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Top 17 Keyboard Shortcuts For Photoshop and Elements
Thanks to Your Mac Life listener, Marc Rizzolo, for asking about keyboard shortcuts, and thus giving me the idea to post a few of my favorites from Photoshop and Elements. The terrific thing is that most of these apply to all Adobe apps. Gotta love that!
And if these shortcuts don't light your fire, I'm going to show you how to make Photoshop build you a web page of *all* of them... all by itself. Here we go:
- Hiding Photoshop: Command + Control + H (PC: Ctrl + Alt + H). I use this one all the time because, well, I keep 100 applications running non-stop. Desktop clutter and all that jazz ;)
- Zoom in or out of a document: Command +/- (PC: Ctrl +/-)
- Move to different area within document: Hold down the Spacebar and the cursor morphs into a little hand.
- Pick a brush then change it's size: Press B to select the brush tool, then the left bracket, [, to cycle down in size, and right bracket, ], to cycle up.
- Adjust the kerning: Kerning is the gap between letters; you know sometimes it looks wider than it should be: Option + left/right arrows (PC: Alt + left/right arrows)
- New layer below: Command while clicking the new layer icon on the layers palette.
- Layer mask filled with black: Option click the layer mask icon in the layers palette.
- Pop open a contextual menu: I do this when I've made a selection or when I'm using Free Transform. Control click (PC: Right click) within the selection or transforming area. This is super for feathering selections, or rotating an image while using Free Transform.
- Enter QuickMask mode: Press Q to go in, and Q to get back out. This is terrific for tweaking selections and masks using a brush. Makes me feel like I'm a painter :)
- Enter full screen mode: Press F twice then hit tab. This hides everything (palettes and menu bar) and puts your image onto a solid black background for serious reflection. (Press F and tab to bring everything back.)
- Deselect: Command + D (PC: Ctrl + D). Send those marching ants far, far away :)
DANG IT I cannot stop. Okay here's a few more :
- Set the color chips to default: Press D to set the color chips to the default of black and white.
- Swap color chips from foreground to background: Press X to flip-flop them. Super duper handy when editing a layer mask.
- Duplicate an entire layer or what you have selected: Press Command + J (PC: Ctrl + J).
- Select the contents of a layer: Command click the layer thumbnail (PC: Ctrl click the thumbnail).
- Show/hide rulers: Press Command + R to show or hide the rulers. I mean, sometimes ya need 'em, sometimes ya don't.
- Drag a layer into another document and have it appear perfectly centered: Hold the Shift key while dragging.
Must. Stop. Now.
Now, as I said, these are just a few of my favorites that I use day in and day out and I didn't even go into tool selection (just hover over any of the tools and you'll see their keyboard equivalent pop up). A complete listing actually lives inside of every Adobe application, *plus* you can assign your own (though the listing itself may live in different places... arg). Here's how to reassign them and generate a list in Photoshop:
Photoshop CS2
Step 1: With Photoshop open, choose Edit > Keyboard Shortcuts.
Step 2: Click the Summarize button, shown below, and Photoshop will build a web page of all of them for you. Click here to see the list of Photoshop keyboard shortcuts I generated a moment ago.
In Elements
Keyboard shortcuts are also listed in each programs' Help menu.
Step 1: Choose Help > [application name] Help
Step 2: Click Keyboard Shortcuts on the left-hand menu (circled below in red), then pick a category and the shortcut will appear on the right. You can also print a page of shortcuts by clicking the Print button (also circled below), and/or bookmark them for easier access the next time you go pokin' around the Help center.
Read more Photoshop tutorials from Lesa Snider King.
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. See all upgrade options at the Adobe Store. See our CS3 Resource Center for free Photoshop CS3 tutorials.
Photoshop Extended is also available as part of Adobe Creative Suite 3 Design Premium, which combines all-new CS3 versions of Photoshop, Flash Pro, Dreamweaver, Illustrator, InDesign and Acrobat 8 Pro. Upgrade options for customers in Europe, the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Asia can be found at the Adobe International Store.
SiteGrinder Photoshop Plugin - Create Websites Instantly
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 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, 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. SiteGrinder can be ordered from Media Lab's online store.
Photoshop CS3 Book - CS3 Essential Skills - By Mark Galer And Philip Andrews
Brimming with beautiful pictures, Photoshop CS3 Essential Skills guides you through a project-based, progressive curriculum so that you can build all the essential skills to enhance photographs creatively and professionally with Photoshop CS3. If you are an aspiring professional, enthusiastic amateur photographer, or a student learning photography, digital imaging, art and design, or design graphics, you'll be amazed at the stunning results you can achieve. A DVD is included free.
The Essential Skills Photography Series from Focal Press uniquely offers a structured learning experience for photographers of all ages, with both the underlying theory and loads of invaluable 'how to' and real-life practice projects - all from the most talented photography practitioners/educators in the world.
Read 2 free sample chapters:
Adjusting Exposure in Adobe Camera Raw CS3
Photoshop CS3 Tutorial High Dynamic Range
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Photoshop CS2 Book - Photoshop CS2: Essential Skills - By Mark Galer And Philip Andrews
An inspirational and user-friendly guide to creative image editing, Photoshop CS2: Essential Skills provides direction for photographers and designers alike who have ventured into the realm of the 'digital darkroom.' The book offers a progressive curriculum to guide you through Photoshop with a series of clear, step-by-step projects designed to place knowledge into a practical context.
Whether you simply want to retouch an image, create a glamour makeover or create a highly sophisticated montage - this book will give you the essential skills to complete the work to a professional standard.
Read 2 free sample chapters:
How To Sharpen An Image In Photoshop — Advanced Sharpening Techniques
Working With Shadows In Photoshop - Advanced Shadow Techniques
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Learn Adobe Photoshop with 21 hours of interactive Adobe Photoshop tutorials. This is training for real-world situations and includes additional tips and techniques used by the pros.
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