Menu Bar: Photoshop provides nine pull-down menus across the top of the screen named File, Edit, Image, Layer, Select, Filter, View, Window, and Help.
Tool Options Bar: When a tool is selected in the toolbox, the tool options bar provides the options for working with that tool
Toolbox: The toolbox is a collection of the tools used most frequently in Photoshop.
Image Window: The image window contains the current images. Each image has a little bar that displays the file name, magnification, and color mode.
Status Bar: The status bar shows information about the current file, including the magnification and file size and how to use the selected tool.
Palettes: The palettes are used for a variety of functions. Each group contains palettes that perform similar functions.
Palette Well: The well contains frequently –used palettes. You can drag any of the palettes into the well to make them easy to access. In most cases, the well displays the File Browser and Brushed palette.
Minimize, Maximize, and Close Buttons: These buttons are used to minimize, maximize, and close the Photoshop window.
Tools:
Selection Tools
Lasso Selection Tools
Crop Tool
Correction Tools
Clone Tools
Eraser Tools
Sharpness Tools
Path Selection Tools
Path Tools
Notes Tools
Viewing Tools
Color Swatches
Editing Modes
Screen Modes
Edit in ImageReady
Sampling and Measuring Tools
Shape Tools
Type Tools
Brightness and Saturation Tools
Fill Tools
History Brushes
Painting Tools
Slice Tools
Magic Wand Tool
Move Tool
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Palettes:
The Navigator Palette: This palette is used to zoom in and out of an image and to move to another position within the image.
The Info Palette: The Info palette displays color values, angles, and coordinates of a point or selection.
The Histogram Palette: The Histogram palette displays a bar graph of image color information.
The Color Palette: This palette is used to mix and select colors.
The Swatches Palette: The Swatches palette contains commonly used colors. Colors can be added and removed from this palette and new swatches can be loaded.
The Styles Palette: The Style palette contains pre-made layer styles.
The History Palette: This palette shows a list of all the steps that you have carried out in your work. You can use this palette to undo many steps and go back to a previous state.
The Actions Palette: The Actions palette can be used to save and work with common actions.
The Tool Presets Palette: The Tool Presets palette contains any tools that you have configured specifically for the current tool.
The Layers Palette: The Layers palette is used to manage and edit layers.
The Channels Palette: This palette is used to manage and edit color channels.
The Paths Palette: The Paths palette is used to manage and edit paths created with the Pen tool.
The Character Palette: The Character palette is used to set text options.
The Paragraph Palette: The Paragraph palette is used to change the paragraph options of text.
The Brushes Palette: The Brushed palette contains brush properties.
The New Dialog Box
A. Preset: Select an image size from the preset sizes.
Custom: The user determines the image size.
Clipboard: Uses the size of the last object that you copied.
Default Photoshop Size: The default image size of Photoshop image is 7 inches by 5 inches at 72 pixels/inch.
Image Formats: Includes Letter (8.5” x 11”), Legal (8.5” x 14”), and Tabloid (11” x 17”).
Photograph size: Standard photograph sizes.
TV Screen Resolutions: The most commonly used TV screen resolutions.
Paper Size: Includes sizes A4, A3, B5, B4, and B3.
B. Width and Height
You can specify width and height using these units of measurement: pixels, inches, centimeters, points (1 point = 1/72 inch), picas (1 pica = 12 points), and columns. You can set the size of 1 column by selecting [File] – [Preferences] – [Unit & Rulers] – [Column Size] from the menu bar.
C. Resolution
The higher the resolution of an image, the more details it includes. However, increasing the resolution will also increase the file size of the image. Web images normally use a resolution of 72 pixels/inch and printed images use 300 pixels/inch.
D. Color Modes: Here is a brief explanation of color modes.
Bitmap: Images that contain only black and white.
Grayscale: Uses only shades of gray.
RGB Color: In this mode, 16,700,000 colors are defined using combinations of the colors Red, Green, and Blue.
CMYK Color: Specifies color for print using a combination of Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black.
Lab Color: A color made up of a luminance component and two color elements (a: Green to Red, b: Blue to Yellow).
A
E. Background Contents
White: White background
Background Color: Uses the current background color from the color picker.
Transparent: The background layer is transparent.
Understanding Color and Image Modes
A color mode determines how color make up an image. Let’s have a look at each of the color modes available in Photoshop.
. Bitmap: Only the color black and white can be used in bitmap images.
Note: Although bitmaps created in Photoshop can only display black and white, you can save color images in the bitmap file format while retaining their color.
Grayscale: Grayscale mode uses up to 256 shades of gray. The color black is given a value of 0 and all numbers between 1 and 254 are increasingly lighter shades of gray. White has a value of 255.
. RGB Color: The RGB color mode uses the three primary colors – red, green, and blue – and is the format that is used on computer monitors. Within this color mode, up to 16.7 million different colors can be displayed. RGB color is normally used for color images as all file formats and filters within Photoshop support this mode.
. CMYK Color: The CMYK color mode is primarily for printing. Within this mode, colors are given a percentage value for each of the process inks – cyan, magenta, yellow, and black. When working with print images, the editing is often done within RGB mode and the mode is changed to CMYK as the final step.
. Lab Color: The Lab color mode uses lightness as well as two color axes – the A-axis (shades from green to magenta) and the B-axis (shades from blue to yellow). Photoshop uses lab color to convert an image from one color mode to another.
. HSB Color: The HSB color mode uses hue, brightness, and saturation to determine color.
. Hue: Hue is the color of the object and uses a measurement between 0 and 360.
. Brightness: Represents the lightness or darkness of a color and is measured in a percentage between 0% (black) to 100% (white).
. Saturation: Saturation is also called chroma and is the strength or purity of the color. It is measured in a percentage from 0% (gray) to 100%. Higher saturations create colors that are closest to the primary colors. A saturation of 100% red would be referred to as a pure red color.
Selecting the Color Mode
The color mode can be changed at any time using the [Image] – [Mode] menu. It is important to select the color mode according to the purpose of the image. The Bitmap color mode is used for line art images in black and white. Grayscale color mode is used for images that contain only black, gray, and white. The RGB color mode is used for images that will be displayed on a monitor, for example on a Web page or in a screen presentation. CMYK color is used for print images.
Photoshop File Formats
Photoshop supports a variety of file formats so that you can create images for different purposes and share them with other programs. You can specify the file format when you use the [File] – [Save] or [Save As]
PHOTOSHOP (*.PSD, *.PDD)
This format is the Photoshop native file format. It cannot be used with other programs, but it allows the greatest flexibility when working with images. It supports all color modes and features such as alpha channels, paths, and layers.
Although this file format compresses the image file, the file is still larger than compressed files of other formats. Increasing the number of layers and channels within the image will increase the file size. This file format is usually used to create and edit the image, and a final copy is saved in another format for use in Web pages, print, or multi-media presentations.
BMP (*.BMP, *.RLE, *.DIB)
The bitmap format is the most basic graphic file format. When you save a bitmap file, you will need to specify the operating system, either Windows or OS/2, and configure the depth of the image up to a value of 32 bits. Channels and layers cannot be saved in this format.
CompuServe GIF (*.GIF)
The GIF (Graphic Interchange Format) format was developed as a way to compress image sizes. It is used for Internet images, animations, and images with transparent sections. The GIF format supports up to 256 colors (8 bit) and is not suitable for complex images such as photographs. RGB images, as well as those in Bitmap, Grayscale, and Indexed color modes, can be saves as GIF files.
Photoshop EPS (*.EPS)
The EPS (Encapsulated PostScript) format, used for vector or bitmap images, is appropriate when importing images to an editing program, such as Illustrator, PageMaker, or QuarkXpress. The EPS format is normally used in the print process, so images will often need to be changed to CMYK mode. This format saves the paths within an image but does not save alpha channels.
Photoshop DCS1.0 (*.EPS), Photoshop DCS2.0 (*.EPS)
When CMYK images are saved in EPS format, the DCS (Desktop Color Separations) format saves the file as 4 individual files and 1 master file. The DCS2.0 format includes spot channels and can be used for images with customized colors.
JPEG (*.JPG, *.JPEG, *.JPE)
The JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) format is another compressed file format that is widely used on the Internet. JPEGs can display up to 24 bits of color and are used for saving images with continuous color, such as photographs. The compression rate can be changed as needed. Higher compression rates result in smaller files, but will also lower the quality of an image.
PCX (*.PCX)
The PCX format was created for exchange of files with Zsoft’s PC Paintbrush. This file format is rarely used.
Photoshop PDF (*.PDF, *.PDP)
The Photoshop PDF (Portable Document Format) format was created for compatibility with Adobe Acrobat. This format allows Photoshop to read PDF documents.
PICT (*.PCT, *.PICT)
This format is the standard graphics format for Macintosh computers. RGB images saved as PICT files can use either 16 or 32 bits. JPEG compression is possible at 32 bits.
Pixar (*.PXR)
The Pixar format is a special format that was developed by Pixar, an animation company. This format supports RGB and grayscale images with a single alpha channel.
PNG (*.PNG)
The PNG (Portable Network Graphic) format is a compressed file format that can be used to create transparent images. This format can be saved in 8-bit or 24-bit. PNG is a newer file format that provides compression without loss of image quality. However, PNG files are larger compared with JPEG-compressed files. Older web browsers may have difficulty displaying these images.
Raw (*.RAW)
The Raw file format contains raw pixel information and is a flexible format for transferring images between programs and computer types.
Scitex CT (*.SCT)
The Scitex CT (Scitex Continuous Tone) file format is for file transfer with Scitex computers.
TGA (*.TGA, *.VDA, *.ICB, *.VST)
The TGA (Targa) format was developed by Truevision for their Targa and Vista video board. This format can be used on PCs and Macs and supports 24-bit color, as well as 32-bit Web color.
TIFF (*.TIF, *.TIFF)
The TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) format was developed to allow for sharing of images between programs and between Macintosh computers and PCs. It includes LZW compression, which does not affect quality of an image file. This format preserve channels and produces smaller file sizes compared with the EPS file format. TIFF also supports ZIP compression and preserves transparent frames.
