Julieanne Kost's Blog

In addition to my top 5 favorite features, these little gems certainly help my workflow.

1) Load Swatch Files from HTML, CSS or  SVG Document – use the flyout menu on the Swatches panel to choose Load Swatches. Then, navigate to any HTML, CSS or SVG document and Photoshop will find all of the colors used in that document and load them as swatches.

2) Support for Larger JPEG files – now save JPEG files up to 60,000 x 60,000 pixels.

3) Reposition Paths While Drawing – this one is subtle, but also really powerful. When drawing with the pen tool, pressing the spacebar will allow you to reposition the anchor point – while drawing. The key is that you have to still have the mouse-down for the spacebar to work. Otherwise you get the Hand tool (as expected).

3) Recent Files List – up the limit the “Recent Files” to 100.

4) Smarter Selecting of Layer Names- Photoshop has gotten smarter about the way it names layers when merging them. Instead of always taking the top layer’s name (in the group of layers to be merged), if any of the layers that are going to be merged have been manually renamed (i.e.you renamed them), Photoshop will keep that custom layer name and use it as the new merged layer name. As you can see in the screen shots below, when merging the three layers on the left, Photoshop 13.1 used the custom renamed “Rock” layer as the new merged layer’s name. In previous versions the merged layer would have been named Hue/Saturation 1. Note: if you have created custom names for multiple layers that are all being merged together, then Photoshop will take the top-most custom named layer.

Paths and guides are anti-aliased by default in Photoshop CS5 and CS6. This tends to make them appear thinner than in previous versions and for some, more difficult to see on high resolution monitors. To turn off the anti-aliasing, select Preferences  and click the Performance category. Under Graphics Processor Settings, click Advanced Settings and uncheck the Anti Alias Guides and Paths option. Note: you won’t see the change until you click OK in both the Advanced Processor settings and Preferences dialog boxes to apply the change.

Photoshop CS6 has changed the default behavior when dragging vector curves. After creating a path, dragging on a curve (line segment) will reshape the path much more gracefully than in previous versions. If however, you like the legacy behavior, select the Path Selection or Direct Selection tool and check Constrain Path dragging in the Option bar.

When most people think of stroking a path, they think of adding a frame around an image. But don’t forget, you can stroke a path with any of the painting tools set to any brush tip shape!  I have used the feature in a variety of ways from adding a highlight with the dodge tool to cloning an image to a new document, using the path to limit area that I want to display.

If you have a .tif or .psd file in Lightroom and want to export the image in order to resize the file (perhaps to give a low res, layered version to an art director) be aware that Lightroom will remove any clipping paths. This can be solved in a variety of ways including using Photoshop’s Image Processor script to resize instead or using actions and droplets as a Post processing step in Lightroom. For more information on using Photoshop Actions with Lightroom click here…

In order to simulate pressure sensitivity when stroking a path, select the path in the paths panel, choose Stroke Path from the fly out menu and check Simulate Pressure. Note, it is important to set up your brush (or whatever tool you want to use), as well as its attributes BEFORE you stroke the path.

In this illustration, the first path was stroked with a brush with the Simulate Pressure option unchecked. The second and third paths both had the Simulate Pressure option checked; the middle illustration demonstrating the brushes Opacity (under Transfer on the Brush Panel) set to Pen Pressure , the right illustration demonstrating Size (under Shape Dynamics on the Brush Panel) and Opacity set to Pen Pressure.

After creating a path (with the pen tool) you can select the path and Choose Edit > Define Custom Shape to add the shape to your Shape Library.

To create a stroke of paint or create a smooth path for dodging and burning, first create a path with the pen too. Then, make sure that the painting tool that you want to use is set up with the correct options (such as brush size and opacity etc.). Finally, from the Paths panel fly-out, menu, select Stroke path and select the desired tool. This can be extremely helpful for example, when trying to follow curves in a object such as an edge on a car to add a highlight to. Note that you can also choose the simulate pressure option to simulate pressure sensitivity of the tool.

Using either the Shape tools or the Pen tool, create a closed path or shape (such as a circle) to contain the type. Then, select the Type tool and position the cursor with in the shape. The cursor appears to have parenthesis around it indicating that any added text will be constrained within the shape.  Resizing the shape will reflow the type.

Using either the Shape tools or the Pen tool, create a path keeping in mind that the type that you will add will flow in the direction that anchor points were added to the path. Then, select the Type tool and click on the path where you want the text to begin (when the cursor is properly positioned above the path, the type insertion point icon will display a horizontal line – the baseline indicator, through it) and start typing.

When working with an open path (an arc for example), Command (Mac) / Control (Win) -drag the small “x” icon at the beginning of the type change where on the path the type begins.

When working with a closed path (a circle for example),  use the same shortcut as above, and you’ll notice that there is an additional “o” icon on the path which can be dragged with the same shortcut and will act as an end point, restricting the type to flow beyond it.

When moving the starting point for type on a path, you will probably notice that you can flip the orientation of type on a path by  Command (Mac) / Control (Win) -dragging either I-beam at the beginning of the type, or the flashing insertion point within the type, from above the path to below the path. Note that the text will flow the text the other direction. If you simple want to move the type above or below the text (without flipping it), use the baseline shift in the Character panel.

Command (Mac) / Control (Win) + H will hide a path. When working with Vector layers, clicking on the vector layer’s mask thumbnail (in the layers panel) will also hide the path.

Command (Mac) / Control (Win) -click on the path name in the Paths panel to convert the path to a selection.

To convert an additional path and add it to the selection, Command (Mac) / Control (Win) + Shift -click the secondary path name in the Paths panel.

To subtract a secondary path from a selection, Command + Option (Mac) / Control + Alt (Win) -click the secondary path name in the Paths panel.

To intersect a secondary path from a selection, Command + Option (Mac) / Control + Alt (Win) + Shift -click the secondary path name in the Paths panel.

Command (Mac) / Control (Win) to toggle from the Path Selection, Pen, Add, Delete or Convert Anchor Point tool to the Direct Selection tool.

Option (Mac)/ Alt (Win) -drag a path to duplicate it.

When using the Freeform Pen tool with the Magnetic Option checked in the Options bar, double-click to close the Path. Add the Option (Mac)/ Alt (Win) to close the path with straight-line segment.