Powerful Photoshop Layers: Power Tips Production Graphics with Wendy Peck at webreference.com | WebReference

Powerful Photoshop Layers: Power Tips Production Graphics with Wendy Peck at webreference.com

Photoshop Layers : 30 Super Power Tips for Layers

     

Shangara Singh is well-known in the graphics world for the depth of his Photoshop knowledge. He is an Adobe certified Photoshop Expert, which is not easy to achieve, but do know what really counts? You can tell in every word that he loves this program. Make sure that you visit his site. Filled with Photoshop tips, tricks and ideas, I guarantee you will bookmark it. Many thanks for sharing your experience and wisdom with us, Shangara! https://www.oxyopia.co.uk/

 

by Shangara Singh

Please note: The key after the "/ " character is the Windows equivalent of the Mac shortcut key.

  1. To move a layer up the stack, key Opt/Alt+]
  2. To move a layer down the stack, key Opt/Alt+[
  3. To move a layer to the top of the stack, key Opt/Alt+Shift+]
  4. To move a layer to the bottom of the stack, key Opt/Alt+Shift+[
  5. To see them animated turn off layer visibility of all but one and use the above keys to go up and down the layers stack
  6. To copy a layer, key Cmd/Ctrl+J
  7. To make a new layer, key Cmd/Ctrl+Opt/Alt+Shift+N
  8. To then make it move below the selected layer just lift all fingers off except Opt/Alt and hit the [ key
  9. To Merge all *visible* layers and still retain them as individual layers hold down Cmd/Ctrl+Opt/Alt+Shift+N and once the new layer has been created just hit E
  10. To whiz through the layer's Blend modes hold down Shift and then + or - (plus or minus keys)
  11. To group the top layer with the one beneath, key Cmd/Ctrl+G
  12. To Ungroup, key Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+G
  13. To turn visibility off for all layers bar one hold Opt/Alt and click on the eye icon in the layers palette of the layer you want to stay visible
  14. To turn all of them on hold Opt/Alt and click the eye icon again (no such shortcut for linking layers that I know of - pity)
  15. To go to a layer's Options just double click on it
  16. To turn a Background layer's transparency on, double click on it and then say OK. If you've ever tried to erase parts of a layer and found you couldn't it's more than likely you were working on a Background layer
  17. Shift clicking on the layer mask's thumbnail will turn the mask off. Shift clicking again will turn it back on
  18. Opt/Alt clicking on the layer mask's thumbnail will turn the visibility of all layers off and leave the mask visible
  19. Opt/Alt clicking again will restore the visibility to how it was before
  20. To view the mask in Quickmask mode hold down Shift+Opt/Alt and click the mask thumbnail. It's a toggle, so clicking again will turn off Quickmask
  21. To drag more than one layer from one open file to another select one of them in the Layer's palette. Link the layers you want to drag over. Either make sure the Move tool is active or hold down Cmd/Ctrl and simply drag into the window you want to add the layers to. When the move tool is over the second window you will see a little plus sign appear. Drop the layers and they will be copied over. If you want to register them (keep them in the same place on the page) as per the file you're moving them from hold down the Shift key whilst dragging. Tip: you can't move layers to or from Index mode.
  22. To add an Effect quickly to a layer, Ctrl+click/Right click on the layer and select Effects from the pop up menu.
  23. To quickly change an applied Effect, double click on the "F" icon in the layer.
  24. To change the text from horizontal to vertical, Ctrl+click/Right click on the "T" icon in the layer and choose vertical
  25. To render text quickly, Ctrl+click/Right click on the "T" in the layer and choose Render Layer
  26. To create a new Adjustment layer, Cmd/Ctrl+click on the Create new layer icon at the bottom of the Layer's palette
  27. To apply the Adjustment layer to only part of the image group it with the layer you want to work on: Cmd/Ctrl+G. Now paint with Black to hide and White to reveal the Adjustment; you can also use any shade from Black to White.
  28. The layer mask tips 17, 18 and 19 are also applicable to the Adjustment layer
  29. To change the color of text on a layer without going into the dialog box, hold down Shift+Opt/Alt+Backslash to fill with foreground color or Shift+Cmd/Ctrl+Backslash (you can also use the Delete key in place of the Backslash)
  30. To copy the applied effects from one layer to another, Ctrl+click/Right click on the "F" in the layer, select Copy, select the layer you want to apply the effect to, Ctrl+click/Right click on the layer and then simply choose Paste.
     

Wendy Peck is a working Web designer and writer living in NW Ontario, Canada. https://wpeck.com

 

Next page

Powerful Photoshop Layers Tutorial Index

Powerful Photoshop Layers Start
Working with Layers
Linking and Merging Layers
Layer Effects Basics
Layer Effects Settings
Super Power Layer Tools

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URL: https://www.webreference.com/graphics/
Created: September 16, 2000
Revised: September 16, 2000