
colors in your image consistent as the image is transferred between different users, systems, and display
and output devices. To set up color management, choose Edit > Color Settings, choose a predefined
configuration from the Settings menu, and click OK.
The configuration you choose defines the specific color spaces that Photoshop uses when working with
images in RGB, CMYK, and Grayscale modes. For complete information on setting up color management,
see the online help section on producing consistent color.
Scan the image at the correct size and resolution If you are scanning an image to be opened in
Photoshop or ImageReady, it’s a good idea to scan the image as close as possible to the size dimensions and
resolution that you want. When in doubt, scan at a higher resolution than what is needed. You can always
reduce the image later in Photoshop or ImageReady by cutting down the resolution or pixel dimensions.
Open or create an image Do one of the following:
•
Choose File > Open, and locate and select the desired image file. Depending on your color
management settings and the color profile associated with the file, you may be prompted to specify how
to handle color information in the file.
•
Choose File > New. Enter a name for the image, and specify its dimensions, resolution (Photoshop
only), and color mode (Photoshop only). In addition, specify whether to fill the image with white,
the current background color, or transparency.
ADOBE PHOTOSHOP 6.0 13
User Guide
Set rulers, guides, and the grid To help position and align elements accurately in the image, use rulers,
guides, and grid lines:
•
To display rulers along the top and left side of the document window, choose View > Show Rulers.
(In Photoshop, you can change the ruler units by choosing Edit > Preferences > Units & Rulers.)
•
To place a horizontal or vertical guide, drag from either the horizontal or vertical ruler.
•
(Photoshop) To display grid lines throughout the document window, choose View > Show > Grid.
(You can control the color, style, and spacing of the grid and guide lines by choosing Edit >
Preferences > Guides & Grid.)
You can toggle the display of guides and grid lines at any time by choosing the appropriate command from
the View > Show submenu. Checked items are visible; unchecked items are hidden.
Adjust the image view Photoshop and
ImageReady offer several tools for navigating and
magnifying the view of your image:
•
To move a different area of the image into view,
drag with the hand tool ( ) in the image.
You can use the hand tool while another tool is
selected by holding down the spacebar.
•
To magnify the view, select the zoom tool ( ),
and click in the image or drag over the part of
the image you want to magnify. To reduce the
view magnification, Alt-click (Windows) or
Option-click (Mac OS) with the zoom tool in
the image.
Drag with the zoom tool to magnify.
•
(Photoshop) To adjust the image view using the Navigator palette, choose Window > Show Navigator.
In the Navigator palette, drag the view box in the image thumbnail to move the view, or click the area
of the thumbnail that you want to display in the window.
•
To display the same image in multiple windows, choose View > New View. Multiple windows let you
display different views of the same image.
14
Adobe Photoshop Basics
Monitor your work status As you experiment with
different tools, commands, and image views,
check out the status bar at the bottom edge of the
document window. This area displays useful
information about your work status, such as the
current magnification percentage or the name of
the currently selected tool. You can specify the type
of information displayed by using the pop-up
menu in the status bar.
Status bar
Display the Info palette For convenient access to additional information about your image, display the
Info palette by choosing Window > Show Info. The Info palette displays information about the color
values in the image beneath the pointer and, depending on the tool in use, other useful measurements.
Streamlining your workflow
Photoshop and ImageReady provide a number of convenient features to help your work flow more smoothly.
The Jump To button makes it easy to work on the same image seamlessly in both Photoshop and ImageReady.
The Undo command and History palette let you correct editing mistakes. And the Actions palette lets
you save sequences of commonly used tasks so that you can perform them automatically on an image or
batch of images.
Switch between Photoshop and ImageReady
You can easily jump between Photoshop and
ImageReady when working on an image to use the
full feature sets of both applications. To switch to
either application, click the Jump To button in
the toolbox.
Jump To button in Photoshop and ImageReady
ADOBE PHOTOSHOP 6.0 15
User Guide
Undo the last performed operation If you make a mistake while working, simply choose Edit > Undo to
reverse the effect of the last operation. Most, but not all, operations can be reversed this way.
Undo multiple operations If you need to undo more than one operation, choose Window > Show History
to display the History palette. This palette lists all the different states that the image has undergone as a
result of the recent edits you’ve made. To revert the image to a previous state, click the name of the state in
the History palette.
History palette
Playing an action
Automate repeated tasks To automatically apply a sequence of operations to your image, choose
Window > Show Actions to display the Actions palette. This palette includes a default list of common
tasks, or actions. You can perform a desired action automatically by selecting it and clicking the Play
button ( ) at the bottom of the Actions palette. Or, you can record your own sequence of operations as a
stored action in the palette for future playback on a single image or batch of images.
16
Adobe Photoshop Basics
Adjusting and retouching images
Making tonal and color adjustments
Upon first opening a scanned image or digital photograph in Photoshop or ImageReady, it’s common to notice
some problems with color quality and tonal range. The image may appear washed out, for example, or appear
too dark or too light in certain areas.
Open the Levels dialog box When making tonal adjustments to an image in Photoshop, it’s a good idea to
use adjustment layers. You can limit the application of flexible and reversible adjustments to an adjustment
layer, so that underlying layers show the effects of the adjustment without being permanently altered.
(You can even block areas from being adjusted by painting the adjustment layer with black.) To create an
adjustment layer that adjusts the tonality of an image, choose Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Levels.
Name the layer and click OK.
In ImageReady, you do not have the option of adjustment layers, so choose Image > Adjust > Levels.
Adjust tonal levels The Levels dialog box displays a
graph representing the tonal distribution of the
image—from shadows (on the left) to midtones
(in the middle) to highlights (on the right).
To achieve good tonal range, drag the black and
white sliders to where the graph begins at either
end. Then drag the middle slider to adjust
midtones to the desired level.
The Levels dialog box provides a useful way to
Adjusting tonal levels
adjust your image’s overall tonal range. The Curves
dialog box represents another, more precise method, letting you adjust any point along a 0–255 tonal scale.
Make other adjustments If needed, you can use other adjustment features to correct for color casts and
sharpen details in the final image.
ADOBE PHOTOSHOP 6.0 17
User Guide
Retouching images
Many of the retouching tools in Photoshop and ImageReady are modeled after traditional photo-studio
techniques for correcting blemishes and faulty exposures in images. However, with the power of digital
technology you can use these tools to apply all sorts of creative effects beyond basic photo retouching.
Dodge or burn the image The dodge tool ( ) and burn tool ( ) let you respectively lighten and darken
a localized area in your image. With either tool selected, choose a brush from the brushes menu in the
options bar. In addition, choose the range of tones you want to affect from the range menu in the options
bar. Then drag over the part of the image that you want to lighten.
Remove imperfections The clone stamp tool (
)
lets you paint over an area of your image using a
sample taken from the same image or another
image. With the clone stamp tool selected, choose a
brush from the options bar. Alt-click (Windows) or
Option-click (Mac OS) the image area you want to
sample. Release Alt/Option, and then drag to paint
with the sample.
For best results, use short strokes when painting,
and Alt/Option-click to take updated samples
frequently between strokes. This helps to produce a
smoother, more natural effect.
Removing areas with the clone stamp tool
18
Adobe Photoshop Basics
Editing images
Making pixel selections
Before you can edit an area of an image, you must first select the image area. This type of selection is called a
pixel selection because you are selecting an area that contains pixel information. If you experience trouble
selecting the image area you want, you may need to check that you are working on the proper layer.
Select with a marquee tool The marquee tools let you select image areas by dragging to define a shaped
selection border. First, select the rectangular marquee ( ) or the elliptical marquee (
Then drag over the area you want to select.
) from the toolbox.
Reposition a selection border At times, you may want to adjust the position of a selection border to
enclose a different area of the image. To reposition a selection border using any selection tool, move the
pointer inside the border and drag to the desired location. Or, use the arrow keys to move the selection
border in gradual increments.
Select with a lasso tool The lasso ( ) and
polygon lasso ( ) tools let you select areas by
dragging and clicking, respectively, to define the
boundary of the selected area. (In Photoshop,
you can also use the magnetic lasso tool ( ) to find
the edges of the desired area automatically.) These
tools are especially useful for selecting irregularly
shaped areas.
Selecting with the magnetic lasso tool
ADOBE PHOTOSHOP 6.0 19
User Guide
Select with the magic wand The magic wand tool ( ) lets you select a consistently colored area without
having to trace its outline. To use the magic wand, first enter a tolerance value in the options bar. (A higher
tolerance selects a broader range of colors.) Then click the area in the image you want to select.
Modify a selection border The selection tools come with several options for enhancing or modifying an
existing selection border. These options can help you select areas that are difficult to define with a single
selection. First, make a selection. Then, using any selection tool, specify an option in the options bar:
•
The Add to Selection option ( ) adds the new selection to the first selection.
•
The Subtract from Selection option ( ) subtracts the new selection from the first selection.
•
The Restrict Selection option ( ) selects only the intersection of the two selections.
(Photoshop) Quick Mask mode A quick mask lets you refine an existing selection border with the aid of
painting tools. This technique is useful for selecting areas that are more easily defined with a painting
brush. Use any selection tool to select the desired image area, and then click the Quick Mask mode
button ( ) in the toolbox. In Quick Mask mode, everything outside the selection appears masked by a
color overlay. Do any of the following to modify the selection border:
•
To add to the selection, use a painting tool to paint with white. (See “Painting” on page 26 for more
information.)
•
To subtract from the selection, paint with black.
•
To create a semitransparent selection area, paint with gray. This is useful for creating a selection with
feathered edges.
Click the Standard mode button (
) to turn off the quick mask and display the modified selection border.
20
Adobe Photoshop Basics
Making edits
Photoshop and ImageReady are equipped with a rich collection of editing tools and commands that you can
use to modify your images. In addition to basic edits such as repositioning or applying geometric changes to a
selection, you can create an unlimited variety of special effects using the Filter commands.
Resize the image To change the dimensions or resolution of your image, choose Image > Image Size and
specify values for the image:
•
For an image intended for the Web or online display, enter values for the pixel dimensions and click OK.
•
(Photoshop) For an image intended for printed output, enter values for the physical output size. Enter
the resolution value recommended for your press or desktop printer, and click OK.
Move a selection To move a selected pixel area, select the move tool ( ) in the toolbox. Position the
pointer inside the selection, and drag the selection to a new location.
ADOBE PHOTOSHOP 6.0 21
User Guide
Duplicate a selection You can also use the move tool to duplicate a selection. With the move tool selected,
simply Alt-drag (Windows) or Option-drag (Mac OS) the selection to copy it.
Duplicating a selection
Rotating a selection
Apply a transformation The transformation commands let you make geometric changes—such as
resizing, rotations, shears, distortions, and reflections—to a selection. To apply a transformation, do one
of the following:
•
Choose the desired command from the Edit > Transform menu. (In Photoshop, this menu changes to
Edit > Transform Path if a vector shape is selected.)
•
Select the move tool ( ), and select Show Bounding Box in the options bar.
If applicable, drag the handles that appear around the selection to achieve the desired effect. Then press
Enter or Return to apply the transformation. You can even choose additional transformation commands
before you press Enter or Return, adjusting the handles for each command to achieve a cumulative effect.
Apply a filter Photoshop and ImageReady provide a generous array of filters for creating all kinds of
special effects—from blurs and ripples to mosaics, brushlike patterns, and other artistic effects. To apply
a filter to a pixel selection, select a command from a submenu in the Filter menu. (If no selection exists,
the filter is applied to the entire layer.)
22
Adobe Photoshop Basics
Using layers
Layers provide a powerful way for you to organize and manage the various components of your image.
For example, by placing an element on a separate layer, you can easily edit and arrange the element without
interfering with other parts of the image. Layers also provide the basis for managing and defining advanced
features such as Web animations and rollovers.
Display the list of layers If needed, choose
Window > Show Layers to display the Layers
palette. This palette shows the list of layers that
have been created in the image. The thumbnail
previews help you monitor the contents of each
layer. Layers may be grouped under layer sets to aid
in organizing complex images. To toggle between
the expanded and collapsed displays of a layer set,
click the triangle to the left of the layer set’s name.
Change the visibility of a layer To help focus your
work on individual layers in the image, you can
toggle the visibility of one or more layers:
•
To make a single layer invisible, click the eye
icon next to that layer in the Layers palette.
•
To display just a single layer and make all other
layers invisible, Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Mac OS) the eye icon next to the layer you
want to show.
Layers palette with expanded display
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User Guide
Select a layer Often you will need to target a specific layer for further editing in Photoshop or
ImageReady. For instance, many tasks—such as transformations or filters—can be applied to entire layers
as well as to individual selections. In addition, you must first target a layer in order to select an area or
shape that sits on that layer. To select or target a layer, click its name in the Layers palette.
Create a selection based on the contents of a layer To select all the opaque contents of a layer, Ctrl-click
(Windows) or Command-click (Mac OS) the layer in the Layers palette. The resulting selection border
represents the boundaries of the layer.
Adjust opacity and blending mode For each layer, you can specify an opacity percentage (to control how
much layers beneath show through) and blending mode (to control how the colors in the layer are blended
with the colors of underlying layers). To specify the opacity of a selected layer, enter a value for Opacity or
drag the slider at the upper right of the Layers palette. To specify a blending mode for a selected layer,
choose an option from the menu at the upper left of the Layers palette.
Move a layer’s stacking order The Layers palette
displays layers in the order that they are stacked in
the image, with the topmost layer appearing at the
top of the list. To move a layer (or layer set) to a
different level in the stacking order, simply drag the
layer up or down in the palette. You can also move
a layer into a layer set by dragging the layer over the
layer set icon.
Move a layer’s contents To move all the contents of
Reordering a layer set
a layer to a different position in the image, first select the layer in the Layers palette. Then use the move
tool ( ) to drag in the image. Only the contents of the selected layer are affected.
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Adobe Photoshop Basics
Apply a layer style You can apply predefined styles
to the contents of a layer to produce instant graphic
effects. This feature is especially useful for creating
Web buttons and rollover states. You can also define
your own layer styles.
To apply a style, choose Window > Show Styles to
display the Styles palettes. Select the desired layer in
the Layers palette, and then select the style you
want to apply from the Styles palette.
Applying a layer style
Compositing images
You can use various features in Photoshop and ImageReady to combine several images or parts of images to
produce creative compositions. For example, by isolating the foreground area of an image and placing it
against the background of another image, you can create unlimited composite effects.
Copy a layer between images To copy a layer with all its contents from one image to another, make sure
that both images are open. In the Layers palette for the source image, select the layer that you want to copy.
Then select the move tool ( ), and drag from the source image to the destination image until a border
highlights the destination window. (If you have made a selection, only the selected area is copied to the
destination image.)
(Photoshop) Erase the background area of a layer The background eraser tool (
) lets you erase
similarly colored areas of a layer. This is useful for extracting a foreground object that is surrounded by a
consistently colored background. First select the desired layer in the Layers palette. Select the background
eraser tool, and set the Tolerance option to a low value. Then drag in the area that you want to remove.
ADOBE PHOTOSHOP 6.0 25
User Guide
(Photoshop) Extract part of an image The Extract
Image command provides controls for isolating
image areas with wispy or intricate edges.
First, duplicate the layer containing the desired
area, and select the duplicate layer in the Layers
palette. Then choose Image > Extract.
In the Extract dialog box, drag with the edge
highlighter tool ( ) in the image preview to
highlight the edges of the desired area. Then click
inside the highlighted area with the fill tool ( ).
Click OK to perform the extraction. All areas on
the layer outside the extracted area are erased
to transparency.
Extracting an image area
Mask part of a layer Layer masks let you selectively hide parts of a layer without permanently altering the
layer. For example, you can create a mask that reveals a certain area of detail on a layer; the rest of the layer
is hidden but still available behind the mask. In the Layers palette, select the layer that you want to mask,
and click the New Layer Mask button ( ) at the bottom of the palette. Create the mask:
•
To add to the mask and hide more of the layer, use a painting tool to paint with black. (See “Painting”
on page 26 for more information.)
•
To subtract from the mask and reveal more of the layer, paint with white.
•
To create a semitransparent mask, paint with gray. This is useful for partially hiding areas of the layer.
26
Adobe Photoshop Basics
Painting and drawing
Painting
Painting in Photoshop or ImageReady is as easy as choosing a color, selecting a tool, choosing a brush tip, and
dragging in the image to paint. The various painting tools are modeled after styles of traditional paint media.
Choose a foreground color Before painting an
image, you need to specify the foreground color
that will be used to paint. Click the top color
selection box in the toolbox, and choose a color
in the color picker. You can select the Only Web
Colors option to confine your range of choices to
Web-safe colors.
You can also use the Color or Swatches palette to
choose colors.
Choosing a foreground color
Select a painting tool Select a painting tool from the toolbox and drag in the image to paint:
•
The paintbrush tool ( ) creates soft strokes of color.
•
The pencil tool ( ) creates hard-edged freehand lines.
•
The airbrush tool ( ) lets you apply gradual tones and sprays of color. You can build up color (as with
a traditional airbrush) by holding down the mouse in a stationary position.
•
The eraser tool ( ) lets you erase areas to transparency or, if you’re working in the background layer
or in a layer with locked transparency, to the background color. (You set the background color by
clicking the bottom color selection box in the toolbox.)
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User Guide
Choose a brush The Brush option in the options
bar lets you specify the brush tip used by many
painting and editing tools. With a painting tool
selected, click the triangle to the right of the Brush
option in the options bar to display the brushes.
Then click to select the desired brush tip.
(Larger brushes are indicated by numeric size
rather than representative preview.) You can
customize the specified brush by clicking its
preview in the options bar.
Sample brushes
Specify opacity and blending mode In the options bar for each painting tool, you can also specify an
opacity (to control how much the underlying image shows through the paint) and a blending mode
(to control how the paint is blended with the colors of the underlying image).
Drawing shapes
The shape tools let you draw crisp-edged shapes of various dimensions and colors. Unlike pixel data such as a
scanned photograph, these shapes are defined using the mathematical principle of vectors. Used in drawing
applications such as Adobe Illustrator® and now Photoshop and ImageReady, vectors describe shape, size,
and boundary properties of graphics with clean, resolution-independent precision.
Select a shape tool and set options Select the rectangle tool (
), rounded rectangle tool ( ), ellipse
tool ( ), or polygon tool ( ) from the toolbox. Then select one of the following drawing options from
the options bar:
•
The Create Shape Layer option ( ) creates a vector shape filled with the current foreground color.
The shape is created on a new layer containing a layer clipping path.
•
The Create Work Path option ( ) creates an unfilled vector path with shaped boundaries. The shape
appears as a new work path in the Paths palette.
•
The Fill Region option ( ) creates a rasterized shape filled with the current foreground color on the
active layer. Selecting this option creates a shape based on pixel, rather than vector, information.
You can also specify other settings in the options bar, such as layer style, opacity, and blending mode.
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Adobe Photoshop Basics
Draw a vector shape Drag in the image to draw the specified shape.
Drawing a shape on a shape layer
Adding to an existing shape
Select a shape To select a vector shape for editing, you must first target the layer or path containing the
shape. Do one of the following:
•
If the shape is part of a layer, click the shape thumbnail in the Layers palette. (The path associated with
the shape is automatically selected in the Paths palette.) In ImageReady, the shape is automatically
selected in the image with a bounding box for repositioning or transforming.
•
(Photoshop) If the shape is stored in the Paths palette, select that path in the palette.
After you have targeted the layer or path in Photoshop, select the path component selection tool ( ) in the
toolbox, and click anywhere inside the shape in the artwork. To help make the selected shape more visible,
select Show Bounding Box in the options bar.
Selecting a shape on a shape layer
Selecting a shape on a work path
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User Guide
(Photoshop) Create a custom shape When the shape layer or work path option is selected in the options
bar, you can use the basic shape tools in combination with one another to create more complex shapes.
Select the shape you want to modify, and then select the shape tool you want to use to add variations to
the first shape. Then select one of the following from the options bar:
•
The Add Path Area option ( ) adds the new shape on top of the first shape.
•
The Subtract Path Area option ( ) subtracts the overlapping area of the two shapes.
•
The Restrict Path Area option ( ) keeps only the overlapping area of the two shapes.
•
The Invert Path Area option ( ) reverses the fill of the overlapping area of the two shapes and
the background.
Drag with the shape tool to draw a shape that interacts with the first shape in the manner specified.
You can continue to add more variations to the custom shape using the different shape tools and options.
(Photoshop) Define a custom shape You can simplify the process of recreating a custom shape by storing
it in the custom shape library. You can then redraw the shape automatically at any time using the custom
shape tool. Select the shape that you just created and choose Edit > Define Custom Shape.
(Photoshop) Draw with the custom shape tool Select the custom shape tool ( ), and choose your custom
shape from the Shape list in the options bar. Then drag in the image to draw the shape.
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Adobe Photoshop Basics
Working with type
Creating type
Photoshop and ImageReady provide excellent support for adding graphic type and text to images. You can
enter and preview type directly in an image, as well as specify a full range of formatting options. Type is
automatically added to a new layer.
Set a type insertion point Select the type tool ( ) in the toolbox, and do one of the following:
•
To enter type at a point, click in the image to set an insertion point. The type is added starting from the
point you click.
•
To enter type inside a bounding box, drag in the image to define the box. The type automatically wraps
to fit inside the bounding box.
Set type attributes You can use the options bar, Character palette, or Paragraph palette to specify various
type attributes, such as orientation, font, style, color, and alignment.
Enter text Enter the desired text using the keyboard, pressing Enter or Return to start new paragraphs.
You can continue to change type attributes in the options bar, the Character palette, or the Paragraph
palette as you enter additional text.
In Photoshop, you must commit the type to its type layer before you can perform other operations.
Click the Commit button ( ) in the options bar to commit the type.
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User Guide
Editing type
Using the type tool in conjunction with the options bar, the Character palette, and the Paragraph palette, you
can edit type directly as it appears in an image. In addition, you can apply special warp effects to the shape of
type and make global edits to type layers.
Edit type content and attributes Select the type tool ( ), and click inside the desired type to
set an insertion point or drag to highlight the characters you want to edit. Then change the type
content and attributes as desired. In Photoshop, click the Commit button ( ) in the options bar to
commit the changes.
Changing the font of a single character
Warp the shape of type The warp feature lets you creatively stretch and distort the shape of type.
Use the type tool to click inside the type you want to warp, and click the warp icon ( ) in the options bar.
For Style, choose a warp effect. Specify whether to apply the warp horizontally or vertically, drag the sliders
to adjust the intensity of the effect, and click OK.
Apply layer edits to type Because type resides on its own type layer, you can apply all sorts of
layer-specific edits to type—from changing the opacity and blending mode to adding layer styles.
(See “Using layers” on page 22.)
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Adobe Photoshop Basics
Preparing Web graphics
Designing Web graphics
Photoshop and ImageReady provide a rich set of tools for adding Web features to your images. Among other
benefits, you can divide an image into download-efficient slices, define image maps directly in the image,
and add interactive rollover effects.
Slice an image When you slice an image,
each rectangular slice downloads individually
so that users can view parts of the image as the
downloading progresses. You can also use slices to
help keep file sizes down and define Web features
such as links, rollovers, and animations. To slice
an image, select the slice tool ( ) and drag in the
Slicing an image
image to define the slice areas. Photoshop or
ImageReady automatically generates slices for the remaining areas of the image.
Another way to define slices is by using the boundaries of layers. See “Enhanced slicing capabilities” on
page 45 for more information.
Assign a URL link to a slice Assigning a URL to a slice makes the entire slice area a hotspot in the Web page,
with a link to the specified URL. Select the slice select tool ( ), and double-click the desired slice to display
the Slice Options dialog box (Photoshop) or the Slice palette (ImageReady). Then enter the desired URL
destination and, if needed, the target frame.
For information on setting other slice options such as message text and Alt tags, see “Enhanced slicing
capabilities” on page 45.
(ImageReady) Create an image map Image maps let you add URL links to different areas of an image.
Select the rectangle image map tool ( ), and drag in the image to define the image map. Then select the
image map selection tool ( ) and double-click the desired image map to display the Image Map palette.
Enter a name and URL link destination for the image map. If desired, enter a target frame destination and
text for an Alt tag.
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User Guide
(ImageReady) Add a rollover effect Rollover effects display different states of an image when a viewer
performs a mouse action—such as rolling or clicking—over an area of the Web page. Layers provide an
efficient way to store different image states for rollovers.
Select the slice or image map to which you want to add the rollover, and choose Window > Show Rollover.
The Rollover palette shows a single thumbnail representing the normal, inactivated state. Click the New
State button ( ) at the bottom of the palette. From the pop-up menu above the new rollover thumbnail,
choose the mouse action that you want to trigger the rollover. Then hide and show appropriate layers in
the Layers palette to define the appearance of the new rollover state. (The rollover thumbnail updates to
reflect the new appearance, which applies only to this rollover state.)
Creating animations (ImageReady)
With ImageReady, it’s easy to create multiple-frame animations from a single image. The key is to use the
Animation palette in conjunction with the Layers palette to set up the composition of animation frames.
To output your animated image for Web use, optimize the image in GIF format.
Set up the starting frame Choose Window > Show
Animation to display the Animation palette. Show
and hide appropriate layers in the Layers palette to
set up the contents of the starting animation frame.
(The frame thumbnail updates to reflect the
current image state, which applies only to this
animation frame.)
Set up additional frames Click the New Frame
button ( ) at the bottom of the Animation palette,
and do one of the following:
•
Using the Layers palette, modify the image to
create the state of the second animation frame.
For example, you can show and hide appropriate layers and layer effects, reposition a layer
Setting up animation frames
in the image, or change a layer’s opacity or
blending mode. Click the New Frame button and repeat this step to set up more frames.
34
Adobe Photoshop Basics
•
Using the Layers palette, adjust the position, opacity, or layer effects of desired layers to create the
state of the final animation frame. Then choose Tween from the Animation palette menu to have
ImageReady generate intermediate frames from the starting and ending states you’ve defined.
Specify which layers and parameters to tween, enter the number of frames to generate, and click OK.
The Tween feature is useful for generating a variety of animations, such as making a single layer move
across the canvas or fade in or out.
Preview the animation ImageReady offers the convenience of previewing your animation directly in the
image window. In the Animation palette, select the first animation frame and then click the Play
button ( ) at the bottom of the palette.
Optimizing Web graphics
Optimization involves compressing the file size while optimizing the display quality of an image for
Web output. Photoshop and ImageReady let you optimize images in several Web file formats—
GIF, JPEG, and PNG—and provide you with both basic and advanced controls for fine-tuning the quality
and compression level of the optimization. Because live previews of the optimized image are regenerated
whenever an optimization setting is adjusted, you are free to experiment with different settings before
committing to final changes.
Compare original and optimized images Choose File > Save for Web (Photoshop) or Window > Show
Optimize (ImageReady) to display the Web optimization settings. Click the Optimized tab above the
image preview (Photoshop) or in the image window (ImageReady) to display how the image will appear
on the Web using the current optimization settings. To display original and optimized previews side by
side, click the 2-Up tab.
Choose an optimization set Photoshop and ImageReady provide a number of predefined optimization
settings. To apply a predefined optimization set, choose the desired set from the Settings menu in the Save
for Web dialog box (Photoshop) or the Optimize palette (ImageReady).
ADOBE PHOTOSHOP 6.0 35
User Guide
View optimized file information In Photoshop, you can view optimized file information—such as file size
and projected download time for various modem speeds—below the optimized preview in the Save for
Web dialog box. In ImageReady, you can display two sets of file information in the status bar along the
bottom edge of the image window. Click the triangle next to either information set to choose one of the
optimized information display options.
Optimizing a GIF image with 8 colors, shifted to Web-safe values
Fine-tune optimization settings You can further customize the optimization by adjusting individual
optimization settings. You can even name and save your customized settings as a new optimization set.
Save the optimized image Click OK in the Save for Web dialog box (Photoshop) or choose File > Save
Optimized As (ImageReady). For Format, choose one of the following options:
•
Images Only generates only the optimized image files. If you have defined slices in your image,
an optimized file is generated for each slice.
•
HTML and Images generates an HTML file along with the optimized image files. If you have defined
slices in your image, this HTML file contains code for the table that assembles the slices. If you are
saving the image from ImageReady, the HTML file also contains code for any Web features—such as
image maps, animations, or rollovers—that you have added to the image.
What’s New in Adobe Photoshop 6.0
Adobe Photoshop 6.0, along with the dedicated Web tool ImageReady 3.0, delivers powerful imageediting capabilities with a range of new features that offer something for every user. New capabilities
include integrated vector-drawing tools to extend your creative range, expanded tools and features for
Web-production tasks, and numerous interface enhancements to help you get to work quickly and use
the Photoshop and ImageReady features more fully.
40
What’s New in Adobe Photoshop 6.0
Expand beyond pixels
Superb vector support
Photoshop 6.0 provides integrated tools for creating and outputting crisp, editable vector shapes and text.
With these new tools, you can incorporate resolution-independent, vector-based graphics and type along with
pixel-based images to achieve an unparalleled range of design effects. You can save vector data in EPS, DCS,
TIFF, and PDF formats.
Shape tools The new rectangle, rounded rectangle, ellipse, polygon, custom shape, and line tools let you
create a wide variety of vector-based shapes. These tools let you create shapes in three forms: as work paths,
as shape layers, or as painted pixels.
Shape editing Photoshop 6.0—like Adobe
Illustrator and other Adobe programs—also
provides pathfinder operations for quickly
combining basic vector shapes into hard-to-draw
shapes. These operations include add, subtract,
restrict, and invert. You can edit the segments of
any basic or combined shape by using the direct
selection, add anchor point, delete anchor point,
and convert anchor point tools.
Adding to a basic shape and result after combining
ADOBE PHOTOSHOP 6.0 41
User Guide
Storage of custom shapes Once you’ve created shapes that you want to use over again or share with
colleagues, you can save them as custom shapes. Photoshop stores custom shapes in a shape library that’s
available from the options bar when you select the custom shape tool. Alternatively, you can use the Preset
Manager to save custom shapes in separate shape libraries. Shape libraries are portable, so workgroups can
easily design, share, and add to them.
Defining and working with a custom shape
Resolution-independent type With Photoshop 6.0, you can easily combine crisp, resolution-independent
type with pixel-based images and then output sharp type edges with your image to produce high-quality
results.
Vector-based masks One powerful new vector feature involves using editable shapes to clip out or mask
image areas. Known as layer clipping paths, these shapes can be modified just like any other vector shapes
using the direct selection, add anchor point, and delete anchor point tools. To produce a mix of hard and
soft masking edges, simply combine layer clipping paths and layer masks on the same layer.
42
What’s New in Adobe Photoshop 6.0
Enhanced vector output
Creating vector graphics and type to incorporate into your images is only part of a complete workflow.
Photoshop 6.0 provides complete support for outputting vector-based graphics along with your pixel-based
images—all with the highest-quality printed results.
PostScript vector output You can print images containing resolution-independent shapes and text
directly to any PostScript output device.
Advanced PDF output Photoshop 6.0 extends its integration with Adobe products by offering enhanced
support for Adobe PDF, including the ability to save transparency, layers, and vector objects in PDF files.
Any service provider with Adobe Acrobat® InProduction™ (or other Acrobat prepress plug-ins) can then
prepare those PDF files for high-end printing.
Layer styles
Photoshop 6.0 presents an intuitive new layer effects interface, new effect options, and new support for saving
combinations of layer effects as layer styles for ongoing use. Layer effects and styles update automatically as
you edit your image and are particularly useful for designing type, buttons, and banners.
New and enhanced layer effects Photoshop 6.0 introduces a number of new and enhanced features for
layer effects, including the new stroke, overlay, and satin layer effects; a new contour option; advanced
blending and transparency options; and enhancements to the drop shadow, inner shadow, glow, and bevel
and emboss effects.
ADOBE PHOTOSHOP 6.0 43
User Guide
New layer styles The new Layer Styles dialog box
shows at a glance which effects are applied to the
currently selected layer. To add effects to a layer,
you simply check each one you want in the list and
specify appropriate settings.
Once you’ve designed a custom layer style, you can
save it in the Styles palette for future use. Layer
styles work just like layer effects, applying nondestructive changes that update automatically when
you change layer contents. You can store styles in a
default styles library or in your own style libraries
Defining a new layer style
using the Preset Manager. Style libraries are
portable, so you can share them with colleagues. Plus, Photoshop layer styles are compatible with
ImageReady—you can open a Photoshop layer style library in ImageReady, and vice versa.
Modifying an existing layer style
Easy application of layer styles Applying layer styles is easy: You create type, shapes, and other artwork
elements on a layer, and then click a style in the Styles palette to apply it. Or, select a shape tool, select the
shape layer option and choose a layer style in the options bar, and then start drawing; the style is applied
as you draw. The combination of layer styles and the new shape tools opens up a wide array of creative
opportunities for print and Web designers alike.
44
What’s New in Adobe Photoshop 6.0
Interactive image warping
With the new Liquify command in Photoshop 6.0, you can quickly distort or warp an image by interactively
pushing, pulling, rotating, enlarging, and shrinking different image areas. These distortion controls are ideal
for a wide range of tasks from making fine warping adjustments to a small image area to making sweeping
adjustments for a wildly warped-out effect. When you open the Liquify dialog box, you can display a fine
mesh over the image to help you achieve precise adjustments. To prevent unwanted changes, freeze certain
parts of the image and zero in on the areas you want to modify. To switch between large-scale changes and
finer adjustments, vary the size of the brush you’re using. The Liquify command also provides options for
reconstructing the original image as needed.
Warping in Amplitwist mode
ADOBE PHOTOSHOP 6.0 45
User Guide
Produce superb Web graphics
Enhanced slicing capabilities
Slicing images is the key to incorporating large or complex image files into your Web site because browsers can
download and display sliced images more efficiently. You can also use slices as a basis for creating rollovers or
setting up animations. Or, you can generate HTML pages directly from Photoshop, including the HTML table
code necessary to reassemble the sliced image.
Direct Photoshop slicing With the new slice tool
and slice select tool, you can now define and
edit slices directly in Photoshop 6.0. Create userdefined slices by dragging over different image
areas with the slice tool; Photoshop defines slices
automatically for the areas you don’t define.
You can modify many attributes of user-slices,
including size, position, stacking order,
and visibility.
Slices created with slice tool
46
What’s New in Adobe Photoshop 6.0
Slice-specific formatting and optimization Sliced images give you more control over how optimization
options are applied because you can select separate slices and apply appropriate settings. An image that
includes solid colors, text, and photographic images, for example, looks best with different settings applied
to different areas. You can also assign a separate file name, URL link, Alt tag, and message to each slice.
In ImageReady, you can link multiple slices together in a set, so you can quickly select, optimize, output,
and delete only those slices.
Setting optimization options for an individual slice; assigning a URL, message text, and an Alt tag to a slice
Dynamic layer-based slices Photoshop 6.0 introduces a new way to slice images: Set up your slice
content on separate layers and then let Photoshop
or ImageReady generate layer-based slices for you.
When you slice images this way, each slice is bound
to the outermost pixels on each layer. If you then
reposition or edit the content of the layer, the slice
adjusts dynamically to accommodate the changes.
This technique is particularly useful for generating
precise slices for rollovers.
Slice updates automatically when source layer is modified.
ADOBE PHOTOSHOP 6.0 47
User Guide
Enhanced support for image maps and rollovers
ImageReady 3.0 provides new and enhanced support for creating image maps and rollover effects directly in
an image.
Image map creation Using the new image map tools in conjunction with the new Image Map palette,
you can define image map areas in your image, complete with URL, target frame, and Alt text options.
You can also define an image map based on the boundaries of a layer.
Rollover enhancements You can now save a
rollover as a style in the Styles palette. All of the
rollover’s attributes, including its effects, slices, and
states, are saved in the style, which you can reapply
easily with a single click. Other enhancements
include the sharing of color palettes between
rollover states and the ability to preview rollovers
directly in ImageReady.
Creating a new rollover style
48
What’s New in Adobe Photoshop 6.0
Weighted optimization
Photoshop 6.0 incorporates new weighted optimization controls that let you use 8-bit alpha channels to
smoothly vary compression settings across an image. This technique produces higher-quality results in critical
image areas without sacrificing file size. In the past, you would have made harder trade-offs, either favoring
image quality in a complex image over smaller files sizes, or vice versa. Using channels, you can produce
gradual variations in GIF dithering, lossy GIF settings, and JPEG compression. Weighted optimization
controls also let you favor colors in selected image areas as you generate custom color palettes.
Improved Web workflow
Photoshop 6.0 and the built-in Web-production tool, ImageReady 3.0, are now more tightly integrated than
ever, resulting in a powerful new tool combination for creating your Web graphics from start to finish. Adobe
Photoshop 6.0 also offers improved integration with Adobe GoLive™ 5.0.
Integrated optimization with Adobe GoLive 5.0 Adobe Photoshop 6.0 and Adobe GoLive 5.0 integrate
tightly to support your Web production process. Now you can add native Photoshop (PSD) files directly
to the Adobe GoLive application without having to optimize them first. Instead, you can use the built-in
image optimization tools in the Adobe GoLive application to perform those steps.
Automated updates with Adobe GoLive 5.0 Any URLs written by Photoshop or ImageReady are accessible in Adobe GoLive for management and editing. You can even update edited URLs in the original
Photoshop (PSD) file. You can also set up a sliced file, complete with rollovers and image maps, in
ImageReady or Photoshop and then add the single PSD file to Adobe GoLive. Adobe GoLive automatically
calls ImageReady or Photoshop to compile the sliced pieces and update edits you make to the image.
Adobe GoLive also goes back to the original PSD file to generate the final GIF or JPEG file for the Web page.
HTML integration with Adobe GoLive 5.0 When exporting sliced images, Photoshop and ImageReady
both generate a set of named image files and an HTML file with the table code necessary to reassemble the
image. Alternatively, you can save sliced image files as CSS-based (cascading style sheet) objects. The highquality HTML code produced is ready to be copied into Adobe GoLive or another HTML editor. When
exporting rollovers from ImageReady, select the Include GoLive Code option in the Save Optimized As
dialog box for optimal results.
ADOBE PHOTOSHOP 6.0 49
User Guide
Master Photoshop more quickly
Streamlined interface
Photoshop 6.0 introduces numerous interface enhancements designed to make it easier and more efficient to
use its powerful features.
Options bar Now, when you select a tool in the toolbox, all the options that control its behavior are easily
accessible in a context-sensitive options bar. For example, when you’re working with the shape or selection
tools, you have access to modifiers such as add, subtract, restrict, and invert, which were previously
available only by keyboard shortcuts. You can dock the options bar to the top or bottom of your screen or
let it float anywhere on your screen.
Palette docking and storage In Photoshop 6.0, you can dock palettes to each other. You can also store the
palettes you use most often in the palette well in the options bar, where they are readily available when you
need them but out of your way when you’re focused on a task. When you want to display a palette in the
well, click the palette’s tab; click again and the palette tucks out of sight.
Improved color management and proofing The new Edit > Color Settings command simplifies ICC-
based color management by gathering controls in a single dialog box and offering a choice of predefined
color management settings based on common press and Web conditions. Based on Adobe Color Engine
(ACE) technology, this color management workflow encompasses much of the RGB, CMYK, and
Grayscale setup controls of previous Photoshop versions and offers improved integration with Adobe
Illustrator 9.0 and other upcoming Adobe products. In addition, Photoshop 6.0 provides new controls for
generating soft proofs of images on-screen and for printing hard proofs based on ICC color profiles.
50
What’s New in Adobe Photoshop 6.0
Enhanced layer management
Layers are more flexible than ever in Photoshop 6.0. Now you can create hundreds of layers in an image to
help arrange elements in an intricate composition. In addition, you can use an array of new features to help
organize and manage layers more efficiently.
Layer sets You can organize layers into sets to keep better track of related parts. You can then toggle the
visibility of layer sets, hiding or showing them as you work, or move a layer set in the stacking order by
dragging it in the Layers palette. And you can specify the opacity of an entire layer set.
Layer identification and locking Color-coding
layers in the Layers palette lets you quickly
identify layer relationships. Once your layers
are set as desired, you can lock them to prevent
accidental edits.
Layers palette enhancements The enhanced
Layers palette helps you handle layer effects more
efficiently. If you assign a layer effect to one layer
and want to reuse it on another, just drag and drop
it on the target layer. All of the settings are
preserved and instantly copied to the target layer.
Locking the selected layer
Fill layers You can now experiment with color, gradient, or pattern fills by adding them to a new type of
layer, called a fill layer. Like adjustment layers, fill layers apply nondestructive changes to the underlying
image and can be modified or discarded at any time.
ADOBE PHOTOSHOP 6.0 51
User Guide
Expanded text features
Photoshop 6.0 offers an expanded range of formatting options for both Roman and Asian text, as well as
direct, on-canvas text editing. The new Character and Paragraph palettes make it easy to choose formatting
options for your type.
Direct text editing in the image You can enter text and modify style directly in the image, without having
to toggle back and forth from a dialog box. If you rotate, scale, or skew your text in the image, the text
remains editable.
Type warping The new type-warping feature lets you distort type layers in the form of special shapes such
as arcs and waves.
Warping type using Arc style
Setting paragraph formatting options
New paragraph options Extensive new options for styling paragraphs now appear in the new Paragraph
palette, which operates similarly to the Paragraph palette in Adobe InDesign™ and Adobe Illustrator.
You can specify alignment, auto-leading, space before and after, hanging punctuation, and left-, right-,
and first-line indents on a per-paragraph basis.
52
What’s New in Adobe Photoshop 6.0
Hyphenation, justification, and composition controls Photoshop provides professional-quality hyphenation settings with control over the minimum word size, minimum number of characters before and after
a hyphen, number of consecutive hyphens, and hyphenation zone. Photoshop also fully supports
paragraph justification with various option settings. Photoshop even supports the next generation of
Adobe composition engines, offering you a choice of the every-line and single-line composers. The everyline composer sets multiple lines of text in relation to each other to ensure optimal line breaks, while the
single-line composer handles one line of text at a time.
New character options With the controls in the new Character palette, you can apply color on a
per-character basis, scale characters vertically and horizontally, and set baseline shift. Plus, Photoshop
fully supports OpenType fonts and their related features, such as all caps, small caps, superscript,
and subscript. (Photoshop produces faux versions of these text options for non-OpenType fonts.)
A new no-break option controls whether or not a range of characters wraps as a single word.
Formatting options for Asian type Photoshop 6.0 includes extensive Asian formatting controls such as the
following: Tsume for manual kerning and tracking; Tate-chu-yoko for setting horizontal text within
vertical text; Kinsoku shori for setting word breaks; Burasagari for hanging punctuation; and Mojikumi
for auto-kerning, tracking, and justification.
ADOBE PHOTOSHOP 6.0 53
User Guide
Preset Manager
The new Preset Manager centralizes management of your custom brushes, gradients, shapes, contours,
patterns, and layer styles and offers instant access to extensive libraries of these elements included with
Photoshop 6.0. When you create your own custom element, save it in a library file so that it can be accessed
through the Preset Manager. Once you load a library in the Preset Manager, it becomes available whenever
its elements are used in Photoshop—in the options bar, the Styles palette, the Gradient Editor dialog box,
and other locations. Libraries can also be shared with colleagues to streamline their creative work.
Using the Preset Manager
Other new and enhanced features
Annotations The new notes and audio annotation tools let you attach text and voice comments to images.
These annotations are supported in both Photoshop and Adobe Acrobat. You can also import annotations
from a PDF document into a Photoshop image.
Control of nonprinting elements The new View > Show Extras and Hide Extras commands let you
globally control the display of nonprinting elements such as guides, grids, target paths, selection edges,
slices, image maps, text bounding boxes, text selections, and annotations. Commands for controlling the
display and snapping behavior of specific nonprinting element types are grouped under the new View >
Show and View > Snap To submenus.
Perspective cropping The crop tool offers a new Perspective option, which lets you correct perspective
distortions as you crop an image.
54
What’s New in Adobe Photoshop 6.0
WebDAV workflow management New commands under the File > Manage Workflow submenu let you
manage files using the Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning (WebDAV) server technology.
Cascading style sheets You can now generate a cascading style sheet along with an HTML file when saving
an optimized image.
Expanded file format support You can now preserve layers, transparency, and multiresolution pyramid
data in exported TIFF files and choose from more TIFF compression options. The File > Import > PDF
Image command lets you import specific images into Photoshop from a PDF document.
Reorganized and expanded print options The new File > Print Options command gathers together many
of the output and color management options that once only appeared in the Page Setup and Print dialog
boxes. In addition, you can now adjust and preview the position and scale of an image before printing.
Photoshop droplets In Photoshop, the new File > Automate > Create Droplet command lets you create a
droplet from an action.
Gradient Map adjustment The new Gradient Map adjustment layer lets you map the tonal range of an
image to the colors of a gradient fill.
Expanded support for 16-bit-per-channel images In Photoshop, the following tools and commands are
now available for images containing 16 bits per channel: the history brush, slice, and shape tools, and the
Canvas Size, Auto Contrast, Gradient Map, Gaussian Blur, Add Noise, Median, Unsharp Mask, High Pass,
and Dust & Scratches commands.
Easy measurement switching Now you can switch the units of measurement for your rulers on the fly.
Just right-click (Windows) or Control-click (Mac OS) the rulers and choose the measurement unit you
want from the context menu. In addition, whenever you are asked to enter measurement values for a tool
or dialog box, you can use any combination of units you want—for example, 2 inches by 45 pixels for a
rectangle.
Enhanced multiple-image options The Contact Sheet II command offers more label options, the Picture
Package command offers an enhanced set of layout options, and the Web Photo Gallery lets you choose
from a variety of customizable HTML templates.
Moved preferences The preference commands now appear under the Edit menu.
1
57
Chapter 1: Looking at the Work Area
he Adobe Photoshop and Adobe
ImageReady work area includes the
command menus at the top of your screen
and a variety of tools and palettes for editing and
adding elements to your image. You can also add
commands and filters to the menus by installing
third-party software known as plug-in modules.
T
Displaying and working with tools
You select a tool by clicking its icon in the toolbox.
A small triangle at the lower right of a tool icon
indicates hidden tools. Positioning the pointer
over a tool displays a tool tip with the tool’s name
and keyboard shortcut.
To show or hide the toolbox:
Using the toolbox
The first time you start the application, the
toolbox appears on the left side of the screen.
Some tools in the toolbox have options that
appear in the context-sensitive tool options bar.
(See “Using the tool options bar” on page 59.)
These include the tools that let you use type, select,
paint, draw, sample, edit, move, annotate, and
view images. Other tools in the toolbox allow you
to change foreground/background colors, go to
Adobe Online, work in different modes, and jump
between Photoshop and ImageReady applications.
For an overview of each tool, see the
“Toolbox overview” topics in online Help.
For information on the foreground and
background color controls, see “Choosing
foreground and background colors” in
online Help.
Choose Window > Show Tools or Window >
Hide Tools.
To move the toolbox:
Drag the toolbox by its title bar.
To select a tool:
Do one of the following:
• To select a visible tool, click its icon or press its
keyboard shortcut.
• To select a hidden tool, position the pointer
on the visible tool and hold down the mouse
button until the tools list appears. Then, click the
tool you want.
To cycle through a set of hidden tools, hold
down Shift and press the visible tool’s shortcut
key. To enable or disable this option, choose Edit >
Preferences > General, then select or deselect Use
Shift Key for Tool Switch.
58 CHAPTER 1
Looking at the Work Area
To view or move a hidden tools list (ImageReady):
1 Position the pointer on the visible tool and
hold down the mouse button until the hidden
tools list appears.
2 Select the small downward-pointing triangle at
the bottom of the hidden tools list. A hidden tools
list appears and remains open until you click the
close box. You can view more than one hidden
tools list simultaneously.
3 Drag the hidden tools list by its title bar to move
Each default pointer has a different hot spot,
where an effect or action in the image begins.
With all tools except the move tool, annotation
tools, and the type tool, you can switch to precise
cursors, which appear as cross-hairs centered
around the hot spot.
To set the tool pointer appearance:
1 Do one of the following:
• (Photoshop) Choose Edit > Preferences >
it anywhere on your desktop.
Display & Cursors.
To display or hide tool tips:
• (ImageReady) Choose Edit > Preferences >
Cursors.
1 Choose Edit > Preferences > General, then
select or deselect Show Tool Tips. Show Tool Tips
is the default.
2 Choose a tool pointer setting:
• Click Standard under Painting Cursors, Other
Cursors, or both to display pointers as tool icons.
To enable or disable cycling through a set of hidden
tools:
• Click Precise under Painting Cursors, Other
Cursors, or both to display pointers as cross-hairs.
Choose Edit > Preferences > General, then select
or deselect Use Shift Key for Tool Switch.
• Click Brush Size under Painting Cursors to
display the painting tool cursors as brush shapes
representing the size of the current brush. Brush
Size cursors may not display for very large brushes.
Using the tool pointers
When you select most tools, the mouse pointer
matches the tool’s icon. The marquee pointer
appears by default as cross-hairs, the text tool
pointer as an I-beam, and painting tools default to
the Brush Size icon.
3 Click OK.
The Painting Cursors options control the pointers
for the following tools:
• (Photoshop) Eraser, pencil, airbrush, paintbrush, rubber stamp, pattern stamp, smudge, blur,
sharpen, dodge, burn, and sponge tools.
• (ImageReady) Paintbrush, pencil,
and eraser tools.
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User Guide
The Other Cursors options control the pointers
for the following tools:
To display the tool options bar:
• (Photoshop) Marquee, lasso, polygon lasso,
magic wand, crop, slice, eyedropper, pen, gradient,
line, paint bucket, magnetic lasso, magnetic pen,
measure, and color sampler tools.
• Choose Window > Show Options.
• (ImageReady) Marquee, lasso, magic wand,
eyedropper, paint bucket, and slice tools.
To toggle between standard and precise cursors
in some tool pointers, press Caps Lock. Press
Caps Lock again to return to your original setting.
Do one of the following:
• Single-click a tool in the toolbox.
Note: You can double-click the title bar at the left
edge to collapse the options bar, showing only the
tool icon.
Lasso options bar
To return a tool or all tools to the default settings:
Using the tool options bar
Do one of the following:
Most tools have options that are displayed in the
tool options bar. The options bar is context
sensitive and changes as different tools are
selected. Some settings in the options bar are
common to several tools (such as painting modes
and opacity), and some are specific to one tool
(such as the Auto Erase setting for the pencil tool).
• Click the tool icon on the options bar, then
choose Reset Tool or Reset All Tools from the
context menu.
You can move the options bar anywhere in the
work area. In Photoshop, you can dock it at the top
or bottom of the screen.
Do one of the following:
(Photoshop) The options bar includes a palette
well for storing other palettes, providing quick
access to palettes such as Swatches and Actions
that you reference briefly while using the
application. The palette well is only available
when using a screen resolution greater than
800 pixels x 600 pixels (a setting of at least
1024 x 768 is recommended).
• Choose Edit > Preferences > General, then click
Reset All Tools.
To move the options bar:
• Drag the title bar at the left edge of the
options bar.
• (Photoshop) Grab the gripper bar at the left edge
of the options bar. The gripper bar will only
appear if the options bar is docked at the top or
bottom of your screen.
60 CHAPTER 1
Looking at the Work Area
To store other palettes in the options bar
(Photoshop):
Drag the desired palette’s tab into the palette well
so that the palette well is highlighted.
Palettes are considered hidden when stored in the
options bar. The Window menu item associated
with a stored palette will say Show when it is
stored. Clicking on the title of a palette stored in
the well shows the palette until you click outside
the palette.
Changing the palette display
You can rearrange your palettes to make better
use of your work area by using the following
techniques:
• To make a palette appear at the front of its group,
click the palette’s tab, or choose Window > Show.
• To move an entire palette group, drag its title bar.
• To rearrange or separate a palette group, drag a
palette’s tab. Dragging a palette outside of an
existing group creates a new group.
• To move a palette to another group, drag the
Using palettes
palette’s tab to that group.
Palettes help you monitor and modify images.
By default, palettes appear stacked together in
groups.
• To display a palette menu, position the pointer
on the triangle ( ) in the upper right corner of
the palette, and press the mouse button.
Displaying palettes
You can display or hide palettes as you work.
To show or hide palettes:
Do one of the following:
• To show or hide all open palettes, the options
bar, and the toolbox, press Tab.
• To show or hide all palettes, press Shift+Tab.
• To change the size of a palette, drag any corner of
the palette (Windows) or drag the size box at its
lower right corner (Mac OS). Not all palettes can
be resized.
• To collapse a group to palette titles only, click the
Minimize/Maximize box (Windows) or the Zoom
box (Mac OS), or double-click a palette’s tab.
You can still access the menu of a collapsed palette.
A
To show or hide one palette:
Choose Window > Show to display the selected
palette at the front of its group. Or, choose
Window > Hide to conceal the entire group of
which the selected palette is a part.
B
Click to collapse or expand palette.
A. Windows B. Mac OS
ADOBE PHOTOSHOP 6.0 61
User Guide
• (ImageReady) To show or hide options
for palettes that include hidden options
(the Optimize, Color, Type, Layer Options, and
Slice palettes), click the Show Options button ( )
on the palette tab to cycle through palette displays,
or choose Show Options or Hide Options from the
palette menu.
Docking palettes together
Docking palettes together lets you view multiple
palettes at the same time and move them as a
group. Entire palette groups cannot be docked
together at once, but you can dock the palettes
from one group to another, one at a time.
In Photoshop, you can also store palettes in the
palette well of the tool options bar. (See “Using
the tool options bar” on page 59.)
To dock palettes together:
Drag a palette’s tab to the bottom of another
palette so that the bottom of the target palette
is highlighted.
To reset palettes to the default positions:
Do one of the following:
• (Photoshop) Choose Edit > Preferences >
General, and select Save Palette Locations.
• (Photoshop) Choose Window > Reset
Palette Locations.
• (ImageReady) Choose Window > Arrange >
Reset Palettes.
To always start with the default palette and dialog box
positions:
1 Choose Edit > Preferences > General.
2 Deselect Save Palette Locations. The change
takes effect the next time you start the application.
Using pop-up sliders
A number of palettes and dialog boxes contain
settings that use pop-up sliders (for example,
the Opacity option in the Layers palette).
To use a pop-up slider:
To move an entire docked group, drag its title bar.
Do one of the following:
Setting the positions of palettes and
dialog boxes
• Position the pointer over the triangle next to the
setting, hold down the mouse, and drag the slider
or angle radius to the desired value.
The positions of all open palettes and moveable
dialog boxes are saved when you exit the application. Alternatively, you can always start with
default palette positions or restore default
positions at any time.
• Click the triangle next to the setting to open the
pop-up slider box, and drag the slider or angle
radius to the desired value. Click outside the slider
box or press Enter or Return to close the slider box.
To cancel changes, press the Escape key (Esc).
To increase or decrease values in 10% increments when the pop-up slider box is open, hold
down Shift and press the Up or Down arrow key.
62 CHAPTER 1
Looking at the Work Area
Using pop-up palettes
To delete an item in a pop-up palette:
Pop-up palettes provide easy access to libraries of
brushes, swatches, gradients, styles, patterns,
contours, and shapes. You can customize pop-up
palettes by renaming and deleting items and by
loading, saving, and replacing libraries. You can
also change the display of a pop-up palette to view
items by their names, as thumbnail icons, or with
both names and icons.
Do one of the following:
• Select an item, click the triangle ( ) in the
upper right corner of the pop-up palette,
and choose the Delete command from the
palette menu.
• Hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS)
and click an item.
To customize the list of items in a pop-up palette:
1 Click the triangle ( ) in the upper right corner
of the pop-up palette to view the palette menu.
2 To return to the default library, choose the Reset
command. You can either replace the current list
or append the default library to the current list.
The Brush pop-up palette in the options bar.
To select an item in a pop-up palette:
1 Click the triangle next to the thumbnail image
of the current item. Be careful not to click the
thumbnail image—doing so will display the
settings editor for the item.
2 Click an item in the pop-up palette.
To rename an item in a pop-up palette:
1 Do one of the following:
• Double-click an item.
• Select an item, click the triangle ( ) in the
upper right corner of the pop-up palette,
and choose the Rename command from the
palette menu.
2 Enter a new name in the provided dialog box,
and click OK.
3 To load a different library, do one of
the following:
• Choose the Load command to add a library to
the current list. Then select the library file you
want to use, and click Load.
• Choose the Replace command to replace the
current list with a different library. Then select the
library file you want to use, and click Load.
• Choose a library file (displayed at the
bottom of the palette menu). Then click OK
to replace the current list, or click Append to
append the current list.
ADOBE PHOTOSHOP 6.0 63
User Guide
4 To save the current list as a library for later use,
choose the Save command. Then enter a name for
the library file, and click Save.
You can specify that a file extension is always
appended to a library file by choosing Edit >
Preferences > Saving Files, and setting Append File
Extension to Always. You should put the extension on
a library filename so that you can easily share the
libraries across operating systems.
To change the display of items in a pop-up palette:
1 Click the triangle ( ) in the upper right corner
of the pop-up palette to view the palette menu.
2 Select a view option: Text Only, Small
Thumbnail, Large Thumbnail, Small List, and
Large List.
Using the Info palette
The Info palette displays information about the
color values beneath the pointer and, depending
on the tool in use, other useful measurements.
To display the Info palette:
Choose Window > Show Info.
(Photoshop) The Info palette displays the
following information:
• When displaying CMYK values, the Info
palette displays an exclamation point next to the
CMYK values if the color beneath the pointer or
color sampler is out of the printable CMYK
color gamut.
For more information, see “Identifying
out-of-gamut colors (Photoshop) in
online Help.
• When you use the marquee tool, the Info palette
displays the x- and y-coordinates of the pointer
position and the width (W) and height (H) of the
marquee as you drag.
• When you use the crop tool or zoom tool, the
Info palette displays the width (W) and height (H)
of the marquee as you drag. The palette also shows
the angle of rotation of the crop marquee.
• When you use the line tool, pen tool, or gradient
tool or when you move a selection, the Info palette
displays the x- and y-coordinates of your starting
position, the change in X (DX), the change in
Y (DY), the angle (A), and the distance (D) as
you drag.
• When you use a two-dimensional transfor-
mation command, the Info palette displays the
percentage change in width (W) and height (H),
the angle of rotation (A), and the angle of
horizontal skew (H) or vertical skew (V).
• When you use any color adjustment dialog box
(for example, Curves), the Info palette displays the
before and after color values of the pixels beneath
the pointer and beneath color samplers.
For more information, see “Seeing the
color values of pixels (Photoshop)” in
online Help.
(ImageReady) The Info palette displays the
following information:
• The RGB numeric values for the color beneath
the pointer.
• The Opacity value for the pixels beneath
the pointer.
64 CHAPTER 1
Looking at the Work Area
• The hexadecimal value for the color beneath the
pointer.
3 For Second Color Readout, choose a display
option listed in step 2.
• The index color table position for the color
beneath the pointer.
4 For Ruler Units, choose a unit of measurement.
• The x- and y-coordinates of the pointer.
• The x- and y-coordinates of your starting
position (before you click in the image) and your
ending position (as you drag in the image) when
you use the marquee tool, the shape tools, the crop
tool, and the slice tool.
• The width (W) and height (H) of the selection as
you drag when you use the crop tool, the shape
tools, the slice tool, or the zoom tool.
• The percentage change in width (W) and height
(H), the angle of rotation (A), and the angle of
horizontal skew (H) or vertical skew (V) when you
use a Transform or Free Transform command.
To change the Info palette options:
1 Choose Palette Options from the Info palette
menu.
2 For First Color Readout, choose one of the
following display options:
• Actual Color to display values in the current
color mode of the image.
• Total Ink to display the total percentage of all
CMYK ink at the pointer’s current location, based
on the values set in the CMYK Setup dialog box.
• Opacity to display the opacity of the current
layer. This option does not apply to the
background.
• Any other option to display the color values in
that color mode.
5 Click OK.
To change measurement units, click the
cross-hair icon in the Info palette for a menu of
options. To change color readout modes, click the
eyedropper icon.
Using context menus
In addition to the menus at the top of your screen,
context-sensitive menus display commands
relevant to the active tool, selection, or palette.
To display context menus:
1 Position the pointer over an image or
palette item.
2 Click with the right mouse button (Windows)
or hold down Control and press the mouse
button (Mac OS).
Viewing images
The hand tool, the zoom tools, the Zoom
commands, and the Navigator palette let you view
different areas of an image at different magnifications. You can open additional windows to display
several views at once (such as different magnifications) of an image. You can also change the screen
display mode to change the appearance of the
Photoshop or ImageReady work area.
ADOBE PHOTOSHOP 6.0 65
User Guide
Changing the screen display mode
The window controls let you change the screen
display mode, including menu bar, title bar,
and scroll bar options.
You can open multiple windows to display
different views of the same file. A list of open
windows appears in the Window menu.
Available memory may limit the number of
windows per image.
To change the screen display mode:
Click a screen mode button in the toolbox:
• The left button ( ) displays the default
window with a menu bar at the top and scroll bars
on the sides.
• The center button ( ) displays a full-screen
window with a menu bar and a 50% gray
background, but no title bar or scroll bars.
• The right button ( ) displays a full-screen
window with a black background, but no title bar,
menu bar, or scroll bars.
Using the document window
The document window is where your image
appears. Depending on the screen display mode
(see “Changing the screen display mode” on
page 65), the document window may include a
title bar and scroll bar.
In ImageReady, the document window allows you
to switch easily between original and optimized
views of an image using tabs, and to view the
original image and multiple versions of an
optimized image simultaneously. For information
on changing the view in the document window,
see “Viewing images during optimization” on
page 316.
To open multiple views of the same image:
Do one of the following:
• Choose View > New View.
• (ImageReady) Drag any tab away from the
document window.
To arrange multiple windows (Windows only):
Do one of the following:
• Choose Window > Cascade (Photoshop) or
Window > Arrange > Cascade (ImageReady) to
display windows stacked and cascading from the
upper left to the lower right of the screen.
• Choose Window > Tile (Photoshop) or
Window > Arrange > Tile (ImageReady)to display
windows edge to edge.
• Choose Window > Arrange Icons (Photoshop)
or Window > Arrange > Arrange Icons
(ImageReady) to align minimized images along
the bottom of the work area.
To close windows:
Choose a command:
• Choose File > Close to close the active window.
• (Windows) Choose Window > Close All to close
all windows.
66 CHAPTER 1
Looking at the Work Area
Navigating the view area
2 Choose a color:
If the entire image is not visible in the document
window, you can navigate to bring another area of
the image into view.
• To use a preset color, choose an option for Color.
In Photoshop, you can also use the Navigator
palette to quickly change the view of an image.
• To specify a different color, click the color box,
and choose a color.
For more information on choosing colors,
see “Using the Adobe Color Picker” in
online Help.
To view another area of an image:
Do one of the following:
• Use the window scroll bars.
• Select the hand tool ( ) and drag to pan over
the image.
To use the hand tool while another tool is
selected, hold down the spacebar as you drag in
the image.
To move the view of an image using the Navigator
palette (Photoshop):
1 Choose Window > Show Navigator.
3 Click OK.
Magnifying and reducing the view
You can magnify or reduce your view using
various methods. The window’s title bar displays
the zoom percentage (unless the window is too
small for the display to fit), as does the status bar at
the bottom of the window.
Note: The 100% view of an image displays an image
as it will appear in a browser (based on the monitor
resolution and the image resolution). (See “About
image size and resolution” on page 92.)
2 Do one of the following:
• Drag the view box in the thumbnail of the
image, which represents the boundaries of the
image window.
• Click in the thumbnail of the image. The new
view includes the area you click.
To change the color of the Navigator palette view box
(Photoshop):
1 Choose Palette Options from the Navigator
palette menu.
To zoom in:
Do one of the following:
• Select the zoom tool ( ). The pointer becomes a
magnifying glass with a plus sign in its center ( ).
Click the area you want to magnify. Each click
magnifies the image to the next preset percentage,
centering the display around the point you click.
When the image has reached its maximum magnification level of 6400%, the magnifying glass
appears empty.
ADOBE PHOTOSHOP 6.0 67
User Guide
• Choose View > Zoom In to magnify to the
next preset percentage. When the image has
reached its maximum magnification level,
the command is dimmed.
• (Photoshop) Enter a magnification level in the
To magnify by dragging:
1 Select the zoom tool.
2 Drag over the part of the image you want
to magnify.
• (ImageReady) Click on the Zoom Level pop-up
menu at the bottom left of the document window,
and choose a zoom level.
The area inside the zoom marquee is displayed at
the highest possible magnification. To move the
marquee around the artwork in Photoshop, begin
dragging a marquee and then hold down the space
bar while dragging the marquee to a new location.
To zoom out:
To display an image at 100%:
Do one of the following:
Do one of the following:
• Select the zoom tool. Hold down Alt (Windows)
• Double-click the zoom tool.
Zoom text box at the lower left of the window.
or Option (Mac OS) to activate the zoom-out tool.
The pointer becomes a magnifying glass with a
minus sign in its center ( ). Click the center of the
area of the image you want to reduce. Each click
reduces the view to the previous preset percentage.
When the file has reached its maximum reduction
level so that only 1 pixel is visible horizontally or
vertically, the magnifying glass appears empty.
• Choose View > Zoom Out to reduce to the
previous preset percentage. When the image
reaches its maximum reduction level, the
command is dimmed.
• (Photoshop) Enter a reduction level in the Zoom
text box at the lower left of the window.
• (ImageReady) Click on the Zoom Level pop-up
menu at the lower left of the document window,
and choose a zoom level.
• Choose View > Actual Pixels (Photoshop)
or View > Actual Size (ImageReady).
To change the view to fit the screen:
Do one of the following:
• Double-click the hand tool.
• Choose View > Fit on Screen.
These options scale both the zoom level and the
window size to fit the available screen space.
To automatically resize the window when magnifying
or reducing the view:
With the Zoom tool active, select Resize Windows
to Fit in the options bar. The window resizes when
you magnify or reduce the view of the image.
When Resize Windows to Fit is deselected (the
default), the window maintains a constant size
regardless of the image’s magnification. This can
be helpful when using smaller monitors or
working with tiled views.
68 CHAPTER 1
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To automatically resize the window when magnifying
or reducing the view using keyboard shortcuts:
To free memory used by the Undo command, the
History palette, or the Clipboard:
Choose Edit > Preferences > General, then select
the Keyboard Zoom Resizes Windows preference.
Choose Edit > Purge, and choose the item type or
buffer you want to clear. If already empty, the item
type or buffer is dimmed.
Correcting mistakes
Important: The Purge command permanently
clears from memory the operation stored by the
command or buffer; it cannot be undone.
For example, choosing Edit > Purge > Histories
deletes all history states from the History palette.
Use the Purge command when the amount of
information held in memory is so large that
Photoshop’s performance is noticeably diminished.
Most operations can be undone if you make a
mistake. Alternatively, you can restore all or
part of an image to its last saved version.
But available memory may limit your ability
to use these options.
For information on how to restore your image to
how it looked at any point in the current work
session, see “Reverting to any state of an image” on
page 69.
To undo the last operation:
To revert to the last saved version:
Choose File > Revert.
Note: Revert is added as a history state in the History
palette and can be undone.
Choose Edit > Undo.
If an operation can’t be undone, the command is
dimmed and changes to Can’t Undo.
To restore part of an image to its previously saved
version (Photoshop):
Do one of the following:
To redo the last operation:
Choose Edit > Redo.
You can set the Redo keystroke preference to be
the same for Photoshop and ImageReady.
Choose Edit > Preferences > General and select a
preference for the Redo key. You can also set the key
to toggle between Undo and Redo.
• Use the history brush tool ( ) to paint with the
selected state or snapshot on the History palette.
For more information, see “Painting with a
state or snapshot of an image (Photoshop)”
in online Help.
• Use the eraser tool ( ) with the Erase to History
option selected.
For more information, see “Using the eraser
tool” in online Help.
ADOBE PHOTOSHOP 6.0 69
User Guide
• Select the area you want to restore, and choose
Edit > Fill. For Use, choose History, and click OK.
For more information, see “Filling and
stroking selections and layers” in
online Help.
Note: To restore the image with a snapshot of the
initial state of the document, choose History Options
from the Palette menu and make sure that the
Automatically Create First Snapshot option is on.
• By default, the History palette lists the previous
20 states. Older states are automatically deleted to
free more memory for Photoshop. To keep a
particular state throughout your work session,
make a snapshot of the state. (See “Making a
snapshot of an image (Photoshop)” on page 72.)
• Once you close and reopen the document,
all states and snapshots from the last working
session are cleared from the palette.
• By default, a snapshot of the initial state of the
document is displayed at the top of the palette.
Reverting to any state of an
image
The History palette lets you jump to any recent
state of the image created during the current
working session. Each time you apply a change to
an image, the new state of that image is added to
the palette.
For example, if you select, paint, and rotate part of
an image, each of those states is listed separately in
the palette. You can then select any of the states,
and the image will revert to how it looked when
that change was first applied. You can then work
from that state.
About the History palette
Note the following guidelines when using the
History palette:
• Program-wide changes, such as changes to
palettes, color settings, actions, and preferences,
are not changes to a particular image and so are
not added to the History palette.
• States are added from the top down. That is, the
oldest state is at the top of the list, the most recent
one at the bottom.
• Each state is listed with the name of the tool or
command used to change the image.
• By default, selecting a state dims those below.
This way you can easily see which changes will be
discarded if you continue working from the
selected state. For information on customizing the
history options, see “Setting history options
(Photoshop)” on page 71.
• By default, selecting a state and then changing
the image eliminates all states that come after.
• If you select a state and then change the image,
eliminating the states that came after, you can use
the Undo command to undo the last change and
restore the eliminated states.
• By default, deleting a state deletes that state and
those that came after it. If you choose the Allow
Non-Linear History option, deleting a state deletes
just that state. (See “Setting history options
(Photoshop)” on page 71.)
70 CHAPTER 1
Looking at the Work Area
Using the History Palette
You can use the History palette to revert to a
previous state of an image, to delete an image’s
states, and in Photoshop, to create a document
from a state or snapshot.
• (Photoshop) Choose Step Forward or Step
Backward from the palette menu or the Edit menu
to move to the next or previous state.
To delete one or more states of the image
(Photoshop):
Do one of the following:
• Click the name of the state, and choose Delete
from the History palette menu to delete that
change and those that came after it.
A
B
• Drag the state to the Trash button ( ) to delete
that change and those that came after it.
C
• Choose Clear History from the palette menu to
delete the list of states from the History palette,
without changing the image. This option doesn’t
reduce the amount of memory used by Photoshop.
D
E
F
G
A. Sets the source for the history brush
B. Thumbnail of a snapshot C. History state
D. History state slider E. Create new document
from current state button F. Create new
snapshot button G. Trash button
• Hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS),
and choose Clear History from the palette menu to
purge the list of states from the History palette
without changing the image. If you get a message
that Photoshop is low on memory, purging states
is useful, since the command deletes the states
from the Undo buffer and frees up memory.
To display the History palette:
Important: This action cannot be undone.
Choose Window > Show History, or click the
History palette tab.
• Choose Edit > Purge > Histories to purge the list
To revert to a previous state of an image:
Do any of the following:
• Click the name of the state.
• Drag the slider at the left of the state up or down
to a different state.
of states from the History palette for all open
documents.
Important: This action cannot be undone.
ADOBE PHOTOSHOP 6.0 71
User Guide
To delete all of an image’s states (ImageReady):
Setting history options (Photoshop)
Choose Clear Undo/Redo History from the
History palette menu.
You can specify the maximum number of items to
include in the History palette and set other options
that customize the way you work with the palette.
Important: This action cannot be undone.
To create a new document from the selected state or
snapshot of the image (Photoshop):
Do one of the following:
• Drag a state or snapshot onto the New
Document button (
).
• Select a state or snapshot, and click the New
Document button.
• Select a state or snapshot, and choose New
Document from the History palette menu.
The history list for the newly created document
will be empty.
To save one or more snapshots or image states
for use in a later editing session, create a new
file for each state you save, and save each in a
separate file. When you reopen your original file,
plan to open the other saved files also. You can drag
each file’s initial snapshot to the original image and
thus access the snapshots again from the original
image’s History palette.
To replace an existing document with a selected state
(Photoshop):
Drag the state onto the document.
To set history options:
1 Choose History Options from the History
palette menu.
2 Select an option:
• Automatically Create First Snapshot to automatically create a snapshot of the initial state of the
image when the document is opened.
• Automatically Create New Snapshot When
Saving to generate a snapshot every time you save.
• Allow Non-Linear History to make changes to a
selected state without deleting the states that come
after. Normally, when you select a state and change
the image, all states that come after the selected
one are deleted. This enables the History palette to
display a list of the editing steps in the order you
made them. By recording states in a nonlinear way,
you can select a state, make a change to the image,
and delete just that state. The change will be
appended at the end of the list.
• Show New Snapshot Dialog By Default to force
Photoshop to prompt you for snapshot names
even when using the buttons on the palette.
3 Click OK.
72 CHAPTER 1
Looking at the Work Area
Making a snapshot of an image
(Photoshop)
The Snapshot command lets you make a
temporary copy (or snapshot) of any state of the
image. The new snapshot is added to the list of
snapshots at the top of the History palette.
Selecting a snapshot lets you work from that
version of the image.
Important: Snapshots are not saved with the
image—closing an image deletes its snapshots.
Also, unless you select the Allow Non-Linear
History option, selecting a snapshot and changing
the image deletes all of the states currently listed in
the History palette.
Snapshots let you do the following:
• Switch repeatedly between several states.
By taking a temporary snapshot of a state, you can
keep that state for the entire work session, even if
the original state is deleted from the list of states in
the History palette.
• Give a unique name to states to make them easier
to identify.
• Experiment more freely. For example, you may
want to compare two different techniques for
achieving a similar effect. You can take a snapshot
before and after trying the first technique. You can
then select the first snapshot, try the second
technique on it, and then compare snapshots of
each technique.
• Take a snapshot before creating or applying an
action. Then you can recover your work more
easily if you decide later you don’t like the action.
Each step in an action is added to the list of states
on the History palette. An action with many steps
could scroll the current states off the palette, so
that you could not return to any of them. Using the
Undo command lets you undo only one step and
state. By making a snapshot first, you can select
and redisplay the pre-action image.
To create a snapshot:
1 Select a state.
2 To automatically create a snapshot, click the
New Snapshot button ( ) on the History palette,
or if Automatically Create New Snapshot When
Saving is selected in the history options, choose
New Snapshot from the History palette menu.
3 To set options when creating a snapshot, choose
New Snapshot from the History palette menu,
or Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Mac OS)
the New Snapshot button.
4 Enter the name of the Snapshot in the Name
text box.
5 For From, select the snapshot contents:
• Full Document to make a snapshot of all layers in
the image at that state.
• Merged Layers to make a snapshot that merges
all layers in the image at that state.
• Current Layer to make a snapshot of only the
currently selected layer at that state.
6 Click OK.
To select a snapshot:
Do any of the following:
• Click the name of the snapshot.
• Drag the slider at the left of the snapshot up or
down to a different snapshot.
ADOBE PHOTOSHOP 6.0 73
User Guide
To rename a snapshot:
5 Click OK.
Double-click the snapshot and enter a name.
To duplicate an image in Photoshop and
automatically append the name “copy” to its
filename, hold down Alt (Windows) or Option
(Mac OS) when you choose Image > Duplicate.
To delete a snapshot:
Do one of the following:
• Select the snapshot, and choose Delete from the
palette menu.
• Select the snapshot, and click the Trash
button ( ).
• Drag the snapshot to the Trash button.
For more information, see “Painting with a
state or snapshot of an image (Photoshop)
in online Help.
Duplicating images
You can duplicate an entire image (including all
layers, layer masks, and channels) into available
memory without saving to disk. In ImageReady,
you can also duplicate optimized versions of an
image.
Using duplicates in ImageReady lets you
experiment and then compare several versions
of the optimized image to the original.
To duplicate an original image (ImageReady):
1 Open the image you want to duplicate.
2 Select the Original tab at the top of the
image window.
3 Hold down Alt (Windows) or Option
(Mac OS), and drag the Original tab from the
image window, or choose Image > Duplicate.
4 Name the duplicate, specify whether to flatten
the layers, and click OK.
To duplicate an optimized image (ImageReady):
1 Open the image you want to duplicate.
2 Select the Optimized tab at the top of the image
window.
3 Hold down Alt (Windows) or Option
(Mac OS), and drag the Optimized tab from the
image window, or choose Image > Duplicate
Optimized.
4 Name the duplicate, and click OK.
To duplicate an image (Photoshop):
1 Open the image you want to duplicate.
2 Choose Image > Duplicate.
3 Enter a name for the duplicated image.
4 To duplicate the image without layers, select
Duplicate Merged Layers Only.
Note: When you duplicate an image in Optimized,
2-Up, or 4-Up view, the duplicate image appears in
the Original view in the duplicate image window.
If you want a duplicate optimized image to appear in
the Optimized, 2-Up, or 4-Up view, duplicate the
original image, and then select the Optimized, 2-Up,
or 4-Up tab in the duplicate image window.
74 CHAPTER 1
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Using rulers, the measure tool,
guides, and the grid
To make the ruler origin snap to the ruler ticks
(Photoshop), hold down Shift as you drag.
Rulers, the measure tool, guides, and the grid help
you position images or elements precisely across
the width or length of an image.
Note: To reset the ruler origin to its default value,
double-click the upper left corner of the rulers.
To change the rulers’ settings (Photoshop):
Note: You can also align and distribute parts of an
image using the Layers palette. (See “Moving and
aligning the contents of layers” on page 214.)
1 Do one of the following:
• Double-click a ruler.
• Choose Edit > Preferences > Units & Rulers.
Using rulers
2 For Rulers, choose a unit of measurement.
When visible, rulers appear along the top and left
side of the active window. Markers in the ruler
display the pointer’s position when you move it.
Changing the ruler origin (the (0, 0) mark on the
top and left rulers) lets you measure from a specific
point on the image. The ruler origin also determines the grid’s point of origin.
Note: Changing the units on the Info palette
automatically changes the units on the rulers.
To display or hide rulers:
Choose View > Show Rulers or View >
Hide Rulers.
To change the rulers’ zero origin:
1 To snap the ruler origin to guides, slices,
or Document bounds, choose View > Snap To,
then choose any combination of options from the
submenu. (See “Working with snap” on page 152.)
(Photoshop) You can also snap to a grid in
addition to guides, slices, and Document bounds.
2 Position the pointer over the intersection
of the rulers in the upper left corner of the
window, and drag diagonally down onto the
image. A set of cross hairs appears, marking the
new origin on the rulers.
3 For Width and Gutter, enter values for the
column size. You can also change the units.
Some layout programs use the column width
setting to specify the display of an image across
columns. The Image Size and Canvas Size
commands also use this setting. (See “Changing
the print dimensions and resolution of an image
(Photoshop)” on page 97.)
For more information, see “Changing the
size of the work canvas” in online Help.
4 For Point/Pica Size, choose from the following
options:
• PostScript (72 points per inch) if you are
printing to a PostScript device.
• Traditional to use printer’s 72.27 points per inch.
5 Click OK.
ADOBE PHOTOSHOP 6.0 75
User Guide
Using the measure tool (Photoshop)
To edit a measuring line or protractor:
The measure tool calculates the distance between
any two points in the work area. When you
measure from one point to another, a nonprinting
line is drawn and the options bar and Info palette
show the following information:
1 Select the measure tool ( ).
2 Do one of the following:
• To resize the line, drag one end of an existing
measuring line.
• The starting location (X and Y).
• To move the line, place the pointer on the line
away from either endpoint, and drag the line.
• The horizontal (W) and vertical (H) distances
traveled from the x- and y-axes.
• To remove the line, place the pointer on the line
• The angle measured relative to the axis (A).
• The total distance traveled (D1).
• When using a protractor, you can view two
distances traveled (D1 and D2).
All measurements except the angle are calculated
in the unit of measure currently set in the Units &
Rulers preference dialog box. For information on
setting the unit of measure, see “Using rulers” on
page 74.
To display an existing measuring line:
Select the measure tool ( ).
To measure between two points:
1 Select the measure tool ( ).
2 Drag from the starting point to the ending
point. Hold down the Shift key to constrain the
tool to multiples of 45°.
3 To create a protractor from an existing
measuring line, Alt-drag (Windows) or Optiondrag (Mac OS) at an angle from one end of the
measuring line, or double-click the line and drag.
Hold down the Shift key to constrain the tool to
multiples of 45°.
away from either endpoint, and drag the line out
of the image.
Note: You can drag out a measure line on an image
feature that should be horizontal or vertical, then
choose Image > Rotate Canvas > Arbitrary and the
correct angle of rotation required to straighten the
image will already be entered into the Rotate Canvas
dialog box.
Using guides and the grid
Guides appear as lines that float over the entire
image and do not print. You can move, remove,
or lock a guide to avoid accidentally moving it.
In Photoshop, a grid appears by default as
nonprinting lines but can also be displayed
as dots. The grid is useful for laying out elements
symmetrically.
Guides and grids behave in similar ways:
• Selections, selection borders, and tools snap to a
guide or the grid when dragged within 8 screen
(not image) pixels. Guides also snap to the grid
when moved. You can turn this feature on and off.
76 CHAPTER 1
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• Guide spacing, along with guide and grid
visibility and snapping, is specific to an image.
• Drag from the vertical ruler to create a vertical
guide.
• Grid spacing, along with guide and grid color
and style, is the same for all images.
• Hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS),
and drag from the horizontal ruler to create a
vertical guide.
To show or hide a grid or guides:
• Hold down Shift and drag from the horizontal or
vertical ruler to create a guide that snaps to the
ruler ticks.
Do one of the following:
• (Photoshop) Choose View > Show > Grid.
• Choose View > Show > Guides.
• Choose View > Show Extras. This command also
shows or hides: (Photoshop) selection edges,
target path, slices, and notes, or (ImageReady)
selection edges, slices, image maps, text bounds,
text baseline, and text selection. (See “Working
with Extras” on page 77.)
To place a guide:
1 If the rulers are not visible, choose View >
Show Rulers.
Note: For the most accurate readings, view the image
at 100% magnification or use the Info palette.
2 Create a guide:
• Choose View > New Guide. In the dialog box,
select Horizontal or Vertical orientation, and enter
a position.
• Drag from the horizontal ruler to create a
horizontal guide.
• Hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS),
and drag from the vertical ruler to create a
horizontal guide.
The pointer changes to a double-headed
arrow ( ) when you drag a guide.
To move a guide:
1 Select the move tool ( ), or hold down Ctrl
(Windows) or Command (Mac OS) to activate the
move tool. (This option does not work with the
hand ( ), zoom ( ), and slice ( ) tools.)
2 Position the pointer over the guide (the pointer
turns into a double-headed arrow).
3 Move the guide:
• Drag the guide to move it.
• Change the guide from horizontal to vertical,
or vice versa, by holding down Alt (Windows) or
Option (Mac OS) as you click or drag the guide.
• (Photoshop) Align the guide with the ruler ticks
by holding down Shift as you drag the guide.
The guide will snap to the grid if the grid is visible
and View > Snap To > Grid is selected.
To lock all guides:
Choose View > Lock Guides.
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User Guide
To remove guides from the image:
Working with Extras
Do one of the following:
Guides, grid, target paths, selection edges, slices,
image maps, text bounds, text baselines, text selections, and annotations are nonprinting Extras that
help you select, move, or edit images and objects.
You can turn on or off an Extra or any combination of Extras without affecting the image.
You can also show or hide Extras by choosing
the Show Extras command in the View menu.
• To remove a single guide, drag the guide outside
the image window.
• To remove all guides, choose View > Clear
Guides.
To turn snapping to guides on or off:
Choose View > Snap To > Guides. (See “Working
with snap” on page 152.)
To turn snapping to the grid on or off (Photoshop):
Choose View > Snap To > Grid. (See “Working
with snap” on page 152.)
To set guide and grid preferences (Photoshop):
1 Choose Edit > Preferences > Guides & Grid.
2 For Color, choose a color for the guides, the
grid, or both. If you choose Custom, click the color
box, choose a color, and click OK.
For more information on choosing colors,
see “Using the Color palette” in online Help.
For a description of using specific Extras,
see “Using guides and the grid” on page 75;
“Annotating images (Photoshop)” on page 80;
“Making pixel selections” on page 139; “Using the
marquee tools” on page 140; “Selecting paths
(Photoshop)” on page 173; “Entering paragraph
type” on page 252; “Formatting characters” on
page 258; “Creating and viewing slices” on
page 272; and “Creating and viewing image maps
(ImageReady)” on page 286.
Note: Show Extras also shows or hides color
samplers, even though color samplers are not an
option in the Show submenu.
To show Extras:
3 For Style, choose a display option for guides or
the grid, or both.
4 For Gridline Every, enter a value for the grid
spacing. For Subdivisions, enter a value to
subdivide the grid.
If desired, change the units for this option.
The Percent option creates a grid that divides the
image into even sections. For example, choosing
25 for the Percent option creates an evenly divided
4-by-4 grid.
5 Click OK.
Choose View > Show Extras. A check mark
appears next to all shown Extras in the Show
submenu.
To hide Extras:
With Extras showing, choose View > Show Extras.
A dot (Windows) or a dash (Mac OS) appears next
to all hidden Extras in the Show submenu.
Note: Hiding only suppresses the display of Extras.
It does not turn off these options.
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To show one Extra from a list of hidden Extras:
Choose View > Show and choose an Extra from
the submenu. Choosing one of the hidden Extras
will cause it to show, and turn off all other Extras.
To Turn on and off a group of Extras:
Choose View > Show > All to turn on and show all
available Extras. Choose View > Show > None to
turn off all Extras.
You can also view copyright and authorship
information that has been added to the file.
This information includes standard file information and Digimarc® watermarks. Photoshop
automatically scans opened images for watermarks using the Digimarc Detect Watermark
plug-in. If a watermark is detected, Photoshop
displays a copyright symbol in the image window’s
title bar and updates the Copyright & URL section
of the File Info dialog box.
Displaying status information
To display file information in the document window
(Photoshop):
The status bar at the bottom of the window
displays useful information—such as the current
magnification and file size of the active image,
and brief instructions for using the active tool.
1 Click the triangle in the bottom border of the
application window (Windows) or document
window (Mac OS).
To show or hide the status bar (Windows only):
Choose Window > Show Status Bar or Window >
Hide Status Bar.
Displaying file and image
information
Information about the current file size and other
features of the image is displayed at the bottom of
the application window (Windows) or document
window (Mac OS).
Note: In ImageReady, if the document window is
wide enough, two image information boxes appear,
enabling you to view two different information
options for the image at the same time. For more
information about original and optimized images,
see “Viewing images during optimization” on
page 316.
2 Select a view option:
• Document Size to display information on the
amount of data in the image. The number on the
left represents the printing size of the image—
approximately the size of the saved, flattened file in
Adobe Photoshop format. The number on the
right indicates the file’s approximate size including
layers and channels. For more information on how
layers affect file size, see “Using layer styles” on
page 226.
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• Document Profile to display the name of the
color profile used by the image.
• Scratch Sizes to display information on the
amount of RAM and scratch disk used to process
the image. The number on the left represents
the amount of memory that is currently being
used by the program to display all open images.
The number on the right represents the total
amount of RAM available for processing images.
• Efficiency to display the percentage of time
actually doing an operation instead of reading or
writing the scratch disk. If the value is below
100%, Photoshop is using the scratch disk and,
therefore, is operating more slowly.
• Timing to display the amount of time it took to
complete the last operation.
• Current Tool to view the name of the active tool.
To display image information in the document
window (ImageReady):
1 Click an image information box at the bottom
of the document window.
2 Select a view option:
• Original/Optimized File Size to view the original
and optimized file size images. The first value
indicates the original image file size. The second
value (present if the original image has been
optimized) indicates the optimized image file size
and file format based on the current settings in the
Optimize palette.
• Optimized Information to view the file format,
file size, number of colors, and dither percentage
for the optimized image.
• Image Dimensions to view the image’s pixel
dimensions.
• Watermark Strength to view the strength of the
Digimarc digital watermark in the optimized
image, if present.
For more information on using digital
watermarks, see “Adding digital copyright
information” in online Help.
• Undo/Redo Status to view the number of undos
and redos that are available for the image.
• Original in Bytes to view the size of the original,
flattened image expressed in bytes.
• Optimized in Bytes to view the size of the
optimized image expressed in bytes.
• Optimized Savings to view the percentage of the
optimized image file size reduction, followed by
the difference in bytes between the original and
optimized sizes.
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• Size/Download Time (14.4 Kbps/28.8 Kbps/
56.6 Kbps) to view the file size for the optimized
image and estimated download time using the
selected modem speed.
Note: Download times may vary based on Internet
traffic and modem compression schemes. The value
displayed is an approximation.
• Call the phone number listed in the Watermark
Information dialog box to get information faxed
back to you.
For more information on adding digital
watermarks to an image, see “Adding digital
copyright information with the Digimarc filter” in
online Help.
To view additional file information:
Do one of the following:
• (Photoshop) Choose File > File Info. For section,
choose the attribute you want to view.
• (ImageReady) Choose File > Image Info.
To read a Digimarc watermark:
1 Choose Filter > Digimarc > Read Watermark.
If the filter finds a watermark, a dialog box displays
the Creator ID, copyright year (if present), and
image attributes.
2 Click OK, or for more information, choose
from the following:
• If you have a Web browser installed, click Web
Lookup to get more information about the owner
of the image. This option launches the browser
and displays the Digimarc Web site, where contact
details appear for the given Creator ID.
Annotating images (Photoshop)
You can attach note annotations (notes) and
audio annotations to an image in Photoshop.
This is useful for associating review comments,
production notes, or other information with the
image. Because Photoshop annotations are
compatible with Adobe Acrobat, you can use them
to exchange information with Acrobat users as
well as Photoshop users.
To circulate a Photoshop document for review
in Acrobat, save the document in Portable
Document Format (PDF) and ask reviewers to use
Acrobat to add notes or audio annotations.
Then import the annotations into Photoshop.
Notes and audio annotations appear as small
nonprintable icons on the image. They are
associated with a location on the image rather than
with a layer. You can hide and show annotations,
open notes to view or edit their contents, and play
audio annotations. You can also add audio annotations to actions, and set them to play during an
action or during a pause in an action. (See “Setting
playback options (Photoshop)” on page 400.)
ADOBE PHOTOSHOP 6.0 81
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Adding notes and audio annotations
You can add notes and audio annotations
anywhere on a Photoshop image canvas.
When you create a note, a resizable window
appears for entering text. When you record an
audio annotation, you must have a microphone
plugged into the audio-in port of your computer.
You can import both kinds of annotations from
Photoshop documents saved in PDF or from
Acrobat documents saved in PDF or Form Data
Format (FDF).
To create a note:
• If you have the required software for different
script systems (for example, Roman, Japanese,
or Cyrillic) installed on your computer, you can
switch between the script systems. Right-click
(Windows) or Control-click (Mac OS) to display
the context menu, and then choose a script system.
5 To close the note to an icon, click the close box.
To create an audio annotation:
1 Select the audio annotation tool (
).
2 Set options as needed:
• Enter an author name.
1 Select the notes tool ( ).
• Select a color for the audio annotation icon.
2 Set options as needed:
3 Click where you want to place the annotation
• Enter an author name. The name appears in the
icon.
title bar of the notes window.
4 Record and save the audio annotation:
• Choose a font and size for the note text.
• (Windows) Click Start and then speak into the
microphone. When you’re finished, click Stop.
• Select a color for the note icon and the title bar
of note windows.
3 Click where you want to place the note, or drag
to create a custom-sized window.
4 Click inside the window, and type the text.
If you type more text than fits in the note window,
the scroll bar becomes active.
• (Mac OS) Click Record and then speak into the
microphone. You can click Pause to temporarily
stop the recording, and then click Record to
resume. When you’re finished, click Stop and then
click Save.
To import annotations:
Edit the text as needed:
1 Choose File > Import > Annotations.
• You can use the standard editing commands for
2 Select a PDF or FDF file that contains annota-
your system (Undo, Cut, Copy, Paste, and Select
All). In Windows, right-click in the text area and
choose the commands from the context menu.
In Mac OS, choose the commands from the Edit
and Select menus. You can also use standard
keyboard shortcuts for these editing commands.
tions, and then click Load. The annotations appear
in the locations where they were saved in the
source document.
82 CHAPTER 1
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Opening and editing annotations
To edit annotations:
A note or audio annotation icon marks the
location of an annotation on an image. When you
move the pointer over an annotation icon and
pause, a message displays the author name.
You use the icons to open notes or play audio
annotations. You can show, hide, or move the
icons, and edit the contents of notes.
Do any of the following:
Note: Resizing an image does not resize the
annotation icons and note windows. The icons and
note windows keep their locations relative to the
image. Cropping an image removes any annotations
in the cropped area; you can recover the annotations
by undoing the Crop command.
To open a note or play an audio annotation:
Double-click the icon:
• If you are opening a note, a window appears,
displaying the note text.
• If you are playing an audio annotation and have
a sound card installed, the audio file begins to play.
To show or hide annotation icons:
Do one of the following:
• Choose View > Show > Notes.
• Choose View > Show Extras. This command also
shows or hides grids, guides, selection edges, target
paths, and slices.
• To move an annotation icon, move the pointer
over the icon until it turns into an arrow, and then
drag the icon. You can do this with any tool
selected. Moving a note icon does not move its
note window.
• To move a note window, drag it by the title bar.
• To delete a selected annotation, press Delete.
• To edit the contents of a note, open the note,
change any options, and add, delete, or change the
text. You can use the same editing commands that
you use when creating a note. (See “Adding notes
and audio annotations” on page 81.)
• To delete all annotations, right-click (Windows)
or Control-click (Mac OS) an annotation icon to
display the context menu, and choose Delete All
Annotations. You can also delete all annotations by
clicking Clear All in the options bar for notes or
audio annotations.
Jumping between applications
You can jump between Photoshop and
ImageReady to transfer an image between the two
applications for editing without closing or exiting
the originating application. In addition, you can
jump from ImageReady to other graphics editing
applications and HTML editing applications
installed on your system.
Jumping to an application saves you from having
to close the file in one application and reopen it in
another application.
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Jumping between Photoshop and
ImageReady
Jumping to other applications
(ImageReady)
You can easily jump between Photoshop and
ImageReady to use features in both applications
when preparing graphics for the Web or other
purposes. Jumping between the applications
allows you to use the full feature sets of both
applications while maintaining a streamlined
workflow. Files and documents updated in one
application can be automatically updated in the
other application by choosing a preference.
You can jump to graphics-editing applications
and HTML-editing applications from within
ImageReady.
To jump between Photoshop and ImageReady:
When you jump to a graphics-editing application,
the original file is opened in the destination
application. When you jump to an HTML editor,
the optimized file and the HTML file are saved and
opened in the destination application. If the image
contains slices, all filesfor the full image are
included. A preference enables files updated in
another application to be automatically updated
in ImageReady, when jumping back to
ImageReady.
Do one of the following:
• Click the Jump To button (
) in the toolbox.
• Choose File > Jump To > Photoshop or File >
Jump To > ImageReady.
When jumping between Photoshop and
ImageReady, the applications use a temp file for
transferring changes.
When you install ImageReady, Adobe graphicsediting and HTML-editing applications currently
on your system are added to the Jump To
submenu. You can add more applications,
including non-Adobe applications, to the Jump
To submenu.
To automatically update files or documents when
jumping between Photoshop and ImageReady:
To jump to another application from ImageReady:
Do one of the following:
1 Choose a method for jumping to the destination application:
• (Photoshop) Choose Edit > Preferences >
General, then select Auto-update open
documents.
• (ImageReady) Choose Edit > Preferences >
General, then select Auto-Update Files.
• Choose File > Jump To > Other Graphics Editor
or File > Jump To > Other HTML Editor, and
select an application by navigating through the
Jump To dialog.
84 CHAPTER 1
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2 If the file has been modified since the last save,
choose an option in ImageReady for saving the file:
• Click Save, and save the file with its current name
and location.
• Click Save As, and save the file with a new name,
a new location, or both.
To add an application to the Jump To submenu:
1 Create a shortcut (Windows) or an alias
(Mac OS) for the application you want to add to
the menu.
2 Drag the icon for the shortcut or alias into the
Jump To Graphics Editor or the Jump To HTML
Editor folder in the Helpers folder in the
Photoshop folder.
3 Restart ImageReady to view the application in
the Jump To submenu.
To automatically update a file when jumping back to
ImageReady from another application:
Choose Edit > Preferences > General, then select
Auto-Update Files.
Previewing an image in a
browser
You can open a browser and preview an optimized
image. You can preview the image in any browser
installed on your system. The browser displays the
image with a caption listing the image’s file type,
pixel dimensions, file size, and compression specifications in the first paragraph, and filename and
other HTML information in the second
paragraph.
When you install Photoshop and ImageReady,
all browsers currently on your system are added to
the Preview In menu. You can add additional
browsers to the menu, and specify which browser
will be launched when using a keyboard shortcut.
To preview an optimized image in a browser:
Do one of the following:
• (Photoshop) Choose File > Save for Web, then
select a browser from the Preview In button at the
bottom right area of the Save for Web window.
• (ImageReady) Choose File > Preview In,
then choose an option from the submenu.
(Choose Other to select a browser not listed in
the submenu.)
• (ImageReady) Select a browser from the Preview
in Default Browser tool in the toolbox.
To add a browser to the Preview In menu:
1 Create a shortcut (Windows) or an alias
(Mac OS) for the browser you want to add to
the menu.
2 Drag the icon for the shortcut or alias into the
Preview In folder, located in the Helpers folder in
the Photoshop program folder.
3 Restart Photoshop and ImageReady to view the
browser in the Preview In menu.
ADOBE PHOTOSHOP 6.0 85
User Guide
(ImageReady) To specify a browser to be launched by
the Preview In keyboard shortcut:
Do one of the following:
preset, you need to save it in the editor used to
create it. Otherwise, it will be lost if you create a
new one, or if you replace (rather than append)
a new library of the same type.
• Choose File > Preview In, then choose an option
from the submenu.
To create, load, save, or delete libraries:
• Select a browser from the Preview in Default
1 Choose Edit > Preset Manager.
Browser tool in the toolbox.
The shortcut specification takes effect immediately and will persist the next time you launch
ImageReady.
Managing libraries with the
Preset Manager (Photoshop)
You can use the Preset Manager to manage
libraries of preset brushes, swatches, gradients,
styles, patterns, contours, and custom shapes.
This lets you easily reuse or share libraries of
presets. Each type of library has its own file
extension and default folder. You can always
restore the default presets. Note that you cannot
create new presets using the Preset Manager,
as each preset is created in its own type of editor.
The Preset Manager lets you create a library
composed of multiple presets of a single type.
Any new preset brush, swatch, and so on,
automatically displays in the Preset Manager.
Prior to saving it into a preset library, the new
brush, swatch, and so on, is saved in the Preferences file so that it persists between editing
sessions. To permanently save the new item as a
2 Choose a preset type from the Preset
Type menu.
3 Do one of the following:
• Choose Save Set, then enter a name for
the library. If you want to save it to a folder
other than the default, navigate to the new folder
before saving.
• Choose Load, then select a library from the list.
If you want to load a library located in another
folder, navigate to that folder, then select the
library. Or select a library from the pop-up menu.
• Choose Delete to delete the selected presets in
the library. You can delete the default presets,
but they can always be restored.
To reset or replace libraries:
1 Choose Edit > Preset Manager.
2 Select the preset type you want to reset or
replace in the Preset Type menu. Any unsaved
presets in the list will be lost. You may want to save
the current library before you continue.
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3 From the Preset Manager pop-up menu do one
of the following:
• Choose Reset to restore the default library for
that type. Select Append to append the default
presets to the current set, OK to replace the
current presets with the default presets, or Cancel.
• Choose Replace to replace the current library
with the contents of another libraryloaded
from a file.
To save a subset of a library:
1 Choose Edit > Preset Manager.
2 Choose a preset type from the Preset Type
menu.
Changing views of the Preset Manager
You can change the view of the Preset Manager to
display presets by name, by thumbnail, or for some
preset types, you can choose to show both the
name and thumbnail of each item. Only the
available choices for each type of preset display
when you change the view for that preset type.
To change the view of the Preset Manager:
In the Preset Manager dialog box, choose one of
the available views from the pop-up menu:
• Text Only to display the name of each preset
item.
• Small Thumbnail or Large Thumbnail to display
3 Shift-click to select multiple presets. Only the
a thumbnail of each preset item.
selected presets will be saved to the new library.
• Small List or Large List to display the name and
thumbnail of each preset item.
4 Choose Save Set, then enter a name for the
library. If you want to save the library to a folder
other than the default, navigate to the new folder
before saving.
To rename presets contained in a library:
1 Choose Edit > Preset Manager.
2 Choose a preset type from the Preset Type
menu.
3 Select a preset in the list.
4 Choose Rename, then enter a new name for the
brush, swatch, and so on. If you selected multiple
presets, you will be prompted to enter multiple
names.
Setting preferences
Numerous program settings are stored in Adobe
Photoshop 6 Prefs.psp file (Windows) or the
Adobe Photoshop 6 Prefs file (Mac OS) in the
Adobe Photoshop 6 Settings folder. Among the
settings stored in this file are general display
options, file-saving options, cursor options,
transparency options, and options for plug-ins
and scratch disks. Most of these options are set in
ADOBE PHOTOSHOP 6.0 87
User Guide
dialog boxes that can be opened through the
Preferences submenu in the Edit menu. Preference
settings are saved each time you exit the
application.
Note: The default location of the Adobe Photoshop 6
Settings folder varies by operating system; use your
operating system’s Find command to locate this
folder.
Unexpected behavior may indicate damaged
preferences. By removing damaged preferences,
you can restore preferences to their default
settings.
To open a preferences dialog box:
1 Choose the desired preference set from the
In Mac OS, do one of the following:
• Hold down the Shift, Option, and Command
keys at the startup of Photoshop to reset preferences to their default settings.
• Open the Preferences folder in the System
Folder, and drag the following files to the Trash:
(Photoshop) Adobe Save For Web 2.0 prefs,
and, located in the Adobe Photoshop 6 Settings
folder, Adobe Photoshop 6 Prefs, Actions Palette
(prefs), Color Settings (prefs), Contours.psp,
Custom Shape.psp, Patterns.psp, Shape
Curves.psp, and Styles.psp; (ImageReady)
Adobe ImageReady 3.0 Prefs.
New Preferences files will be created the next time
you start Photoshop or ImageReady.
Edit > Preferences submenu.
2 To switch to a different preference set, do one of
the following:
• Choose the preference set from the menu at the
top of the dialog box.
• Click Next to display the next preference set in
the menu list; click Prev to display the previous
preference set.
For information on a specific preference option,
see the Index.
Resetting all warning dialogs
Sometimes messages containing warnings or
prompts regarding certain situations are
displayed. You can disable the display of these
messages by selecting the Don’t Show Again
option in the message. You can also globally reset
the display of all messages that have been disabled.
To reset the display of all warning messages
(Photoshop):
To restore all preferences to their default settings:
1 Choose Edit > Preferences > General.
In Windows, press and hold Alt+Control+Shift
immediately after launching Photoshop or
ImageReady. Click Yes to (Photoshop) delete the
Adobe Photoshop settings file or (ImageReady)
erase all ImageReady preferences.
2 Click Reset All Warning Dialogs, and click OK.
To turn on or off warning messages (ImageReady):
1 Choose Edit > Preferences > General.
2 Deselect or select Disable Warnings,
and click OK.
88 CHAPTER 1
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Monitoring operations
To exit Photoshop or ImageReady:
A progress bar indicates that an operation is in
process. You can interrupt the process or have the
program notify you when it has finished.
1 Choose File > Exit (Windows) or File >
Quit (Mac OS).
2 Choose whether or not to save any open files:
To cancel operations:
• Click Yes (Windows) or Save (Mac OS) for each
open file to save the file.
Hold down Esc until the operation in progress has
stopped. In Mac OS, you can also press
Command+period.
• Click No (Windows) or Don’t Save (Mac OS) for
each open file to close the file without saving it.
To set notification for completion of operations:
For information on using Adobe and thirdparty plug-in modules, see “Using plug-in
modules” in online Help.
1 Choose Edit > Preferences > General.
2 Do one of the following:
• (Photoshop) Select Beep When Done.
• (ImageReady) Select Notify When Done and
choose (Mac OS only): System Alert to use your
system alert for notification or Text to Speech to
use a spoken notification.
3 Click OK.
Closing files and quitting
To close a file:
1 Choose File > Close (Windows and Mac OS) or
File > Close All (Mac OS).
2 Choose whether or not to save the file:
• Click Yes (Windows) or Save (Mac OS) to save
the file.
• Click No (Windows) or Don’t Save (Mac OS) to
close the file without saving it.
2
91
Chapter 2: Getting Images into
Photoshop and ImageReady
ou can get digital images from a variety of
sources—you can create new images,
import them from another graphics application, or capture them using a digital camera.
Often you will begin by scanning a photograph,
a slide, or an image. To create effective artwork,
you must understand some basic concepts about
how to work with digital images, how to produce
high-quality scans, how to work with a variety of
file formats, and how to adjust the resolution and
size of images.
Y
Bitmap images are the most common electronic
medium for continuous-tone images, such as
photographs or digital paintings, because they can
represent subtle gradations of shades and color.
Bitmap images are resolution-dependent—that is,
they contain a fixed number of pixels. As a result,
they can lose detail and appear jagged if they are
scaled on-screen or if they are printed at a lower
resolution than they were created for.
3:1
About bitmap images and vector
graphics
Computer graphics falls into two main
categories—bitmap and vector. You can work with
both types of graphics in Photoshop and
ImageReady; moreover, a Photoshop file can
contain both bitmap and vector data. Understanding the difference between the two categories
helps as you create, edit, and import artwork.
Bitmap images Bitmap images—technically
called raster images—use a grid of colors known as
pixels to represent images. Each pixel is assigned a
specific location and color value. For example,
a bicycle tire in a bitmap image is made up of a
mosaic of pixels in that location. When working
with bitmap images, you edit pixels rather than
objects or shapes.
24:1
Bitmap images are good for reproducing subtle gradations
of color, as in photographs. They can have jagged edges
when printed at too large a size or displayed at too high a
magnification.
Vector graphics Vector graphics are made up of
lines and curves defined by mathematical objects
called vectors. Vectors describe an image according
to its geometric characteristics. For example, a
bicycle tire in a vector graphic is made up of a
mathematical definition of a circle drawn with a
certain radius, set at a specific location, and filled
with a specific color. You can move, resize, or
change the color of the tire without losing the
quality of the graphic.
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Vector graphics are resolution-independent—
that is, they can be scaled to any size and printed
at any resolution without losing detail or clarity.
As a result, vector graphics are the best choice for
representing bold graphics that must retain crisp
lines when scaled to various sizes—for example,
logos.
3:1
24:1
Vector graphics are good for reproducing crisp outlines, as in
logos or illustrations. They can be printed or displayed at any
resolution without losing detail.
For example, a 15-inch monitor typically
displays 800 pixels horizontally and 600 vertically.
An image with dimensions of 800 pixels by
600 pixels would fill this small screen. On a larger
monitor with an 800-by-600-pixel setting, the
same image (with 800-by-600-pixel dimensions)
would still fill the screen, but each pixel would
appear larger. Changing the setting of this larger
monitor to 1024-by-768 pixels would display
the image at a smaller size, occupying only part of
the screen.
When preparing an image for online display
(for example, a Web page that will be viewed on a
variety of monitors), pixel dimensions become
especially important. Because your image may be
viewed on a 15-inch monitor, you may want to
limit the size of your image to 800-by-600 pixels to
allow room for the Web browser window controls.
Because computer monitors represent images by
displaying them on a grid, both vector and bitmap
data is displayed as pixels on-screen.
20"
15"
About image size and resolution
In order to produce high-quality images, it is
important to understand how the pixel data of
images is measured and displayed.
Pixel dimensions The number of pixels along
the height and width of a bitmap image. The
display size of an image on-screen is determined
by the pixel dimensions of the image plus the size
and setting of the monitor.
832 x 624 / 640 x 480
1024 x 768 / 640 x 480
How large an image appears on-screen depends on a combination of factors––the pixel dimensions of the image, the monitor
size, and the monitor resolution setting. The examples above
show a 620-by-400-pixel image displayed on monitors of
various sizes and resolutions.
ADOBE PHOTOSHOP 6.0 93
User Guide
Image resolution The number of pixels displayed
per unit of printed length in an image, usually
measured in pixels per inch (ppi). In Photoshop,
you can change the resolution of an image;
in ImageReady, the resolution of an image is
always 72 ppi. This is because the ImageReady
application is tailored to creating images for online
media, not print media.
In Photoshop, image resolution and pixel dimensions are interdependent. The amount of detail in
an image depends on its pixel dimensions, while
the image resolution controls how much space the
pixels are printed over. For example, you can
modify an image’s resolution without changing
the actual pixel data in the image—all you change
is the printed size of the image. However, if you
want to maintain the same output dimensions,
changing the image’s resolution requires a change
in the total number of pixels.
When printed, an image with a high resolution
contains more, and therefore smaller, pixels than
an image with a low resolution. For example,
a 1-by-1-inch image with a resolution of 72 ppi
contains a total of 5184 pixels (72 pixels wide x
72 pixels high = 5184). The same 1-by-1-inch
image with a resolution of 300 ppi contains a total
of 90,000 pixels. Higher-resolution images usually
reproduce more detail and subtler color transitions than lower-resolution images. However,
increasing the resolution of a low-resolution
image only spreads the original pixel information
across a greater number of pixels; it rarely
improves image quality.
Using too low a resolution for a printed image
results in pixelation—output with large, coarselooking pixels. Using too high a resolution (pixels
smaller than the output device can produce)
increases the file size and slows the printing of the
image; furthermore, the device will be unable to
reproduce the extra detail provided by the higher
resolution image.
Monitor resolution The number of pixels or dots
displayed per unit of length on the monitor,
usually measured in dots per inch (dpi). Monitor
resolution depends on the size of the monitor plus
its pixel setting. Most new monitors have a
resolution of about 96 dpi, while older Mac OS
monitors have a resolution of 72 dpi.
72-ppi and 300-ppi images; inset zoom 200%
Understanding monitor resolution helps explain
why the display size of an image on-screen often
differs from its printed size. Image pixels are translated directly into monitor pixels. This means that
when the image resolution is higher than the
monitor resolution, the image appears larger
on-screen than its specified print dimensions.
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For example, when you display a 1-by-1 inch,
144-ppi image on a 72-dpi monitor, it appears in a
2-by-2 inch area on-screen. Because the monitor
can display only 72 pixels per inch, it needs
2 inches to display the 144 pixels that make up one
edge of the image.
Printer resolution The number of ink dots per
inch (dpi) produced by all laser printers, including
imagesetters. Most desktop laser printers have a
resolution of 600 dpi and imagesetters have a
resolution of 1200 dpi or higher. To determine the
appropriate resolution for your image when
printing to any laser printer, but especially to
imagesetters, see “screen frequency.”
Ink jet printers produce a spray of ink, not actual
dots; however, most ink jet printers have an
approximate resolution of 300 to 600 dpi and
produce good results when printing images up
to 150 ppi.
Screen frequency The number of printer dots or
halftone cells per inch used to print grayscale
images or color separations. Also known as screen
ruling or line screen, screen frequency is measured
in lines per inch (lpi)—or lines of cells per inch in
a halftone screen.
The relationship between image resolution and
screen frequency determines the quality of detail
in the printed image. To produce a halftone image
of the highest quality, you generally use an image
resolution that is from 1.5 to at most 2 times the
screen frequency. But with some images and
output devices, a lower resolution can produce
good results. To determine your printer’s screen
frequency, check your printer documentation or
consult your service provider.
Note: Some imagesetters and 600-dpi laser
printers use screening technologies other than
halftoning. If you are printing an image on a
nonhalftone printer, consult your service provider or
your printer documentation for the recommended
image resolutions.
A
B
C
D
A. 65 lpi: Coarse screen typically used to print newsletters
and grocery coupons. B. 85 lpi: Average screen typically used
to print newspapers. C. 133 lpi: High-quality screen typically
used to print four-color magazines. D. 177 lpi: Very fine
screen typically used for annual reports and images in
art books.
File size The digital size of an image, measured in
kilobytes (K), megabytes (MB), or gigabytes (GB).
File size is proportional to the pixel dimensions of
the image. Images with more pixels may produce
more detail at a given printed size, but they require
more disk space to store and may be slower to edit
and print. For instance, a 1-by-1-inch, 200-ppi
image contains four times as many pixels as a
ADOBE PHOTOSHOP 6.0 95
User Guide
1-by-1-inch, 100-ppi image and so has four times
the file size. Image resolution thus becomes a
compromise between image quality (capturing all
the data you need) and file size.
Another factor that affects file size is file format—
due to varying compression methods used by GIF,
JPEG, and PNG file formats, file sizes can vary
considerably for the same pixel dimensions.
Similarly, color bit-depth and the number of layers
and channels in an image affect file size.
Keep in mind that bitmap and vector data can
produce different results when you resize an
image. Bitmap data is resolution-dependent;
therefore, changing the pixel dimensions of a
bitmap image can cause a loss in image quality and
sharpness. In contrast, vector data is resolutionindependent; you can resize it without losing its
crisp edges.
Displaying image size information
Photoshop supports a maximum file size of 2 GB
and maximum pixel dimensions of 30,000 by
30,000 pixels per image. This restriction places
limits on the print size and resolution available to
an image.
You can display information about the current
image size using the information box at the
bottom of the application window (Windows)
or the document window (Mac OS). (See
“Displaying file and image information” on
page 78.)
Changing image size and
resolution
To display the current image size:
Once you have scanned or imported an image,
you may want to adjust its size. In Photoshop,
the Image Size command lets you adjust the pixel
dimensions, print dimensions, and resolution of
an image; in ImageReady, you can only adjust the
pixel dimensions of an image.
• (Photoshop) Press Alt (Windows) or Option
(Mac OS), position the pointer over the file
information box, and hold down the mouse
button. The box displays the width and height of
the image (both in pixels and in the unit of
measurement currently selected for the rulers),
the number of channels, and the image resolution.
For assistance with resizing and resampling
images in Photoshop, choose Help > Resize
Image. This interactive wizard helps you scale your
images for print or online media.
Do one of the following:
• (ImageReady) Click an image information box,
and select Image Dimensions from the pop-up
menu. The box displays the width and height of
the image in pixels.
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About resampling
Choosing an interpolation method
Resampling refers to changing the pixel dimensions (and therefore display size) of an image.
When you downsample (or decrease the number of
pixels), information is deleted from the image.
When you resample up (or increase the number of
pixels), new pixels are added based on color values
of existing pixels. You specify an interpolation
method to determine how pixels are added or
deleted. (See “Choosing an interpolation method”
on page 96.)
When an image is resampled, an interpolation
method is used to assign color values to any new
pixels it creates, based on the color values of
existing pixels in the image. The more sophisticated the method, the more quality and detail
from the original image are preserved.
The General Preferences dialog box lets you
specify a default interpolation method to use
whenever images are resampled with the Image
Size or transformation commands. The Image Size
command also lets you specify an interpolation
method other than the default.
To specify the default interpolation method:
1 Choose Edit > Preferences > General.
A
2 For Interpolation, choose one of the following
options:
B
C
A. Downsampled B. Original C. Resampled up
(Selected pixels displayed for each image.)
Keep in mind that resampling can result in poorer
image quality. For example, when you resample an
image to larger pixel dimensions, the image will
lose some detail and sharpness. Applying the
Unsharp Mask filter to a resampled image can help
refocus the image’s details.
For more information, see “Sharpening
images” in online Help.
You can avoid the need for resampling by scanning
or creating the image at a high enough resolution.
If you want to preview the effects of changing pixel
dimensions on-screen or print proofs at different
resolutions, resample a duplicate of your file.
• Nearest Neighbor (Jagged) for the fast but less
precise method. This method is recommended for
use with illustrations containing non-anti-aliased
edges, to preserve hard edges and produce a
smaller file. However, this method can result in
jagged effects, which become apparent when
distorting or scaling an image or performing
multiple manipulations on a selection.
• (Photoshop) Bilinear for a medium-quality
method.
• Bicubic (Smooth) for the slow but more
precise method, resulting in the smoothest tonal
gradations.
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Changing the pixel dimensions of an
image
To change the pixel dimensions of an image
(ImageReady):
When preparing images for online distribution,
it’s useful to specify image size in terms of the pixel
dimensions. Keep in mind that changing pixel
dimensions affects not only the size of an image
on-screen but also its image quality and its printed
characteristics—either its printed dimensions or
its image resolution. (See “About image size and
resolution” on page 92.)
1 Choose Image > Image Size.
To change the pixel dimensions of an image
(Photoshop):
2 To maintain the current proportions of
pixel width to pixel height, select Constrain
Proportions.
3 Under New Size, enter values for Width, Height,
or Percent. The New Size text field displays the new
file size for the image.
4 Select a resampling method from the Quality
pop-up menu.
1 Choose Image > Image Size.
5 Click OK to change the pixel dimensions and
resample the image.
2 Make sure that Resample Image is selected, and
choose an interpolation method. (See “Choosing
an interpolation method” on page 96.)
For information on setting action options,
see “Recording image size options (ImageReady)”
on page 398.
3 To maintain the current proportions of pixel
width to pixel height, select Constrain Proportions. This option automatically updates the width
as you change the height, and vice versa.
4 Under Pixel Dimensions, enter values for Width
and Height. To enter values as percentages of the
current dimensions, choose Percent as the unit of
measurement.
The new file size for the image appears at the top
of the Image Size dialog box, with the old file size
in parentheses.
5 Click OK to change the pixel dimensions and
resample the image.
For best results in producing a smaller image,
downsample and apply the Unsharp Mask
filter. To produce a larger image, rescan the image at
a higher resolution.
Changing the print dimensions and
resolution of an image (Photoshop)
When creating an image for print media, it’s useful
to specify image size in terms of the printed
dimensions and the image resolution. These two
measurements, referred to as the document size,
determine the total pixel count and therefore
the file size of the image; document size also
determines the base size at which an image is
placed into another application. You can further
manipulate the scale of the printed image in the
Print Options dialog box; however, changes you
make in the Print Options dialog box affect only
the printed image, not the document size of the
image file. (See “Positioning and scaling images”
on page 377.)
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If you turn on resampling for the image, you can
change print dimensions and resolution independently (and change the total number of pixels in
the image). If you turn resampling off, you can
change either the dimensions or the resolution—
Photoshop adjusts the other value automatically to
preserve the total pixel count. For the highest print
quality, it’s generally best to change the dimensions and resolution first without resampling.
Then resample only as necessary.
To change the print dimensions and resolution of
an image:
1 Choose Image > Image Size.
2 Change the print dimensions, image resolution,
or both:
• To change only the print dimensions or only the
resolution and adjust the total number of pixels in
the image proportionately, make sure that
Resample Image is selected. Then choose an interpolation method. (See “Choosing an interpolation
method” on page 96.)
• To change the print dimensions and resolution
without changing the total number of pixels in the
image, deselect Resample Image.
3 To maintain the current proportions of image
width to image height, select Constrain Proportions. This option automatically updates the width
as you change the height, and vice versa.
4 Under Document Size, enter new values for the
height and width. If desired, choose a new unit of
measurement. Note that for Width, the Columns
option uses the width and gutter sizes specified in
the Units & Rulers preferences. (See “Using rulers,
the measure tool, guides, and the grid” on
page 74.)
5 For Resolution, enter a new value. If desired,
choose a new unit of measurement.
6 Click OK.
To return to the original values displayed in the
Image Size dialog box, hold down Alt
(Windows) or Option (Mac OS), and click Reset.
To view the print size on-screen:
Do one of the following:
• Choose View > Print Size.
• Select the hand tool or zoom tool, and click Print
Size in the options bar.
The magnification of the image is adjusted to
display its approximate printed size, as specified in
the Document Size section of the Image Size dialog
box. Keep in mind that the size and resolution of
your monitor affect the on-screen print size.
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Determining a recommended resolution
for an image (Photoshop)
• Good to produce a resolution 1.5 times the
screen frequency.
If you plan to print your image using a halftone
screen, the range of suitable image resolutions
depends on the screen frequency of your output
device. You can have Photoshop determine a
recommended resolution for your image based on
your device’s screen frequency. (See “About image
size and resolution” on page 92.)
• Best to produce a resolution 2 times the
screen frequency.
Note: If your image resolution is more than
2.5 times the screen ruling, an alert message appears
when you try to print the image. This means that
the image resolution is higher than necessary for
the printer. Save a copy of the file, and then reduce
the resolution.
5 Click OK.
Scanning images
Before you scan an image, make sure that the
software necessary for your scanner has been
installed. To ensure a high-quality scan,
you should predetermine the scanning resolution
and dynamic range your image requires. These
preparatory steps can also prevent unwanted
colors casts from being introduced by your
scanner.
To determine a suggested resolution for an image:
1 Choose Image > Image Size.
2 Click Auto.
3 For Screen, enter the screen frequency for the
output device. If desired, choose a new unit of
measurement. Note that the screen value is used
only to calculate the image resolution, not to set
the screen for printing.
Important: To specify the halftone screen ruling for
printing, you must use the Halftone Screens dialog
box, accessible through the Print Options dialog box.
(See “Selecting halftone screen attributes” on
page 379.)
4 For Quality, select an option:
• Draft to produce a resolution the same
as the screen frequency (no lower than 72 pixels
per inch).
Scanner drivers are provided and supported by
the manufacturers of the scanners, not Adobe
Systems Incorporated. If you have problems with
scanning, make sure that you are using the latest
version of the appropriate scanner driver.
Importing scanned images
You can import scanned images directly from any
scanner that has an Adobe Photoshop-compatible
plug-in module or that supports the TWAIN
interface. To import the scan using a plug-in
module, choose the scanner name from the File >
Import submenu. See your scanner documentation for instructions on installing the scanner
plug-in.
For more information, see “Using plug-in
modules” in online Help.
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If your scanner does not have an Adobe
Photoshop-compatible scanner driver, import the
scan using the TWAIN interface. (See “Importing
an image using the TWAIN interface” on
page 100.)
If you can’t import the scan using the TWAIN
interface, use the scanner manufacturer’s software
to scan your images, and save the images as TIFF,
PICT, or BMP files. Then open the files in
Photoshop or ImageReady.
Importing an image using the TWAIN
interface
TWAIN is a cross-platform interface for acquiring
images captured by certain scanners, digital
cameras, and frame grabbers. The manufacturer
of the TWAIN device must provide a Source
Manager and TWAIN Data source for your device
to work with Photoshop and ImageReady.
You must install the TWAIN device and its
software, and restart your computer, before you
can use it to import images into Photoshop and
ImageReady. See the documentation provided by
your device manufacturer for installation
information.
To import an image using the TWAIN interface
(ImageReady):
1 If you’re using the TWAIN device for the first
time with ImageReady, choose File > Import >
TWAIN Select. Then select the device you want to
use. You do not need to repeat this step for subsequent use of the TWAIN module.
If more than one TWAIN device is installed in
your system and you want to switch devices,
use the TWAIN Select command.
2 To import the image, choose File > Import >
TWAIN Acquire.
For more information about scanning,
see “Scanning using the resolution
setting (Photoshop),” “Scanning using the
file size setting (Photoshop),” “Optimizing the
dynamic range of the scan (Photoshop),” and
“Eliminating unwanted color casts (Photoshop)”
in online Help.
Creating new images
The New command lets you create a blank image.
To create a new image:
1 Do one of the following:
To import an image using the TWAIN interface
(Photoshop):
Choose File > Import, and choose the device you
want to use from the submenu.
• To base the image dimensions and resolution
(Photoshop) on the Clipboard contents, choose
File > New. If the Clipboard does not contain
image data, the image dimensions and resolution
are based on the last image you created.
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• (Photoshop) To base the image size on the
default dimensions and resolution or the last
entered settings, hold down Alt (Windows) or
Option (Mac OS) when you choose File > New.
2 If desired, type a name for the image, and set the
width and height.
(Photoshop) To match the width and height of
the new image to that of any open image,
choose a filename from the bottom section of the
Windows menu.
3 (Photoshop) Set the resolution and mode.
(See “About image size and resolution” on page 92
and “About color modes and models
(Photoshop)” on page 109.)
4 Select an option for the contents of the
background layer (Photoshop) or first layer
(ImageReady) of the image:
• White to fill the background or first layer with
white, the default background color.
• Background Color to fill the background or first
layer with the current background color.
For more information, see “Choosing
foreground and background colors” in
online Help.
• Transparent to make the first layer transparent,
with no color values. The resulting document will
have a single, transparent layer as its contents.
5 Click OK.
Opening and importing images
You can open and import images in various file
formats. The available formats appear in the Open
dialog box, the Open As dialog box (Windows),
or the Import submenu.
For more information, see “About file
formats” in online Help.
Note: Photoshop and ImageReady use plug-in
modules to open and import many file formats.
If a file format does not appear in the Open dialog
box or in the File > Import submenu, you may need
to install the format’s plug-in module.
For more information, see “Using plug-in
modules” in online Help.
Opening files
The Open dialog box provides controls for
locating and previewing files. To bypass the Open
dialog box, use the Open Recent command.
There may be instances when Photoshop
cannot determine the correct format for a file.
For example, transferring a file between Mac OS
and Windows can cause the format to be mislabeled. In such cases, you must specify the correct
format in which to open the file.
To open a file:
1 Choose File > Open.
2 Select the name of the file you want to open.
If the file does not appear, select the option for
showing all files from the Files of Type (Windows)
or Show (Mac OS) pop-up menu.
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3 (Mac OS) Click Show Preview to preview the
selected file. This option requires the Apple
QuickTime extension.
To specify the file format in which to open a file
(Photoshop):
Note: Previews display faster if they are saved with
the file. In Photoshop, select Always Save for Image
Previews in the Saving Files preferences to always
save a preview; select Ask When Saving to save
previews on a file-per-file basis.
• (Windows) Choose File > Open As, and
select the file you want to open. Then choose the
desired format from the Open As pop-up menu,
and click Open.
4 Click Open. In some cases, a dialog box appears,
letting you set format-specific options.
(See “Opening and importing PDF files” on
page 102 and “Opening PostScript artwork” on
page 104.)
Note: If a color profile warning message appears,
specify whether to convert the pixels based on the
file’s color profile. (See “Specifying color
management policies” on page 128.)
For more information on opening and
importing Photo CD files, see “Opening
Photo CD files,” “Opening Raw files (Photoshop),”
“Importing anti-aliased PICT files (Mac OS),”
and “Importing PICT Resources (Mac OS)” in
online Help.
To open a recently used file:
Choose File > Open Recent, and select a file from
the submenu.
To specify the number of files that are available in
the Open Recent submenu, choose Edit > Preferences > Saving Files, and enter a number in the
Recent File List Contains text box.
Do one of the following:
• (Mac OS) Choose File > Open, and choose
All Documents from the Show pop-up menu.
Then select the file you want to open, choose the
desired file format from the Format pop-up menu,
and click Open.
Important: If the file does not open, then the chosen
format may not match the file’s true format, or the
file may be damaged.
Opening and importing PDF files
Portable Document Format (PDF) is a versatile
file format that can represent both vector and
bitmap data and can contain electronic document
search and navigation features. PDF is the
primary format for Adobe Illustrator 9.0 and
Adobe Acrobat.
For more information, see “PDF” in
online Help.
Some PDF files contain a single image.
Other PDF files (called Generic PDF files) may
contain multiple pages and images. When you
open a Generic PDF file, you can choose which
page to open and specify rasterization options.
If you want to open an image (versus a page) from
a PDF file, you can use the File > Import > PDF
Image command.
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User Guide
You can also bring PDF data into Photoshop or
ImageReady using the Place command, the Paste
command, and the drag-and-drop feature.
(See “Placing files” on page 104, “Using drag and
drop to copy between applications” on page 151,
and “Using the Clipboard to copy between applications” on page 152.)
To open a PDF file:
1 Choose File > Open.
2 Select the name of the file, and click Open.
You can change which types of files show by
selecting an option from the Files of Type
(Windows) or Show (Mac OS) pop-up menu.
3 If you are opening a Generic PDF file, do the
following:
• If the file contains multiple pages, select the page
you want to open, and click OK.
• Indicate the desired dimensions, resolution,
and mode. If the file has an embedded ICC profile,
you can choose the profile from the mode
pop-up menu.
• Select Constrain Proportions to maintain the
same height-to-width ratio.
• Select Anti-aliased to minimize the jagged
appearance of the artwork’s edges as it is
rasterized.
• Click OK.
To import images from a PDF file:
1 Choose File > Import > PDF Image,
select the file you want to import images from,
and click Open.
2 Select the image you want to open:
• To open a specific image, select it and click OK.
You can use the arrows to scroll through the
images, or click Go to Image to enter an image
number.
• To open each image as a separate file, click
Import All Images.
Press Esc to cancel the import operation before
all images are imported.
To create a new Photoshop file for each page of a
multiple-page PDF file (Photoshop):
1 Choose File > Automate > Multi-Page
PDF to PSD.
2 Under Source PDF, click the Choose button,
and select the file you want to import images from.
3 Under Page Range, specify a range of pages to
import.
4 Under Output Options, specify a resolution,
choose a color mode, and set the Anti-alias option
for rasterizing each page of the PDF file. (To blend
edge pixels during rasterization, select the Antialias option. To produce a hard-edged transition
between edge pixels during rasterization, deselect
the Anti-alias option.)
5 Under Destination, enter a base name for
the generated files. (When Photoshop creates
the new files, the base name is appended with a
number that corresponds to the page number of
the PDF file.) Then click the Choose button,
and select the location where you want to save
the generated files.
6 Click OK.
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Opening PostScript artwork
Encapsulated PostScript® (EPS) can represent both
vector and bitmap data and is supported by
virtually all graphic, illustration, and page-layout
programs. Adobe applications that produce
PostScript artwork include Adobe Illustrator,
Adobe Dimensions, and Adobe Streamline.
When you open an EPS file containing vector art,
it is rasterized—the mathematically defined lines
and curves of the vector artwork are converted
into the pixels or bits of a bitmap image.
You can also bring PostScript artwork into
Photoshop or ImageReady using the Place
command, the Paste command, and the
drag-and-drop feature. (See “Placing files” on
page 104, “Using drag and drop to copy between
applications” on page 151, and “Using the
Clipboard to copy between applications” on
page 152.)
To open an EPS file:
1 Choose File > Open.
2 Select the file you want to open, and click Open.
3 Indicate the desired dimensions, resolution,
and mode. To maintain the same height-to-width
ratio, select Constrain Proportions.
4 Select Anti-aliased to minimize the jagged
appearance of the artwork’s edges as it is
rasterized.
5 Click OK.
Turning off anti-aliasing for PDF and EPS
files (ImageReady)
The Anti-alias PostScript option removes jagged
edges from a pasted or placed selection by making
a subtle transition between the edges of the
selection and its surrounding pixels. Turning off
this option produces a hard-edged transition
between pixels—and therefore the appearance of
jagged edges—when vector artwork is rasterized.
Note: In Photoshop, you can deselect the Anti-alias
option when you open or place a PDF or EPS file.
To turn off the Anti-alias Postscript option:
1 Choose Edit > Preferences > General.
2 Deselect Anti-alias PostScript. Clearing this
option can decrease the time it takes to import
the file.
Placing files
You can use the File > Place command to place
artwork into a new layer in an image. In
Photoshop, you can place PDF, Adobe Illustrator,
and EPS files; in ImageReady, you can place files in
any supported format, with the exception of
Photoshop (PSD) files containing CMYK images.
When you place a PDF, Adobe Illustrator, or EPS
file, it is rasterized; you cannot edit text or vector
data in placed artwork. Keep in mind that artwork
is rasterized at the resolution of the file into which
it is placed.
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To place a PDF, Adobe Illustrator, or EPS file
(Photoshop):
1 Open the Photoshop image into which you
want to place the artwork.
2 Choose File > Place, select the file you want to
place, and click Place.
3 If you are placing a PDF file that contains
multiple pages, select the page you want to place in
the provided dialog box, and click OK.
The placed artwork appears inside a bounding box
at the center of the Photoshop image. The artwork
maintains its original aspect ratio; however, if the
artwork is larger than the Photoshop image, it is
resized to fit.
4 If desired, reposition the placed artwork by
doing one or more of the following:
• Position the pointer inside the bounding box of
the placed artwork, and drag.
• In the options bar, enter a value for X to specify
the distance between the center point of the placed
artwork and the left edge of the image. Enter a
value for Y to specify the distance between the
center point of the placed artwork and the top
edge of the image.
• To adjust the center point of the placed artwork,
drag the center point to a new location, or click a
handle on the center point icon ( ) in the
options bar.
5 If desired, scale the placed artwork by doing one
or more of the following:
• Drag one of the handles at the corners or sides of
the bounding box. Hold down Shift as you drag a
corner handle to constrain the proportions.
• In the options bar, enter values for W and H to
specify the width and height of the artwork.
By default, these options represent scale as a
percentage; however, you can enter another unit of
measurement (in, cm, or px). To constrain the
proportions of the artwork, click the Constrain
Proportions icon ( ); the option is on when the
icon has a white background.
6 If desired, rotate the placed artwork by doing
one or more of the following:
• Position the pointer outside the bounding box of
the placed artwork (the pointer turns into a curved
arrow), and drag.
• In the options bar, enter a value (in degrees) for
the Rotation option ( ).
The artwork rotates around the center point of the
placed artwork. To adjust the center point, drag it
to a new location, or click a handle on the Center
Point icon ( ) in the options bar.
7 If desired, skew the placed artwork by holding
down Ctrl (Windows) or Command (Mac OS),
and dragging a side handle of the bounding box.
8 Set the Anti-alias option in the options bar as
desired. To blend edge pixels during rasterization,
select the Anti-alias option. To produce a hardedged transition between edge pixels during
rasterization, deselect the Anti-alias option.
9 To commit the placed artwork to a new layer,
do one of the following:
• Click the OK button (
) in the options bar.
• Press Enter or Return.
To cancel the placement, click the Cancel
button ( ) in the options bar, or press Esc.
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To place a file (ImageReady):
Managing files with WebDAV
1 Open the ImageReady image into which you
Photoshop and ImageReady offer support for a
server technology known as Web Distributed
Authoring and Versioning (WebDAV). You can
easily connect to a WebDAV server, download and
upload files, lock files so others cannot work on
them at the same time as you are, and add
additional files (called assets) to the server. Using a
WebDAV server lets you work in a collaborative
environment without fear that files will be
accidentally overwritten or updates lost.
want to place the file.
2 Choose File > Place, select the file you want to
place, and click Open.
3 Select offset options:
• From the Horizontal pop-up menu, choose an
option for placing the file horizontally with respect
to the ImageReady image. In the Pixels text box,
enter the number of pixels to offset the placed
image horizontally.
• From the Vertical pop-up menu, choose an
option for placing the file vertically with respect to
the ImageReady image. In the Pixels text box, enter
the number of pixels to offset the placed image
vertically.
Note: To enter a negative number (and offset the
placed file to the left or below the ImageReady
image), type a hyphen (-) before the number.
4 Click OK.
5 If you are placing a PDF file that contains
multiple pages, select the page you want to place,
and click OK.
6 If you are placing a PDF or EPS file, select
Rasterize options, and click OK:
• Enter Width and Height values for Image Size.
• Select Anti-aliased to minimize the jagged
appearance of the artwork’s edges as it is
rasterized.
• Select Constrain Proportions to maintain the
same height-to-width ratio.
For more information, see “Managing files
with WebDAV” in online Help.
3
109
Chapter 3: Working with Color
amiliarity with color theory and terminology can help you understand how color
is measured and how Adobe Photoshop
and Adobe ImageReady use this information to
define, display, and print color values.
F
After you determine the appropriate color mode
for your image, you can apply colors and make
color and tonal adjustments.
About color modes and models
(Photoshop)
A color mode determines the color model used to
display and print images. Photoshop bases its
color modes on established models for describing
and reproducing color. Common models include
HSB (hue, saturation, brightness); RGB (red,
green, blue); CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow,
black); and CIE L*a*b*. Photoshop also includes
modes for specialized color output such as
Indexed Color and Duotone. ImageReady uses
RGB mode to work with images.
In addition to determining the number of colors
that can be displayed in an image, color modes
affect the number of channels and the file size of
an image.
You can set up the Info palette so that you can
select any tool, position the pointer over any
part of an image, and determine the color value
under the pointer. You can customize the Info palette
and color samplers to express color values using HSB,
RGB, CMYK, Lab, or Grayscale modes without
changing the mode of the image itself. (See the
procedure to change Info palette options in “Using
the Info palette” on page 63.)
For more information, see “Seeing the
color values of pixels (Photoshop)” in
online Help.
HSB model
Based on the human perception of color, the HSB
model describes three fundamental characteristics
of color:
• Hue is the color reflected from or transmitted
through an object. It is measured as a location on
the standard color wheel, expressed as a degree
between 0° and 360°. In common use, hue is
identified by the name of the color such as red,
orange, or green.
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• Saturation, sometimes called chroma, is the
strength or purity of the color. Saturation represents the amount of gray in proportion to the hue,
measured as a percentage from 0% (gray) to 100%
(fully saturated). On the standard color wheel,
saturation increases from the center to the edge.
• Brightness is the relative lightness or darkness of
the color, usually measured as a percentage from
0% (black) to 100% (white).
Because the RGB colors combine to create white,
they are also called additive colors. Adding all
colors together creates white—that is, all light is
transmitted back to the eye. Additive colors are
used for lighting, video, and monitors. Your
monitor, for example, creates color by emitting
light through red, green, and blue phosphors.
Although you can use the HSB model in
Photoshop to define a color in the Color palette or
Color Picker dialog box, there is no HSB mode
available for creating and editing images.
A
Additive colors (RGB)
B
RGB mode
C
D
A. Saturation B. Hue C. Brightness D. All hues
RGB model
A large percentage of the visible spectrum can be
represented by mixing red, green, and blue (RGB)
colored light in various proportions and intensities. Where the colors overlap, they create cyan,
magenta, yellow, and white.
Photoshop’s RGB mode uses the RGB model,
assigning an intensity value to each pixel ranging
from 0 (black) to 255 (white) for each of the
RGB components in a color image. For example,
a bright red color might have an R value of 246,
a G value of 20, and a B value of 50. When the
values of all three components are equal, the result
is a shade of neutral gray. When the value of all
components is 255, the result is pure white;
when the value is 0, pure black.
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RGB images use three colors, or channels, to
reproduce up to 16.7 million colors on-screen;
the three channels translate to 24 (8 x 3) bits of
color information per pixel. (In 16-bit-perchannel images, this translates to 48 bits per pixel,
with the ability to reproduce many more colors.)
In addition to being the default mode for new
Photoshop images, the RGB model is used by
computer monitors to display colors. This means
that when working in color modes other than
RGB, such as CMYK, Photoshop temporarily uses
RGB mode for display on-screen.
Although RGB is a standard color model, the exact
range of colors represented can vary, depending on
the application or display device. Photoshop’s
RGB mode varies according to the working space
setting that you have specified in the Color
Settings dialog box. (See “About working spaces”
on page 125.)
CMYK model
The CMYK model is based on the light-absorbing
quality of ink printed on paper. As white light
strikes translucent inks, part of the spectrum is
absorbed and part is reflected back to your eyes.
In theory, pure cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow
(Y) pigments should combine to absorb all color
and produce black. For this reason these colors are
called subtractive colors. Because all printing inks
contain some impurities, these three inks actually
produce a muddy brown and must be combined
with black (K) ink to produce a true black. (K is
used instead of B to avoid confusion with blue.)
Combining these inks to reproduce color is called
four-color process printing.
The subtractive (CMY) and additive (RGB) colors
are complementary colors. Each pair of subtractive
colors creates an additive color, and vice versa.
Subtractive colors (CMYK)
CMYK mode
In Photoshop’s CMYK mode, each pixel is
assigned a percentage value for each of the process
inks. The lightest (highlight) colors are assigned
small percentages of process ink colors, the darker
(shadow) colors higher percentages. For example,
a bright red might contain 2% cyan, 93% magenta,
90% yellow, and 0% black. In CMYK images, pure
white is generated when all four components have
values of 0%.
Use the CMYK mode when preparing an image to
be printed using process colors. Converting an
RGB image into CMYK creates a color separation.
If you start with an RGB image, it’s best to edit first
and then convert to CMYK. In RGB mode, you can
use the Proof Setup commands to simulate the
effects of a CMYK conversion without changing
the actual image data. (See “Soft-proofing colors”
on page 131.) You can also use CMYK mode to
work directly with CMYK images scanned or
imported from high-end systems.
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Although CMYK is a standard color model,
the exact range of colors represented can vary,
depending on the press and printing conditions.
Photoshop’s CMYK mode varies according to the
working space setting that you have specified in
the Color Settings dialog box. (See “About
working spaces” on page 125.)
L*a*b model
The L*a*b color model is based on the model
proposed by the Commission Internationale
d’Eclairage (CIE) in 1931 as an international
standard for color measurement. In 1976,
this model was refined and named CIE L*a*b.
L*a*b color is designed to be device independent,
creating consistent color regardless of the device
(such as a monitor, printer, computer, or scanner)
used to create or output the image.
L*a*b color consists of a luminance or lightness
component (L) and two chromatic components:
the a component (from green to red) and the
b component (from blue to yellow).
A
Lab mode
In Photoshop, Lab mode (the asterisks are
dropped from the name) has a lightness
component (L) that can range from 0 to 100.
The a component (green-red axis) and the b
component (blue-yellow axis) can range from
+120 to –120.
You can use Lab mode to work with Photo CD
images, edit the luminance and the color values in
an image independently, move images between
systems, and print to PostScript® Level 2 and
Level 3 printers. To print Lab images to other color
PostScript devices, convert to CMYK first.
Lab color is the intermediate color model
Photoshop uses when converting from one color
mode to another.
Bitmap mode
This mode uses one of two color values (black or
white) to represent the pixels in an image. Images
in Bitmap mode are called bitmapped 1-bit images
because they have a bit depth of 1.
For more information, see “Specifying 8-bit
color display (Photoshop)” in online Help.
B
Grayscale mode
C
D
A. Luminance=100 (white)
B. Green to red component
C. Blue to yellow component
D. Luminance=0 (black)
This mode uses up to 256 shades of gray. Every
pixel of a grayscale image has a brightness value
ranging from 0 (black) to 255 (white). Grayscale
values can also be measured as percentages of
black ink coverage (0% is equal to white, 100% to
black). Images produced using black-and-white or
grayscale scanners typically are displayed in
Grayscale mode.
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Although Grayscale is a standard color
model, the exact range of grays represented can
vary, depending on the printing conditions.
In Photoshop, Grayscale mode uses the range
defined by the working space setting that you have
specified in the Color Settings dialog box.
(See “About working spaces” on page 125.)
These guidelines apply to converting images to
and from Grayscale mode:
• You can convert both Bitmap-mode and color
images to grayscale.
• To convert a color image to a high-quality
grayscale image, Photoshop discards all color
information in the original image. The gray levels
(shades) of the converted pixels represent the
luminosity of the original pixels.
You can mix information from the color
channels to create a custom grayscale channel
by using the Channel Mixer command.
• When converting from grayscale to RGB, the
color values for a pixel are based on its previous
gray value. A grayscale image can also be converted
to a CMYK image (for creating process-color
quadtones without converting to Duotone mode)
or to a Lab color image.
Duotone mode
This mode creates duotone (two-color), tritone
(three-color), and quadtone (four-color) grayscale
images using two to four custom inks.
(See “Printing duotones” on page 384.)
Indexed Color mode
This mode uses at most 256 colors. When
converting to indexed color, Photoshop builds a
color lookup table (CLUT), which stores and
indexes the colors in the image. If a color in the
original image does not appear in the table,
the program chooses the closest one or simulates
the color using available colors.
By limiting the palette of colors, indexed color can
reduce file size while maintaining visual quality—
for example, for a multimedia animation application or a Web page. Limited editing is available
in this mode. For extensive editing you should
convert temporarily to RGB mode. (See
“Converting to indexed color (Photoshop)” on
page 118.)
Multichannel mode
This mode uses 256 levels of gray in each channel.
Multichannel images are useful for specialized
printing—for example, converting a duotone for
printing in Scitex CT format.
These guidelines apply to converting images to
Multichannel mode:
• Channels in the original image become spot
color channels in the converted image.
• When you convert a color image to multichannel, the new grayscale information is based on
the color values of the pixels in each channel.
• Converting a CMYK image to multichannel
creates cyan, magenta, yellow, and black spot
channels.
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• Converting an RGB image to multichannel
creates cyan, magenta, and yellow spot channels.
• Deleting a channel from an RGB, CMYK,
or Lab image automatically converts the image to
Multichannel mode. (See “About color channels”
on page 116 for more information on channels.)
• To export a multichannel image, save it in
Photoshop DCS 2.0 format.
For more information, see “Identifying
out-of-gamut colors (Photoshop)” in
online Help.
A
B
C
Color gamuts (Photoshop)
A gamut is the range of colors that a color system
can display or print. The spectrum of colors seen
by the human eye is wider than the gamut available
in any color model.
Among the color models used in Photoshop,
L*a*b has the largest gamut, encompassing all
colors in the RGB and CMYK gamuts. Typically,
the RGB gamut contains the subset of these colors
that can be viewed on a computer or television
monitor (which emits red, green, and blue light).
Therefore, some colors, such as pure cyan or pure
yellow, can’t be displayed accurately on a monitor.
The CMYK gamut is smaller, consisting only of
colors that can be printed using process-color
inks. When colors that cannot be printed are
displayed on-screen, they are referred to as out-ofgamut colors—that is, outside the CMYK gamut.
A. Lab color gamut B. RGB color gamut
C. CMYK color gamut
Adjusting the monitor display
Although the RGB color model used by computer
monitors is capable of displaying much of the
visible spectrum, the video system sending data to
a given monitor often limits how many colors can
be displayed at once. By understanding how color
data is measured in digital files and on-screen,
you can better adjust color display settings to
offset the limitations of your video system.
For more information, see “Specifying 8-bit
color display (Photoshop)” in online Help.
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Making previews display more quickly
(Photoshop)
The Use Pixel Doubling preference option speeds
up the preview of a tool or command’s effects by
temporarily doubling the size of the pixels
(halving the resolution) in the preview. This
option has no effect on the pixels in the file;
it simply provides faster previews with the tools
and commands.
To speed up previews:
1 Choose Edit > Preferences > Display & Cursors.
2 Select Use Pixel Doubling, and click OK.
Adjusting color display for cross-platform
variations
RGB color display on a computer monitor
varies with the operating system used by the
computer. For example, an image appears
darker on a Windows system than on a Mac OS
computer (because the standard RGB color
space is darker in Windows than in Mac OS).
The Preview commands in ImageReady enable
you to compensate for cross-platform differences
in RGB color display during image preview.
In Photoshop, you can simulate cross-platform
differences by using the Macintosh RGB, Windows
RGB, and Monitor RGB commands in the View >
Proof Setup menu. (See “Soft-proofing colors” on
page 131.)
RGB color display can also vary between
Photoshop and ImageReady. In Photoshop,
you can select from several RGB color spaces when
editing images. As a result, images created in
Photoshop may use an RGB color space that differs
from the monitor RGB color space used by
ImageReady. You can adjust the RGB color
display during image preview to compensate for
differences between Photoshop and ImageReady.
To adjust RGB color display for cross-platform
variations (ImageReady):
Choose View > Preview and choose an option for
adjusting the color display:
• Uncompensated Color (the default option) to
view the image with no color adjustment.
• Standard Macintosh Color (Windows) to view
the image with color adjusted to simulate a
standard Macintosh monitor.
• Standard Windows Color (Mac OS) to view the
image with color adjusted to simulate a standard
Windows monitor.
Note: These options adjust color display only.
No changes are made to pixels in the image.
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To adjust RGB color display to match Photoshop color
display (ImageReady):
Choose View > Preview > Use Embedded
Color Profile.
Note: In order to use the Use Embedded Color Profile
command in ImageReady, you must save the
original image, with color profile embedded,
in Photoshop.
Channels and bit depth
(Photoshop)
A working knowledge of color channels and bit
depth is key to understanding how Photoshop
stores and displays color information in images.
About color channels
Every Adobe Photoshop image has one or more
channels, each storing information about color
elements in the image. The number of default
color channels in an image depends on its color
mode. For example, a CMYK image has at least
four channels, one each for cyan, magenta, yellow,
and black information. Think of a channel as
analogous to a plate in the printing process, with a
separate plate applying each layer of color.
In addition to these default color channels, extra
channels, called alpha channels, can be added to an
image for storing and editing selections as masks,
and spot color channels can be added to add spot
color plates for printing. (See “Storing masks in
alpha channels” on page 199 and “Adding spot
colors (Photoshop)” on page 191.)
An image can have up to 24 channels. By default,
Bitmap-mode, grayscale, duotone, and indexedcolor images have one channel; RGB and Lab
images have three; and CMYK images have four.
You can add channels to all image types except
Bitmap-mode images.
About bit depth
Bit depth—also called pixel depth or color depth—
measures how much color information is available
to display or print each pixel in an image.
Greater bit depth (more bits of information per
pixel) means more available colors and more
accurate color representation in the digital image.
For example, a pixel with a bit depth of 1 has two
possible values: black and white. A pixel with a bit
depth of 8 has 28, or 256, possible values. And a
pixel with a bit depth of 24 has 224, or roughly
16 million, possible values. Common values for bit
depth range from 1 to 64 bits per pixel.
In most cases, Lab, RGB, grayscale, and
CMYK images contain 8 bits of data per color
channel. This translates to a 24-bit Lab bit depth
(8 bits x 3 channels); a 24-bit RGB bit depth (8 bits
x 3 channels); an 8-bit grayscale bit depth (8 bits x
1 channel); and a 32-bit CMYK bit depth (8 bits x
4 channels). Photoshop can also read and import
Lab, RGB, CMYK, and grayscale images that
contain 16 bits of data per color channel.
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Converting between bit depths
A 16-bit-per-channel image provides finer distinctions in color, but it can have twice the file size of
an 8-bit-per-channel image. In addition, only the
following Photoshop tools and commands are
available for 16-bit-per-channel images:
• The marquee, lasso, crop, measure, zoom, hand,
pen, eyedropper, history brush, slice, color
sampler, and clone stamp tools, as well as the pen
and shape tools (for drawing work paths only).
• The Duplicate, Feather, Modify, Levels, Auto
Levels, Auto Contrast, Curves, Histogram,
Hue/Saturation, Brightness/Contrast, Color
Balance, Equalize, Invert, Channel Mixer,
Gradient Map, Image Size, Canvas Size, Transform
Selection, and Rotate Canvas commands, and a
limited set of filters.
For more information, see “Using filters”
in online Help.
Converting between color
modes (Photoshop)
When you choose a different color mode
for an image, you permanently change the color
values in the image. For example, when you
convert an RGB image to CMYK mode, RGB color
values outside the CMYK gamut (defined by the
CMYK working space setting in the Color Settings
dialog box) are adjusted to fall within gamut.
Consequently, before converting images, it’s best
to do the following:
• Do as much editing as possible in the image’s
original mode (usually RGB from most scanners,
or CMYK from traditional drum scanners or if
imported from a Scitex system).
• Save a backup copy before converting. Be sure to
save a copy of your image that includes all layers in
order to edit the original version of the image after
the conversion.
To take full advantage of Photoshop features,
you can convert a 16-bit-per-channel image to an
8-bit-per-channel image.
• Flatten the file before converting it. The interaction of colors between layer blending modes will
change when the mode changes.
To convert between 8 bits per channel and 16 bits per
channel:
To convert an image to another mode:
1 To convert to a 16-bit-per-channel image, first
flatten the image. (See “Flattening all layers” on
page 248.)
2 Choose Image > Mode > 16 Bits/Channel or
8 Bits/Channel.
Choose Image > Mode and the mode you want
from the submenu. Modes not available for the
active image appear dimmed in the menu.
Images are flattened when converted to Multichannel, Bitmap, or Indexed Color mode, because
these modes do not support layers.
For more information, see “Converting
between Grayscale and Bitmap modes
(Photoshop)” in online Help.
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Converting to indexed color
(Photoshop)
Converting to indexed color reduces the
number of colors in the image to at most 256—
the standard number of colors supported by the
GIF and PNG-8 formats and many multimedia
applications. This conversion reduces file size by
deleting color information from the image.
To convert to indexed color, you must start with
either a grayscale or RGB image.
To convert a grayscale or RGB image to indexed color:
1 Choose Image > Mode > Indexed Color.
Note: The image must be flattened first, or you will
lose layers.
For grayscale images, the conversion happens
automatically. For RGB images, the Indexed Color
dialog box appears.
2 Select Preview the Indexed Color dialog box to
display a preview of the changes.
3 Specify conversion options.
For information on conversion options and
customizing indexed color tables, see
“Conversion options for indexed-color images
(Photoshop)” in online Help.
4 Click OK.
Applying colors
Once you have set up the color mode for an image,
you can specify a foreground and background
color by using the eyedropper tool, the Color
palette, the Swatches palette, or a color picker.
Photoshop uses the foreground color to paint, fill,
and stroke selections and the background color to
make gradient fills and fill in erased areas of an
image. The foreground and background colors are
also used by some special-effects filters.
For information on specifying foreground
and background colors; using the painting,
erasing, art history, and gradient tools; and filling
and stroking selections and layers, see “Painting”
in online Help. For information on filters,
see “Applying filters for special effects” in
online Help.
Making color and tonal
adjustments
When you photograph, scan, or resample images,
you can often introduce problems involving color
quality and tonal range. Photoshop provides a
comprehensive set of tools for making color and
tonal corrections and sharpening the overall focus
of an image. ImageReady provides many of the
basic correction tools.
For more information, see “Making color
and tonal adjustments” in online Help.
4
121
Chapter 4: Producing Consistent Color
(Photoshop)
hen your document must meet
color standards set by clients and
designers, viewing and editing color
consistently becomes critical, all the way from
scanning source images to creating final output.
A color management system reconciles color
differences among devices so that you can be
reasonably certain of the colors your system
ultimately produces.
W
Why colors sometimes
don’t match
No device in a publishing system is capable of
reproducing the full range of colors viewable to the
human eye. Each device operates within a specific
color space, which can produce a certain range,
or gamut, of colors.
The RGB (red, green, blue) and CMYK
(cyan, magenta, yellow, black) color modes
represent two main categories of color spaces.
The gamuts of the RGB and CMYK spaces are very
different; while the RGB gamut is generally larger
(that is, capable of representing more colors) than
CMYK, some CMYK colors still fall outside the
RGB gamut. (See “Color gamuts (Photoshop)” on
page 114 for an illustration.) In addition, different
devices produce slightly different gamuts within
the same color mode. For example, a variety of
RGB spaces can exist among scanners and
monitors, and a variety of CMYK spaces can exist
among printing presses.
Because of these varying color spaces, colors can
shift in appearance as you transfer documents
between different devices. Color variations can
result from different image sources (scanners and
software produce art using different color spaces),
differences in the way software applications define
color, differences in print media (newsprint paper
reproduces a smaller gamut than magazinequality paper), and other natural variations,
such as manufacturing differences in monitors or
monitor age.
About color management
Because color-matching problems result from
various devices and software using different color
spaces, one solution is to have a system that interprets and translates color accurately between
devices. A color management system (CMS)
compares the color space in which a color was
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created to the color space in which the same color
will be output, and makes the necessary adjustments to represent the color as consistently as
possible among different devices.
page 121.) When you apply color and tonal
adjustments or convert a document to a different
color space, you are changing the document’s
color numbers.
Note: Don’t confuse color management with color
adjustment or color correction. A CMS won’t correct
an image that was saved with tonal or color balance
problems. It provides an environment where you can
evaluate images reliably in the context of your final
output.
Color profiles An ICC workflow uses color profiles
to determine how color numbers in a document
translate to actual color appearances. A profile
systematically describes how color numbers map
to a particular color space, usually that of a device
such as a scanner, printer, or monitor. By associating, or tagging, a document with a color profile,
you provide a definition of actual color appearances in the document; changing the associated
profile changes the color appearances. (For information on displaying the current profile name in
the status bar, see “Displaying file and image information” on page 78.) Documents without
associated profiles are known as untagged and
contain only raw color numbers. When working
with untagged documents, Photoshop uses the
current working space profile to display and edit
colors. (See “About working spaces” on page 125.)
Photoshop follows a color management workflow
based on conventions developed by the International Color Consortium (ICC). The following
elements and concepts are integral to such a colormanaged workflow.
Color management engine Different companies
have developed various ways to manage color.
To provide you with a choice, a color management
system lets you choose a color management engine
that represents the approach you want to use.
Sometimes called the color management module
(CMM), the color management engine is the part
of the CMS that does the work of reading and
translating colors between different color spaces.
Color numbers Each pixel in an image document
has a set of color numbers that describe the pixel’s
location in a particular color mode—for example,
red, green, and blue values for the RGB mode.
However, the actual appearance of the pixel may
vary when output or displayed on different
devices, because each device has a particular way
of translating the raw numbers into visual color.
(See “Why colors sometimes don’t match” on
Do you need color management?
Use the following guidelines to determine whether
or not you need to use color management:
• You might not need color management if your
production process is tightly controlled for one
medium only, for example, if you’re using a closed
system where all devices are calibrated to the same
specifications. You or your prepress service
provider may prefer to tailor CMYK images and
specify color values for a known, specific set of
printing conditions.
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• You also might not need color management if
you are producing images for the Web or other
screen-based output, since you cannot control the
color management settings of monitors displaying
your final output. It is helpful, however, to use the
Web Graphics Defaults setting when preparing
such images, because this setting reflects the
average RGB space of many monitors. (See “Using
predefined color management settings” on
page 124.)
• You can benefit from color management if you
have more variables in your production process
(for example, if you’re using an open system with
multiple platforms and multiple devices from
different manufacturers). Color management is
recommended if you anticipate reusing color
graphics for print and online media, if you manage
multiple workstations, or if you plan to print to
different domestic and international presses.
If you decide to use color management, consult
with your production partners—such as graphic
artists and prepress service providers—to ensure
that all aspects of your color management
workflow integrate seamlessly with theirs.
Creating a viewing environment
for color management
Your work environment influences how you see
color on your monitor and on printed output.
For best results, control the colors and light in
your work environment by doing the following:
• View your documents in an environment that
provides a consistent light level and color temperature. For example, the color characteristics of
sunlight change throughout the day and alter the
way colors appear on your screen, so keep shades
closed or work in a windowless room. To eliminate
the blue-green cast from fluorescent lighting,
consider installing D50 (5000 degree Kelvin)
lighting. Ideally, view printed documents using a
D50 lightbox or using the ANSI PH2.30 viewing
standard for graphic arts.
• View your document in a room with neutralcolored walls and ceiling. A room’s color can affect
the perception of both monitor color and printed
color. The best color for a viewing room is
polychromatic gray. Also, the color of your
clothing reflecting off the glass of your monitor
may affect the appearance of colors on-screen.
• Match the light intensity in the room or
variable lightbox to the light intensity of your
monitor. View continuous-tone art, printed
output, and images on-screen under the same
intensity of light.
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• Remove colorful background and user-interface
patterns on your monitor desktop. Busy or bright
patterns surrounding a document interfere with
accurate color perception. Set your desktop to
display neutral grays only.
• View document proofs in the real-world conditions under which your audience will see the final
piece. For example, you might want to see how a
housewares catalog looks under the incandescent
light bulbs used in homes, or view an office
furniture catalog under the fluorescent lighting
used in offices. However, always make final color
judgements under the lighting conditions
specified by the legal requirements for contract
proofs in your country.
To specify color management settings:
1 Choose Edit > Color Settings.
To display helpful descriptions of the options that
appear in the dialog box, position the pointer over
a section heading or menu item. These descriptions appear in the lower area of the dialog box.
2 Do one of the following:
• To set up a predefined color management
workflow, see “Using predefined color
management settings” on page 124.
• To customize your own color management
settings, see “Customizing color management
settings” on page 126.
3 Click OK.
Setting up color management
Photoshop simplifies the task of setting up a
color-managed workflow by gathering most color
management controls in a single Color Settings
dialog box. You can choose from a list of
predefined color management settings, or you can
adjust the controls manually to create your own
custom settings. You can even save customized
settings to share them with other users and other
Adobe applications, such as Illustrator 9.0, that use
the Color Settings dialog box.
Photoshop also uses color management policies,
which determine how to handle color data that
does not immediately match your current color
management workflow. Policies provide guidelines on what to do when you open a document or
import color data into an active document.
Using predefined color
management settings
Photoshop offers a collection of predefined
color management settings designed to produce
consistent color for a common publishing
workflow, such as preparation for Web or offset
press output. In most cases, the predefined settings
will provide sufficient color management for your
needs. These settings can also serve as starting
points for customizing your own workflowspecific settings.
To choose a predefined color management setting,
choose one of the following options from the
Settings menu in the Color Settings dialog box.
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Color Management Off Uses passive color
management techniques to emulate the behavior
of applications that do not support color
management. Although working space profiles
are considered when converting colors between
color spaces, Color Management Off does not tag
documents with profiles. Use this option for
content that will be output on video or as
on-screen presentations; do not use this option
if you work mostly with documents that are tagged
with color profiles.
Emulate Photoshop 4 Emulates the color
workflow used by the Mac OS version of Adobe
Photoshop 4.0 and earlier.
U.S. Prepress Defaults Manages color for content
that will be output under common press conditions in the U.S.
Europe Prepress Defaults Manages color for
content that will be output under common press
conditions in Europe.
Japan Prepress Defaults Manages color for
content that will be output under common press
conditions in Japan.
Web Graphics Defaults Manages color for content
that will be published on the World Wide Web.
ColorSync Workflow (Mac OS only) Manages color
using the ColorSync CMS with the profiles chosen
in the ColorSync control panel. Use this option if
you want to use color management with a mix of
Adobe and non-Adobe applications. This color
management configuration is not recognized by
Windows systems, or by versions of ColorSync
earlier than 3.0.
When you choose a predefined configuration,
the Color Settings dialog box updates to display
the specific color management settings associated
with the configuration.
About working spaces
Among other options, predefined color
management settings specify the color profiles to
be associated with the RGB, CMYK, and Grayscale
color modes. The settings also specify the color
profile for spot colors in a document. Central to
the color management workflow, these profiles are
known as working spaces. The working spaces
specified by predefined settings represent the color
profiles that will produce the best color fidelity for
several common output conditions. For example,
the U.S. Prepress Defaults setting uses a CMYK
working space that is designed to preserve color
consistency under standard Specifications for Web
Offset Publications (SWOP) press conditions.
A working space acts as the color profile for
untagged documents and newly created
documents that use the associated color mode.
For example, if Adobe RGB (1998) is the current
RGB working space, each new RGB document that
you create will use colors within the Adobe RGB
(1998) color space. Working spaces also define the
destination color space of documents converted to
RGB, CMYK, or Grayscale color mode.
About color management policies
When you specify a predefined color management
setting, Photoshop sets up a color management
workflow that will be used as the standard for all
documents and color data that you open or
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import. For a newly created document, the color
workflow operates relatively seamlessly:
the document uses the working space profile
associated with its color mode for creating and
editing colors.
another action. For detailed information on the
color management decisions associated with
different policies, see “Specifying color
management policies” on page 128.
However, it is common to encounter the following
exceptions to your color-managed workflow:
Working with policy warnings and
messages
• You might open a document or import color
The predefined color management workflows
are set to display warning or option messages
when a default color management policy is about
to be used. Although you can disable the repeated
display of some warning and messages by selecting
the Don’t Show Again option, it is highly recommended that you continue to display all policy
messages, to ensure the appropriate color
management of documents on a case-by-case
basis. (See “Resetting all warning dialogs” on
page 87.) You should only turn off message
displays if you are very confident that you understand the default policy decision and are willing to
accept it for all documents that you open.
You cannot undo the results of a default policy
decision once a document has been saved.
data (for example, by copying and pasting or
dragging and dropping) from a document that is
not tagged with a profile. This is often the case
when you open a document created in an application that either does not support color
management or has color management turned off.
• You might open a document or import
color data from a document that is tagged with a
profile different from the current working space.
This may be the case when you open a document
that has been created using different color
management settings, or a document that has been
scanned and tagged with a scanner profile.
In either case, Photoshop must decide how to
handle the color data in the document. A color
management policy looks for the color profile
associated with an opened document or imported
color data, and compares the profile (or lack of
profile) with the current working space to make
default color management decisions. If the profile
is missing or does not match the working space,
Photoshop displays a message that indicates the
default action for the policy. In many cases you will
also be provided with the opportunity to choose
Customizing color management
settings
Although the predefined settings should
provide sufficient color management for many
publishing workflows, you may sometimes want to
customize individual options in a configuration.
For example, you might want to change the CMYK
working space to a profile that matches the
proofing system used by your service bureau.
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It’s important to save your custom configurations
so that you can reuse and share them with other
users and Adobe applications that use the same
color management workflows. The color
management settings that you customize in the
Color Settings dialog box have an associated
preferences file called Color Settings.csf, found in
the Adobe Photoshop 6 Settings folder.
Note: The default location of the Adobe Photoshop 6
Settings folder varies by operating system; use your
operating system’s Find command to locate this
folder.
To customize color management settings:
1 Choose Edit > Color Settings.
2 To use a preset color management configuration as the starting point for your customization,
choose that configuration from the Settings menu.
3 Specify the desired color settings. As you make
adjustments, the Settings menu option changes to
Custom by default.
For detailed customization instructions, see
“Specifying working spaces” on page 127, “Specifying color management policies” on page 128,
and “Customizing advanced color management
settings” on page 130.
4 Save your custom configuration so that it can be
reused. (See “Saving and loading color
management settings” on page 130.)
5 Click OK.
Specifying working spaces
In a color-managed workflow, each color mode
must have a working space profile associated with
it. (See “About working spaces” on page 125.)
Photoshop ships with a standard set of color
profiles that have been recommended and tested
by Adobe Systems for most color management
workflows. By default, only these profiles appear in
the working space menus.
To display additional color profiles that you have
customized or installed on your system, select
Advanced Mode in the Color Settings dialog box.
To appear in a working space menu, a color profile
must be bidirectional, that is, contain specifications for translating both into and out of color
spaces. You can also create a custom RGB, CMYK,
Grayscale, or Spot working space profile to
describe the color space of a particular output or
display device.
For more information, see “Creating
custom RGB profiles,” “Creating custom
CMYK profiles,” and “Creating custom grayscale
and spot-color profiles” in online Help.
For information about a specified RGB or CMYK
working space profile, see the Description area of
the Color Settings dialog box. (See “Setting up
color management” on page 124.) The following
information can help you specify an appropriate
Gray or Spot working space:
• You can specify a Gray or Spot working space
profile that is based on the characteristics of a
particular dot gain. Dot gain occurs when a
printer’s halftone dots change as the ink spreads
and is absorbed by paper. Photoshop calculates
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dot gain as the amount by which the expected dot
increases or decreases. For example, a 50%
halftone screen may produce an actual density of
60% on the printed page, exhibiting a dot gain of
10%. The Dot Gain 10% option represents the
color space that reflects the grayscale characteristics of this particular dot gain.
reflect a color management workflow that you use
more often. For more information on policies,
see “About color management policies” on
page 125.
To customize color management policies:
1 In the Color Settings dialog box, under Color
Management Policies, choose one of the following
to set the default color management policy for
each color mode:
• Off if you do not want to color-manage
imported or opened color data.
Proof (no dot gain), and printed image (with dot gain)
• You can also specify a Gray working space profile
that is based on the characteristics of particular
gamma. A monitor’s gamma setting determines
the brightness of midtones displayed by the
monitor. Gray Gamma 1.8 matches the default
grayscale display of Mac OS computers and is also
the default grayscale space for Photoshop 4.0 and
earlier. Gray Gamma 2.2 matches the default
grayscale display of Windows computers.
Specifying color management
policies
Each predefined color management configuration
sets up a color management policy for the RGB,
CMYK, and Grayscale color modes and displays
warning messages to let you override the default
policy behavior on a case-by-case basis. If desired,
you can change the default policy behavior to
• Preserve Embedded Profiles if you anticipate
working with a mix of color-managed and
non-color-managed documents, or with
documents that use different profiles within the
same color mode.
• Convert to Working Space if you want to force all
documents to use the current working space.
For detailed descriptions of the default behaviors
associated with each policy option, see the table
following this procedure.
2 For Profile Mismatches, select either, both,
or neither of the following:
• Ask When Opening to display a message
whenever you open a document tagged with a
profile other than the current working space.
You will be given the option to override the
policy’s default behavior.
• Ask When Pasting to display a message whenever
color profile mismatches occur as colors are
imported into a document (via pasting, drag-anddrop, placing, and so on). You will be given the
option to override the policy’s default behavior.
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The availability of options for Profile Mismatches
depends on which policies have been specified.
Policy option
Default color management behavior
3 For Missing Profiles, select Ask When Opening
Preserve
Embedded
Profiles
• New documents are tagged with the
current working space profile.
to display a message whenever you open an
untagged document. You will be given the option
to override the policy’s default behavior.
The availability of options for Missing Profiles
depends on which policies have been specified.
• Existing untagged documents use the
current working space for editing but
remain untagged.
It is strongly recommended that you keep the
Ask When Opening and Ask When Pasting
options selected.
Policy option
Default color management behavior
Off
• New documents and existing
untagged documents remain untagged.
• Existing documents tagged with a
profile other than the current working
space become untagged.
• Existing documents tagged with the
current working space profile remain
tagged.
• For color data imported into a
document using the same color mode,
color numbers are preserved.
• For all other import cases, colors are
converted to the document’s color space.
• Existing documents tagged with a
profile other than the current working
space remain tagged with the original
embedded profile.
• For color data imported within the
same color mode between either a noncolor-managed source or destination,
or from a CMYK document into a CMYK
document, color numbers are preserved.
• For all other import cases, colors are
converted to the document’s color space.
Convert to
Working Space
• New documents are tagged with the
current working space profile.
• Existing documents tagged with a
profile other than the current working
space are converted to and tagged with
the working space profile.
• Existing untagged documents use the
current working space for editing but
remain untagged.
• For color data imported within the
same color mode between either a noncolor-managed source or destination,
color numbers are preserved.
• For all other import cases, colors are
converted to the document’s color space.
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Customizing advanced color
management settings
When you select Advanced Mode at the top of
the Color Settings dialog box, you have the option
of further customizing settings used for color
management.
For detailed information on advanced color
management settings, see “Specifying a
color management engine,” “Specifying a
rendering intent,” “Using black-point compensation,” “Using dither,” “Desaturating monitor
colors,” and “Blending RGB colors” in online Help.
Saving and loading color
management settings
When you create a custom color management
configuration, you should name and save the
configuration to ensure that it can be shared with
other users and applications that use the Color
Settings dialog box, such as Adobe Illustrator 9.0.
You can also load previously saved color
management configurations into the Color
Settings dialog box.
To save a custom color management configuration:
1 In the Color Settings dialog box, click Save.
2 Name your color settings file, and click Save.
To ensure that the saved configuration appears in
the Settings menu of the Color Settings dialog box,
save the file in one of the following recommended
locations:
• (Windows) Program Files/Common Files/
Adobe/Color/Settings.
• (Mac OS) System Folder/Application Support/
Adobe/Color/Settings.
3 Enter any comments that you want to associate
with the configuration, and click OK.
The comments that you enter will appear in the
Description area of the Color Settings dialog box
when the pointer is positioned over the configuration in the Settings menu.
To load a color management configuration:
1 In the Color Settings dialog box, click Load.
2 Locate and select the desired color settings file,
and click Load.
When you load a custom color settings file, it
appears as the active choice in the Settings menu
of the Color Settings dialog box. If you load a
settings file that has been saved outside the
recommended location, it temporarily replaces the
Other option in the Settings menu until another
settings file is loaded.
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Synchronizing color
management between
applications
The Color Settings dialog box represents the
common color management controls shared by
several Adobe applications, including Photoshop
6.0 and Illustrator 9.0. If you modify and save over
the current color settings file in any application
other than Photoshop, you may be prompted to
synchronize the common color settings upon
starting Photoshop or upon reopening the Color
Settings dialog box in Photoshop.
Synchronizing the color settings helps to ensure
that color is reproduced consistently between
Adobe applications that use the Color Settings
dialog box. To share custom color settings between
applications, be sure to save and load the settings
file in the desired applications. (See “Saving and
loading color management settings” on page 130.)
page 382.) The following diagram shows how the
source document profile, proof profile, and
monitor profile are used to represent colors in a
soft proof.
A
B
C
A. Document space B. Proof space C. Monitor space
Keep in mind that the reliability of the soft proof is
highly dependent upon the quality of your
monitor, your monitor profile, and the ambient
lighting conditions of your work station.
(See “Creating an ICC monitor profile” on
page 136.)
To display a soft proof:
Soft-proofing colors
In a traditional publishing workflow, you print a
hard proof of your document to preview how the
document’s colors will look when reproduced on a
specific output device. In a color-managed
workflow, you can use the precision of color
profiles to soft-proof your document directly on
the monitor—to display an on-screen preview of
the document’s colors as reproduced on a specified
device. In addition, you can use your printer to
produce a hard-proof version of this soft proof.
(See “Using color management when printing” on
1 Choose View > Proof Setup, and choose the
proof profile space that you want to simulate:
• Custom soft-proofs colors using the color profile
of a specific output device. Follow the instructions
after this procedure to set up the custom proof.
• Working CMYK soft-proofs colors using the
current CMYK working space as defined in the
Color Settings dialog box.
• Working Cyan Plate, Working Magenta Plate,
Working Yellow Plate, Working Black Plate, or
Working CMY Plates soft-proofs specific CMYK
ink colors using the current CMYK working space.
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• Macintosh RGB or Windows RGB soft-proofs
colors in an image using either a standard Mac OS
or Windows monitor as the proof profile space to
simulate. Neither option is available for CMYK
documents.
• Monitor RGB soft-proofs colors in an RGB
document using your current monitor color space
as the proof profile space. This option is
unavailable for CMYK documents.
• Simulate Paper White previews the specific
shade of white exhibited by the print medium
defined by a document’s profile. This option is not
available for all profiles and is available only for
soft-proofing, not printing.
• Simulate Ink Black previews the actual dynamic
range defined by a document’s profile. This option
is not available for all profiles and is available only
for soft-proofing, not printing.
2 Choose View > Proof Colors to turn the
soft-proof display on and off. When soft proofing
is on, a checkmark appears next to the Proof
Colors command.
When soft proofing is on, the name of the current
proof profile appears in the document’s title bar.
To create a custom proof setup:
1 Choose View > Proof Setup > Custom.
If you want the custom proof setup to be the
default proof setup for documents, close all
document windows before choosing the View > Proof
Setup > Custom command.
2 Select Preview to display a live preview of the
proof settings in the document while the Proof
Setup dialog box is open. This preview appears
only when you enable the Proof Colors command.
3 To use an existing proof setup as a starting
point, choose it from the Setup menu. If the
desired setup does not appear in the menu, click
Load to locate and load the setup.
4 For Profile, choose the color profile for the
device for which you want to create the proof.
5 If the proof profile you chose uses the
same color mode as the document, do one of
the following:
• Select Preserve Color Numbers to simulate how
the document will appear without converting
colors from the document space to the proof
profile space. This simulates the color shifts that
may occur when the document’s color values are
interpreted using the proof profile instead of the
document profile.
• Deselect Preserve Color Numbers to simulate
how the document will appear if colors are
converted from the document space to their
nearest equivalents in the proof profile space in an
effort to preserve the colors’ visual appearances.
Then specify a rendering intent for the conversion.
For more information, see “Specifying a
rendering intent” in online Help.
6 If needed, select any of the following:
• Simulate Paper White to preview, in the monitor
space, the specific shade of white exhibited by the
print medium described by the proof profile.
Selecting this option automatically selects the
Simulate Ink Black option.
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• Simulate Ink Black to preview, in the monitor
space, the actual dynamic range defined by the
proof profile.
The availability of these options depends on the
proof profile chosen. Not all profiles support both
options.
7 To save your custom proof setup as a preset
proof setup, click Save. To ensure that the new
preset appears in the View > Proof Setup menu,
save the preset in the Program Files/Common
Files/Adobe/Color/Proofing folder (Windows) or
the System Folder/Application Support/Adobe/
Color/Proofing folder (Mac OS).
8 Click OK.
Changing the color profile of a
document
In some cases you may want to convert a
document’s colors to a different color profile,
tag a document with a different color profile
without making color conversions, or remove the
profile from a document altogether. For example,
you may want to prepare the document for a
different output destination, or you may want to
correct a policy behavior that you no longer want
implemented on the document. The Assign Profile
and Convert to Profile commands are recommended only for advanced users.
When using the Assign Profile command,
you may see a shift in color appearance as color
numbers are mapped directly to the new profile
space. Convert Profile, however, shifts color
numbers before mapping them to the new profile
space, in an effort to preserve the original color
appearances.
To reassign or discard the profile of a document:
1 Choose Image > Mode > Assign Profile.
2 Select one of the following:
• Don’t Color Manage This Document to remove
the profile from a tagged document. Select this
option only if you are sure that you want the
document to become untagged.
• Working color mode: working space to tag the
document with the current working space profile.
• Profile to reassign a different profile to a
tagged document. Choose the desired profile
from the menu. Photoshop tags the document
with the new profile without converting colors to
the profile space. This may dramatically change
the appearance of the colors as displayed on
your monitor.
3 To preview the effects of the new profile
assignment in the document, select Preview.
4 Click OK.
To convert colors in a document to another profile:
1 Choose Image > Mode > Convert to Profile.
2 Under Destination Space, choose the color
profile to which you want to convert the
document’s colors. The document will be
converted to and tagged with this new profile.
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3 Under Conversion Options, specify a color
management engine, a rendering intent, and black
point and dither options.
To change the embedding behavior of a profile in a
document:
For more information, see “Customizing
advanced color management settings”
in online Help.
2 Do one of the following:
4 To flatten all layers of the document onto a
single layer upon conversion, select Flatten Image.
5 To preview the effects of the conversion in the
document, select Preview. This preview becomes
more accurate if you select Flatten Image.
6 Click OK.
Embedding profiles in saved
documents
By default, a tagged document will have its profile
information embedded upon saving in a file
format that supports embedded ICC profiles.
Untagged documents are saved by default without
embedded profiles.
You can specify whether or not to embed a profile
as you save a document; you can also specify to
convert colors to the proof profile space and
embed the proof profile instead. However,
changing the profile-embedding behavior is
recommended only for advanced users who are
familiar with color management.
1 Choose File > Save As.
• To toggle the embedding of the document’s
current color profile, select or deselect ICC Profile
(Windows) or Embed Color Profile (Mac OS).
This option is available only for the native
Photoshop format (.psd) and PDF, JPEG, TIFF,
EPS, DCS, and PICT formats.
• To toggle the embedding of the document’s
current proof profile, select or deselect Use Proof
Setup (available for PDF, EPS, DCS 1.0, and
DCS 2.0 formats only). Selecting this option
converts the document’s colors to the proof profile
space and is useful for creating an output file for
print. For information on setting up a proof
profile, see “Soft-proofing colors” on page 131.
3 Name the document, choose other save options,
and click Save.
Obtaining, installing, and
updating color profiles
Precise, consistent color management requires
accurate ICC-compliant profiles of all of your
color devices. For example, without an accurate
scanner profile, a perfectly scanned image may
appear incorrect in another program, simply due
to any difference in color space between the
scanner and the program displaying the image.
This misleading representation may cause you to
make unnecessary, time-wasting, and potentially
ADOBE PHOTOSHOP 6.0 135
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damaging “corrections” to an already satisfactory
image. With an accurate profile, a program
importing the image can correct for any gamut
differences and display a scan’s actual colors.
Once you obtain accurate profiles, they will work
with all applications that are compatible with your
color-management system. You can obtain profiles
in the following ways, with the most precise
methods listed first:
• Generate profiles customized for your specific
devices using professional profiling equipment.
• Use the settings in the Custom CMYK dialog box
to describe your device, and then save the settings
as a color profile.
For more information, see “Creating
custom CMYK profiles” in online Help.
Adding device profiles to the color
management system
You can add color profiles to your system so that
they appear as choices in the Color Settings dialog
box. To minimize confusion when working with
profiles, delete any profiles for devices not used by
you or your workgroup. Once you have added a
profile to the recommend location on your system,
you may need to load it or restart Photoshop so
that the profile appears in the Color Settings
dialog box.
Note: In Mac OS, you can organize the ColorSync
Profiles folder by creating additional folders within
it, or adding aliases to other folders. However, nested
folders may cause conflicts with some applications,
such as Adobe PressReady.
• Obtain a profile created by the manufacturer.
To add profiles to your system:
Unfortunately, such profiles do not account for
individual variations that naturally occur among
machines (even identical modes from the same
manufacturer) or from age.
Copy profiles to one of the following
recommended locations:
• Substitute an available profile that may be
appropriate for the device’s color space.
For example, many Mac OS scanners have been
optimized for an Apple RGB monitor color space,
so you might try using an Apple monitor profile
for these devices; for a non-profiled Windows
scanner, try substituting the sRGB color space. Be
sure to proof images created with the profile before
using the profile in production.
• (Windows 2000) WinNT/System/Spool/
Drivers/Color.
• (Windows NT) WinNT/System32/Color.
• (Windows 98) Windows/System/Color.
• (Mac OS) System Folder/ColorSync Profiles.
Note: If you use ColorSync 2.5 but have used earlier
versions, some profiles may still be stored in the
System Folder/Preferences/ColorSync™ Profiles folder
on your hard disk. For compatibility with ColorSync
2.5 or later, store profiles in the ColorSync Profiles
folder in the System Folder.
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Updating profiles
The color reproduction characteristics of a color
device change as it ages, so recalibrate devices
periodically and generate updated profiles.
Profiles should be good for approximately a
month depending on the device. Some monitors
automatically compensate for phosphor aging.
Also, recalibrate a device when you change any of
the factors that affect calibration. For example,
recalibrate your monitor when you change the
room lighting or the monitor brightness setting.
Creating an ICC monitor profile
Your monitor will display color more reliably if
you use color management and accurate ICC
profiles. The Adobe Gamma utility, which is
automatically installed into your Control Panels
folder, lets you calibrate and characterize your
monitor to a standard and then save the settings as
an ICC-compliant profile available to any program
that uses your color management system.
This calibration helps you eliminate any color cast
in your monitor, make your monitor grays as
neutral as possible, and standardize image display
across different monitors.
Although Adobe Gamma is an effective calibration
and profiling utility, hardware-based utilities are
more precise. If you have a hardware-based utility
that can generate an ICC-compliant profile,
you should use that instead of Adobe Gamma.
Also, be sure to use only one calibration utility to
display your profile; using multiple utilities can
result in incorrect color.
For more information, see “Calibrating
versus characterizing a monitor,” “About
monitor calibration settings,” “Guidelines for
creating an ICC monitor profile,” and “Calibrating
with Adobe Gamma” in online Help.
5
139
Chapter 5: Selecting
o modify part of an image in Adobe
Photoshop or Adobe ImageReady,
you first select the area you want to edit.
A selected area is indicated by a dotted selection
border, also called a selection marquee. The area
outside the selection border is protected while you
move, copy, paint, or apply special effects to the
isolated area.
T
You can choose from a variety of specialized tools
for creating selection borders.
About selections
Since there are two different types of data in your
image—bitmap and vector—you need to use
separate sets of tools to make selections of each
type. You can use selection borders to select pixels.
When you select pixels, you are selecting
resolution dependent information in the image.
For more information about bitmap images and
vector graphics, see “About bitmap images and
vector graphics” on page 91.
You can also create selections using the pen or
shape tools, which produce precise outlines called
paths. A path is a vector shape that contains no
pixels. (See “Moving, copying, and pasting selections and layers” on page 149.) You can convert
paths to selections or convert selections to paths.
(See “Converting between paths and selection
borders (Photoshop)” on page 180.)
In Photoshop, you can use the Extract command
to isolate an object from its background and erase
the background to transparency. You can also
make sophisticated selections using masks.
(See “Saving a mask selection” on page 200.)
Making pixel selections
You can select pixels in an image by dragging
with the marquee tools or lasso tools, or by
targeting color areas with the magic wand tool.
In Photoshop, you can also use the Color Range
command. Making a new selection replaces the
existing one. Additionally, you can create
selections that add to a selection, subtract from
a selection, select an area intersected by other
selections, or select the union of a new selection
and the current selection.
Using the Select menu
You can use commands in the Select menu to
select all pixels, to deselect, or to reselect.
To select all pixels on a layer within the canvas
boundaries:
1 Select the layer in the Layers palette.
2 Choose Select > All.
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Selecting
To deselect selections:
Do one of the following:
• Choose Select > Deselect.
• If you are using the rectangle marquee, rounded
rectangle marquee (ImageReady), elliptical
marquee, or lasso tool, click anywhere in the image
outside the selected area.
To reselect the most recent selection:
Choose Select > Reselect.
Using the marquee tools
The marquee tools let you select rectangles,
ellipses, rounded rectangles (ImageReady),
and 1-pixel rows and columns. By default,
a selection border is dragged from its corner.
To use the marquee tools:
1 Select a marquee tool:
• Rectangle marquee (
) to make a rectangular
selection.
• Rounded rectangle marquee (
) to select a
rounded rectangle such as a Web-page button
(ImageReady).
• Elliptical marquee (
selection.
) to make an elliptical
• Single row ( ) or single column ( ) marquee to
define the border as a 1-pixel-wide row or column.
2 In the options bar, specify whether to add a new
selection ( ), add to a selection( ), subtract from
a selection ( ), or select an area intersected by
other selections ( ).
3 Specify a feathering setting in the options bar.
Turn anti-aliasing on or off for the rounded
rectangle or elliptical marquee. (See “Softening
the edges of a selection” on page 147.)
4 For the rectangle, rounded rectangle, or elliptical marquee, choose a style in the options bar:
• Normal to determine marquee proportions
by dragging.
• Constrained Aspect Ratio to set a height-towidth ratio. Enter values (decimal values are valid)
for the aspect ratio. For example, to draw a
marquee twice as wide as it is high, enter 2 for the
width and 1 for the height.
• Fixed Size to specify set values for the marquee’s
height and width. Enter pixel values in whole
numbers. Keep in mind that the number of pixels
needed to create a 1-inch selection depends on the
resolution of the image. (See “About image size
and resolution” on page 92.)
5 For aligning your selection to guides, a grid,
slices, or document bounds, do one of the
following to snap your selection:
• (Photoshop) Choose View > Snap or View >
Snap To then choose a command from the
submenu. The marquee selection can snap to a
document bound and more than one Photoshop
Extra. This is controlled in the Snap To menu.
(See “Working with snap” on page 152.)
• (ImageReady) Choose View > Snap To > Guides.
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6 Do one of the following to make a selection:
To use the lasso tool:
• With the rectangle, rounded rectangle,
1 Select the lasso tool ( ), and select options.
(See “Setting options for the lasso, polygonal lasso,
and magnetic lasso tools” on page 142.)
or elliptical marquee, drag over the area you
want to select. Hold down Shift as you drag
to constrain the marquee to a square or circle.
To drag a marquee from its center, hold down
Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) after you
begin dragging.
• With the single row or single column marquee,
click near the area you want to select, and then
drag the marquee to the exact location. If no
marquee is visible, increase the magnification of
your image view.
To reposition a rectangle, rounded rectangle,
or elliptical marquee, first drag to create the
border, keeping the mouse button depressed.
Then hold down the spacebar and continue to drag.
If you have finished drawing the border, drag from
inside the selection.
Using the lasso, polygonal lasso, and
magnetic lasso tools
The lasso and polygonal lasso tools let you draw
both straight-edged and freehand segments of a
selection border. With the magnetic lasso tool
(Photoshop), the border snaps to the edges of
defined areas in the image.
The magnetic lasso tool is especially useful for
quickly selecting objects with complex edges set
against high-contrast backgrounds.
2 Drag to draw a freehand selection border.
3 To draw a straight-edged selection border,
hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS),
and click where segments should begin and end.
You can switch between drawing freehand and
straight-edged segments.
4 To erase recently drawn segments, hold down
the Delete key until you’ve erased the fastening
points for the desired segment.
5 To close the selection border, release the
mouse without holding down Alt (Windows)
or Option (Mac OS).
To use the polygonal lasso tool:
1 Select the polygonal lasso tool ( ), and select
options. (See “Setting options for the lasso,
polygonal lasso, and magnetic lasso tools” on
page 142.)
2 Click in the image to set the starting point.
3 Do one or more of the following:
• To draw a straight segment, position the pointer
where you want the first straight segment to end,
and click. Continue clicking to set endpoints for
subsequent segments.
• To draw a freehand segment, hold down
Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS), and drag.
When finished, release Alt or Option and the
mouse button.
142 CHAPTER 5
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• To erase recently drawn straight segments,
press the Delete key.
5 To switch temporarily to the other lasso tools,
do one of the following:
4 Close the selection border:
• To activate the lasso tool, hold down Alt
(Windows) or Option (Mac OS), and drag with
the mouse button depressed.
• Position the polygonal lasso tool pointer over the
starting point (a closed circle appears next to the
pointer), and click.
• If the pointer is not over the starting point,
• To activate the polygonal lasso tool, hold down
Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS), and click.
double-click the polygonal lasso tool pointer,
or Ctrl-click (Windows) or Command-click
(Mac OS).
6 To erase recently drawn segments and fastening
points, press the Delete key until you’ve erased the
fastening points for the desired segment.
To use the magnetic lasso tool (Photoshop):
1 Select the magnetic lasso tool (
), and select
options. (See “Setting options for the lasso,
polygonal lasso, and magnetic lasso tools” on
page 142.)
2 Click in the image to set the first fastening
point. Fastening points anchor the selection
border in place.
3 To draw a freehand segment, move the pointer
along the edge you want to trace. (You can also
drag with the mouse button depressed.)
The most recent segment of the selection border
remains active. As you move the pointer, the active
segment snaps to the strongest edge in the image,
based on the detection Width set in the options
bar. Periodically, the magnetic lasso tool adds
fastening points to the selection border to anchor
previous segments.
4 If the border doesn’t snap to the desired edge,
click once to add a fastening point manually.
Continue to trace the edge, and add fastening
points as needed.
7 Close the selection border:
• To close the border with a freehand magnetic
segment, double-click, or press Enter or Return.
• To close the border with a straight segment, hold
down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS), and
double-click.
• To close the border, drag back over the starting
point and click.
Setting options for the lasso, polygonal
lasso, and magnetic lasso tools
The lasso tool options let you customize how the
different lasso tools detect and select edges.
To set options for the lasso tools:
1 If needed, select the tool.
2 In the options bar, specify whether to add a new
selection ( ), add to an existing selection ( ),
subtract from a selection ( ), or select an area
intersected by other selections ( ).
3 Specify feather and anti-aliasing options.
(See “Softening the edges of a selection” on
page 147.)
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4 For the magnetic lasso tool (Photoshop),
set any of these options:
• To specify a detection width, enter a pixel value
between 1 and 40 for Width. The magnetic lasso
detects edges only within the specified distance
from the pointer.
Using the magic wand tool
The magic wand tool lets you select a consistently
colored area (for example, a red flower) without
having to trace its outline. You specify the color
range, or tolerance, for the magic wand tool’s
selection.
• To specify the lasso’s sensitivity to edges in the
image, enter a value between 1% and 100% for
Edge Contrast. A higher value detects only edges
that contrast sharply with their surroundings;
a lower value detects lower-contrast edges.
Note: You cannot use the magic wand tool on an
image in Bitmap mode.
• To specify the rate at which the lasso sets
2 In the options bar, specify whether to add a new
selection ( ), add to an existing selection ( ),
subtract from a selection ( ), or select an area
intersected by other selections ( ). The magic
wand cursor changes depending on which option
is selected.
fastening points, enter a value between 0 and 100
for Frequency. A higher value anchors the
selection border in place more quickly.
On an image with well-defined edges, try a higher
width and higher edge contrast, and trace the
border roughly. On an image with softer edges,
try a lower width and lower edge contrast,
and trace the border more precisely.
• To change the lasso cursor to indicate the lasso
Width value in the options bar, press the Caps
Lock key on the keyboard. Change the cursor
while the tool is selected but not in use.
• If you are working with a stylus tablet, select or
deselect the Stylus Pressure option. When the
option is selected, an increase in stylus pressure
will cause the edge width to decrease.
While creating a selection, you can press ] to
increase the magnetic lasso edge width by
1 pixel; press [ to decrease the width by 1 pixel.
To use the magic wand tool:
1 Select the magic wand tool ( ).
3 For Tolerance, enter a value in pixels, ranging
from 0 to 255. Enter a low value to select colors
very similar to the pixel you click, or enter a higher
value to select a broader range of colors.
4 To define a smooth edge, select Anti-aliased.
(See “Softening the edges of a selection” on
page 147.)
5 To select only adjacent areas using the same
colors, select Contiguous. Otherwise, all pixels
using the same colors will be selected.
6 To select colors using data from all the visible
layers, select Use All Layers. Otherwise, the magic
wand tool selects colors from the active layer only.
7 In the image, click the color you want to select.
If Contiguous is selected, all adjacent pixels within
the tolerance range are selected. Otherwise, all
pixels in the tolerance range are selected.
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Using the Color Range command
(Photoshop)
The Color Range command selects a specified
color or color subset within an existing selection
or an entire image. If you want to replace a
selection, be sure to deselect everything before
applying this command.
4 Position the pointer over the image or preview
area, and click to sample the colors you want
included.
To refine an existing selection, use the Color Range
command repeatedly to select a subset of colors.
For example, to select the green areas in a cyan
selection, select Cyans in the Color Range dialog
box, and click OK. Then reopen the Color Range
dialog box, and select Greens. (The results are
subtle because the technique selects parts of colors
within a color mix.)
To select a color range using sampled colors:
Sampling color
1 Choose Select > Color Range.
2 For Select, choose the Sampled Colors
tool (
).
3 Select one of the display options:
• Selection to preview only the selection as you
build it.
• Image to preview the entire image. For example,
you might want to sample from a part of the image
that isn’t on-screen.
5 Adjust the range of colors using the Fuzziness
slider or by entering a value. To decrease the
range of colors selected, decrease the value.
The Fuzziness option partially selects pixels by
controlling the degree to which related colors are
included in the selection (whereas the Tolerance
option for the magic wand and paint bucket
options increases the range of colors that are
fully selected).
To toggle between the Image and Selection
previews in the Color Range dialog box,
press Ctrl (Windows) or Command (Mac OS).
Increasing Fuzziness expands selection.
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User Guide
6 Adjust the selection:
• To add colors, select the plus eyedropper,
and click in the preview area or image.
• To remove colors, select the minus eyedropper,
and click in the preview area or image.
To activate the plus eyedropper temporarily,
hold down Shift. Hold down Alt (Windows) or
Option (Mac OS) to activate the minus eyedropper.
3 Click Selection to display the selected areas in
the preview area.
4 To preview the selection in the image window,
choose an option for Selection Preview:
• None to display no preview in the image
window.
• Grayscale to display the selection as it would
appear in a grayscale channel.
7 To preview the selection in the image window,
choose an option for Selection Preview:
• Black Matte to display the selection in color
against a black background.
• Grayscale to display the selection as it would
• White Matte to display the selection in color
against a white background.
appear in a grayscale channel.
• Black Matte to display the selection in color
against a black background.
• White Matte to display the selection in color
against a white background.
• Quick Mask to display the selection using the
current quick mask settings. (See “Creating
temporary masks in Quick Mask mode
(Photoshop)” on page 197.)
8 To revert to the original selection, hold down
Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS), and
click Reset.
9 Click OK to make the selection.
To select a color range using preset colors:
1 Choose Select > Color Range.
2 For Select, choose a color or tonal range.
The Out-of-Gamut option works only on RGB
and Lab images. (An out-of-gamut color is an
RGB or Lab color that cannot be printed using
process color printing. See “Color gamuts
(Photoshop)” on page 114.)
• Quick Mask to display the selection using the
current quick mask settings. (See “Creating
temporary masks in Quick Mask mode
(Photoshop)” on page 197.)
5 To revert to the original selection, hold
down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS),
and click Reset.
6 Click OK to make the selection.
Note: If a message appears stating “No pixels are
more than 50% selected,” the selection border will
not be visible. You may have selected a color, such as
red, when the image didn’t contain the fully
saturated color.
To save and load color range settings:
Use the Save and Load buttons in the Color Range
dialog box to save and reuse the current settings.
146 CHAPTER 5
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Creating selections from slices
(ImageReady)
If you create a slice in ImageReady, it can be
converted into a selection.
To create a selection from a slice:
1 Select a slice. (See “Selecting slices” on
page 276.)
2 Drag the border to enclose a different area of
the image. You can drag a selection border partly
beyond the canvas boundaries. When you drag
it back, the original border reappears intact.
You can also drag the selection border to another
image window.
To control the movement of a selection:
2 Choose Select > Create Selection from Slice.
• To constrain the direction to multiples of 45°,
begin dragging, and then hold down Shift as you
continue to drag.
Adjusting pixel selections
• To move the selection in 1-pixel increments,
use an arrow key.
You can adjust and refine your pixel selections
using the selection tools and a variety of
commands in the Select menu.
In addition, you can apply geometric transformations to change the shape of a selection border.
For more information, see “Transforming
objects in two dimensions” in online Help.
Moving, hiding, or inverting a selection
You can move a selection border around an image,
hide a selection border, and invert a selection so
that the previously unselected part of the image is
selected.
To move a selection border:
1 Using any selection tool, select new
selection ( ) from the options bar, and position
the pointer inside the selection border. The
pointer changes to indicate that you can move the
selection ( ).
• To move the selection in 10-pixel increments,
hold down Shift, and use an arrow key.
To hide or show selection edges:
Do one of the following:
• Choose View > Show Extras. This command also
shows or hides: (Photoshop) selection edges,
target path, slices, and notes, or (ImageReady)
selection edges, slices, image maps, text bounds,
text baseline, and text selection. (See “Working
with Extras” on page 77.)
• Choose View > Show > Selection Edges. This
toggles the view of the selection edges and affects
the current selection only. The selection edges
reappear when you make a different selection.
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To select the unselected parts of an image:
To subtract from a selection:
Choose Select > Inverse.
1 Make a selection.
You can use this option to select an object placed
against a solid-colored background. Select the
background using the magic wand tool and then
inverse the selection.
2 Using any selection tool, do one of the
Adjusting selections manually
You can use the selection tools to add to or
subtract from existing pixel selections.
Before manually adding to or subtracting from a
selection, set the feather and anti-aliased values in
the options bar to the same settings used for the
original selection. (See “Softening the edges of a
selection” on page 147.)
To adjust selections numerically,
see “Adjusting selections numerically” in
online Help.
To add to a selection or select an additional area:
1 Make a selection.
2 Using any selection tool, do one of the
following:
• Select the Add to Selection option ( ) in the
options bar, and drag.
• Hold down Shift (a plus sign appears next to the
pointer), and drag to add another selection.
following:
• Select the Subtract from Selection option ( )
in the options bar, and drag to intersect with other
selections.
• Hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS)
(a minus sign appears next to the pointer),
and drag to subtract another selection.
To select only an area intersected by other selections:
1 Make a selection.
2 Using any selection tool, do one of
the following:
• Select the Restrict Selection option ( ) in the
options bar, and drag.
• Hold down Alt+Shift (Windows) or
Option+Shift (Mac OS) (a cross appears next to
the pointer), and drag over the portion of the
original selection that you want to select.
Softening the edges of a
selection
You can smooth the hard edges of a selection by
anti-aliasing and by feathering.
Anti-aliasing Smooths the jagged edges of a
selection by softening the color transition between
edge pixels and background pixels. Since only the
edge pixels change, no detail is lost. Anti-aliasing is
useful when cutting, copying, and pasting selections to create composite images.
148 CHAPTER 5
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Anti-aliasing is available for the lasso, polygonal
lasso, magnetic lasso, rounded rectangle marquee,
elliptical marquee, and magic wand tools. (Select a
tool to display its options bar.) You must specify
this option before using these tools. Once a
selection is made, you cannot add anti-aliasing.
Feathering Blurs edges by building a transition
boundary between the selection and its
surrounding pixels. This blurring can cause some
loss of detail at the edge of the selection.
You can define feathering for the marquee, lasso,
polygonal lasso, or magnetic lasso tool as you use
the tool, or you can add feathering to an existing
selection. Feathering effects become apparent
when you move, cut, copy, or fill the selection.
To define a feathered edge for an existing selection:
1 Choose Select > Feather.
2 Enter a value for the Feather Radius, and
click OK.
Note: A small selection made with a large feather
radius may be so faint that its edges are invisible and
thus not selectable. If a message appears stating
“No pixels are more than 50% selected,” either
decrease the feather radius or increase the selection’s
size. Or click OK to accept the mask at its current
setting and create a selection where you cannot see
the edges.
To use anti-aliasing:
1 Select the lasso, polygonal lasso, magnetic lasso,
rounded rectangle marquee, elliptical marquee,
or magic wand tool.
2 Select Anti-aliased in the options bar.
A
B
C
D
To define a feathered edge for a selection tool:
1 Select any of the lasso or marquee tools.
2 Enter a Feather value in the options bar.
This value defines the width of the feathered edge
and can range from 1 to 250 pixels.
A. Original selection B. Feather: 0 C. Feather: 10
D. Feather: 30
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Moving, copying, and pasting
selections and layers
You can move or copy selections and layers within
or between images—and also between images in
other applications.
Moving selections and layers within
an image
The move tool lets you drag a selection or layer to
a new location in the image. With the Info palette
open, you can track the exact distance of the move.
To specify move tool options:
1 Select the move tool ( ).
2 Select any of the following in the options bar:
• Auto Select Layer to select the topmost layer that
has pixels under the move tool, rather than the
selected layer.
• Show Bounding Box to display the bounding box
around the selected item.
• If multiple items are selected, you can choose
one of the alignment options.
To move a selection or layer:
1 Select the move tool ( ).
To activate the move tool when another tool is
selected, hold down Ctrl (Windows) or Command
(Mac OS). (This technique does not work with the
pen tool ( ), freeform pen ( ), direct selection
tool ( ), hand tool ( ), or anchor point tools ( )
( ) ( ).) Hold down Command (Mac OS) to
activate the move tool when using the shape tools
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ).
2 Do one of the following:
• Move the pointer inside the selection border, and
drag the selection to a new position. If you have
selected multiple areas, all move as you drag.
• Select the layer you want to move. Then drag the
layer to a new position.
Copying selections or layers
You can use the move tool to copy selections as you
drag them within or between images, or you can
copy and move selections using the Copy,
Copy Merged, Cut, and Paste commands.
Dragging with the move tool saves memory
because the Clipboard is not used as it is with the
Copy, Copy Merged, Cut, and Paste commands.
• The Copy command copies the selected area on
the active layer.
• The Copy Merged command makes a merged
copy of all the visible layers in the selected area.
• The Paste command pastes a cut or copied
selection into another part of the image or into
another image as a new layer.
(Photoshop) The Paste Into command pastes a cut
or copied selection inside another selection in the
same image or different image. The source
selection is pasted onto a new layer, and the destination selection border is converted into a layer
mask. (See “Hiding portions of a layer” on
page 237.)
Keep in mind that when a selection or layer is
pasted between images with different resolutions,
the pasted data retains its pixel dimensions.
This can make the pasted portion appear out of
150 CHAPTER 5
Selecting
proportion to the new image. Use the Image Size
command to make the source and destination
images the same resolution before copying and
pasting. (See “Determining a recommended
resolution for an image (Photoshop)” on page 99.)
Depending on your color management settings
and the color profile associated with the file
(or imported data), you may be prompted to
specify how to handle color information in the file
(or imported data). For more information,
see “About color management policies” on
page 125.
To copy a selection:
1 Select the area you want to copy.
2 Choose Edit > Copy or Edit > Copy Merged.
To copy a selection while dragging:
1 Select the move tool ( ), or hold down Ctrl
(Windows) or Command (Mac OS) to activate the
move tool.
2 Hold down Alt (Windows) or Option
(Mac OS), and drag the selection you want to
copy and move.
When copying between images, drag the selection
from the active image window into the destination
image window. If nothing is selected, the entire
active layer is copied. As you drag the selection
over another image window, a border highlights
the window if you can drop the selection into it.
To create multiple copies of a selection within
an image:
1 Select the move tool ( ), or hold down Ctrl
(Windows) or Command (Mac OS) to activate the
move tool.
2 Copy the selection:
• Hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS),
and drag the selection.
• To copy the selection and offset the duplicate by
1 pixel, hold down Alt or Option, and press an
arrow key.
• To copy the selection and offset the duplicate by
10 pixels, press Alt+Shift (Windows) or
Option+Shift (Mac OS), and press an arrow key.
As long as you hold down Alt or Option, each
press of an arrow key creates a copy of the selection
and offsets it by the specified distance from the last
duplicate.
To paste one selection into another (Photoshop):
1 Cut or copy the part of the image you want
to paste.
2 Select the part of the image into which you want
to paste the selection. The source selection and the
destination selection can be in the same image or
in two different Photoshop images.
3 Choose Edit > Paste Into. The contents of the
source selection appear masked by the destination
selection.
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In the Layers palette, the layer thumbnail for the
source selection appears next to the layer mask
thumbnail for the destination selection. The layer
and layer mask are unlinked—that is, you can
move each one independently.
6 If you are satisfied with your results, you can
choose Layer > Merge Down to merge the new
layer and layer mask with the underlying layer and
make the changes permanent.
Using drag and drop to copy between
applications
The drag-and-drop feature lets you copy and
move images between Photoshop or ImageReady
and other applications.
Source selection pasted into destination selection.
For more information on editing layer masks,
see “Applying and discarding layer masks” on
page 242.
4 Select the move tool ( ), or hold down the
Ctrl (Windows) or Command (Mac OS) key to
activate the move tool. Then drag the source
contents until the part you want appears through
the mask.
5 To reveal more or less of the image underlying
the layer, click the layer mask thumbnail in
the Layers palette, select a painting tool, and edit
the mask:
• To hide more of the image underlying the layer,
paint the mask with black.
• To reveal more of the image underlying the layer,
paint the mask with white.
• To partially reveal the image underlying the
layer, paint the mask with gray.
In Windows, the application must be OLEcompliant. To duplicate an entire image by
dragging and dropping, use the move tool to
drag the image. To copy an OLE object that
contains.psd data, use the OLE Clipboard.
(See your Windows documentation.)
In Mac OS, the application must support Mac OS
Drag Manager, and you must be running System
8.5, 8.6, or 9.0.
Dragging vector artwork from Adobe Illustrator or
from other applications that use the Illustrator
Clipboard rasterizes the artwork—the mathematically defined lines and curves of the vector art are
converted into the pixels or bits of a bitmap image.
To copy the vector artwork as a path in Photoshop,
hold down Ctrl (Windows) or Command
(Mac OS) as you drag from Adobe Illustrator.
To copy type, you must first convert it to outlines.
152 CHAPTER 5
Selecting
Using the Clipboard to copy between
applications
2 In Photoshop or ImageReady, select the image
into which you’ll paste the selection.
You can often use the Cut or Copy command to
copy selections between Photoshop or
ImageReady and other applications. The cut or
copied selection remains on the Clipboard until
you cut or copy another selection.
3 Choose Edit > Paste.
In some cases, the contents of the Clipboard are
converted to a raster image. Photoshop prompts
you when vector artwork will be rasterized.
Note: The image is rasterized at the resolution of the
file into which you paste it.
To change the Export Clipboard preference
(Photoshop):
1 Choose Edit > Preferences > General.
2 Select Export Clipboard to save any
Photoshop contents on the Clipboard when you
exit from Photoshop. If you leave this deselected,
the contents are deleted when you exit from the
program.
3 Click OK.
4 (Photoshop) In the dialog box, select from the
following options:
• Paste as Pixels to have the artwork rasterized as it
is pasted. Rasterizing converts mathematically
defined vector artwork to pixels.
• Paste as Paths to paste the copy as a path in the
Paths palette. When copying type from Illustrator,
you must first convert it to outlines.
• Paste as Shape Layer to create a new shape layer
that uses the path as a layer clipping path.
5 If you chose Paste as Pixels in the previous step,
you can choose Anti-alias in the options bar to
make a smooth transition between the edges of the
selection and the surrounding pixels.
(See “Softening the edges of a selection” on
page 147.)
Note: You can use the Matting commands if you
have already merged data and are trying to
re-extract the rasterized data. (See “Removing fringe
pixels from a selection (Photoshop)” on page 154.)
To paste PostScript artwork from another application:
1 In the supporting application, select your
artwork, and choose Edit > Copy. Applications
that produce PostScript artwork include Adobe
Illustrator (versions 5.0 through 8.0), Adobe
Dimensions®, and Adobe Streamline™.
For more information, see “About file
formats” in online Help.
6 Click OK (Photoshop).
Working with snap
Snap helps with precise placement of selection
edges, crops, slices, drawing tools, paths, and
objects by aligning them with guides, slices,
document bounds and (Photoshop) a grid.
Snap can be turned on for any combination of
options from the Snap To submenu.
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User Guide
To choose options from the Snap To submenu:
Saving and loading selections
Choose View > Snap To, and choose from
the submenu:
Selections can be saved and loaded for reuse.
(See “Saving a mask selection” on page 200.)
• Guides, Slices, and Document Bounds in any
combination to snap to these options.
To save a selection:
(Photoshop) You can also choose the Grid option
from the Snap To submenu.
Choose Select > Save Selection.
To load a saved selection (Photoshop):
• All to turn snap on for all available options in
the submenu.
• None to turn snap off for all options.
To activate or suppress snap:
1 Choose Select > Load Selection, then enter the
options in the Load Selection dialog window.
2 Click OK to load selection. (See “Loading a
selection into an image” on page 201.)
Choose View > Snap.
To load a saved selection (ImageReady):
When snap is chosen, activated options in the
Snap To submenu display a check mark.
When snap is suppressed, a dot (Windows) or a
dash (Mac OS) appears next to chosen options in
the Snap To submenu.
Choose Select > Load Selection, then choose an
option from the submenu.
Note: Suppressing snap only temporarily disables
snap for the options chosen in the Snap To submenu.
The submenu options next to dots (Windows) or
dashes (Mac OS) remain chosen for snapping.
To delete a selection, choose Edit > Clear, or press
Backspace (Windows) or Delete (Mac OS). To cut
a selection to the Clipboard, choose Edit > Cut.
To turn on an option from a list of suppressed Snap To
options:
1 With snap suppressed, choose View > Snap To.
The Snap To submenu opens with a dot
(Windows) or a dash (Mac OS) next to options for
which snap is chosen but suppressed.
2 Choose an option next to a dot (Windows) or a
dash (Mac OS) to turn on snap for that option
only. This automatically turns snap off for all other
options.
Deleting selections
Deleting a selection on a background or on a layer
with the Lock Transparency option selected in the
Layers palette replaces the original location with
the background color. Deleting a selection on a
layer without Lock Transparency selected replaces
the original area with the layer transparency.
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Removing fringe pixels from a
selection (Photoshop)
To decrease a fringe on a selection:
When you move or paste an anti-aliased selection,
some of the pixels surrounding the selection
border are included with the selection. This can
result in a fringe or halo around the edges of the
pasted selection. These Matting commands let you
edit unwanted edge pixels:
2 Enter a value in the Width text box for the
• Defringe replaces the color of any fringe pixels
with the colors of nearby pixels containing pure
colors (those without background color). For
example, if you select a yellow object on a blue
background and then move the selection, some of
the blue background is selected and moved with
the object. Defringe replaces the blue pixels with
yellow ones.
• Remove Black Matte and Remove White Matte
are useful when you want to paste a selection
anti-aliased against a white or black background
onto a different background. For example,
anti-aliased black text on a white background has
gray pixels at the edges, which are visible against a
colored background.
You can also remove fringe areas by using the
Advanced Blending sliders in the Layer Styles
dialog box to remove, or make transparent, areas
from the layer. In this case, you would make the black
or white areas transparent. Alt-click (Windows) or
Option-click (Mac OS) on the sliders to separate
them; separating the sliders allows you to remove
fringe pixels and retain a smooth edge.
1 Choose Layer > Matting > Defringe.
distance to search for replacement pixels. In most
cases, a distance of 1 or 2 pixels is enough.
3 Click OK.
To remove a matte from a selection:
Choose Layer > Matting > Remove Black Matte or
Layer > Matting > Remove White Matte.
1 Adjust the view as needed:
• To magnify an area, select the zoom tool ( ) in
the dialog box, and click in the preview image.
To zoom out, hold down Alt (Windows) or
Option (Mac OS) as you click.
• To view a different area, select the hand tool in
the dialog box, and drag in the preview image.
Extracting objects from their
background (Photoshop)
The Extract command provides a sophisticated
way to isolate a foreground object and erase its
background on a layer. Even objects with wispy,
intricate, or undefinable edges may be clipped
from their backgrounds with a minimum of
manual work.
Note: For simpler cases, you can instead use the
background eraser tool.
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To extract an object, you use tools in the Extract
dialog box. First you draw a highlight that marks
the edges of the object, and define the object’s
interior. Then you can preview the extraction and
redo it or touch up the result as needed. When you
extract the object, Photoshop erases its
background to transparency. Pixels on the edge of
the object lose their color components derived
from the background, so they can blend with a
new background without producing a color halo.
You can add back opacity to the background
and create other effects by using the Edit > Fade
command after an extraction.
For more information, see “Blending filter
effects (Photoshop)” in online Help.
To extract an object from its background:
1 In the Layers palette, select the layer containing
the object you want to extract. If you select a
background layer, it becomes a normal layer after
the extraction.
To avoid losing the original image information,
duplicate the layer or make a snapshot of the
original image state.
Note: If the layer contains a selection, the extraction
erases the background only in the selected area.
2 Choose Image > Extract.
You use tools in the Extract dialog box to specify
which part of the image to extract. You can resize
the dialog box by dragging its lower right corner.
3 Specify options for tools in the dialog box
(you can change these settings at any time):
• For Brush Size, enter a value, or drag the slider to
specify the width of the edge highlighter, eraser,
cleanup, and edge touchup tools.
• For Highlight, choose a preset color option,
or choose Other to specify a custom color for
the highlight.
• For Fill, choose a preset color option, or choose
Other to specify a custom color for the area
covered by the fill tool.
• If you are highlighting a well-defined edge, select
Smart Highlighting. This option helps you keep
the highlight on the edge, and applies a highlight
that is just wide enough to cover the edge,
regardless of the current brush size. Smart
Highlighting can greatly improve the extraction
when the object and background have similar
colors or have textures.
4 Adjust the view as needed:
• To magnify an area, select the zoom tool ( )
in the dialog box, and click in the preview image.
To zoom out, hold down Alt (Windows) or
Option (Mac OS) as you click.
• To view a different area, select the hand tool in
the dialog box, and drag in the preview image.
5 Define the edge of the object you want to
extract:
• To draw a highlight that marks the edge, select
the edge highlighter tool ( ) in the dialog box,
and drag so that the highlight slightly overlaps
both the foreground object and its background.
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Use Smart Highlighting to trace sharper edges.
Use a large brush to cover wispy, intricate edges
where the foreground blends into the background,
such as hair or trees.
If you use Smart Highlighting to mark an object
edge that is near another edge, decrease the
brush size if conflicting edges pull the highlight off
the object edge. If the object edge has a uniform color
on one side and high-contrast edges on the other side,
keep the object edge within the brush area but center
the brush on the uniform color.
• If the object has a well-defined interior, make
sure that the highlight forms a complete enclosure.
You do not need to highlight areas where the
object touches the image boundaries. If the object
lacks a clear interior, highlight the entire object.
• If the object is especially intricate or lacks a clear
interior, make sure that the highlight covers the
entire object, and then select Force Foreground.
Select the eyedropper tool ( ) in the dialog box,
and click inside the object to sample the
foreground color, or click in the Color text box and
use a color picker to select the foreground color.
This technique works best with objects that
contain tones of a single color.
7 Click Preview to preview the extracted object,
or skip to step 10 to extract the object without a
preview.
• To base the highlight on a selection saved in an
alpha channel, choose the alpha channel from the
Channel menu. The alpha channel should be
based on a selection of the edge boundary. If you
modify a highlight based on a channel, the channel
name in the menu changes to Custom.
• To erase the highlight, select the eraser tool ( )
in the dialog box, and drag over the highlight.
To erase the entire highlight, press Alt+Backspace
(Windows) or Option+Delete (Mac OS).
6 Define the foreground area:
• If the object has a well-defined interior, select the
fill tool ( ) in the dialog box. Click inside the
object to fill its interior. (Clicking a filled area with
the fill tool removes the fill.)
Selected area highlighted and filled, and extracted object
Zoom in as needed, and set any preview options:
• Use Show menu options to switch between
previews of the original and extracted images.
• Use Display menu options to preview the
extracted object against a colored matte
background or as a grayscale mask. To display a
transparent background, choose None.
• Select Show Highlight or Show Fill to display the
object’s highlight or fill.
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8 If necessary, repeat the extraction to improve
the results (when you are finished, you can
perform final touch-ups as described in step 9):
10 Click OK to apply the final extraction. On the
• To perform another extraction after adjusting
the highlight and fill, repeat steps 5, 6, and 7.
Note: For best results in cleaning up stray edges, use
the cleanup and edge touchup tools in the Extract
dialog box. You can also clean up after an extraction
by using the background eraser and history brush
tools in the toolbox.
• To perform another extraction with new
extraction settings, change the Smooth, Force
Foreground, or Color settings, and repeat step 7.
Note: To specify the amount of smoothing of the
extracted object, drag the Smooth slider or enter a
value. It is usually best to begin with a zero or small
value to avoid unwanted blurring of details. If there
are sharp artifacts in the extraction result, you can
increase the Smooth value to help remove them in
the next extraction.
9 Touch up the extraction results as needed:
• To erase background traces in the extracted area,
use the cleanup tool ( ). The tool subtracts
opacity and has a cumulative effect. You can also
use the cleanup tool to fill gaps in the extracted
object. Hold down Alt (Windows) or Option
(Mac OS) while dragging to add back opacity.
• To edit the edge of the extracted object, use the
edge touchup tool ( ). The tool sharpens edges
and has a cumulative effect. If there is no clear
edge, the edge touchup tool adds opacity to the
object or subtracts opacity from the background.
layer, all pixels outside the extracted object are
erased to transparency.
6
161
Chapter 6: Drawing and Editing
he drawing tools let you create and edit
vector shapes. You can work with shapes in
shape layers and as paths; you can also
create rasterized shapes, which can be edited with
the painting tools. The drawing tools provide an
easy way to create buttons, navigation bars, and
other items used on Web pages.
T
Other tools and commands let you transform and
retouch an image.
About drawing and painting
When creating graphics on a computer, there is a
distinction between painting and drawing.
Painting involves changing the colors of pixels
using a painting tool. You can apply colors
gradually, with soft edges and transitions, and
manipulate individual pixels using powerful filter
effects. However, once you apply a brush stroke,
there is no simple way to select the entire brush
stroke and move it to a new location in the image.
For more information on painting,
see “Painting” in online Help.
Drawing, on the other hand, involves creating
shapes that are defined as geometric objects
(also called vector objects). For example, if you
draw a circle using the ellipse tool, the circle is
defined by a specific radius, location, and color.
You can quickly select the entire circle and move it
to a new location, or you can edit the outline of the
circle to distort its shape. (See “About bitmap
images and vector graphics” on page 91.)
Working with shapes provides several advantages:
• Shapes are object-oriented—you can quickly
select, resize, and move a shape, and you can edit a
shape’s outline (called a path) and attributes (such
as line weight, fill color, and fill style). You can use
shapes to make selections and create libraries of
custom shapes with the Preset Manager.
• Shapes are resolution-independent—they
maintain crisp edges when resized, printed to a
PostScript printer, saved in a PDF file, or imported
into a vector-based graphics application.
Drawing shapes and paths
The pen tools and shape tools provide several
options for creating shapes and paths:
• You can create a shape on a new layer. The shape
is automatically filled with the current foreground
color; however, you can easily change the fill to a
different color, a gradient, or a pattern. The shape’s
outline is stored in a layer clipping path, which
appears in the Paths palette.
• In Photoshop, you can create a new work path.
A work path is a temporary path that is not part of
your image until you apply it in some way. You can
save a work path in the Path palette for later use.
• When using the shape tools, you can create a
rasterized shape on an existing layer. The shape is
automatically filled with the current foreground
color. After you create a rasterized shape, you
cannot edit it as a vector object.
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About the drawing tools in Photoshop
and ImageReady
To create a new shape layer:
Keep in mind the following differences when using
the drawing tools in Photoshop and ImageReady:
2 Select the rectangle tool ( ), rounded rectangle
• The pen tools, polygon tool, and custom shape
tool are available only in Photoshop.
• In Photoshop, you can use the drawing tools to
create a work path; in ImageReady, you can’t create
a work path.
• In Photoshop, you can draw multiple shapes in a
layer and specify how overlapping shapes interact.
In ImageReady, you can only draw one shape in
a layer.
• In Photoshop, you can edit shapes after you draw
them. In ImageReady, you can move and
transform shapes, but you can’t edit them.
Creating shape layers
You create a shape layer using a shape tool or a pen
tool. Technically, a shape layer is a fill layer with a
layer clipping path; the fill layer defines the color of
the shape, while the layer clipping path defines the
geometric outline of the shape. You can change the
color and other attributes of a shape by editing its
fill layer and applying layer styles to it. You can
change the outline of a shape by editing its layer
clipping path. (See “Using adjustment layers or fill
layers (Photoshop)” on page 242 and “Editing a
layer clipping path (Photoshop)” on page 240.)
1 Specify a foreground color.
tool ( ), ellipse tool ( ), or line tool ( );
additionally, in Photoshop, select the polygon
tool ( ), custom shape tool ( ), pen tool ( ),
or freeform pen tool ( ).
3 In the options bar, click the Create New Shape
Layer button ( ), and set the following options:
• Choose a layer style from the Layer Style
pop-up palette to apply a predefined layer style to
the shape.
• Choose a layer blending mode from the
Mode menu.
• Specify a layer opacity using the Opacity text box
or slider.
• (Photoshop) If you’re using the custom shape
tool, select a predefined shape from the Shape
pop-up palette. (See “Using pop-up palettes” on
page 62.)
• Set additional, tool-specific options.
(See “Setting shape tool options” on page 164,
“Drawing with the pen tool” on page 167, and
“Drawing with the freeform pen tool” on
page 169.)
4 If you’re using a shape tool, drag in the image to
draw the shape. If you’re using a pen tool, click or
drag in the image to draw the shape. (See “Using
the pen tools (Photoshop)” on page 166.)
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5 (Photoshop) To create multiple shape
components in the same shape layer, continue
drawing shapes:
• Choose a shape area option to determine what
happens at the intersection of overlapping shapes.
(See “Drawing overlapping shapes (Photoshop)”
on page 171.)
• Select a different tool in the toolbox to switch
between drawing tools. When using a shape tool,
you can also select a different shape tool in the
options bar.
6 (Photoshop) Click the OK button ( ) in the
options bar, or press Enter or Return, to dismiss
the drawing tools.
Creating a work path (Photoshop)
A work path is a temporary path that appears in the
Paths palette and defines the outline of a shape.
You can use paths in several ways:
• You can use a path as a layer clipping path to hide
areas of a layer. (See “Hiding portions of a layer”
on page 237.)
• You can convert a path to a selection to use a
shape as the basis for selecting pixels in an image.
(See “Converting between paths and selection
borders (Photoshop)” on page 180.)
• You can edit a path to change its shape.
(See “Editing paths (Photoshop)” on page 172.)
• You can designate a path as a clipping path
for an entire image, which is useful when
exporting images to page-layout or vector-editing
applications.
Create a new path in the Paths palette before
you begin drawing to automatically save the
work path as a named path.
To create a new work path:
1 Select the rectangle tool ( ), rounded rectangle
tool ( ), ellipse tool ( ), polygon tool ( ),
line tool ( ), custom shape tool ( ), pen tool ( ),
or freeform pen tool ( ).
2 In the options bar, click the Create New Work
Path button ( ), and set additional, tool-specific
options. (See “Setting shape tool options” on
page 164, “Drawing with the pen tool” on
page 167, and “Drawing with the freeform pen
tool” on page 169.)
If you’re using the custom shape tool, select a
predefined shape from the Shape pop-up palette.
(See “Using pop-up palettes” on page 62.)
3 If you’re using a shape tool, drag in the image to
draw the path. If you’re using a pen tool, click or
drag in the image to draw the path. (See “Using the
pen tools (Photoshop)” on page 166.)
4 To create multiple components in the path,
continue drawing:
• Choose a shape area option to determine what
happens at the intersection of overlapping path
segments and components. (See “Drawing
overlapping shapes (Photoshop)” on page 171.)
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• Select a different tool in the toolbox to switch
between drawing tools. When using a shape tool,
you can also select a different shape tool in the
options bar.
5 Click the OK button ( ) in the options bar,
or press Enter or Return, to dismiss the drawing
tools.
To reselect the work path, select Work Path in the
Paths palette. (See “Using the Paths palette
(Photoshop)” on page 171.)
• Select Anti-aliased to blend the shape’s edge
pixels with the surrounding pixels.
• Set additional, tool-specific options.
(See “Setting shape tool options” on page 164,
“Drawing with the pen tool” on page 167, and
“Drawing with the freeform pen tool” on
page 169.)
5 Drag in the image to define the shape. Continue
drawing shapes as desired. You can switch between
shape tools by selecting a different tool in the
toolbox or options bar.
Creating rasterized shapes
As the name implies, rasterized shapes are not
vector objects. Creating a rasterized shape is the
same as making a selection and filling it with the
foreground color. You cannot edit a rasterized
shape as a vector object.
To create a rasterized shape:
1 Select a layer. You cannot create a rasterized
shape on a vector-based layer (a shape layer or a
type layer).
Using the shape tools
You use the shape tools to draw lines, rectangles,
rounded rectangles, and ellipses in an image.
In Photoshop, you can also draw polygons and
create custom shape libraries to reuse and share
custom shapes.
(Photoshop) Select a shape in the options bar, and click
the inverted arrow to display options for the selected shape.
2 Specify a foreground color.
3 Select the rectangle tool ( ), rounded rectangle
Setting shape tool options
tool ( ), ellipse tool ( ), or line tool ( );
additionally, in Photoshop, select the polygon
tool ( ) or custom shape tool ( ).
Each shape tool provides specific options; for
example, you can set options that allow you to
draw a rectangle with fixed dimensions or a line
with arrowheads.
4 In the options bar, click the Create Filled Region
button ( ), and set the following options:
• Choose a layer blending mode from the Mode
To set tool-specific options:
menu.
1 Select a shape tool.
• Specify a layer opacity using the Opacity text box
2 In the options bar, set the following options.
In Photoshop, click the inverted arrow ( ) next to
the shape buttons to view additional options.
or pop-up slider.
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Arrowheads Start and End Renders a line with
arrowheads. Select Start, End, or both to specify
on which end of the line arrows are rendered.
In ImageReady, click Shape to define the shape of
the arrowhead; in Photoshop, the shape options
appear in the pop-up dialog box. Enter values for
Width and Length to specify the proportions of
the arrowhead as a percentage of the line width
(10% to 1000% for Width, and 10% to 5000% for
Length). Enter a value for the concavity of the
arrowhead (from –50% to +50%). The concavity
value defines the amount of curvature on the
widest part of the arrowhead, where the
arrowhead meets the line.
Note: In Photoshop, you can also edit an arrowhead
directly using the vector selection and drawing tools.
Circle (Photoshop) Constrains an ellipse to
a circle.
Corner Radius (ImageReady) Specifies the corner
radius for rendering a rounded rectangle.
Defined Proportions (Photoshop) Renders a
custom shape based on the proportions with
which it was created.
Defined Size (Photoshop) Renders a custom
shape based on the size at which it was created.
Fixed Size Renders a rectangle, rounded
rectangle, ellipse, or custom shape as a fixed shape
based on the values you enter in the Width and
Height text boxes.
From Center (Photoshop) Renders a rectangle,
rounded rectangle, ellipse, or custom shape from
the center.
Indent Sides By (Photoshop) Renders a polygon
as a star. Enter a percentage in the text box to
specify the portion of the star’s radius taken up by
the points. A 50% setting creates points that are
half the total radius of the star; a larger value
creates sharper, thinner points; a smaller value
creates fuller points.
Proportional (Photoshop) Renders a rectangle,
rounded rectangle, or ellipse as a proportional
shape based on the values you enter in the Width
and Height text boxes.
Radius (Photoshop) For rounded rectangles,
specifies the corner radius. For polygons, specifies
the distance from the center of a polygon to the
outer points.
Sides (Photoshop) Specifies the number of sides
in a polygon.
Smooth Corners or Smooth Indents (Photoshop)
Renders a polygon with smooth corners
or indents.
Snap to Pixels (Photoshop) Snaps edges of a
rectangle or rounded rectangle to the pixel
boundaries.
Square (Photoshop) Constrains a rectangle or
rounded rectangle to a square.
Unconstrained (Photoshop) Lets you set the width
and height of a rectangle, rounded rectangle,
ellipse, or custom shape by dragging.
Weight Determines the width of a line in pixels.
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Manipulating a shape while dragging
Saving custom shapes
You can use the following modifier keys to
manipulate a shape while dragging:
After you create a shape, you can save it as a
custom shape. The saved shape appears in the
Shape pop-up palette. For information about
working with pop-up palettes, see “Using pop-up
palettes” on page 62.
• Hold down Shift to constrain a rectangle or
rounded rectangle to a square, to constrain an
ellipse to a circle, or to constrain the line angle to a
multiple of 45°.
• Hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS)
to draw from the center of the shape.
• Hold down the spacebar to move the shape
without changing its size or proportions.
Adding shapes to an existing shape layer
(Photoshop)
After you create a shape layer, you can add new
shapes to it at any time. You can also use the path
component selection tool and the direct selection
tool to move, resize, and edit shapes. For complete
information on using the path component
selection tool and the direct selection tool,
see “Editing paths (Photoshop)” on page 172.
To add to an existing shape layer:
To save a shape or path as a custom shape
(Photoshop):
1 In the Paths palette, select a path—either a layer
clipping path for a shape layer, a work path, or a
saved path.
2 Choose Edit > Define Custom Shape, and in the
Shape Name dialog box, enter a name for the new
custom shape. The new shape appears in the Shape
pop-up palette.
3 To save the new custom shape as part of the
current library, or to save a new library, select Save
Shapes from the pop-up palette menu.
You can also use the Preset Manager to manage
libraries of custom shapes. (See “Managing
libraries with the Preset Manager (Photoshop)” on
page 85.)
1 Select a layer in the Layers palette.
2 Select a drawing tool, and set its options.
(See “Creating shape layers” on page 162.)
3 Before you draw, specify a shape area option in
the options bar. (See “Drawing overlapping shapes
(Photoshop)” on page 171.)
4 When you have finished adding shapes, click
the OK button ( ) in the options bar, or press
Enter or Return, to dismiss the drawing tools.
Using the pen tools (Photoshop)
You can create or edit straight lines, curves, or
freeform lines and shapes using the pen tools.
The pen tools can be used in conjunction with the
shape tools to create complex shapes.
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Drawing with the pen tool
7 Complete the path component:
The pen tool lets you create straight lines and
smooth flowing curves with greater precision than
is possible with the freeform pen tool. For most
users, the pen tool provides the best control and
greatest accuracy for drawing.
• To end an open path component, click the pen
tool in the toolbox, or Ctrl-click (Windows) or
Command-click (Mac OS) away from the path.
To draw with the pen tool:
1 Select the pen tool ( ).
2 In the options bar, click either the Create New
Shape Layer button ( ) or the Create New Work
Path button ( ). (See “Drawing shapes and
paths” on page 161.)
3 Set the following tool-specific options:
• Rubber Band to preview path segments as you
draw. After you define at least one anchor point for
a path, Photoshop displays the next proposed
segment as you move the pointer in the image.
The segment doesn’t become permanent until
you click.
• Auto Add/Delete to automatically add or delete
anchor points while you draw.
4 Position the pen pointer where you want to
begin to draw, and click to define the first anchor
point. The anchor point remains selected (solid)
until you define the next point.
5 Choose a shape area option to determine what
happens at the intersection of overlapping path
segments and components. (See “Drawing
overlapping shapes (Photoshop)” on page 171.)
6 Click or drag to set anchor points for additional
segments. (See “Drawing straight segments with
the pen tool” on page 167 and “Drawing curves
with the pen tool” on page 168.)
• To close a path component, position the pen
pointer over the first anchor point. A small loop
appears next to the pen tip when it is positioned
correctly. Click to close the path.
For more information on closed and open paths,
see “About anchor points, direction lines,
direction points, and components” on page 172.
8 Draw additional path components if desired.
9 Click the OK button ( ) in the options bar,
or press Enter or Return, to dismiss the drawing
tools.
Drawing straight segments with the pen
tool
The simplest segment you can draw with the pen
tool is a straight segment, made by clicking to
create anchor points.
To draw straight segments:
1 Position the pen pointer where you want the
straight segment to begin, and click to define the
first anchor point. The anchor point remains
selected (solid) until you define the next point.
2 Click again where you want the first segment of
the straight line to end, or Shift-click to constrain
the angle of the segment to a multiple of 45°.
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3 Continue clicking to set anchor points for
additional segments. The last anchor point is
always a solid square, indicating it is selected.
Previously defined anchor points become hollow
squares as you add further anchor points. If the
Auto Add/Delete option is selected, you can click
an existing point to delete it.
Drawing curves with the pen tool
You create curves by dragging the pen tool in the
direction you want the curve to go. Keep these
guidelines in mind when drawing curves:
• Always drag the first direction point in the
direction of the bump of the curve, and drag the
second direction point in the opposite direction to
create a single curve. Dragging both direction
points in the same direction creates an “S” curve.
For more information on how paths are
constructed, see “About anchor points, direction
lines, direction points, and components” on
page 172.
To draw a curve:
1 Position the pointer where you want the curve
to begin, and hold down the mouse button.
The first anchor point appears, and the pointer
changes to an arrowhead.
2 Drag in the direction you want the curve
segment to be drawn. As you drag, the pointer
leads one of two direction points. Hold down the
Shift key to constrain the tool to multiples of 45°,
and release the mouse button once you have
positioned the first direction point.
The length and slope of the direction line
determine the shape of the curve segment. You can
adjust one or both sides of the direction line later.
Drag in the opposite direction to create a smooth curve.
Drag in the same direction to create an “S” curve.
• When drawing a series of smooth curves, draw
Drag in the direction of the curve to set the first anchor point.
Drag in the opposite direction to complete the curve segment.
one curve at a time, placing anchor points at the
beginning and end of each curve, not at the tip of
the curve. Use as few anchor points as possible,
placing them as far apart as possible.
3 Position the pointer where you want the curve
segment to end, and drag in the opposite direction
to complete the segment.
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4 Do one of the following:
Drawing with the freeform pen tool
• To draw the next segment of a smooth curve,
The freeform pen tool lets you draw as if you were
drawing with a pencil on paper. Anchor points are
added automatically as you draw. You do not
determine where the points are positioned,
but you can adjust them once the path is complete.
position the pointer where you want the next
segment to end, and drag away from the curve.
Drag away from the curve
to create the next segment.
• To change the direction of the curve sharply,
release the mouse button, then Alt-drag
(Windows) or Option-drag (Mac OS) the
direction point in the direction of the curve.
Release Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) and
the mouse button, reposition the pointer where
you want the segment to end, and drag in the
opposite direction to complete the curve segment.
• To break out the direction lines of an anchor
point, Alt-drag (Windows) or Option-drag
(Mac OS) the lines.
The magnetic pen is an option of the freeform tool
that lets you draw a path that snaps to the edges of
defined areas in your image. You can define the
range and sensitivity of the snapping behavior,
as well as the complexity of the resulting path.
The magnetic pen and magnetic lasso tools share
many of the same options.
To draw with the freeform pen tool:
1 Select the freeform pen tool ( ).
2 In the options bar, click either the Create New
Shape Layer button ( ) or the Create New Work
Path button ( ). (See “Drawing shapes and
paths” on page 161.)
3 Set the following tool-specific options:
• Curve Fit to control how sensitive the final path
is to the movement of your mouse or stylus. Enter
a value between 0.5 and 10.0 pixels. A higher value
creates a simpler path with fewer anchor points.
• Auto Add/Delete to automatically add or delete
anchor points while you draw.
4 Drag the pointer in the image. As you drag, a
path trails behind the pointer. When you release
the mouse, a work path is created.
Alt-drag or Option-drag the direction point toward the curve.
Release the key, and drag in the opposite direction.
5 Choose a shape area option to determine what
happens at the intersection of path segments and
components. (See “Drawing overlapping shapes
(Photoshop)” on page 171.)
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6 To continue the existing freehand path, position
the freeform pen pointer on an endpoint of the
path, and drag. If the Auto Add/Delete option is
selected, you can click an existing point to delete it.
• If you are working with a stylus tablet, select or
deselect Stylus Pressure. When this option is
selected, an increase in stylus pressure causes the
width to decrease.
7 To complete the path, release the mouse.
To create a closed path, drag over the initial point
of the path (a circle appears next to the pointer
when it is aligned), and release the mouse. For
more information on closed and open paths,
see “About anchor points, direction lines,
direction points, and components” on page 172.
2 Click in the image to set the first
fastening point.
8 Draw additional path components if desired.
9 Click the OK button ( ) in the options bar,
or press Enter or Return, to dismiss the drawing
tools.
To draw using the magnetic pen options:
1 To convert the freeform pen tool to the
magnetic pen tool ( ), select Magnetic in the
options bar. Then specify the following options by
clicking the magnetic options button ( ):
• For Width, enter a pixel value between 1 and 40.
The magnetic pen detects edges only within the
specified distance from the pointer.
• For Contrast, enter a percentage value between 0
and 100 to specify the contrast between pixels
required to be considered an edge. Use a higher
value for low contrast images.
• For Frequency, enter a value between 0 and 100
to specify the rate at which the pen sets anchor
points. A higher value anchors the path in place
more quickly.
3 To draw a freehand segment, move the pointer
or drag along the edge you want to trace.
The most recent segment of the border remains
active. As you move the pointer, the active segment
snaps to the strongest edge in the image,
connecting the pointer to the last fastening point.
Periodically, the magnetic pen adds fastening
points to the border to anchor previous sections.
4 If the border doesn’t snap to the desired
edge, click once to add a fastening point
manually and to keep the border from moving.
Continue to trace the edge and add fastening
points as needed. If needed, press Delete to remove
the last fastening point.
5 To dynamically modify the properties of the
magnetic pen, do one of the following:
• Alt-drag (Windows) or Option-drag (Mac OS)
to draw a freehand path.
• Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Mac OS)
to draw straight segments.
• Press the [ key to decrease the magnetic pen
width by 1 pixel; press the ] key to increase the pen
width by 1 pixel. Press Caps Lock to display the
current pen width.
ADOBE PHOTOSHOP 6.0 171
User Guide
6 Complete the path:
To specify how overlapping areas interact:
• Press Enter or Return to end an open path.
1 Create a new shape layer or work path, select an
existing layer in the Layers palette, or select an
existing path in the Paths palette.
• Double-click to close the path with a magnetic
segment.
• Hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS),
and double-click to close the path with a straight
segment.
7 Draw additional path components if desired.
Choose a shape area option to determine how
overlapping path components intersect.
(See “Drawing overlapping shapes (Photoshop)”
on page 171.)
8 Click the OK button (
) in the options bar,
or press Enter or Return, to dismiss the drawing
tools.
Drawing overlapping shapes
(Photoshop)
In Photoshop, you can draw multiple shapes in a
layer or modify a path using one or more of the
drawing tools. You can specify how overlapping
shapes, path segments, and path components
interact using the shape area options.
2 Before drawing subsequent shapes, path
segments, or path components, choose the shape
tool or pen tool you want to use, and choose one
of the following options in the options bar:
• Add to Shape Area ( ) to add the new area to the
existing shapes or path.
• Subtract from Shape Area ( ) to remove the
overlapping area from the existing shapes or path.
• Intersect Shape Area ( ) to restrict the area to
the intersection of the new area and the existing
shapes or path.
• Exclude Shape Area ( ), to exclude the overlap
area in the consolidated new and existing areas.
Using the Paths palette
(Photoshop)
The Paths palette lists the name and a thumbnail
image of each saved path, the current work path,
and the current layer clipping path. Decreasing the
size of thumbnails or turning them off lets you list
more paths in the palette, and turning thumbnails
off can improve performance. To view a path,
you must first select it in the Paths palette.
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To display the Paths palette:
Editing paths (Photoshop)
Choose Windows > Show Paths, or click the Paths
palette tab.
A path is composed of one or more path
components—collections of one or more anchor
points jointed by segments.
To select or deselect a path in the palette:
Do one of the following:
• To select a path, click the path name in the Paths
palette. Only one path can be selected at a time.
• To deselect a path, click in the blank area of the
Paths palette, choose Turn Off Path from the Paths
palette menu, or click the OK button ( ) in the
options bar if you are using the shape or pen tools.
To change the size of path thumbnails:
1 Choose Palette Options from the Paths palette
menu.
2 Select a size, or select None to turn off the
display of thumbnails.
To change a path’s stacking order:
1 Select the path in the Paths palette.
2 Drag the path up or down in the Paths palette.
When the heavy black line appears in the desired
location, release the mouse button.
Because they take up less disk space than pixelbased data, paths can be used for long-term
storage of simple masks. Paths can also be
used to clip sections of your image for export
to an illustration or page-layout application.
(See “Using image clipping paths” on page 369.)
About anchor points, direction lines,
direction points, and components
A path consists of one or more straight or curved
segments. Anchor points mark the endpoints of the
path segments. On curved segments, each selected
anchor point displays one or two direction lines,
ending in direction points. The positions of
direction lines and points determine the size and
shape of a curved segment. Moving these elements
reshapes the curves in a path.
A
B
C
D
E
Note: You cannot change the order of layer clipping
paths in the Paths palette.
A. Curved line segment B. Direction point
C. Direction line D. Selected anchor point
E. Unselected anchor point
ADOBE PHOTOSHOP 6.0 173
User Guide
A path can be closed, with no beginning or end
(for example, a circle), or open, with distinct
endpoints (for example, a wavy line).
Smooth curves are connected by anchor points
called smooth points. Sharply curved paths are
connected by corner points.
Smooth point, and corner point
When you move a direction line on a smooth
point, the curved segments on both sides of the
point adjust simultaneously. By comparison,
when you move a direction line on a corner point,
only the curve on the same side of the point as the
direction line is adjusted.
Adjusting a smooth point, and a corner point
A path does not have to be all one connected series
of segments. It can contain more than one distinct
and separate path component. Each shape in a
shape layer is a path component, as described by
the layer’s clipping path.
Separate path components selected
Selecting paths (Photoshop)
You can select path segments and path components by clicking with the path component
selection tool or the direct selection tool.
Selecting a shape or segment displays all of the
anchor points on the selected portion, including
any direction lines and direction points if the
selected segment is curved. Direction points
appear as filled circles, selected anchor points as
filled squares, and unselected anchor points as
hollow squares.
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To select a path:
1 Do one of the following:
• To select a path component (including a shape in
a shape layer), select the path component selection
tool ( ), and click anywhere inside the path
component. If a path consists of several path
components, only the path component under the
pointer is selected.
To display the bounding box along with the
selected path component, select Show Bounding
Box in the options bar.
• To select a path segment, select the direct
selection tool ( ), and click one of the segment’s
anchor points or drag a marquee over part of the
segment.
To change the overlap mode for the selected path
component:
Using the path component selection tool,
drag a marquee to select existing path areas, then
choose a shape area option in the options bar.
(See “Drawing overlapping shapes (Photoshop)”
on page 171.)
To show or hide the selected path component:
Do one of the following:
• Choose View > Show > Target Path.
• Choose View > Show Extras. This command also
shows or hides a grid, guides, selection edges,
annotations, and slices.
Moving, reshaping, and deleting path
segments
You can move, reshape, or delete individual
segments in a path, and you can add or delete
anchor points to change the configuration of
segments.
Drag a marquee to select segments.
2 To select additional components or segments,
select the path component selection tool or the
direct selection tool, then hold down Shift while
selecting additional paths or segments.
When the direct selection tool is selected, you
can select the entire path or path component by
Alt-clicking (Windows) or Option-clicking
(Mac OS) inside the path. To activate the direct
selection tool when any other tool is selected, position
the pointer over an anchor point, and press Ctrl
(Windows) or Command (Mac OS).
Note: You can also apply a transformation, such as
scaling, rotating, flipping, or distorting, to a
segment.
To move a straight segment:
1 Select the direct selection tool ( ), and select
the segment you want to adjust. To adjust the angle
or length of the segment, select an anchor point.
2 Drag the selected segment to its new position.
ADOBE PHOTOSHOP 6.0 175
User Guide
To move a curved segment:
1 Select the direct selection tool ( ), and select
the points or segments you want to move. Be sure
to select both points anchoring the segment.
• To adjust the shape of the segment on either side
of a selected anchor point, drag the anchor point
or the direction point. Hold down Shift as you
drag to constrain movement to multiples of 45°.
2 Drag the selected anchor points or segments to
new positions. Hold down Shift as you drag to
constrain the movement to multiples of 45°.
Drag the anchor point, or drag the direction point.
To delete a segment:
Select points anchoring a curve. Then drag to move the curve.
To reshape a curved segment:
1 Select the direct selection tool ( ), and select
the curved segment you want to adjust. Direction
lines appear for that segment.
1 Select the direct selection tool ( ), and select
the segment you want to delete.
2 Press Backspace (Windows) or Delete
(Mac OS) to delete the selected segment. Pressing
Backspace or Delete again erases the rest of the
path component.
2 Adjust the curve:
• To adjust the position of the segment, drag the
segment.
Click to select the curve segment. Then drag to adjust.
Moving, reshaping, copying, and deleting
path components
You can reposition a path component (including a
shape in a shape layer) anywhere within an image.
You can copy components within an image or
between two Photoshop images. Using the path
component selection tool, you can merge
overlapping components into a single component.
All vector objects, whether they are described by a
saved path, a work path, or a layer clipping path,
can be moved, reshaped, copied, or deleted.
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You can also use the Copy and Paste commands to
duplicate vector objects between a Photoshop
image and an image in another application, such
as Adobe Illustrator.
To move a path or path component:
1 Select the path name in the Paths palette, and
use the path component selection tool ( ) to select
the path in the image. To select multiple path
components, Shift-click each additional path
component to add it to the selection.
2 Drag the path to its new location. If you move
any part of a path beyond the canvas boundaries,
the hidden part of the path is still available.
Note: If you drag a path so that the move pointer is
over another open image, the path will be copied to
that image.
To reshape a path component:
1 Select the path name in the Paths palette, and
use the direct selection tool ( ) to select an anchor
point in the path.
2 Drag the point or its handles to a new location.
(See “Adding, deleting, and converting anchor
points” on page 177.)
To merge overlapping path components:
1 Choose the path component selection tool ( )
and click Combine in the options bar to create a
single component from all overlapping components in the layer.
To copy a path component or path:
Do any of the following:
• To copy a path component as you move it,
select the path name in the Paths palette, and use
the path component selection tool ( ) to select
the path component in the image. Alt-drag
(Windows) or Option-drag (Mac OS) the path.
• To copy a path without renaming it, drag the
path in the Paths palette to the New Path
button ( ) at the bottom of the palette.
• To copy and rename a path, Alt-drag (Windows)
or Option-drag (Mac OS) the path in the Paths
palette to the New Path button at the bottom of the
palette. Or select the path to copy, and choose
Duplicate Path from the Paths palette menu. Enter
a new name for the path in the Duplicate Path
dialog box, and click OK.
To copy path components between two Adobe
Photoshop files:
1 Open both images.
2 Use the path component selection tool ( ) to
select the entire path or the path components in
the source image you want to copy.
3 To copy the path component, do any of the
following:
• Drag the path component from the source image
to the destination image. The path component is
copied to the active path in the Paths palette.
• Drag the path component from the source
image’s Paths palette into the destination image.
The path is copied to the active path in the Paths
palette.
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User Guide
• In the source image, select the path’s name in the
Paths palette and choose Edit > Copy to copy the
path. In the destination image, choose Edit >
Paste. You can also use this method to combine
paths in the same image.
• To paste the path into the center of the desti-
nation image, in the source image, choose Edit >
Copy to copy the path. In the destination image,
choose Edit > Paste.
• Horizontal Center ( ) to align the horizontal
centers of the selected components.
• Right ( ) to align the right edges of the selected
components.
2 Select the components you want to distribute,
then select one of the distribute options from the
options bar.
• Top ( ) to distribute the top edges of the
selected components.
Aligning and distributing path
components
• Vertical Center ( ) to distribute the vertical
centers of the selected components.
You can both align and distribute path
components that are described in a single path.
For example, you can align the left edges of several
shapes contained in a single layer or distribute
several components in a work path along their
horizontal centers.
• Bottom ( ) to distribute the bottom edges of
the selected components.
Note: You cannot align shapes that are on separate
layers or that are stored in separate paths.
• Right ( ) to distribute the right edges of the
• Left ( ) to distribute the left edges of the
selected components.
• Horizontal Center ( ) to distribute the
horizontal centers of the selected components.
selected components.
To align or distribute components:
1 Using the path component selection tool ( ),
drag a marquee to select the components you want
to align, then select one of the alignment options
from the options bar.
• Top (
) to align the top edges of the selected
components.
• Vertical Center ( ) to align the vertical centers
of the selected components.
• Bottom ( ) to align the bottom edges of the
selected components.
• Left ( ) to align the left edges of the selected
components.
Adding, deleting, and converting anchor
points
The add anchor point and delete anchor point
tools let you add and delete anchor points on a
shape. The convert direction point tool lets you
convert a smooth curve to a sharp curve or to a
straight segment, and vice versa. If you have
selected Auto Add/Delete in the options bar for the
pen tool or freeform pen tool, when you click a
line segment, a point is added, and when you click
an existing point, it is deleted.
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Drawing and Editing
To add an anchor point:
1 Select the add anchor point tool ( ), and
position the pointer on the path where you want
the anchor point added (a plus sign appears next
to the pointer).
2 Do one of the following:
• To add an anchor point without changing the
shape of the segment, click the path.
• To add an anchor point and change the shape of
the segment, drag to define direction lines for the
anchor point.
• To change an anchor point to a corner point,
Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Mac OS)
the anchor point.
To delete an anchor point:
1 Select the delete anchor point tool ( ), and
To convert between a smooth point and a corner
point:
1 Select the convert anchor point tool ( ),
and position the pointer over the anchor point
you want changed.
To activate the convert anchor point tool while
the direct selection tool is selected, position the
pointer over an anchor point, and press Ctrl+Alt
(Windows) or Command+Option (Mac OS).
2 Convert the point:
• To convert a smooth point to a corner point
without direction lines, click the smooth anchor
point.
• To convert a smooth point to a corner point with
direction lines, make sure the direction lines are
visible. Then drag a direction point to break the
pair of direction lines.
position the pointer on the anchor point you want
deleted (a minus sign appears next to the pointer).
2 Delete the anchor point:
• Click the anchor point to delete it and to reshape
the path to fit the remaining anchor points.
• Drag the anchor point to delete it and to change
the shape of the segment.
Drag direction point to break direction lines.
ADOBE PHOTOSHOP 6.0 179
User Guide
• To convert a corner point to a smooth point,
drag away from the corner point to make direction
lines appear.
Paths saved with an image appear when you open
it again. In Windows, the Photoshop, JPEG, DCS,
EPS, PDF, and TIFF formats support paths. In
Mac OS, all available file formats support paths.
Note: Paths in formats other than those listed here
generally don’t survive a transition from Mac OS to
Windows and back to Mac OS.
To create a new path in the Paths palette:
Do one of the following:
Click to create a corner point. Drag to create a smooth point.
• To create a path without naming it, click the New
Path button ( ) at the bottom of the Paths palette.
Managing paths (Photoshop)
When you use a pen or shape tool to create a work
path, the new path appears as the Work Path in the
Paths palette. The Work Path is temporary;
you must save it to avoid losing its contents.
If you deselect the Work Path without saving it and
start drawing again, a new path will replace the
existing one.
When you use a pen or shape tool to create a new
shape layer, the new path appears as a layer
clipping path in the Paths palette. Layer clipping
paths are linked to their parent layer; you must
select the parent layer in the Layers palette in order
to list the clipping path in the Paths palette.
You can remove a clipping path from a layer and
convert a clipping path to a rasterized mask.
(See “Editing a layer clipping path (Photoshop)”
on page 240.)
• To create and name a path, make sure no work
path is selected. Choose New Path from the Paths
palette menu, or Alt-click (Windows) or Optionclick (Mac OS) the New Path button at the bottom
of the palette. Enter a name for the path in the New
Path dialog box, and click OK.
To save a work path:
Do one of the following:
• To save without renaming, drag the Work Path
name to the New Path button ( ) at the bottom of
the Paths palette.
• To save and rename, choose Save Path from the
Paths palette menu, enter a new path name in the
Save Path dialog box, and click OK.
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Drawing and Editing
To rename a saved path:
1 Double-click the path’s name in the
Paths palette.
2 Enter a new name in the Rename Path dialog
box, and click OK.
Note: You cannot rename a layer clipping path.
If you double-click a layer clipping path, you’ll make
a copy of it.
3 If you have created a copy of a layer clipping
path by double-clicking it, you can enter a new
name for it in the Save Path dialog box.
Converting between paths and
selection borders (Photoshop)
Because of their smooth outlines, you can convert
paths into precise selection borders. You also can
convert selection borders into paths, using the
direct selection tool for fine-tuning.
Converting paths to selection borders
You can define any closed path as a selection
border. A closed path that overlaps a selected area
can be added to, subtracted from, or combined
with the current selection.
To delete a path:
1 Select the path name in the Paths palette.
2 Do one of the following:
• Drag the path to the Trash button ( ) at the
bottom of the Paths palette.
• Choose Delete Path from the Paths palette menu.
• Click the Trash button at the bottom of the Paths
palette, and click Yes.
To delete a path without being asked to
confirm, Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click
(Mac OS) the Trash button at the bottom of the
Paths palette.
To convert a path to a selection border using the
current Make Selection settings:
1 Select the path in the Paths palette or select it in
the image using the direct selection tool ( ).
2 To convert the path, do one of the following:
• Click the Load Path as a Selection button (
at the bottom of the Paths palette.
)
• Ctrl-click (Windows) or Command-click
(Mac OS) the path thumbnail in the Paths palette.
To convert a path to a selection border and specify
settings:
1 To combine the path with a selection, first make
the selection using a selection tool.
2 Select the path in the Paths palette or select it in
the image using the direct selection tool ( ).
ADOBE PHOTOSHOP 6.0 181
User Guide
3 Start converting the path:
Converting selection borders to paths
• Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Mac OS)
Any selection made with a selection tool can be
defined as a path.
the Load Path as a Selection button (
bottom of the Paths palette.
) at the
• Choose Make Selection from the Paths
palette menu.
4 In the Make Selection dialog box, select a
Rendering option:
• Feather Radius to define how far inside and
outside the selection border the feather edge
extends. Enter a value in pixels.
• Anti-aliased to create a finer transition between
the pixels in the selection and the surrounding
pixels. Make sure the Feather Radius is set to 0.
For more information on these options,
see “Softening the edges of a selection” on
page 147.
5 Select an Operation option:
• New Selection to select only the area defined by
the path.
• Add to Selection to add the area defined by the
path to the original selection.
• Subtract from Selection to remove the area
defined by the path from the original selection.
• Intersect with Selection to select the area
common to both the path and the original
selection. If the path and selection do not overlap,
nothing is selected.
6 Click OK.
The Make Work Path command eliminates any
feathering applied to the selection. It can also alter
the shape of the selection, depending on the
complexity of the path and the tolerance value you
choose in the Make Work Path dialog box.
To convert a selection to a path:
1 Make the selection.
2 Start converting the selection:
• Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Mac OS)
the Make Work Path (
the Paths palette.
) button at the bottom of
• Choose Make Work Path from the Paths
palette menu.
• Click the Make Work Path button. This converts
the selection using the current settings (you can
skip steps 3 and 4).
3 Enter a Tolerance value or use the default value
in the Make Work Path dialog box.
Tolerance values can range from 0.5 to 10 pixels
and determine how sensitive the Make Work Path
command is to slight changes in the selection
shape. The higher the tolerance value, the fewer
the anchor points used to draw the path and the
smoother the path. If the path is used as a clipping
path and you have problems printing the image,
use a higher tolerance value. (See “Printing image
clipping paths” on page 370.)
4 Click OK. The converted selection appears as a
work path at the bottom of the Paths palette.
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Drawing and Editing
Adding color to paths
(Photoshop)
You can add color values to a path by filling or
stroking it. Filling a path is the same as creating a
rasterized shape using the shape tools.
(See “Creating rasterized shapes” on page 164.)
For more information, see “Filling paths
with color” and “Stroking to paint path
borders” in online Help.
Transforming and retouching
You can transform images in many ways.
For example, you can redefine an image’s
perspective; manipulate areas of an image as if the
pixels in those areas had been melted; scale, rotate,
or flip a selection or image in two dimensions;
and transform an object in three dimensions.
You can also apply filters to create special effects.
Tools for retouching an image include the clone
stamp, pattern stamp, smudge, blur, sharpen,
dodge, burn, and sponge tools.
For more information on transforming and
retouching an image, see “Transforming
and retouching” in online Help. For information
on filters, see “Applying filters for special effects” in
online Help.
7
185
Chapter 7: Using Channels and Masks
ach image in Adobe Photoshop has
channels that store information about the
image’s color. You can create additional
channels to store spot colors for printing with
special inks and to store masks for sophisticated
selections.
E
About channels
Photoshop uses special grayscale channels to store
an image’s color information and information
about spot colors. If an image has multiple layers,
each layer has its own set of color channels.
Color information channels are created
automatically when you open a new image.
The image’s color mode (not its number of layers)
determines the number of color channels created.
For example, an RGB image has four default
channels: one for each of the red, green, and blue
colors plus a composite channel used for editing
the image.
You can create alpha channels to store selections as
8-bit grayscale images. You use alpha channels to
create and store masks, which let you manipulate,
isolate, and protect specific parts of an image.
Saved selections in alpha channels can be loaded in
ImageReady. (See “Loading a selection into an
image” on page 201.)
In addition, you can create spot color channels to
specify additional plates for printing with spot
color inks. An image can have up to 24 channels,
including all color and alpha channels.
The file size required for a channel depends on
the pixel information in the channel. (See “About
image size and resolution” on page 92.) Certain
file formats, including TIFF and Photoshop
formats, compress channel information and
can save space. (See “Managing channels
(Photoshop)” on page 187.) The uncompressed
size of a file, including alpha channels and layers,
appears as the rightmost value in the status bar at
the bottom of the window when Document Sizes
is chosen from the pop-up menu.
Note: As long as you save a file in a format
supporting the image’s color mode, the color
channels are preserved. Alpha channels are preserved
only when you save a file in Adobe Photoshop, PDF,
PICT, TIFF, or Raw formats. DCS 2.0 format only
preserves spot channels. Saving in other formats may
cause channel information to be discarded.
(See “About file formats” on page 364.)
Using the Channels palette
(Photoshop)
The Channels palette lets you create and manage
channels and monitor the effects of editing.
The palette lists all channels in the image—
composite channel first (for RGB, CMYK, and Lab
images), then individual color channels, spot color
channels, and finally alpha channels. A thumbnail
of the channel’s contents appears to the left of the
channel name; the thumbnail automatically
updates as you edit the channel.
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Using Channels and Masks
Viewing channels
You can use the palette to view any combination of
individual channels. For example, you can view an
alpha channel and the composite channel together
to see how changes made in the alpha channel
relate to the entire image. By default, individual
channels are displayed in grayscale.
• In alpha channels, selected pixels appear as
white; unselected pixels appear as black (partially
transparent or selected pixels appear as gray).
These are the channel default options.
1 Choose Windows > Show Channels, or click the
Channels palette tab.
• If you display an alpha channel at the same time
as color channels, the alpha channel appears as a
transparent color overlay, analogous to a printer’s
rubylith or a sheet of acetate. To change the color
of this overlay or set other alpha channel options,
see “Creating alpha channels (Photoshop)” on
page 200.
2 Use the scroll bars or resize the palette to see
additional channels.
Changing the display of the palette
To display the Channels palette:
When a channel is visible in the image, an eye
icon ( ) appears to its left in the palette.
To show or hide a channel:
Click in the eye column next to the channel to
show or hide that channel. (Click the composite
channel to view all default color channels.
The composite channel is displayed whenever all
the color channels are visible.)
To show or hide multiple channels, drag
through the eye column in the Channels
palette.
These guidelines apply to channels you display:
• In RGB, CMYK, or Lab images, you can view the
individual channels in color. (In Lab images, only
the a and b channels appear in color.)
• If more than one channel is active, the channels
always appear in color.
You can show the individual color channels in
color (rather than grayscale) in the Channels
palette and specify the size of the thumbnails.
Using thumbnails is the most convenient way
of tracking channel contents; however, turning
off the display of thumbnails can improve
performance.
To show color channels in color:
1 Choose Edit > Preferences > Display & Cursors.
2 Select Color Channels in Color, and click OK.
To resize or hide channel thumbnails:
1 Choose Palette Options from the Channels
palette menu.
2 Select a display option:
• Click a thumbnail size. Smaller thumbnails
reduce the space required by the palette—helpful
when you’re working on smaller monitors.
• Click None to turn off the display of thumbnails.
3 Click OK.
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Selecting and editing channels
To change the order of alpha or spot channels:
You can select one or more channels in the
Channels palette. The names of all selected,
or active, channels are highlighted. Any editing
changes you make apply to the active channels.
Drag the channel up or down. When the heavy
black line appears in the position you want,
release the mouse button.
To select a channel:
Click the channel name. Shift-click to select
(or deselect) multiple channels.
To edit a channel:
Use a painting or editing tool to paint in the image.
Paint with white to add to the channel; paint with
black to remove from the channel; paint with a
lower opacity or a color to add to the channel with
lower opacities.
Managing channels (Photoshop)
You can rearrange channels, duplicate a channel
within or between images, split a channel into
separate images, merge channels from separate
images into one new image, and delete alpha and
spot channels when you’re finished with them.
Note: You can move spot channels above the default
color channels only if the image is in Multichannel
mode. You cannot move alpha channels above
color channels.
Duplicating channels
You might duplicate an image’s channel to make a
backup before editing the channel. Or you might
duplicate alpha channels to a new image to create
a library of selections to load into the current
image one by one—thus keeping the file smaller.
If you are duplicating alpha channels between
images, the channels must have identical pixel
dimensions. (See “Creating new images” on
page 100.)
Note: You cannot duplicate a channel to a
Bitmap-mode image.
To duplicate a channel using the Duplicate command:
1 In the Channels palette, select the channel
Changing the order of channels
to duplicate.
The default color channels normally appear at the
top of the Channels palette, followed by the spot
color channels, and then the alpha channels.
You cannot move the default channels, but you
can rearrange spot and alpha channels to suit the
way you work.
2 Choose Duplicate Channel from the Channels
palette menu.
Spot colors are overprinted in the order they
appear in the Channels palette.
3 Type a name for the duplicate channel.
4 For Document, do one of the following:
• Choose a destination. Only images with pixel
dimensions the same as the current image are
available. To duplicate the channel in the same file,
select the channel’s current file.
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• Choose New to copy the channel to a new image,
creating a multichannel image containing a single
channel. Type a name for the new image.
5 To reverse the selected and masked areas in the
duplicate channel, select Invert.
6 Click OK.
To duplicate a channel by dragging:
1 In the Channels palette, select the channel you
want to duplicate.
2 Do one of the following:
• To duplicate a channel within an image, drag the
channel into the image window or onto the New
Channel button ( ) at the bottom of the palette.
• To duplicate a channel to another image, make
sure that the destination image is open. Then drag
the channel into the destination image window.
Splitting channels into separate images
You can split the channels of a flattened image into
separate images. The original file is closed, and the
individual channels appear in separate grayscale
image windows. The title bars in the new windows
show the original filename plus the channel
abbreviation (Windows) or full name (Mac OS).
Any changes since the last save are retained in the
new images and lost in the original.
Splitting channels is useful when you want to
retain individual channel information in a file
format that doesn’t preserve channels.
Note: Only flattened images can be split.
(See “Flattening all layers” on page 248.)
To split channels into separate images:
Choose Split Channels from the Channels palette
menu.
Merging channels
Multiple grayscale images can be combined into a
single image. Some grayscale scanners let you scan
a color image through a red filter, a green filter,
and a blue filter to generate red, green, and blue
images. Merging lets you combine the separate
scans into a single, color image.
Note: You can also blend the data in one or more
channels into an existing or new channel.
(See “Mixing color channels (Photoshop)” on
page 190.)
The images you want to merge must be in
Grayscale mode, have the same pixel dimensions,
and be open. (See “Changing the pixel dimensions
of an image” on page 97.) The number of grayscale
images you have open determines the color modes
available when merging channels. For example,
you can’t merge the split channels from an RGB
image into a CMYK image, because CMYK
requires four channels and RGB requires only
three.
Note: If you are working with DCS files that have
accidentally lost their links (and so cannot be
opened, placed, or printed), open the channel files,
and merge them into a CMYK image. Then resave
the file as a DCS EPS file.
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To merge channels:
1 Open the grayscale images containing the
channels you want to merge, and make one of the
images active.
You must have more than one image opened for
the Merge Channels option to be available.
2 Choose Merge Channels from the Channels
The selected channels are merged into a new image
of the specified type, and the original images are
closed without any changes. The new image
appears in an untitled window.
Note: You cannot split and recombine (merge) an
image with spot color channels. The spot color
channel will be added as an alpha channel.
palette menu.
3 For Mode, choose the color mode you want to
create. If an image mode is unavailable, it is
dimmed. The number of channels appropriate for
the mode appears in the Channels text box.
4 If necessary, enter a number in the Channels
text box.
If you enter a number that is incompatible with the
selected mode, Multichannel mode is automatically selected. This creates a a multichannel image
with two or more channels.
5 Click OK.
6 For each channel, make sure the image you
want is open. If you change your mind about
image type, click Mode to return to the Merge
Channels dialog box.
7 If merging into a multichannel image, click
Next, and repeat step 6 to select the remaining
channels.
Note: All channels of a multichannel image are
alpha channels.
8 When you are finished selecting channels,
click OK.
Deleting channels
You may want to delete spot or alpha channels you
no longer need before saving an image. Complex
alpha channels can substantially increase the disk
space required for an image.
To delete a channel with no confirmation:
1 Select the channel in the Channels palette.
2 Do one of the following:
• Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Mac OS)
the Trash button ( ).
• Drag the channel name in the palette to the
Trash button.
• Choose Delete Channel from the Channels
palette menu.
To delete a channel with confirmation:
1 Select the channel in the Channels palette.
2 Click the Trash button ( ) at the bottom of the
palette. Then click Yes.
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When deleting a channel from a file with layers,
regardless of the method you use, Photoshop
prompts you first to flatten the visible layers and
discard hidden layers (if any) before deleting the
channel. This is done because removing a color
channel converts the image to Multichannel mode,
which does not support layers.
Mixing color channels
(Photoshop)
The Channel Mixer command lets you modify a
color channel using a mix of the current color
channels. With this command, you can do
the following:
• Make creative color adjustments not easily done
with the other color adjustment tools.
• Create high-quality grayscale images by
choosing the percentage contribution from each
color channel.
• Create high-quality sepia-tone or other tinted
images.
• Convert images to and from some alternative
color spaces, such as YCbCr.
• Swap or duplicate channels.
To mix color channels:
1 In the Channels palette, select the composite
color channel.
2 Choose Image > Adjust > Channel Mixer.
3 For Output Channel, choose the channel in
which to blend one or more existing (or source)
channels. (See “Restricting blending to channels
(Photoshop)” on page 223).
4 Drag any source channel’s slider to the left to
decrease the channel’s contribution to the output
channel or to the right to increase it, or enter a
value between –200% and +200% in the text box.
Using a negative value inverts the source channel
before adding it to the output channel.
5 Drag the slider or enter a value for the Constant
option. This option adds a channel of varying
opacity to the output channel—negative values act
as a black channel, positive values act as a white
channel.
6 Select Monochrome to apply the same settings
to all the output channels, creating a color image
that contains only gray values.
Use the Channel Mixer with the Monochrome
option applied to control the amount of detail
and contrast in the images you plan to convert to
grayscale.
If you select and then deselect the Monochrome
option, you can modify the blend of each channel
separately, creating a handtinted appearance.
7 Click OK.
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Adding spot colors (Photoshop)
Spot colors are special premixed inks used instead
of, or in addition to, the process color (CMYK)
inks. Each spot color requires its own plate on the
press. (Because a varnish requires a separate plate,
it is considered a spot color, too.) For information
on printing spot color plates, see “Printing color
separations” on page 389.
If you are planning to print an image with spot
colors, you need to create spot channels to store
the colors.
Note: To export spot channels, save the file in DCS
2.0 format or PDF. (See “Saving files in Photoshop
EPS or DCS format (Photoshop)” on page 359.)
• You cannot move spot colors above a default
channel in the Channels palette except in Multichannel mode.
• Spot colors cannot be applied to
individual layers.
• If you print an image that includes spot color
channels to a composite printer, the spot colors
print out as extra pages.
• You can merge spot channels with color
channels, splitting the spot color into its color
channel components. Merging spot channels lets
you print a single-page proof of your spot color
image on a desktop printer.
Creating spot channels
About spot colors
Note the following when working with spot colors:
• For spot color graphics that have crisp edges and
knock out the underlying image, consider creating
the additional artwork in a page-layout or illustration application.
• To apply spot color as a tint throughout an
image, convert the image to Duotone mode and
apply the spot color to one of the duotone plates.
You can use up to four spot colors, one per plate.
(See “Printing color separations” on page 389.)
• The names of the spot colors print on the
separations.
You can create a new spot channel or convert an
existing alpha channel to a spot channel.
To create a new spot channel:
1 Choose Window > Show Channels to display
the Channels palette.
2 To fill a selected area with a spot color, make or
load a selection.
3 Do one of the following to create a channel:
• Ctrl-click (Windows) or Command-click
(Mac OS) the New Channel button ( ) in the
Channels palette.
• Spot colors are overprinted on top of the fully
• Choose New Spot Channel from the Channels
palette menu.
composited image. Each spot color is overprinted
in the order it appears in the Channels palette.
If you made a selection, that area is filled with the
currently specified spot color.
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4 Click the color box, and choose a color.
For more information, see “Using the
Adobe Color Picker” in online Help.
If you select a custom color, your print service
provider can more easily provide the proper ink to
reproduce the image.
For more information, see “Choosing
custom colors (Photoshop)” in online Help.
5 For Solidity, enter a value between 0%
and 100%.
This option lets you simulate on-screen the
solidity of the printed spot color. A value of 100%
simulates an ink that completely covers the inks
beneath (such as a metallic ink); 0% simulates a
transparent ink that completely reveals the inks
beneath (such as a clear varnish). You can also use
this option to see where an otherwise transparent
spot color (such as a varnish) will appear.
Note: The Solidity and color choice options affect
only the on-screen preview. They have no effect on
the printed output.
6 To enter a name for the spot channel, choose a
custom color in step 4, and the channel automatically takes the name of that color.
Be sure to name spot colors so they’ll be recognized by other applications reading your file.
Otherwise the file might not print.
7 Click OK.
To convert an alpha channel to a spot channel:
1 Double-click the alpha channel in the
Channels palette.
2 If needed, rename the channel.
3 Select Spot Color.
4 Click the color box, and choose a color in the
Color Picker dialog box.
For more information, see “Using the
Adobe Color Picker” in online Help.
5 Click OK. The areas of the channel containing
grayscale values are converted to spot color.
6 Choose Image > Adjust > Invert to apply the
color to the selected area of the channel.
Modifying spot channels
You can edit a spot channel to add or remove color
in it, change a spot channel’s color or on-screen
color solidity, and merge a spot channel with the
image’s color channels.
For information on rearranging, duplicating, or
deleting spot channels, see “Managing channels
(Photoshop)” on page 187.
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To edit a spot channel:
1 Select the spot channel in the Channels palette.
2 Use a painting or editing tool to paint in the
image. Paint with black to add more spot color at
100% opacity; paint with gray to add spot color
with lower opacity.
Note: Unlike the Solidity option in the Spot Channel
Options dialog box, the Opacity option in the
painting or editing tool’s options determines the
actual density of ink used in the printed output.
To change a spot channel’s options:
1 Do one of the following:
• Double-click the spot channel name in the
Channels palette.
• Select the spot channel in the Channels palette,
and choose Channel Options from the palette
menu.
2 Click the color box, and choose a color.
For more information, see “Using the
Adobe Color Picker” in online Help.
By selecting a custom color, your print service can
more easily provide the proper ink to reproduce
the image.
For more information, see “Choosing
custom colors (Photoshop)” in online Help.
3 For Solidity, enter a value between 0%
and 100%.
This option lets you simulate on-screen the
solidity of the printed spot color. A value of 100%
simulates an ink that completely covers the inks
beneath (such as a metallic ink); 0% simulates a
transparent ink that completely reveals the inks
beneath (such as a clear varnish). You can also use
this option to see where an otherwise transparent
spot color (such as a varnish) will appear.
Note: The Solidity option affects only the on-screen
preview. It has no effect on the printed output.
4 Click OK.
To merge spot channels:
1 Select the spot channel in the Channels palette.
2 Choose Merge Spot Channel from the
palette menu.
The spot color is converted to and merged with the
color channels. The spot channel is deleted from
the palette.
Merging spot channels flattens layered images.
The merged composite reflects the preview spot
color information, including the Solidity settings.
For example, a spot channel with a solidity of 50%
will produce different merged results than the
same channel with a solidity of 100%.
In addition, the resulting merged spot channels
usually don’t reproduce the same colors as the
original spot channels, because CMYK inks can’t
represent the range of colors available from spot
color inks.
Adjusting overlapping spot colors
To prevent overlapping spot colors from either
printing over or knocking out the underlying
spot color, remove one of the spot colors where
they overlap.
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Use a printed sample of the overprinted inks to
adjust your screen display to help you predict how
colors will look when printed.
Note: In some cases, such as varnish and bump
plates, you may want colors to overprint.
To adjust overlapping spot colors:
1 In the Channels palette, select the spot channel
with the color you want to print.
2 Choose Select > Load Selection.
To quickly select an image in a channel, hold
down Ctrl (Windows) or Command
(Mac OS), and click the channel in the
Channels palette.
3 For Channel, choose the spot channel from
step 1, and click OK.
4 To create a trap when knocking out the
underlying color, choose Select > Modify >
Expand or Contract, depending on whether the
overlapping spot color is darker or lighter than the
spot color beneath it. For more information on
trapping, see “Creating color traps” on page 384.
5 In the Channels palette, select the underlying
spot channel that contains areas you want to
knock out. Press Backspace (Windows) or Delete
(Mac OS).
This method can be used to knock out areas
from any channels under a spot color, such as
the CMYK channels.
6 If a spot color in one channel overlaps more
than one other spot color, repeat this process for
each channel that contains areas you want
removed.
Using channel calculations to
blend layers and channels
(Photoshop)
You can use the blending effects associated with
layers to combine channels within and between
images into new images using the Apply Image
command (on single and composite channels)
and the Calculations command (on single
channels). These commands offer two additional
blending modes not available in the Layers
palette—Add and Subtract. Although it’s possible
to create new combinations of channels by
copying channels into layers in the Layers palette,
you may find it quicker to use the calculation
commands to blend channel information.
The calculation commands perform mathematical
operations on the corresponding pixels of two
channels (the pixels with identical locations on the
image) and then combine the results in a single
channel. Two concepts are fundamental to understanding how the calculation commands work.
• Each pixel in a channel has a brightness value
from 0 (off or black) to 255 (on or white).
The Calculations and Apply Image commands
manipulate these values to produce the resulting
composite pixels.
• These commands overlay the pixels in two or
more channels. Thus, the images used for
calculations must have the same pixel dimensions.
(See “Changing image size and resolution” on
page 95 for information on adjusting an image’s
pixel dimensions.)
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Using the Apply Image command
7 Enter an opacity to specify the effect’s strength.
The Apply Image command lets you blend one
image’s layer and channel (the source) with a layer
and channel of the active image (the destination).
8 Select Preserve Transparency to apply the
results only to opaque areas in the result layer.
To use the Apply Image command:
1 Open the source and destination images, and
select the desired layer and channel in the destination image. The pixel dimensions of the images
must match for image names to appear in the
Apply Image dialog box.
Note: If the color modes of the two images differ
(for example, one image is RGB and the other is
CMYK), you can copy a single channel to another
channel between images, but you cannot copy a
composite channel to a composite channel in
another image.
2 Choose Image > Apply Image.
3 Choose the source image, layer, and channel
you want to combine with the destination.
To use all layers in the source image, select Merged
for Layer.
4 Select Preview to preview the results in the
image window.
5 Select Invert to use the negative of the channel
contents in the calculation.
6 For Blending, choose a blending option.
For information on the Add and Subtract options,
see “About the Add and Subtract blending modes”
on page 196.
For information on other blending
options, see “Selecting a blending mode”
in online Help.
9 Select Mask if you want to apply the blending
through a mask. Then choose the image and layer
containing the mask. For Channel, you can choose
any color or alpha channel to use as the mask.
You can also use a mask based on the active
selection or the boundaries of the chosen layer
(Transparency). Select Invert to reverse the
masked and unmasked areas of the channel.
(See “Using channel calculations to blend layers
and channels (Photoshop)” on page 194.)
10 Click OK.
Using the Calculations command
The Calculations command lets you blend two
individual channels from one or more source
images. You can then apply the results to a new
image or to a new channel or selection in the active
image. You cannot apply the Calculations
command to composite channels.
To use the Calculations command:
1 Open the source image or images. The pixel
dimensions of the images must match for image
names to appear in the Calculations dialog box.
2 Choose Image > Calculations.
3 Select Preview to preview the results in the
image window.
4 Choose the first source image, layer, and
channel. To use all the layers in the source image,
choose Merged for Layer.
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5 Select Invert to use the negative of the channel
contents in the calculation. For Channel, choose
Gray to get the same effect as would be obtained by
converting the image to a grayscale image.
6 Choose the second source image, layer, and
channel, specifying further options as described in
step 5.
7 For Blending, choose a blending mode.
For information on the Add and Subtract modes,
see “About the Add and Subtract blending modes”
on page 196.
For information on other blending
modes, see “Selecting a blending mode”
in online Help.
8 Enter an opacity to specify the effect’s strength.
9 Select Mask if you want to apply the blending
through a mask. Then choose the image and layer
containing the mask. For Channel, you can choose
any color or alpha channel to use as the mask.
You can also use a mask based on the active
selection or the boundaries of the chosen layer
(Transparency). Select Invert to reverse the
masked and unmasked areas of the channel.
10 For Result, specify whether to place the
blending results in a new document, or in a new
channel or selection in the active image.
11 Click OK.
About the Add and Subtract blending
modes
The Add and Subtract blending modes are
available only for the Apply Image and Calculations commands.
Add Adds the pixel values in two channels. This is
a good way to combine nonoverlapping images in
two channels.
Because higher pixel values represent lighter
colors, adding channels with overlapping pixels
lightens the image. Black areas in both channels
remain black (0 + 0 = 0). White in either channel
results in white (255 + any value = 255 or greater).
Add mode divides the sum of the pixel values by
the Scale amount and then adds the Offset value to
the sum. For example, if you wanted to find the
average of the pixels in two channels, you would
add them, divide by 2, and enter no Offset value.
The Scale factor may be any number between
1.000 and 2.000. Entering a higher Scale value
darkens the image.
The Offset value lets you lighten or darken the
pixels in the destination channel by any brightness
value between +255 and –255. Negative values
darken the image; positive values lighten the
image.
Subtract Subtracts the pixel values in the source
channel from the corresponding pixels in the
target channel. As with Add mode, the result is
then divided by the Scale factor and added to the
Offset value.
The Scale factor may be any number between
1.000 and 2.000. The Offset value lets you lighten
or darken the pixels in the destination channel by
any brightness value between +255 and –255.
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About masks (Photoshop)
Masks let you isolate and protect areas of an image
as you apply color changes, filters, or other effects
to the rest of the image. When you select part of an
image, the area that is not selected is “masked” or
protected from editing. You can also use masks for
complex image editing such as gradually applying
color or filter effects to an image.
In addition, masks let you save and reuse timeconsuming selections as alpha channels. (Alpha
channels can be converted to selections and then
used for image editing.) Because masks are stored
as 8-bit grayscale channels, you can refine and
edit them using the full array of painting and
editing tools.
When a mask channel is selected in the Channels
palette, foreground and background colors appear
as grayscale values. (See “Creating temporary
masks in Quick Mask mode (Photoshop)” on
page 197.)
A
B
C
A. Opaque mask used to protect the background and color
the shell. B. Opaque mask used to protect the shell and color
the background. C. Semitransparent mask used to color the
background and part of the shell.
In Photoshop, you can create masks, all stored
at least temporarily as grayscale channels, in the
following ways:
• Quick Mask mode lets you create and view a
temporary mask for an image. Temporary masks
are useful when you don’t want to save the mask
for later use. (See “Creating temporary masks in
Quick Mask mode (Photoshop)” on page 197.)
• Alpha channels let you save and load a selection
to be used as a mask. (See “Storing masks in alpha
channels” on page 199.)
• Layer masks and layer clipping paths let you
produce a mix of soft and hard masking edges on
the same layer. By making changes to the layer
mask or the layer clipping path, you can apply a
variety of special effects. (See “Hiding portions of
a layer” on page 237.)
Creating temporary masks in
Quick Mask mode (Photoshop)
Quick Mask mode lets you edit any selection as a
mask without using the Channels palette and
while viewing your image. The advantage of
editing your selection as a mask is that you can use
almost any Photoshop tool or filter to modify the
mask. For example, if you create a rectangular
selection with the marquee tool, you can enter
Quick Mask mode and use the paintbrush to
extend or contract the selection, or you can use a
filter to distort the edges of the selection. You can
also use selection tools, because the quick mask is
not a selection.
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Start with a selected area and use Quick Mask
mode to add to or subtract from it to make the
mask. Alternatively, create the mask entirely in
Quick Mask mode. Color differentiates the
protected and unprotected areas. When you leave
Quick Mask mode, the unprotected areas become
a selection.
A temporary Quick Mask channel appears in the
Channels palette while you work in Quick Mask
mode. However, you do all mask editing in the
image window.
shrinking the selection. Painting with white
removes areas from the mask, expanding the
selection. Painting with gray or another color
creates a semitransparent area, useful for feathering or anti-aliased effects.
4 Click the Standard mode button ( ) in the
toolbox to turn off the quick mask and return to
your original image. A selection border now
surrounds the unprotected area of the quick mask.
1 Using any selection tool, select the part of the
image you want to change.
If a feathered mask is converted to a selection, the
boundary line runs halfway between the black
pixels and the white pixels of the mask gradient.
The selection boundary indicates the pixels
transition from being less than 50% selected to
more than 50% selected.
2 Click the Quick Mask mode button (
toolbox.
5 Apply the desired changes to the image.
Changes affect only the selected area.
To create a temporary mask:
) in the
6 Choose Select > Deselect to deselect the
selection, or save the selection.
To change the Quick Mask options:
1 Double-click the Quick Mask mode
button ( ) in the toolbox.
Selected area, and Quick Mask mode applied
A color overlay (similar to a rubylith) covers and
protects the area outside the selection. The
original selection is left unprotected by this mask.
By default, Quick Mask mode colors the protected
area using a red, 50% opaque overlay.
3 To edit the mask, select a painting or editing
tool from the toolbox, or select a filter or
adjustment command from the menu bar.
By default, painting with black adds to the mask,
2 Choose from the following display options:
• Masked Areas (the default) to have masked
(protected or unselected) areas appear black
(opaque) and to have selected areas appear white
(transparent). Painting with black increases the
masked, protected area; painting with white
increases the selected area.
With this option, the Quick Mask button in the
toolbox appears as a white circle on a gray
background ( ).
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• Selected Areas to have masked or protected areas
appear white (transparent) and to have selected
areas appear black (opaque). Painting with white
increases the masked, protected area; painting
with black increases the selected area.
With this option, the Quick Mask button in the
toolbox appears as a gray circle on a white
background ( ).
To toggle between the Masked Areas and
Selected Areas options for quick masks, Alt-click
(Windows) or Option-click (Mac OS) the Quick
Mask mode button.
3 To choose a new mask color, click the color box,
and choose a new color.
For more information, see “Using the
Adobe Color Picker” in online Help.
4 To change the opacity, enter a value between 0%
and 100%.
Both the color and opacity settings affect only the
appearance of the mask and have no effect on how
underlying areas are protected. Changing these
settings may make the mask more easily visible
against the colors in the image.
Storing masks in alpha channels
In addition to the temporary masks of Quick Mask
mode, you can create more permanent masks by
storing them in alpha channels. This allows you to
use the masks again in the same image or in a
different image.
You can create an alpha channel in Photoshop and
then add a mask to it. You can also save an existing
selection in a Photoshop or ImageReady image as
an alpha channel that will appear in the Channels
palette in Photoshop.
About alpha channels (Photoshop)
An alpha channel has these properties:
• Each image (except 16-bit images) can contain
up to 24 channels, including all color and alpha
channels.
• All channels are 8-bit grayscale images, capable
of displaying 256 levels of gray.
• You can specify a name, color, mask option,
and opacity for each channel. (The opacity affects
the preview of the channel, not the image.)
5 Click OK.
• All new channels have the same dimensions and
number of pixels as the original image.
You can convert this temporary mask to a
permanent alpha channel by switching to standard
mode and choosing Select > Save Selection.
• You can edit the mask in an alpha channel using
the painting and editing tools.
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Creating alpha channels (Photoshop)
You can create a new alpha channel and then use
painting or editing tools to add the mask to it.
To create an alpha channel using current options:
1 Click the New Channel button ( ) at the
bottom of the Channels palette. The new channel
is named according to the sequence in which it
was created.
5 Click the eye icon ( ) next to a color channel or
the composite color channel to display the image
with a color overlay.
6 Use a painting or editing tool to paint in the
image. Paint with black to add to the new channel,
paint with white to remove from the new channel,
or paint with a lower opacity or a color to add to
the new channel with lower opacities.
2 Use a painting or editing tool to paint in the
Saving a mask selection
image. Paint with black to add to the channel;
paint with white to remove from the channel;
paint with a lower opacity or a color to add to the
channel with lower opacities.
You can save any selection as a mask in a new or
existing alpha channel.
To create an alpha channel and specify options:
1 Do one of the following:
1 Select the area or areas of the image that you
want to isolate.
• Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Mac OS)
2 Click the Save Selection button ( ) at the
the New Channel button ( ) at the bottom of
the palette.
bottom of the Channels palette. A new channel
appears, named according to the sequence in
which it was created.
• Choose New Channel from the Channels
palette menu.
2 Type a name for the channel.
3 Select display options for the channel, as
described in steps 2 through 4 of the procedure for
changing Quick Mask options in “Creating
temporary masks in Quick Mask mode
(Photoshop)” on page 197. Alpha channel options
are identical to Quick Mask options.
4 Click OK. A new channel appears at the bottom
of the Channels palette and is the only channel
visible in the image window.
To save a selection to a new channel with default
options (Photoshop):
To save a selection to a new or existing channel:
1 Select the area or areas of the image that you
want to isolate.
2 Choose Select > Save Selection.
3 In the Save Selection dialog box, choose a
destination image for the selection in the
Document menu.
By default, the selection is placed in a channel in
your active image. You can choose to save the
selection to a channel in another open image with
the same pixel dimensions or to a new image.
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4 In the Channel menu, choose a destination
channel for the selection.
By default, the selection is saved in a new channel.
You can choose to save the selection to any existing
channel in the selected image or to a layer mask if
the image contains layers.
5 If you’re saving the selection to an existing
channel, select how to combine the selections:
• Replace Channel to replace the current selection
in the channel.
• Add to Channel to add the selection to the
current channel contents.
• Subtract from Channel to delete the selection
from the channel contents.
• Intersect with Channel to keep the areas of the
new selection that intersect with the channel
contents.
6 Click OK.
In Photoshop, you can select the channel in the
Channels palette to see the saved selection
displayed in grayscale. A selection saved in
ImageReady will appear in a new or existing
channel in the Photoshop Channels palette.
To edit an alpha channel:
Use a painting or editing tool to paint in the image.
Paint with black to add to the channel, paint with
white to remove from the channel, or paint with a
lower opacity or a color to add to the channel with
lower opacities.
To change an alpha channel’s options:
1 Do one of the following:
• Select the channel in the Channels palette, and
choose Channel Options from the palette menu.
• Double-click the channel name in the
Channels palette.
2 Enter a new name for the channel.
3 Choose display options, as described in steps 2
through 4 of the procedure on Quick Mask
options in “Creating temporary masks in Quick
Mask mode (Photoshop)” on page 197.
See “Modifying spot channels” on page 192 for
information on changing Spot Color channel
options.
Note: You cannot modify options for the default color
channels.
Modifying alpha channels (Photoshop)
Loading a selection into an image
You can edit an alpha channel to add or remove
color in it, and you can specify settings for the
masking colors and opacity.
You can reuse a previously saved selection by
loading it into an image. In Photoshop, you can
also load the selection into an image when you
have finished modifying an alpha channel.
See “Managing channels (Photoshop)” on
page 187 for information on rearranging, duplicating, or deleting alpha channels.
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To load a saved selection using shortcuts
(Photoshop):
Do one of the following in the Channels palette:
• Select the alpha channel, click the Load Selection
button (
) at the bottom of the palette, and then
click the composite color channel near the top of
the palette.
• Ctrl-click (Windows) or Command-click
(Mac OS) the channel containing the selection you
want to load.
• To add the mask to an existing selection,
press Ctrl+Shift (Windows) or Command+Shift
(Mac OS), and click the channel.
• To subtract the mask from an existing selection,
press Ctrl+Alt (Windows) or Command+Option
(Mac OS), and click the channel.
• To load the intersection of the saved selection
and an existing selection, press Ctrl+Alt+Shift
(Windows) or Command+Option+Shift
(Mac OS), and select the channel.
To load a saved selection into an image (Photoshop):
1 Choose Select > Load Selection. For Document,
the active filename is selected.
2 For Channel, choose the channel containing the
selection you want to load.
3 Click Invert to make the nonselected areas
selected and vice versa.
4 If the destination image already has a selection,
indicate how to combine the selections. (For information on these options, see “Saving a mask
selection” on page 200.)
5 Click OK.
To load a saved selection into an image (ImageReady):
Choose Select > Load Selection, then choose an
option from the submenu.
To load a selection from another image (Photoshop):
1 Open the two images you want to use.
Note: The images must have identical pixel dimensions. (See “Changing the pixel dimensions of an
image” on page 97.)
2 Make the destination image active, and choose
Select > Load Selection.
3 For Document, choose the source image.
4 For Channel, choose the channel containing the
selection you want to use as a mask.
5 Click Invert if you want to make the nonselected
areas selected and vice versa.
6 If the destination image already has a selection,
indicate how to combine the selections. (For information on these options, see “Saving a mask
selection” on page 200.)
7 Click OK.
8
205
Chapter 8: Using Layers
hen you create, import, or scan an
image in Adobe Photoshop or
Adobe ImageReady, the image consists
of a single layer. You can add more layers to the
image, allowing you to organize your work into
distinct levels.
W
you can see through to the layers below. All layers
in a file have the same resolution, start with the
same number of channels, and have the same
image mode (RGB, CMYK, or Grayscale).
About layers
A new image in Photoshop or ImageReady has a
single layer. In Photoshop, this layer is called the
background layer and is analogous to the base layer
of a painting. You cannot change the position of
the background layer in the stacking order (it is
always at the bottom of the stacking order); nor
can you apply a blending mode or opacity to a
background layer (unless you first convert it to a
normal layer).
The zebra is on the topmost layer.
Layers allow you to make changes to an image
without altering your original image data.
For example, you might store photographs or
elements of photographs on separate layers and
then combine them into one composite image.
Think of layers as sheets of acetate stacked one on
top of the other. Where there is no image on a layer
(that is, in places where the layer is transparent),
Transparent areas on a layer let you see through
to the layers below.
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You can draw, edit, paste, and reposition elements
on one layer without disturbing the others.
Until you combine, or merge, the layers, each layer
remains independent of the others in the image.
This means you can experiment freely with
graphics, type, opacities, and blending modes.
Photoshop and ImageReady support normal
layers and text layers. Additionally, Photoshop
supports adjustment and fill layers. You can apply
sophisticated effects to layers using masks, layer
clipping paths, and layer styles. In ImageReady,
you can also use layers to create rollover states and
animations.
When you transfer a layered image between
Photoshop and ImageReady, all layers, layer
masks, layer clipping paths, layer styles,
and adjustment layers are preserved. Although
adjustment layers and fill layers can be applied
and edited only in Photoshop, they can be
viewed in ImageReady. Layer clipping paths
can be created with either Photoshop or
ImageReady, but Photoshop provides more
support for editing them.
About layer sets
Layer sets help you organize and manage
contiguous layers. You can expand a layer set to
display the layers it contains or collapse it to reduce
clutter. You can also use layer sets to apply masks
to groups of layers.
Layer sets function like layers; you can view, select,
duplicate, move, or change the stacking order of
layers in a set the same way you do layers. You can
easily move layers into and out of layer sets, or
create new layers within a layer set; however, you
cannot nest layers, that is, create or move one layer
set within another. Additionally, you cannot apply
a layer effect to a layer set or use a layer set as the
base for a clipping group.
Using the Layers palette
You can use the Layers palette to create, hide,
display, duplicate, merge, link, lock, and delete
layers. The Layers palette lists all layers and layer
sets in an image, starting with the topmost layer.
A thumbnail of the layer’s contents appears next to
the layer name. The thumbnail is updated as you
edit. You can make changes only to the active layer,
and only one layer can be active at a time.
When you move or transform the active layer,
those changes also affect any layers linked to it.
Additionally, you can fully or partially lock layers
to protect their contents.
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You can also use the Layers palette to apply layer
masks and layer clipping paths to a layer. You can
also apply layer styles to a layer and create
adjustment layers or fill layers. You can use a
clipping group to act as a mask for a group of
layers or to specify a blending mode for a group
of layers.
To view the Layers palette:
1 Choose Window > Show Layers, or click the
Layers palette tab.
2 Use the scroll bars, or resize the palette to see
additional layers.
3 Click the arrow ( ) to expand or collapse layer
sets and layer effects such as drop shadows, glows,
beveling, and embossing. (See “Using layer styles”
on page 226.)
A
Viewing and selecting layers
B
C
D
I
E
F
J
K
G
L
H
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
A. Layer lock options (from left to right): Transparency,
Image, Position, All B. Layer set C. Clipping group
D. Text layer E. Show/Hide F. Base of clipping group
G. Paintbrush icon H. Link/Unlink I. Fully locked layer
J. Show/Hide layer style K. Effects bar L. Selected layer
M. Partially locked layer N. New layer styles O. New layer
mask P. New layer set Q. New adjustment or fill layer
R. New layer S. Trash
Viewing the Layers palette
You can use the Windows menu to display the
Layers palette, and use the palette tab to bring it to
the front of the group of palettes.
With the Layers palette, you can control whether
or not a layer, layer set, or layer effect is visible;
whether or not a preview or thumbnail of a layer’s
contents is displayed; and also how transparency is
displayed. Turning off thumbnails can improve
performance and save monitor space. You can also
color code layers to easily locate related layers or
serve as a reminder of changes you need to make.
Select a layer to make it the active layer; changes
you make affect the active layer.
To show or hide a layer, layer set, or layer effect:
Do one of the following:
• In the Layers palette, click the eye icon ( ) next
to a layer, layer set, or layer effect to hide that layer,
layer set, or layer effect. Click in the column again
to redisplay the layer, layer set, or layer effect.
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• Drag through the eye column to show or hide
multiple layers or layer effects. You can drag
through the eye column next to the layers or layer
sets to show or hide them. You can also drag
through the eye column next to layer effects
applied to a layer to show or hide them.
• Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Mac OS)
the eye icon for a layer to display just that layer.
Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Mac OS) in
the eye column again to redisplay all the layers.
To change the display of layer thumbnails:
1 Choose Palette Options from the Layers palette
menu.
2 Select a display option:
• Click a thumbnail size. Smaller thumbnails
reduce the space required by the palette—helpful
when you’re working on smaller monitors.
• Click None to turn off the display of thumbnails.
3 Click OK.
Only visible layers are printed. Making layers
temporarily invisible can improve performance.
Layer sets do not have thumbnails.
Note: You can make the active layer invisible.
Keep in mind, however, that changes still affect
the layer.
To change the transparency display:
To select a layer:
You can specify how transparent areas of a
document are displayed while you are editing it.
1 Do one of the following:
Do one of the following:
• (Photoshop) Choose Edit > Preferences >
Transparency & Gamut.
• In the Layers palette, click a layer or layer set to
make it active.
• (ImageReady) Choose Edit > Preference >
• Select the move tool ( ), right-click (Windows)
or Control-click (Mac OS) in the image,
and choose the layer you want from the context
menu. The context menu lists all the layers that
contain pixels under the current pointer location.
(For information on selecting layers interactively
with the move tool, see “Moving selections and
layers within an image” on page 149.)
The name of the active layer appears in the title bar
of the image window, and a paintbrush ( )
appears next to the layer in the Layers palette.
Transparency.
By default, the transparent areas of a document
appear as a checkerboard pattern.
2 For Grid Size, choose a new size for the pattern.
Choose None to show the transparent areas in the
layer as white.
3 For Grid Colors, choose an option:
• Light, Medium, or Dark to specify a gray pattern.
• Any other color from the list to display the
checkerboard in that color.
• Custom to choose a color that does not appear in
the list. Then click either of the color selection
boxes to specify a custom color.
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4 (Photoshop) Select Use Video Alpha to enable
Photoshop to send transparency information to
your computer’s video board. This option requires
hardware support—make sure that your
computer’s video board allows images to be
overlaid on top of a live video signal. Selecting this
option without hardware support produces
unpredictable results.
5 Click OK.
Changing the stacking order of layers
The stacking order determines whether a layer or
layer set appears in front of or behind other layers.
Note that you cannot drag a layer set into another
layer set or drag layer effects below the
background. For more information about the
stacking order in layers, see “Grouping layers into
sets” on page 213.
To change the order of a layer:
1 In the Layers palette, select the layer or layer set
that you want to move.
2 Choose Layer > Arrange, and choose an option
from the submenu:
• Bring to Front to make the layer the
topmost layer.
• Bring Forward to move the layer one level up in
the stacking order.
• Send Backward to move the layer one level down
To change the order of layers by dragging:
1 In the Layers palette, select the layer or the layer
set you want to move.
2 Drag the layer up or down in the Layers palette.
When the highlighted line appears in the desired
position, release the mouse button.
Note: By default, the background cannot be moved
from the bottom of the layer list unless it is first
converted to a layer. (See the procedure to convert a
background into a layer in “Adding layers” on
page 210.)
Linking layers
By linking two or more layers, you can move their
contents together. You can link layers outside a
layer set to each other, to a layer within a layer set,
or to the entire layer set. You can also link a layer in
a layer set to a layer contained in another layer set
or to a layer that is not part of a layer set. Once you
link to a layer set, the layers within the layer set are
implicitly linked.
By linking layers and layer sets, you can move their
contents together. You can also perform the
following tasks on linked layers and layers in a set:
• Apply transformations.
For more information, see “Transforming
objects in two dimensions” in online Help.
• Align layer contents. (See “Moving and aligning
in the stacking order.
the contents of layers” on page 214.)
• Send to Back to make the layer the bottommost
• Merge layers. (See “Merging layers” on
page 247.)
layer in the image (except for the background).
• Create clipping groups. (See “Creating clipping
groups” on page 218.)
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• Create layer sets from linked layers.
(See “Linking layers” on page 209.)
• Rasterize linked layers. (See “Simplifying layers”
on page 245.)
To link layers:
1 Select a layer or layer set in the Layers palette.
2 Click in the column immediately to the left of
any layers you want to link to the selected layer.
A link icon ( ) appears in the column. When you
link to a layer set, the layers contained in the layer
set are implicitly linked and display a dimmed
link icon ( ).
To unlink layers:
In the Layers palette, click the link icons to
remove them.
Adding layers
Newly added layers and layer sets appear above the
selected layer in the Layers palette. You can add
layers to an image in a variety of ways:
• By creating new layers or converting selections
into layers.
• By converting a background to a layer or adding
a background to an image.
• By placing, dragging and dropping, or pasting
selections or entire images into the image.
(See “Duplicating layers” on page 211.)
• By creating type using the type tool.
(See “Creating type” on page 251.)
• By using the shape or pen tools to create
a new layer that contains a layer clipping path.
(See “Drawing shapes and paths” on page 161.)
To add a new layer or layer set using default options:
Creating a layered image
You can create a maximum of 8000 combined
layers, layer sets, and layer effects per image,
each with its own blending mode and opacity.
However, the amount of memory in your system
may limit the number of layers possible in a single
image. Because each layer, layer set, and layer effect
takes up part of that maximum value, a realistic
maximum value would be closer to 1000 layers.
Note: Images created using the Transparent option
in the New dialog box are created without a
background. Images with no background—even if
they only contain a single layer—are considered to
be layered images. Thus, like all layered images,
they can only be saved in Photoshop, PDF, or TIFF
format.
Click the New Layer button ( ) or New Layer Set
button ( ) at the bottom of the Layers palette. The
layer defaults to Normal mode with 100% opacity
and is named according to its order of creation.
The layer set defaults to Pass Through mode.
To add a new layer or layer set and specify options:
1 Do one of the following:
• Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Mac OS)
the New Layer button or New Layer Set button at
the bottom of the Layers palette.
• Ctrl-click (Windows) or Command-click
(Mac OS) the New Layer button or New Layer Set
button at the bottom of the Layers palette to add a
layer below the currently selected layer.
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2 Name the layer, and select mode, opacity, and,
in some cases, fill options. (See “Specifying layer
properties” on page 219.) Then click OK.
You can also use the New Layer and New Layer Set
commands in the Layer menu and the Layers
palette menu to add layers.
To convert a selection into a new layer:
1 Make a selection.
2 Do one of the following:
• Choose Layer > New > Layer Via Copy to copy
the selection into a new layer.
• Choose Layer > New > Layer Via Cut to cut the
selection and paste it into a new layer.
The selection contents appear in the same position
relative to the image boundaries.
Duplicating layers
You can duplicate any layer (including the
background) or any layer set within the same
image. You can also duplicate any layer or layer set
from one image to another.
When duplicating between images, keep in mind
that the resulting size of the duplicated layer
depends on the resolution of the destination
image. For example, if the source image has a
lower resolution than the destination image,
the duplicated layer will appear smaller in the
destination image and when printed. (See “About
image size and resolution” on page 92.)
To duplicate and name a layer in an image:
1 Select the layer or layer set in the Layers palette.
1 Do one of the following:
2 Press Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) and
drag the layer name in the layers palette to the New
Layer button ( ) or the New Layer Set button ( )
at the bottom of the palette.
• Choose Layer > Layer from Background.
3 (Photoshop) Name the duplicate layer or layer
• Double-click Background in the Layers palette.
set, and click OK.
2 Enter a name, opacity, and mode for the layer.
(See “Specifying layer properties” on page 219.)
You can also duplicate layers using the commands
in the Layer menu and the Layers palette menu.
3 Click OK.
To duplicate a layer or layer set without naming:
To convert a background into a layer:
To add a background to an image (Photoshop):
1 Add a layer. (See “Adding layers” on page 210.)
2 Choose Layer > New > Background from Layer
to create a background layer from the selected
layer.
You cannot change the stacking order of the
background or apply a blending mode or opacity.
Drag the layer name in the Layers palette to the
New Layer button ( ) or New Layer Set
button ( ) at the bottom of the palette. The new
layer is named according to its order of creation.
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To copy a layer or layer set between images:
1 Make sure that both the source and destination
images are open.
2 In the Layers palette of the source image,
select the name of the layer or layer set that you
want to copy.
3 Do one of the following:
• For layers, drag the layer’s name from the Layers
palette into the destination image.
• Use the move tool ( ) to drag the layer or layer
set from the source image to the destination
image. The copied layer appears in the destination
image where you release the mouse button
(and above the active layer in the Layers palette).
If the layer you’re dragging is larger than the
destination image, only part of the layer is visible,
but its contents remain available. Use the move
tool to drag other sections of the layer into view.
Hold down Shift as you drag a layer to copy it
in the same position it occupied in the source
image (if the source and destination images have the
same pixel dimensions) or to the center of the destination image (if the source and destination images
have different pixel dimensions).
To copy a layer’s contents and paste them into another
image:
1 Choose Select > All to select all of the pixels on
the layer that fall inside the canvas boundaries.
2 Choose Edit > Copy.
Select a target layer in the destination image, and
choose Edit > Paste. The contents of the clipboard
are centered in the image. (Only the information
inside the canvas boundaries is copied.)
To copy multiple layers or layer sets into another
image:
1 Make sure that both the source and destination
images are open, and select one of the layers or
layer sets you want to copy.
2 If not already linked, in the Layers palette, click
in the column immediately to the left of any
additional layers you want to move. The link icon
appears in the column.
3 Use the move tool ( ) to drag the linked layers
or layer set from the source image to the destination image.
To duplicate a layer into another image or a new
image:
1 If you are duplicating a layer or layer set to an
existing image, open both the source and destination images.
2 In the source document’s Layers palette, select
the name of the layer you want to duplicate.
3 Choose Layer > Duplicate Layer or Layer >
Duplicate Layer Set.
4 Type a name for the duplicate layer.
5 For Document, choose a destination for the
layer. To create a new document for the layer,
choose New, and type a name for the new
document.
6 Click OK.
An image created by duplicating a layer has no
background layer.
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Grouping layers into sets
Layers can be grouped into layer sets. Layer sets
allow you to easily move the layers as a group,
apply attributes or a mask to the group, or collapse
the group to reduce clutter. Layer sets also allow
you to set up blending options for the entire set.
By default, the blending mode of a layer set is Pass
Through, which means that the layer set has no
blending properties of its own. Layers inside a
layer set in Pass Through mode appear the same as
they would outside of the layer set. When you
choose a different blending mode for a layer set,
you effectively change the order in which the entire
image is composited. All of the layers in the layer
set are composited first. The composited layer set
is then treated as a single image, and blended with
the rest of the image using the selected blending
mode. Thus, if you choose a blending mode other
than Pass Through for the layer set, none of the
adjustment layers or layer blending modes inside
the layer set will apply to layers outside the set.
To create a new layer set from linked layers:
Choose Layer > New > Layer Set from Linked.
For additional methods of creating layer sets,
see “Adding layers” on page 210.
To drag a layer into a set:
Do one of the following:
• If the destination layer set is collapsed, drag a
layer to the layer set folder ( ) or the layer set
name. When the layer set folder and name are
highlighted, release the mouse button. The layer is
placed at the bottom of the layer set.
• If the destination layer set is expanded, drag a
layer to the desired location within the layer set.
When the highlighted line appears in the desired
location, release the mouse button.
To drag a layer out of a set:
Do one of the following:
• Drag the layer up or down in the Layers palette.
When the highlighted line appears in the desired
location, release the mouse button.
• To drag a layer to a position directly below a layer
set, drag below the layer set and to the left of the
layers contained within the layer set. If the layer set
is collapsed, drag the layer below the layer set and
make sure the layer set folder and name is not
highlighted before you release the mouse button.
To collapse or expand a layer set:
Do one of the following:
• Click the triangle ( ) to expand the layer set and
display the layers contained within the layer set.
• Click the inverted triangle ( ) to collapse the
layer set and display only the layer set name.
• To collapse or expand effects applied to layers
contained within a layer set, hold Alt (Windows)
or Option (Mac OS) when clicking the triangle to
expand or collapse the set.
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Moving and aligning the
contents of layers
Moving a layer or layer set on an image moves its
contents. You can reposition a layer using the
move tool, or you can align and distribute a linked
group of layers using the Align Linked or
Distribute Linked commands.
You can also lock a layer to prevent the contents
from being moved on an image. However, a locked
layer can be moved above or below other layers.
(See “Locking layers” on page 217.)
Moving the contents of layers
You can reposition the contents of individual
layers, layer sets, or linked layers within an image’s
boundaries unless the layer or layer set is locked or
partially locked to prevent movement.
(See “Locking layers” on page 217.)
3 Drag anywhere in the image to move the
selected layer into the desired position.
To constrain the direction of movement to a
multiple of 45°, hold down Shift as you drag.
To reposition the contents of the layer in 1-pixel
increments when the move tool is selected, press
the arrow keys on the keyboard. To move the contents
of the layer in 10-pixel increments (or to move one
frame if you’re editing a filmstrip file), press Shift
and an arrow key.
To reposition the contents of multiple layers:
1 In the Layers palette, link the layers or layer sets
you want to move. (See “Linking layers” on
page 209.)
2 Use the move tool ( ) to move the linked layers
in the image window.
To reposition the contents of a layer in an image:
1 In the Layers palette, select the layer or layer set
whose contents you want to move.
2 Select the move tool ( ). To activate the move
tool when most other tools are selected, hold down
Ctrl (Windows) or Command (Mac OS). (When a
drawing tool is selected, holding down Ctrl or
Command switches to the path component
selection tool or direct selection tool. When using
the slice tool, holding down Ctrl or Command
switches to the slice selection tool, and when using
the hand tool, holding down Ctrl or Command
switches to the zoom tool.)
Lion and zebra layers linked and moved
Aligning and distributing the contents of
linked layers
The Align Linked commands let you align the
contents of linked layers to the contents of the
active layer or to a selection border. The Distribute
Linked commands let you position the contents of
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linked layers at evenly spaced intervals. You can
also align and distribute the contents of layers
using the alignment and distribution options on
the move tool’s options bar. (See “Aligning and
distributing path components” on page 177.)
Before you can align or distribute the contents of
layers in a set, you must link them.
• Bottom Edges to align the bottommost pixel on
the linked layers to the bottommost pixel on the
active layer or the bottommost edge of the
selection border.
• Left Edges to align the leftmost pixel on the
linked layers to the leftmost pixel on the active
layer or the leftmost edge of the selection border.
• Horizontal Centers to align the horizontal
To align linked layers:
1 To align layers to a selection border, make
a selection.
2 In the Layers palette, specify the layers you want
to align:
• To align a single layer to a selection, select
the layer.
• To align multiple layers to a selection or to the
active layer, link together the layers to be aligned,
then select one of the linked layers.
For more information, see “Linking layers” on
page 209.
3 Choose Layer > Align Linked (or Align To
Selection if you made a selection), and choose an
option from the submenu:
• Top Edges to align the topmost pixel on the
linked layers to the topmost pixel on the active
layer or the topmost edge of the selection border.
• Vertical Centers to align the vertical centermost
pixel on the linked layers to the vertical centermost
pixel on the active layer or the vertical center of the
selection border.
centermost pixel on the linked layers to the
horizontal centermost pixel on the active layer or
the horizontal center of the selection border.
• Right Edges to align the rightmost pixel on the
linked layers to the rightmost pixel on the active
layer or the rightmost edge of the selection border.
To distribute linked layers:
1 In the Layers palette, link together three or
more layers.
For more information, see “Linking layers” on
page 209.
2 Choose Layer > Distribute Linked, and choose
an option from the submenu:
• Top Edges to space the linked layers evenly
starting from the top pixel on each layer.
• Vertical Centers to space the linked layers evenly
starting from the vertical centermost pixel on each
layer.
• Bottom Edges to space the linked layers evenly
starting from the bottom pixel on each layer.
• Left Edges to space the linked layers evenly
starting from the leftmost pixel on each layer.
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• Horizontal Centers to space the linked layers
evenly starting from the horizontal centermost
pixel on each layer.
• Right Edges to space the linked layers evenly
starting from the rightmost pixel on each layer.
Note: Photoshop aligns and distributes only those
layers whose pixels have greater than 50% opacity.
For example, the Align Linked > Top Edges
command aligns to the topmost pixel on the active
layer that is more than 50% opaque.
To sample from all visible layers:
1 Click the magic wand tool ( ), smudge
tool ( ), blur tool ( ), sharpen tool ( ), paint
bucket tool ( ), or clone stamp tool ( ).
2 Select Use All Layers in the options bar.
Note: When you are using tools that sample image
data, painting or editing in a new layer where there
are no pixels produces the best results when Use All
Layers is selected.
Filling a new layer with a neutral color
Editing layers
A newly created layer is transparent. You can
change the colors of pixels in a layer using the
painting and editing tools, and then apply layer
styles and filters to modify the layer’s image data.
All painting and editing occurs on the active layer
(and in the active channel).
Sampling from all layers
By default, when working with the magic wand,
smudge, blur, sharpen, clone stamp, or pattern
stamp tool, you are applying color sampled only
from pixels on the active layer. This means you can
smudge or sample in a single layer even when
other layers are visible, and you can sample from
one layer and paint in another one.
Alternatively, you can choose to paint using
sampled data from all the visible layers. For
example, you can use the clone stamp tool to clone
an area containing pixels from all the visible layers
and layer sets.
Some filters (such as the Lighting Effects filter)
cannot be applied to layers with no pixels.
Selecting Fill with Neutral Color in the New Layer
dialog box resolves this problem by first filling the
layer with a preset, neutral color. If no effect is
applied, filling with a neutral color has no effect on
the remaining layers. The Fill with Neutral Color
option is not available for layers that use the
Normal, Dissolve, Hue, Saturation, Color,
or Luminosity modes. (See “Adding layers” on
page 210.)
Note: Not all filters produce a visible effect when
applied to a layer filled with a neutral color.
Specifying opacity
You can change the opacity of a layer or layers in a
set using the Opacity option in the Layers palette.
At 0% opacity, a layer is completely transparent;
at 100% opacity, a layer is completely opaque.
Note: You cannot change the opacity of a
background layer or a locked layer.
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To specify opacity for a layer:
In the Layers palette, enter a value in the Opacity
text box, or drag the Opacity pop-up slider.
You can also specify opacity in the Layer Styles
dialog box (Photoshop) and in the Layer Options
dialog box (ImageReady). (See “Using the Layer
Style dialog box (Photoshop)” on page 220 and
“Specifying layer properties” on page 219.)
Specifying layer blending modes
You use layer blending modes to determine how
the pixels in a layer or set of layers are blended with
underlying pixels in the image. By applying modes
to layers, you can create a variety of special effects.
For a description of each blending mode,
see “Setting options for painting and editing
tools” in online Help.
When working with layer sets, you can use Pass
Through blending. Pass Through blending allows
the blending modes and adjustments of the layers
within the set to interact with the layers outside the
set. (For more information on Pass Through
mode, see “Grouping layers into sets” on
page 213.)
Note: There is no Clear blending mode for layers.
In addition, the Color Dodge, Color Burn, Darken,
Lighten, Difference, and Exclusion modes are
unavailable for Lab images.
To specify a blending mode for a layer:
In the Layers palette, choose an option from the
Blend Mode menu.
You can also specify a blending mode in the Layer
Styles dialog box (Photoshop) and in the Layer
Options dialog box (ImageReady). (See “Using the
Layer Style dialog box (Photoshop)” on page 220
and “Specifying layer properties” on page 219.)
Locking layers
You can lock layers and layer sets to make certain
properties of a layer unchangeable. When a layer is
locked, a lock displays to the right of the layer
name. The lock is solid when the layer is fully
locked so that no editing is possible; it is hollow
when partially locked. For example, a layer is
partially locked when you lock the layer position
so its contents cannot be moved using the move
tool. Locked layers can be moved to a different
location within the stacking order of the Layers
palette, but they cannot be deleted. When a layer is
fully locked, you cannot edit the pixels, move the
image, or change the opacity, blending mode, or
layer style applied to that layer.
You can lock transparency to confine your
painting and editing to those areas of a layer
already containing pixels. For example, you may
want to edit an object (adding special effects,
changing color) without adding pixels to the
transparent area outside the object. You can also
lock the image to prevent inadvertent pixel
changes or movement of the image and yet still
allow the blending mode, opacity, or layer style to
be edited. For example, you can edit the layer mask
of a layer with locked pixel data. This is very useful
when doing montages.
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To lock all properties including blending mode,
opacity, and layer style, for layers or layer sets:
Select the layer or layer set, and select Lock ( ) in
the Layers palette to automatically lock all
properties for layers or layer sets.
When Lock is selected, the dimmed lock icon ( )
displays next to all of the layers in a layer set except
for layers that have their own individual lock
options set.
You can also use the commands in the Layer menu
and Layers palette menu to lock all properties.
To partially lock a layer or layer set:
To partially lock linked layers:
1 Select a linked layer, and do one of the following
to lock selected properties:
2 Choose Layers > Lock All Linked Layers,
or choose Lock All Linked Layers from the Layers
palette menu, and in the Lock All Link Layers
dialog box, set the following Lock options:
• Transparency ( ) to prevent editing of transparent pixels.
• Image ( ) to prevent the painting tools from
modifying the image, but not any mask that might
be applied to the layer. This option also prevents
moving the image.
Select a layer and in the Layers palette, select one or
more desired lock options:
• Position ( ) to disable the move tool.
• Transparency ( ) to prevent editing of trans-
To confine editing to the opaque portions of a layer:
parent pixels. This option is equivalent to Preserve
Transparency in earlier versions of Photoshop.
Select the layer, a linked layer, or layer set in the
Layers palette and select Lock Transparency ( ) in
the Layers palette.
• Image ( ) to prevent the painting tools from
modifying the image, but not any mask that might
be applied to the layer. This option also prevents
moving the image.
• Position ( ) to disable the move tool.
You can also use the commands in the Layer menu
and Layers palette menu to lock transparency.
Note: For type layers, Lock Transparency and Lock
Image is selected by default and cannot be turned off.
You can also use the commands in the Layer menu
and Layers palette menu to set Lock options.
Creating clipping groups
To lock all properties for linked layers including
blending modes, opacity, and layer style:
Select a linked layer, and select Lock ( ) in the
Layers palette to automatically lock all properties.
You can also use the commands in the Layer menu
and Layers palette menu to lock linked layers.
In a clipping group, the bottommost layer,
or base layer, acts as a mask for the entire group.
For example, you might have a shape on one layer,
a texture on the overlying layer, and some text on
the topmost layer. If you define all three layers as a
clipping group, the texture and the text appear
only through the shape on the base layer, and take
on the opacity of the base layer.
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Note that only successive layers can be included
in a clipping group. The name of the base layer in
the group is underlined, and the thumbnails for
the overlying layers are indented. Additionally,
the overlying layers display a clipping group icon.
The Blend Clipped Layers As Group option in the
Layer Style dialog box (Photoshop) or the Layer
Options palette (ImageReady) determines
whether the blending mode of the base affects the
whole group or just the base.
To remove a layer from a clipping group:
Do one of the following:
• Hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS),
position the pointer over the line separating two
grouped layers in the Layers palette (the pointer
changes to two overlapping circles ( )), and click.
• In the Layers palette, select a layer in the clipping
group, and choose Layer > Ungroup. This
command removes the selected layer and any
layers above it from the clipping group.
To ungroup all layers in a clipping group:
1 In the Layers palette, select the base layer in the
clipping group.
2 Choose Layer > Ungroup.
Clipping group with Layer 1 and lion layers
To create a clipping group:
1 Do one of the following:
• Hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS),
position the pointer over the line dividing two
layers in the Layers palette (the pointer changes to
two overlapping circles ( )), and click.
• Select a layer in the Layers palette, and choose
Layer > Group with Previous.
• Link together the desired layers in the Layers
palette. (See “Linking layers” on page 209.)
Then choose Layer > Group Linked.
The clipping group is assigned the opacity and
mode attributes of the bottommost layer in
the group.
Specifying layer properties
The Layer Properties dialog box (Photoshop) and
the Layer Options dialog box (ImageReady)
provide options for changing a layer or layer set’s
name and its color code in the palette.
In ImageReady, you can also set some of the same
options in the Layer Options palette. To show the
Layer Options palette, choose Window > Show
Layer Options/Styles, or click the Layer Options
palette tab.
To choose properties for a layer or layer set:
1 Do one of the following:
• (Photoshop) Alt-double-click (Windows) or
Option-double-click (Mac OS) the layer name.
• (ImageReady) Double-click the layer.
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• Double-click the layer set name.
• (Photoshop) Choose Layer > Layer Properties,
or choose Layer Properties from the Layers palette
menu.
• (ImageReady) Choose Layer > Layer Options,
or choose Layer Options from the Layers
palette menu.
2 To change the name of the layer as it appears in
the Layers palette, type a new name.
3 To change the color code of the layer in the
palette, choose a color from the menu.
4 (ImageReady) Select a blend mode and opacity
if desired. (See “Specifying opacity” on page 216
and “Specifying layer blending modes” on
page 217.)
5 (ImageReady) To group this layer with the
previous layer, select Group with Previous Layer.
6 (ImageReady) Select one or more of the Lock
options if needed. (See “Locking layers” on
page 217.)
7 (Photoshop) For layer sets, select the appropriate Channel options. (See “Restricting blending
to channels (Photoshop)” on page 223.)
8 Click OK.
on the right. As you select names from the left
column, the options on the right change. You can
select or deselect options from the Styles panel to
create your desired result.
To use the Layer Style dialog box:
1 Do one of the following:
• Choose a layer effect from the Layer > Layer
Style submenu.
• Double-click a layer name or thumbnail in the
Layers palette.
• Click the layer styles button ( ) at the bottom of
the Layers palette, and select an effect from the list.
2 To select a predefined style, click the Styles
panel on the left side of the dialog box and select a
style from the palette. If needed, you can load
additional style libraries using the pop-up palette
menu.
3 To create a style based on one effect, click an
effect name in the Styles panel to display the
options for that effect.
4 Edit the options as desired. (See “Using the
Layer Style dialog box (Photoshop)” on page 220.)
5 Click OK.
To display the Advanced Blending options:
Using the Layer Style dialog box
(Photoshop)
The Layer Style dialog box allows you to set
blending options and apply layer effects. To create
a custom style using the Layer Styles dialog box in
Photoshop, click an effect name in the effects list
on the left side of the dialog box, then set options
Double-click a layer name or layer thumbnail.
You can also use the Layer menu or the Layers
palette menu.
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Setting layer blending options
To set blending options (Photoshop):
The blending options in the Layer Styles dialog
box (Photoshop) and the Layer Options palette
(ImageReady) let you change a layer’s opacity and
blending with the pixels underneath.
1 Open the Layer Styles dialog box as described in
“Using the Layer Style dialog box (Photoshop)” on
page 220.
Keep in mind that a layer’s opacity and blending
mode interact with the opacity and mode of the
tools you use to paint and edit the pixels on the
layer. For example, suppose you are working on a
layer that uses the Dissolve mode and an opacity of
50%. If you paint on this layer using the paintbrush tool set to Normal mode with an opacity of
100%, the paint will appear in Dissolve mode with
a 50% opacity because this is the maximum the
layer can display. On the other hand, suppose you
are working on a layer created using Normal mode
and 100% opacity. If you use the eraser tool with
an opacity of 50%, only 50% of the paint will
disappear as you erase.
Setting layer blending options
Photoshop provides general and advanced
blending options in the Layer Style dialog box.
Advanced blending options allow you to
customize layer styles and blend selected contents
from multiple layers.
ImageReady provides a subset of the blending
options available in Photoshop in the Layer
Options palette.
2 In the General Blending section, do the
following:
• Select a mode from the Blend Mode pop-up
menu. (See “Specifying layer blending modes” on
page 217.)
• Set the opacity using the opacity slider or text
box. (See “Specifying opacity” on page 216.)
3 In the Advanced Blending section, do the
following:
• Set a fill opacity using the Fill Opacity slider or
text box.
• To restrict blending, deselect one or more
Channel options.
• Choose a knockout option from the Knockout
pop-up menu.
• Select additional knockout options.
• Set a range for the blending operation.
4 To turn off previewing as you choose layer
options, deselect Preview in the Layer Style
dialog box.
5 Click OK.
To set blending options (ImageReady):
1 Choose Windows > Show Layer Options/Style
to display the Layer Options palette. If no options
appear in the palette, choose Show Options from
the Layer Options palette menu or click the Show
Options button ( ) to view all of the options.
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2 Do the following:
Specifying knockout options
• Set a fill opacity using the Fill Opacity slider or
The knockout options allow you to specify which
layers “punch through” to reveal content from
other layers. For example, you can use a text layer
to knock out a color adjustment layer to reveal a
portion of the image using the original colors.
Set the knockout option for the layer where you
want the effect to start. For example, if you want
text to knock out layers underneath it, set the
knockout option on the text layer.
text box.
• Choose a knockout option from the Knockout
pop-up menu.
• Select additional knockout options.
Specifying fill opacity
In addition to setting opacity for a layer, which
affects any layer styles and blending modes applied
to the layer, you can specify a fill opacity for layers.
Fill opacity affects only the fill of pixels painted in
a layer or shapes drawn on a layer without
affecting the opacity of the layer effect (bevel,
drop shadow, and so on) that has been applied.
For example, you can use Fill opacity to cause a
bevel effect to appear to be super-imposed directly
on an underlying layer.
To specify fill opacity for objects in a layer:
When using knockout options on a layer in a layer
set, set the layer set blend mode to Pass Through,
otherwise the knockout will stop at the bottom of
the layer set. For more information on Pass
Through mode, see “Grouping layers into sets” on
page 213. You can also use knockout with clipping
groups. (See “Creating clipping groups” on
page 218.)
Important: To see knockout effects, lower the fill
opacity or change the blending mode of the layer.
1 Do one of the following:
To specify a knockout mode:
• (Photoshop) Double-click a layer name or layer
1 Select the layer that you want to knock out
other layers.
thumbnail. (See “Using the Layer Style dialog box
(Photoshop)” on page 220.)
• (ImageReady) Choose Windows > Show Layer
Options/Style to display the Layer Options palette.
In the Layer Options palette, if the Fill Opacity
option is not showing, choose Show Options from
the Layer Options palette menu or click the Show
Options button ( ) to view all of the options.
2 In the Layer Options palette (ImageReady),
or the Layer Style dialog box Blending Options
panel (Photoshop), enter a value for Fill Opacity.
2 To display the Advanced Blending options,
do one of the following:
• (Photoshop) Double-click a layer name or layer
thumbnail.
• (ImageReady) Choose Windows> Show Layer
Options/Style. In the Layer Options palette, if the
advanced options are not showing, choose Show
Options from the palette menu or click the Show
Options button ( ) to view all of the options.
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3 In the Layer Options palette (ImageReady) or
the Layer Style dialog box Blending Options panel
(Photoshop), choose one of the knockout options:
• Shallow to knock out to the first possible
stopping point such as the bottom of the layer set
or clipping group containing the knockout option.
base of the clipping group when Blend Clipped
Layers as Group is selected. However, it stops just
below the base of the clipping group when Blend
Clipped Layers as Group is not selected.
• Deep to knock out to the background layer or to
the first mandatory stopping point. For example,
a mandatory stopping point is the bottom of the
layer set containing the layer using knockout,
when the layer set uses a blend mode other than
Pass Through. If there is no background layer,
Deep knocks out to transparency.
4 Select additional knockout options: Blend
Interior Effects as Group and Blend Clipped
Layers as Group.
There are a number of options that define possible
and mandatory stopping points for knockout.
Layer sets and clipping groups are possible
stopping points for knockout. The blending mode
of a layer or layer set and the option Blend Clipped
Layers as Group also affects knockout.
For layer sets containing a layer using knockout,
knockout stops immediately beneath the layer set
if the layer blending mode is not set to Pass
Through. Otherwise, it stops before the
background. Other layers can still knock through
the entire layer set regardless of its blending mode.
For clipping groups, knockout stops above the
Africa text with shallow knockout to lion layer and deep
knockout to background
Restricting blending to channels
(Photoshop)
You can restrict blending to changing only data
from specified channels when blending a layer or
layer set. By default, all channels are included
when blending a layer or layer set. The channel
selections vary based on the type of image you are
editing. For example, if you are editing a RGB
image, the channel choices are R, G, and B.
If you are editing a CMYK image, the channel
choices are C, M, Y, and K. When using an RGB
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image, for example, you can choose to exclude the
Red channel from blending, and change in the
composite image only the channel information
contained in Green and Blue.
For more information, see “About color
channels” in online Help.
To exclude channels from blending:
1 Select the layer or layer set from which you want
to exclude channels.
• Double-click a layer or layer set name or a layer
thumbnail.
2 In the dialog box, deselect any channels that you
do not want to include when the layer is blended.
Grouping blend effects
By default, layers in a clipping group are blended
with the underlying layers using the blending
mode of the bottommost layer in the group.
However, you can choose to have the blending
mode of the bottommost layer apply only to that
layer, allowing you to maintain the original
blending appearance of the clipped layers.
For more information on clipping groups,
see “Creating clipping groups” on page 218.
In addition, you can choose to have the blending
mode of any layer apply to all layer effects that fall
within the boundaries of that layer. Thus, you can
choose to have a layer’s blending mode apply to its
own Inner Glow, Satin, or Overlay. Conversely,
you cannot choose to apply the layer’s mode to an
Outer Glow or Outer Shadow, because these
effects fall outside the layer’s original boundaries.
To specify the scope of blend effects:
1 Select the layer that you want to affect such as
the bottom layer of a clipping group.
2 To display the Advanced Blending options,
do one of the following:
• (Photoshop) Select a layer and choose Layer >
Layer Style > Blending Options. (See “Using the
Layer Style dialog box (Photoshop)” on page 220.)
• (ImageReady) Choose Windows > Show Layer
Options/Style to display the Layer Options palette.
If the advanced options are not showing in the
Layer Options palette, choose Show Options from
the palette menu or click the Show Options
button ( ) to view all of the options.
3 To blend the layers in a clipping group using
only the blending option applied to the base layer,
select Blend Clipped Layers as Group option.
This option, which is always selected by default,
causes the blending mode of the bottom layer
in a clipping group to be applied to all layers
within the group. Deselecting this option allows
you to maintain the original blending mode and
appearance of each layer in the group.
Blend Clipped Layers as Group option deselected and selected
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4 To restrict blending of interior effects such as
Inner Glow, Satin, and the Color, Pattern,
or Gradient Overlay, select Blend Interior Effects
as Group. When this option is selected, the
blending mode of the layer is applied to all layer
effects falling inside the layer bounds.
Blend Interior Effects as Group option deselected,
and selected.
Specifying a range for blending layers
(Photoshop)
The sliders in the Blending Options dialog box let
you control which pixels from the active layer and
which pixels from the underlying visible layers
appear in the final image. For example, you can
drop dark pixels out of the active layer or force
bright pixels from the underlying layers to show
through. You can also define a range of partially
blended pixels to produce a smooth transition
between blended and unblended areas.
To define a range for the blending operation:
1 In the Layer Style dialog box Blending Options
panel, select a Blend If option:
• Gray to specify a blending range for all channels.
• An individual color channel (for example, red,
green, or blue in an RGB image) to specify
blending in that channel.
(See “Using the Layer Style dialog box
(Photoshop)” on page 220.)
For more information, see “About color
channels” in online Help.
2 Use the This Layer and Underlying sliders to set
the brightness range of the blended pixels—
measured on a scale from 0 (black) to 255 (white).
Drag the white slider to set the high value of the
range. Drag the black slider to set the low value of
the range.
3 To define a range of partially blended pixels,
hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS),
and drag one half of a slider triangle. The two
values that appear above the divided slider indicate
the partial blending range.
Keep the following guidelines in mind when specifying blending ranges:
• Use the This Layer sliders to specify the range
of pixels on the active layer that will blend, and
therefore, appear in the final image. For example,
if you drag the white slider to 235, pixels with
brightness values higher than 235 will remain
unblended and will be excluded from the final
image.
• Use the Underlying sliders to specify the range of
pixels in the underlying visible layers that will
blend in the final image. Blended pixels are
combined with pixels in the active layer to produce
composite pixels, while unblended pixels show
through overlying areas of the active layer.
For example, if you drag the black slider to 19,
pixels with brightness values lower than 19 will
remain unblended and will show through the
active layer in the final image.
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Using layer styles
Displaying layer styles
Layer styles affect how a layer interacts with
other layers, including its blending mode and
opacity. You can apply layer styles using the Styles
palette, the Layers > Layer Styles menu selections,
the Styles button at the bottom of the Layers
palette (known as the Layer Effect button in
ImageReady), or the Styles pop-up palette in the
options bar of the shape and pen tools. You can
manage libraries of layer styles using the Styles
palette menu, the Preset Manager, or the pop-up
palette menu of the shape and pen tools.
(See “Managing libraries with the Preset Manager
(Photoshop)” on page 85.)
You can show or hide all layer styles in the image
or in the Layers palette.
Note: Use the Styles button at the bottom of the
Layers palette to create a style by applying one or
more layer effects to a layer.
In addition to using predefined layer styles,
you can create custom layer styles. Layer styles are
especially useful for enhancing type layers and
layers containing layer clipping paths. Once one or
more layer styles or layer effects have been applied
to a layer, they become part of that layer’s custom
style, which can then be saved as a new layer style
for ease of reuse. (See “Using the Layer Style dialog
box (Photoshop)” on page 220.)
Note: You cannot apply layer styles to a background,
a locked layer, or to a layer set.
To hide or show all layer styles in the image:
Choose Layer > Layer Style > Hide All Layer Styles
or Show All Layer Styles.
To expand or collapse layer styles in the Layers
palette:
1 Click the triangle ( ) next to the layer styles
icon ( ) to expand the list of layer effects applied
to that layer.
2 Click the inverted triangle ( ) to collapse the
layer effects.
3 To expand or collapse all of the layer styles
applied within a layer set, hold Alt (Windows) or
Option (Mac OS) and click the triangle or inverted
triangle for a single layer within the set. The layer
styles applied to the other layers within the layer
set expand or collapse correspondingly.
Using the Styles palette
You can use the default layer styles, load libraries
of layer styles, or create your own layer styles using
the Styles palette. You can change the view of layer
styles. Additionally, you can clear a layer style from
a layer, create a new layer style, or delete a layer
style from the palette. (See “Using the Layer Style
dialog box (Photoshop)” on page 220.)
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To display the Styles palette:
Choose Window > Show Styles, or click the Styles
palette tab.
To change the view of layer styles in the Styles palette:
You can also load or save layer styles using the
Preset Manager. (See “Managing libraries with the
Preset Manager (Photoshop)” on page 85.)
Exiting Photoshop saves the contents of the
current pop-up palette in the Preferences file.
Choose a view from the Styles palette menu.
• (Photoshop) Select Text Only to view the layer
styles as a list.
Applying layer styles
To delete a layer style from the Styles palette:
Layer styles are composed of one or more layer
effects. You can apply layer styles to layers in any
image. Once you apply a layer effect to a layer,
you have created a custom layer style composed of
that single effect. You can use a layer style either to
replace all of the current layer effects applied to a
layer, or to add layer effects while preserving the
existing layer effects. After you have applied a layer
effect, you can customize it. (See “Using the Layer
Style dialog box (Photoshop)” on page 220.)
You can also save the resulting layer style for
ease of reuse.
Select a layer style in the Styles palette and do one
of the following:
Layer styles are composed of a combination of one
or more of the following effects:
• Drag it to the trash button ( ) at the bottom of
the Styles palette.
• Drop Shadow to add a shadow that falls behind
the contents on the layer.
• Press Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) and
click the layer style in the Styles palette.
• Inner Shadow to add a shadow that falls just
inside the edges of the layer contents, giving the
layer a recessed appearance.
Managing layer styles
• Outer Glow and Inner Glow to add glows that
The Styles palette and the Styles pop-up palette in
the options bar for the pen and shape tools can
hold many layer styles. You can easily change how
they display in either palette. (The Styles palette
displays in the options bar for the pen and shape
tools when you choose Create New Shape Layer.)
(See “Using pop-up palettes” on page 62.)
emanate from the outside or inside edges of the
layer contents.
• Select Small or Large Thumbnail to view the
layer styles as thumbnails.
• Select Small or (Photoshop) Large List to view
the layer styles as a list, with a thumbnail of the
selected layer style displayed.
Layer styles are displayed in the order created by
name from top to bottom (and from left to right in
thumbnail view).
• Bevel and Emboss to add various combinations
of highlights and shadows to a layer.
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• Satin to apply shading to the interior of a layer
that reacts to the shape of the layer, typically
creating a satiny finish.
• Color, Gradient, and Pattern Overlay to overlay a
color, gradient, or pattern on a layer.
• Stroke to outline the object on the current layer
using color, a gradient, or a pattern. It is particularly useful on hard-edged shapes such as type.
The preset layer styles in the Styles palette, Styles
pop-up palette (Photoshop), and the style libraries
are composed of one or more of these layer effects
and typically have been customized to create a
specific result.
To apply a layer style to a layer:
1 Select a method for applying the layer style:
• Click the style thumbnail in the Styles palette to
apply it to the currently selected layer in the active
document. Press Shift as you drag to add the layer
style while preserving layer effects on the destination layer that are not duplicated by the new
layer style. (Any duplicated layer effects will be
replaced by the new layer style.)
• Drag the style thumbnail from the Styles palette
onto a layer in the Layers palette. Press Shift as you
drag to add the layer style while preserving layer
effects on the destination layer that are not
duplicated by the new layer style. (Any duplicated
layer effects will be replaced by the new layer style.)
The layer style is applied to the layer that contains
pixel data under the drop point. If there is no pixel
data in that location of the image, the layer style is
not applied.
• Drag the style thumbnail from the Styles palette
onto pixel data in a document. The layer style is
applied to the topmost layer containing pixels
where the layer style is dropped. Press Shift as you
drag to preserve layer effects on the destination
layer that are not duplicated by the new layer style.
(Any duplicated layer effects will be replaced by
the new layer style.)
• Click the layer styles button ( ) in the Layers
palette and choose an effect from the list. This
creates a layer style composed of that single effect.
• Choose a layer effect from the Layer > Layer Style
submenu.
• (Photoshop) Double-click a layer name or
thumbnail in the Layers palette and select one or
more layer effects from the Layer Style dialog box
Styles panel to create a layer style, and click OK.
• (Photoshop) Open the Layer Style dialog box
and click on the work Styles (top item in the list
on the left side of the dialog box). Click the style
thumbnail you want to apply, and click OK.
• If you are using the shape or pen tools to create a
layer clipping path, select a style from the pop-up
palette in the options bar before drawing the
shape.
2 You can specify options to customize the layer
style. (See “Specifying options for layer styles” on
page 232.)
If a layer style is dragged onto a layer without
pressing Shift, the layer style replaces any existing
effects on the destination layer.
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To copy layer styles between layers:
To scale a layer effect:
1 In the Layers palette, select the source layer
containing the layer style you want to copy.
1 Select the layer in the Layers palette.
2 Choose Layer > Layer Style > Copy Layer Style.
3 Enter a percentage or drag the slider.
3 Do one of the following:
4 Select Preview to preview the changes in
the image.
• To paste into a single layer, select the destination
2 Choose Layer > Layer Style > Scale Effects.
layer in the palette, and choose Layer > Layer
Style > Paste Layer Style.
5 Click OK.
• To paste into multiple layers, link the destination
layers. (See “Linking layers” on page 209.)
Then choose Layer > Paste Layer Style to Linked.
Removing layer styles
The pasted layer style will replace the existing layer
style on the destination layer or layers.
To copy layer styles between layers by dragging:
Do one of the following:
• Drag a single layer effect from one layer to
another to duplicate the layer effect, or drag the
Effects bar from one layer to another to duplicate
the layer style.
• Drag one or more layer effects from a layer to the
image to apply the resulting layer style to the
highest layer in the Layers palette that contains
pixels at the drop point.
Scaling layer effects (Photoshop)
A layer style may have been tuned to look best on
a target resolution with features of a given size.
Using Scale Effects allows you to scale the effects
contained in the layer style without scaling the
object to which the layer style is applied.
You can remove a layer style that you have applied
to a layer.
To remove a layer style:
1 In the Layers palette, select the layer containing
the layer style you want to remove.
2 Do one of the following:
• Choose the desired layer style in the Layers
palette, and drag it to the Trash button.
• (Photoshop) Double-click the layer name or the
layer thumbnail containing the layer style you
want to remove. In the Layer Styles dialog box,
deselect the layer style you want to remove.
To remove all layer effects applied to a layer:
1 In the Layers palette, select the layer containing
the layer effects you want to remove.
2 Do one of the following:
• In the Layers palette, drag the Effects bar to the
Trash button.
• Choose Layer > Layer Style > Clear Layer Style.
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• Select the layer, then click the Clear style
button ( ) at the bottom of the Styles palette.
• (ImageReady) Select an effect in the Layers
palette, then choose Delete Effect or Delete All
Effects from the Layers palette menu to delete that
one effect or all of the effects applied to that layer.
Converting layer styles to layers
To customize or fine-tune the appearance of layer
styles, you can convert the layer styles to regular
image layers. Once you have converted a layer style
to image layers, you can enhance the result by
painting or applying commands and filters.
However, you can no longer edit the layer style on
the original layer, and the layer style will no longer
update as you change the original image layer.
Note: The layers produced by this process may not
result in artwork that exactly matches the version
using layer styles. In Photoshop, you may see an alert
when you create the new layers.
To convert a layer style to image layers:
1 In the Layers palette, select the layer containing
the layer style you want to convert.
Customizing layer styles
You can customize a layer style by applying
predefined layer styles or effects to a layer,
modifying its options, and setting the blend mode
and opacity for the layer. In Photoshop, you define
a new layer style and customize it using the Layer
Style dialog box. (See “Using the Layer Style dialog
box (Photoshop)” on page 220.) In ImageReady,
you define a layer style using the Styles palette or
the Effects button at the bottom of the Layers
palette, and customize it using a group of palettes
named for each type of effect such as Drop
Shadow, Inner Shadow, and so on.
Once you have customized a layer style, you can
save that new layer style as a predefined layer style.
You can create libraries, load, and save libraries of
layer styles using the Styles palette, the Layers Style
dialog box, the Style pop-up palette menu of the
shape and pen tools accessed from the options bar,
the Styles palette accessed by clicking the Styles
panel in the Layer Style dialog box, or the Preset
Manager. (See “Managing layer styles” on
page 227 or “Managing libraries with the Preset
Manager (Photoshop)” on page 85.)
2 Choose Layer > Layer Style > Create Layers.
Defining a new layer style
You can now modify and restack the new layers in
the same way as regular layers. Some effects—
for example, Inner Glow—convert to layers within
a clipping group.
You can use an existing style to create a new style
or apply a number of layer effects to layers,
including drop shadows, glows, beveling, and
embossing. When you apply one or more layer
effects or a layer style to a layer, an inverted
triangle ( ) and a layer styles icon ( ) appear to
the right of the layer’s name in the Layers palette.
Additionally, an Effects bar containing each layer
effect in the layer style is displayed in an indented
ADOBE PHOTOSHOP 6.0 231
User Guide
list below the layer name. Layer styles are linked to
the layer contents. When you move or edit the
contents on the layer, the layer style applied to that
layer is modified correspondingly.
custom layer style, or click the name of the layer
effect to select it and to display its options in the
dialog box. (See “Specifying options for layer
styles” on page 232.)
To define a new layer style preset:
3 Create a new layer style by doing one of
the following:
1 Apply layer effects to a layer. (See “Using layer
styles” on page 226.)
2 Select a single layer effect or a group of layer
effects by doing one of the following:
• In the Layers palette, click an individual layer
effect name to select it.
• Drag the selected layer style into the Styles
palette or onto the New Item button ( ) in the
Styles palette. In Photoshop, enter a name in the
New Style dialog box and select Include Layer
Effects or Include Layer Blending Options.
Click OK. In ImageReady, the layer style is added
with a default name.
• Select the layer containing the layer style you
want to add. Press Alt (Windows) or Option
(Mac OS) and click the New Item button ( ) at
the bottom of the Styles palette, and name the
layer style. Click OK.
A
B
A. Effects bar B. Layer styles icon
• (Photoshop) In the Layers palette, click the
Effects bar in that layer or the layer styles icon ( )
next to the layer name to select the style on a layer.
• (Photoshop) Double-click a layer style or the
Effects bar. In the Layer Styles dialog box, select
additional types of layer effects. Click the
checkbox next to a layer effect name to add it to the
• Click an empty area of the Styles palette, name
the layer style and select Include Layer Effects or
Include Layer Blending Options. (The cursor
changes to a bucket ( ).) Click OK.
• Choose New Style from the Styles palette menu.
Enter a name in the New Style dialog box
and select Include Layer Effects or Include Layer
Blending Options. Click OK.
• (Photoshop) Double-click the layer containing
the layer style you want to add. In the Layer Styles
dialog box, click New Style. In the New Style dialog
box, name the layer style and select Include Layer
Effects or Include Layer Blending Options.
Click OK.
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If you create a new layer style using the New Item
button, New Style menu command, or Layer Style
dialog box, all effects on the current layer are
included in the new layer style.
4 To rename a layer style, double-click the new
layer style in the Styles palette, rename the layer
style, and then click OK.
Editing layer styles
You can edit the layer effects that compose a layer
style applied to a layer. To remove layer styles,
see “Removing layer styles” on page 229.
Specifying options for layer styles
When customizing layer styles, you can specify a
number of options for each effect contained in the
layer style. In Photoshop, many options can also be
set by dragging. For example, when you customize
a drop shadow style, you can drag the shadow to
position it.
Note: In Photoshop, customize layer styles using the
Layer Style dialog box. In ImageReady, you can use
the palette named for the type of effect such as Drop
Shadow, Inner Shadow, and so on. ImageReady
provides a subset of the options provided by
Photoshop.
To edit the layer style applied to a layer:
Angle Determines the lighting angle at which the
1 Do one of the following:
effect is applied to the layer. You can define a global
angle that applies to all layer effects in the image;
you can also assign a local angle that applies only
to a specific layer effect. Using a global angle gives
the appearance of a consistent light source shining
on the image.
• Double-click the effect displayed below the layer
name. Click the inverted triangle ( ) next to the
layer name to display the effects contained in the
layer style.
• (Photoshop) Double-click a layer name,
thumbnail, or the layer styles icon ( ) next to the
layer and choose an effect from the Layer Styles
dialog box Styles panel.
• (ImageReady) Select the palette named for the
effect you want to change.
2 Edit the options. (See “Specifying options for
layer styles” on page 232.)
Anti-alias Blends the edge pixels of a contour or
gloss contour. Most useful on shadows with a
small size and complicated contour.
Blend Mode Determines how the layer style
blends with the underlying layers, which may or
may not include the active layer. For example,
an inner shadow blends with the active layer
because the effect is drawn on top of that layer,
but a drop shadow blends only with the layers
beneath the active layer. In most cases, the default
mode for each effect produces the best results.
(See “Specifying layer blending modes” on
page 217.)
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Choke Shrinks the boundaries of the matte of an
Inner Shadow or Inner Glow prior to blurring.
Color Specifies the color of a shadow, glow,
or highlight. You can click the color box and
choose a color.
For more information, see “Using the
Adobe Color Picker” in online Help.
Contour With solid color glows, allows you to
create rings of transparency. With gradient filled
glows, allows you to create variations in the
repetition of the gradient color and opacity.
With bevel and emboss, contour allows you to
sculpt the ridges, valleys, and bumps that are
shaded in the embossing process. With shadows,
allows you to specify the fade. (See “Creating and
editing contours (Photoshop)” on page 236.)
Depth Specifies the depth of a bevel and is a ratio
of size. It also specifies the depth of a pattern.
Gloss Contour creates a glossy, metal-like
appearance and is applied after shading a bevel or
emboss.
Gradient Specifies the gradient of a layer effect.
In Photoshop, click the gradient to display the
Gradient Editor or click the inverted arrow ( )
and choose a gradient from the pop-up palette.
In Photoshop, you can edit a gradient or create a
new gradient using the Gradient Editor. In
ImageReady, click the inverted arrow ( ) next to
the gradient sample and select a gradient from the
list, or choose a gradient type from the pop-up list.
You can edit the color or opacity in the Gradient
Overlay panel the same way you do in the Gradient
Editor. For some effects, you can specify additional
gradient options. Reverse flips the orientation of
the gradient, Align With Layer uses the bounding
box of the layer to calculate the gradient fill. Scale
scales the application of the gradient. You can also
use the mouse to move the center of the gradient
by clicking and dragging in the image window.
Style specifies the shape of the gradient.
For more information, see “Creating
gradient fills” in online Help.
Highlight or Shadow Mode Specifies the blend
mode of a bevel or emboss highlight or shadow.
Jitter Varies the application of a gradient’s color
and opacity.
Layer Knocks Out Drop Shadow Controls the
drop shadow’s visibility or occlusion in a
semitransparent layer.
Noise Specifies the amount of random elements
in the opacity of a glow or shadow as you enter a
value or drag the slider.
Opacity Sets the opacity of the layer effect as you
enter a value or drag the slider.
Pattern Specifies the pattern of a layer effect.
In ImageReady, click the inverted arrow ( ) next
to the pattern sample and choose a pattern from
the list. In Photoshop, click the pop-up palette and
choose a pattern. Click the New preset button ( )
to create a new preset pattern based on the current
settings. Click Snap to Origin to position the
origin of the pattern with that of the document if
Link With Layer is selected or to position the
origin with the top left corner of the layer if it is
deselected. Select Link With Layer to specify that
the pattern moves with the layer as it is relocated,
and drag the Scale slider or enter a value to specify
the size of the pattern. You can drag a pattern in
234 CHAPTER 8
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the layer to position it while in this panel. The
position can be reset with the Snap to Origin
button. There must be at least one pattern loaded
for the pattern option to be available. You can also
load patterns using the Preset Manager.
Style Specifies the style of a bevel: Inner Bevel to
layer style in the image as you change the layer
effect settings. This option is in the Layer Style
dialog box.
create a bevel on the inside edges of the layer
contents, Outer Bevel to create a bevel on the
outside edges of the layer contents, Emboss to
create the effect of embossing the layer contents
against the underlying layers, Pillow Emboss to
create the effect of stamping the edges of the layer
contents into the underlying layers, or Stroke
Emboss to confine the emboss to the boundaries
of a stroke effect applied to the layer. (Note that the
Stroke Emboss effect will not be visible if no stroke
is applied to the layer.)
Range Controls which portion or range of the
Technique For bevel and emboss, Smooth uses a
glow is targeted for the contour.
blur-based technique that is smooth and is useful
on all types of mattes, whether their edges are soft
or hard. It does not preserve detailed features at
larger sizes. Chisel Hard uses a distance
measurement technique and is primarily useful on
hard-edged mattes from anti-aliased geometry
such as type. It preserves detailed features more so
than the Smooth technique. Chisel Soft uses a
modified distance measurement technique and,
while not as accurate as Chisel Hard, it is more
useful on a larger range of mattes. It preserves
features better than the Smooth technique.
For glows, Softer uses a blur-based technique to
create a glow and is useful on all types of mattes,
whether their edges are soft or hard. At larger sizes,
it does not preserve detailed features. Precise uses
a distance measurement technique to create a glow
and is primarily useful on hard-edged mattes from
anti-aliased shapes such as type. It preserves
features better than does the Softer technique.
Position Specifies the position of a stroke effect as
Outside, Inside, or Center.
Preview (Photoshop) Displays a preview of the
Size Specifies the amount of blur or the size of
the shadow.
Soften Blurs the results of shading before
compositing to reduce unwanted artifacts.
Source Specifies the glow source for an inner
glow. Choose Center to apply a glow that emanates
from the center of the layer contents or Edge to
apply a glow that emanates from the inside edges
of the layer contents.
Spread Dilates the boundaries of the matte prior
to blurring. This is particularly useful on small,
thin features such as cursive descenders or
ascenders on type face, which tend to disappear in
the presence of a large blur.
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Texture Allows you to specify a pattern used to
texture the bevel effect. Scale allows you to scale
the size of the texture. Link With Layer specifies
that the texture is to move with the layer as it is
relocated. Invert inverts the texture. Depth varies
the degree and direction (up/down) to which the
texturing is applied. Snap to Origin controls the
snap of the pattern’s origin with that of the
document if Link With Layer is disabled and with
the top left corner of the layer if it is selected.
You can also drag the texture with the mouse to
position it while in this panel.
To set a global lighting angle:
To set a global lighting angle for all layers, do one
of the following:
• Choose Layer > Layer Style > Global Light. In the
Global Light dialog box, enter a value, or drag the
angle radius to set the Angle and Altitude, and
click OK.
• (Photoshop) In the Layer Style dialog box for
Drop Shadow, Inner Shadow, or Bevel, select Use
Global Light. For Angle, enter a value, or drag the
slider, and click OK.
• (ImageReady) In the Bevel and Emboss or
Drop Shadow palette, select Use Global Angle.
For Angle and Altitude, enter a value or drag the
angle radius.
The new lighting angle appears as the default for
each layer effect that uses the global lighting angle.
To set a local lighting angle:
In the PS Layer Style dialog box for Drop Shadow,
Inner Shadow, or Bevel, deselect Use Global Light.
For Angle, enter a value, or drag the angle radius.
Set Distance, Spread, and Size by dragging a slider
or entering a value. In ImageReady, deselect Use
Global Angle in the palette named for the effect
such as Bevel and Emboss.
To set the quality options for glows:
1 Select a contour to shape the effects of opacity
by doing one of the following:
• (Photoshop) In the Layer Style dialog box,
click the inverted arrow ( ) next to the currently
selected contour to view the contour display and
select a contour from the pop-up palette. To edit
the currently selected contour, click the contour
sample. (See “Creating and editing contours
(Photoshop)” on page 236.)
• (ImageReady) Click the contour in the effect
palette such as the Satin palette, and select a
contour name from the list.
2 Select Anti-aliased to anti-alias the effect.
3 To control the amount of Noise, Range, or Jitter,
enter a value, or drag the slider. (See “Specifying
options for layer styles” on page 232.)
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Managing layer styles
You can select, reset, delete, or change the preview
of layer styles using the Styles palette and the Styles
pop-up palette menu. (See “Using pop-up
palettes” on page 62.) You can also use the Preset
Manager. (See “Managing libraries with the Preset
Manager (Photoshop)” on page 85.)
load contours, or save contours in the Contour
Editor dialog box. Exiting Photoshop saves the
contents of the current pop-up palette in the
Preferences file.
A B
Creating and editing contours
(Photoshop)
You can use contours to shape the appearance of
an effect over a given range in the Drop Shadow,
Inner Shadow, Inner Glow, Outer Glow, Bevel and
Emboss, and Satin effects when creating custom
layer styles. For example, a Linear contour on a
Drop Shadow causes the opacity to drop off in a
linear transition while a Custom contour can be
used to create a unique shadow transition.
Custom contours created in Photoshop can be
used in ImageReady.
You can select, reset, delete, or change the preview
of contours in the contour pop-up palette.
(See “Using pop-up palettes” on page 62.) You can
also use the Preset Manager. (See “Managing
libraries with the Preset Manager (Photoshop)” on
page 85.) You can create custom contours,
A. Click to display the Contour Editor dialog box
B. Click to display the pop-up palette
Editing contours
You can use the Contour Editor dialog box to edit
the currently selected contour. After you have
edited it, you can save it as a preset.
To create a custom contour:
1 Click the contour in the Layer Style dialog box.
2 Click the contour to add points and drag to
adjust the contour. Or enter values for Input
and Output.
3 To create a sharp corner instead of a smooth
curve, select a point and click Corner.
4 To save the contour to a file, click Save and
name the contour.
5 To store a contour as a preset, choose New.
6 Click OK. New contours are added at the
bottom of the pop-up palette.
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User Guide
To load contours from the Contour Editor dialog box:
Click the contour in the Layer Style dialog box,
and in the Contour Editor dialog box, choose
Load. Go to the folder where the contour library
you want to load is located and click Open.
To delete a contour in the Contour Editor dialog box:
Click the inverted arrow ( ) next to the currently
selected contour to view the pop-up palette. Press
Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS), and click the
contour you want to delete.
In the Layers palette, both the layer mask and layer
clipping path appear as an additional thumbnail to
the right of the layer thumbnail. For the layer
mask, this thumbnail represents the grayscale
(alpha) channel created when you add the layer
mask. (See “Storing masks in alpha channels” on
page 199.) The layer clipping path represents the
path that clips out the contents of the layer.
Hiding portions of a layer
You can create a layer mask to control how
different areas within a layer or layer set are hidden
and revealed. By making changes to the layer
mask, you can apply a variety of special effects to
the layer without actually affecting the pixels on
that layer. You can then apply the mask and make
the changes permanent or remove the mask
without applying the changes. You can save all
layer masks with a layered document.
Another way to control how areas of a layer are
revealed or hidden is to use a layer clipping path,
which creates a sharp-edged mask. You can use
both a layer mask and a layer clipping path on a
single layer or layer set. A layer mask is resolutiondependent and is created with the painting or
selection tools; a layer clipping path is resolutionindependent and is created with the pen or
shape tools.
B
A
C
D
E
F
A. Layer mask selected B. Layer mask link icon
C. Layer mask D. Layer clipping path
E. Layer clipping path link icon F. New Layer Mask
238 CHAPTER 8
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Using a mask to hide or show a layer
You can obscure an entire layer or layer set,
or just a selected part of it, using a mask or a layer
clipping path.
To add a mask that shows or hides the entire layer:
1 Choose Select > Deselect to clear any selection
borders in the image.
2 In the Layers palette, select the layer or layer set
to which to add a mask.
3 Do one of the following:
• To create a mask that reveals the entire layer,
click the New Layer Mask ( ) button at the
bottom of the Layers palette.
• To create a mask that hides the entire layer,
Alt click (Windows) or Option-click (Mac OS)
the New Layer Mask button.
You can also use the Layer menu to hide or reveal
an entire layer.
To add a mask that shows or hides a selection:
1 In the Layers palette, select the layer or layer set
to which to add a mask.
2 To create a mask that reveals or hides the
selected area of a layer, select the desired area in the
image, using the selection tools, then click the
New Layer Mask button ( ), and the selected area
is revealed.
You can also use the Layer menu to hide or show
a selection.
After creating a layer mask, you can use the
painting tools to paint black over the area of the
mask you want to hide or paint white over the area
you want to reveal. (See “Editing a layer mask” on
page 239.)
For information on viewing the contents of the
layer mask channel, see “Viewing layer masks” on
page 240.
To add a layer clipping path that shows or hides the
entire layer (Photoshop):
1 In the Layers palette, select the layer to which
you want to add a layer clipping path.
2 Do one of the following:
• To create a layer clipping path that reveals the
entire layer, choose Layer > Add Layer Clipping
Path > Reveal All.
• To create a layer clipping path that hides the
entire layer, choose Layer > Add Layer Clipping
Path > Hide All.
To add a layer clipping path that shows the contents of
a shape (Photoshop):
1 In the Layers palette, select the layer to which to
add a layer clipping path.
2 Select a path or use one of the shape or pen tools
to draw a work path. (See “Editing paths
(Photoshop)” on page 172.)
3 Choose Layer > Add Layer Clipping Path >
Current Path.
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Editing a layer mask
You edit a layer mask by adding to or subtracting
from the masked region.
To edit a layer mask:
1 Click the layer mask thumbnail in the Layers
palette to make it active (the mask icon ( )
appears to the left of the layer thumbnail).
2 Select any of the editing or painting tools.
Because the layer mask is a grayscale alpha
channel, the foreground and background colors
default to grayscale values when the mask is active.
As you edit, the mask thumbnail displays
the changes.
3 Do one of the following:
• To subtract from the mask and reveal the layer,
paint the mask with white.
• To make the layer partially visible, paint the
mask with gray.
• To add to the mask and hide the layer or layer set,
paint the mask with black.
To edit the layer instead of the layer mask, select it
by clicking its thumbnail in the Layers palette.
The paintbrush icon ( ) appears to the left of the
thumbnail to indicate that you are editing the
layer.
To paste a selection into a layer mask,
Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Mac OS)
the layer mask thumbnail in the Layers palette to
select and display the mask channel. Choose Edit >
Paste, drag the selection in the image to produce the
desired masking effect, and choose Select > Deselect.
Click the layer thumbnail in the Layers palette to
deselect the mask channel.
To edit a layer mask’s options (Photoshop):
1 Double-click the layer mask’s thumbnail in the
Layers palette.
2 To choose a new mask color, click the color
swatch in the Layer Mask Display Options dialog
box, and choose a new color.
For more information, see “Using the
Adobe Color Picker” in online Help.
Background painted with black, head painted with white,
neck painted with gray
3 To change the opacity, enter a value between
0% and 100%.
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Editing a layer clipping path (Photoshop)
To convert a layer clipping path to a layer mask:
A layer clipping path creates a sharp-edged shape
on a layer. Typically, you can use a layer clipping
path to create buttons or panels. It’s useful any
time you want to add a design element with clean,
defined edges. Once you create a layer with a layer
clipping path, you can apply one or more layer
styles to it, edit them if needed, and instantly have
a usable button, panel, or other Web design
element. For information on how to create a layer
clipping path, see “Drawing shapes and paths” on
page 161. Edit a layer clipping path by clicking
the layer clipping path thumbnail in the Layers
palette, or the thumbnail in the Paths palette,
then change the shape, using the shape and pen
tools. (See “Selecting paths (Photoshop)” on
page 173.) You can also convert a layer clipping
path into a layer mask, which automatically
rasterizes the mask.
1 Click the layer clipping path in the Layers
palette to select it.
Important: Once a layer clipping path has been
rasterized, it cannot be changed back into a
vector object.
To remove a layer clipping path:
1 Click the layer clipping path in the Layers
palette to select it.
2 Choose Layer > Rasterize > Layer
Clipping Path.
Unlinking layers, layer masks, and layer
clipping paths
By default, a layer or layer set is linked to its layer
mask or layer clipping path, as indicated by the
link icon between the thumbnails in the Layers
palette. The layer and its layer mask or layer
clipping path (or both) move together in the
image when you move either one with the
move tool.
You can unlink the layer from its layer mask or
layer clipping path by clicking the link icon.
Unlinking them lets you move them independently and shift the mask or layer clipping path
boundaries separately from the layer. Unlinking a
layer mask or layer clipping path can change how
layer effects are calculated. To re-establish the link,
click between the layer and layer mask or layer
clipping path thumbnails.
2 Drag the layer clipping path to the Trash
Viewing layer masks
button ( ).
By default, the layer mask channel does not
appear in the image. You can view and edit the
contents of the mask or temporarily turn off its
effects. You can also change the display options
for the mask.
You can also use the Layer menu to delete a
clipping path.
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To select and display the layer mask channel:
Do one of the following:
• Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Mac OS)
the layer mask thumbnail to view only the
grayscale mask. The eye icons in the Layers palette
are dimmed because all layers or layer sets are
hidden. To redisplay the layers, Alt-click or
Option-click the layer mask thumbnail, or click
an eye icon.
• Hold down Alt+Shift (Windows) or
Option+Shift (Mac OS), and click the layer
mask thumbnail to view the mask on top of the
layer in a rubylith masking color. Hold down
Alt+Shift or Option+Shift, and click the
thumbnail again to turn off the color display.
• Double-click the layer mask channel in the
Channels palette.
2 To choose a new mask color, in the Layer Mask
Display Options dialog box, click the color swatch,
and choose a new color.
For more information, see “Using the
Adobe Color Picker” in online Help.
3 To change the opacity, enter a value between
0% and 100%.
Both the color and opacity settings affect only the
appearance of the mask and have no effect on how
underlying areas are protected. For example,
you might want to change these settings to make
the mask more easily visible against the colors in
the image.
To turn off the layer mask temporarily:
4 Click OK.
1 Press Shift, and click the layer mask thumbnail
in the Layers palette.
Viewing layer clipping paths
A red X appears over the layer mask thumbnail in
the Layers palette, and the entire underlying layer
or layer set appears without masking effects.
2 To turn on the mask, Shift-click the layer mask
thumbnail in the Layers palette.
You can enable or disable layer masks using the
Layer menu.
To change the rubylith display for a layer mask:
1 Do one of the following:
• Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Mac OS)
the layer mask thumbnail to select the layer mask
channel; then double-click the layer mask
thumbnail.
By default, the layer clipping path does not appear
in the image. You can view and edit the path or
temporarily turn off its effects. You can also
change the display options for the mask.
To turn off the layer clipping path temporarily:
1 Press Shift, and click the layer mask thumbnail
in the Layers palette.
A red X appears over the layer clipping path
thumbnail in the Layers palette, and the entire
underlying layer appears without masking effects.
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2 To turn on the layer clipping path, Shift-click
the layer clipping path thumbnail in the
Layers palette.
To load a layer or layer mask’s boundaries as a
selection:
You can also use the Layer menu to temporarily
turn off a layer clipping path.
• In the Layers palette, Ctrl-click (Windows)
or Command-click (Mac OS) the layer or layer
mask thumbnail.
Applying and discarding layer masks
• To add the pixels to an existing selection,
press Ctrl+Shift (Windows) or Command+Shift
(Mac OS), and click the layer or layer mask
thumbnail in the Layers palette.
When you have finished creating a layer mask,
you can either apply the mask and make the
changes permanent or discard the mask without
applying changes. Because layer masks are stored
as alpha channels, applying and discarding layer
masks can help reduce file size. (See “Storing
masks in alpha channels” on page 199.)
To apply or discard a layer mask:
1 Click the layer mask thumbnail in the
Layers palette.
2 To remove the layer mask and make changes
permanent, click the Trash button ( ) at the
bottom of the Layers palette, then click Apply.
3 To remove the layer mask without applying the
changes, click the trash button at the bottom of the
Layers palette, then click Discard.
You can also apply or discard layer masks using the
Layer menu.
Selecting opaque areas on a layer
By loading a layer mask, you can quickly select all
the opaque areas on a layer—that is, the areas
within the layer boundaries. This is useful when
you want to exclude transparent areas from a
selection. You can also load the boundaries of a
layer mask as a selection.
Do one of the following:
• To subtract the pixels from an existing selection,
press Ctrl+Alt (Windows) or Command+Option
(Mac OS), and click the layer or layer mask
thumbnail in the Layers palette.
• To load the intersection of the pixels
and an existing selection, press Ctrl+Alt+Shift
(Windows) or Command+Option+Shift
(Mac OS), and click the layer or layer mask
thumbnail in the Layers palette.
To move all the contents of a layer, you can
use the move tool without loading a transparency mask.
Using adjustment layers or fill
layers (Photoshop)
An adjustment layer lets you experiment with
color or tonal adjustments to an image without
permanently modifying the pixels in the image.
The color or tonal changes reside within the
adjustment layer, which acts as a veil through
which the underlying image layers appear.
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Fill layers do not have any effect on the layers
underneath them. The fill layer options are solid
color, gradient, or pattern. Once you create an
adjustment or fill layer, you can easily edit the
settings, or dynamically replace it with a different
adjustment or fill type.
When you create an adjustment layer, its effect
appears on all the layers below it. This lets you
correct multiple layers by making a single
adjustment, rather than making the adjustment
to each layer separately. Adjustment layers can be
applied and edited only in Photoshop; however,
they can be viewed in ImageReady. When you
apply an adjustment layer to a layer set, Photoshop
adds the new adjustment layer in the layer set
above the existing layers.
For more information, see “Making color
adjustments” in online Help.
To confine the effects of an adjustment layer to
a group of layers, create a clipping group
consisting of these layers. You can place the
adjustment layers in or at the base of the clipping
group. The adjustment will be confined to the layers
inside the set. (See “Creating clipping groups” on
page 218.) Alternatively, you can create a layer set,
and have the set use any blending mode other than
Pass Through.
Original, adjustment layer applied to zebra only,
and adjustment layer applied to entire image
Creating adjustment layers or fill layers
Adjustment layers and fill layers have the same
opacity and blending mode options as image
layers and can be rearranged, deleted, hidden,
and duplicated in the same manner. By default,
adjustment layers and fill layers have layer masks,
as indicated by the mask icon to the left of the layer
thumbnail. If a path is active when you create the
adjustment or fill layer, a layer clipping path is
created instead of a layer mask. When an
adjustment layer or fill layer is active, the
foreground and background colors default to
grayscale values so you can easily edit the mask.
Adjustment layers You can also specify a color
adjustment type for an adjustment layer.
Depending on your choice, the dialog box for
the selected adjustment command may appear.
The adjustment layer takes the name of the
adjustment type and is indicated in the Layers
palette by a thumbnail linked to a partially filled
circle. By painting the adjustment layer, you can
apply the content to just portions of the underlying layers.
For more information, see “Making color
adjustments” in online Help.
Fill layers The fill layer takes the name of
the fill type and is indicated by a color, pattern,
or gradient icon to the left of the thumbnail.
Fill layers are primarily used with layer clipping
paths. For example, when you create a new layer
clipping path, it gets filled with a solid color by
default. You can later choose to change it to a
gradient or pattern fill layer. At times, you may
also want to create a new color, pattern, or
gradient layer independently of the shape tools.
244 CHAPTER 8
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For example, you can darken the lower half of an
image by creating a fill gradient layer from white to
black and set its blending mode to Multiply.
By doing this on a fill layer, you do not have to
permanently modify the original image.
(See “Specifying fill layer options” on page 244.)
To create an adjustment layer or fill layer:
1 To confine the effects of the adjustment layer
or fill layer to a selected area, make a selection,
create a closed path and select it, or select an
existing closed path. When you use a selection,
you create an adjustment layer or fill layer
confined by a layer mask. When you use a path,
you create an adjustment layer or fill layer
confined by a layer clipping path.
2 Click the New Adjustment Layer button ( )
at the bottom of the Layers palette.
2 Make the desired adjustments, and click OK.
Note: If an adjustment layer has no associated
adjustment dialog box (for example, Invert Layer),
double-click the layer’s name to open the Layer
Options dialog box.
For information on editing a mask, see “Editing a
layer mask” on page 239. For information on
editing a layer clipping path, see “Editing a layer
clipping path (Photoshop)” on page 240.
To change the content of an adjustment or fill layer:
1 Select the adjustment layer or fill layer that you
want to change.
2 Choose Layer > Change Layer Content and
select a different fill or adjustment layer from
the list.
3 Choose the layer type you want to make.
Specifying fill layer options
4 Choose layer properties as desired, and then
You can create color, pattern, or gradient fill layers.
click OK. (See “Specifying layer properties” on
page 219.)
Color Specifies the color of a fill layer. You can
5 If needed, define the contents of the layer in the
dialog that appears, and click OK.
You can also create a fill or adjustment layer using
the Layer menu.
To edit an adjustment layer or fill layer:
1 Double-click the adjustment layer or fill layer’s
thumbnail in the Layers palette.
click the color box and choose a color.
For more information, see “Using the
Adobe Color Picker” in online Help.
Pattern Specifies the pattern of a fill layer. You can
click the pop-up palette and choose a pattern.
Click Scale and enter a value or drag the slider to
scale the pattern. You can edit the pattern settings,
then click the New preset button ( ) to create a
new preset pattern. Click Snap to Origin to
position the origin of the pattern with that of the
document if Link With Layer is selected or to
position the origin with the top left corner of the
layer if it is deselected. Select Link With Layer to
ADOBE PHOTOSHOP 6.0 245
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specify that the pattern moves with the layer as it is
relocated, and drag the Scale slider or enter a value
to specify the size of the pattern. You can drag a
pattern in the layer to position it while in this
panel. The position can be reset with the Snap to
Origin button. There must be at least one pattern
loaded for the pattern option to be available. You
can also load patterns using the Preset Manager.
applied within the merged layer. (See “Merging
layers” on page 247.) You can rasterize an
adjustment layer or fill layer without merging it.
(See “Simplifying layers” on page 245.)
Adjustment layers whose masks contain only
white values do not add significantly to the file
size, so it is not necessary to merge these
adjustment layers to conserve file space.
Gradient Specifies the gradient of a fill layer.
You can click the gradient to display the Gradient
Editor or click the inverted arrow ( ) and choose
a gradient from the pop-up palette. For some
effects, you can specify additional gradient
options. Reverse flips the orientation of the
gradient, Align With Layer uses the bounding box
of the layer to calculate the gradient fill when the
document bounds are used. Dither dithers the
pattern. Scale scales the application of the
gradient. You can also use the mouse to move
the center of the gradient by clicking and dragging
in the image window. Style specifies the shape of
the gradient.
For more information, see “Creating
gradient fills” in online Help.
Merging adjustment layers or fill layers
You can merge an adjustment or fill layer several
ways: with the layer below it, with the layers in its
own clipping group, with the layers it is linked to,
with all other visible layers. You cannot, however,
use an adjustment layer or fill layer as the target
layer for a merge. When you merge an adjustment
layer or fill layer with the layer below it, the adjustments are rasterized and become permanently
Simplifying layers
You can take layers that may be composed of
multiple, generated elements and simplify them to
a flat raster image that can then be edited with the
painting tools. You can convert data from type
layers, shapes, fill layers, linked layers, layer
clipping paths, the current layer, or all layers.
To rasterize a layer:
1 Select the layer you want to rasterize.
2 Choose Layer > Rasterize and select one of the
following options:
• Type to rasterize a type layer.
• Shape to rasterize a layer containing a shape.
• Layer Content (Photoshop) or Dynamic Fill
Data (ImageReady) to rasterize an adjustment or
fill layer.
• Layer Clipping Path to rasterize a layer
containing a layer clipping path.
• Layer to rasterize multiple generated elements.
• Linked Layers to rasterize linked layers.
• All Layers to rasterize all layers in the image.
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Managing layered images
Adding nontransparent layers to an image
increases its file size. To conserve disk space,
you can delete layers or layer sets, merge two or
more layers, or flatten all layers in an image into
one layer.
Tracking file size
File size is proportional to the pixel dimensions of
an image and the number of layers contained in
the image. Images with more pixels may produce
more detail at a given printed size, but they require
more disk space to store and may be slower to edit
and print. You should keep track of your file sizes
to make sure the files are not becoming too large
for your purposes. If the file is becoming too large,
reduce the number of layers in the image or change
the image size.
To track file size:
Check the values in the Document Sizes box at the
lower left corner of the screen (Windows) or the
image window (Mac OS). (See “Displaying file
and image information” on page 78.) For more
information on displaying file size, see “Changing
image size and resolution” on page 95.
The first (left) value indicates the size of the file if
flattened. The second (right) value shows the
estimated file size of the unflattened file, including
any layers and channels.
To track the use of the Photoshop scratch disk
(temporary disk space used for storing data
when RAM is insufficient), position the pointer over
the triangle at the bottom of the image window, hold
down the mouse button, and choose Scratch Sizes.
Deleting a layer
Delete layers and layer sets you no longer need to
reduce the size of your image file.
To delete a layer:
1 Select the layer or layer set in the Layers palette.
• Click the Trash button ( ) at the bottom of the
Layers palette, and click Yes, or drag the layer name
in the Layers palette to the trash button.
• You can also delete a layer using the Layer menu
or Layers palette menu.
To delete a selected layer automatically,
Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Mac OS)
the Trash button at the bottom of the Layers palette.
When you Ctrl-click (Windows) or Command-click
(Mac OS) the Trash button while a layer set is
selected, you can specify whether only the layer set is
deleted, or the set and its contents.
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Merging layers
To merge a clipping group:
Merging layers, layer sets, layer clipping paths,
clipping groups, linked layers, or adjustment layers
combines several layers into one and keeps file size
manageable. When you’ve finalized the characteristics and positioning of a layer’s contents, you
can merge the layer with one or more layers to
create partial versions of your composite image.
The intersection of all transparent areas in the
merged layers remains transparent.
1 Make visible all the layers in the group that you
want to merge (any hidden layers in the group are
discarded when you merge).
In addition to merging layers, you can stamp
layers, which allows you to merge the contents of
more than one layer into a target layer, while
leaving the other layers intact. Typically, the
selected layer will stamp down to the layer below it.
To merge a layer with the layer below it:
1 Make sure that the two layers or layer sets you
want to merge are visible. Select the top layer or
layer set of the pair in the Layers palette.
2 Choose Layer > Merge Down or Layer > Merge
Layer Set.
To merge all visible linked layers:
1 Make visible all layers or layer sets you want to
merge, and link them together. (See “Linking
layers” on page 209.)
2 Choose Layer > Merge Linked or choose
Merged Linked from the Layers palette menu.
2 Select the base layer in the group.
3 Choose Layer > Merge Group, or choose Merge
Group from the Layers palette menu.
To merge all the visible layers in an image:
1 Hide any layers or layer sets you do not want to
merge. Make sure that no layers are linked.
2 Choose Layer > Merge Visible, or choose Merge
Visible from the Layers palette menu.
To merge all visible layers into a new layer
and create a new empty layer, hold down Alt
(Windows) or Option (Mac OS), and choose
Layer > Merge Visible. The original layers remain
intact.
To stamp a layer or linked layers:
1 Make sure that the two layers or linked layers
you want to merge are visible. Select the top layer
of the pair.
2 Press Ctrl+Alt+E (Windows) or
Command+Option+E (Mac OS).
3 To stamp linked layers, select one of the linked
layers, and press Ctrl+Alt+E (Windows) or
Command+Option+E (Mac OS). The selected
layer is stamped with the contents from the other
linked layers.
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To stamp layer sets:
To flatten an image:
1 Make sure that the layers in the layer set you
want to merge are visible. Select the layer set.
1 Make sure that all the layers you want to keep
the content from are visible.
2 Press Ctrl+Alt+E (Windows) or
Command+Option+E (Mac OS). A new layer
named after the layer set is created above the layer
set, containing an image that matches all of the
contents of the layer set.
2 Choose Layer > Flatten Image, or choose
Flatten Image from the Layers palette menu.
To stamp all visible layers:
1 Make sure that the layers you want to include
are visible.
2 Select the layer or layer set that you want to
contain the new contents, and press
Shift+Ctrl+Alt+E (Windows) or
Shift+Command+Option+E (Mac OS).
The selected layer is stamped with the contents of
all visible layers. If a layer set is selected, a new layer
named after the set is created, the original layer set
is deleted, and all of the layers contained in the set
remain in the Layers palette.
Flattening all layers
In a flattened image, all visible layers are merged
into the background, greatly reducing file size.
Flattening an image discards all hidden layers and
fills the remaining transparent areas with white.
In most cases, you won’t want to flatten a file until
you have finished editing individual layers.
Note: Converting an image between some color
modes flattens the file. Be sure to save a copy of your
file that includes all layers if you want to edit the
original image at a later date.
Saving layered documents
You may want to save two versions of your file—
a flattened version for final use and a second
version with layers intact for future edits.
For more information on saving documents and
determining file formats, see “Saving images” on
page 357.
9
251
Chapter 9: Using Type
ypography gives visual form to language.
Adobe Photoshop and Adobe ImageReady
let you add type to images with flexibility
and precision. You can create and edit type directly
on-screen (instead of in a dialog box) and quickly
change the font, style, size, and color of the type.
You can apply changes to individual characters
and set formatting options for entire paragraphs,
including alignment, justification, and wordwrapping. You can create designs that include
Chinese, Japanese, and Korean type (if you
have the correct system software installed on
your computer).
T
Creating type
You can create horizontal or vertical type
anywhere in an image. Depending on how you
use the type tool, you can enter point type or
paragraph type. Point type is useful for entering a
single word or a line of characters; paragraph type
is useful for entering and formatting the type as
one or more paragraphs.
About type
Type consists of mathematically defined shapes
that describe the letters, numbers, and symbols of
a typeface. Many typefaces are available in more
than one format, the most common formats being
Type 1 (also called PostScript fonts), TrueType,
and OpenType.
When you add type to an image, the characters
are composed of pixels and have the same
resolution as the image file—zooming in on
characters shows jagged edges. However,
Photoshop and ImageReady preserve the vectorbased type outlines and use them when you scale
or resize type, save a PDF or EPS file, or print the
image to a PostScript printer. As a result, it’s
possible to produce type with crisp, resolutionindependent edges.
Type entered as point type (top) and in a bounding box.
When you create type, a new type layer is added to
the Layers palette. In Photoshop, you can also
create a selection border in the shape of the type.
Note: In Photoshop, a type layer is not created for
images in Multichannel, Bitmap, or Indexed Color
mode, because these modes do not support layers.
In these image modes, type appears on the
background and cannot be edited.
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About using the type tool (Photoshop)
3 Click an orientation button in the options bar:
Clicking in an image with the type tool puts the
type tool in edit mode. You can enter and edit
characters when the tool is in edit mode;
however, you must commit changes to the type
layer before you can perform other operations.
For example, you cannot select a command from
the Layer menu while the type tool is in edit mode.
To determine if the type tool is in edit mode,
look in the options bar—if you see the OK
button ( ) and Cancel button ( ), the type
tool is in edit mode.
• Horizontal ( ) to enter type horizontally.
To commit changes to a type layer:
Do one of the following:
• Click the OK button (
) in the options bar.
• Press the Enter key on the numeric keypad.
• Press Ctrl+Enter on the main keyboard
(Windows) or Command+Return (Mac OS).
• Select any tool in the toolbox, or click in the
Layers, Channels, Paths, Actions, History,
or Styles palette.
• Vertical ( ) to enter type vertically.
4 Click in the image to set an insertion point for
the type. The small line through the I-beam marks
the position of the type baseline. For horizontal
type, the baseline marks the line on which the type
rests; for vertical type, the baseline marks the
center axis of the type characters.
5 Select additional type options in the options
bar, Character palette, and Paragraph palette.
(See “Formatting characters” on page 258 and
“Formatting paragraphs” on page 265.)
6 Enter the characters you want. Press Enter on
the main keyboard (Windows) or Return
(Mac OS) to begin a new line.
7 (Photoshop) Commit the type layer. (See
“About using the type tool (Photoshop)” on
page 252.)
The type you entered appears in a new type layer.
Entering paragraph type
Entering point type
When you enter point type, each line of type is
independent—the length of a line grows or
shrinks as you edit it, but it doesn’t wrap to the
next line.
To enter point type:
1 Select the type tool ( ).
2 (Photoshop) Click the New Type Layer button
( ) in the options bar.
When you enter paragraph type, the lines of type
wrap to fit the dimensions of the bounding box.
You can enter multiple paragraphs and select a
paragraph justification option.
You can resize the bounding box, which causes the
type to reflow within the adjusted rectangle.
You can adjust the bounding box while you’re
entering type or after you create the type layer.
You can also rotate, scale, and skew type using the
bounding box.
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User Guide
To enter paragraph type:
To resize or transform a type bounding box:
1 Select the type tool ( ).
1 Display the bounding box handles:
2 (Photoshop) Click the New Type Layer
• (Photoshop) With the type tool active, select
button ( ) in the options bar.
the type layer in the Layers palette, and click in the
text flow.
3 Click an orientation option in the options bar:
• Horizontal ( ) to enter type horizontally.
• Vertical ( ) to enter type vertically.
4 Do one of the following:
• Drag diagonally to define a bounding box for
the type.
• Hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS)
as you click or drag to display the Text Box Size
dialog box. Enter values for Width and Height,
and click OK.
5 Select additional type options in the options
bar, Character palette, and Paragraph palette.
(See “Formatting characters” on page 258
and “Formatting paragraphs” on page 265.)
6 Enter the characters you want. Press Enter
on the main keyboard (Windows) or Return
(Mac OS) to begin a new paragraph. If you enter
more type than can fit in the bounding box, the
overflow icon ( ) appears on the bounding box.
7 (Photoshop) If desired, resize, rotate, or skew
the bounding box.
8 (Photoshop) Commit the type layer. (See
“About using the type tool (Photoshop)” on
page 252.)
The type you entered appears in a new type layer.
• (ImageReady) With the type tool active, select
the type layer. If the bounding box handles don’t
appear, make sure that the Text Bounds option is
selected in the View > Show submenu.
2 Drag to achieve the desired effect:
• To resize the bounding box, position the pointer
over a handle—the pointer turns into a double
arrow ( )—and drag. Shift-drag to maintain the
proportion of the bounding box.
• (Photoshop) To rotate the bounding box,
position the pointer outside of the bounding
border—the pointer turns into a curved,
two-sided arrow ( )—and drag. Shift-drag to
constrain the rotation to 15° increments.
To change the center of rotation, Ctrldrag (Windows) or Command-drag (Mac OS)
the center point to a new location. The center
point can be outside the bounding box.
• (Photoshop) To skew the bounding box,
hold down Ctrl+Shift (Windows) or
Command+Shift (Mac OS) and drag a side
handle. The pointer turns into an arrowhead
with a small double arrow ( ).
• (Photoshop) To scale the type as you resize the
bounding box, Ctrl-drag (Windows) or
Command-drag (Mac OS) a corner handle.
Note: You can also transform type layers using the
transformation commands in the Edit menu, except
for Perspective and Distort.
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To show or hide the type bounding box (ImageReady):
Working with type layers
Do one of the following:
Once you create a type layer, you can edit the type
and apply layer commands to it. You can change
the orientation of the type, apply anti-aliasing,
convert between point type and paragraph type,
create a work path from type, or convert type to
shapes. You can move, restack, copy, and change
the layer options of a type layer as you do for a
normal layer. You can also make the following
changes to a type layer and still edit the type:
• Choose View > Show > Text Bounds.
• Choose View > Show Extras. This command also
shows or hides selection edges, slices, image maps,
text bounds, text baseline, and text selection.
(See “Working with Extras” on page 77.)
Creating a type selection border
(Photoshop)
When you use the type tool with the Masked Type
option selected, you create a selection in the shape
of the type. Type selections appear on the active
layer, and can be moved, copied, filled, or stroked
just like any other selection.
To create a type selection border:
1 Select the layer on which you want the selection
to appear. For best results, create the type selection
border on a normal image layer, not a type layer.
2 Select the type tool ( ), and click the Masked
Type button ( ) in the options bar.
3 Select additional type options, and enter type at
a point or in a bounding box. (See “Entering point
type” on page 252 and “Entering paragraph type”
on page 252.)
The type selection border appears in the image on
the active layer.
• Apply transformation commands from the
Edit menu, except for Perspective and Distort.
(To apply the Perspective or Distort commands,
or to transform part of the type layer, you must
rasterize the type layer, making the type
uneditable.)
• Use layer styles.
• Use fill shortcuts. To fill with the foreground
color, press Alt+Backspace (Windows) or
Option+Delete (Mac OS); to fill with the
background color, press Ctrl+Backspace
(Windows) or Command+Delete (Mac OS).
• Warp type to conform to a variety of shapes.
Editing text in type layers
You can insert new text, change existing text, and
delete text in type layers.
To edit text in a type layer:
1 Select the type tool ( ).
2 Select the type layer in the Layers palette,
or click in the text flow to automatically select a
type layer.
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3 Position the insertion point in the text, and do
one of the following:
• Click to set the insertion point.
• Select one or more characters you want to edit.
is horizontal, the type lines flow from left to right.
Don’t confuse the orientation of a type layer with
the direction of characters in a type line.
(See “Rotating vertical type” on page 264.)
4 Enter text as desired.
To change the orientation of a type layer:
5 (Photoshop) Commit the changes to the type
1 Select the type layer in the Layers palette.
layer. (See “About using the type tool
(Photoshop)” on page 252.)
2 Do one of the following:
• Choose Layer > Type > Horizontal, or Layer >
Type > Vertical.
Rasterizing type layers
Some commands and tools—such as filter effects
and painting tools—are not available for type
layers. You must rasterize the type prior to
applying the command or using the tool.
Rasterizing converts the type layer to a normal
layer and makes its contents uneditable as text.
A warning message appears if you choose a
command or tool that requires a rasterized layer.
Some warning messages provide an OK button
that you can click to rasterize the layer.
• (ImageReady) Select Horizontal ( ) or
Vertical ( ) in the options bar.
Specifying anti-aliasing
Anti-aliasing lets you produce smooth-edged type
by partially filling the edge pixels. As a result,
the edges of the type blend into the background.
To convert a type layer to a normal layer:
1 Select the type layer in the Layers palette.
2 Choose Layer > Rasterize > Type.
Changing type layer orientation
The orientation of a type layer determines the
direction of type lines in relation to the document
window (for point type) or the bounding box
(for paragraph type). When a type layer is vertical,
the type lines flow up and down; when a type layer
Anti-aliasing None, and Strong.
When creating type for online use, consider that
anti-aliasing greatly increases the number of colors
in the original image. This limits your ability to
reduce the number of colors in the image and thus
reduce the optimized file size, and may cause stray
colors to appear along the edges of the type.
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When file size and limiting the number of colors is
most important, leaving type without anti-aliased
edges may be preferable, despite the jagged edges.
Also, consider using larger type than you would
use for printed works. Larger type can be easier to
view online and gives you more freedom in
deciding whether to apply anti-aliasing to type.
When you convert from paragraph type to point
type, a carriage return is added at the end of each
line of type (with the exception of the last line).
When you convert point type to paragraph type,
you must remove carriage returns in the
paragraph type to let the characters reflow in the
bounding box.
Note: When you use anti-aliasing, type may be
rendered inconsistently at small sizes and low resolutions (such as the resolution used for Web graphics).
To reduce this inconsistency, deselect the Fractional
Width option in the Character palette menu.
Important: When you convert paragraph type to
point type, all characters that overflow the bounding
box are deleted. To avoid losing text, adjust the
bounding box so that all type is visible prior to
conversion.
To apply anti-aliasing to a type layer:
To convert between point type and paragraph type:
1 Select the type layer in the Layers palette.
1 Select the type layer in the Layers palette.
2 Choose Layer > Type, and choose an option
from the submenu; or select the type tool ( ) and
choose an option from the anti-aliasing menu ( )
in the options bar:
2 Choose Layer > Type > Convert to Point Text,
or Layer > Type > Convert to Paragraph Text.
• None to apply no anti-aliasing.
Warping allows you to distort type to conform to a
variety of shapes; for example, you can warp type
in the shape of an arc or a wave. The warp style you
select is an attribute of the type layer—you can
change a layer’s warp style at any time to change
the overall shape of the warp. Warping options
give you precise control over the orientation and
perspective of the warp effect.
• Crisp to make type appear more sharp.
• Strong to make type appear heavier.
• Smooth to make type appear smoother.
Converting between point type and
paragraph type
You can convert point type to paragraph type to
adjust the flow of characters within a bounding
box. Or you can convert paragraph type to point
type to make each text line flow independently
from the others.
Warping type layers
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Warping applies to all characters on a type layer—
you cannot warp selected characters. While
warping is applied to a type layer, you cannot
resize or transform the bounding box for
paragraph type.
Note: You cannot warp type layers that include Faux
Bold formatting or use fonts that do not include
outline data (such as bitmap fonts).
To warp type:
1 Select a type layer.
2 Do one of the following:
• Select the type tool ( ), and click the Warp
button (
) in the options bar.
• Choose Layer > Type > Warp Text.
3 Choose a warp style from the Style pop-up
menu.
4 Select the orientation of the warp effect—
To unwarp type:
1 Select a type layer that has warping applied to it.
2 Select the type tool ( ), and click the Warp
button ( ) in the options bar; or choose Layer >
Type > Warp Text.
3 Choose None from the Style pop-up menu,
and click OK.
Creating a work path from type
(Photoshop)
Creating a work path from type lets you work with
characters as vector shapes. A work path is a
temporary path that appears in the Paths palette.
Once you create a work path from a type layer,
you can save and manipulate it like any other path.
(See “Selecting paths (Photoshop)” on page 173.)
You cannot edit characters in the path as text;
however, the original type layer remains intact
and editable.
Horizontal or Vertical.
5 If desired, specify values for additional
To create a work path from type:
warping options:
Select a type layer, and choose Layer > Type >
Create Work Path.
• Bend to specify how much warp is applied to
the layer.
• Horizontal Distortion and Vertical Distortion to
Converting type to shapes (Photoshop)
apply perspective to the warp.
When you convert type to shapes, the type layer is
replaced by a layer with a vector-based layer
clipping path. You can edit the layer clipping path
and apply styles to the layer; however, you cannot
edit characters in the layer as text. (See “Editing a
layer clipping path (Photoshop)” on page 240.)
6 Click OK.
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To convert type to shapes:
Select a type layer, and choose Layer > Type >
Convert to Shapes.
Formatting characters
Photoshop and ImageReady give you precise
control over individual characters in type layers,
including font, size, color, leading, kerning,
tracking, baseline shift, and alignment. You can set
type attributes before you enter characters or reset
them to change the appearance of selected
characters in a type layer.
Selecting characters
• Double-click a word to select it. Triple-click a
line to select it. Quadruple-click a paragraph to
select it. Quintuple-click anywhere in the text flow
to select all characters in a bounding box.
• To use the arrow keys to select characters,
hold down Shift and press the Right arrow or Left
arrow key. To use the arrow keys to select words,
hold down Shift+Ctrl (Windows) or
Shift+Command (Mac OS) and press the Right
arrow or Left arrow key.
4 To select all the characters in a layer without
positioning the insertion point in the text flow,
select the type layer in the Layers palette, and then
double-click the layer’s type icon ( ).
Before you can format individual characters,
you must select them. You can select one character,
a range of characters, or all characters in a
type layer.
Note: In Photoshop, selecting and formatting
characters in a type layer puts the type tool into edit
mode. You must commit the changes before you can
perform other operations. (See “About using the type
tool (Photoshop)” on page 252.)
To select characters:
To show or hide selection highlighting (ImageReady):
1 Select the type tool ( ).
Do one of the following:
2 Select the type layer in the Layers palette,
or click in the text flow to automatically select a
type layer.
• Choose View > Show > Text Selection.
3 Position the insertion point in the text, and do
one of the following:
• Choose View > Show Extras. This command also
shows or hides selection edges, slices, image maps,
text bounds, text baseline, and text selection.
(See “Working with Extras” on page 77.)
• Drag to select one or more characters.
• Click in the text and then shift-click to select a
range of characters.
• Choose Select > All to select all the characters in
the layer.
Using the Character palette
The Character palette provides options for
formatting characters. Some formatting options
are also provided in the options bar.
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To display the Character palette:
To choose a font family and style:
Do one of the following:
1 Choose a font family from the Font Family
pop-up menu in the Character palette or options
bar. If more than one copy of a font is installed on
your computer, an abbreviation follows the font
name: (T1) for Type 1 fonts, (TT) for TrueType
fonts, or (OT) for OpenType fonts.
• Choose Window > Show Character.
• Click the Character palette tab.
• With the type tool selected ( ), click Palettes in
the options bar.
Choosing a font
A font is a complete set of characters—letters,
numbers, and symbols—that share a common
weight, width, and style. When you select a font,
you can select the font family and its type style
independently. The font family is a collection of
fonts sharing an overall typeface design; for
example, Times. A type style is a variant version of
an individual font in the font family, for example,
Regular, Bold, or Italic. The range of available type
styles varies with each font. If a font doesn’t
include the style you want, you can apply faux
styles—simulated versions of bold, italic, superscript, subscript, all caps, and small caps styles.
In addition to the fonts installed on your system,
Photoshop uses font files in these local folders:
In Photoshop, you can choose a font family and
style by typing the desired name in the text box.
As you type, the name of the first font or style
beginning with that letter appears. Continue typing
until the correct font or style name appears. Be sure
to deselect the font name before entering new type in
the image.
2 Do one of the following:
• Choose a font style from the Font Style pop-up
menu in the Character palette or options bar.
• If the font family you chose does not include a
bold or italic style, choose Faux Bold or Faux Italic
from the Character palette menu to apply a
simulated style.
Note: You cannot apply Faux Bold formatting to
warped type. (See “Warping type layers” on
page 256.)
Windows Program Files/Common Files/
Adobe/Fonts
Mac OS System Folder/Application Support/
Adobe/Fonts
If you install a Type 1, TrueType, OpenType,
or CID font into the local Fonts folder, the font
appears in Adobe applications only.
Choosing a type size
The type size determines how large the type
appears in the image:
• In Photoshop, the default unit of measurement
for type is points. One PostScript point is equal to
1/72 of an inch in a 72-ppi image; however,
you can switch between using the PostScript and
260 CHAPTER 9
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traditional definitions of point size. You can
change the default unit of measurement for type in
the Units & Rulers section of the Preferences
dialog box.
• In ImageReady, pixels are the only unit of
measurement for type. This is because the
ImageReady application is tailored to creating
images for online media, in which pixels are the
standard unit of measurement.
Changing the type color
The type you enter gets its color from the current
foreground color; however, you can change the
type color before or after you enter type. When
editing existing type layers, you can change the
color of individual, selected characters or all type
in a layer.
To change the type color:
Do one of the following:
To choose a type size:
In the Character palette or options bar, enter or
select a new value for Size ( ). To use an alternate
unit of measurement, enter the unit (in, cm, pt,
px, or pica) after the value in the Size text box.
The value you enter is converted to the default unit
of measurement.
To specify the default unit of measurement for type
(Photoshop):
1 Choose Edit > Preferences > Units & Rulers.
2 Select a unit of measurement for Type.
To specify the point size definition (Photoshop):
1 Choose Edit > Preferences > Units & Rulers.
2 Select an option for Point/Pica Size. Traditional
points are slightly smaller than PostScript points.
• Click the Color selection box in the options bar
or Character palette, and select a color using the
color picker. In ImageReady, you can also select an
option from the Color selection box pop-up
menu: Foreground Color, Background Color,
Other (to use the color picker), or a color from the
pop-up palette.
• Click the foreground color selection box in the
toolbox, and select a color using the color picker.
Or click a color in the Color palette, the Swatches
palette, or the Color Table palette (ImageReady).
• Use fill shortcuts. To fill with the foreground
color, press Alt+Backspace (Windows) or
Option+Delete (Mac OS); to fill with the
background color, press Ctrl+Backspace
(Windows) or Command+Delete (Mac OS).
• Apply an overlay layer style to the type layer to
apply a color, pattern, or gradient on top of the
existing color. (See “Using layer styles” on
page 226.) In ImageReady, you can drag a color
from the toolbox color selection box, the Color
palette, the Color Table palette, or the Swatches
palette, and drop it onto a type layer to automati-
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cally apply a color overlay style. Applying an
overlay layer style affects all character in the type
layer; you cannot use this method to change the
color of individual characters.
Specifying leading
The amount of space between lines of type is called
leading. For Roman type, leading is measured
from the baseline of one line of type to the baseline
of the next line. The baseline is the invisible line on
which most type lies. You can apply more than one
leading amount within the same paragraph;
however, the largest leading value in a line of type
determines the leading value for that line.
You can use other options to set leading for
Chinese, Japanese, or Korean type.
For more information, see “Specifying how
leading is measured” in online Help.
5-point type with 5-point leading, and with 10-point leading.
To change the leading:
In the Character palette, do one of the following:
• Choose the desired leading from the Leading
menu ( ).
• Select the existing leading value, and enter a
new value.
To change the default auto leading percentage:
1 Display the Paragraph palette.
2 Choose Justification from the palette menu.
3 For Auto Leading, specify a new default
percentage.
Specifying kerning and tracking
Kerning is the process of adding or subtracting
space between specific letter pairs. You can control
kerning manually, or you can use automatic
kerning to turn on the kerning built into the font
by the font designer. Tracking is the process of
creating an equal amount of spacing across a range
of letters.
Positive kerning or tracking values move
characters apart (adding to the default spacing);
negative values move characters closer together
(reducing the default spacing). Kerning and
tracking values are measured in units that are
1/1000 of an em space. The width of an em space is
relative to the current type size. In a 1-point font,
262 CHAPTER 9
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1 em corresponds to 1 point; in a 10-point font,
1 em corresponds to 10 points. Because kerning
and tracking units are 1/1000 em, 100 units in a
10-point font are equivalent to 1 point.
To specify tracking:
In the Character palette, enter or select a numeric
value for Tracking ( ).
Adjusting horizontal or vertical scale
Horizontal scale and vertical scale specify the
proportion between the height and width of the
type. Unscaled characters have a value of 100%.
You can adjust scale to compress or expand
selected characters in both width and height.
Default, and tracking set to 350.
Note: Depending on the value you enter when you
use vertical type, the horizontal scale may make
the type appear narrower; the opposite is true for
vertical scale.
To use a font’s built-in kerning information:
In the Character palette, choose Metrics
(Photoshop) or Auto (ImageReady) from the
Kerning menu ( ).
Note: The Metrics option replaces the Auto Kern
option in previous versions of Photoshop.
To adjust kerning manually:
1 Click with the type tool ( ) to set an insertion
point between two characters.
To adjust the horizontal or vertical scale of type:
In the Character palette, enter a new percentage
for Horizontal Scale ( ) or Vertical Scale ( ).
Specifying baseline shift
Baseline shift controls the distance that type
appears from its baseline, either raising or
lowering the selected type to create superscripts
or subscripts.
Note: If a range of type is selected, you can’t
manually kern the characters. Instead, use tracking.
2 In the Character palette, enter or select a
numeric value for Kerning ( ).
3 (Photoshop) Commit the changes to the type
layer. (See “About using the type tool
(Photoshop)” on page 252.)
Default, and baseline shift of 10 points.
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To specify baseline shift:
To specify superscript or subscript characters:
In the Character palette, enter or select
(ImageReady) a value for Baseline Shift ( ).
A positive value moves horizontal type above
and vertical type to the right of the baseline;
a negative value moves type below or to the left
of the baseline.
Choose Superscript or Subscript from the
Character palette menu. A check mark indicates
that the option is selected.
Changing case
You can enter or format type as uppercase
characters, either all caps or small caps. When you
format type as small caps, Photoshop and
ImageReady use the small caps designed as part of
the font, if available. If the font does not include
small caps, Photoshop and ImageReady generate
faux small caps.
To change the case of type:
Choose All Caps or Small Caps from the Character
palette menu. A check mark indicates that the
option is selected. Selecting Small Caps will not
change characters that were originally typed
in uppercase.
Making characters superscript or
subscript
You can enter or format type as superscript or
subscript characters. Superscript characters are
reduced in size and shifted above the type baseline;
subscript characters are reduced in size and shifted
below the type baseline. If the font does not
include superscript or subscript characters,
Photoshop and ImageReady generate faux superscript or subscript characters.
Applying underline and strikethrough
You can apply a line under horizontal type, or to
the left or right of vertical type. You can also apply
a line through horizontal or vertical type. The line
is always the same color as the type color.
To apply an underline or strikethrough:
Choose an option from the Character
palette menu:
• Underline applies an underline beneath
horizontal type.
• Underline Left and Underline Right apply an
underline to the left or right of vertical type.
You can apply an underline to the left or right,
but not to both sides.
Note: The Underline Left and Underline Right
options only appear in the Character palette
menu when a type layer that contains vertical type
is selected.
• Strikethrough applies a horizontal line through
horizontal type or a vertical line through
vertical type.
A check mark indicates that an option is selected.
264 CHAPTER 9
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Using ligatures and old style numerals
When working with OpenType fonts, you can use
ligatures and old style typographic numerals in
your type, if the font provides them. Ligatures are
typographic replacements for certain pairs of
characters, such as “fi” and “fl.” Old style numerals
are shorter than regular numerals, and some old
style numerals descend below the type baseline.
However, for type in small sizes (less than
20 points) displayed online, fractional character
widths can cause type to run together or have too
much extra space, making it difficult to read.
You can turn off fractional character widths to fix
type spacing in whole-pixel increments and
prevent small type from running together.
The fractional character width setting applies to
all characters on a type layer—you cannot set the
option for selected characters.
To turn fractional character widths on or off:
Choose Fractional Widths from the Character
palette menu. A check mark indicates that the
option is selected.
Rotating vertical type
Type with Ligatures option
unselected and selected.
To use ligatures or old style numerals:
Choose Ligatures or Old Style from the Character
palette menu. A check mark indicates that the
option is selected.
When working with vertical type, you can rotate
the direction of characters by 90°. Rotated
characters appear upright; unrotated characters
appear sideways (perpendicular to the type line).
Using fractional character widths
By default, type is displayed using fractional
character widths. This means that the spacing
between characters varies, with fractions of whole
pixels between some characters. In most situations, fractional character widths provide the best
spacing for type appearance and readability.
Original, and type without vertical rotation.
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User Guide
To rotate characters in vertical type:
Choose Rotate Character from the Character
palette menu. A check mark indicates that the
option is selected.
Note: You cannot rotate double-byte characters
(full width characters only available in Chinese,
Japanese, and Korean fonts). Any double-byte
characters in the selected range will not be rotated.
Formatting paragraphs
A paragraph is any range of type with a carriage
return at the end. You use the Paragraph palette to
set options that apply to entire paragraphs, such as
the alignment, indentation, and space between
lines of type. For point type, each line is a separate
paragraph. For paragraph type, each paragraph
can have multiple lines, depending on the dimensions of the bounding box.
• Select the type layer in the Layers palette to apply
formatting to all paragraphs in the layer.
To show the Paragraph palette:
Choose Window > Show Paragraph, or click the
Paragraph palette tab.
Aligning and justifying type
You can align type to one edge of a paragraph
(left, center, or right for horizontal type; top,
center, or bottom for vertical type) and justify type
to both edges of a paragraph. Alignment options
are available for both point type and paragraph
type; justification options are only available for
paragraph type.
To specify alignment:
In the Paragraph palette or options bar, click an
alignment option. The options for horizontal
type are:
Selecting paragraphs and showing the
Paragraph palette
( ) Aligns type to the left, leaving the right edge
of the paragraph ragged.
You can use the Paragraph palette to set formatting
options for a single paragraph, multiple
paragraphs, or all paragraphs in a type layer.
( ) Aligns type to the center, leaving both edges
of the paragraph ragged.
To select paragraphs for formatting:
( ) Aligns type to right, leaving the left edge of
the paragraph ragged.
Do one of the following:
The options for vertical type are:
• Select the type tool ( ), and click in a paragraph
to apply formatting to a single paragraph.
( ) Aligns type to the top, leaving the bottom
edge of the paragraph ragged.
• Select the type tool, and make a selection within
a range of paragraphs to apply formatting to
multiple paragraphs.
266 CHAPTER 9
Using Type
( ) Aligns type to the center, leaving both the top
and bottom edges of the paragraph ragged.
( ) Aligns type to bottom, leaving the top edge of
the paragraph ragged.
To specify justification for paragraph type:
In the Paragraph palette, click a justification
option. The options for horizontal type are:
( ) Justifies all lines except the last, which is
left-aligned.
( ) Justifies all lines except the last, which is
centered.
( ) Justifies all lines except the last, which is
right-aligned.
( ) Justifies all lines including the last, which is
force-justified.
The options for vertical type are:
( ) Justifies all lines except the last, which is
top-aligned.
( ) Justifies all lines except the last, which is
centered.
( ) Justifies all lines except the last, which is
bottom-aligned.
( ) Justifies all lines including the last, which is
force-justified.
Indenting paragraphs
Indentation specifies the amount of space between
type and the bounding box or line that contains
the type. Indentation affects only the selected
paragraph or paragraphs, so you can easily set
different indentations for paragraphs.
To specify paragraph indentation:
In the Paragraph palette, enter a value for an
indentation option:
• Left Indent ( ) to indent from the left edge of
the paragraph. For vertical type, this option
controls the indentation from the top of the
paragraph.
• Right Indent ( ) to indent from the right edge
of the paragraph. For vertical type, this option
controls the indentation from the bottom of
the paragraph.
• First Line Indent ( ) to indent the first line of
type in the paragraph. For horizontal type, the first
line indent is relative to the left indent; for vertical
type, the first line indent is relative to the top
indent. To create a first line hanging indentation,
enter a negative value.
Changing space above or below
paragraphs
You can control the space above and below
paragraphs using the paragraph spacing options.
To specify paragraph spacing:
In the Paragraph palette, enter a value for Space
Before ( ) and Space After ( ).
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Specifying hanging punctuation
Working with composition
Hanging punctuation controls whether punctuation marks fall inside or outside the margins.
If hanging punctuation is turned on for Roman
fonts, periods, commas, single-quotation marks,
double-quotation marks, apostrophes, hyphens,
em dashes, en dashes, colons, and semicolons
appear outside the margins.
The appearance of type on the page depends
on a complex interaction of processes called
composition. Using the word spacing, letter
spacing, glyph spacing, and hyphenation options
you’ve selected, Photoshop and ImageReady
evaluate possible line breaks and choose the one
that best supports the specified parameters.
To use hanging punctuation for Roman fonts:
Choose Roman Hanging Punctuation from the
Paragraph palette menu. A check mark indicates
that the option is selected.
Note: When you use Roman Hanging Punctuation,
any double-byte punctuation marks available in
Chinese, Japanese, and Korean fonts in the selected
range will not hang.
For more information, see “Using
burasagari” in online Help.
Controlling hyphenation and
justification
The settings you choose for hyphenation and justification affect the horizontal spacing of lines and
the aesthetic appeal of type on a page. Hyphenation options determine whether words can be
hyphenated and, if they can, what breaks are
allowable. Justification options determine word,
letter, and glyph spacing.
For more information, see “Controlling
hyphenation and justification” in
online Help.
For more information, see “Working with
composition” in online Help.
Setting options for Chinese,
Japanese, and Korean type
(Photoshop)
Photoshop provides several options for working
with Chinese, Japanese, and Korean (CJK) type.
Characters in CJK fonts are often referred to as
double-byte characters.
For more information, see “Setting options
for Chinese, Japanese, and Korean type” in
online Help.
10
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Chapter 10: Designing Web Pages
dobe Photoshop and Adobe ImageReady
provide you with a comprehensive
environment for designing complex,
image-rich Web pages. You can use the tools and
techniques you’re already familiar with to design
Web pages that include images, text, and sophisticated effects—such as rollovers, image maps, and
animations—quickly and easily. Best of all,
you never have to view or edit the underlying
HTML and JavaScript.
A
About designing Web pages with
Photoshop and ImageReady
When designing Web pages using Adobe
Photoshop and Adobe ImageReady, keep in
mind the tools and features that are available in
each application.
• Photoshop provides tools for creating and
manipulating static images for use on the Web.
You can divide an image into slices, add links and
HTML text, optimize the slices, and save the image
as a Web page.
• ImageReady provides many of the same image-
editing tools as Photoshop. In addition, it includes
tools and palettes for advanced Web processing
and creating dynamic Web images like animations
and rollovers.
Using the Web design palettes
(ImageReady)
ImageReady provides the following palettes for
adding advanced Web design features to images:
Rollover, Slice, and Image Map.
To display the Rollover, Slice, or Image Map palette:
Do one of the following:
• Click the tab of the palette you want to display.
• Choose Window > Show Rollover, Window >
Show Slice, or Window > Show Image Map.
Other factors to consider
When you save an image for use as a Web page,
you can choose to generate an HTML file.
This file contains information that tells a Web
browser what to display when it loads the page.
It can contain pointers to images (in the form of
GIF, PNG, and JPEG files), HTML text, linking
information, and JavaScript code for creating
rollover effects.
You can integrate your Web production process
by opening Photoshop files directly in Adobe
GoLive 5.0. Slices, URLs, and other Web features
in Photoshop files are accessible in GoLive for
management and editing. You can also open
Photoshop files in GoLive as page templates.
Page templates display as a shaded preview and
provide a visual guide for building a Web page in
GoLive. For more information on using GoLive,
see the Adobe GoLive 5.0 User Guide.
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You can preview most Web effects directly
in Photoshop or ImageReady. However,
the appearance of an image on the Web depends
on the operating system, color display system,
and browser used to display the image. Be sure to
preview images in different browsers, on different
operating systems, and with different color bit
depths. (See “Previewing an image in a browser”
on page 84.)
area of an image needs to be optimized in GIF
format to support an animation, but the rest of the
image is better optimized in JPEG format, you can
isolate the animation using a slice.
A
Creating and viewing slices
A slice is a rectangular area of an image that you
can use to create links, rollovers, and animations
in the resulting Web page. Dividing an image into
slices lets you selectively optimize it for Web
viewing.
B
About slices
You use slices to divide a source image into
functional areas. When you save the image as a
Web page, each slice is saved as an independent file
that contains its own settings, color palette, links,
rollover effects, and animation effects. You can use
slices to achieve faster download speeds. Slices are
also advantageous when working with images that
contain different types of data. For example, if one
C
Web page divided into slices: A. Image slice
B. No Image slice C. Slice that contains a rollover
You set how the Photoshop or ImageReady
application generates HTML code for aligning
slices—either using tables or cascading style
sheets—in the Output Settings dialog box. You can
also set how slice files are named. (See “Setting
output options” on page 348.)
Types of slices
Slices you create using the slice tool are called
user-slices; slices you create from a layer are called
layer-based slices. When you create a new user-slice
or layer-based slice, additional auto-slices are
generated to account for the remaining areas of the
image. In other words, auto-slices fill the space in
the image that is not defined by user-slices or
ADOBE PHOTOSHOP 6.0 273
User Guide
layer-based slices. Auto-slices are regenerated
every time you add or edit user-slices or
layer-based slices. User-slices, layer-based slices,
and auto-slices look different—user-slices and
layer-based slices are defined by a solid line, while
auto-slices are defined by a dotted line.
A subslice is a type of auto-slice that is generated
when you create overlapping slices. Subslices
indicate how the image will be divided when you
save the optimized file. Although subslices are
numbered and display a slice symbol, you cannot
select or edit them separately from the underlying
slice. Subslices are regenerated every time you
arrange the stacking order of slices.
3 Drag over the area where you want to create a
slice. Shift-drag to constrain the slice to a square.
Alt-drag (Windows) or Option-drag (Mac OS) to
draw from the center. Use snap to align a new slice
to a guide or another slice in the image. (See
“Moving and resizing user-slices” on page 277.)
To create a slice from a selection (ImageReady):
1 Select a portion of the image.
2 Choose Slices > Create Slice from Selection.
Creating user-slices
ImageReady creates a user-slice based on the
selection marquee. If the selection is feathered,
the slice covers the full selection (including the
feathered edges). If the selection is nonrectangular,
the slice covers a rectangular area large enough to
cover the full selection.
You can create user-slices with the slice tool, and in
ImageReady, from a selection or from guides.
To create slices from guides (ImageReady):
To create a slice with the slice tool:
1 Select the slice tool ( ). Any existing slices
automatically display in the document window.
In an image containing guides, choose Slices >
Create Slices from Guides. All slices created from
guides are user-slices.
2 Choose a style setting in the options bar:
When you create slices from guides, any existing
slices are deleted.
• Normal to determine slice proportions
by dragging.
Creating layer-based slices
• Constrained Aspect Ratio to set a height-towidth ratio. Enter whole numbers or decimals for
the aspect ratio. For example, to create a slice twice
as wide as it is high, enter 2 for the width and 1 for
the height.
When you create a slice from a layer, the slice
area encompasses all the pixel data in the layer.
If you move the layer or edit the layer’s content,
the slice area automatically adjusts to encompass
the new pixels.
• Fixed Size to specify the slice’s height and width.
Enter pixel values in whole numbers.
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Layer-based slices are especially useful when
working with rollovers. Start by placing the
rollover element on a separate layer, and then
create a slice from that layer. If you apply an effect
to the layer—such as a drop shadow or glow—
to create a rollover state, the slice automatically
adjusts to encompass the new pixels. However,
do not use a layer-based slice when you plan to
move the layer over a large area of the image
during an animation, because the slice dimension
may exceed a useful size. (See “Working with
rollovers (ImageReady)” on page 292.)
To create a slice from a layer:
1 Select a layer in the Layers palette.
2 Choose Layer > New Layer Based Slice.
Converting auto-slices to user-slices
You can move, duplicate, combine, divide, resize,
delete, arrange, align, and distribute user-slices.
You can also apply different optimization settings
to user-slices. In contrast, all auto-slices in an
image are linked and share the same optimization
settings. This is because auto-slices are regenerated
every time you create or edit a user-slice or layerbased slice.
Converting an auto-slice to a user-slice prevents it
from being changed when regeneration occurs.
Dividing, combining, linking, and setting options
for auto-slices automatically converts them to
user-slices.
To convert an auto-slice to a user-slice:
1 Select an auto-slice. In ImageReady, you can
select multiple slices. (See “Selecting slices” on
page 276.)
2 Do one of the following:
• (Photoshop) Click Promote to User Slice in the
options bar.
• (ImageReady) Choose Slices > Promote to
User-slice(s).
Converting layer-based slices to
user-slices
Because a layer-based slice is tied to the pixel
content of a layer, the only way to move, combine,
divide, resize, and align it is to edit the layer.
You can convert a layer-based slice to a user-slice
to unlink it from the layer.
To convert a layer-based slice to a user-slice:
1 Select a layer-based slice. In ImageReady,
you can select multiple slices. (See “Selecting
slices” on page 276.)
2 Do one of the following:
• (Photoshop) Click Promote to User Slice in the
options bar.
• (ImageReady) Choose Slices > Promote to
User-slice(s).
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Viewing slices
To show or hide slices:
You can view slices in Photoshop, the Photoshop
Save for Web dialog box (see “Optimizing images”
on page 320), and ImageReady. The following
characteristics can help you identify and differentiate between slices:
Do one of the following:
Slice lines Define the boundary of the slice.
Solid lines indicate that the slice is a user-slice or
layer-based slice; dotted lines indicate that the slice
is an auto-slice.
Slice colors Differentiate user-slices and
layer-based slices from auto-slices. By default,
user-slices and layer-based slices have blue
symbols, while auto-slices have gray symbols.
• Turn on display of slices in the View > Show
submenu, and choose View > Show Extras.
This command also shows or hides: (Photoshop)
selection edges, guides, a grid, target path, and
notes, or (ImageReady) selection edges, image
maps, text bounds, text baseline, and text
selection. (See “Working with Extras” on page 77.)
• (Photoshop Save for Web dialog box and
ImageReady) Click the Slices Visibility
button ( ).
To change the color of slice lines (Photoshop):
In addition, ImageReady and the Photoshop Save
for Web dialog box use color adjustments to dim
unselected slices. These adjustments are for
display purposes only and do not affect the final
image’s color. By default, the color adjustment
for auto-slices is twice the amount of that for
user-slices.
1 Choose a color from the Line Color pop-up
menu in the options bar.
Slice numbers Slices are numbered from left to
Changing the color of slice lines automatically
changes the color of selected slice lines to a
contrasting color.
right and top to bottom, beginning in the upper
left corner of the image. If you change the
arrangement or total number of slices, slice
numbers are updated to reflect the new order.
Slice symbols Indicate whether a user-slice is an
Image ( ) or No Image ( ) slice; if the slice is a
layer-based slice ( ); if the slice is linked ( );
or if the slice includes a rollover effect ( ).
(See “Choosing a content type” on page 281,
“Linking slices (ImageReady)” on page 285,
and “Working with rollovers (ImageReady)” on
page 292.)
To change the color of slice lines (ImageReady):
1 Choose Edit > Preferences > Slices.
2 Under Slice Lines, choose a color from the Line
Color pop-up menu.
To show or hide slice numbers (Photoshop):
Select Show Slice Numbers in the options bar.
Slice numbers show when the option is checked.
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To change the display of slice numbers and slice
symbols (ImageReady):
1 Choose Edit > Preferences > Slices.
2 Under Numbers and Symbols, select a size for
display symbols:
• None to display no numbers or symbols.
• The small icon to display small numbers
and symbols.
• The large icon to display large numbers
and symbols.
3 For Opacity, enter a value, or choose a value
from the pop-up slider to change the opacity of the
numbers and symbols display.
To change slice color adjustments (ImageReady):
1 Choose Edit > Preferences > Slices.
2 Enter a value, or choose a value from the
Color Adjustments pop-up slider for User-slices,
Auto-slices, or both. (The User-slices option
controls color adjustments for both user-slices and
layer-based slices.)
The value determines by how much the brightness
and contrast of unselected slices are dimmed.
To display slice lines only (ImageReady):
1 Choose Edit > Preferences > Slices.
2 Under Slice Lines, select Show Lines Only to
display slice lines only, and deselect color adjustments and numbers and symbols display.
Selecting and modifying slices
You can move, duplicate, combine, divide, resize,
delete, arrange, align, and distribute user-slices.
There are fewer options for modifying layer-based
slices and auto-slices; however, you can promote a
layer-based slice or an auto-slice to a user-slice at
any time.
In Photoshop, you cannot divide, combine, align,
or distribute slices. Jump to ImageReady to access
these slice-editing capabilities.
Selecting slices
You select a slice with the slice select tool in order
to apply modifications to it. In the Photoshop Save
for Web dialog box and in ImageReady, you can
select multiple slices.
To select a slice:
1 Select the slice select tool ( ).
2 Click on a slice in the image. When working
with overlapping slices, click the visible section of
an underlying slice to select it.
To toggle between the slice tool and the slice
select tool, hold down Ctrl (Windows) or
Command (Mac OS).
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To select multiple slices (Photoshop Save for Web
dialog box and ImageReady):
With the slice select tool ( ), do one of the
following:
• Shift-click to add slices to the selection.
• (Photoshop Save for Web dialog box) Drag
across the slices you want to select in the
image area.
• (ImageReady) Click in an auto-slice or outside
the image area, and drag across the slices you want
to select. (Clicking in a user-slice and dragging
moves the slice.)
In ImageReady, you can save, load, and delete slice
selections. Using slice selections lets you reselect
specific slices quickly and accurately.
To save a slice selection (ImageReady):
1 Select one or more slices.
2 Choose Slices > Save Slice Selection.
3 Enter a name in the Selection Name text box,
and click OK.
To load a slice selection (ImageReady):
Choose Slices > Load Slice Selection, and select the
name of the slice selection you want to load from
the submenu.
Note: You must save a slice selection before you can
load it.
To delete a slice selection (ImageReady):
Choose Slices > Delete Slice Selection, and select
the name of the slice selection you want to delete
from the submenu. Deleting a slice selection does
not delete the slices themselves.
Moving and resizing user-slices
You can move and resize user-slices in Photoshop
and ImageReady, but not in the Photoshop Save
for Web dialog box. You can also move and resize
slices using numeric coordinates. (See “Resizing
and moving slices using numeric coordinates” on
page 283.)
To move or resize a user-slice:
1 Select a user-slice. In ImageReady, you can
select and move multiple slices.
2 Do one of the following:
• To move a slice, move the pointer inside the slice
selection border, and drag the slice to a new
position. Press Shift to restrict movement to a
vertical, horizontal, or 45° diagonal line.
• To resize a slice, grab a side or a corner handle of
the slice, and drag to resize the slice. In
ImageReady, if you select and resize adjacent
slices, common edges shared by the slices are
resized together.
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To snap slices to a guide or another user-slice:
1 Select the options you want from the View >
Snap To submenu, and choose View > Snap.
(See “Working with snap” on page 152.) A check
mark indicates that the option is turned on.
2 Move the selected slices as desired. The slices
snap to any guide or slice within 4 pixels.
Dividing user-slices and auto-slices
(ImageReady)
In ImageReady, the Divide Slice dialog box lets you
divide one or more slices horizontally, vertically,
or both. Duplicate slices are always user-slices,
regardless of whether the original is a user-slice or
an auto-slice.
Note: You cannot divide layer-based slices.
To divide slices:
1 Select one or more slices.
2 Do one of the following:
• Choose Slices > Divide Slice(s).
• Choose Divide Slice(s) from the Slice
palette menu.
3 Select Preview in the Divide Slice dialog box to
preview the changes.
5 Define how you want to divide each
selected slice:
• Select and enter a value for slices down or slices
across to divide each slice evenly into the specified
number of slices.
• Select and enter a value for pixels per slice to
divide each slice based on the specified number of
pixels. Any section of a slice that is left over is made
into another slice. For example, if you divide a slice
that is 100 pixels wide into three new slices each 30
pixels wide, the remaining 10-pixel-wide area
becomes a new slice.
6 Click OK.
Duplicating slices
You can create a duplicate slice with the same
dimensions and optimization settings as the
original. If the original slice is a linked user-slice,
the duplicate is linked to the same set. (See
“Linking slices (ImageReady)” on page 285.)
Duplicate slices are always user-slices, regardless of
whether the original is a user-slice, a layer-based
slice, or an auto-slice.
In ImageReady, you can also copy and paste slices
within or between documents.
To duplicate a slice:
4 In the Divide Slice dialog box, select one or both
of the following options:
1 Select a slice. In ImageReady, you can select
multiple slices.
• Divide Horizontally Into to divide the slice
lengthwise.
2 Do one of the following:
• Divide Vertically Into to divide the slice
width-wise.
• Alt-drag (Windows) or Option-drag (Mac OS)
from inside the selection. (Dragging from the edge
will resize a user-slice.)
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• (ImageReady) Choose Slices > Duplicate
Slice(s).
To combine slices:
• (ImageReady) Choose Duplicate Slice(s) from
the Slice palette menu.
2 Choose Slices > Combine Slices.
The duplicate slice appears on top of the original
(offset 10 pixels down and to the right) and can be
moved, resized, or otherwise modified.
Arranging user-slices and layer-based
slices
To copy and paste a slice (ImageReady):
1 Select one or more slices.
2 Choose Copy Slice from the Slice palette menu.
3 If you want to paste into another image,
open and display that image.
4 Choose Paste Slice from the Slice palette menu.
If you paste the slice into the same image as you
copied it from, the pasted slice appears on top of
the original.
1 Select two or more slices.
When slices overlap, the last slice you create is the
top slice in the stacking order. You can change the
stacking order to gain access to underlying slices.
You can specify which slice is on the top and
bottom of the stack and move slices up or down in
the stacking order.
Note: You cannot arrange the stacking order of
auto-slices.
To change the stacking order of slices:
1 Select a slice. In ImageReady, you can select
multiple slices.
Combining slices (ImageReady)
2 Do one of the following:
In ImageReady, you can combine two or more
slices into a single slice. The resulting slice takes its
dimensions and position from the rectangle
created by joining the outer edges of the combined
slices. If the combined slices are not adjacent or are
of different proportions or alignments, the newly
combined slice may overlap other slices.
• With the slice select tool active, click a stacking
Optimization settings for the combined slice are
those of the first slice selected before the Combine
Slices operation. A combined slice is always a
user-slice, regardless of whether the original slices
include auto-slices.
Note: You cannot combine layer-based slices.
order option in the options bar: Bring to Front
( ), Bring Forward ( ), Send Backward ( ),
Send to Back ( ).
• (ImageReady) Choose Slices > Arrange, and
choose a stacking order command from the
submenu; or choose a stacking order command
from the Slice palette menu.
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Aligning user-slices (ImageReady)
To distribute user-slices:
In ImageReady, you can align user-slices with the
top, bottom, left, right, or middle. Aligning
user-slices can eliminate unneeded auto-slices and
generate a smaller, more efficient HTML file.
1 Select the user-slices you want to distribute.
Note: You cannot align layer-based slices or
auto-slices.
To align user-slices:
1 Select the user-slices you want to align.
2 Do one of the following:
• With the slice select tool active, click an
alignment option in the options bar: Align Top
Edges ( ), Align Vertical Centers ( ), Align
Bottom Edges ( ), Align Left Edges ( ), Align
Horizontal Centers ( ), Align Right Edges ( ).
• Choose Slices > Align, and choose a command
from the submenu.
Distributing user-slices (ImageReady)
2 Do one of the following:
• With the slice select tool active, click a
distribute option in the options bar: Distribute
Top Edges ( ), Distribute Vertical Centers ( ),
Distribute Bottom Edges ( ), Distribute Left
Edges ( ), Distribute Horizontal Centers ( ),
Distribute Right Edges ( ).
• Choose Slices > Distribute, and choose a
command from the submenu.
Deleting user-slices and layer-based slices
When you delete a user-slice or layer-based slice,
auto-slices are regenerated to fill the document
area.
Deleting a layer-based slice does not delete the
associated layer; however, deleting the layer
associated with a layer-based slice does delete the
layer-based slice.
In ImageReady, you can distribute user-slices
evenly along the vertical or horizontal axis.
Distributing user-slices can eliminate unneeded
auto-slices and generate a smaller, more efficient
HTML file.
Note: You cannot delete auto-slices. If you delete all
user-slices and layer-based slices in an image, one
auto-slice layer will remain.
Note: You cannot distribute layer-based slices or
auto-slices.
1 Select a slice. In ImageReady, you can select
multiple slices.
To delete a slice:
2 Do one of the following:
• Press the Backspace key or the Delete key.
• (ImageReady) Choose Slices > Delete Slice(s),
or choose Delete Slice from the Slice palette menu.
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To delete all user-slices and layer-based slices:
To display the Slice Options dialog box (Photoshop):
Do one of the following:
Do one of the following:
• (Photoshop) Choose View > Clear Slices.
• Double-click a slice with the slice select tool.
• (ImageReady) Choose Slices > Delete All.
• With the slice select tool active, click the Slice
Options button in the options bar. This method is
available only in the main Photoshop application,
not in the Photoshop Save for Web dialog box.
Locking slices (Photoshop)
Locking slices prevents you from making changes
accidentally, such as resizing or moving slices.
To lock all slices:
Choose View > Lock Slices.
To display the Slice palette (ImageReady):
See “Using the Web design palettes (ImageReady)”
on page 271.
Choosing a content type
Specifying slice options
Setting slice options lets you specify how the slice
data will appear in a Web browser. The available
options vary according to the application and the
slice type you select. You can only set options for
one slice at a time.
Note: Setting options for an auto-slice promotes the
slice to a user-slice.
Viewing slice options
You specify slice options in the Slice Options
dialog box (Photoshop) and the Slice palette
(ImageReady).
Formatting and display options for a slice vary
according to its content type. There are two types
of slice content:
• Image slices contain image data, including
rollover states. This is the default content type.
• No Image slices contain solid color or HTML
text. Because No Image slices contain no image
data, they download more quickly. Photoshop and
ImageReady do not display No Image slice
content. To view No Image slice content, preview
the image in a browser. (See “Previewing an image
in a browser” on page 84.)
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To specify a content type:
1 Select a slice. If you are working in Photoshop,
double-click the slice with the slice select tool to
display the Slice Options dialog box.
2 In the Slice Options dialog box (Photoshop) or
the Slice palette (ImageReady), select a slice type
from the Type pop-up menu.
3 (Photoshop) Click OK.
Specifying slice names
The Name option lets you change the default name
of a slice. This option is only available for Image
slices. You can also change the default naming
pattern for slices. (See “Setting slice naming
preferences” on page 351.)
To change the name of a slice:
1 Select a slice. If you are working in Photoshop,
double-click the slice with the slice select tool to
display the Slice Options dialog box.
2 In the Slice Options dialog box (Photoshop) or
the Slice palette (ImageReady), type a new name in
the Name text box.
3 (Photoshop) Click OK.
Specifying slice background colors
The background color option lets you select a
color to fill the transparent area (for Image slices)
or entire area (for No Image slices) of the slice.
In Photoshop, this option is available only if you
activate the Slice Options dialog box from within
the Save for Web dialog box.
Photoshop and ImageReady do not display the
selected background color—you must preview the
image in a browser to view the effect of selecting a
background color. (See “Previewing an image in a
browser” on page 84.)
To choose a background color:
1 Select a slice. If you are working in the
Photoshop Save for Web dialog box, double-click
the slice with the slice select tool to display the Slice
Options dialog box.
2 In the Slice Options dialog box (Photoshop)
or the Slice palette (ImageReady), select a
background color from the Background/BG
pop-up menu:
• (Photoshop) Select None, Matte, Eyedropper
(to use the color in the eyedropper sample box),
White, Black, or Other (using the color picker).
• (ImageReady) Select None, Matte, Foreground
Color, Background Color, or Other (to use the
color picker), or select a color from the pop-up
palette.
3 (Photoshop) Click OK.
Assigning a URL to an Image slice
Assigning a URL to a slice makes the entire slice
area a hotspot in the resulting Web page. When a
user clicks in the hotspot, the Web browser links to
the specified URL and target frame. This option is
only available for Image slices.
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To assign link information to an Image slice:
1 Select a slice. If you are working in Photoshop,
double-click the slice with the slice select tool to
display the Slice Options dialog box.
2 In the Slice Options dialog box (Photoshop)
or the Slice palette (ImageReady), enter a URL in
the URL text box, or choose a previously created
URL from the pop-up menu. You can enter a
relative URL or a full URL. If you enter a full URL,
be sure to include http:// (for example, enter
http://www.adobe.com, not www.adobe.com).
For more information on using relative URLs and
full URLs, see an HTML reference (either printed
or on the Web).
3 If desired, enter the name of a target frame in
the Target text box, or choose an option from the
pop-up menu. A frame name must match a frame
previously defined in the HTML file for the
document. When a user clicks the link, the
specified file displays in the new frame:
• _blank to display the linked file in a new window,
leaving the original browser window open.
• _self to display the linked file in the same frame
as the original file.
• _parent to display the linked file in its own
original parent frameset. Use this option if the
HTML document contains frames and the current
frame is a child. The linked file displays in the
current parent frame.
• _top to replace the entire browser window with
the linked file, removing all current frames.
Note: For more information on frames, see an
HTML reference (either printed or on the Web).
4 (Photoshop) Click OK.
Resizing and moving slices using numeric
coordinates
The Dimensions options let you set the exact
position and dimensions of a slice in relation to
the document window. This option is not available
if you access the Slice Options dialog box through
the Photoshop Save for Web dialog box.
In ImageReady, if the Dimensions options
aren’t showing, choose Show Options from the
Slice palette menu, or click the Show Options
button ( ) on the palette tab to view them.
Note: You cannot resize or move a layer-based slice
using this method.
To resize and move a slice using numeric coordinates:
1 Select a slice. If you are working in Photoshop,
double-click the slice with the slice select tool to
display the Slice Options dialog box.
2 In the Dimensions area of the Slice Options
dialog box (Photoshop) or the Slice palette
(ImageReady), change one or more of the
following options:
• X to specify the distance in pixels between the left
edge of the slice and the origin point of the ruler in
the document window.
• Y to specify the distance in pixels between the
top edge of the slice and the origin point of the
ruler in the document window.
Note: The default origin point of the ruler is the
upper left corner of the image. (See “Using rulers, the
measure tool, guides, and the grid” on page 74.)
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• W to specify the width of the slice.
Adding HTML text to a slice
• H to specify the height of the slice.
Choosing the No Image type for a slice lets you
enter text that will appear in the slice area of the
resulting Web page. This text is HTML text—
you can format it using standard HTML tags.
You can also select vertical and horizontal
alignment options. For more information on
specific HTML tags, see an HTML reference
(either printed or on the Web).
• Constrain Proportions to preserve the current
proportions of the slice.
3 (Photoshop) Click OK.
Specifying browser messages
You can specify what messages appear in the
browser using the Message and Alt options.
These options are only available for Image slices.
Message Lets you change the default message in
the browser’s status area for a selected slice or
slices. By default the slice’s URL is displayed.
Alt Lets you specify an Alt tag for a selected slice
or slices. The Alt text appears in place of the slice
image in nongraphical browsers. It also appears in
place of the image while the image is downloading
and as a tool tip in some browsers.
In ImageReady, if the Message and Alt options
aren’t showing, choose Show Options from the
Slice palette menu, or click the Show Options
button ( ) on the palette tab to view them.
Photoshop and ImageReady do not display HTML
text in the document window; you must use a Web
browser to preview the text. (See “Previewing an
image in a browser” on page 84.) Keep in mind
that the appearance of text is affected by the
browser settings and operating system it is viewed
on. Be sure to preview HTML text in different
browsers, with different browser setting, and on
different operating systems to see how text will
appear on the Web.
Note: Be careful not to enter more text than can be
displayed in the slice area. If you enter too much text,
it will extend into neighboring slices and affect the
layout of your Web page.
To add HTML text to a slice:
To specify a browser message:
1 Select a slice. If you are working in Photoshop,
double-click the slice with the slice select tool to
display the Slice Options dialog box.
2 In the Slice Options dialog box (Photoshop) or
the Slice palette (ImageReady), type the desired
text in the Message text box, Alt text box, or both.
3 (Photoshop) Click OK.
1 Select a slice. If you are working in Photoshop,
double-click the slice with the slice select tool to
display the Slice Options dialog box.
2 In the Slice Options dialog box (Photoshop) or
the Slice palette (ImageReady), select No Image
from the Type pop-up menu.
3 Type the desired text in the provided text box.
You can use standard HTML tags to format
the text.
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4 (Photoshop Save for Web dialog box and
ImageReady) If desired, select options in the Cell
Alignment section of the dialog box.
Horizontal alignment options:
• Default to use the browser’s default for
horizontal alignment.
• Left to align the text to the left side of the
slice area.
• Center to align the text to the center of the
slice area.
• Right to align the text to the right side of the
slice area.
Vertical alignment options:
• Default to use the browser’s default for
vertical alignment.
• Top to align the text to the top of the slice area.
All Image slices use the optimization settings of the
entire image until you apply new settings. If you
select multiple slices with different optimization
settings, only the controls that are relevant to all of
the selected slices are visible. If settings for a
control differ among slices, the control is blank.
Any settings you choose are applied to all
selected slices.
In ImageReady, you can also copy optimization
settings from one slice to another within a
document, or from a slice in one view to a slice in
another view in 2-Up or 4-Up view.
To optimize a slice:
Select one or more Image slices, and specify
options in the Optimize panel/palette.
(See “Optimizing images” on page 320.)
• Baseline to set a common baseline for the first
To copy optimization settings between slices
(ImageReady):
line of text in cells in the same row (of the resulting
HTML table). Each cell in the row must use the
Baseline option.
1 Select the slice that uses the optimization
settings you want to copy.
• Middle to center the text vertically in the
slice area.
• Bottom to align the text to the bottom of the
slice area.
5 (Photoshop) Click OK.
Optimizing slices
You can optimize Image slices using the Save for
Web dialog box (Photoshop) or the Optimize
palette (ImageReady).
2 Drag the Droplet icon ( ) from the Optimize
palette onto the slice to which you want to apply
the optimization settings.
Linking slices (ImageReady)
Linking slices lets you share optimization settings
between slices. You must use ImageReady to link
slices; however, you can apply settings to linked
slices in either the Save for Web dialog box
(Photoshop) or the Optimize palette
(ImageReady). When you apply optimization
settings to a linked slice, all slices in the set
are updated.
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Linked slices in GIF and PNG-8 format share a
color palette and dither pattern. The dither pattern
is applied across adjacent slice boundaries to
prevent the appearance of seams between the
slices. (See “Previewing and controlling dithering”
on page 341.)
To link slices:
1 Select two or more slices you want to link.
Note: If the first slice you select is a user-slice,
any auto-slices you link to the first slice become
user-slices. If the first slice you select is an
auto-slice, any user-slices you select are linked
to the auto-slice group.
2 Choose Slices > Link Slices.
Each linked set of user-slices is assigned a different
color for the slice display graphics in the upper left
corner of the slice. This helps to identify all the
slices in one set.
To unlink user-slices:
Do one of the following:
• To unlink a user-slice, select the slice, and then
choose Slices > Unlink Slices.
Creating and viewing image
maps (ImageReady)
Image maps enable you to link an area of an image
to a URL. You can set up multiple linked areas—
called image map areas—in an image, with links to
text files; other images; audio, video, or multimedia files; other pages in the Web site; or other
Web sites. You can also create rollover effects in
image map areas.
The main difference between using image maps
and using slices to create links is in how the source
image is exported as a Web page. Using image
maps keeps the exported image intact as a single
file, while using slices causes the image to be
exported as a separate file. Another difference
between image maps and slices is that image maps
enable you to link circular, polygonal, or rectangular areas in an image, while slices enable you to
link only rectangular areas. If you need to link only
rectangular areas, using slices may be preferable to
using an image map.
Note: To avoid unexpected results, do not create
image map areas in slices that contain URL links—
either the image map links or the slice links may be
ignored in some browsers.
• To unlink all user-slices in a set, select a slice in
the set, and choose Slices > Unlink Set.
• To unlink all user-slices in an image,
choose Slices > Unlink All.
Creating image maps
You can create image map areas using an image
map tool or a layer.
Tool-based image map areas Are created using
an image map tool—you drag in the image to
define the image map area. You can view and set
options for tool-based image maps in the Image
Map palette.
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Layer-based image map areas Are created from a
layer—the layer’s content defines the shape of the
image map area. If you edit the layer’s content,
the image map area automatically adjusts to
encompass the new pixels. You can view and set
options for layer-based image map areas in the
Image Map palette, however you cannot use the
Duplicate or Align commands. To access these
commands, or to move or resize the image map
area by dragging, you can convert a layer-based
image map area to a tool-based image map area.
If you plan to add a rollover effect to an image map
area, it is often preferable to use a layer-based
image map area rather than a tool-based image
map area. For example, if you create a rollover
button that displays a glow effect in the Over state,
a layer-based image map area will automatically
adjust to encompass the pixels that are produced
by the glow.
Important: If you overlap image map areas,
the topmost area is active.
To create an image map area using an image map tool:
3 Do one of the following to define the image
map area:
• With the rectangle or circle image map tool,
drag over the area you want to define. Shift-drag to
constrain the area to a square. Alt-drag (Windows)
or Option-drag (Mac OS) to drag an image map
area from its center.
• With the polygon image map tool, click in the
image to set the starting point. Position the pointer
where you want the first straight segment to end,
and click. Continue clicking to set endpoints for
subsequent segments. Hold down Shift to
constrain the segment to 45° increments. To close
the border, double-click, or position the pointer
over the starting point (a closed circle appears next
to the pointer) and click.
To create an image map area from a layer:
1 In the Layers palette, choose a layer from which
to create an image map area. (To use multiple
layers in one image map area, first merge the
layers.)
1 Select the rectangle image map tool (
2 Choose Layer > New Layer Based Image
Map Area.
2 For the rectangle or circle image map tool,
Converting layer-based image maps to
tool-based image maps
),
the circle image map tool ( ), or the polygon
image map tool ( ) in the toolbox.
select Fixed Size to specify set values for the image
map area’s dimensions. Enter pixel values in whole
numbers.
Because a layer-based image map area is tied to the
pixel content of a layer, the only way to move,
resize, or align it is to edit the layer. You can
convert a layer-based image map area to a toolbased image map area to unlink it from the layer.
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To convert a layer-based image map area to a toolbased image map area:
1 Select a layer-based image map area using the
image map select tool ( ). (See “Selecting image
maps” on page 289).
2 Choose Promote Layer Based Image Map Area
from the Image Map palette menu. If the layer
contains multiple, non-overlapping areas of pixel
content, multiple tool-based image map areas
are produced.
Viewing image maps
When you select the image map select tool,
image map areas show automatically. You can also
show or hide image map areas using the Image
Map Visibility button.
Image map preferences determine how image map
areas appear in the document window. You can set
preferences for image map lines, line color,
and color adjustments.
To show or hide image map areas:
Do one of the following:
• Click the Image Map Visibility button (
the toolbox.
) in
• Choose View > Show > Image Maps.
• Choose View > Show Extras. This command also
shows or hides selection edges, slices, text bounds,
text baseline, and text selections. (See “Working
with Extras” on page 77.)
To set image map display preferences:
1 Choose Edit > Preferences > Image Maps.
2 To change the color of image map lines, choose
a color from the Line Color pop-up menu.
Changing the color of image map lines also
changes the line color of selected image map areas
to a contrasting color.
3 To change the strength of image map color
adjustments, enter a value, or choose a value from
the Image Map Overlay pop-up slider. The value
determines the extent of color adjustments that
dim the brightness and contrast of unselected
image map areas.
4 To display image map lines only and deselect
color adjustment display, select Show Lines Only.
5 To show a bounding box for circular image map
areas, select Show Bounding Box.
Selecting and modifying image
maps (ImageReady)
You can move, arrange, align, and duplicate
tool-based image map areas using the Image Map
palette. There are fewer options for modifying
layer-based image map areas because they are tied
to the pixel content of the associated layer;
however, you can select, arrange, and delete
layer-based image map areas as you do tool-based
image map areas.
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Selecting image maps
You select image map areas with the image map
select tool.
To select an image map area:
1 Select the image map select tool ( ).
2 Click on an image map area in the image.
Shift-click to add areas to the selection.
You can also select multiple image map areas by
clicking outside an image map area and dragging
across the image map areas you want to select.
Moving and resizing tool-based
image maps
You can move and resize tool-based image map
areas by dragging. You can also move and resize
rectangular and circular image map areas using
numeric coordinates.
Note: To move or resize a layer-based image map
area, move or edit the layer.
To move a tool-based image map area:
1 Select one or more image map areas you want to
To resize and move a tool-based image map area
using numeric coordinates:
1 Select a rectangular or circular image map area.
2 In the Dimensions area of the Image Map
palette, change one or more of the following
options:
• X to specify the distance in pixels between the left
edge of a rectangular image map area, or the center
point of a circular image map area, and the origin
point of the ruler in the document window.
• Y to specify the distance in pixels between the
top edge of a rectangular image map area, or the
center point of a circular image map area, and the
origin point of the ruler in the document window.
Note: The default origin point of the ruler is the
upper left corner of the image. (See “Using rulers, the
measure tool, guides, and the grid” on page 74.)
• W to specify the width of a rectangular image
map area.
• H to specify the height of a rectangular image
map area.
• R to specify the radius of a circular image
map area.
move.
2 Position the pointer inside the image map area,
and drag it to a new position. Press Shift to
restrict movement to a vertical, horizontal, or 45°
diagonal line.
To resize a tool-based image map area:
1 Select an image map area you want to resize.
2 Drag a handle on the image map border to
resize the image map area.
Changing the shape of layer-based
image maps
When you create a layer-based image map area,
the default image map area is a rectangle that
encompasses all of the layer’s pixel data. You can
change the shape of the image map area by
selecting a Shape option in the Image Map palette.
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To change the shape of a layer-based image map area:
To change the stacking order of image map areas:
1 Select a layer-based image map area.
1 Select one or more image map areas you want
to arrange. You can select a combination of
tool-based image map areas and layer-based image
map areas.
2 In the Layer Image Map section of the Image
Map palette, choose an option from the shape
pop-up list: Rectangle, Circle, or Polygon. If you
choose Polygon, enter a value or choose a value
from the Quality pop-up slider to set the number
of segments in the polygon.
Duplicating tool-based image maps
You can create a duplicate image map area with the
same dimensions and settings as the original
tool-based image map area.
To duplicate a tool-based image map area:
1 Select one or more image map areas.
2 Do one of the following:
2 Do one of the following:
• With the image map select tool active,
click a stacking order option in the options bar:
Bring to Front ( ), Bring Forward ( ),
Send Backward( ), Send to Back ( ).
• Choose a stacking order command from the
Image Map palette menu.
Aligning tool-based image maps
You can align tool-based image map areas to the
top, bottom, left, right, and middle.
Image Map palette menu.
Note: To align layer-based image map areas, first
link the layers, and then choose an alignment option
from the Layer > Align Linked submenu.
• Alt-drag (Windows) or Option-drag (Mac OS)
from inside the image map area.
To align tool-based image map areas:
• Choose Duplicate Image Map Area(s) from the
The duplicate image map area appears on top of
the original (offset 10 pixels down and to the right)
and can be moved, resized, or otherwise modified.
Arranging image maps
When image map areas overlap, the last image
map area you create is the top image map area in
the stacking order. You can specify which image
map area is on the top and bottom of the stack
and move image map areas up or down in the
stacking order.
1 Select the tool-based image map areas you want
to align.
2 Do one of the following:
• With the image map select tool active, click an
alignment option in the options bar: Align Top
Edges ( ), Align Vertical Centers ( ), Align
Bottom Edges ( ), Align Left Edges ( ), Align
Horizontal Centers ( ), Align Right Edges ( ).
• Choose an alignment command from the Image
Map palette menu.
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Distributing tool-based image maps
To change the name of an image map area:
You can distribute tool-based image map areas
evenly along the vertical or horizontal axis.
1 Select an image map area.
2 In the Image Map palette, enter a new name in
the Name text box.
To distribute tool-based image map areas:
1 Select the tool-based image map areas you want
to distribute.
To specify link options for an image map area:
2 Do one of the following:
2 In the Image Map palette, enter a URL for the
link, or choose a previously created URL from the
URL pop-up menu. You can enter a relative URL
or a full URL. If you enter a full URL, be sure to
include http:// (for example, enter
http://www.adobe.com, not www.adobe.com).
For more information on using relative URLs and
full URLs, see an HTML reference (either printed
or on the Web).
• With the image map select tool active, click a
distribute option in the options bar: Distribute
Top Edges ( ), Distribute Vertical Centers ( ),
Distribute Bottom Edges ( ), Distribute Left
Edges ( ), Distribute Horizontal Centers ( ),
Distribute Right Edges ( ).
• Choose a distribute command from the Image
Map palette menu.
Deleting image maps
You can delete selected image map areas by
pressing the Backspace key or the Delete key,
or choosing Delete Image Map Area(s) from the
Image Map palette menu.
Specifying image map options
(ImageReady)
You can specify a name, a URL, a target frame,
and Alt text for an image map area in the Image
Map palette.
1 Select an image map area.
3 In the Image Map palette, enter the name of a
target frame in the Target text box, or choose an
option from the pop-up menu. A frame name
must match a frame previously defined in the
HTML file for the document. When a user clicks
the link, the specified file displays in the new
frame:
• _blank to display the linked file in a new window,
leaving the original browser window open.
• _self to display the linked file in the same frame
as the original file.
• _parent to display the linked file in its own
original parent frameset. Use this option if the
HTML document contains frames and the current
frame is a child. The linked file displays in the
current parent frame.
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• _top to replace the entire browser window with
the linked file, removing all current frames.
Note: For more information on frames, see an
HTML reference (either printed or on the Web).
4 In the Image Map palette, enter text for an Alt
tag in the Alt text box. The Alt text appears in place
of the image map area in nongraphical browsers.
In most browsers, it also appears if the user
positions the mouse over the image map area.
Selecting an image map type
(ImageReady)
ImageReady can create client-side and server-side
image maps. In client-side image maps, the links
are interpreted by the browser itself. In server-side
image maps, the links are interpreted by the server.
Because client-side image maps don’t need to
contact the server to function, they are often
significantly faster to navigate. By default,
ImageReady saves image maps as client-side
image maps.
Important: Server-side image maps do not work in
images that have multiple slices.
You select an image map type in the Output
Settings dialog box. (See “Setting HTML output
options” on page 349.) If you select a server-side
image map, ImageReady generates a separate map
file based on the server option you select. However,
you’ll need to update the path to the map file in
your HTML file.
Working with rollovers
(ImageReady)
You use the Rollover palette, in conjunction with
the Layers palette, to add rollover effects to a Web
page. You can display an animation as a rollover
state, or you can create secondary rollovers in
which moving a mouse over one area causes an
image change in another area. ImageReady adds
JavaScript code to the resulting HTML file to
specify rollover states.
Note: When working with rollovers, it is important
to preview images in a Web browser to ensure your
document will function correctly for Web users.
Also remember that image appearance will vary on
different operating systems.
About rollovers
A rollover is a Web effect in which different states
of an image appear when a viewer performs a
mouse action—such as rolling or clicking—
over an area of the Web page. A state is defined by
a specific configuration of the Layers palette,
including layer location, styles, and other
formatting options.
You use a slice or image map area to define the
active area for a rollover. By default, every slice or
image map area has one state—the Normal state.
(The Normal state corresponds to the appearance
of an image when it is first loaded into a Web
browser and no rollover effects have occurred.)
When you add a new state to the rollover, you
capture a snapshot of the slice or image map area
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in the previous state. You can then use the Layers
palette to make changes to the image in the new
state. You can also add an animation to a
rollover state.
The Rollover palette with three rollover states. The dark
border around the middle thumbnail indicates that
the Over state is selected.
When you save an image with rollover states as a
Web page, each rollover state is saved as a separate
image file. By default, rollover states are named
using the corresponding slice name plus the
mouse action that triggers the rollover state. When
you change the name of a slice, rollover states in
the slice are renamed.
Working with layers in rollovers
How you work with layers is an essential part of
creating rollovers. Placing the image content for a
rollover on its own layer allows you to use Layers
palette commands and options to create rollover
effects. When creating rollovers or animations,
some changes you make to a layer affect only the
active state or frame, while others affect all states
or frames. (See “Using layers to edit frames” on
page 306.)
When creating a slice for a rollover, use a layerbased slice. This is recommended because the
dimensions of a layer’s content may change in the
course of creating a rollover, and layer-based slices
automatically adjust to encompass the new pixels.
However, do not use a layer-based slice when you
plan to move the layer over a large area during an
animation, because the slice dimension may
exceed a useful size. (See “Creating layer-based
slices” on page 273.)
You can use layer styles to create instant rollover
effects. When working with layer-based slices,
you can also save the series of states as a rollover style.
(See “Applying and creating rollover styles” on
page 296.)
Using the Rollover palette
You use the Rollover palette to create and set
options for rollover states. The Rollover palette
displays thumbnails for each state of a rollover.
The first state in the Rollover palette is always the
Normal state.
To change the thumbnail view of rollover states:
1 Choose Palette Options from the Rollover
palette menu.
2 Select a thumbnail size.
3 Under Thumbnails Show, define the content of
the thumbnail:
• Current Slice to show only the current slice in
the thumbnail.
• Entire Document to show the entire image in the
thumbnail. This view is useful when creating a
secondary rollover effect.
4 Click OK.
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To select a slice or image map area in the Rollover
palette:
Choose a slice or image map area from the
pop-up menu at the lower left corner of the
Rollover palette.
Creating rollover states
When you create a rollover state, you select a
mouse action which activates the state (except for
the first state in a rollover, which is always the
Normal state).
To create a rollover state:
1 Select the slice or image map area to which you
want to add the rollover.
Note: When creating a slice or image map area for a
rollover, use a layer-based slice or a layer-based
image map area. This is recommended because the
dimensions of a layer’s content may change in the
course of creating a rollover.
2 In the Rollover palette, create a new state:
• Click the New State button ( ) at the bottom of
the palette.
• Choose New State from the Rollover
palette menu.
The new rollover state is identical to the state
immediately preceding it, until you make modifications to the image using the Layers palette.
3 Use the default rollover state assigned by
ImageReady, or select a rollover state from the
pop-up menu above the rollover thumbnail:
• Over to define the rollover state when the
Web viewer rolls over the slice or image map area
with the mouse while the mouse button is not
pressed. (Over is automatically selected for the
second rollover state.)
• Down to define the rollover state when the Web
viewer presses the mouse button on the slice or
image map area. (This state appears as long as the
viewer keeps the mouse button pressed down on
the area.)
• Click to define the rollover state when the
Web viewer clicks the mouse on the slice or image
map area. (This state appears after the viewer
clicks the mouse and remains until the viewer
activates another rollover state.)
• Out to define the rollover state when the
Web viewer rolls the mouse out of the slice or
image map area. (The Normal state usually serves
this purpose.)
• Up to define the rollover state when the
Web viewer releases the mouse button over the
slice or image map area. (The Over state usually
serves this purpose.)
Note: Different Web browsers, or different versions of
a browser, may process clicks and double-clicks
differently. For example, some browsers leave the
slice in the Click state after a click, and in the
Up state after a double-click; other browsers use the
Up state only as a transition into the Click state,
regardless of single- or double-clicking. To ensure
your Web page will function correctly, be sure to
preview rollovers in various Web browsers.
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• Custom to define a new rollover state. (You must
create JavaScript code and add it to the HTML file
for the Web page in order for the Custom rollover
option to function. See a JavaScript manual for
more information.)
• None to preserve the current state of the image
for later use as a rollover state. (A state designated
as None will not be displayed on the Web page.)
The Rollover States pop-up menu displays only
the rollover states that have not yet been used for
the selected slice or image map area (with the
exception of the None and Custom states, which
are always available and can be used repeatedly).
You can redefine rollover states as you work
(with the exception of the Normal state).
4 Modify the image for the rollover state using the
Layers palette.
Previewing rollover states
You can preview rollover states directly in the
ImageReady document window by switching to
rollover preview mode. This preview is consistent
with Internet Explorer 5.0 for Windows. To
preview the rollover effect in your computer’s
default Web browser, click the Preview in Default
Browser button in the toolbox. (See “Previewing
an image in a browser” on page 84.)
2 In the document window, perform the action
that activates the rollover state. For example,
position the mouse over the rollover slice or image
map area to preview the Over state. Then click the
slice or image map area to preview the Click state.
To exit rollover preview mode:
Select any tool in the toolbox (including the
Rollover Preview button), or click the Play button
in the Rollover palette.
Adding animation to rollover states
You use the Animation palette, in conjunction
with the Rollover palette, to add an animation to a
rollover state.
When working with a layer-based slice or a
layer-based image map area, moving the layer in
the Normal state repositions the layer in every
rollover state. However, moving the layer in a
rollover state other than the Normal state
repositions the layer only in the current state.
To add an animation to a rollover state:
1 In the Rollover palette, create a new rollover
state or select the thumbnail for a rollover state in
which you want to display an animation.
To use rollover preview mode:
2 In the Animation palette, create frames for the
animation. (See “Creating animations” on
page 301.)
1 Click the Rollover Preview button ( ) in the
toolbox, or click the Play button ( ) in the
Rollover palette.
Note: Adding an animation to the Normal state will
cause the animation to appear when the image is
loaded in a Web browser.
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Applying and creating rollover styles
Rollover styles simplify rollover creation by
allowing you to turn a layer into a rollover effect
with a single click. A rollover style includes all the
attributes of a rollover, including its states and
layer effects. When you apply a rollover style to a
layer, the layer becomes a layer-based slice.
To apply a rollover style to a layer:
1 Select a layer in the Layers palette.
2 Choose Window > Show Styles, or click the
Styles palette tab, to display the Styles palette.
3 Click the thumbnail for the rollover style you
want to apply. Rollover style thumbnails have a
triangle in the upper left corner.
To create a rollover style:
1 Create or select a layer-based slice.
(See “Creating layer-based slices” on page 273.)
Note: You must use a layer-based slice in order to
create a rollover style.
2 In the Rollover palette, create the desired
rollover states. Apply the effects to each state using
predefined styles in the Styles palette or by
manually setting layer effects in the Layers palette.
3 In the Styles palette, click the New Style
button ( ), or choose New Style from the
palette menu.
4 Enter a name for the style, set style options,
and click OK. The Include Rollover States option
must be selected in order to create a rollover style.
The new rollover style appears in the Styles palette.
The thumbnail preview displays the effects in the
Normal state.
Matching layers across rollover states
When you use Layers palette commands to create
effects for a rollover state, the changes apply only
to the active state. However, you can use the
Rollover palette to apply layer changes to all states
in a rollover or all rollover states associated with an
image. For more information about working with
layers when creating rollovers, see “Using layers to
edit frames” on page 306.
To match layer changes across rollover states:
1 In the Layers palette, select the layer containing
the element you want to match across states.
2 In the Rollover palette, choose an option from
the palette menu:
• Match Layer Across States to apply layer
attributes for the selected state to all states in the
current rollover.
• Match Layer Across All Rollovers to apply layer
attributes for the selected state to all states in all
rollovers associated with the current image.
Copying and pasting rollover states
You can copy a rollover state and paste it into
another state in the current rollover or into a state
in another rollover. Layers in the source state
replace layers in the destination state.
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You can also copy frames from the Animation
palette and paste them into the Rollover palette as
states, or copy states from the Rollover palette and
paste them into the Animation palette as frames.
Note: Copy commands in the Animation palette and
the Rollover palette use an internal clipboard
available to these commands only. Copying frames or
rollover states does not overwrite the primary
ImageReady clipboard.
To copy and paste rollover states:
1 Select a rollover state, and choose Copy
Rollover State from the Rollover palette menu.
2 Select a rollover state in which to paste the
copied state:
• Select a state in the current rollover.
• Open or display another rollover, and select
a state.
3 Choose Paste Rollover State from the Rollover
palette menu.
Creating Web photo galleries
(Photoshop)
You use the Web Photo Gallery command to
automatically generate a Web photo gallery from a
set of images. A Web photo gallery is a Web site
that features a home page with thumbnail images
and gallery pages with full-size images. Each page
contains links that allow visitors to navigate the
site. For example, when a visitor clicks a thumbnail
image on the home page, a gallery page with the
associated full-size image loads.
Photoshop provides a variety of styles for your
gallery, which you can select using the Web Photo
Gallery command. If you are an advanced user
who has knowledge of HTML, you can also
customize a style by editing a set of HTML
template files or create a new style.
For more information, see “Customizing
and creating Web photo gallery styles” in
online Help.
To create a Web photo gallery:
Deleting rollover states
You can delete individual states or all states in
a rollover.
To delete rollover states:
• To delete one state, select a rollover state, and
either click the Trash button ( ) on the Rollover
palette or choose Delete State from the Rollover
palette menu.
• To delete all states in a rollover, choose Delete
Rollover from the Rollover palette menu.
1 Choose File > Automate > Web Photo Gallery.
2 Under Files, click Source. Then select the folder
containing the images that you want to appear in
the gallery, and click OK. Select Include All Subdirectories to include images inside any subfolders of
the selected folder.
3 Click Destination. Then select the destination
folder that you want to contain the images and
HTML pages for the gallery, and click OK.
4 For Styles, choose a style for the gallery.
A preview of the home page for the chosen style
appears in the dialog box.
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5 To set options for the banner that appears on
each page in the gallery, choose Banner from the
Options pop-up menu. Then do the following:
• For Site Name, enter the title of the gallery.
• For Photographer, enter the name of the person
or organization that deserves credit for the photos
in the gallery.
• For Date, enter the date that you want to appear
on each page of the gallery. By default, Photoshop
uses the current date.
• For Font and Font Size, choose options for the
banner text.
6 To set options for the gallery pages, choose
Gallery Images from the Options pop-up menu.
Then do the following:
• For Border Size, enter the width of the border
around the image in pixels.
• To have Photoshop resize the source images for
placement on the gallery pages, select Resize
Images. Then choose an option for the image size
from the pop-up menu or enter a size in pixels.
For JPEG Quality, choose an option from the
pop-up menu, enter a value between 0 and 12,
or drag the slider. A higher value results in better
image quality but larger file size.
7 To set options for the home page, choose
Gallery Thumbnails from the Options pop-up
menu. Then do the following:
• For Caption, select Use Filename to display the
filename under each thumbnail.
• Select Use File Info Caption to display caption
text from the File Info dialog box under each
thumbnail and on each gallery page. For more
information, see “Adding title and copyright information to HTML files” on page 351.
• For Font and Font Size, choose options for the
thumbnail text.
• For Size, choose an option for the thumbnail size
from the pop-up menu or enter a value in pixels
for the width of each thumbnail.
• For Columns and Rows, enter the number of
columns and rows that you want to be used to
display the thumbnails on the home page.
This option doesn’t apply to galleries that use the
Horizontal Frame Style or Vertical Frame Style.
• For Border Size, enter the width of the border
around each thumbnail in pixels.
8 To set options for colors of elements in the
gallery, choose Customize Colors from the
Options pop-up menu. To change the color
of a particular element, click its color swatch,
and then select a new color using the Color Picker.
The Background option lets you change the
background color of each page. The Banner
option lets you change the background color
of the banner.
9 Click OK to create the gallery.
Photoshop places the following HTML and JPEG
files in your destination folder:
• A home page for your gallery named index.htm.
Open this file in any Web browser to preview
your gallery.
• JPEG images inside an images subfolder.
• HTML pages inside a pages subfolder.
• JPEG thumbnail images inside a thumbnails
subfolder.
11
301
Chapter 11: Creating Animations
(ImageReady)
A
dobe ImageReady provides a powerful,
easy way to create multiple-frame
animations from a single document.
Using the Animation and Layers palettes, you can
create, edit, copy, paste, and rearrange frames
in a sequence. You can use the powerful Tween
feature to quickly create new frames that vary a
layer’s opacity, position, or layer effects, and create
the illusion of a single element in a frame moving
or fading in or out. You can also optimize the
animation, specify looping and repeat options
for playback, and flatten frames into layers.
The number of frames you can create is limited
only by the amount of memory available to
ImageReady on your system.
Working with layers is an essential part of creating
animations in ImageReady. Placing each element
of an animation on its own layer enables you to
change the position and appearance of the element
across a series of frames, using the Layers palette
commands and options.
The bicycle image is on its own layer; the position of the layer
changes in each frame of the animation.
About animation
Creating animations
An animation is a sequence of images, or frames,
that is displayed over time. Each frame varies
slightly from the preceding frame, creating the
illusion of movement when the frames are viewed
in quick succession.
You use the Animation palette, in conjunction
with the Layers palette, to create animation frames
from an original, multilayer image. You can assign
a delay time to each frame, use the Tween
command to generate new frames, and specify
looping for the animation.
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Keep in mind that an image can have multiple
animations that are associated with different
rollover states. For example, adding an animation
to the Normal rollover state causes the animation
to play when the Web page is first loaded by a Web
browser. Adding an animation to another rollover
state causes the animation to play only when the
Web user performs the specified action (such as
placing the mouse over the rollover or clicking on
the rollover). Before creating an animation, check
the Rollover palette to ensure that the desired state
is selected. (See “Working with rollovers
(ImageReady)” on page 292.)
Adding frames
Adding frames is the first step in creating an
animation. If you have an image open in
ImageReady, the Animation palette displays the
image as the first frame in a new animation.
Each frame you add starts as a duplicate of the
preceding frame. You then make changes to the
frame using the Layers palette.
Note: Always create and edit frames in Original
view. While you can view frames in an optimized
view, the editing options are very limited.
To add a frame to an animation:
Using the Animation palette
The Animation palette lets you create, view, and
set options for the frames in an animation. You can
change the thumbnail view of frames in the
Animation palette—using smaller thumbnails
reduces the space required by the palette and
displays more frames in a given palette width.
To display the Animation palette:
Choose Window > Show Animation, or click the
Animation palette tab.
To change the thumbnail view of frames:
1 Select Palette Options from the Animation
palette menu.
2 Select a thumbnail size, and click OK.
1 If you want to add the animation to a rollover
state, select the desired state in the Rollover
palette. (See “Using the Rollover palette” on
page 293.)
2 In the Animation palette, do one of
the following:
• Click the New Frame button ( ).
• Select New Frame from the Animation
palette menu.
Selecting frames
Before you can work with a frame, you must select
it as the current frame. The contents of the current
frame appear in the document window.
You can select multiple frames, either contiguous
or discontiguous, to edit them or apply commands
to them as a group. When multiple frames are
selected, only the current frame appears in the
document window.
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In the Animation palette, the current frame is
indicated by a narrow border (inside the shaded
selection highlight) around the frame thumbnail.
Selected frames are indicated by a shaded highlight
around the frame thumbnails.
To deselect a frame in a multiframe selection:
To select the current frame:
You can change the position of frames in an
animation and reverse the order of selected
contiguous frames. You can also delete selected
frames or the entire animation.
Do one of the following:
• In the Animation palette, click the thumbnail of
the frame you want to select as the current frame.
Ctrl-click (Windows) or Command-click
(Mac OS) a frame to deselect it.
Rearranging and deleting frames
• In the Animation palette or the Layers palette,
To change the position of a frame:
click the Forward button ( ) to select the next
frame in the series as the current frame.
1 Select the frame you want to move. Ctrl-click
• In the Animation palette or the Layers palette,
click the Backward button ( ) to select the
previous frame in the series as the current frame.
(Windows) or Command-click (Mac OS) to add
frames to the selection.
2 Drag the selection to the new position.
• In the Animation palette, click the Rewind
Note: If you drag multiple discontiguous frames, the
frames are placed contiguously in the new position.
button ( ) to select the first frame in the series as
the current frame.
To reverse the order of contiguous frames:
To select multiple frames:
In the Animation palette, do one of the following:
• To select contiguous multiple frames, Shift-click
a second frame. The second frame and all frames
between the first and second are added to the
selection.
• To select discontiguous multiple frames,
Ctrl-click (Windows) or Command-click
(Mac OS) additional frames to add those frames to
the selection.
• To select all frames, choose Select All Frames
from the Animation palette menu.
1 Select the contiguous frames you want
to reverse.
2 Choose Reverse Frames from the Animation
palette menu.
To delete selected frames:
Do one of the following:
• Select Delete Frame(s) from the Animation
palette menu.
• Click the Trash button ( ) in the Animation
palette, and click Yes to confirm the deletion.
• Drag the selected frame or frames onto the
Trash button.
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To delete an entire animation:
Select Delete Animation from the Animation
palette menu.
Copying and pasting frames
To understand what happens when you copy and
paste a frame, think of a frame as a duplicate
version of an image with a given layer configuration. When you copy a frame, you copy the
configuration of layers (including each layer’s
visibility setting, position, and other attributes).
When you paste a frame, you apply that layer
configuration to the destination frame.
To copy and paste layers between frames:
1 Select one or more frames.
2 Choose Copy Frame(s) from the Animation
palette menu.
• Paste Over Selection to add the contents of the
pasted frames as new layers in the image. When
you paste frames into the same image, using this
option doubles the number of layers in the image.
In the destination frames, the newly pasted layers
are visible, and the original layers are hidden.
In the nondestination frames, the newly pasted
layers are hidden.
• Paste Before Selection or Paste After Selection to
add the copied frames before or after the destination frame. When you paste frames between
images, new layers are added to the image;
however, only the pasted layers are visible in the
new frames (the existing layers are hidden).
6 Select Link Added Layers if you want to
link pasted layers in the Layers palette. Use this
option when you need to reposition the pasted
layers as a unit.
7 Click OK.
3 Select a destination frame or frames in the
current animation or another animation.
4 Choose Paste Frame(s) from the Animation
palette menu.
5 Select a Paste Method:
• Replace Frames to replace the selected frames
with the copied frames. When you paste frames
into the same image, no new layers are added to
the image; rather, the attributes of each existing
layer in the destination frames are replaced by
those of each copied layer. When you paste frames
between images, new layers are added to the
image; however, only the pasted layers are visible
in the destination frames (the existing layers
are hidden).
Tweening frames
You use the Tween command to automatically add
or modify a series of frames between two existing
frames—varying the layer attributes (position,
opacity, or effect parameters) evenly between the
new frames to create the appearance of movement.
For example, if you want to fade out a layer, set the
opacity of the layer in the starting frame to 100%;
then set the opacity of the same layer in the ending
frame to 0%. When you tween between the two
frames, the opacity of the layer is reduced evenly
across the new frames.
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The term “tweening” is derived from “in
betweening,” the traditional animation term used
to describe this process. Tweening significantly
reduces the time required to create animation
effects such as fading in or fading out, or moving
an element across a frame. You can edit tweened
frames individually after you create them.
3 Do one of the following:
• Click the Tween button (
palette.
) in the Animation
• Select Tween from the Animation palette menu.
4 Specify the layer or layers to be varied in the
added frames:
• All Layers to vary all layers in the selected frame
or frames.
• Selected Layer to vary only the currently selected
layer in the selected frame or frames.
5 Specify layer attributes to be varied:
Using tweening to animate warped text: Specify different
warping effects in two frames of the animation, then use the
Tween command to generate the intermediate frames.
• Position to vary the position of the layer’s
content in the new frames evenly between the
beginning and ending frames.
To create frames using tweening:
• Opacity to vary the opacity of the new frames
evenly between the beginning and ending frames.
1 To apply tweening to a specific layer, select it in
the Layers palette.
• Effects to vary the parameter settings of layer
2 Select a single frame or multiple contiguous
frames.
effects evenly between the beginning and
ending frames.
If you select a single frame, you choose whether to
tween the frame with the previous frame or the
next frame. If you select two contiguous frames,
new frames are added between the frames. If you
select more than two frames, existing frames
between the first and last selected frames are
altered by the tweening operation. If you select the
first and last frames in an animation, these frames
are treated as contiguous, and tweened frames
are added after the last frame. (This tweening
method is useful when the animation is set to loop
multiple times.)
6 If you selected a single frame in step 2, choose
where to add frames from the Tween With menu:
Note: You cannot select discontiguous frames
for tweening.
• Next Frame to add frames between the selected
frame and the following frame.
• First Frame to add frames between the last frame
and first frame. This option is only available if you
select the last frame in the Animation palette.
• Previous Frame to add frames between the
selected frame and the preceding frame.
• Last Frame to add frames between the first frame
and last frame. This option is only available if you
select the first frame in the Animation palette.
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7 Enter a value, or use the Up or Down Arrow
key to choose the number of frames to add.
(This option is not available if you selected more
than two frames. In this case, the tweening
operation alters the existing frames between the
first and last frames in the selection.)
3 Specify the delay:
• Choose a value from the pop-up menu. (The last
value used appears at the bottom of the menu.)
• Choose Other, enter a value in the Set Frame
Delay dialog box, and click OK.
8 Click OK.
If you selected multiple frames, specifying a delay
value for one frame applies the value to all frames.
Specifying looping
Note: Delay time may not be accurate during an
animation preview in ImageReady. For an
accurate preview of delay time, preview animations
in a browser.
You select a looping option to specify how
many times the animation sequence repeats
when played.
To specify looping:
1 Click the looping option selection box at the
lower left corner of the Animation palette.
2 Select a looping option: Once, Forever,
or Other.
3 If you selected Other, enter a value in the Set
Loop Count dialog box, and click OK.
Working with layers in
animations
Working with layers is the key to creating animations in ImageReady. Each new frame starts out as
a duplicate of the preceding frame—you edit the
frame by adjusting its layers. You can apply layer
changes to a single frame, a group of frames, or the
entire animation.
Specifying delay for frames
You can specify a delay—the time that a frame is
displayed—for single frames or for multiple
frames in an animation. Delay time is displayed in
seconds. Fractions of a second are displayed as
decimal values. For example, one-quarter second
is specified as .25.
To specify a delay time:
1 Select one or more frames.
2 In the Animation palette, click on the Delay
value below the selected frame to view the Delay
pop-up menu.
Using layers to edit frames
The information in this section applies to rollover
states as well as to animation frames.
When you work with layers in a frame, you can
create or copy selections in the layer; adjust color
and tone; change the layer’s opacity, blending
mode, or position; add layer effects; and perform
editing tasks as you would with layers in any
image. Using layer attributes to create animation
effects is very simple, and it allows you to save an
animation file in Photoshop format for later
reediting.
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Keep in mind that some changes you make to
layers affect only the active frame, while others
affect all frames:
Frame-specific changes Affect only the selected
frames in the Animation palette. Changes you
make to a layer using Layers palette commands
and options—including a layer’s opacity, blending
mode, visibility, position, and layer effects—
are frame-specific.
Global changes Affect all frames in an animation.
Changes you make to the layer’s pixel values, using
painting and editing tools, color and tone
adjustment commands, filters, type, and other
image-editing commands, affect every frame in
which the layer is included.
When you work with layer masks and layer
clipping paths, changes in position, state (enabled
or disabled), and link state are frame-specific,
whereas changes in pixel or vector content affect
all frames.
Adding layers to frames
When you create a new layer, it is visible in all
frames of an animation. To hide a layer in a specific
frame, select the frame in the Animation palette,
and then hide the desired layer in the
Layers palette.
You can use the Add Layer to New Frames option
to automatically add a new layer to the image every
time you create a frame. The new layer is visible in
the new frame but hidden in other frames. Using
this options saves time when you are creating an
animation that requires you to add a new visual
element to each frame.
To add a new layer every time you create a frame:
Choose Add Layer to New Frames from the
Animation palette menu. A check mark indicates
that the option is turned on.
Showing and hiding layers in frames
When you show or hide a layer in a frame, the
visibility of the layer changes for that frame only.
For example, if you use a multilayer image to
create a three-frame animation, and you hide the
top layer in the second frame, that layer will still be
visible in first and third frames.
Matching layers across frames
When you use Layers palette commands to edit a
layer, the changes apply only to the selected frame.
To apply layer changes to all frames in an
animation, use the Match Layer Across Frames
command.
You can also use the Paste Frames command to
apply layer changes to other frames.
(See “Copying and pasting frames” on page 304.)
To match layer changes across frames:
1 In the Layers palette, select the layer containing
the element you want to match across frames.
2 In the Animation palette, choose Match Layer
Across Frames from the palette menu. The layer
attributes for the selected frame are applied to all
frames in the animation.
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Setting the frame disposal method
3 Choose a disposal method:
The frame disposal method specifies whether to
discard the current frame before displaying the
next frame. You select a disposal method when
working with animations that include background
transparency in order to specify whether the
current frame will be visible through the transparent areas of the next frame.
• Automatic to determine a disposal method for
the current frame automatically, discarding the
current frame if the next frame contains layer
transparency. For most animations, the Automatic
option yields the desired results and is, therefore,
the default option.
Note: Choose the Automatic disposal option when
using the Redundant Pixel Removal optimization
option, to enable ImageReady to preserve frames that
include transparency.
• Do Not Dispose to preserve the current frame as
A
B
A. Frame with background transparency with Restore to
Background option B. Frame with background transparency
with Do Not Dispose option
The Disposal Method icon indicates whether the
frame is set to Do Not Dispose ( ) or Restore to
Background ( ). (No icon appears when disposal
method is set to Automatic.)
To choose a disposal method:
1 Select a frame or frames for which you want to
choose a disposal method.
2 Right-click (Windows) or Ctrl-click (Mac OS)
the frame thumbnail to view the Disposal Method
context menu.
the next frame is added to the display. The current
frame (and preceding frames) may show through
transparent areas of the next frame. To accurately
preview an animation using the Do Not Dispose
option, preview the animation in a browser.
• Restore to Background to discard the current
frame from the display before the next frame is
displayed. Only a single frame is displayed at any
time (and the current frame will not appear
through the transparent areas of the next frame).
Flattening frames into layers
You can flatten animation frames into layers.
A single, composite layer is created for each
frame, containing all of the layers in the frame.
The original layers in the frame are hidden but
preserved (the original layers will be available if
they are needed for another frame).
Note: If you save an animation as a GIF, the
animation frames are flattened and the original
layers are lost. You should save the original file in
Photoshop file format to preserve layers for reediting.
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To flatten frames into layers:
Optimizing animations
In the Animation palette, choose Flatten Frames
into Layers from the palette menu.
You can apply optimization settings to animated
images just as you do to nonanimated images.
(See “Optimizing images” on page 320.)
You should always optimize an animation in
GIF format because GIF is the only format in
ImageReady that supports the display of animated
images on the Web.
Viewing animations
Viewing an animation lets you preview the frames
in timed sequence. You can preview an animation
in ImageReady or in a Web browser.
To view an animation in ImageReady:
1 Click the Play button ( ) in the Animation
palette. The animation is displayed in the
document window. The animation repeats
indefinitely unless you specified another repeat
value in the Play Options dialog box.
(See “Specifying looping” on page 306.)
2 To stop the animation, click the Stop
button ( ).
3 To rewind the animation, click the Rewind
button ( ).
To preview an animation in a browser:
1 Click the Preview in Default Browser tool ( ),
( ) in the toolbox, or choose File > Preview In
and select a browser from the submenu.
2 Use the browser’s Stop and Reload commands
to stop or replay the animation.
Note: While you can optimize an image that
includes animation in JPEG or PNG format,
these formats do not support animation.
The resulting Web page will display only the first
frame of the animation.
In addition to the standard optimization options
for GIF format, you can optimize frames to
include only areas that change from frame to
frame. (This greatly reduces the file size of the
animated GIF.) ImageReady also applies a special
dithering technique to animations to ensure that
dither patterns are consistent across all frames and
to prevent flickering during playback. Due to these
additional optimization functions, ImageReady
may require more time to optimize an animated
GIF than to optimize a standard GIF.
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To optimize an animated image:
1 Choose Optimize Animation from the
Animation palette menu.
2 Set the following options:
• Bounding Box to crop each frame to the area that
has changed from the preceding frame. Animation
files created using this option are smaller but are
incompatible with GIF editors that do not support
the option. (This option is selected by default and
is recommended.)
• Redundant Pixel Removal to make transparent
all pixels in a frame that are unchanged from the
preceding frame. This option is selected by default
and is recommended. The Transparency option in
the Optimize palette must be selected for
redundant pixel removal to work. (See “Making
transparent and matted images” on page 339.)
Important: Set the frame disposal method to
Automatic when using the Redundant Pixel
Removal option. (See “Setting the frame disposal
method” on page 308.)
Viewing animated images in
Photoshop
When you open a file containing an animation in
Photoshop, only the frame that was selected when
you saved the file in ImageReady is displayed.
You cannot edit the animation frames separately,
play the animation, or save the animation as an
animated GIF.
If you add a new layer to the file while in
Photoshop, the layer is added to all frames of the
animation. However, the new layer will only
appear in the selected frame when you reopen the
file in ImageReady. If you change the stacking
order of layers while in Photoshop, the stacking
order of layers will be changed when you reopen
the file in ImageReady.
Saving animations
You can save an animation as a series of GIF files or
as a QuickTime™ movie.
3 Click OK.
4 Apply optimization settings, as described in
“Optimizing images” on page 320.
When optimizing the colors in an animation,
use the Adaptive, Perceptual, or Selective
palette. This insures that the colors are consistent
across frames. (See “Generating a color table” on
page 330.)
Saving animations as animated GIFs
Animations that you view in a Web browser are
called animated GIFs. When you save an optimized
document containing an animation, you can
choose to generate an HTML file that contains
code for displaying the animated GIF in a Web
page. The resulting Web page can contain just
the animated GIF or additional Web features,
such as links and rollovers, depending on the
source document.
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To save an animation as an animated GIF:
1 Optimize the animation, as described in
“Optimizing animations” on page 309.
Opening and importing files as
animations
optimized images” on page 347.
You can use the animation features in ImageReady
to edit animated GIFs, multilayered Photoshop
files, and QuickTime movies.
Saving animations as QuickTime movies
Opening animated GIFs
You can save an animation as a QuickTime movie.
The resulting file is viewable in the QuickTime
player and can be opened in other applications
that support QuickTime movie format.
You can open an existing animated GIF in
ImageReady using the File > Open command.
The file is opened as a stack of layers. Each layer
corresponds to one frame. In each frame, the layer
for that frame is visible, and the layers for the other
frames are hidden.
2 Save the image, as described in “Saving
To save an animation as a QuickTime movie:
1 Choose File > Export Original.
2 Select QuickTime Movie from the format
pop-up menu.
Note: On Windows, QuickTime Movie format is
only available when QuickTime is installed on
your computer.
3 Type a filename, and choose a location
for the file.
4 Click Save.
5 If desired, adjust the compression settings,
and click OK.
Opening existing animated GIF files in
ImageReady is useful primarily for applying
optimization settings to the files. The one-layerper-frame structure of imported animated GIF
files may make it impractical to edit animation
frames in other ways.
Opening Photoshop files as animations
You can easily create animated GIFs from existing
one-layer-per-frame images in Adobe Photoshop
file format or from a group of single-layer images.
You can make each layer in a multilayer Photoshop
file a separate frame in the Animation palette. The
layers are placed in the Animation palette in their
stacking order, with the bottom layer becoming
the first frame.
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You can also import a folder of files and use each
file as a frame in ImageReady. Files can be in any
format that ImageReady supports. Each file
becomes a frame in the Animation palette.
The files are placed in the Animation palette in
alphabetical order by image filename.
The files appear in the Animation palette as frames
and in the Layers palette as layers, with each layer
assigned to a separate frame. The image that is first
alphabetically or numerically by filename is
frame 1 in the Animation palette and the bottom
layer in the Layers palette.
To open a multilayer Photoshop file as frames:
Opening QuickTime movies as animations
1 Choose File > Open, and select the Photoshop
file to open.
2 Select Make Frames From Layers in the
Animation palette menu.
You can open movies in MOV, AVI, and FLIC
formats to view and edit in ImageReady.
To open QuickTime-compatible movies:
Each layer in the image appears as a frame
in the Animation palette. The bottom layer
in the Photoshop image is frame 1 in the
Animation palette.
1 Choose File > Open, and select the movie
to open.
To import a folder of files as frames:
• Selected Range Only to open selected frames.
Drag the slider below the movie thumbnail to
specify the starting point for the range,
then Shift-drag to specify the ending point.
(A black bar on the slider indicates the range
you select.)
1 Place the files to be used as frames into a folder.
Make sure that the folder contains only those
images that are to be used as frames. The resulting
animation will display more successfully if all files
are the same pixel dimensions.
To have frames appear in the correct order in the
animation, name the files in alphabetical or
numeric order, with the file to be used as frame 1
the first in order. (You can also change the order of
the frames in the Animation palette after you
import the files.)
2 Choose File > Import > Import Folder As
Frames, and choose the folder to be imported.
2 Select the range of frames to import:
• From Beginning to End to open the full file.
3 Select Limit to Every Frame to
specify which frames to include from the selected
range. (You can use this option with either
Range option.)
4 Click Open.
12
315
Chapter 12: Optimizing Images for
the Web
reating small graphics files is key to
distributing images on the World Wide
Web. With smaller files, Web servers can
store and transmit images more efficiently, and
viewers can download images more quickly.
Likewise, when preparing images for CD-ROM or
other multimedia viewing, it’s important to make
the image files as small as possible. This conserves
file storage space and decreases the amount of
RAM needed for image display.
C
About optimization
Optimization is the process of fine- tuning the
display quality and file size of an image for use on
the Web or other online media. Adobe Photoshop
and Adobe ImageReady give you an effective range
of controls for compressing the file size of an
image while optimizing its online display quality.
You can optimize images in the three major
graphic file formats used on the Web: GIF
(Graphics Interchange Format), JPEG (Joint
Photographic Experts Group), and PNG-8 or
PNG-24 (Portable Network Graphics, with 8-bit
or 24-bit color).
There are two methods of optimizing images:
• For basic optimization, the Photoshop Save As
command lets you save an image as a GIF, JPEG,
or PNG file. Depending on the file format, you can
specify image quality, background transparency or
matting, color display, and downloading method.
However, any Web features—such as slices, links,
animations, and rollovers—that you’ve added to a
file are not preserved.
For complete information on using the Save As
command to save an image as a GIF, JPEG, or PNG
file, see “Saving images” on page 357.
• For precise optimization, you can use the
optimization features in Photoshop or
ImageReady to preview optimized images in
different file formats and with different file
attributes. You can view multiple versions of an
image simultaneously and modify optimization
settings as you preview the image to select the best
combination of settings for your needs. You can
also specify background transparency and
matting, select options to control dithering, and
resize the image to specified pixel dimensions or a
specified percentage of the original size.
When you save an optimized file using the Save for
Web (Photoshop) or Save Optimized
(ImageReady) command, you can choose to
generate an HTML file for the image. This file
contains all the necessary code to display your
image—as well as links, rollovers, and animations—in a Web browser.
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Viewing images during
optimization
In Photoshop, you must choose File > Save for
Web to view and work with optimized images.
In ImageReady, you can view and work with
optimized images at any time in the document
window.
Choosing a display option
Display options in Photoshop and ImageReady
enable you to switch easily between optimized
and original (non-optimized) versions of an
image and view up to four versions of an
optimized image simultaneously.
To select a display option for viewing images:
Click a tab at the top of the image:
• Original to view the image with no optimization.
• Optimized to view the image with the current
optimization settings applied.
• 2-Up to view two versions of the image side
by side.
• 4-Up to view four versions of the image side
by side.
Working in 2-Up and 4-Up view
When you choose 2-Up or 4-Up view, Photoshop
or ImageReady determines a layout for the images
based on the aspect ratio (width/height ratio)
of the image. Images can appear in vertical layout,
horizontal layout, or 2 x 2 layout (two rows and
two columns). 2 x 2 layout is available for 4-Up
view only.
You can select a version of the image in 2-Up or
4-Up view to apply new optimization settings.
You can automatically repopulate 2-Up and 4-Up
views—generate new optimized versions of the
image based on the selected version. You can also
revert an optimized version to the original version
of the image.
In ImageReady, you can change the default
optimizations in Optimization Preferences.
(See “Setting optimization preferences
(ImageReady)” on page 345.)
To select a view:
Click the view you want to select. A black frame
indicates the selected version.
To repopulate optimized versions of an image in 2-Up
or 4-Up view:
1 Select an optimized version of the image in the
2-Up or 4-Up view.
2 In the Optimize panel of the Save for Web
dialog box (Photoshop) or the Optimize palette
(ImageReady), select Repopulate Views from
the menu.
Photoshop and ImageReady generate smaller
optimized versions of the image based on the
optimization settings of the selected version.
The selected version and the original version,
if present, are not altered during repopulation.
For this reason, the Repopulate Views option
works with 2-Up view only if the original version
of the image is not present.
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To restore an optimized version of an image to the
original version:
Viewing optimization annotations
from the Settings pop-up menu.
In 2-Up and 4-Up view, an annotation area
appears by default below each optimized image,
showing its optimization settings. In Photoshop,
the annotation area always shows; in ImageReady,
you can hide or show the annotation area.
Navigating in a view
To hide or show optimization annotations in 2-Up and
4-Up views (ImageReady):
1 Select an optimized version of the image in the
2-Up or 4-Up view.
2 In the Optimize panel/palette, choose Original
If the entire image is not visible in the view area,
you can navigate to bring another area of the
image into view. This is particularly useful when
working in 2-Up or 4-Up view. In ImageReady,
you can also use the Fit on Screen command to
view the entire image in the available space.
Choose View > Hide Optimization Info or View >
Show Optimization Info.
To navigate in a view:
The file format you choose for an optimized image
is determined by the color, tonal, and graphic
characteristics of the original image. In general,
continuous-tone images such as photographs
should be compressed as JPEG files. Illustrations
with flat color or sharp edges and crisp detail,
such as type, should be compressed as GIF or
PNG-8 files.
1 Do one of the following:
• Select the hand tool in the Save for Web dialog
box (Photoshop) or the toolbox (ImageReady).
• Hold down the spacebar.
2 Drag in the view area to pan over the image.
To display the entire image in the view area
(ImageReady):
Choose View > Fit on Screen.
Choosing a file format for
optimization
PNG-24 file format is suitable for continuous-tone
images. However, PNG-24 files are often much
larger than JPEG files of the same image. PNG-24
format is recommended only when working with a
continuous-tone image that includes multilevel
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transparency. (Multilevel transparency is
supported by the PNG-24 format but not the JPEG
format. See “Making transparent and matted
images” on page 339.)
A photograph suitable for compression as a JPEG
or PNG-24 image, and artwork suitable for
compression as a GIF or PNG-8 image
Choose a format that contains sufficient pixel
depth to display the color information in the
image. (See “About bit depth” on page 116.)
PNG-8 and GIF files support 8-bit color. JPEG and
PNG-24 files support 24-bit color. Depending on
the format, you can specify image quality,
background transparency or matting, color
display, and downloading method.
The appearance of an image on the Web also
depends on the computer platform, color display
system, operating system, and browser used to
display the image. Preview images in different
browsers on different platforms to see how the
images will appear on the Web.
About JPEG format
The JPEG format supports 24-bit color and
preserves the broad range and subtle variations in
brightness and hue found in photographs and
other continuous-toned images. JPEG is
supported by most browsers.
JPEG compresses file size by selectively discarding
data. Because it discards data, JPEG compression
is referred to as lossy. A higher quality setting
results in less data being discarded, but the JPEG
compression method can degrade sharp detail in
an image, particularly in images containing type
or vector art.
Note: Artifacts, such as wave-like patterns or blocky
areas of banding, are created each time you save an
image in JPEG format. These artifacts accumulate
each time you resave the image to the same JPEG file;
therefore, you should always save JPEG files from the
original image, not from a previously saved JPEG.
Original image, and JPEG with Low quality setting
You can create a progressive JPEG file, in which a
low-resolution version of the image appears in a
browser while the full image is downloading.
The JPEG format does not support transparency.
When you save an image as a JPEG file, transparent
pixels are filled with the Matte color, as specified in
the Optimize palette. If you know the background
color of the Web page where you will place the
image, you can match the Matte color to the Web
page background color to simulate the effect of
background transparency. If your image contains
ADOBE PHOTOSHOP 6.0 319
User Guide
transparency and you do not know the Web page
background color, or if the background will be a
pattern, you should use a format that supports
transparency (GIF, PNG-8, or PNG-24).
About GIF format
The GIF format uses 8-bit color and efficiently
compresses solid areas of color while preserving
sharp detail, such as that in line art, logos,
or illustrations with type. You also use the GIF
format to create animated images. GIF is
supported by most browsers.
The GIF format uses LZW compression, which is a
lossless compression method. However, because
GIF files are limited to 256 colors, optimizing an
original 24-bit image as an 8-bit GIF can result in
the loss of color information. In addition,
Photoshop and ImageReady allow you to apply
lossy compression to a GIF file. Using the Lossy
option yields significantly smaller files by sacrificing some image quality.
GIF image with 0% dither, and with 100% dither
You can reduce the number of colors in a GIF
image and choose options to control the way
colors dither in the application or in a browser.
GIF supports background transparency and
background matting, in which you blend the edges
of the image with a Web page background color.
About PNG-8 format
The PNG-8 format uses 8-bit color. Like the GIF
format, PNG-8 efficiently compresses solid areas
of color while preserving sharp detail, such as that
in line art, logos, or illustrations with type.
Because PNG-8 is not supported by all browsers,
it may be advisable to avoid this format for situations in which your image must be accessible to the
widest possible Web viewing audience. For more
information on browser support for PNG,
see your browser’s documentation.
PNG-8 files use more advanced compression
schemes than GIF, and can be 10–30% smaller
than GIF files of the same image, depending on the
image’s color patterns. Although PNG-8
compression is considered lossless, optimizing an
original 24-bit image as an 8-bit PNG file can
result in the loss of color information.
Note: With certain images, especially those with very
few colors and very simple patterns, GIF
compression can create a smaller file than PNG-8
compression. View optimized images in GIF and
PNG-8 format to compare file size.
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As with the GIF format, you can reduce the
number of colors in the image and choose options
to control the way colors dither in the application
or in the browser. The PNG-8 format supports
background transparency and background
matting, in which you blend the edges of the image
with a Web page background color.
Optimizing images
PNG-8 with 0% dither, and with 100% dither
To optimize an image for the Web, you select
a file format and other options in the Optimize
panel (Photoshop) or the Optimize palette
(ImageReady). You can apply different optimization settings to different slices in an image.
You can also use alpha channels to selectively
optimize an image within a slice or across slice
boundaries.
About PNG-24 format
Viewing optimization options
The PNG-24 format supports 24-bit color. Like
the JPEG format, PNG-24 preserves the broad
range and subtle variations in brightness and hue
found in photographs. Like the GIF and PNG-8
formats, PNG-24 preserves sharp detail, such as
that in line art, logos, or illustrations with type.
Optimization options appear in the Optimize
panel (Photoshop) and the Optimize palette
(ImageReady). These options vary depending on
the file format you select.
The PNG-24 format uses the same lossless
compression method as the PNG-8 format.
For that reason, PNG-24 files are usually larger
than JPEG files of the same image. PNG-24
browser support is similar to that for PNG-8.
Do one of the following:
• (Photoshop) Choose File > Save for Web. The
Optimize panel is displayed on the right side of the
dialog box, beneath the Output Settings button.
In addition to supporting background transparency and background matting, the PNG-24
format supports multilevel transparency. Multilevel transparency allows you to preserve up to
click the Optimize palette tab. To show all the
optimization options, click the Show Options
control ( ) on the Optimize palette tab or choose
Show Options from the Optimize palette menu.
256 levels of transparency to blend the edges of an
image smoothly with any background color.
However, multilevel transparency is not supported
by all browsers.
To view the Optimize panel/palette:
• (ImageReady) Choose View > Show Optimize or
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Using named optimization settings
You can save optimization settings as a named set
and apply the settings when working with other
images. Settings that you save appear in the
Settings pop-up menu in the Optimize
panel/palette. Photoshop and ImageReady also
include several predefined named settings.
When you adjust optimization settings so that
they no longer match a named set, the Settings
menu displays the term “Unnamed.” When you
select multiple slices with different optimization
settings, the Settings menu option is blank.
To save optimization settings:
1 Choose Save Settings from the Optimize
panel/palette menu.
2 Name the settings and choose a location where
they will be saved. By default, named settings are
saved in the Optimized Settings folder, inside the
Presets folder in the Adobe Photoshop folder.
3 Click OK.
2 Adjust the settings as desired in the Optimize
panel /palette.
(The Settings menu displays the term “Unnamed,”
since the settings no longer match a named set.)
3 Choose Save Settings from the Optimize
panel/palette menu, and save the settings with the
name of the original set.
4 Click OK, and then click Replace.
To delete named optimization settings:
1 In the Optimize panel/palette, select a named
set of optimization settings from the Settings
pop-up menu.
2 Choose Delete Settings from the Optimize
panel/palette menu.
Setting optimization options for JPEG
format
JPEG is the standard format for compressing
continuous-tone images such as photographs.
(See “About JPEG format” on page 318.)
To apply named optimization settings to an image:
1 Select a view in which to apply the
optimization setting.
2 Select the slice or slices you want to apply the
optimization setting to. (See “Selecting slices” on
page 276.)
3 Choose a named optimization set from the
Settings pop-up menu.
To edit a named set of optimization settings:
1 Choose the named set from the Settings
pop-up menu.
A
B
ImageReady Optimize palette JPEG options,
with hidden options shown:
A. File Format menu B. Quality menu
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In ImageReady, you can control which options
show in the Optimize palette by clicking the Show
Options control ( ) on the Optimize palette tab.
To show all options, choose Show Options from
the Optimize palette menu.
To optimize an image in JPEG format:
1 Select a view in which to apply the
optimization setting.
2 Select the slice or slices to which you want to
apply the optimization setting. (See “Selecting
slices” on page 276.)
3 In the Optimize panel/palette, choose JPEG
from the File Format menu.
4 Do one of the following to specify the image
quality:
• Choose an option from the Quality menu.
• Drag the Quality pop-up slider.
• Enter a value in the Quality text box.
The higher the Quality setting, the more detail the
compression algorithm preserves. However, using
a high Quality setting results in a larger file size
than using a low Quality setting. View the
optimized image at several quality settings to
determine the best balance of quality and file size.
5 To vary the Quality setting across the selected
slices using an alpha channel, click the channel
button ( ). In the Modify Quality Setting dialog
box, choose an alpha channel from the pop-up
menu, set a quality range, and click OK.
(See “Using channels to modify JPEG quality” on
page 327.)
6 To create an enhanced JPEG with a slightly
smaller file size, select Optimized. The Optimized
JPEG format is recommended for maximum file
compression; however, some older browsers do
not support this feature.
7 Select Progressive to create an image that
displays progressively in a Web browser. The image
will display as a series of overlays, enabling viewers
to see a low-resolution version of the image before
it downloads completely. The Progressive option
requires use of the Optimized JPEG format.
Progressive JPEGs require more RAM for viewing,
and are not supported by some browsers.
8 To apply a blur to the image to smooth
rough edges, enter a value for Blur or drag the
pop-up slider.
The Blur option applies an effect identical to that
of the Gaussian Blur filter and allows the file to be
compressed more, resulting in a smaller file size.
A setting of 0.1 to 0.5 is recommended.
9 To preserve the ICC profile of the image with
the file, select ICC Profile.
ICC profiles are used by some browsers for color
correction. The ICC profile option preserves ICC
profiles embedded by Photoshop. This option is
only available after you’ve saved an image with an
ICC profile—it is not available for unsaved images.
(See “Setting up color management” on page 124).
10 If the original image contains transparency,
select a Matte color that matches the background
of your Web page. (See “Making transparent and
matted images” on page 339.)
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Setting optimization options for GIF and
PNG-8 formats
GIF is the standard format for compressing images
with flat color and crisp detail, such as line art,
logos, or illustrations with type. (See “About GIF
format” on page 319.) Like the GIF format, PNG-8
efficiently compresses solid areas of color while
preserving sharp detail; however, not all Web
browsers can display PNG-8 files. (See “About
PNG-8 format” on page 319.)
To optimize an image in GIF or PNG-8 format:
1 Select a view in which to apply the
optimization setting.
2 Select the slice or slices to which you want to
apply the optimization setting. (See “Selecting
slices” on page 276.)
3 In the Optimize panel/palette, choose GIF
or PNG-8 from the File Format menu.
4 For GIF format only: Drag the Lossy slider or
enter a value to allow for lossy compression. Lossy
compression reduces file size by selectively
discarding data—a higher Lossy setting results in
more data being discarded.
A
B
C
ImageReady Optimize palette GIF options,
with hidden options shown:
A. File Format menu B. Color Reduction
Algorithm menu C. Dither Algorithm menu
In ImageReady, you can control which options
show in the Optimize palette by clicking the Show
Options control ( ) on the Optimize palette tab.
To show all options, choose Show Options from
the Optimize palette menu.
You can often apply a Lossy value of 5–10, and
sometimes up to 50, without degrading the image.
File size can often be reduced 5%–40% using the
Lossy option.
Note: You cannot use the Lossy option with the
Interlaced option, or with Noise or Pattern
Dither algorithms.
5 For GIF format only: To vary the Lossy setting
across the selected slices using an alpha channel,
click the channel button ( ) next to the Lossy text
box. In the Modify Lossiness Setting dialog box,
choose an alpha channel from the pop-up menu,
set a lossiness range, and click OK. (See “Using
channels to modify GIF lossiness” on page 328.)
6 Select a color reduction algorithm.
(See “Generating a color table” on page 330.)
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7 To modify the color reduction using an alpha
channel, click the channel button ( ) next to the
Color Reduction Algorithm text box. In the
Modify Color Reduction dialog box, choose an
alpha channel from the pop-up menu, and click
OK. (See “Using channels to modify color
reduction” on page 329.)
8 To specify the maximum number of colors in
the color palette, select a number from the Colors
pop-up menu, enter a value in the text box, or use
the arrows to change the number of colors. If the
image contains fewer colors than the number
specified, the color table will contain only the
number of colors in the image.
11 If the image contains transparency, choose an
option for preserving or filling transparent pixels:
• Select Transparency (the default setting) to
preserve fully transparent pixels as transparent.
(Partially transparent pixels are filled with the
Matte color or converted to fully transparent or
fully opaque pixels, depending on the Matte
option you choose.)
• Deselect Transparency to fill fully and partially
transparent pixels with the Matte color.
For more information on setting transparency and
Matte color, see “Making transparent and matted
images” on page 339.
You can choose the Auto option when working
with a fixed color palette. This option determines
the number of colors in the color table based on
the frequency of colors in the image. Choose Auto
if you want Photoshop or ImageReady to
determine the optimal number of colors in the
color table.
12 Select Interlaced to create an image that
9 Select a Dither option and amount. For infor-
palette equivalents (and prevent the colors from
dithering in a browser), drag the Web Snap slider
or enter a value to specify a tolerance level for
colors to be shifted. A higher value shifts more
colors. See “Previewing and controlling dithering”
on page 341.
mation on dither, see “Previewing and controlling
dithering” on page 341.
10 To vary the Dither setting across the selected
slices using an alpha channel, click the channel
button ( ) next to the Dither text box. In the
Modify Dither Setting dialog box, choose an alpha
channel from the pop-up menu, set a dither range,
and click OK. (See “Using channels to modify
dithering” on page 329.)
displays as low-resolution versions in a browser
while the full image file is downloading.
Interlacing can make downloading time seem
shorter and assures viewers that downloading
is in progress.
13 To automatically shift colors to the closest Web
14 To apply a unified color table across all
rollover states, select Use Unified Color Table.
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Setting optimization options for PNG-24
format
PNG-24 format is suitable for compressing
continuous-tone images. However, PNG-24 files
are often much larger than JPEG files of the same
image. PNG-24 format is recommended only
when working with a continuous-tone image that
includes multilevel transparency. (See “About
PNG-24 format” on page 320.)
To optimize an image in PNG-24 format:
1 Select a view in which to apply the optimization
setting.
2 Select the slice or slices to which you want to
apply the optimization setting. (See “Selecting
slices” on page 276.)
3 In the Optimize panel/palette, choose PNG-24
from the File Format menu in the Optimize
panel/palette.
4 Select Interlaced to create an image that displays
low-resolution versions in a browser while the full
image file is downloading. Interlacing can make
downloading time seem shorter, and assures
viewers that downloading is in progress.
5 If the image contains transparency, choose an
option for preserving or filling transparent pixels:
• Select Transparency (the default setting) to
preserve transparent pixels as transparent.
• Deselect Transparency to fill transparent pixels
with the Matte color.
Optimizing by file size
You can optimize an image or slice to an approximate file size. This feature enables you to quickly
achieve a desired file size without having to test
different optimization settings.
To optimize a file according to a specified file size:
1 Select Optimize to File Size from the Optimize
panel/palette menu.
2 Select a Start With option:
• Current Settings to use current optimization
settings.
• Auto Select GIF/JPEG to automatically generate
a GIF or JPEG. (Photoshop or ImageReady selects
GIF or JPEG format, depending on an analysis of
colors in the image.)
3 Select a Slices option:
• Current Slice to optimize the selected slice to
approximately the specified file size.
• All Slices Separately to optimize each slice in the
image to approximately the specified file size.
• All Slices Together to optimize the sum of the
size of all slices to approximately the specified file
size. The total value is apportioned to individual
slices based on each slice’s relative size. For
example, if you select three slices, one of which is
twice as large as the other two, the large slice is
optimized to 50% of the specified file size, and
each of the other slices is optimized to 25% of the
specified file size.
4 Specify a value for Desired File Size.
5 Click OK.
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Resizing the image during optimization
(Photoshop Save For Web dialog box)
When optimizing an image in the Photoshop Save
For Web dialog box, you can resize the image to
specified pixel dimensions or to a percentage of the
original size.
Note: You can also resize an image by choosing
Image > Image Size. (See “Changing the pixel
dimensions of an image” on page 97.)
To change the pixel dimensions of an image during
optimization:
1 Click the Image Size tab in the Save For Web
dialog box.
2 To maintain the current proportions of
pixel width to pixel height, select Constrain
Proportions.
3 Enter values for Width, Height, or Percent.
The New Size text field displays the new file size for
the image.
4 Choose an interpolation method from the
Quality pop-up menu:
• Jagged (Nearest Neighbor) for the faster, but less
precise, method. This method is recommended for
use with illustrations containing non-anti-aliased
edges, to preserve hard edges and produce a
smaller file.
• Smooth (Bicubic) for the slower, but more
precise, method, resulting in smoother tonal
gradations.
For more information on interpolation,
see “About resampling” on page 96.
5 Click Apply.
Controlling optimization (ImageReady)
By default, Photoshop and ImageReady automatically regenerate the optimized image when you
click the Optimized, 2-Up, or 4-Up tab at the top
of the document (if you have modified the image
since the last optimization), when you change
optimization settings with the optimized image
displayed, or when you edit the original image.
In ImageReady, you can turn off auto-regeneration so that the last version of the optimized
image remains in the image window until you
manually reoptimize the image or reactivate
auto-regeneration. This feature is useful if you
want to edit the image without pausing for reoptimization with each modification. You can also
cancel optimization while it’s in progress, and
preserve the previous image.
When auto-regeneration is turned off, the Regenerate button ( ) appears in the lower-right corner
of each optimized image view. A regeneration alert
symbol also appears in the Color Table palette if
the optimized image is in GIF or PNG-8 format,
indicating that the color table is out of date.
To turn Auto Regenerate on or off:
In the Optimize palette, choose Auto Regenerate
from the palette menu. A check mark indicates
that the option is turned on.
To manually optimize an image:
Choose a method for optimizing:
• Click the Regenerate button ( ) in the lower-
right corner of the optimized image (if it appears).
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• Choose Regenerate from the Optimize palette
menu.
Note: Manually optimizing an image does not turn
auto-regeneration on.
The Regenerate option is available only when the
optimized image is out of date (when Auto Regenerate is turned off and the image or its optimization settings are modified, or when optimization
has been canceled).
To cancel optimization:
Click the Stop button next to the progress bar at
the bottom of the image window.
Using weighted optimization
Weighted optimization lets you smoothly vary
optimization settings across an image using an
alpha channel. This technique produces higherquality results in critical image areas without
sacrificing file size. With weighted optimization,
you can produce gradual variations in GIF
dithering, lossy GIF settings, and JPEG
compression. Weighted optimization also lets you
favor colors in selected image areas when you
generate a color table.
About alpha channels and weighted
optimization
Alpha channels lets you store selections as
grayscale images called masks. In a mask, selected
areas appear white, deselected areas appear black,
and partially selected areas appear as shades of
gray. When you use an alpha channel to apply
optimization settings, the white areas of the mask
describe the highest level of image quality, while
the black areas for the mask describe the lowest
level of image quality. (The level of optimization in
gray areas of the mask decreases by a linear scale.)
Weighted optimization is available for specific
settings in the Optimize panel/palette, as indicated
by the channel button ( ). This button has a dark
background ( ) when a channel is selected and
appears dimmed ( ) when no channels are
available. To access the weighted optimization
dialog box, simply click the channel button.
To create a channel for use during optimization:
Do one of the following:
• (Photoshop) Save a selection as a mask, or create
a new alpha channel and use the painting and
editing tools to modify it. (See “Storing masks in
alpha channels” on page 199.)
• (ImageReady) Use a selection tool to select an
area of the image. Either save the selection using
the Select > Save Selection command, or choose
the Save Selection command from the Channel
pop-up menu in the weighted optimization
dialog box.
Using channels to modify JPEG quality
When you use an alpha channel to optimize the
range of quality in a JPEG image, white areas of the
mask yield the highest quality, and black areas of
the mask yield the lowest quality. You can adjust
the maximum and minimum level of quality in the
Modify Quality Setting dialog box.
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To use a channel to modify JPEG quality:
To use a channel to modify GIF lossiness:
1 In the Optimize panel/palette, choose a JPEG
setting from the Settings menu, or choose JPEG
from the file format menu.
1 In the Optimize panel/palette, choose a GIF
setting from the Settings menu, or choose GIF
from the file format menu.
2 Click the channel button ( ) to the right of the
Quality text box.
2 Click the channel button ( ) to the right of the
Lossy text box.
3 In the Modify Quality Setting dialog box,
choose the desired channel from the Channel
menu. In ImageReady, you can choose Save
Selection to create a new alpha channel based on
the current selection.
3 In the Modify Lossiness Setting dialog box,
choose the desired channel from the Channel
menu. In ImageReady, you can choose Save
Selection to create a new alpha channel based on
the current selection.
4 To preview the results of the weighted optimization, select the Preview option.
4 To preview the results of the weighted optimization, select the Preview option.
5 Define the quality range:
5 Define the quality range:
• To set the highest level of quality, drag the right
• To set the highest level of quality, drag the left
(white) tab on the slider, enter a value in the
Maximum text box, or use the arrows to change
the current value.
(white) tab on the slider, enter a value in the
Minimum text box, or use the arrows to change
the current value.
• To set the lowest level of quality, drag the left
(black) tab on the slider, enter a value in the
Minimum text box, or use the arrows to change
the current value.
• To set the lowest level of quality, drag the right
(black) tab on the slider, enter a value in the
Maximum text box, or use the arrows to change
the current value.
6 Click OK.
Note: Lossiness is a reduction in quality; therefore,
the highest level of image quality is defined by the
Minimum value, and the lowest level of image
quality is defined by the Maximum value. This is the
opposite of the JPEG quality setting.
Using channels to modify GIF lossiness
When you use an alpha channel to optimize the
amount of lossiness (or quality reduction) in a GIF
image, white areas of the mask yield the highest
quality, and black areas of the mask yield the
lowest quality. You can adjust the maximum and
minimum level of quality reduction in the Modify
Lossiness Setting dialog box.
6 Click OK.
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Using channels to modify dithering
Using channels to modify color reduction
When you use an alpha channel to optimize the
amount of dithering in a GIF or PNG-8 image,
white areas of the mask yield the most dithering,
and black areas of the mask yield the least
dithering. You can adjust the maximum and
minimum levels of dithering in the Modify
Quality Setting dialog box.
When you use an alpha channel to optimize the
colors in a GIF or PNG-8 image, the white areas of
the mask determine what areas of the image are
the most important when calculating the color
table. White areas of the channel indicate to the
color reduction algorithm which pixels are highly
important, whereas black areas of the channel
indicate which pixels are less important.
To use a channel to modify dithering:
1 In the Optimize panel/palette, choose a GIF or
To use a channel to modify color reduction:
PNG-8 setting from the Settings menu, or choose
GIF or PNG-8 from the file format menu.
1 In the Optimize panel/palette, choose a GIF or
PNG-8 setting from the Settings menu, or choose
GIF or PNG-8 from the file format menu.
2 Click the channel button ( ) to the right of the
Dither text box.
3 In the Modify Quality Setting dialog box,
choose the desired channel from the Channel
menu. In ImageReady, you can choose Save
Selection to create a new alpha channel based on
the current selection.
4 To preview the results of the weighted optimization, select the Preview option.
5 Define the dithering range:
• To set the highest percentage of dithering, drag
the right (white) tab on the slider, enter a value in
the Maximum text box, or use the arrows to
change the current percentage.
• To set the lowest percentage of dithering, drag
the left (black) tab on the slider, enter a value in the
Minimum text box, or use the arrows to change
the current percentage.
6 Click OK.
2 Choose a color reduction algorithm and specify
the maximum number of colors.
3 Click the channel button ( ) to the right of the
Color Reduction Algorithm pop-up menu.
4 In the Modify Color Reduction dialog box,
choose the desired channel from the Channel
menu. In ImageReady, you can choose Save
Selection to create a new alpha channel based on
the current selection.
5 To preview the results of the weighted optimization, select the Preview option.
6 Click OK.
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Optimizing colors in GIF and
PNG-8 images
Decreasing the number of colors in an image is a
key factor in optimizing GIF and PNG-8 images.
A reduced range of colors will often preserve good
image quality while dramatically reducing the file
space required to store extra colors.
The color table gives you precise control over
the colors in optimized GIF and PNG-8 images
(as well as original images in indexed color mode).
With a maximum of 256 colors, you can add and
delete colors in the color table, shift selected colors
to Web-safe colors, and lock selected colors to
prevent them from being dropped from the
palette.
Viewing a color table
The color table for a slice appears in the Color
Table panel in the Save for Web dialog box
(Photoshop) or the Color Table palette
(ImageReady).
Note: In ImageReady, be careful not to confuse the
Color Table panel/palette with the Color palette or
Swatches palette. You use the Color Table
panel/palette to optimize colors; you use the Color
palette and Swatches palette to select colors.
To view the color table for an optimized slice:
1 (ImageReady) Choose Window > Show
Color Table.
2 Select a slice that is optimized in GIF or PNG-8
format. (See “Selecting slices” on page 276.) The
color table for the selected slice appears in the
Color Table panel/palette.
If an image has multiple slices, the colors in the
color table may vary between slices (you can link
the slices first to prevent this from happening).
If you select multiple slices that use different color
tables, the color table is empty and its status bar
displays the message “Mixed.”
Generating a color table
You can change the palette—or set of colors—
in the color table by selecting a color reduction
option in the Optimize panel/palette. There are
three categories of options:
• Dynamic options use a color reduction
algorithm to build a palette based on the colors in
the image and the number of colors specified in
the optimization setting. The colors in the palette
are regenerated every time you change or
reoptimize the image. Perceptual, Selective, and
Adaptive are dynamic options.
• Fixed options use a set palette of colors.
In other words, the set of available colors is
constant, but the actual colors in the palette will
vary depending on the colors in the image.
Web, Mac OS, Windows, Black & White, and
Grayscale tables are fixed options.
• The Custom option uses a color palette that is
created or modified by the user. If you open an
existing GIF or PNG-8 file, it will have a custom
color palette.
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To select a color reduction algorithm:
Custom Preserves the current color table as a
Choose an option from the Color Reduction
Algorithm pop-up menu (below the file format
menu in the Optimize panel/palette):
fixed palette that does not update with changes to
the image.
Perceptual Creates a custom color table by giving
priority to colors for which the human eye has
greater sensitivity.
Selective Creates a color table similar to the
Mac OS Uses the Mac OS system’s default 8-bit
(256-color) color table, which is based on a
uniform sampling of RGB colors. If your image
has fewer colors than the total number specified in
the color palette, unused colors are removed.
Perceptual color table, but favoring broad areas
of color and the preservation of Web colors.
This color table usually produces images with
the greatest color integrity. Selective is the
default option.
Windows Uses the Windows system’s default 8-bit
Adaptive Creates a custom color table by
Other color tables appear in the menu if you have
saved them previously. (See “Loading and saving
color tables” on page 336.)
sampling colors from the spectrum appearing
most commonly in the image. For example, an
image with only the colors green and blue
produces a color table made primarily of greens
and blues. Most images concentrate colors in
particular areas of the spectrum.
(256-color) color table, which is based on a
uniform sampling of RGB colors. If your image
has fewer colors than the total number specified in
the color palette, unused colors are removed.
You can use an alpha channel to influence the
generation of color tables. (See “Using channels
to modify color reduction” on page 329.)
Web Uses the standard 216-color color table
To regenerate a color table (ImageReady):
common to the Windows and Mac OS 8-bit
(256-color) palettes. This option ensures that no
browser dither is applied to colors when the image
is displayed using 8-bit color. (This palette is also
called the Web-safe palette.) If your image has
fewer colors than the total number specified in the
color palette, unused colors are removed.
Choose Rebuild Color Table from the Color Table
palette menu. Use this command to generate a new
color table when the Auto Regenerate option is off.
(See “Controlling optimization (ImageReady)” on
page 326.)
Using the Web palette can create larger files, and is
recommended only when avoiding browser dither
is a high priority. See “Previewing and controlling
dithering” on page 341.
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Sorting the color table
2 Choose a color:
You can sort colors in the color table by hue,
luminance, or popularity, making it easier to see
an image’s color range and locate particular colors.
• Click the color selection box in the Save for Web
dialog box (Photoshop) or the toolbox
(ImageReady), and choose a color from the
color picker.
To sort a color table:
Choose a sorting order from the Color Table
palette menu:
• Unsorted. Restores the original sorting order.
• Sort By Hue, or by the location of the color on
the standard color wheel (expressed as a degree
between 0 to 360). Neutral colors are assigned a
hue of 0, and located with the reds.
• Sort By Luminance, or by the lightness or
brightness of a color.
• Sort By Popularity, or by the colors’ frequency of
occurrence in the image.
Adding new colors to the color table
You can add colors that were left out in building
the color table. Adding a color to a dynamic table
replaces the color in the palette closest to the new
color. Adding a color to a fixed or Custom table
adds an additional color to the palette.
(See “Generating a color table” on page 330.)
To add a new color:
1 Deselect all colors in the color table
(see “Selecting colors” on page 333).
• Select the eyedropper tool ( ) in the Save for
Web dialog box (Photoshop) or the toolbox
(ImageReady) and click in the image.
• (ImageReady) Select the eyedropper tool ( ),
click in the image, hold the mouse down,
and drag anywhere on the desktop. You can use
this option to select a color displayed in another
application, such as a color in a Web page
displayed in a browser.
• (ImageReady) Select a color from the Color
palette or the Swatches palette.
3 Do one of the following:
• Click the New Color button ( ) in the Color
Table panel/palette.
• Select New Color from the Color Table
palette menu.
• (ImageReady) Drag the color from the color
selection box, Color palette, or Swatches palette to
the Color Table palette.
To switch the color table to a Custom palette,
hold down Ctrl (Windows) or Command
(Mac OS) when you add the new color.
The new color appears in the color table with a
small white square in the lower right corner,
indicating that the color is locked. (See “Locking
colors in the color table” on page 335.)
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Including transparency in a color table
Selecting colors
The color table includes a transparency swatch ( )
if the original image contains transparent pixels.
You can use the matting option to fill transparent
pixels with a solid color, or you can preserve transparent pixels when optimizing the image in GIF or
PNG format. (See “Making transparent and
matted images” on page 339.)
You select colors directly in the optimized image
or in the color table. In ImageReady, you can select
a color from another application, such as a Web
page displayed in a browser.
Note: When optimizing an animated image,
the color table may include a transparency swatch
even if the image does not contain transparent pixels.
This is a result of using the Redundant Pixel
Removal optimization option in the Animation
palette. (See “Optimizing animations” on
page 309.)
Including black and white in a color table
To select a color from the optimized image:
1 Select the eyedropper tool ( ) in the Save for
Web dialog box (Photoshop) or the toolbox
(ImageReady).
2 Click a color in the image. A white border ( )
appears around that color in the color table.
Shift-click to select additional colors.
To select a color from another application
(ImageReady):
You can add black and white to the color table
when the image does not include these colors.
Including black and white is useful when
preparing files for multimedia authoring applications, such as Adobe After Effects®.
(ImageReady) Select the eyedropper tool, click in
the image, hold the mouse down, and drag
anywhere on the desktop. You can use this option
to select a color displayed in another application,
such as a color in a Web page displayed in a
browser.
To add black or white to the color table for an image:
To select a color directly in the color table:
1 Choose black or white as the foreground color.
Click the color in the Color Table panel/palette.
For more information, see “Choosing
foreground and background colors” in
online Help.
To select a contiguous group of colors, press Shift
and click another color. All colors in the rows
between the first and second selected colors are
selected.
2 Add the color to the color table as described in
“Adding new colors to the color table” on
page 332.
To select a discontiguous group of colors, press
Ctrl (Windows) or Command (Mac OS) and click
each color that you want to select.
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To select colors based on a selection in the image
(ImageReady):
1 Make a selection in the image using the
To deselect all colors:
Choose Deselect All Colors from the Color Table
palette menu.
selection tools or the Select menu commands.
2 Choose Select All From Selection from the
Color Table palette menu.
Editing colors
Choose Select All Colors from the Color Table
palette menu.
You can change a selected color in the color
table to any other RGB color value. When you
regenerate the optimized image, the selected color
changes to the new color wherever it appears in the
image.
To select all Web-safe colors:
To edit a color:
Choose Select All Web Safe Colors from the Color
Table palette menu.
1 Double-click the color in the color table to
display the default color picker.
To select all colors:
To select all non-Web-safe colors:
Choose Select All Non-Web Safe Colors from the
Color Table palette menu.
To view selected colors in an image (ImageReady):
Select the optimized image. Then click and hold a
selected color in the Color Table palette to temporarily invert the color in the optimized image,
enabling you to see which areas of the image
contain the color.
To view a contiguous group of colors, press Shift
and click and hold another color. All colors in the
rows between the first and second selected colors
are inverted.
To view a discontiguous group of colors, press Ctrl
(Windows) or Command (Mac OS) and click each
color that you want to select, and hold the mouse
button down on any color in the group.
2 Select a color.
A small black diamond ( ) appears in the center
of each edited color. The edited color replaces the
original color in the image.
Note: Editing a color also locks it—a white square
appears in the lower right corner of the color.
(See “Locking colors in the color table” on page 335.)
Shifting to Web-safe colors
To protect colors from dithering in a browser,
you can shift the colors to their closest equivalents
in the Web palette. This ensures that the colors
won’t dither when displayed in browsers on either
Windows or Macintosh operating systems capable
of displaying only 256 colors. (See “Previewing
and controlling dithering” on page 341.)
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To shift colors to the closest Web palette equivalent:
Locking colors in the color table
1 Select one or more colors in the optimized
image or color table. (See “Selecting colors” on
page 333.)
You can lock selected colors in the color table to
prevent them from being dropped when the
number of colors is reduced and to prevent them
from dithering in the application.
2 Do one of the following:
• Click the Web Shift button ( ) in the Color
Table panel/palette.
• Choose Web Shift/Unshift Selected Colors from
the Color Table palette menu.
A small white diamond ( ) appears in the center
of a Web-shifted color and in all Web-safe colors.
Note: Locking colors does not prevent them from
dithering in a browser. (See “Previewing and
controlling dithering” on page 341.)
To lock a color:
1 Select one or more colors in the color table.
(See “Selecting colors” on page 333.)
To revert Web-shifted colors to their original colors:
2 Lock the color:
Do one of the following:
• Click the Lock button ( ).
• Select a Web-shifted color in the color table and
• Choose Lock/Unlock Selected Colors from the
Color Table palette menu.
click the Web Shift button ( ) in the Color Table
panel/palette.
• Choose Unshift All Colors from the Color Table
palette menu.
To specify tolerance for shifting colors automatically
to the closest Web palette equivalents:
A white square ( ) appears in the lower right
corner of each locked color.
Note: If the selected colors include both locked and
unlocked colors, all colors will be locked.
To unlock a color:
In the Optimize panel/palette, enter a value for
Web Snap or drag the pop-up slider. A higher
value shifts more colors. (See “Previewing and
controlling dithering” on page 341.)
1 Click the locked color to select it.
(In ImageReady, click the Show Options
control ( ) on the Optimize palette tab or
choose Show Options from the Optimize palette
menu to view the Web Snap option.)
• Choose Lock/Unlock Selected Colors from the
Color Table palette menu.
2 Unlock the color:
• Click the Lock button ( ).
The white square disappears from the color
swatch.
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Deleting colors from the color table
To save a color table:
You can delete selected colors from the color table
to decrease the image file size. When you delete a
color, areas of the optimized image that previously
included that color are rerendered using the
closest color remaining in the palette.
1 Select Save Color Table from the Color Table
palette menu.
When you delete a color, the color table automatically changes to a Custom palette. This is because
the Adaptive, Perceptual, and Selective palettes
automatically add the deleted color back into the
palette when you reoptimize the image—the
Custom palette does not change when you
reoptimize the image.
2 Name the color table and choose a location
where it will be saved. By default, the color table
file is given the extension .act (for Adobe Color
Table).
If you want to access the color table when selecting
Optimization options for a GIF or PNG image,
save the color table in the Optimized Colors folder,
inside the Presets folder in the Adobe Photoshop
folder.
3 Click Save.
To delete selected colors:
1 Select one or more colors in the color table.
(See “Selecting colors” on page 333.)
2 Delete the color:
• Click on the Trash button ( ).
• Choose Delete Color from the Color Table
palette menu.
To load a color table:
1 Select Load Color Table from the Color Table
palette menu.
2 Navigate to a file containing the color table you
want to load—either an Adobe Color Table (.act)
file, or a GIF file (to load the file’s embedded color
table).
3 Click Open.
Loading and saving color tables
You can save color tables from optimized images to
use with other images and to load color tables
created in other applications. Once you load a new
color table into an image, the colors in the
optimized image are changed to reflect the colors
in the new color table.
Using master palettes (ImageReady)
You can create a master palette to use with a group
of GIF or PNG-8 images that will be placed on a
CD-ROM or other multimedia storage medium.
When you include the master palette with a batch
of images, all images display using the same colors.
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To build a master palette, you add colors from a set
of images and then build and save the master
palette. To create a master palette for a batch of
images, you add colors to the palette from other
optimized images.
To create and apply a master palette:
1 With an image displayed, choose Image >
Master Palette > Clear Master Palette (if available).
Clearing the master palette ensures that colors
from previous images are not included in the
new palette.
2 Open an image whose colors you want to
include in a master palette.
3 Choose Image > Master Palette > Add To
Master Palette. All color information for the
current image is added to the master palette.
4 Repeat steps 2 and 3 for all images whose colors
If you want to access the color table when selecting
Optimization options for a GIF or PNG image,
save the master palette in the Optimized Colors
folder, inside the Presets folder in the Adobe
Photoshop folder.
9 Click Save.
10 To apply the master palette to the image or
images for which it was created, open the image or
images and select the master palette:
• If the master palette appears in the Color
Reduction Algorithm menu in the Optimize
palette, select the master palette from this menu.
(The Color Reduction Algorithm menu includes
all palettes saved in the Optimized Colors folder,
inside the Presets folder in the Adobe Photoshop
folder.)
• Load the master palette, as described in
“Loading and saving color tables” on page 336.
you want to include in the master palette.
5 In the Optimize palette, select optimization
settings for the master palette.
6 Choose Image > Master Palette > Build Master
Palette to create a new color table from the color
information of images used in steps 2, 3, and 4.
7 Choose Image > Master Palette > Save
Master Palette.
8 Name the master palette and choose a location
where it will be saved. By default, the master
palette file is given the extension .act (for Adobe
Color Table).
Working with hexadecimal
values for color
You can view colors as hexadecimal values in the
Info palette. In addition, you can copy colors as
hexadecimal values to the Clipboard and paste
them into an HTML document.
Viewing hexadecimal values for colors in
the Info palette
In Photoshop, hexadecimal values for colors are
displayed in the Info palette when you select
Web Color Mode for one or both color readouts.
In ImageReady, hexadecimal values for colors are
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displayed automatically in the right side of the Info
palette, next to RGB color values. The Photoshop
and ImageReady Info palettes also display other
information, depending on the tool being used.
To view hexadecimal color values in the Info palette:
1 Choose Window > Show Info or click the Info
palette tab to view the palette.
2 (Photoshop) Choose Palette Options from the
palette menu. Under First Color Readout or
Second Color Readout, choose Web Color from
the Mode menu and click OK.
3 Position the pointer over the color you want to
view hexadecimal values for.
Copying colors as hexadecimal values
You can copy colors as hexadecimal values from
files in Photoshop or ImageReady, using the
context menu with the eyedropper tool, or using
menu commands. In Photoshop, you copy a color
as a hexadecimal value while in the main work area
(not the Save for Web dialog box).
To copy a color as a hexadecimal value using the
eyedropper tool:
1 Select the eyedropper tool (
) in the toolbox.
2 Select a color to copy:
• Right-click (Windows) or Control-click
(Mac OS) a color in the image to select the color
and view the eyedropper tool context menu.
• (ImageReady) Click the color in the image which
you want to copy. The color you click becomes the
foreground color. With the eyedropper tool still
over the image, right-click (Windows) or
Control-click (Mac OS) to view the eyedropper
tool context menu.
3 Choose Copy Color as HTML (Photoshop) or
Copy Foreground Color as HTML (ImageReady)
from the eyedropper tool context menu.
The selected color is copied to the Clipboard as a
hexadecimal value. To paste the color into an
HTML file, choose Edit > Paste with the HTML
file displayed in your HTML editing application.
You can insert the code for any HTML element
that allows a color property.
To copy a color as a hexadecimal value using menu
commands:
1 Select a color to copy.
2 Copy the color:
• (Photoshop) Choose Copy Color As HTML
from the Color palette menu.
• (ImageReady) Choose Edit > Copy Foreground
Color as HTML.
The foreground color is copied to the Clipboard
as a hexadecimal value. To paste the color into an
HTML file, open a destination application and
choose Copy > Paste with the HTML file
displayed.
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To copy a color as a hexadecimal value by dragging
(ImageReady):
Preserving transparency in GIF and PNG
images
Drag the Foreground Color from the toolbox or a
selected color from the Color Table palette or the
Swatches palette into the HTML file in the destination application.
GIF format and PNG-8 format support one level
of transparency—pixels can be fully transparent or
fully opaque, but not partially transparent.
PNG-24 format, on the other hand, supports
multilevel transparency, letting you preserve up to
256 levels of transparency in an image.
Note: This feature is not supported by all text and
HTML editing applications.
Making transparent and matted
images
Transparency makes it possible to place a nonrectangular graphic object against the background of a
Web page. Background transparency, supported
by GIF and PNG formats, preserves transparent
pixels in the image. These pixels allow the Web
page background to show through in a browser.
Background matting, supported by GIF, PNG, and
JPEG formats, simulates transparency by filling or
blending transparent pixels with a matte color that
you choose to match the Web page background on
which the image will be placed. Background
matting works better if the Web page background
will be a solid color, and if you know what that
color will be.
The original image must contain transparent
pixels in order for you to create background transparency or background matting in the optimized
image. You can create transparency when you
create a new layer.
Note: You can use the magic eraser tool to easily
create transparency in an image. In Photoshop,
you can also use the background eraser tool.
To preserve background transparency in a GIF or PNG
image:
1 Open or create an image that contains
transparency.
2 In the Optimize panel/palette, select GIF,
PNG-8, or PNG-24 from the File Format menu.
3 Select Transparency.
4 For GIF and PNG-8 format, decide how you
want to treat partially transparent pixels in the
original image. You can blend partially transparent
pixels with a matte color, or you can create hardedged transparency. (See “Creating background
matting in GIF and PNG images” on page 339 and
“Creating hard-edged transparency in GIF and
PNG-8 images” on page 340.)
Creating background matting in GIF and
PNG images
When you know the Web page background color
on which an image will be displayed, you can use
the matting feature to fill or blend transparent
pixels with a matte color that matches the Web
page background. The Web page background must
be a solid color, not a pattern.
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The results of matting GIF and PNG-8 images
depend on the Transparency option. If you select
Transparency, only the partially transparent pixels,
such as those at the edge of an anti-aliased image,
are matted. When the image is placed on a Web
page, the Web background shows through the
transparent pixels, and the edges of the image
blend with the background. This feature prevents
the halo effect that results when an anti-aliased
image is placed on a background color that differs
from the image’s original background. This feature
also prevents the jagged edges that result with GIF
hard-edged transparency.
If you deselect Transparency, fully transparent
pixels are filled with the matte color, and partially
transparent pixels are blended with the
matte color.
4 Select a color from the Matte pop-up menu:
• (Photoshop) Select Eyedropper (to use the color
in the eyedropper sample box), White, Black,
or Other (using the color picker).
• (ImageReady) Select Foreground Color,
Background Color, or Other (using the color
picker), or select a color from the Matte pop-up
palette.
Creating hard-edged transparency in GIF
and PNG-8 images
When working with GIF or PNG-8 files, you can
create hard-edged transparency, in which all pixels
that are more than 50% transparent in the original
image are fully transparent in the optimized
image, and all pixels that are more than 50%
opaque in the original image are fully opaque in
the optimized image. Use hard-edged transparency when you don’t know the background
color of a Web page or when the Web page
background is a pattern. However, keep in mind
that hard-edged transparency can cause jagged
edges in the image.
GIF with Transparency option selected, and
with Transparency option deselected
To create a matted GIF or PNG image:
1 Open or create an image that contains
transparency.
2 In the Optimize panel/palette, select GIF,
PNG-8, or PNG-24 from the File Format menu.
3 For GIF and PNG-8 format, select of deselect
the Transparency option as desired.
GIF with hard-edged transparency, and displayed
in browser (inset at 300% magnification)
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To create hard-edged transparency in a GIF or PNG-8:
3 Select a color from the Matte pop-up menu:
1 Open or create an image that contains
transparency.
• (Photoshop) Select None, Eyedropper (to use
the color in the eyedropper sample box), White,
Black, or Other (using the color picker).
2 In the Optimize panel/palette, select GIF or
PNG-8 from the File Format menu.
3 Select Transparency.
4 Select None from the Matte pop-up menu to
make all pixels with greater than 50% transparency fully transparent, and all pixels with 50%
or less transparency fully opaque.
Creating background matting in JPEG
images
When creating a JPEG from an original image that
contains layer transparency, you must matte the
image against a matte color. Since the JPEG format
does not support transparency, blending with a
matte color is the only way to create the
appearance of background transparency in a
JPEG. Fully transparent pixels are filled with the
matte color, and partially transparent pixels are
blended with the matte color. When the JPEG is
placed on a Web page with a background that
matches the matte color, the image appears to
blend with the Web page background.
To create a matted JPEG image:
1 Open or create an image that contains
transparency.
2 In the Optimize panel/palette, select JPEG from
the file format menu.
• (ImageReady) Select None, Foreground Color,
Background Color, or Other (using the color
picker), or select a color from the Matte pop-up
palette.
Note: When you select None, white is used as the
matte color.
Previewing and controlling
dithering
Most images viewed on the Web are created using
24-bit color displays (millions of colors mode),
but many Web browsers are used on computers
using only 8-bit color displays (256-color mode),
so that Web images often contain colors not
available to many Web browsers. Computers use a
technique called dithering to simulate colors not
available in the color display system. Dithering
creates adjacent pixels of different colors to give
the appearance of a third color. For example, a red
color and a yellow color may dither in a mosaic
pattern to produce the illusion of an orange color
that does not appear in the color palette.
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When optimizing images, keep in mind that two
kinds of dithering can occur:
Previewing and controlling application
dither
• Application dither occurs in GIF and PNG-8
You can preview application dither in GIF and
PNG-8 images. The Dither Algorithm pop-up
menu lets you choose a dithering method for the
image. Images with primarily solid colors may
work well with Dither set to none. Images with
continuous-tone color (especially color gradients)
may require dithering to prevent color banding.
images when Photoshop or ImageReady attempts
to simulate colors that appear in the original image
but not in the color palette you specify for the
optimized image. You can control the application
dither that Photoshop or ImageReady applies to an
optimized image.
You can choose a dithering pattern to be applied to
the image. In addition, you can create customized
dither patterns for GIF or PNG-8 images using the
DitherBox filter. (See “Creating and applying
custom dither patterns” on page 344.)
Note: Applying a dithering pattern is not
recommended for JPEG or PNG-24 images.
• Browser dither occurs when a Web browser using
an 8-bit color display (256-color mode) attempts
to simulate colors that appear in an optimized
image but not in the color palette used by the
browser. Browser dither can occur with GIF, PNG,
or JPEG images and can occur in addition to application dither in GIF or PNG-8 images. You can
control the amount of browser dither by shifting
selected colors in the image to Web-safe colors.
Options in the color picker, the Color palette in
Photoshop or ImageReady, and the Color Table
panel (Photoshop) or the Color Table palette
(ImageReady) let you specify Web-safe colors
when choosing a color.
To control application dither:
1 Choose an option from the Dither Algorithm
pop-up menu:
• No Dither applies no application dither to the
image.
• Pattern applies a halftone-like square pattern to
simulate any colors not in the color table.
• Diffusion applies a random pattern that is
usually less noticeable than Pattern dither.
The dither effects are diffused across adjacent
pixels. Diffusion dither may cause detectable
seams to appear across slice boundaries. Linking
slices diffuses the dither pattern across all linked
slices, and eliminates the seams.
• Noise applies a random pattern similar to the
Diffusion dither method, but without diffusing
the pattern across adjacent pixels. No seams
appear with the Noise dither method.
2 If you chose Diffusion as the dithering
algorithm, drag the Dither slider or enter a value to
select a dithering percentage.
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The Dither percentage controls the amount of
dithering that is applied to the image. A higher
dithering percentage creates the appearance of
more colors and more detail in an image,
but can also increase the file size. For optimal
compression, use the lowest percentage of
application dither that provides the color detail
you require.
You can use an alpha channel to vary the
Dither percentage across an image. This
technique produces higher-quality results in critical
image areas without sacrificing file size. (See “Using
channels to modify dithering” on page 329.)
Previewing browser dither
You can preview browser dither directly in
Photoshop or ImageReady, or in a browser that
uses an 8-bit color display (256-color mode).
To preview browser dither in a browser:
1 Set your computer’s color display to 8-bit color
(256 colors). See your computer operating
system’s documentation for information on
changing the color display.
2 Do one of the following:
• Launch your browser and open an optimized
image directly in the browser.
• With an optimized image displayed, click the
Preview in Browser button in the toolbox.
Minimizing browser dither
Using colors in the Web palette ensures that colors
won’t dither when displayed in browsers on either
Windows or Macintosh operating systems capable
of displaying at least 256 colors.
You have several options for choosing Web-safe
colors:
To preview browser dither:
With an optimized file displayed, preview dither in
the respective application:
• (Photoshop) Choose Browser Dither from the
document panel menu in the Save for Web dialog
box. (To view the menu, click on the triangle near
the upper right corner of the document panel.)
• (ImageReady) Choose View > Preview >
Browser Dither. A check mark next to the
command indicates that it is turned on. Choose
View > Preview > Browser Dither again to turn the
command off.
• When creating an original image, you can use
the color picker, Color palette, and Swatches
palette to choose Web-safe colors.
For more information, see “Using Web-safe
colors” in online Help.
• In optimized GIF and PNG-8 images, you can
shift existing colors to Web-safe colors using the
color table. (See “Shifting to Web-safe colors” on
page 334.)
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Creating and applying custom dither
patterns
4 Choose one of the following from the color
palette pop-up menu in the DitherBox dialog box:
You can use the DitherBox filter to create a custom
dither pattern for a selected RGB color. You can
then fill a selection or a layer in an image with the
dither pattern. You can save custom dither
patterns in groups called collections, and use the
dither patterns with other images.
• Web Safe Colors to create a dither pattern using
colors from the Web palette.
To create and apply a custom dither pattern:
1 With an image displayed in the document
window (Photoshop) or in Original view
(ImageReady), use the eyedropper tool ( ) to
select a foreground color that you want to simulate
with a customized dither pattern. (The foreground
color becomes the basis for the custom dither
pattern in DitherBox.)
Note: In Photoshop, you create custom dither
patterns while in the main Photoshop work area
(not in the Save for Web dialog box). Make sure the
image is in RGB color mode. See Photoshop online
Help for information on color modes.
2 Use the selection tools or the Layers palette to
select an area or a layer in the image that you want
to fill with the custom dither pattern.
• Load to load another color palette and create a
dither pattern using those colors. Then navigate to
the color palette and open it.
Note: If you use non-Web palette colors in a custom
dither pattern, the colors will dither in a browser
using an 8-bit color display. Using non-Web colors is
recommended only for non-Web display.
By default, a new dither pattern you create is saved
in the current dither pattern collection.
5 Select a pixel pattern for the custom dither
pattern from the pattern list, between 2 and
8 pixels square.
6 Click the arrow button ( ) to display the dither
pattern that most closely matches the selected RGB
color in the Pattern preview box. If no dither
patterns are currently saved in a collection in the
DitherBox filter, the Pattern preview box displays
the dither pattern that matches the RGB color.
3 Choose Filter > Other > DitherBox.
The RGB swatch in the DitherBox dialog box
displays the current foreground color. To choose
another RGB color on which to base the dither
pattern, click the RGB swatch, select a new color in
the color picker, and then press the arrow
button ( ) to transfer it to the pattern box.
Dither pattern
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7 To edit the custom dither pattern, do one of the
following:
• To add a color to the dither pattern, click a color
in the color palette. Then select the pencil tool ( )
in the DitherBox dialog box and click in the dither
pattern grid to add the color.
• To delete a color from the dither pattern, select
the eraser tool ( ) in the DitherBox dialog box
and click the color in the dither pattern grid.
The Pattern preview box displays the changes you
make to the dither pattern.
8 When you are satisfied with the dither pattern,
click Fill to fill the selected area or layer in the
current image.
The custom dither pattern is applied to the image,
and the DitherBox dialog box closes.
To apply a previously saved custom dither pattern to
an image:
1 With an image displayed in Photoshop or
ImageReady, select an area or a layer in the image
that you want to fill with the custom dither
pattern.
2 Choose Filter > Other > DitherBox.
3 Select the collection containing the dither
To edit dither pattern collections:
Do one of the following in the DitherBox
dialog box:
• To rename a collection, select the collection from
the Collection pop-up menu. Then select Rename
from the Collection pop-up menu. Enter a new
name for the collection, and click OK.
• To create a new collection, select New from the
Collection pop-up menu. Enter a name for the
collection, and click OK.
• To delete a collection and all of its contents,
select the collection from the Collection pop-up
menu, and then select Delete from the Collection
pop-up menu.
Setting optimization preferences
(ImageReady)
You can set preferences in ImageReady to
determine the default optimization settings and
the default configuration of panels in 2-Up and
4-Up views.
To set optimization preferences:
1 Choose Edit > Preferences > Optimization.
pattern you want to use from the Collection
pop-up menu.
2 Choose an option in the Default
Optimization section:
4 Select the dither pattern you want to use from
• Previous Settings to automatically apply the last
used optimization settings.
the Collection contents list.
5 Click Fill.
The dither pattern is applied to the image, and the
DitherBox dialog box closes.
• Auto Selected GIF or JPEG to automatically
optimize the image as a GIF or JPEG. ImageReady
selects GIF or JPEG based on an analysis of the
image.
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• Named Setting and select an option from the
Named Settings pop-up menu to apply
that setting.
3 Under 2-Up Settings or 4-Up Settings, specify
settings for the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th panes
(3rd and 4th panes apply to 4-Up view only):
• Original to display the original image in the
specified pane. (This option is available for the
first pane only.)
• Current to display the image with current
Optimize palette settings in the specified pane.
(This option is available for all panes.)
• Auto to display a smaller optimized version of
the image generated automatically by
ImageReady, based on the current Optimize
palette settings. (This option is available for the
second, third, and fourth panes.)
• Select one of the twelve named settings to
display the optimized image with those settings.
(This option is available for the second, third,
and fourth panes.)
4 Click OK.
Using a droplet to automate
optimization settings
(ImageReady)
You can save Optimize palette settings for use on
individual images or batches of images by creating
a droplet, a small application that applies the
optimization settings to an image or batch of
images that you drag over the droplet icon.
You can drag a droplet to the desktop or save it to
a location on disk. When you create the droplet
you can choose where the images will be saved.
When you drag an image over it, the droplet
launches ImageReady if the program is not
currently running.
Note: You can also drag a droplet onto the
ImageReady Actions palette to create an action step,
or you can drag a droplet onto a slice to apply the
optimization settings to the slice.
To create a droplet for automating
Optimize palette settings:
1 With an image displayed in the image window,
choose a compression format and compression
options in the Optimize palette.
2 Create a droplet:
• Drag the droplet icon (
palette onto the desktop.
) from the Optimize
The droplet is named with a brief description of
the compression settings, including file format
and color palette or quality setting information.
You can rename the droplet as you do other
desktop icons.
• Click the droplet icon on the Optimize palette.
Name the droplet, choose a location where the
droplet will be saved, and click Save.
• Choose Create Droplet from the Optimize
palette menu. Name the droplet, choose a location
where the droplet will be saved, and click Save.
To use a droplet:
1 Drag a single image or a folder of images onto
the droplet icon.
As the images are processed, a progress bar
appears.
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2 Do any of the following to control the
processing:
• To temporarily pause the processing, click Pause.
You can then click Resume to continue the
processing.
• To cancel the processing, click Stop.
• Let the process finish on its own.
When saving an optimized image with slices,
you can choose to save all slices, or only the
selected slices.
To save an optimized image:
1 (Photoshop) Choose File > Save for Web.
2 Select a view and apply optimization settings as
described in “Optimizing images” on page 320.
3 Do one of the following:
Saving optimized images
There are several ways to save an optimized image
for use on the Web:
HTML and Images You can generate all files
required to use your image as a Web page.
This includes an HTML file and separate image
files for the slices in the source image. The HTML
file includes code for any Web effects—such as
hypertext links, image maps, rollovers, and animations—in the document. The image files use the
format and options specified in the optimization
setting.
Images only You can save your image with the
format and options specified in the optimization
setting. If the source image contains multiple
slices, each slice is saved as a separate file.
HTML only You can save the HTML code, but not
the image data, for your image. In ImageReady,
you can also create an HTML file using the Copy
HTML command. This command lets you copy
the HTML code for an optimized image to the
Clipboard, and paste the HTML code into an
HTML file. If you subsequently make changes to
the source image, you can use the Update HTML
command to update the HTML file.
• (Photoshop) Click OK in the Save For Web
dialog box.
• (ImageReady) Choose File > Save Optimized to
save the file in its current state. If you previously
saved the optimized file using the File > Save
Optimized command, applying the command
again saves the file with the filename and Save
options specified in the first save operation.
The Save dialog box does not appear.
• (ImageReady) Choose File > Save Optimized As
to save an alternate version of the file with a
different filename.
4 Type a filename, and choose a location for the
resulting file or files.
5 Select a Save As Type option:
• HTML and Images to generate an HTML file and
save each slice as a separate image file.
• Images Only to save each slice in the image as a
separate file.
• HTML Only to generate an HTML file but not
save any image files.
6 To set preferences for saving image files and
HTML files, click Output Settings. (See “Setting
output options” on page 348.)
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7 (ImageReady) Select Include GoLive Code to
reformat HTML and JavaScript code so that
rollovers will be fully editable in Adobe GoLive.
Code is reformatted in the style used by GoLive
(and may create a larger HTML file).
You need not generate an HTML file to open a
Web page in GoLive 5.0. Simply save the Web
page as a Photoshop (PSD) file, and then import the
file directly into GoLive. For more information, see
the Adobe GoLive 5.0 User Guide.
8 Choose an option for slices from the pop-up
menu:
• All Slices to save all slices in the image.
• Selected Slices to save only the selected slices.
If you select this option in conjunction with the
HTML and Images option, ImageReady or
Photoshop generates the HTML code based on the
outermost bounds of the selected slices, and
generates auto-slices as needed to create a
complete HTML table.
Note: You must select the desired slices before
starting this procedure.
• Copy Selected Slices to copy HTML code for
selected slices only.
• Copy Preloads to copy the JavaScript portion of
the HTML code for slices in the document.
ImageReady generates and formats HTML code
based on settings in the Output Options dialog
box. Be sure to specify HTML options, such as
whether to use tables or cascading style sheets,
before you copy and paste HTML code. (See
“Setting HTML output options” on page 349.)
To paste the ImageReady HTML code into an
HTML document, open the HTML document
in the destination application and choose
Edit > Paste.
To update HTML code for an image (ImageReady):
1 Choose File > Update HTML.
2 Select the HTML file into which you pasted
HTML code for the image.
3 Select Save Images to save the image file when
you update the HTML code for the image.
4 Click Save.
• A slice selection to save only the slices in
the selection. You must save a slice selection in
order for this option to appear in the menu.
(See “Selecting slices” on page 276.)
9 Click Save.
To copy HTML code to the Clipboard (ImageReady):
Choose Edit > Copy HTML Code, and choose an
option for copying code from the submenu:
• Copy All Slices to copy HTML code for all slices
in the document.
Setting output options
Output settings give you control over the files that
are generated when you save an optimized image
as a Web page; you can specify how HTML files are
formatted and how image files are named. Output
settings also include options for naming slices and
creating background images.
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Using the Output Settings dialog box
To save output settings in a file:
The Output Settings dialog box contains four sets
of options: HTML, Background, Saving Files, and
Slices. You can save output settings as a file and
reload them to apply the same settings to a
different file.
1 In the Output Settings dialog box, set the
options as desired, and click Save.
2 Type a filename and choose a location for the
saved file. By default, output settings are saved in
the Optimized Output Settings folder, inside the
Presets folder in the Adobe Photoshop folder.
To display the Output Settings dialog box:
Do one of the following:
3 Click Save.
• (Photoshop) Click Output Settings in the Save
To load output settings:
for Web dialog box. Use this method if you want to
load and save settings.
1 Click Load in the Output Settings dialog box.
2 Select a *.iros file and click Open.
• (ImageReady) Choose the desired preferences
set from the File > Output Settings submenu. Use
this method if you want to load and save settings.
• When you save an optimized image, click
Output Settings in the Save Optimized As dialog
box. The Save and Load options are not available
when you use this method to access the Output
Settings dialog box.
To switch to a different set of output options:
Do one of the following:
• Select the set from the pop-up menu below the
Settings menu.
• Click Next to display the next set in the menu
list; click Prev to display the previous set.
Setting HTML output options
You can set the following options in the HTML set:
Tags Case Select the capitalization to be used for
tags: all uppercase, initial cap, or all lowercase.
Setting tags and attributes to all uppercase helps
the code stand out in the file.
Attributes Case Select the capitalization to be
used for tag attributes: all uppercase, initial cap,
second initial cap, or all lowercase.
Indent Select a method for indenting lines of
code: using the authoring application’s tab
settings, using a specified number of spaces, or
using no indentation.
Line Endings Select a platform for line ending
compatibility.
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Always Quote Attributes To place quotation
marks around all tag attributes. Placing quotation
marks around attributes is required for compatibility with certain early browsers and for strict
HTML compliance. However, always quoting
attributes is not recommended. Quotation marks
are used when necessary to comply with most
browsers, even if this option is deselected.
Include Comments To add explanatory comments
to the HTML code.
Include GoLive Code To reformat HTML and
JavaScript code so that rollovers will be fully
editable in Adobe GoLive. Code is reformatted in
the style used by GoLive (and may create a larger
HTML file).
height values specified on the TD tag. Select
NoWrap, TD W&H to place a nonstandard
NoWrap attribute on the table data and also place
width and height values specified on the TD tags.
TD W&H Select an option for including width and
height attributes for table data: Always, Never,
or Auto (the recommended setting).
Spacer Cells Select an option for adding one row
and one column of empty spacer cells around the
generated table: Always, Never, or Auto (the
recommended setting). Adding spacer cells is
necessary with table layouts in which slice boundaries do not align, to prevent the table from
breaking apart in some browsers.
Image Map Type (ImageReady only) Select an
Generate CSS To generate a Cascading Style Sheet.
option for generating image map code:
Referenced Select an option for referencing slice
• Client-Side to include all required code for the
image map in the image’s HTML file.
position in the HTML file when using CSS:
• By ID to position each slice using styles that are
referenced by a unique ID.
• Inline to include style elements in the declaration of the block element tag.
• By Class to position each slice using classes that
are referenced by a unique ID.
Generate Table To align slices using an
HTML table.
Empty Cells Select an option for filling empty
table data cells (slices set to No Image). Select GIF,
IMG W&H to use a one-pixel GIF with width and
height values specified on the IMG tag. Select GIF,
TD W&H to use a one-pixel GIF with width and
• NCSA Server-Side to create a separate .map file
in addition to the HTML file, using NCSA specifications.
• CERN Server-Side to create a separate .map file
in addition to the HTML file, using CERN
specifications.
• Client & NCSA to create both a client-side and
server-side compatible image map, using NCSA
specifications.
• Client & CERN to create both a client-side and
server-side compatible image map, using CERN
specifications.
Note: Contact your Internet service provider to find
out whether to use NCSA or CERN specification for
server-side image maps.
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Image Map Placement (ImageReady only) Select
a placement option for the image map declaration
(the