Working Smart in Adobe Photoshop CS2 : Time-Saving Techniques and Shortcuts to Boost Your Photoshop Productivity

by Chavez, Conrad

• ISBN13: 9780321335395
• ISBN10: 0321335392
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-01-01
• Publisher: Adobe Press

Summary

Savvy guide shows readers how to tap Photoshop's productivity features to save time and create better results!

Table of Contents

Introduction	ix
PART I: Making Photoshop Your Own
Optimizing Your Computer for Photoshop	1	(28)
The Processor	2	(3)
RAM	5	(8)
How Photoshop Uses Memory	5	(1)
Do You Need More RAM?	6	(1)
Where All That RAM Goes	7	(2)
Allocating RAM to Photoshop	9	(4)
Advanced RAM Tweaks	13	(2)
Bigger Tiles Plug-in	13	(1)
Cache Levels	14	(1)
Using More than 2GB of RAM	15	(1)
Using More Than 4GB of RAM in Mac OS X	15	(1)
Using More Than 4GB of RAM in Windows XP	16	(1)
Hard Disks	16	(7)
Hard Disks as Scratch Disks	17	(3)
Hard Disk Speed	20	(1)
Determining Space for Storing and Backing Up Files	20	(3)
Monitors and Video Cards	23	(1)
Other Ways to Optimize Your Computer	24	(2)
Digital Camera Transfers	24	(1)
That Pointing Device in Your Hand	25	(1)
Get Rid of Excess Traffic	25	(1)
Activation: Using Photoshop on Multiple Computers	26	(2)
From Beginner to Expert	28	(1)
Optimizing Your Workspace	29	(20)
Arranging Palettes	30	(3)
Saving Your Palette Arrangements	33	(1)
Optimizing for Small Monitors	34	(3)
Optimizing for Multiple Monitors	37	(3)
Editing Keyboard Shortcuts	40	(2)
Editing Menus	42	(1)
Saving Your Workspaces	43	(2)
Moving Workspaces to Other Machines	44	(1)
Resetting the Default Workspace	44	(1)
Arranging Document Windows	45	(4)
Arranging Windows Instantly	45	(1)
Examining Documents Side by Side	46	(2)
Comparing Views of the Same Document	48	(1)
Optimizing Yourself	49	(18)
Shortcuts for Zooming and Scrolling	51	(1)
Navigator Palette	52	(1)
Get the Most from Keyboard Shortcuts	53	(6)
Shortcuts for Entering Numbers and Text	59	(5)
Wandering Through the Fields	61	(1)
Adjusting Values with the Keyboard	61	(1)
Scrubbing to Adjust Values	62	(1)
Putting It All Together	63	(1)
Using Context Menus	64	(2)
It's All in Your Mind	66	(1)
Getting Ahead with Presets and Saved Settings	67	(28)
Creating and Using Your Own Tool Presets	68	(2)
Kinds of Presets	70	(12)
Viewing All Tool Presets at Once	82	(1)
Viewing and Managing All Presets at Once	83	(2)
Using Adobe PDF Presets	85	(8)
About the Built-In Adobe PDF Presets	86	(1)
Creating Custom Adobe PDF Presets	87	(2)
Options in the Edit PDF Presets Dialog Box	89	(4)
Loading and Saving Settings	93	(2)
Creating How-To Tutorials and Tips	95	(8)
What's the Idea Behind How to Topics?	96	(1)
Using a How-To Topic	96	(2)
Making Your Own How-To Topic	98	(4)
Distributing How-To Topic	102	(1)
Part II: Saving Time While You Work
Working with Adobe Bridge	103	(26)
How Can Adobe Bridge Help?	104	(1)
Making Bridge Equal to Your Tasks	105	(10)
Touring the Bridge Work Area	106	(1)
Optimizing a Bridge Window	107	(3)
Saving Your Own Bridge Workspace	110	(2)
Seeing Bigger File Previews	112	(1)
Using Multiple Bridge Windows	112	(3)
Annotating Files in Bulk	115	(4)
Batch Processing and Automating with Bridge	119	(6)
Renaming Many Files at Once	120	(3)
Sending Batch Jobs to Photoshop	123	(2)
Walking Through a Batch Process	125	(4)
Opening the Right Files Quickly	129	(6)
Finding Files Fast	130	(2)
Saving Searches as Collections	132	(1)
Tuning Your Selections	132	(2)
Opening Multiple Files	134	(1)
Positioning Precisely	135	(12)
Tweaking Units of Measure	136	(1)
The Grid and Guides	136	(4)
Setting Up the Grid	138	(1)
Setting Up Guides	139	(1)
Smart Guides and Snapping to Layer Edges	139	(1)
Aligning and Distributing Layers	140	(2)
Positioning Example: a Web Page	142	(5)
Setting Up a Grid	142	(2)
Adding a Header and Footer	144	(1)
Adding a Navigation Bar	144	(3)
Smarter Selections	147	(6)
Marquee and Lasso Tools	148	(1)
Modifying Selections	148	(1)
Selecting Based on Tone or Color	149	(2)
Selecting by Drawing a Path	151	(1)
Combining Selections	152	(1)
Working Efficiently with Layers	153	(10)
Creating Bitmap Layers	154	(1)
Selecting Layers	154	(1)
Adjustment Layers	155	(1)
Layer Groups	156	(1)
Shape Layers	157	(1)
Smart Objects	158	(2)
Layer Comps	160	(3)
Correcting Many Images Quickly	163	(6)
Transferring Adjustment Layers	164	(1)
Transferring Camera Raw Adjustments	165	(4)
Creating Camera Raw Presets	166	(1)
Synchronizing Camera Raw Settings	167	(2)
Accelerating Appearances with Layer Styles	169	(8)
When to Use Layer Styles	170	(2)
Adding a Layer Style to a Layer	172	(1)
Using the Layer Style Dialog Box	172	(2)
Applying a Layer Style to Other Layers	174	(1)
Scaling a Layer Style	175	(2)
Adding Transparency to Layers and Documents	177	(18)
Seeing Transparency	178	(1)
Choosing the Right Transparency Method	179	(1)
Setting Opacity	180	(2)
Making Masks	182	(4)
Using Blending Modes for Transparency Effects	186	(2)
Making Transparent Backgrounds for Other Programs	188	(7)
Guidelines for Maintaining Transparency in Other Programs	189	(1)
Creating a Transparent Background for Print	189	(3)
Creating a Transparent Background for the Web	192	(2)
Creating a Transparent Background for Video Editing	194	(1)
Rewriting History	195	(10)
Undoing and Redoing	196	(1)
Using the History Palette Productively	197	(5)
Going Back in Time	198	(1)
Using Snapshots to Preserve History States	199	(2)
Setting History Palette Options	201	(1)
Keeping a History Log	202	(3)
Saving Documents Productively	205	(10)
Saving a Master Document for Flexibility	206	(3)
Saving for Specific Media	209	(2)
Using the Save as a Copy Feature	211	(1)
Playing Nice with Other Programs	212	(3)
Printing Right the First Time	215	(8)
Previewing Print Size	216	(3)
Previewing Print Colors by Soft-Proofing	219	(4)
PART III: Processing Images Automatically
Saving Time with Actions	223	(14)
Loading Actions	224	(1)
Running Actions	225	(1)
Planning an Action	226	(1)
Creating Actions	227	(5)
What You Can and Can't Record	229	(1)
Testing Actions	230	(2)
Editing Actions	232	(2)
Enhancing Your Actions	234	(1)
Links About Actions	235	(2)
Batch Processing and Droplets	237	(12)
Using the Image Processor	238	(1)
Using the Batch Dialog Box	239	(4)
Batch Processing Examples	243	(4)
Producing JPEG Files from Camera Raw Files	243	(2)
Producing JPEG Files from Other Formats	245	(2)
Using Droplets for Instant Batch Processing	247	(2)
Automating with Scripts	249	(10)
Scripting Languages You Can Use	250	(1)
Running Scripts	251	(1)
How Scripting Works	252	(1)
Scripting Resources	253	(2)
Scripting Documentation	253	(1)
Loading Scripts	254	(1)
Scripting Utilities	254	(1)
Web Sites About Scripting	255	(1)
Example: Creating, and Installing a Simple Script	255	(4)
Generating Data-Driven Graphics	259	(8)
Creating the Template	260	(1)
Defining Variables for Layers	260	(3)
Creating a Data Set	263	(2)
Generating the Final Documents	265	(2)
PART IV: Making Photoshop a Great Team Player
Using Photoshop with the Adobe Creative Suite	267	(10)
Adobe InDesign	268	(4)
Jumping Back to Photoshop	268	(1)
Controlling Photoshop Layer Visibility	269	(1)
Creating a Contact Sheet in InDesign	270	(2)
Using an InDesign Layout in Photoshop	272	(1)
Adobe Illustrator	272	(1)
Adobe Acrobat and PDF	273	(2)
Adobe GoLive	275	(1)
Adobe Bridge	276	(1)
Jumping Directly to Other Programs	277	(4)
Jumping Between Photoshop and ImageReady	278	(1)
Jumping to Other Graphics Programs	278	(3)
Index	281