February 10, 2009
In PSCS4, we added an Application bar- designed to help you quickly display images in a variety of ways. For example, you can choose to view “Extras” such as Guides, Grids and Rules with the click of a button (no more going through the menus) as well as change Zoom levels by entering a value or by selecting a percentage from the list. The Hand, Zoom and new Rotate View tools are also available as are the Arrange Documents and Screen Views icons (more on those features in a later post). Toggle the Application Bar by choosing Window / Application Bar. Note: the Application Frame must be off to toggle off the Application bar.
If you decide to turn off the Application Frame, the Application Bar can be repositioned by dragging the grabber handle (on the left of the Application Bar) to the bottom of the monitor, a secondary monitor. To save screen real estate, the Application Bar will automatically reduce in size if moved.
February 9, 2009
For those of you on Windows, this feature is not new concept, but for our Mac customers, in Photoshop CS4, we added the Application frame. This is an excellent feature for those of you that need Photoshop to only take up a part of the screen – perhaps you have treated yourself to one of those 30 inch monitors and also want to see Bridge or Lightroom at the same time. Or, perhaps you want to move the entire Photoshop application onto a secondary monitor.
To invoke the Application Frame, select Window / Application Frame. Then, either resize Photoshop by dragging the grabber bar in the lower right corner (most likely the lower right corner will be the Layer’s panel) and/or reposition by dragging the Application Bar (at the top) to your secondary monitor.
February 6, 2009
To customize the display of the Brush, select Preferences/Cursors. Select one of the following: Standard (the small iconic cursors), Precise (cross hairs), normal Brush Tip (size represents pixels to be painted with greater than 50% effect), Full Size Brush Tip (size represents all pixels to be painted). Choose to “Show Cross hairs in Brush Tip” if desired. To display precise cross hairs for brushes, use the “caps lock” key.
February 5, 2009
When the airbrush attribute is in use, tapping a numeric key will set the Flow amount. (If the airbrush attribute is not applied, then the Opacity is effected.) Use the Shift + numeric key to target the other field. Option (Mac) / Alt (Win) + Shift + P toggles the airbrush attribute on and off.
February 4, 2009
To change the opacity of a painting tool, use the number keys on the keyboard. Tapping one number assigns the percentage of the hit number (1 = 10%, 2= 20% etc. and 0 = 100%). Hitting two numbers quickly will give you that exact amount (5 + 4 = 54%). Note: If you have a tool selected that is not a painting tool, these shortcuts will affect the Opacity on the Layers panel.
February 3, 2009
I have been asked so many times “What is the difference between the Opacity and Flow?” that although it’s not technically a shortcut, I would like to clarify – the Opacity controls the opacity of the paint (is it an opaque metallic or a transparent varnish?). The Flow option controls the speed at which paint is laid down (are you pressing the nozzle of the can of spray paint just a little, or all the way down?).
February 2, 2009
If you’re tired of tapping the left and right brackets to increase / decrease your brush size, try using the new Drag-resize brush cursor keyboard shortcut in Photoshop CS4 to make rapid changes to the brush size. Ctrl + Option (Mac) / alt + right click (win) -drag will increase/decrease brush size while displaying a red overlay of the density and feather of the brush for visual reference. Add the Cmd (Mac) /shift (Win) to change hardness. Note: the preview color can be controlled in Preferences / Cursors / Brush Preview).
