The Best of the Basics (Photoshop Tips)

     For this week's assignment, I Read an article about PhotoShop in one of the PhotoShop User magazines. Write a post about what I read and what I learned from reading it. I read the Photoshop User Magazine for November 2023. The topic was The Best of the Basics guide provides essential tips and shortcuts for efficient navigation and editing in Photoshop:

1. Foreground and Background Colors:

   • Default colors are black and white; reset with the 'D' key, and swap with 'X'. Use 'Option-Delete' to fill in with Foreground color and 'Command-Delete' for the Background.
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2. Circular and Square Selections:

   • Utilize the 'Rectangular Marquee tool (M)' and 'Elliptical Marquee tool' with 'Shift' to constrain shapes. Hold 'Option' for center-outward creation and 'Spacebar' for moving the selection.
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3. Layer Mask Tips:

   • Temporarily hide a mask with 'Shift-click' on its thumbnail. View the mask alone by 'Option-clicking' on the thumbnail, and pressing'' for a red overlay.
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4. Sharing Content Between Layers:

   • Drag masks, layer styles, and filters between layers or documents. Copy by holding 'Option' and dragging, even between different documents.
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5. Transforming a Layer:

   • Use 'Command-T' for Free Transform, and right-click for additional options like Skew and Distort. Turn on 'Show Transform Controls' in the Options Bar for active Move tool transformations.
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6. Nondestructive Cropping:

   • Choose the Crop tool and disable 'Delete Cropped Pixels' to hide excess pixels.
   • Use 'Free Transform (Command-T)' to reposition without losing content.
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7. Selecting Layers:

   • Select layers with the Move tool by holding 'Command' and clicking. Right-click on a layer in the document to access layer names for selection.
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8. Rulers and Units of Measurement:

   • Toggle rulers with 'Command-R,' change units by right-clicking on the rulers.
   • Create guides by dragging from rulers, hold 'Option' for vertical/horizontal changes.
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9. Adding New Text Near Existing Text:

   • Hold 'Shift' while clicking to create a new text layer instead of selecting an existing one.
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10. Hiding and Revealing Elements:

    • 'Command-H' hides text highlighting and selections; press again to reveal.
    • 'Tab' hides or reveals panels, Toolbar, and top Options Bar; 'Shift-Tab' toggles panels. 'F key' changes screen modes, cycling through Standard Screen, Full Screen with Menu Bar, and Full Screen.

Mastering these shortcuts enhances workflow efficiency, allowing users to navigate Photoshop with ease and precision.