Things you wish you had known about

[Wendy]

I suppose that all of us have things we wished we had know about Elements ... those things that you struggle with for ages and then someone says something and you realise that there is a far simpler way to do it .. Basic things that tutorials and books don't seem to cover. Maybe we can help new people avoid some of the ones that tripped us up :)

Here is one of mine:

It was such a relief when someone mentioned that you could "Add to" or Subtract from" a selection ... I thought that you had to do it all at once.

Can you imagine trying to do that :eek: :eek:

Wendy

[TonyW]

Well this is a silly little thing that I'm sure is covered lots of places and everyone knows it but I was frustrated because my brushes, clone tools etc etc suddenly became cross hairs with no indication of brush size. I checked preferences and that had it set right :confused: . Took me a while to find that my Caps Lock was on. That's when I found that it works as a toggle to change the brush appearance. Should have known it I guess but I didn't, but I do now :)

Tony

[GaryK]

I wish I had known about the

Layer>layer style>style settings

to change border sizes and stuff when the little "f" thingy isn't enough.

[lindajay]

Took me forever to figure out how to get rid of a layer style that I no longer wanted: Layer>Layer Style>Clear Layer.

--Linda

[Mary]

Wish I had known that when my brushes, clone tool, eraser wouldn't work all I had to do was take the mouse on my Wacom tablet off and set it someplace else when using my regular mouse.:(

[MikeH]

I wish I'd known about the Levels adjustment layer / clipping mask trick a long time ago...

Mike

[Diana]

Also took me a while to figure out how to clear a layer style--I found that right-clicking on the layer pops up a context menu enabling clear layer style. It would be so conventient if they'd put a button right next to the Create Layer button to clear layer styles.

Another lightbulb went on when I realized you could scale layer effects through the Layer > Layer Style menu.

Diana

[Wendy]

Another one from me ...

If you want to scale a pattern you can do it it when you use

Layer>New Fill layer>Pattern ...


Wendy

[CarolLHB]

I wish I'd known about Wendy!!:D

[Wendy]

Carol ..

Now that really made me laugh :)

Wendy

[vintage]

I wish I had known about this forum and all the wonderful people here who help so much. I never post much, but I read all the post daily. I am still trying to learn my way around with the forum and elements and shooting digital pictures and the whole process. But with this forum, the online video's tut's and lessons I am not quite as lost as I was in the beginning.

[Wendy]

Hi Vintage ...

Do ask questions if you get stuck ... there is always someone here who will help you :)

Wendy

[NMarti]

Are you kidding Wendy - I was gonna say that too! Ask and it shall be answered - by you of course!

[jimkovacs]

I wish I had know that transform scale can easily re-size an image with no loss of pixels, and can be repeated with little effort on similar images. I use this on almost every image now!!!

[Tom M]

I wish I would have understood what most of Grant's Tools were for.
It wasn't until I got PS9 that I realized what they did and what a great add on they are.

[karen donnybrook]

I wish I had known about this forum when it first stated. I have yet to submit anything anywhere (:D ) but I do read all the posts and try to absorb as much as I can.

[carmelnap]

I wish I had known how to "hide" PSE when I wanted to see another program on the desktop. Thanks Wendy for telling how to do that. For the longest I could not get it.

[Bayla]

I wish I'd known to hold down the shift key when dragging out the handles in transform means you don't get a skewed picture - my first attempts were reminiscent of looking in those funny mirrors at fairs, everybody either short and fat or long and thin.

And of course I wish I'd discovered this forum much earlier:)

Bayla

[TonyW]

That reminds of discovering all the other things the shift key (and space bar) can do. I well remember the frustration of trying to draw a circular selection around an object until I found out about the shift key for constraining it into a circle and the space bar for moving it around while still continuing to adjust the size.

And then there was the shift/click for connecting points with straight lines with the brush, selection brush, clone tool, eraser etc etc. That shift key is one useful key :cool:

Tony

[Kathy]

I wish that I had known that you can make a selection in an area that you want to clone and in doing so, it prevents pixels outside of the selection area being affected by the clone brush. Wonderful for tight spaces and restoring.

Courtesy of Wendy of course in one of her helpful posts. :)

Kathy

[Spyder]

Hole in ground?......Luxury!!

:)

[virgo1]

Wish I had known about the forum when I first launched PSE.

Eva ;)

[Mary]

Hole in ground?......Luxury!!:)
I'm afraid I don't understand. :confused: :confused: :confused:

[Pauline]

Well Kathy, reading this tips has helped me because I have never even thought of making a selection before working with the clone tool! :D

I wish I'd known to merge the image in a top layer without losing your layers or the ability to come back later and make changes --- first click on the top layer to make it active then click, create a new layer icon at the top of the layers palette . Witht he new layer active while pressing and holding the alt key chose Merge visible from the layers palette's MORE flyout menue. A merged version of the image will be created in the new layer and the layers are all still in tact! :)

[kerriann85]

I've learned so much in the last year I don't even remember which things I didn't know about a year ago! (does that make any sense?)

Although here's one: The ability to sample something from one open file and clone it into another open file. (like heads for example!)
:)

[Robyn]

This is a great thread for me..... keep it coming. I copy all these little gems into a word document for future reference.
Cheers,
Robyn

[skbohanon]

I'm just glad I'm not in the same place I was when I first started with PSE!!

Although Wendy turned me on to a great little tip when scanning in multiple photos... the duplicate command since the seperate scanned images doesn't work.

Thanks for EVERYONE'S help!! This is the most amazing site!

[Carbone]

One of the neat trick I learned here (I think it was Tom's) is the ability to enter the font size in inches (i.e. 1.25 in). That was incredibly convenient!

Ray

[karen donnybrook]

Please keep this thread going because I am learning a lot from everyones "wished I had known" entries :D

I am copying all the posts and taking out the hints, so I can use them and make life easier :)

[Tom M]

Hole in ground?......Luxury!! I assume he must mean, knowing the difference between something and
that.

(I think it was Tom's)
Wasn't me.

[Daviskw]

I just learned this... hard to believe...lol

When using an adjustment layer such as levels or Hue/sat you can zoom in and out of your picture by using

Cmd/Ctrl+.... to zoom in
Cmd/Ctrl-... to zoom out

and the slider bars to scroll.

Butch

[Carbone]

And if you press and hold the Option key (ALT I would imagine on the Windows), then you zoom in and out, but only the window will not be resized.

Ray

[Daviskw]

After making a selection that you intend to feather or blur...switch to mask mode first so you can see the effect of your feather or blur in the red mask.

Butch

[Daviskw]

If you cannot remember that darn key sequence Ctrl+Alt+Shift+N+E...I think...to make a combined layer at the top of your layer pallet do the following;

Select>All
Edit>Copy Merged
Edit>Paste

drag new layer to the top and your are all set.

Butch

[Daviskw]

If you have many layers and want to see what the picture started out looking like for comparison... Just Alt click on the eye of the background or first layer and all the layers above will be turned off. To turn back on, Alt click the background layer eye again.

Butch

[Carbone]

Butch... great tips.. keep 'em coming !

:)

Ray

[Daviskw]

When working in a selection and the marching ants are bothersome or obstructive just press Ctrl+H. It will turn off the ants but keep the selection active. To restore the ants just press Ctrl+H again

Butch

[Ellen]

Wow - I missed this thread first time around. Is there some way to combine this one and this one http://www.photoshopelementsuser.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5582&highlight=gotchas
to make a what to do / what not to do list?
Ellen

[Robyn]

If you have many layers and want to see what the picture started out looking like for comparison... Just Alt click on the eye of the background or first layer and all the layers above will be turned off. To turn back on, Alt click the background layer eye again.
Butch
That's a brilliant tip. Thanks very much.

[Richard Lynch]

Before using Elements i was a long-time Photoshop user. When met with the 'limitations' of Elements, I missed several of the PS features i used all the time. One of these was channels. Then i started thinking about what channels really were, and figured out how to separate them from any image in Elements using layers and filtering.

That little spot of understanding about how channels/components work changed the way i worked not only in Elements, but Photoshop as well. It helped give me a core understanding of digital images and color that I had been somewhat isolated from because PS was just a little too good at what it did.

while there are plenty of other things i had to discover for myself, this was probably the most significant.

[SCRAPPYGIRL]

I wish that I had known that you can make a selection in an area that you want to clone and in doing so, it prevents pixels outside of the selection area being affected by the clone brush. Wonderful for tight spaces and restoring.

Courtesy of Wendy of course in one of her helpful posts. :)

Kathy

WOW - can you give a step by step for this!!
SG

[bshamilton]

I wish I'd known about the Levels adjustment layer / clipping mask trick a long time ago...

Mike

??? please expound

[Carbone]

Create an adjustment layer for Levels (or Hue and Saturation), but don't change a setting. Make sure it's under the image you want to mask.

Click on Layer / Group with Previous.

Next, click on the white thumbnail in the adjustment layer. You'll notice the colours chips at the bottom of the tools palette have changed to black and white.

Paint or use a gradient or change the content of the white thumbnail in any way you want, this will mask the image over it, whitout damaging it. Make sure there's a layer under the adjustment layer (filled with something, for the test).

Black hides, white reveals.

Hope this helps!

Ray

[Daviskw]

Before using Elements I was a long-time Photoshop user. When met with the 'limitations' of Elements, I missed several of the PS features i used all the time. One of these was channels. Then i started thinking about what channels really were, and figured out how to separate them from any image in Elements using layers and filtering.


Richard

I am struggling with that concept right now. I am looking forward to your book and tools. May I ask how they are coming alone and when they will be on the market?

Butch

[mel]

I just learned this... hard to believe...lol

When using an adjustment layer such as levels or Hue/sat you can zoom in and out of your picture by using

Cmd/Ctrl+.... to zoom in
Cmd/Ctrl-... to zoom out

and the slider bars to scroll.

Butch

I tried this out on a picture I just opened in Editor and it works even without layers ;)

This thread is absolutely great....... better than a book :D Keep it coming everyone, it's really helping (everyone I think) :)

Mel

[mel]

This is a great thread for me..... keep it coming. I copy all these little gems into a word document for future reference.
Cheers,
Robyn

Robyn this is a great idea. Do you mean by this that you copy it from this website into your word document on your computer........if so how is this done :confused: . I'm pretty new at this, that's why I'm asking :o

Mel

[Daviskw]

One of the great things I learned about Elements was the ability to paint any filter or effect on the screen with a brush.

You don't need an adjustment layer mask to do it, any blank Layer can be used when grouped.

With a mask from an adjustment layer you use black and white to paint on or off. With a regular blank layer you use black on and eraser off.

Say you want to apply blurs to your picture but only in limited but various areas, but you want the ability to change your mind about placement later. You could use an adjustment layer mask as described above and paint the effect on with a black colored brush and take off with white. But you can also do the following.

Duplicate the layer you want to apply a filter too. Apply the filter to the whole layer paying attention to the areas you want to use it on ignoring other areas you don’t care about.

Directly below your filtered layer open a blank Layer. Then click back on your filtered layer above and press Layer>Group with previous or just press Ctrl+G on a PC.

You will notice your entire filter result has disappeared, no problem. Click back on your blank layer, set your foreground color to black, pick a brush and as you paint your filter will appear. If you reveal too much just change to the eraser and remove the filter.

I like this method in PE 4.0 better than the adjustment mask because the two layers can be collapsed when I get too many layers. With an adjustment layer mask you often loose the effect when you combine the mask and the filtered layer.

Butch

[Kathy]

Hi ScrappyGirl !

Welcome! :)

There is really not a step by step for this. Just make a selection using the lasso tool or marquee tool or a brush around the area you want to clone. The selection then acts like a boundary for the clone tool and only the pixels within the selection will be affected by the clone tool, even if the chosen "brush" diameter for the clone tool extends past the selection boundary.

Hope this helps.

Kathy

[Diana]

Robyn this is a great idea. Do you mean by this that you copy it from this website into your word document on your computer........if so how is this done :confused: . I'm pretty new at this, that's why I'm asking :o

Mel

Mel, just drag with your left mouse button depressed to select the text you wish to copy, right click on the selected text with the mouse, from the context menu that pops up click Copy. Then put your cursor in your Word document, right click, select Paste from the context menu.

Another way is use shortcut keys. After selecting text from a website, press Control+C. Then go to destination Word document, press Control+V.

Diana

[mel]

Thanks for that explanation Diana. It sound simple enough so I should have no problem with that :)

I'm pretty new to this whole copying and pasting and after doing it in elements and with posting images to this forum, I'm beginning to get the concept of copying and pasting in general..................better late than never :o

Mel

[mel]

I just gave it a try and it worked :D :D

Mel

[SCRAPPYGIRL]

Hey Kathy,
Just tried that clone thingy out and WOW is that gonna be nice to know.
THANKS
SG

[Wendy]

Hi SG ..

If the edge looks a little too sharp then just run the blur tool around it to blend it in :)

Wendy

[Kathy]

SG,

You are most welcome.

Kathy

[wendy kelly budd]

Hi,
This might not apply as a Things I wish I had known about. But I love knowning keystroke shortcuts. My two favorites are the [ and the ] keys to make a brush size smaller/larger. The other shortcut was already mentioned, the Crtl - to zoom out and the Ctrl + to zoom in.
Please keep this thread going, I'm learning alot!
Wendy in Chico, CA

[WingAnimal]

I hope this is okay to do. I decided to take everything that's been posted so far and place it in a PDF document and post it here so that everyone can enjoy the wealth of knowledge in one document. This has been a great thread. If there are any others, please do share. These have been great so far. Don't assume that everyone already knows the "trick" or idea that comes to your mind... some of us are still very new and welcome everything you have to share!

Wendy - Thank you for starting this thread... once again, you rule!!!

[skbohanon]

HOW VERY COOL!!!!!!!! Thank you so much!!!!!!!
I'm printing and saving right now!

[CarolLHB]

Norm, that was really thoughtful of you-it's a great reference! Thanks:)

[Ellen]

Norm,
Thanks for diong that!
Ellen

[Wendy]

Hi Norm ...

What a thoughtful thing to do :) ... Thank you

Wendy

[WingAnimal]

Your welcome everyone! Just keep posting these great hints so that everyone can learn.

I hope to be posting some more pics soon. Thanks one and all for all you teach me!!!!!

[sandie]

Levels adjustment layer / clipping mask trick
How about sharing that trick with all of us.
Thanks

[TonyW]

Norm - that's great. Hope you're going to keep it up to date as new tips appear :) . When you're done you can write a book ;)

Tony

[sandie]

I wish I had know that transform scale can easily re-size an image with no loss of pixels, and can be repeated with little effort on similar images. I use this on almost every image now!!!


Tell us how to do this please

[SCRAPPYGIRL]

Norm, What a great idea, thanks. I've printed it out and will be keeping it very close at hand!
SG

[Diana]

Sandie, Here's a short tutorial on layer masks:

http://www.myjanee.com/tuts/elements/elemask.htm

Diana

[NMarti]

Norm,
Thank you so much. I have printed it and it is posted next to my desk. That must have taken a while to do and you are wonderful for doing it.

[virgo1]

Norm,
Thank you for doing this. I also have saved a copy.:)
Eva;)

[Daviskw]

To scroll back through the changes you have made in your drawing session press Ctrl+Z. To move forward press Ctrl+Y

This is the same as moving back and forth through the history pallet but faster and more convenient.

A fast way to judge your changes and effects in your file.


Butch

[Wendy]

I wish I had known that you can change the angle of brushes simply by clicking on more options at the top of the page :)

Wendy

[Daviskw]

When using an adjustment layer mask or any mask for that matter, you can see exactly what the mask is covering in your picture by pressing Alt+Shift on the layer mask itself. The mask will show up ruby red mask selection mode on your picture. If you like you can paint the adjustment on in this mode.

To return to normal press Alt+Shift on the Mask again to toggle back.

Butch

[spotodog]

hi Pauline,
This doesn't seem to work in elements version 4, or i am doing something wrong. do you have version 4?
thanks,
Eleanor
Well Kathy, reading this tips has helped me because I have never even thought of making a selection before working with the clone tool! :D

I wish I'd known to merge the image in a top layer without losing your layers or the ability to come back later and make changes --- first click on the top layer to make it active then click, create a new layer icon at the top of the layers palette . Witht he new layer active while pressing and holding the alt key chose Merge visible from the layers palette's MORE flyout menue. A merged version of the image will be created in the new layer and the layers are all still in tact! :)

[Daviskw]

Hello Eleanor

It should work in PE4 It does for me...however here is an alternate way to do exactly the same thing. Try it and see if it works.

Choose.... Select>All... then
Edit>Copy Merged.... then
Edit>Paste

Now all you need to do is drag the new layer to the top of the layer pallet.

If this works for you then other procedure should too.

Butch

[gez]

The best thing I've learned is this forum. What a wealth of information

[Pauline]

Eleanor I think 3 & 4 are slightly different. In 3 you have to create the new layer first and then merge and I believe in 4 you don't. It creates the layer for you. Not possitive on that one. I am using 3.

[Daviskw]

Pauline... you are correct. In PE4 and PE3 you can create the “Stamp Visible” layer three different ways;

1.) Press this key sequence … Ctrl+Alt+Shift+N+E.. you may have to move the new layer to the top of the layer pallet
2.) As Pauline says… Create a new blank layer at the top of the layer pallet. While holding down the Alt key click on the" More" button in the options menu, and while still holding down the mouse button move down, highlight, and release on Merge Visible.
3.) Press Select>All… then Edit>Copy Merged… Then Edit>Paste… and drag the new layer to the top of the layer pallet.

Butch

[spotodog]

thank you ! Butch - I tried all three methods and they work...not sure what i did wrong before, but it all works fine now !

[TonyW]

Apologies - I know this is an old thread I'm resurrecting but I just learn't a new useful (and unadvertised) shortcut I didn't know about and was going to post a new thread when a quick search discovered that Butch had already posted a version of it a long time ago and I didn't see it or if I did I forgot about it when I needed to use it :o.

As Butch said if you're working with layer masks and want to see where you've painted - or how much blur you're using you can Alt-Shift-Click on the layer mask and it shows a rubylith mask over your image. The method I discovered was using backslash (\) which does the same thing and is handy as it works as a toggle while you're painting.

It always bothered me that you could see the image or the mask but not both at the same time. I guess I should have read/remembered Butch's post before :)

Tony

[Wendy]

Hi Tony ...

Thanks for bringing this thread to the top again .. I am sure that many people haven't seen it before now :)

... and there are some great tips in it ..

Wendy

[smiles]

Just have to say thanks for all the tips. I think I will also print and put beside my laptop! Great thread!

[RobertSchuldenfrei]

Hi Everyone,

It maybe resurrection for all of you old timers in this forum, but it was brand new for me. I only found this forum in May of this year. I save the .pdf I found in mid-thread. Has anyone updated the .pdf? Just a listing of keywords for tips would help to search the forum's database.

Cheers,

Bob

[cats4jan]

These are my favorite tips
If these are already posted, they still bear repeating
____________________

Keep your layers palette open at all times, it’s as much of a friend as “right click”

To open layers palette
Window> layers
________________

Make a selection with any selection tool
Control j
To put your selection on its own layer
________________________

Add a scalloped edge bevel to text and then double click on the effects icon in the layers palette and change the direction of the bevel in that pop-up screen –
you get text that looks carved into the background.

Try it on a stone texture ... that gives a great effect
____________

Moving a marquee or other selection:

You cannot move a selection - but a workaround is to create a new layer, fill the selection with any colour

Then use the move tool to rotate/enlarge rectangle on the new layer ... when you are happy with the position just control click on its layer thumbnail in the layers palette and then switch off its eyeball.

You will than have your rotated selection – control j will put your selection on it’s own layer
_______________

And, of course, thanks to Wendy for most of these tips – gleaned from various postings

[Kristin Z]

I wish I had known that the backspace key would take you back a point, each time you pressed it, when using the magnetic lasso tool. So if you get off a little bit you don't have to start over completely.

[cats4jan]

Kristin - that's a valuable tip - I'm always starting over - but then again - I hate the lasso tool - it's too hard for me to use - I don't have sufficient patience

[Lorri]

Non-Destructive Editing. Making a copy of all original files.

I wish I had embraced the concept a LOT sooner!

My favorite trick? Holding the "Alt" key while doing Layer>Merge Visible. Keeps all those layers intact below while giving you a merged version to work with; although I sometimes still forget where I'm at!

Which brings me to favorite #2...naming my layers something pertinent to what I'm doing/did! Click on the name (Layer 1, for instance) and type in an appropriate name--maybe the filter you applied plus setting numbers.

[cats4jan]

I rename the text layer with the font name - don't know how many hours I've spent trying to figure out what font I had used
____________

And if you're having trouble copying text from one source into your Elements project - when right clicking and edit don't have "paste" available to you

Choose the text tool and make a text box first - click inside the box - then right click or use edit and "paste" will be available.

If all the text does not fit into your box, resize your text box before you click the checkmark.

And if you want to resize your text box after you hit your checkmark, select the text tool instead of the move tool - then you can change the shape of your text box without affecting the size of your text.

And if you're ever having trouble editing text when you go back to it - click on the text tool and make sure you are touching a letter of the text - that lets you edit old text - rather than create another text layer.
___________________

All right - I'm done
I feel like writing a book about all the hard ways I've learned this program, but I think there are already books written on this subject. LOL

[TonyW]

Glad to see the thread is growing again :)

One I've taken to use a lot recently is when you wish you had kept of copy of something along the way but forgot to do it. Although Elements doesn't have a history brush what you can do is go back to a previous step in the history palette, do a File Duplicate and because that doesn't forget the history of the original image you can just click forward in time back to the present state. So now you have an early state and the latest state and can do things like clone a bit back that you wished you hadn't messed up.

Tony

[mseymour]

To set opacity in the Layers Palette, select a layer, then hover over the Opacity word in the Layers Palette. It will overlay a little two-headed arrow and hand and you can click on this and slide it to one side or the other to increase or decrease the opacity of the layer you've selected.

[Mari]

Finally, information I can easily identify with! I was puzzled by something that was often in messages. I was probably too embarrassed to ask because I was sure it would turn out to be something simple.......and it was!

Here goes 'true confession'!..... I did not know for awhile what a 'tut' was.
Now that I finally caught on, it seems soooooo obvious.

I need to keep reminding myself that we all have to start somewhere...which for me was at the very beginning! With Thanks to people on this site, I am working my way up!

[GeoR]

My confession: Took me a long time to learn tools palette. Clicking on the little arrow beside most of the tools gives a flyout menu to allow selecting a different tool-example shapes. For a long time thought I had a defective program when forum members would talk about a selection tool that wasn't open on my tools palette. :confused: GeoR

[Ellen]

I'm glad to see this resurfacing again too. Along with what i've forgotten Tony's tip a few up is great. thanks

[Tina_B]

I never thought about naming the text layer the name of the font used. I always am trying to figure out what the name of a font might be. Why didn't I think of that?
Tina B

[cats4jan]

My confession - I did most things in a bizarre way and had to relearn them

And I still don't know more than 10 keyboard shortcuts - but I'm trying to learn one at a time.

[Inspeqtor]

I never thought about naming the text layer the name of the font used. I always am trying to figure out what the name of a font might be. Why didn't I think of that?
Tina B


Tina, I am with you! I also never thought of doing that. I am going to from now on!

[Wendy]

The best tip I can give is ...

.. never be embarassed to ask a question, there are so many things to learn and so many new terms to come to grips with. Much easier to ask than to stuggle alone.

The great thing about this forum is that you will never get flamed, no one will tell you to read the manual and you will usually get an answer very quickly :)

Wendy

[Aussie Nan]

I haven't been around long enough to actually have a 'wish I had known about'. I do know that without the support of the forum I would have put PSE away in the 'too hard basket'.

I am glad I downloaded Graffi's add-o-matic. It automatically puts any downloads into the correct folder in PSE. With everything else to learn it is great not having to spend too much time on this sort of thing. The head reels enough as it is.:D My next mission is to actually learn about and use the downloads I have.:D:D

Toni

[RobertSchuldenfrei]

The best tip I can give is ...

.. never be embarassed to ask a question, there are so many things to learn and so many new terms to come to grips with. Much easier to ask than to stuggle alone.

Wendy
Hi Wendy & Forum,

Back in the day (circa 1960) I said to beginning programming students: "the trouble with computer programs (PSE included) is not that they were complex, but that they were comprehensive." There are so many little things to remember and get them just right.

With so much to learn with PSE, it is hard to know where to start.

Cheers,

Bob

[cats4jan]

The great thing about this forum is that you will never get flamed, no one will tell you to read the manual and you will usually get an answer very quickly

That truly is the strong point of this forum. Newbies need to be able to accomplish a few tasks without learning the entire program first. Otherwise, they may lose interest.

I know, I put Elements "on the shelf" for 6 months when I first got it. I gave up until I found a digital scrapbooking book and followed along with the projects - finally the tools made sense.

I sure wish I had thought to google PE4 instead of struggling for so long. I still don't know where I got this link - just glad I fell into it.

As for naming the font in the text layer

Hey - I contributed something useful. Now, I feel worthy. LOL

But really, I started doing that because I used to create the fronts for my greeting cards and then add styles that changed the text to a graphic - never again to be known by the font name. Well, then I'd go back and try to do the inside of the greeting card, and spend hours trying to find my original font for from the front cover to make the verse part of the card.

I still don't remember to do it all the time, but when I don't I "curse" myself. LOL

[JonE]

When working in a selection and the marching ants are bothersome or obstructive just press Ctrl+H. It will turn off the ants but keep the selection active. To restore the ants just press Ctrl+H again

Butch


The flip side of this is if things just aren't working right - you can't clone where you want, etc. - then you may have hidden the selection and you need to hit Ctrl-H again to turn it on and then Ctrl-D to deselect. This can be a huge problem to figure out so whenever you hide the selection smack yourself to rememer to un-hide it again before you forget!

[kellyLynne]

wish i had known about this group

[kellyLynne]

Can I get details on your last posts? Sounds like techniques I could use.

[kellyLynne]

Hey, it would be cool if someone posted the keyboard shortcuts...i dont know but one of them.

[Bayla]

kellyLynne,

Here's Reka's post with a link to her keyboard shortcuts Microsoft Word doc.

http://www.elementsvillage.com/forums/showthread.php?t=18624&highlight=shortcuts

Bayla

[ladybug]

I found the answer here on moving the eliptical marquee selection where i want to. ( hold space key down and move the selection where you want it. Thanks for this and all tips.

[emkayess65]

I have been re-reading my books - I actually understand things now, sort of.
I found some key strokes that I read before, they are highlighted in the book.
But I forgot about them.

If you double click on the Zoom tool In the Toolbox you will zoom to 100%.
If you double click on the Hand tool In the Toolbox the picture will fit on screen.
You can draw a box with the Zoom tool around the area you want to work on
or clone and you will zoom right in close.

I have been using these alot since I re-found them.
mks

[emkayess65]

I thought of another one I have not seen mentioned here.
Instead of using the eraser to clean up to get rid of stray pixels after using the Magic Wand
you can draw a box with the Marquee tool and hit delete. It will clean up any stray pixels inside the box. This also works to straighten the edges of a picture. Just draw a skinny box with the Marquee tool and hit delete.
mks

[cats4jan]

After you're done editing or creating

select> all
image> crop

will get rid of any stray junk that's outside your canvas

This is especially helpful when you want to move an embellishment that is hanging off your page - onto another project -

You do some erasing on the page - you think you've gotten rid of everything - but really - the stuff that's hanging outside the edge of the canvas is still there.

select> all
image> crop

will clean up that mess
_________________________

My favorites

control j
which puts a selection on a new layer without compromising the layer it was selected from

alt double click on a background layer in the layers palette - changes it to a regular layer

[kellyLynne]

i wish i had known that my pse4 wouldnt be compatible with my new windows vista

[ladybug]

kellyLynn, that is good to know. I wont be going to vista anytime soon.

[vawitt]

There have been several tips about zooming...my fave is to just change the Edit > Preferences > General to zoom with the scroll wheel. Woo hoo!

I just reread through all these posts. Found some good new ones (name the font layer the font name, backslash to redmask a layer) but mostly I felt HAPPY because I am using many of these (learned over time!!!) on a regular basis.

Thanks to everyone who's helped coach me along!!

~Val in chilly IL