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July 20, 2009

Finding the Center of a Path

To quickly find the center of a path or shape layer, select the path and choose the Move tool. In the Options bar, check the “Show Transform Controls” option. The transform controls can also be used to transform your path - simply drag the anchor points (shift -drag to constrain proportions). Don’t forget to apply the transformation (tap Return (Mac) or Enter (Win), click the check icon in the Option bar or double click within the transform controls.
Note: if the selected path is a vector mask, the transform controls will be displayed around the layer contents (not the path). Select the path, and then choose Edit > Transform Path.
It’s also worth mentioning that you can transform paths (and therefore shapes) outside of the visible image area and Photoshop will keep track of them.

Posted by Julieanne Kost at 6:52 AM |

May 16, 2009

Zoom while Transforming

While transforming an image (Edit > Free Transform) you can change zoom level of the image using the old standby - Command (Mac) / Control (Win) “+” (plus) to zoom in, Command (Mac) / Control (Win) “-” (minus) to zoom out. Or, you can quickly zoom to a specific point using via the Navigator panel.

Posted by Julieanne Kost at 10:48 PM |

May 1, 2009

Free Transform - Center Point

When using Free Transform, the "Reference Point Location"(or center point) can be changed to determine the location around which transformations occur.  You can drag the center point freely within the image area, or set it numerically using the Options bar. This can be particularly useful when trying to align objects or rotate around a point that is off-center.

Posted by Julieanne Kost at 12:13 AM |

April 30, 2009

Free Transform and Warp

To toggle from Free Transform to Warp mode, click the warp icon in the Options bar. While in Warp mode, Command (Mac) / Control (Win) + T toggles to Free Transform mode.

Posted by Julieanne Kost at 3:34 AM |

April 29, 2009

View Transformation Handles

When in Free Transform, images that contain information beyond the visible image area may not display the transformation handles at your current zoom level. Instead of zooming out several times, select Command (Mac) / Control (Win) + 0 (zero) to zoom out - to “fit” the transformation handles on screen (just as Command (Mac) / Control (Win) + 0 (zero) will “fit” the image on screen when not in Free Transform).

Posted by Julieanne Kost at 3:25 AM |

April 28, 2009

Transform Again

Command (Mac) / Control (Win) + Shift + T transforms the layer(s) again by applying the same transformation settings. Option-Command (Mac) / Alt-Control (Win) + Shift + T will create a copy on it’s own layer while creating a duplicate transformation.

Posted by Julieanne Kost at 3:26 AM |

April 27, 2009

Free Transform

Command (Mac) / Control (Win) + T brings up the free transform bounding box. Holding the Shift key while dragging any of the corner anchor points (handles), forces proportional transformations while Option (Mac) / Alt (Win) transforms from the center. In addition:
  • Command (Mac) / Control (Win) freely distorts an image.
  • Command (Mac) / Control (Win) + Shift skews an image.
  • Option-Command (Mac) / Alt-Control (Win) + Shift changes the perspective of an image.
To apply a transformation tap the return or enter key, to cancel a transformation hit the escape key.

Posted by Julieanne Kost at 3:25 AM |

January 23, 2009

Show Transform Controls

When selecting multiple objects with the Move tool, you have the option to check “Show Transform Controls” (in the Options bar) to have Photoshop display a bounding box around selected objects (content on layers). Not only does this help to show which layers are selected but can also be used to quickly transform an object without having to select the Free Transform command.

Posted by Julieanne Kost at 7:23 AM |