Photoshop Tips, Tricks, & Other Goodies

[Bob Gilliland]

In the spirit of a recent post by Vector Doctor in mentioning some Illustrator tips, how about showing a little love for Photoshop. Go ahead; post away with your tips, tricks, and little gems that make your PS workflow that much more profitable, enjoyable, or just fun.

While I understand the need for, and use it often, I find the mouse to be terribly inefficient and very non-productive; especially inside Photoshop! This is one of the main driving forces in learning keyboard shortcuts, hotkeys, etc.; time savings. There is great time savings (not to mention overall “motion” of the hand/wrist) in being disciplined to learn, and use, keyboard short cuts in your everyday software. Keeping the mouse or your pen “on the drawing surface” and away from palettes/panels and menus can also go a long way in keeping your mind “on the work” and not “on the program” and provide days worth of extra billable “time” within a calendar year.

Two I’d like to mention to start this post are [SHIFT] + [+/-] and [CMD/CTRL]+ [TAB]

• The [SHIFT] + [+/-] combination will cycle through the Layer Blend Modes. Using [SHIFT] + [+] will progress forward in the list (down) while [SHIFT] + [-] will sequence the list in reverse (up).
  
  
• [CMD/CTRL] + [TAB] will cycle through all open documents. No need to click on various documents, just use the hotkeys to scroll through them. Add the [SHIFT] modifier key to that combination and it will scroll in reverse.

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REMINDER: when reading articles or books, watching tutorials, etc., that on the MAC platform it is Command, [CMD], while the PC uses Control, [CTRL]. Same thing with Option and Alternative; MAC uses Option, [OPT], while the PC uses Alternative, [ALT].

 

[Bob Gilliland]

[D] will restore the default Foreground & Background colors which are Black & White, respectfully. [X] will switch the Foreground and Background colors. These two keystrokes can be very helpful and part of efficient workflow when using mask’s and other aids.

Quickly change the Opacity of a Layer by pressing [V], then the desired value. An additional short cut is the ability to press [5] for 50%, [7], for 70%, etc. Providing you don’t invoke another command or menu, values can be continuously entered until the desired look is achieved.

 

[SignBurst PCs]

I would have to say that clearing the "prefs" file in Photoshop is one of our most often used tech tips. If you are having strange, unexplainable, issues in Photoshop, simply clearing the "prefs" file may help.

Windows PCs:
1. Close Photoshop
2. Hold down Ctrl + Alt + Shift
3. Right-click the Photoshop icon and click "Open" while holding those 3 keys
4. A prompt should appear asking if you want to "Delete your Photoshop settings file", click "YES"
5. Photoshop should open with all default preferences and settings

** Please note that you will have to make any personal settings in Photoshop again **