1. Hitting Tab hides all of your palettes. Hitting Tab again brings them back.
2. Shift+Tab hides all the pallets except your toolbar.
3. Hitting the "D" key resets your color pallets to Black foreground, White Background.
4. The "X" key will toggle your foreground and background colors.
5. Use CMD+Delete to fill your layer or selection with the current background color.
6. Option+Delete fills your layer or selection with the foreground color.
7. Change your paintbrush circle into a crosshair for precise control by pressing the Caps Lock key.
8. Double-Click the ruler on the top or side of your document brings up the Units & Ruler Dialogue box. (handy if you work in both print and web)
9. To quickly change the blend mode of a layer Shift+Option+(letter corresponding to mode) ie: Shift+Option+M is Multiply. Shift+Option+V is Vivid Light.
10. Using Shift+ the "+" or "-" will toggle through the various blend modes one at a time.

Speed Up File Browser
If you feel your File Browser is too slow in generating previews, you might want to try this setting.

Select Allow Background Processing in Photoshop /Preferences /File Browser to use extra processing power to pre-generate cache information like previews and metadata.

This setting will allow Photoshop to work on thumbnails for your files, while you're busy doing something else.


Help Menu Export?
Ok, I have no idea what was going through Adobe's head when they put an export option in the help menu. Yes you read that correctly. There is an export command in the help menu. I fiddled around with is for a little bit and discovered something interesting about this hidden option.

This is something that I think can be either a time waster or a time saver depending on your experience level and your personal work flow. For those that do not understand or avoid the pen tool for creating clipping paths, this can be a real time saver. If in the past you ever needed to make a clipping path from a selection it took a series of steps to get from the selection process to the final saved EPS. Well Adobe included a "Export Transparency" option. It's in the help menu and not in the file menu for some odd reason.

When you export your transparency, it will automatically include your clipping path and save your file as an EPS. You do have to follow a few on screen prompts so that the wizard knows what you are using the file for, (i.e. web or print).

I don't think this will be a replacement tool for many of us, however just knowing the option is there can be a big help from time to time.


Copying Path From Illustrator To Photoshop
By default when you copy a path from Illustrator to Photoshop it gets rasterized.

If you want to paste the path into Photoshop as a working path, you need to open Illustrator /Preferences /Files and Clipboard... and set the Clipboard to Copy As: AICB /Preserve Paths.

Next time you copy a path from Illustrator to Photoshop you will be given an option in Photoshop if you want your clipboard content as Pixels, Path or Shape layer.


Selecting The Right Layer
Many times Photoshop files can get to many layers. This can be almost impossible to manage if you work only within the layers palette. First off, let me say that I am a big advocate of naming layers. Not only it is more descriptive than Layer 1 or Layer 2, itt gives other designers the ability to sort through your mess and hopefully call you a few less dirty names. With that said, using this next tip can greatly improve your speed when selecting layers.

Select the move tool (V) and hover over the area you want to select. CTRL-Click and a contextual menu will come up with a list of all the layers directly below your mouse. Simply select the appropriate layer and move on. As you can see naming your layers as you go greatly improves your ability to get through a project with as little headache as possible.


Expanding And Reducing Selections
Have you ever made a selection like a square and tried to use the Select /Modify /Expand method to enlarge the selection? If you have, you noticed that you did not get a square at all. It will clip the corners off your selection.

If you want to get accurate results you will need to jump to quick mask mode by clicking the quick mask icon in the tool bar or by pressing the letter "Q". Once in the quick mask mode you will need to use Filter /Other /Maximum or Minimum. If your selected area is red use Minimum, otherwise use Maximum. Use the slider to adjust the amount of expansion. In my example I drew a rectangle marquee, and to enlarge it, I used the Maximum filter.

[tutorial and images © Ivan Raszl of CreativeBits]

Photoshop CS3 Upgrade Options And Bundles From The Adobe Store

Photoshop CS3 Extended is ideal for film, video, and multimedia pros and for graphic and web designers using 3D and motion. Get the full version for US $999, or upgrade for US $349. The standard version of Photoshop CS3 is available for US $649, or as an upgrade for US $199.

Photoshop Extended is also available as part of Adobe Creative Suite 3 Design Premium ($1,799/$440), which combines all-new CS3 versions of Photoshop, Flash Pro, Dreamweaver, Illustrator, InDesign and Acrobat 8 Pro. International options are available at Adobe's UK Store, Europe Store, and Australia Store.

SiteGrinder Photoshop Plugin - CSS Web Tool
There often seems to be a strict division of labor within the world of web design and development. Creative professionals tend to stick to the Photoshop domain, while those well-versed in scripting are left to the task of implementing their work. Indeed, the two realms are quite different from each other, to which any of us even vaguely familiar with either can easily attest.

Essentially, Photoshop is a no-holds-barred design studio, offering the artist a seemingly endless array of creative options. On the other hand, HTML, CSS, Java and the like follow strict rules of engagement, requiring the developer to take any number of esoteric concerns into consideration in order to ensure that designs are properly displayed on the web.

Turn Photoshop Into A Complete Web Design Tool
SiteGrinder 2 seeks to bridge this gap between design and development. Basically, this program turns Photoshop into an easy-to-use and fully functional web design tool. With SiteGrinder 2, designers will now have the freedom to totally let their creativity loose and then, without skipping a beat, transfer their designs to the web. Bringing esthetic concerns together with more practical considerations, this program is an amazingly powerful tool that would make a fantastic addition to any web designer's bag of tricks.

Generate Your Web Pages Directly From Photoshop
By generating web pages directly from Photoshop, you'll be able to spend much more time on the creative end of the spectrum, since you'll know right off the bat how well particular designs will translate to the web. No more going back to the Photoshop drawing board after getting a phone call from your development team, telling you that what you had envisioned doesn't have a chance of being displayed on the web. You can immediately visually and interactively test your designs, which permits you to then make changes to either esthetics or functions while it's still relatively early on in the design process.

Pricing and Availability
Mac OS X and Windows versions of the SiteGrinder unlockable demo are available now via download. Read our review of SiteGrinder.

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PHOTO CREDIT: Tunnel in Metro Detroit airport terminal that changes colors.
© 2003 Nat - [from iStockPhoto] + Levels and Lens Blur by Clearlight of Yogaspace