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A Basic Guide on Photoshop Interface – Part 1

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Most of us will remember that feeling of being dazzled and intimidated by all those tools, buttons and options the first time we opened Photoshop. Most first timers will need some time to get accustomed to the Photoshop interface, and once they are able to get a good grasp of the “nuts and bolts” of the Photoshop interface, they can already start doing some minor tweaks so that they only have the things that they actually need. This article will tackle the basic aspects of the Photoshop interface and guide you through the steps for modifying it.

Starting with the Basics of the Photoshop Interface

Carefully examine the layout of the Photoshop interface. You will notice that it normally starts with three horizontal bars – Options, Menu and Application – and three vertical bars – Docked Panels, Image Window and Tools Panel. In a strict sense, the last three items would not be considered as bars, but for the purposes of simple discussion, let us refer to them as bars in this article.

One of the most important things that we have to be aware of is the fact that we cannot make any modifications, resizing or transferring of the three horizontal bars, with the sole exception of the Application Bar, which you can squeeze for the purpose of fitting the bar within the Menu bar and in the process gaining extra space in the Photoshop interface. On the other hand, the Vertical bar can be modified, resized or moved to suit your preference and requirements.

Application Bar

The Application bar, because of the nature of its function, can be used if you want to maximize, minimize or close the main application and then you can move on and open another application. This action is initiated when you click the Bridge button, adjust the zoom level, make changes in the workspace or screen mode or access extra applications. Most Photoshop users consider most of the elements of the Application bar as not really useful in most cases and there are other alternatives or modes by which they can access them without having to leave the image that they are working on and in most instances, this is done through the use of the keyboard shortcuts. Using keyboard shortcuts is obviously the more practical option as it provides for easier navigation and lesser time in accessing the desired functions. Once you become familiar with the keyboard shortcuts, you will find it more tedious working with those buttons.

List of Useful Buttons

Here is a list of some of the most important or useful buttons which you may want to have in your Photoshop interface.

  • Maximize, Minimize, Close Button – This is the alternative to the keyboard shortcut for the Close function, CTRL – Q.
  • Display extra options or additional workspaces – This is extremely useful when you want to resize and fit the Application bar within the same line as the Menu bar.
  • Display workspaces area – This is what you need when you want to monitor what working space you are at as well as the other workspaces that are available.
  • Resize button – A special drag icon is displayed when you mouse over the resize button. You expand the workspace area and display additional workspaces when this icon is dragged to the left. On the other hand, the workspace area is reduced when you drag the icon to the right. The Menu Bar is accessed and will sit along the same line where the Application Bar is located when you drag the icon to its farthest point towards the right. It is important to note that this process is only possible when you have sufficient room for such action. This feature is extremely useful since it will provide you with additional space where you can view your image.
  • Arrange documents Button– You can use this button in case you have a couple or several images that are opened and you need to view them simultaneously in a single window. A list of icons which is self-explanatory is automatically displayed when this button is clicked and this action will rearrange the window in a specific manner. These special icons include the Fit on Screen, Actual Pixels, New Window, Float all in Windows, Match Zoom, Match Location and Match Zoom and Location.
  • List of Less Useful Buttons

Here is a list of the less useful icons which you may or may not have in the Photoshop interface:

  • Screen mode – Instead of this button, you can use the keyboard shortcut, F, when you want to go through all the three screen modes – standard mode, which is the default mode; full screen with menu bar, which is the screen mode that removes the taskbar from the display window; and full screen mode, which is the screen mode to choose when you want to remove everything from the display window except for the image itself.
  • Zoom level – For most Photoshop users, it is a lot easier to use the keyboard control for the zoom level.
  • Display or view extras – This is another button which is rarely used. For most people, it is a lot faster to use the keyboard shortcuts as these extras are only needed in some rare instances. Another way to access these extras is by proceeding to the View Menu and selecting My Options.
  • Launch Mini Bridge and Bridge buttons – These buttons are self-explanatory and these are used when you want to launch either the Bridge or the Mini Bridge. The Bridge is a photo management application and the Mini Bridge consists of the extensions of the application. Those who have used the application were not really impressed. While it may be considered to be a solid application when you have less than a thousand pictures in your work file, it ends up as a tedious process when you have a much bigger file of photos as the reaction time and loading time become much longer.

M.A.H.


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