Menus are probably the most familiar interface elements to a new Photoshop user. They contain all sorts of options, but since there are not as visible as panes or the toolbar, they are often only partially explored. I�ll take time right now to go over the menus and give a brief description to orient you to each.

1. File contains all of the stuff you�d expect it to, with a few extras including Import, which deals with scanning, and Save for Web, which allows you to export a web-ready image from your Photoshop file.
2. Edit is another familiar menu. In Photoshop, edit houses all of the expected options as well as Fill & Stroke, and other image-altering functions.
3. Items on the Image menu effect a whole image, for the most part. Here you�ll find color adjustments, size adjustments, and any other changes you need to make globally when working with a Photoshop file.
4. The layer menu is similar to the image menu, but it contains options that effect only current or selected layers. I�ll explain layers a little later, but for now, just understand that an image in Photoshop consists of stacked transparent layers; options in the Layer menu affect these pieces of the image rather than the complete image.
5. The select menu deals with selections you make. Selecting the specific parts of an image you�d like to alter is a difficult part of working in Photoshop. This menu gives you some options regarding selections, including the ability to save selections, reverse them, or add to them. Learning the options on the selection menu can really save you some time.
6. The filter menu is probably what most people think about when they think about Photoshop. The filter menu allows you to apply filters to any part of your image. These filters include ways to change the texture of the image, with some potentially radical results.
7. The view menu is where you change the view settings. You can use this to show and display guidelines on the image, and to zoom in and out, among other things.
8. The window menu allows you to toggle back and forth between hide and show for each interface element. This is the first place you should go if you lose track of a particular window while you�re working.
9. Last and least, of course, is the help menu. The help documentation isn�t so helpful, but for some reason, this menu contains two nice features: resize image, and export transparent image, which I�ll get to later.
   The options bar, which is located directly underneath the menus, is a useful tool when working with the different Photoshop tools. As you can see right now, when the selection tool is in use, the options bar reflects the changes that can be made to how that specific tool operates. Here, you have selection options, and style options, which includes the ability to make the selection tool a specific size in pixels. When you switch tools, to the paintbrush tool for instance, these options change. When a tool in Photoshop isn't behaving as you expect it to, the options bar should be the first place you look to fix it.
   Color Pallete
   
   

   The Color palette displays the current foreground and background colors and RGB values for these colors. You can use the sliders to change the foreground and background colors in different color modes. You can also choose a color from the spectrum of colors displayed in the colorramp at the bottom of the palette.

   
   Style Pallete
   
   

   The Styles paletteallows you to view, select, and apply preset layer styles. By default, a preset style replaces the current layer style. You can use the styles in the palette or add your own using the Create New Style icon.
   

   Swatches Pallete
   
   In the Swatches paletteyou can choose a foreground or background color or add a customized color to the library.
   History
   
   The History palette stores and displays each action performed allowing you jump to anyrecent stage of the image alteration. The alterations should be created during the current working session; after saving or closing the document the History palette clears all the contents. Each time you apply a change to an image, the new state of that image is added to the palette. The History palette can store up to 20 stages. However, you can always go back to the first stage, for example opening the document. It is important to know that once you click on any of the previous stages, all the changes that were made after it will be lost.
   Adjustment
   
   Adjustment layers give you the ability to apply an effect to a group of layers in Photoshop, and then you can edit that effect later, while preserving the original layers.
   Layers
   
   Layers let you organize your work into distinct levels that can be edited and viewed as individual units. Every Photoshop CS4 document contains at least one layer. Creating multiple layers lets you easily control how your artwork is printed, displayed, and edited. You will use the Layers palette often while creating a document, so it is crucial to understand what it does and how to use it.
   
   • Layer Visibility - The eye shows that the selected layer is visible. Click on or off to see or to hidea layer.
   • Layer Locking Options - Click the checkered square icon to lock Transparency; click the brush icon to lock the Image; click the arrow icon to lock the Position; click the lock icon to lock all options.
   • Layer Blending Mode - Defines how the layer�s pixels blend with underlying pixels in the image. By choosing a particular blending mode from the dropdown menu you can create a variety of special effects.
   • Fill - By typing in a value or dragging the slider you can specify the transparency of Layers Palette color of the image or object.
   • Opacity -By typing in a value or dragging a slider you can specify the transparency of the entire layer.
   • Layer Lock - The icon shows when the layer is locked and disappears when it is unlocked. Double-click the icon to unlock the layer.
   • Layer Options Menu -Click the black triangle to see the following options: New Layer, Duplicate Layer, Delete Layer, Layer Properties, etc. Some of the options are presented as icons at the bottom of the Layers palette.
   • Link Layers � Can be used to link layers together.
   • Layer Styles - If a layer has a style, an �F� icon shows at the bottom of the Layers palette. Click the little black triangle to see style options.
   • Layer Mask - A grayscale image, with parts painted in black hidden, parts painted in white showing, and parts painted in gray shades showing in various levels of transparency.
   • Layer Set - This option helps to organize images with multiple layers. Click the icon to create a folder for several layers.
   • Create New Fill or Adjustment Layer - Have the same opacity and blending mode options as image layers and can be rearranged, deleted, hidden, and duplicated in the same manner as image layers. Click the icon and select an option to create a new fill or adjustment layer.
   • Create New Layer - Click this icon to create a new layer.
   • Delete Layer - To delete a layer, select a layer in the Layers palette and drag it to the trash can icon; or, select a layer and click the icon. Terminology
     
     1. .psd- A .psd file is the file format in which Photoshop saves documents by default. It is a multi-layer document that retains its full editing options when saved. In many cases you will export webgraphics from a .psd document.
     2. layers-Photoshop documents are composed of layers, which can basically be described as single transparent sheets which hold particular pieces of an image. These layers can contain images, text, and vector graphics, and can be rearranged and grouped according to user needs. Layers are controlled with the use of the Layers pane. Often times, when you find yourself frustrated with Photoshop, it is because you are trying to perform operations on a layer that is not currently selected. Simply click on the name of a layer in order to designate it as the current layer. Whenever you add text to an image in Photoshop, the text appears on a new layer. You can "merge down" layers to consolidate them, and "flatten image" to force the entire contents of the image onto one layer.
     3. Selections-Selections refer to regions in an image that will be affected by the various tools. A selection in Photoshop is similar to a selection that you highlight in a wordprocessing application. Once you have selected an area, you can apply a tool to it, such as paintbrush, or perform an operation such as copy or crop. Selections can be any shape and size; the shape depends on which selection tool you are working with.
     4. Resolution-Resolution refers to the number of pixels in a full size image. An image with hi resolution contains more information than an image with lo resolution, and therefore, one can always convert a hi-res image to a lo-res image. However, because information is lost in the conversion, the reverse is not true. If you were to increase the resolution of a lo-res image, the result would be fuzzy. Screen resolution is close to 72 pixels per inch, so if you are working with graphics to be viewed only on screen, 72 should be fine. Depending on the printer you are using, you would want to increase this above 72 for graphics that will be printed. 300 is usually an acceptable resolution for images to be printed; 150 would be the lowest acceptable resolution for printing.
     5. Image Size-Resolution should not be confused with image size, which is also expressed in pixels. Image size deals with the actual number of pixels tall and wide an image is. For an idea of how the two differ, go to Image Size in the Image menu, and plug in different numbers for image size and resolution.
     6. Color mode-Color mode refers to the types of colors you will be using in your image. CMYK and RGB are the most important of these modes to be familiar with.
        CMYK is the setting for images that will be printed to paper. The letters refer to the four channels of color used to create every color available: cyan, magenta, yellow, and black.
        RGB refers to the three channel colormode suitable for images to be viewed on the web: red , green, and blue.