Photoshop Tips #18


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*1. THE PHOTOSHOP ACTION WEB RING

The Photoshop Actions Web ring is a great source for FREE action 
files. In case you aren't familiar with the term, Photoshop actions 
are macros that automatically perform multiple tasks for you at the 
click of a button. For example, you could create an action that 
automatically resizes an image, downsamples the resolution, and saves 
a file as a Web graphic.

The downloadable actions featured in the Web site of the Photoshop 
Actions Web ring are a fantastic way to supercharge the way you work. 
Plus, you can learn a great deal from examining the action's 
construction. To begin exploring the Photoshop Actions Web ring, go to

http://home.aland.net/stormbom/


*2. SEE ALL THE PHOTOSHOP WEB RING SITES

As you may remember, the Photoshop Web ring is a collection of 
Photoshop-oriented sites. Generally, you navigate through the Web ring 
using Previous and Next links that exist on each Web ring site.

However, if you'd rather pick and choose what Photoshop Web ring site 
you'd like to visit, you can usually see a complete Web ring listing 
at the following site:

http://nav.Webring.org/cgi-bin/navcgi?ring=psactions;list


*3. ADDING YOUR SITE TO THE PHOTOSHOP WEB RING

We've been discussing the sites in the Photoshop Web ring. The great 
thing about Web rings is that any site can join. If you have a 
Photoshop action-focused Web site and would like to help support and 
evangelize Photoshop and the use of Photoshop actions, you can apply 
to include your site in the Photoshop Actions Web ring.

To apply, browse to the following address and enter the required 
information in the form:

http://home.sol.no/~liknes/Photoshop/Webring/


*4. UPSAMPLING

One of the most common mistakes when resizing an image is upsampling. 
Upsampling occurs when you scale an image larger than the original.

When Photoshop upsamples an image, it must create pixels where none 
previously existed. Unfortunately, Photoshop is not an accomplished 
guesser and often chooses the wrong color pixel to create. The result 
is a loss in sharpness and tone. Therefore, if you must upsample an 
image more than 20 percent, it's best to scan the original image at a 
larger size.


*5. SCALING AN IMAGE IN ANOTHER APPLICATION

In our previous tip, we discussed the dangers of scaling up, or 
upsampling, a Photoshop image. As you may recall, upsampling an image 
more than 20 percent leads to a loss of detail and tonal range.
 
Keep in mind that this 20 percent guideline applies to any bitmap 
image in any application. For example, never scale a Tiff image in 
QuarkXPress or Adobe PageMaker more than 20 percent. If you need to 
scale an image to such a degree, use Photoshop Image Size to modify 
the original file and import the image again.


*6. THE BACKGROUND LAYER

As you work with layers, it's important to remember these key 
characteristics of background layers:

- A background layer cannot include transparent pixels.
- The opacity of a background layer cannot be set lower than 100
  percent.
- You cannot reposition a background layer in the Layers palette.
- You can have only one background layer per image.
- You cannot convert a layer into a background layer.
- Deleting a selection in the background layer fills the selection
  with the current background color.


*7. CREATING A BACKGROUND LAYER

As you may recall from our background layer guidelines in our previous 
tip, you can have only one background layer per image and you cannot 
transform a layer into a background layer. However, if your image 
doesn't currently have a background layer, you can create one.

To create a background layer in an image without such a layer, choose
Layer, New, Background. Photoshop will place a background layer at the
bottom of the layer palette.


*8. TRANSFORMING A LAYER INTO A BACKGROUND LAYER

As you may recall from a previous tip, you cannot transform a 
transparent layer into a background layer. While this is intrinsically
true, you can merge or flatten a transparent layer into a background 
layer.

To merge a layer into a background layer, simply position the 
transparent layer directly above the background layer and choose 
Layer, Merge Down. Alternatively, to merge all transparent layers into
a background layer, choose Layer, Flatten Image.


*9. TRANSFORMING A BACKGROUND LAYER INTO A TRANSPARENT LAYER

Last time we discussed methods of converting a transparent layer into
a background layer. The reverse is not quite as difficult.

To convert a background layer into a transparent layer, simply 
double-click the background layer. In the resulting Make Layer dialog
box, enter a name, then click OK. Photoshop converts the background 
layer into a transparent layer.


*10. KNOWING PHOTOSHOP'S LIMITS

Lately we've been discussing layers. Although Photoshop allows you to 
create layers to hold images, type, and color and tonal adjustments, 
it's important to keep in mind that every layer you create in a 
Photoshop document requires more hard drive space, RAM, and processing 
resources.

In addition to limitations of your computer, Photoshop has a limit to 
the number of layers it can handle in one image document. Photoshop 
cannot create more than 100 layers per image document.
