2. Understanding Navigation and Measurement Systems

When you go on a road-trip vacation, you need two things to make the trip a success-good navigational aids (maps), and an understanding of how to measure distances between two points on a road map (1 inch equals 100 miles). When you are working with Adobe Photoshop, one of the keys to making the journey a success is to understand the navigational and measurement aids available. Photoshop lets you choose a measurement system to fit a specific project. For example, if you’re working on images destined for the Web or a monitor, you’ll be using pixels as a measurement system.

Conversely, if you’re outputting to paper, or possibly a 4-color press, you’ll likely choose inches or picas. Selecting between different measurement systems does not impact the quality of the final image; only how you measure distance. Trust me on this one; understanding how to measure distance helps to make the journey an enjoyable experience (I know from experience).

Having problems squinting at the small details of a photographic image? Using the Zoom tool is a great way to gain control over a document. Zooming into a section of a document makes touching-up the fine details just that much easier. In addition, the Info palette gives you up-to-date information on the exact position of the cursor inside the document, as well as detailed color information that can be indispensable in color-correcting an image.

The ability to create text, and even audio annotations, gives you the capacity to record document information that might be vital to the processing of the image, and pass it on to anyone who opens the document. Photoshop’s navigation and measurement systems are more that just information; they represent control of the document and control of the creative process.

Changing the View Size with the Navigator Palette

Photoshop’s Navigator palette gives you an overall view of the image and the ability to navigate through the document or change the zoom size. Viewing images at different sizes gives you the ability to focus on small elements of the design, without impacting the overall quality of the image. Once small areas of an image are enlarged, it’s easier for you to make minute changes. Zoom size determines the visible size of an image, as seen in the document window. Zooming in (enlarging the image) gives you a handy magnifying glass that lets you work on and manipulate fine details, and then you can zoom out (reducing the image) to view how the changes impact the entire image. The Navigator palette contains a thumbnail view of the image, and under the thumbnail are easy-to-use controls that let you adjust the zoom of the image. In addition, changes made in the Navigator palette, are immediately viewable in the active document window (what you see is what you get).

Change the View Size with the Navigator Palette

Select the Navigator palette.

Use one of the following methods to change the view size:

Drag the triangular slider to the right to increase the zoom or to the left to decrease the zoom.
Click the small and large mountain icons, located to the left and right of the triangular slider, to decrease or increase the zoom.
Enter a value from .33 to 1600 percent into the Zoom box.

Did You Know?

There are additional ways to zoom in using the Navigator palette. In the View box, hold down the Ctrl key, and then drag to resize the active document.

You can constrain the view box to drag horizontally or vertically. Hold down the Shift key, and then drag the view box horizontally or vertically.

For Your Information: Navigator Palette Shortcut

You can control the view of the document through a great shortcut. Simply click once in the Zoom input box on the Navigator palette, and then use the Up/Down arrow keys to increase or decrease the zoom value of the document 1 percentage point at a time. Not fast enough for you? Then hold down the Shift key, and use the Up or Down arrow keys to change the zoom size 10 percentage points at a time. Press the Enter key to see your changes reflected in the active document window.

Changing the View Area with the Navigator Palette

Zoomed images are typically larger than the size of the document window. When this happens, Photoshop adds navigational scroll bars to the bottom and the right of the document window. However, using awkward scroll bars is not the only way to change the viewable area of the image; the Navigator palette gives you a visible approach to changing the view area of the image. The view box in the Navigator palette represents the visible boundaries of the active document window, which is the viewable area of the image.

Change the View Area with the Navigator Palette

Select the Navigator palette.

Drag the view box in the thumbnail of the active image.

Click within the thumbnail.

The position of the view box changes, which also changes the viewable area of the image in the document window.

Did You Know?

You can show the Navigator palette. If the Navigator palette is not visible, click the Window menu, and then click Navigator.

You can change Zoom size of an image using the Navigator thumbnail. Hold down the Ctrl key (Win) or the key (Mac), and then drag in the thumbnail. When you release your mouse, the selected area expands. It’s just like using the Zoom tool, except you’re dragging in the Navigator’s thumbnail. Conversely, if you drag a second time (this time using a larger rectangle), the image zooms out.

Changing the Color of the Navigator Palette View Box

The view box defines the viewable area of the image—the default color of the view box is blue. It’s important for the color of the view box to stand out against the image. However, some documents contain images that are the same color as the view box, making the view box difficult to identify. By changing the color of your view box to work with your image, you can make sure your view box stands out against the image. This may seem like a small thing to do, but it significantly cuts down on my frustration level, when I’m attempting to identify the view box.

Change the View Box Color

Select the Navigator palette.

Click the Navigator Options button, and the click Palette Options.

Click the Color list arrow, and then click a pre-defined color, or click Custom to select a color from the Color Picker dialog box.

Click OK.

Did You Know?

You can increase the size of the Navigator palette’s thumbnail. Drag the lower-right corner of the Navigator palette to expand the size of the palette. As the Navigator palette increases in size, so does the thumbnail.

Changing the Screen Display Mode

In Photoshop, the Screen Display mode determines the background displayed behind the active image. For example, you can change the Screen Mode to black, and hide all the palettes. Since monitors, combined with Photoshop’s palettes create a very colorful screen, changing the Screen Mode gives you a chance to see your image against a solid color background. Viewing your images against a black or gray background helps your eyes identify the true colors within an image.

Change the Screen Mode

Click Change Screen Mode button (New!) to toggle between screen modes or click the Change Screen Mode button arrow, and then select the mode you want:

Standard Screen Mode. Displays the image against a gray background (Win), or with the visible desktop (Mac). All menus and palettes are visible.
Maximized Screen Mode (New!). Displays the image against a gray background between the palettes.
Full Screen Mode with Menu Bar. Centers the image, and displays it against a gray background.
Full Screen Mode. Centers the image, and displays it against a black background.

Timesaver

Press F to toggle between the screen modes.

Did You Know?

You can temporally hide all of Photoshop’s palettes and toolbox. Press the Tab key to hide the toolbox and palettes. Press the Tab key a second time to display the hidden toolbox and palette. Hold down the Shift key, and then press the Tab key to hide the palettes, but not the Toolbox or Options bar.

Changing the View with the Zoom Tool

Working with the Zoom tool gives you one more way to control exactly what you see in Photoshop. Just like the Navigator palette, the Zoom tool does not change the active image, it only lets you view the image at different magnifications. The Zoom tool is located towards the bottom of Photoshop’s toolbox, and resembles a magnifying glass. The maximum magnification of a Photoshop document is 1600 percent, and the minimum magnification is less than 1 percent of the original image size. Increasing the magnification of an image gives you control over what you see and gives you control over how you work. Large documents are difficult to work with and difficult to view. Many documents, when viewed at 100 percent, are larger than the maximized size of the document window. When this happens, viewing the entire image requires reducing the zoom.

Zoom In the View of an Image

Select the Zoom tool on the toolbox.

Use one of the following methods:

Click on the document.

The image increases in magnification centered on where you clicked.

Drag to define an area with the Zoom tool.

The image increases in magnification based on the boundaries of the area you dragged.

Zoom Out the View of an Image

Select the Zoom tool on the toolbox.

Hold down the Alt (Win) or Option (Mac) key, and then click on the screen to reduce the zoom of the active document.

The zoom reduction centers on where you click on the active document.

Important

Since images viewed in Photoshop are composed of pixels (like bricks in a wall), the only way to really see what the printed results of your artwork will look like is to view the image (even if it is to big for the screen) at 100 percent.

Did You Know?

You can zoom in or out using shortcut keys regardless of what tool you’re currently using. To zoom in, press Ctrl+Spacebar (Win) or +Spacebar (Mac) and click or drag to define an area. To zoom out, press Ctrl+Space-bar+Alt (Win) or +Spacebar+Option (Mac) and click or drag to define an area.

Increasing or Decreasing Magnification

Since changing the zoom size of an image is fundamental to the creative process, Photoshop gives you several ways to accomplish zooming. An additional way to zoom is using the options on the Options bar. To access the Zoom tool options, you must have the Zoom tool selected. Photoshop gives you two handy zoom preset values. To automatically zoom the document to 100 percent, double-click the Zoom tool. To automatically fit the image to the monitor, double-click the Hand tool.

Increase the Magnification of an Image

Click the Zoom In or Zoom Out buttons on the Options bar, and then click in the document window to increase or decrease the zoom.

Click Ignore Palettes to zoom the active document beyond the boundaries of the floating palettes.

This causes the zoomed document to expand to the size of the monitor window.

Click Actual Pixels, Fit Screen, or Print Size to quickly zoom the screen to a preset size.

Timesaver

It’s possible to change the zoom of a document without ever leaving the keyboard. Hold the Ctrl (Win) or (Mac) key, and then press the plus “+”, or minus “-” keys. The plus key increases the zoom size, and the minus key decreases the zoom size.

Did You Know?

You can zoom in on more than one document. If you have more than one open document, click Zoom All Windows on the Options bar.

Moving Images in the Document Window

One of those little used, but handy tools to have is Photoshop’s Hand tool. The Hand tool (called so because it resembles an open hand) lets you quickly move the active image within the document window without ever using the scroll bars. For example, you’ve zoomed the image beyond the size that fits within the document window and you need to change the visible portion of the document. It’s a simple operation, but a handy one to know.

Move an Image in the Document Window

Select the Hand tool on the toolbox.

Drag in the active document to move the image.

Did You Know?

You can quickly access the Hand tool whenever you need it. Hold down the Spacebar to temporarily change to the Hand tool. Drag in the active document to the desired position, and then release the Spacebar. You’re instantly returned to the last-used tool. It’s important to note that you cannot use the spacebar to access the Hand tool if you are currently using the Type tool.

Moving Layers Between Two Open Documents

Photoshop has a lot of tricks up its electronic sleeves, and one of the handiest is the ability to move layers between open documents. For example, you have an image of a landscape and sky, but you don’t like the sky, so you erase it. You then open another document with a sky that suits the design of your document. It’s a simple matter to move the layer containing the sky into any other open document.

Move Layers Between Documents

Open two or more documents.

Click on the document containing the layer you want to move to make it the active document.

Select the Move tool on the toolbox.

Drag the layer you want to move from the open document window into the second document.

Important

If the document you’re moving a layer into contains more than one layer, Photoshop places the layer you’re moving directly above the active layer in the second document. If the layer is in the wrong stacking order, drag it up and down in the Layers palette until it’s correctly positioned.

Did You Know?

You can also drag a layer thumbnail onto a document. Drag the layer thumbnail from the Layers palette into the document window of the second document.

From the Experts Corner: Removing the Excess

If you’re dragging a layer from a document that contains more pixels than the receiving document, the areas of the image outside the viewable area of the document are still there, taking up file space. To delete them, first position the image exactly where you want, click the Select menu, and then click Select All. Select the Image menu, and then click Crop. That’s it. All the image information outside the viewable window is removed.

Working with the Info Palette

Photoshop’s Info palette gives you a wealth of data on the current document’s color space, as well as information on the x/y position of your mouse cursor within the active document window. In addition, when you’re using one of Photoshop’s drawing or measuring tools, the Info palette gives you up-to-date information on the size of the object you’re creating. Photoshop works with black, white, shades of gray, and every color in between. By creating color markers you help identify the location of specific color points within an image, which is indispensable for performing color correction, and the Info palette displays color information about the marked color and on how the color has shifted.

Create a Specific Size Object

Select the Info palette.

Select a drawing tool on the tool-box.

Drag in the document window to create a shape.

Release the mouse when the Info palette displays the correct dimensions.

Important

The bottom of the Info palette now displays tips on how to use the current tool, and the current size of the working document.

Create a Color Marker

Select the Info palette.

Select the Eyedropper tool on the toolbox.

In the document, hold down the Shift key, and then click once to create a color marker. You can have a maximum of four Color Markers in a single document.

Repositioning a marker is easy, simply press the Ctrl (Win) or (Mac) key, and then click and drag the marker to a new position, or drag it off the document window to delete it.

Changing How the Info Palette Measures Color

Knowledge of the colors used in a document is important, but so is a thorough understanding of the color mode of the document. Different documents require different color modes. For example, images displayed on a monitor use the RGB (red, green, blue) color mode, and images sent to a 4-color press, use CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, black). Not only does the Info palette measure color, it also measures color in specific color modes.

Change How the Info Palette Measures Color

Select the Info palette.

Click the Info Options button, and then click Palette Options.

Click the Mode list arrows for First Color and Second Color Readout, and then select from the available options.

Click OK.

The Info palette now measures color based on your selections.

Did You Know?

The Info palette now allows you display information such as: Document Size, Efficiency, Scratch Sizes, and more. Simply click the Info Options button, and then select from the available options. The Info palette now displays whether the image is using 8, 16, or 32 bit color channels.

Working with One Image in Multiple Windows

There are times when you’re working on an image in Photoshop, and you need to see two separate views of the image. For example, you’re working on retouching a photo and you need a zoomed in view to do fine detail work. At the same time, you want to see a normal view to get an idea of how the retouching is affecting the normal-sized image. Being able to view one image at two different views is a valuable tool.

Create Two Views of One Image

Open a document.

Click the Window menu, point to Arrange, and then click New Window.

A copy of the active document is created in a new document window.

Select the Zoom tool on the toolbox, and then increase the zoom of the new document to the desired level.

Select an editing or painting tool, and then begin work on the new image in the zoomed window.

The effects of your work instantly display in the normal image window.

When you’re done with the new window, click the Close button.

Did You Know?

You can prevent the zoomed window from expanding. With the Zoom tool selected, move into the Options bar and deselect Resize Windows To Fit.

For Your Information: Arranging and Matching Multiple Windows

The Arrange submenu on the Window menu provides options to help you work with multiple windows. You can use the Cascade, Tile Horizontally, and Tile Vertically commands to display windows across the Photoshop window. The Match Zoom, Match Location, and Match Zoom and Location commands allow you to match the zoom and/or location in multiple windows. For example, open multiple images, click the Window menu, point to Arrange, and then click Match Zoom And Location. Select the Zoom tool or Hand tool, select one of the images, hold down the Shift key, and click in or drag an area. The other images are zoomed to the same percentage and location you clicked.

Working with Rulers

Carpenters know that precise measurements are essential to making things fit, so they have a rule: Measure Twice, Cut Once. In keeping with the idea that precise measurements are essential, Photoshop gives you several measuring systems-among them are the ruler bars. Ruler bars are located on the top and left sides of the active document window, and serve several purposes. They let you measure the width and height of the active image, they let you place guides on the screen to control placement of other image elements, and they create markers that follow your cursor as you move. As you can see, Rulers serve a very important role. Ruler guides help you correctly align image design elements. As a matter of fact, if you’re not working on a flat glass or LCD monitor, the curvature of the monitor can give you a false impression of the vertical and horizontal. By using guides you have access to precise alignment systems. To use the Ruler guides, the ruler bars must first be visible.

Change Ruler Options

Click the Edit (Win) or Photoshop (Mac) menu, point to Preferences, and then click Units & Rulers.

Select Ruler measurements and Type from the available options.

Click OK.

Important

If the Rulers are not visible in the active document, click the View menu, and then click Rulers.

Did You Know?

You can choose what type of Point/Pica size to use. Click Postscript (72 points/inch) or click Traditional (72.27 points/inch). Postscript is more widely used, and Photoshop defaults to this option.

Use Ruler Guides

Click the View menu, and then click Rulers to display the ruler bars within the document window.

Move to the vertical or horizontal Ruler bar, and then click and drag into the document.

Return to the Ruler bar and continue to drag until you have all your guides properly set.

Click the View menu, and then click Lock Guides to lock the existing guides in place, or click Clear Guides to remove all guides.

Click the Move tool on the toolbox to drag existing guides to a new position (make sure Lock Guides is not selected).

Did You Know?

You can remove one guide at a time. Make sure Lock Guides is clear, and then click the Move tool. Drag the existing guide you want removed back to the corresponding Ruler bar.

You can switch guides on the fly. If you’re dragging a vertical or horizontal guide onto the document window, when in fact you wanted the opposite guide, press the Alt (Win) or Option (Mac) key, while still dragging the guide. Vertical guides become horizontal, and horizontal guides become vertical.

Creating Notes

Notes can be found everywhere—you see them stuck to the side of refrigerators, bulletin boards, and even covering your computer monitor. Notes serve a purpose to remind you of important duties and events. When you work in Photoshop, the ability to save notes can help you remember an important part of the design, or they can instruct another designer to the how’s and why’s of your document. For example, specific instructions to your service bureau on the printing of a document might be helpful in obtaining the best output.

Create a Note

Select the Note tool on the toolbox.

Click on the active document to create a blank note.

Enter the text for your note.

Timesaver

Double-click the note icon to open and close a note. You can also right-click a note icon to access a shortcut menu with note commands.

Click the Close button.

Did You Know?

You can change the Author, Font, and even the default color of a Note. Select a note, and then use the font, size, and color options on the Options bar to create a personalize note style; however, if the font you choose is not available on another computer, a default font will be substituted.

Creating an Audio Annotation

In addition to text notes, Photoshop lets you create audio notes. To create an audio note, your computer needs to have the ability to record sound. The good news is that most computers sold today, especially laptops, have the ability to record sound. Besides being an excellent way to communicate information, audio annotations give a sense of emotion or urgency, which sometimes can’t be communicated using the written word. Audio notes require that the receiving computer has an audio output, and while this might seem quite common with today’s technology, you might want to include a text note along with the audio note.

Create an Audio Annotation

Click and hold the Note tool on the toolbox, and then click the Audio Annotation tool.

Click on the active document to access the Audio Annotation dialog box.

Click Start to begin recording.

Click Stop to end the recording.

Double-click the Audio Annotation button to play the new message.

Important

Notes and Audio Annotations are not contained on a specific layer; they are part of the Photoshop document and therefore visible in the document window at all times.

Did You Know?

You can delete an audio annotation. Click on the speaker symbol, and then press the Backspace (Win) or Delete (Mac) key.

Creating Tool Presets

PS 1.2

Photoshop provides you with a variety of tools for you to modify images. Each tool provides additional options you can set on the Options bar. If you frequently use the same tool with specific settings, you can save and reuse tool settings to save time in the future. You can load, edit, and create libraries of tool presets using the Tool Presets picker on the Options bar, the Tool Presets palette, and the Preset Manager.

Create and Use Tool Presets

Click the tool and set the options on the Options bar you want to save.

Click the Tool Preset button arrow next to the tool on the left side of the Options bar.

Click the Create New Tool Preset button.

Enter a name for the tool preset.

Click OK.

To use the tool preset, use one of the following:

Tool Preset button. Click the Tool Preset picker on the Options bar, and then select the tool preset you want.
Tools Palette. Click the Window menu, click Tool Preset, and then select the tool preset you want.

Did You Know?

You can change the list of tool presets. Click the triangle on the Tool Preset picker, and then click the display option you want: Show All Tool Presets, Sort By Tool, Show Current Tool Presets, or Text Only, Small List, or Large List.

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