Photoshop_User_July_2017

> PHOTOSHOP USER

>^ JULY 2017

[ 76 ]

ONSCREEN DUPLICATION

When you’re working in Photoshop, there are times when

you might want to duplicate a layer; maybe it’s a shape, a

block of text, etc. You already know you can drag the layer

to the Create a New Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers

panel to create a copy (or press Command-J [PC: Ctrl-J]).

But here’s a faster way: With the Move tool (V) active, hold

down the Option (PC: Alt) key, and drag on the layer as

if you’re going to move it. Instead of moving the layer,

however, you’ll now be dragging a copy of that layer. I use

this one all the time while designing.

NONDESTRUCTIVE CROP

When you’re cropping an image, you can hide the edges

of the image rather than permanently deleting them. This

is known as a nondestructive crop, and it’s easy. When you

choose the Crop tool (C), take a peek at the Options Bar at

the top, and you’ll see a box that says Delete Cropped Pix-

els. Turn that off to crop nondestructively. That means after

you’ve cropped, you can still reposition the image within the

frame because the original edges weren’t cut off.

THE ERASER CAN DO THAT?

If you’re using the Eraser tool (there are rare occasions

when it’s preferable to using layer masks), and you get a

little excited and need to bring back some of the image you

just erased, your only option is to undo, right? That can be

problematic if you’ve done a lot of work without letting go

of the mouse. (Extra Tip: Let go of the mouse often while

painting or erasing.) Try this instead: In the History panel

(Window>History) click in the box to the left of the previ-

ous state just above the Eraser state, which should be at

the end of the list. Hold down the Option (PC: Alt) key, and

paint. Whoa! Yeah, the eraser is now working like a His-

tory Brush and painting back where you’d previously erased.

Who knew?

MOVE MASK INDEPENDENT OF LAYER

Layer masks are fun and flexible. When you move a layer

that has a mask, the mask goes with it. But what if you want

to move the layer independently of the mask, or you only

want to move the mask (it happens)? If you look carefully

in the Layers panel, between the layer thumbnail and the

mask thumbnail, you’ll see a little chain link icon. Click on

that icon and it will disappear. Now

you can move the layer and the mask

independently of each other. Just

click in that space between the layer

and mask again to add the icon back

when you’re ready for them to be

linked together again.

FAST CONTENT-AWARE FILL

I absolutely love Content-Aware Fill

in Photoshop; it’s so easy to remove

distracting objects from a photo. The

only thing is that it can be a lot of click-

ing to get to it in the menus. What

if there were a shortcut? (Spoiler

alert, of course there’s a shortcut, or

I wouldn’t have brought it up.) With

BOOST YOUR PRODUCTIVITY & CREATIVITY

Hey, everyone! I’m very excited to bring you the latest roundup of juicy Photoshop tips. These are the

kinds of tips that you can either use to show off to your co-workers, or just use them to get home at

a reasonable hour. I prefer to get home at a reasonable hour.

COLINSMITH

Photoshop Tips