GET STARTED FAST IN PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS
Change the layout of the Expert mode workspace to access useful tools more easily
Photoshop Anatomy Tweak the workspace
In its Default mode,
the Layers panel
displays small
thumbnails. If you
want a larger preview
of the contents of a
layer, click the little fly-
out icon here [01] and
scroll down to Panel
Options. This opens
the Layers Panel
Options dialog [02].
You can now click the
button by a specific
Thumbnail Size [03]
to change the size
of the thumbnails.If you paint a small
brush stroke onto
a new transparent
layer, you won’t see
it very clearly. By
clicking the Layer
Bounds button [04]
you’ll see a relatively
bigger preview of
the brush stroke
without displaying
all the layer’s unused
transparent space.
This is useful when
you’ve made many
small changes to a
multi-layered image.KEYBOARD
SHORTCUTSUsing keyboard shortcuts is a
great way to speed up your image-
editing workflow, not only when
selecting tools and commands,
but also when changing various
features in the workspace. By
tapping the Tab key, for instance,
you can hide or show all floating
or docked panels, enabling you to
get on with the business of photo
fixing in an uncluttered workspace.
You can then summon panels
(such as the Layers panel) as and
when you need them. You can
also press Cmd/Ctrl+Tab to cycle
through all open images instead
of clicking their tabs. Most tools
can be summoned by a keyboard
shortcut too. See the tip on page
13 to discover the best way to learn
shortcuts for Toolbox tools.04 MORE OR LESS
Click the More icon at the bottom right and tick a
panel’s label to hide or show it. This works with docked
or floating panels.
05 LAYOUT
When working with multiple photos click the layout
button to present them onscreen at the same time.
Here we’re looking at the All Column option. The
Default layout places each shot in a tabbed window
that fills the screen.06 ALTERNATIVE MODES
Here we’re looking at a customised version of the
Expert editing mode. You can click to jump to the
simpler Guided and Quick modes, but you can’t
customise either of those.01 CUSTOMISE THE WORKSPACE
Click the More fly-out icon and choose Custom
Workspace. This enables you to drag panels such
as the Layers panel out of the Panel Bin so that they
float wherever you like. Tick any panels in the list to
summon them.02 DOCKED OR FLOATING
Here some panels are docked in the Panel Bin. You
need to click the tab to see a particular docked panel.
We’ve dragged the Layers, Histogram and Navigator
panels out of the dock so that they’re floating.03 HISTOGRAM
The Histogram panel enables you to see the spread of
shadows, midtones and highlights in the image. This
helps you to diagnose problems with exposure. Set
the Channel drop-down menu to RGB to see a mono
version of the histogram.Understanding...
THE LAYERS
PANEL OPTIONS
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