Photoshop Tips #9


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Photoshop

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*1. SNAPPING TO IT

A Tips subscriber writes:

"I've recently upgraded to Photoshop 5.5 for Windows and am 
very frustrated. When I click the Jump To icon at the bottom 
of the Toolbar to open ImageReady, Illustrator opens. Yet when 
I click on the same icon in ImageReady, Photoshop opens. 
Should I reinstall all three applications?"

There's an easy fix to Photoshop and ImageReady jumping 
problems and it's nothing so drastic as reinstalling. First, 
open the Jump To directory in the Helper directory of the 
Photoshop application folder. Locate the application shortcut 
within brackets. The brackets denote which application 
Photoshop launches when you click the Jump to button. The Curly 
brackets denote which application ImageReady launches when you 
click the Jump to button. Therefore, to change the application 
Photoshop jumps to, simply remove the brackets from one 
shortcut and apply them to another. Use the same method to 
correct ImageReady's Jump To problems.


*2. WEB GRAPHICS AND PHOTOSHOP 5.5

Let's face it--it wasn't easy and it wasn't fun to create 
optimized Web graphics in earlier versions of Photoshop.
 However, Adobe finally got the Web features right with 
Photoshop 5.5. Now you can export your image in any of the most 
popular Web graphic file formats. What's more, you can even 
choose several file formats to see comparative previews of the 
final results.

To export an image as a Web graphic, choose File, Save For Web. 
In the resulting dialog box, choose a Web graphic setting. 
(Photoshop offers several styles of Web graphic configurations 
to choose from, such as GIF Web palette, GIF 128 Dithered, JPEG 
High, JPEG Medium, and JPEG Low.) Click OK, then name and save 
your image.


*3. CREATING YOUR OWN WEB GRAPHIC SETTINGS

In our previous tip, we discussed how to save any Photoshop 
file as a GIF, PNG, of JPG Web graphic using the new Save For 
Web feature. As you may recall, Photoshop offers several 
popular Web graphic configurations you can choose to create 
your Web graphics. However, if you prefer to "make your own," 
you may want to save these custom settings so you can easily 
reuse them.

To save custom settings in the Save For Web dialog box, first 
adjust the settings to your liking. Then, choose Save Settings 
from the dialog box menu.


*4. LET PHOTOSHOP DECIDE

If you're just not sure which Web graphic settings to choose 
but you do know you want your Web graphic under a certain file 
size, you can let Photoshop complete the configuration. For 
example, to save an image as a Web graphic under 7K, choose 
File, Save For Web.

In the resulting dialog box, choose Optimize To File Size. Then,
choose Auto Select GIF/JPEG, enter

7

in the Desired File Size text field, and click OK. Photoshop 
will try various configurations until the optimized graphic is 
below the 7K file size limit.


*5. ACTIVATING SAVE FOR WEB

In the past few tips, we've discussed the new Save For Web 
feature in Photoshop 5.5. Using this new feature, you can save 
any Photoshop image as a GIF, PNG, or JPG Web graphic.

If you routinely create Web graphics, you'll be using this 
feature a great deal. Luckily, there is a quick way to access 
the Save For Web dialog box. To do so, press Shift-Ctrl-Alt-S 
in Windows or Shift-Command-Option-S on the Macintosh.


*6. PREVIEWING WEB GRAPHICS IN BROWSERS

Although the Save For Web dialog box has previewing 
capabilities, nothing can substitute for comparing how a Web 
graphic looks in Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer. 
Luckily, you can launch the browsers to preview your Web 
graphic all from within the Save For Web dialog box.

To do so, first choose File, Save For Web. Assuming you have 
both browsers installed, select the browser of your choice from 
the Browser list box located at the bottom-right corner of the 
Save For Web dialog box. Photoshop will create a temporary HTML 
file containing your Web graphic, launch the selected browser, 
and display your graphic in the temporary HTML file. 
Furthermore, Photoshop will list the file specifics of Web 
graphics and show you the HTML it's using to display the graphic.


*7. SAVING INTERLACED GIFS AND PNGS

As you've probably seen on the Web, most images render 
top-to-bottom. In today's immediate-gratification Web world, 
the second or two wait for the full image is an eternity. 
Luckily, both the GIF and PNG formats have an option that 
immediately displays a low-resolution image and gradually 
builds the full image as the graphic download completes. This 
creates the illusion of a faster download.

To create an interlaced GIF or PNG file, choose File, Save For 
Web. In the resulting dialog box, select GIF or PNG-8 or PNG-24 
from the File Type list box in the Settings section. Then, 
select the Interlaced check box and click OK. Finally, name 
your file and click Save.


*8. INTERLACING

In our previous tip, we discussed how to create the illusion of 
faster download rates by creating interlaced GIFs and PNGs. As 
you recall, interlaced images immediately display a 
low-resolution image and gradually build to the full resolution.

As good as interlaced images seem, they do have drawbacks. For 
example, interlacing an image can increase file size, and some 
older browsers have problems displaying interlaced 
images correctly.

Furthermore, some Web components simply aren't suited for 
interlaced images. For example, background images or table 
background images do not display until completely downloaded. 
Consequently, interlacing a background image serves no purpose.

Therefore, if you decide to use interlaced GIFs or PNGs, limit 
their use to simple graphics on the HTML page.


*9. CREATING CLIPPING PATHS FOR PHOTOSHOP

If you've ever used Photoshop's drawing tools to create a path, 
you know they are somewhat limited. If you have Adobe 
Illustrator, you can quickly move your work path to 
Illustrator, modify it, and then bring it back to Photoshop.

To do so, simply select the work path from the Paths palette 
and choose Edit, Copy. Then, open an Illustrator document and 
choose Edit, Paste. Next, use Illustrator to modify the path.

To move the path back to Photoshop, copy the path in 
Illustrator and paste it into Photoshop. Photoshop will ask if 
you want to paste the item as pixels (an image) or as a path. 
Choose Path.


*10. MOVING OBJECTS PHOTOSHOP

As you may know, there are several ways to move an object in 
Photoshop. First, you can select an area and click and drag. 
Second, you can press Shift to constrain movement to a 
90-degree axis. Third, you can press Ctrl in Windows or Command 
on the Macintosh and press the Up, Down, Left, or Right Arrow 
key. Fourth, you can choose Edit, Transform, Numeric, and enter 
X and Y values in the resulting dialog box.
