Adobe Photoshop CS5 One-on-One

Interface and Image Window

As with most computer applications, bossing around Photo-
shop is a matter of clicking and dragging inside the program’s
interface. Labeled in the figure below (which features an evoca-
tive photograph by Aleksandra Alexis from the iStockphoto
image library), the key elements, in alphabetical order, of
the not particularly revamped Photoshop CS5 interface are:

• Application bar: The application bar provides access to
  the Bridge, navigation functions, and window viewing
  controls. Under Windows, the application bar is located
  to the right of the menu bar.


• Cursor: The cursor (sometimes called the pointer) is your
  mouse’s on-screen representative. It moves as your mouse
  moves and changes to reflect the active tool or operation.
  Keep an eye on it and you’ll have a better sense of where
  you are and what you’re doing.


• Docking pane: A docking pane contains many panel
  groups, stacked one above the other. Drag a panel tab (or
  the blank area next to a tab) and drop it onto a docking

pane to add a panel to the stack. Drop a panel next to an

existing pane to begin a new pane. Click the dark gray

bar at the top of the pane to collapse the pane. You can

also drag the dark gray bar to move the pane.

• Image window: Each open image appears in a separate
  window, thus permitting you to open multiple images at
  once. In Photoshop, the image window is your canvas.
  This is where you paint and edit with tools, apply com-
  mands, and generally wreak havoc on an image.


• Menu bar: Click a name in the menu bar to display a list
  of commands. Click a command in order to choose it. A
  command followed by three dots (such as New...) displays
  a window of options called a dialog box. Otherwise, the
  command works right away.


• Options bar: The settings here modify the behavior of
  the active tool. The options bar is context sensitive, so
  you see a different set of options each time you switch to
  a different tool. If the options bar somehow disappears,
  you can restore it by pressing the Enter or Return key.

Menu bar

Toolbox

Options bar

Title tab

(or bar)

Screen mode

Status bar

Application bar Image window Docking pane

Cursor

Scroll bars

Panels

Shortcut menu Size box

Panel icons

Panel group

8 Lesson 1: Open and Organize