Photoshop Tools
Photoshop Workspace: Part 1
In this series of articles we will try to introduce you to Photoshop workspace. We believe that this is a necessary step you need to pass before starting learning Photoshop or using the application in your projects. In this series Photoshop Menus, Tools, Palettes and Preferences are summarized. We also hope that after reading these articles you will be able to identify Photoshop menus, tools, and palettes; customize Photoshop environment; and set preferences specifically for Web development.
Part 1. Photoshop Workspace: Introduction and Photoshop Menus
Introduction
When you start Photoshop you see that the workspace is made up of a set of standard Menus, Tools, and Palettes. Photoshop menus run along the top of the workspace. Tools consist of a set of properties or features that you can modify. These properties are contained in so-called Palettes. For example, when you select the Paintbrush tool you use the Brushes Palette to select the size of the brush and the Options Palette to modify or affect how the brush operates. Palettes also contain other functions unrelated to Photoshop tools, such as advanced image manipulation tools.
Photoshop Menus
By clicking on a menu item you can activate a drop-down list of available items. Move the mouse over the desired option and click to choose it. The menus are File, Edit, Image, Layer, Select, Filter, View, Window and Help. Let us describe their functions.
File
The File menu contains options to create new images, load existing images, save images, acquire images from scanners, print images, set preferences and color settings, and exit the application.
Edit
The Edit menu contains options to copy, cut and paste entire images or parts of images, fill areas of an image, stroke selections or paths and transform or modify images,
Image
The Image menu contains options to modify color depth or mode, manipulate or adjust color, and other image properties, modify image size, canvas size and orientation, examine color information and extract areas of an image from backgrounds.
Layer
The Layer menu contains options to modify and manipulate layers. Photoshop image can contain a number of separate levels or layers that contain image information. Much like a high-rise building with glass floors, looking from above, people and objects on the higher floors might obscure or block out people and objects below them. Similarly, image information contained in higher layers will appear above image information on lower layers.
Select
The Select menu contains options to create, modify and manipulate Photoshop’s selections. Selections are areas of an image that you choose to isolate from the rest of the image. For example, you might want to isolate a person’s hair to change the color without affecting the rest of the image.
Filter
The Filter menu contains a variety of different special effects, called Filter that you apply to an image or parts of an image. For example, you might have an image of a runner. By applying the Motion Blur filter to the image, you create a greater sense of speed.
View
The View menu contains options to modify viewing your image, including zooming in and out and how images might look when printed or viewed on another computer. In addition, options to view rulers and guides are available to help in editing your images.
Window
The Window menu contains options to view and/or hide the Toolbox and Palettes as well as options to organize images within Photoshop workspace.
Help
The Help menu contains options for online help, information about plugins and information about the version o Photoshop you are using. Use “Help Topics” for reference or finding out how to accomplish objectives you might be having problems with.
