Task 1: Setting File Handling Preferences
Task 2: Recording Steps in the History Log
Task 3: Setting Display and Cursor Preferences
Task 4: Setting Transparency and Gamut Preferences
Task 5: Setting Units and Rulers Preferences
Task 6: Setting Guides, Grid, and Slices Preferences
Task 7: Setting Plug-ins and Scratch Disk Preferences
Task 8: Setting Memory and Image Cache Preferences
Task 9: Navigating the HTML-Based Help System
Task 10: Determining Necessary Options to Create a New Image File
Task 11: Viewing Images with the File Browser
Task 12: Organizing Thumbnails in the File Browser
Task 13: Managing Folders and File Names from within the File Browser
Task 14: Importing Digital Camera Images
Task 15: Importing a PDF Image
Task 16: Adding Notes to Image Files
Task 17: Adding Audio Annotations to Image Files
Task 18: Using the Save, Save As, and Save for Web Options
Task 19: Utilizing the PSD Format to Keep Layers and Effects Intact
Task 1
Setting File Handling Preferences
How you handle your images after importing them into Photoshop is almost as important as creating the images themselves. In this set of preferences, you can specify how you want Photoshop to manage image previews, file extensions, and workgroup functionality. You can also set file compatibility and the number of files that should be displayed in the list of recent files on the File menu.
1. If you are a Macintosh user, go to the Photoshop menu and select Preferences [right arrow] File Handling (see Figure 1-1). If you are a Windows user, choose Edit [right arrow] Preferences and select File Handling.
2. In the File Preferences dialog box, as seen in Figure 1-2, the first set of preferences under File Saving Options concerns image previews. Image previews are small snapshots of the overall image. These images are referred to as thumbnails and allow for easier management of your files. You can set the image preview preference to Always Save, Never Save, and Ask When Saving.
3. The Macintosh version of Photoshop CS also enables you to select Icon, Full Size, Macintosh, and Windows Thumbnails. Select the Icon checkbox and the program displays the thumbnail as its file icon on the desktop. If you check Full Size, then the program saves a 72 points per inch (ppi) version of the file for use in other software applications that support low-resolution Photoshop images for quicker workflow. If you select Macintosh Thumbnail, you get a preview of the image in an Open dialog box; likewise the Windows Thumbnail option saves a preview for Windows operating systems.
4. The set of preferences under File Saving Options controls whether the program appends file extensions when saving files. A file extension consists of three (or four) letters preceded by a period at the end of a file name. While not needed for Macintosh operating systems, file extensions help Windows systems determine what kind of application is needed to open the file.
5. If you want Photoshop to ignore the EXIF sRGB tag when you import images from your digital camera, select the Ignore EXIF sRGB Tag checkbox under File Compatibility. The EXIF file provides information that comes from your digital camera and helps programs like Photoshop determine the color space for the digital photos.
6. To be reminded about saving a TIFF file with layers, check Ask Before Saving Layered TIFF Files under File Compability. In order to share TIFF files with clients or colleagues working on different platforms, who might not have Photoshop, you would want to make sure not to send a TIFF file with layers.
7. If you work with large digital images, you might want to select the Enable Large Document Format checkbox. The Photoshop file format (.psd) is constrained to 30,000 by 30,000 pixels, wheres as the Large Document Format (with the extension .psb) supports images larger than 30,000 pixels.
8. To ensure greater backwards compatibility for your files with older versions of Photoshop, check Always Maxmize Compatibility for Photoshop (PSD) Files.
9. To turn on workgroup functionality, select Enable Version Cue Workgroup File Management.
10. The bottom part of the File Handling preferences dialog box enables you to specify how many files are listed in the file menu when you select File [right arrow] Open Recent.
Task 2
Recording Steps in the History Log
There are so many options in Photoshop, you might get carried away and forget what you did when you try to recreate an effect. Or you might need to make notes of how to recreate a certain effect in Photoshop for your coworkers so they can do it on their own (and stop pestering you for once). Photoshop CS enables you to keep a log of all your digital imaging movements. You can manage your history log options in the General preferences dialog box.
1. If you are a Macintosh user, select Photoshop [right arrow] Preferences [right arrow] General. If you are a Windows user, select Edit [right arrow] Preferences [right arrow] General.
2. To keep track of the steps you take in Photoshop CS, select the History Log checkbox (see Figure 2-1).
3. Click the Metadata option if you want to save the history log information with the file you are working on.
4. If you want to save the information to a separate text file, select the Text File option. Figure 2-2 shows an example of a history log.
5. To determine the location of the history log text file, click the Choose button to bring up the Save dialog box. Select a location where you want to store the text file and then click Save.
6. If you want the history log to be saved both as metadata and as a separate text file, select Both.
7. To specify the level detail stored in the history log, select Sessions Only, Concise, or Detailed in the Edit Log Items list box.
8. When you are done, click OK to close the Preferences dialog box.
Task 3
Setting Display and Cursor Preferences
Icons are all over Photoshop. They enable you to quickly pick and choose from a wide array of editing options. In the Display & Cursor preferences dialog box you can choose whether to show channels in color, double the pixels of your images, or use dithering. You can also specify what icons you would like to see while editing an image.
1. For Macintosh users, go to the Photoshop menu and select Preferences [right arrow] Display & Cursors (see Figure 3-1). For Windows users, select Edit [right arrow] Preferences and select Display & Cursors. If you are in the dialog box from the previous task, you may select Display & Cursors from the drop-down menu at the top of the dialog box.
2. In the Display and Cursor preferences dialog box (see Figure 3-2), under Display, you can colorize each channel component. To have a channel reflect the color it represents, select Color Channels in Color, instead of the default grayscale representation in the color channels.
3. If you want to dither colors that your video card cannot render properly, select Use Diffusion Dither. Diffusion dithering is a method to position multicolored pixels in a scattering effect so as to simulate colors.
4. To speed up preview modes or command tools, select Use Pixel Doubling. The image resolution is halved by doubling the pixels, giving the image a temporary blurry effect that lasts until the preview mode or commands are finished.
5. Under Painting Cursors you can specify the type of cursor Photoshop displays when you are using the painting tools. These tools include the brush, pencil, art sprayer, color replacement brush, history and art history brushes, eraser, healing brush, rubber stamp, pattern stamp, smudge, blur, sharpen, dodge, burn, and sponge tools. You have three options: Standard, which uses the icon of the current painting tool; Precise, which resembles a crosshair with a small target pixel at its center; and Brush Size, which indicates the size of the brush currently selected as shown in Figure 3-3.
6. Under Other Cursors you have two options: Standard and Precise. This option controls cursor appearance for the nonpainting tools, which include the marquee, lasso, polygon lasso, magic wand, crop, slice, patch, eyedropper, pen, line, paint bucket, gradient, magnetic lasso, magnetic pen, measure, and color sampler tools.
Task 4
Setting Transparency and Gamut Preferences
The grid has become somewhat of a culture icon to many Photoshop users. It's been a part of Photoshop for a long, long time to help users determine the level of transparency in their images. But now you get the chance to modify the appearance of this checkerboard-like grid to your own individual tastes. In the Transparency & Gamut preferences dialog box, you not only get to define the color for the out-of-gamut warning, but also customize the size of the classic Photoshop grid.
1. To bring up the Transparency and Gamut preferences dialog box on the Macintosh platform, go to the Photoshop menu and select Preferences [right arrow] Transparency & Gamut. On the Windows platform, select Edit [right arrow] Preferences and select Transparency & Gamut. If you are in the dialog box from the previous task, select Transparency & Gamut from the dropdown menu at the top of the dialog box.
2. To adjust the size of the checkerboard pattern, select Small, Medium, or Large from the Grid Size drop-down menu under Transparency Settings (see Figure 4-1). If you don't want to see a checkerboard pattern, select None. You will see a preview of the grid in the preview square that's off to the right under Transparency Settings.
3. The Grid Colors dropdown menu enables you to pick from a predetermined set of colors and shades for the checkerboard grid pattern. Your preset options are categorized in two groups: shades and colors. The first group includes Light, Medium, and Dark options. The color options include Red, Orange, Green, Blue, and Purple colors.
4. To create a custom-colored checkerboard pattern for the grid, select Custom from the Grid Colors drop-down menu.
5. Click the swatch colors below the Grid Colors drop-down menu to bring up the Color Picker dialog box as shown in Figure 4-2. Pick the colors you want and then press OK. The colors you picked are displayed in the preview square.
6. If your graphics card supports the overlay of images on top of a live video signal and you want to make use of this feature, select the Use Video Alpha checkbox.
7. To change the color that's used to indicate a gamut warning, click the Color swatch under Gamut Warning. This brings up the Color Picker dialog box. Pick the color you want and then click OK.
8. To adjust the opacity of the gamut warning color, enter a percentage in the Opacity text field or click the triangle and adjust the slider.
Task 5
Setting Units and Rulers Preferences
The old builder's adage "measure twice; cut once" holds just as true in digital imaging as it does in woodworking. If you don't measure your images carefully in the correct units, you might end up with an image that is too small or too large for your purposes. In the Units & Rulers preferences you can choose your units for rulers, column sizes, resolutions, as well as the point or pica sizes.
1. If you are a Macintosh user, go to the Photoshop menu and select Preferences [right arrow] Units & Rulers to open the Units & Rulers Preferences dialog box. If you are working on the Windows platform, choose Edit [right arrow] Preferences and select Units & Rulers. If you are in the dialog box from the previous task, select Units & Rulers from the drop-down menu at the top of the dialog box.
2. In the Units & Rulers preferences dialog box (see Figure 5-1), under Units, you can select several units for Rulers: pixels, inches, cm (centimeters), mm (millimeters), points, picas, or percent.
3. Under Units , you can select the units for Type: pixels, points, or mm. A pixel is on grid unit on a computer screen. One point is equal to 1/72 inch and 25.4 millimeters (mm) is one inch.
4. Under Column Size, you can specify the Width and Gutter measurements for placing images into a desktop publishing program. These settings enable you to precisely place an image in a set number of columns.
5. The print and screen resolutions are set under New Document Preset Resolutions. When you are creating a new image, Photoshop presents the values you place here as editable settings before creating the image. These values can be set in pixels per inch or pixels per centimeter.
6. Under Point/Pica Size you find two options: PostScript and Traditional. PostScript sets picas at a value of 72 pixels per inch (ppi), whereas Traditional places the value at 72.27 ppi.
7. Another way to change units is in the Info palette, which also changes the preference setting. To change the units through this alternative method, select Windows [right arrow] Info to open the Info palette.
8. Click the crosshairs in the lower lefthand corner of the Info palette. Select the units you want from the drop-down menu with the available units will appear as shown in Figure 5-2.
Task 6
Setting Guides, Grid, and Slices Preferences
The default color for guides and slices in Photoshop is light blue. When you are working on an image that contains the color blue or if you just don't like the default color, you can change the color of these helpful guides, grids, and slices to a more suitable color using the Guides, Grid & Slices preferences dialog box.
1. If you are a Macintosh user, go to the Photoshop menu and select
Preferences [right arrow] Guides, Grid & Slices to bring up this dialog box. As a
Windows user, select Edit [right arrow] Preferences and select Guides, Grid &
Slices.
Continues...
Excerpted from Adobe Photoshop cs in 10 Simple Steps or Less by Micah Laaker Christopher Schmitt Excerpted by permission.
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