Unlike states in the History panel, you can not simply drag snapshots (saved in the Snapshots panel), into the “before” state in Lightroom’s Develop Module. You can, however, Control -click (Mac) / Right Mouse -click (Win) on a snapshot and choose “Copy Snapshot Setting to Before”.
In this episode of the Complete Picture (The Secret to Photoshop’s Art History Brush), Julieanne Kost demonstrates the power of the Art History brush in Photoshop CS5 and its ability to continuously sample from any history state or snapshot. She will show you how to create compelling, painterly images by making simple changes to the default settings and utilizing a variety of different brush tips and presets.
In this episode of the Complete Picture (Working with Photoshop’s History Panel, Snapshots and the History Brush), Julieanne Kost reveals there is far more to the History panel than simply un-doing mistakes. Learn as she reveals little known shortcuts for working with the History Panel, including how to fill with the History Brush, as well as a fluid method for painting between snapshots with no layer or masking knowledge required!
Selecting “Clear History” from the History Panel’s fly-out menu clears the panel, but you can still choose Edit > Undo Clear History. Option (Mac) / Alt (Win) + “Clear History” from the History Panel’s fly-out menu will delete the history without the option to “undo” (as if you have closed the file and reopened it). This can be helpful to free up disk space or to release RAM (or when you just don’t want anyone to see what magic you’ve applied to an image)!
In the History panel, you can also Option (Mac) / Alt (Win) -click any history state (except for the current) in order to duplicate that state. This would be a way to save a state from “rolling off” the history panel (if you have the “Allow Non -Linear History option checked on in the History Options accessed via the panel’s fly out), but I think I would prefer to save a snapshot or do a save-as if I am that concerned about loosing that point in time.
Both the History and Art History Brush Tools sample information from the currently targeted state in the History panel (by default, this is the snapshot created when the file is first opened).
Option-Delete (Mac) / Alt-Backspace (Win) + Shift will fill with the currently selected history state and preserve transparency (so that only those pixels that have information in them are filled).
Option-Command-Delete (Mac) / Alt-Control-Backspace (Win) fills with the currently selected history state.
Holding the Option (Mac) / Alt (Win) with the Eraser tool will erase with history. Note: when Photoshop opens a document, it takes (by default) a snapshot of the document that appears at the top of the History panel – this is the “history” that the Eraser paints with. To change the “History” state that the Eraser uses to paint from, click in any empty well to the left of the desired state in the History panel. Both states (the one chosen to “erase” with and the one that’s being “erased” upon) must have corresponding layers.
To improve batch processing performance, in the History panel,select History Options from the fly-out menu and deselect Automatically Create First Snapshot. Depending on the length of your action, you might also want to reduce the number History States in the Preferences > Performance panel. Just don’t forget to increase the number of states when you finished batch processing!
Most people only think of the History panel for multiple undo – but it does much more! Check out the options available through the History panel’s fly out (in the upper right) such as if and when to take Snapshots and Non-Linear History (to retain more current history states if you go back in History and want to try other options without loosing the more current states).
And this is a good time to add that if you do choose to Automatically Create First Snapshot (which is Photoshop’s default setting), you can “undo” an accidental save by clicking on the initial snapshot in the History panel, saving the file, and then returning to your current state and choosing to “Save As”.
• Command (Mac) / Control (Win) + Z will toggle undo/redo of the last command.
• Option-Command (Mac) / Alt-Control (Win) + Z will step you back through history.
• Command (Mac) / Control (Win) + Shift + Z will step you forward through history.
To change the number of history states (multiple undo’s) that Photoshop keeps track of per open image, select Preferences > Performance and enter a value for History States. Setting a higher number (50 for example) will save more changes, and allow you to step farther back in time, however it will also require Photoshop to keep track of more information. Therefore, if you increase the number of states and notice a performance hit, trying lowering the number again.
