Julieanne Kost's Blog

When working with the Vector tools (drawing a Shape layer for example) Photoshop CS6 has a new preference to Snap Vector Tools and Transforms to Pixel Grid. This option can be extremely helpful when creating objects that need solid, straight edges as it prevents drawing shapes that aren’t fully aligned to a pixel and are therefore created with anti-aliased edges.

This illustration demonstrates three options, the first shape was drawn with the Snap Vector Tools and Transforms to Pixel Grid preference turned on and, as a result, all sides of the rectangle are solid (remember, even though the initial rectangle shape might not have been drawn in perfect alignment to the pixel grid, Photoshop automatically snapped the rectangle to that grid because the preference was turned on).

The middle illustration was drawn with the Snap Vector Tools and Transforms to Pixel Grid preference turned off. This resulted in anti-aliased edges (varying levels of opacity) because the rectangle (the vector path) was not perfectly aligned to a pixel edge when the rectangle was drawn.

The final illustration is the same rectangle as in the second illustration, however the Align Edges option was enabled for the rectangle shape layer (in the Options bar) after drawing the rectangle. Enabling the Align Edges option “jumped” the edges of the rectangle to the nearest pixel grid (you can still see that the original shape (path) is not aligned to the pixel grid, but the fill is being forced to Align Edges to the edges of the pixel grid. Align Edge is a good way to align objects on a “per shape layer” basis if you want to turn off the Snap Vector Tools and Transforms to Pixel Grid preference .

However, I expect that most people will leave the Snap Vector Tools and Transforms to Pixel Grid preference turned on as it will help to avoid anti-aliased edges when drawing shapes as well as transforming them making alignment clean and precise.

• After creating your own custom Stroke patterns (using the Stroke Options), save them as a preset. Don’t forget that you can save a Tool Preset in order to save all of the Options for the shape tool (fill, stroke, size etc.).

• To copy and paste the Fill or Stroke attributes from one shape to another, click the color swatch next to Fill or Stroke in the Options bar. Then, click the gear icon and choose Copy Fill (or Copy Stroke). Then select another Shape layer, click the color swatch next to Fill or Stroke, select the gear, and choose Paste Fill (or Paste Stroke).

• An even easier way to quickly apply the fill and shape from one layer to another is to Control -click (Mac) / Right Mouse -click (Win) on the layers panel (to the right of the layer name), and select Copy Shape Attributes (this will copy both the stroke and the fill unlike the tip above that copies one or the other). In the Layers panel, select the layer(s) to paste the attributes and Control -click (Mac) / Right Mouse -click (Win) and select Paste Shape Attributes.  Note: you can also Control -click (Mac) / Right Mouse -click (Win) directly on the layer in the image area, but it might be more difficult to select the layers to paste the attributes on.

• All shapes on a shape layer will have the same Fill and Stroke attributes. To apply different attributes to different shapes, put each shape on its own layer by selecting the shape and choosing Layer > New > Shape Layer Via Cut  or use the shortcut: Command + Shift + J (Mac) | Control  + Shift + J (Win). Note: when cutting a shape to its own layer and/or when merging 2 (or more) shape layers to the same layer, they no longer rasterize but remain vectors!

• There is a new badge for shape layers in the Layers panel (Shape layers are no longer represented by a Fill layer with a vector mask).

• Although the Shape Layer icon (badge) has changed, you can still double-click the shape layer icon to change the color of the shape’s fill.

• Because shapes are often very small in relation to the entire image, the Layers panel displays the contents of shape layers as large as possible in the Layer thumbnail – ignoring the relationship of the shape to the entire document (as other layers appear by default).

• Selecting a Shape layer in the Layers panel automatically displays the path in the image area (making it easier to quickly edit the shape).

• Command + H (Mac) | Control + H (Win) hides the path.

• Clicking on a shape in the image area with the Path Selection tool will automatically select that layer in the Layers panel.

• If you delete all of the paths on a shape layer, the layer will automaticallly be deleted.

Several improvements were made to the shape layers (and vector tools) in Photoshop CS6. If you missed yesterday’s video, here is a quick list of changes that you’ll find in the Options bar when working with Shapes:

• Before drawing with the Pen or Shape tools, quickly select between Shape, Path or Pixels from the drop-down list (these options were previously represented by icons which was a bit confusing).

• Click the Fill and Stroke color swatches to choose the type of content: none (for a transparent shape), solid color, gradient and/or pattern.

• The Shape color picker (displayed when clicking on the Fill or Stroke swatch), keeps track of your Recently Used Colors. That would be nice throughout the application!

• Add a stroke, dash and/or dotted line to a path and customize its alignment, caps, corners, gap and dash amounts by clicking the Stroke Options icon in the Options bar.

• Easily change the height and width for shapes (without going to Free Transform) using the new numeric entry options.

• By default, the shape tools draw a new Shape Layer every time you click and drag with the tool. However, you can use the new Path Operations drop-down list in the Options bar (path operations were previously represented by icons) in order to add additional shapes to a single Shape Layer (including Combine, Subtract, Intersect, Extrude or Merge  Shape Components).

• With multiple shapes selected, use the Path Alignment and Path Arrangement drop-down lists to choose to align selected shapes (to the Selection or Canvas), distribute shapes, and/or change the stacking order of shapes.

• Specify a shape’s size by clicking (instead of dragging) in the image area. The Create Polygon (or Create Rectangle etc.) dialog appears, with all of the options specific to the selected Shape tool.

Take a tour of the new features and improved vector workflow in Photoshop CS6. In this video tutorial (Working with Shape Layers in Photoshop CS6), Julieanne demonstrates how to quickly add custom strokes and fills to Shape layers, combine shapes without rasterizing layers, and use new alignment options and Pixel Grid for better rendering.

When I create an episode of The Complete Picture for Adobe TV, I try to cram in as much information as I possibly can about a subject yet not run over the 10 minute limit (which I seem to do anyway – so I really owe a great deal to Kush, Karl and Erik for their never ending patience and extremely fast editing skills!).

But, I was trying to find a way to answer the questions/comments/requests that I receive – which I could cover in a less-than-one-minute video – yet would take a slow writer such as myself a millennium to put down on paper. So, last time I visited AdobeTV, we recorded some of these shorter “Quick Tips” tips that I could release in between the longer episodes of The Complete Picture.

Here is the first Quick Tip where I explain How to Draw a Circle Around an Object in Photoshop. Please let me know if you find it useful.

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.

When using the Custom Shape tool, ‘[‘ or ‘]’ goes to previous or next shape in Custom Shape Picker (in the Options bar). Adding the Shift key selects the first or last shape in the Custom Shape Picker.

When using the Line tool‘[‘ or ‘]’ decreases or increases the line width by one pixel. Adding the Shift key will increase/decrease the line width in increments of 10.

When using the Polygon tool, ‘[‘ or ]’ decreases or increases the number of sides by one. Adding the Shift key will increase/decrease the number of sides in increments of 10.

For the rounded rectangle tool: ‘[‘ or ‘]’ decreases or increases the corner radius by one pixel. Adding the Shift key will increase/decrease the radius in increments of 10.

With the Line tool selected, click on the downward facing triangle to the right of the Custom Shape tool icon the Options bar to access arrowhead options.

Regardless of which Shape tool is selected, (Rectangle, Rounded Rectangle, Ellipse, Polygon, Line and/or Custom Shape), when creating a shape layer ‘,’ (comma) or ‘.’ (period) goes to previous or next Layer style in the Style Picker (in the Options bar). Adding the Shift key selects the first or last style in the Style Picker.

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.

After drawing a path with the Pen tool, Command (Mac) / Control (Win) + Return (Mac) / Enter (Win) crates a selection from the path. Note: this shortcut works with any selected path (shape layer, vector mask etc.).