Maximum PC - UK (2020-01)

Actions including Crop and Image Size. Select a layer, and you

have access to Transform, Align, and Distribute controls, again

without having to seek them out in their usual hiding place, and

the superb new Remove Background, a riff on Object Selection

that selects the subject and separates it and its background into

a Layer Mask [Image C]. It suffers from the same problems as

Object Selection, but it’s nice to see it included. Selecting a type

is particularly well supported, with full formatting support on

the Properties panel, along with the ability to convert type to

frames or shapes. Selecting a Smart Object brings up a different

set of options, too, including the new “Convert to Layers” option.

4

CONVERT TO LAYERS

You can now convert a Smart Object to plain old pixel

layers. You could do this before, by opening up a Smart

Object and dragging the layers within back to the Layers

palette, but now you can do it with a click from the Properties

panel. Multiple layers within the Smart Object become a layer

group, and you can choose to retain or discard Smart Filters or

applied transformations.

5

CONTENT-AWARE FILL

The magic object eraser gets some extra options in the

form of its own panel and preview window, still triggered

from the “Edit” menu. Now you have control over the sampling

area used to generate the fill, and can tint it any color, so you

know where you’re working [Image D]. There’s also a couple of

extra modes in addition to the Auto setting, so you can choose a

plain rectangular sample, or draw your own with a brush. There’s

also the option to output to your current layer, a new one,

or create a duplicate to keep both versions.

6

EVERYTHING ELSE

There are also changes to the Warp tool, enabling

you to place control points anywhere with Alt-

click [Image E]. If you’ve got a selection outline in place,

this warps, too. Free Transform gets a nudge in the right

direction by no longer requiring you to hold Shift all the

time—it’s now constrained by default. You can switch

back to the old behavior in Preferences if your muscle

memory complains. The Lens Blur filter now has a “Set

Focal Point” button for working with depth-mapped

images, and Presets—the gradients and patterns that

have been the same for 20 years—get a shake up with

new content and new ways of working. Panels such as

Swatches and Styles have also been reworked, making

the switching of colors in a composition much easier.

C E

D

TypeKit seems to be a thing of the past now,

because all 17,000 Adobe Fonts are included with

a Creative Cloud plan (including the Photography

plan), and are easily identified in the font menu

by the new Creative Cloud icon to the right of the

font name. All fonts are cleared for personal and

commercial use, and there are no longer any

limits on how many you can activate and use at one

time. Seventeen thousand is a lot, so click the icon

to the right of “More from Adobe Fonts” to explore

and activate additional fonts as you need them.

There’s also a new “Cloud Documents” tab

when opening a file, which enables file transfer

with the new iPad version of Photoshop.

CLOUDY OUTLOOK

maximumpc.com JAN 2020 MAXIMUMPC 69