PHOTOSHOP INTERFACE

The Document Window

The Document window is the large area in the center of the
interface where the image is displayed. It's also where we edit
the image. The actual area where the image is visible is known
as the canvas. The dark area surrounding the image is
the pasteboard. The pasteboard doesn't really serve a purpose
other than to fill in the space around the image when the image
itself is too small to fill the entire Document window:
The Document Tab
• At the top of the Document window is the document's tab. The
tab displays the name and file type of the document
("AdobeStock_145722872.jpeg") and its current zoom
level (25%). The tab is also how we switch between document
windows when we have more than one image open in
Photoshop.
The Zoom Level And Status Bar
• In the bottom left of the Document window, we find more information
about the image. The current zoom level is displayed, just like it is in
the document's tab. And to the right of the zoom level is the Status
Bar. By default, the Status Bar displays the color profile of the
image.
• Click and hold on the Status Bar to view additional information about
the image, like its Width and Height, Resolution, and color
information (Channels):
• You can also change the type of information that the Status Bar
displays. Click on the arrow on the right of the Status Bar to open a
menu where you can choose to view different details, like Document
Sizes (the file size) or Dimensions (the width, height and resolution).
I'll leave it set to the default, Document Profile:
The Toolbar
• The Toolbar (also known as the Toolbox or the Tools panel) is where
Photoshop holds all of its tools. You'll find it along the left of
Photoshop's interface. There's tools for making selections, for editing
and retouching images, for painting, adding type or shapes to your
document, and more:
Expanding The Toolbar
• By default, the Toolbar appears as a long, single column of tools.
Clicking the double-arrows at the top will expand the Toolbar into a
shorter, double column. Click the arrows again to return to the single-
column layout:
The Toolbar's Hidden Tools
• Photoshop includes lots of tools. In fact, there are many more
tools than what we see. Most of the tools in the Toolbar have
other tools nested in with them in the same spot. Click and hold
on a tool's icon to view a menu of the other tools hiding behind
it.
• For example, by default, the Rectangular Marquee Tool is
selected. It's the second tool from the top. If I click and hold on
the Rectangular Marquee Tool's icon, a fly-out menu appears.
The menu shows me that the Elliptical Marquee Tool,
the Single Row Marquee Tool and the Single Column
Marquee Tool can also be selected from that same spot.
The Options Bar
• Directly linked to the Toolbar is Photoshop's Options Bar. The
Options Bar displays options for whichever tool we've selected
in the Toolbar. You'll find the Options Bar along the top of the
interface, just above the document window. Here we see that,
because I currently have the Rectangular Marquee Tool
selected, the Options Bar is showing options for the
Rectangular Marquee Tool:
• If I choose a different tool from the Toolbar, like the Crop Tool:
• Then the options in the Options Bar change. Instead of seeing
options for the Rectangular Marquee Tool, we're now seeing
options for the Crop Tool:
The Menu Bar
• Along the very top of Photoshop's interface is the Menu Bar.
The Menu Bar is where we find various options and commands,
all grouped into categories. The File menu, for example, holds
options for opening, saving and closing documents.
The Layer menu lists options for working with layers.
Photoshop's many filters are found under the Filter menu, and
so on. We won't go through every category and menu item
here, but we'll learn all about them in future lessons as they
become important. Note that the "Photoshop CC" category on
the left of the Menu Bar in the screenshot is only found in the
Mac version of Photoshop:
The Panels
• Along the right of Photoshop's interface is where we find
the panels. Panels give us access to all sorts of commands and
options, and there are different panels for different tasks. The
most important panel is the Layers panel. It's where we add,
delete and work with layers in our document. But there are lots
of other panels as well, all of which we'll be looking at later:
Panel Groups
• To save space on the screen, Adobe groups related panels
together. For example, let's look at the Layers panel. Just like
the Document window, each panel has a tab at the top which
displays the panel's name. Notice, though, that there are two
other tabs to the right of the Layers tab. One
says Channels and the other says Paths. These are other
panels that are nested in with the Layers panel in the
same panel group. The name of the panel that's currently open
in the group (in this case, the Layers panel) appears brighter
than the others:
Switching Between Panels In A Group
• To switch to a different panel in a group, click on its tab. Here, I've
opened the Channels panel. To switch back to the Layers panel,
again click on its tab:
• By default, only a handful of panels are displayed at first. But there
are many more panels available to us in Photoshop. You'll find the
complete list of panels under the Window menu in the Menu Bar:
• The panels are listed in a long, single column. I've split the column in
half here just to help it fit better on the page. To select a panel, click
on its name in the list. A checkmark to the left of a panel's name
means that the panel is already open. Selecting a panel that's
already open will close it.
The Search Bar
• New in Photoshop CC is the Search bar. The Search bar lets
us quickly find tools or commands in Photoshop, as well as
tutorials on different topics, or images from Adobe Stock. To use
the Search feature, click on the Search icon (the magnifying
glass) in the upper right of Photoshop. You'll find it just above
the panel column.
Workspaces
• Finally, let's look at workspaces. A workspace in Photoshop is a preset
collection and arrangement of the various interface elements. Workspaces
can control which of Photoshop's panels are displayed on the screen,
along with how those panels are arranged. A workspace can change the
layout of the tools in the Toolbar. Items in the Menu Bar, along with
keyboard shortcuts, can also be customized as part of a workspace.
• By default, Photoshop uses a workspace known as Essentials. The
Essentials workspace is a general, all-purpose workspace, with an
interface layout that's suitable for many different types of tasks. But there
are other workspaces to choose from as well. We can switch between
workspaces using the Workspace option in the upper right of Photoshop.
In Photoshop CC, the Workspace option is represented by an icon. In
Photoshop CS6, it's a selection box, with the name of the currently-
selected workspace displayed in the box:
• Click on the icon (or the selection box) to open a menu of other
workspaces we can choose from. Photoshop includes several built-in
workspaces. Each one customizes the interface for a specific type of
work. As I mentioned, Essentials is a general, all-purpose
workspace. If you're a web designer, you may want to switch to
the Graphic and Web workspace. For image editing,
the Photography workspace is a good choice. Keep an eye on your
panels and on your Toolbar as you switch between workspaces to
see what's changing.
• We'll look more closely at workspaces, including how to create and
save your own custom workspaces, in another tutorial. Note that all
of our tutorials use the default Essentials workspace, so I
recommend sticking with Essentials as you're learning Photoshop:
Parts of the Photoshop
Quarter: 3rd quarter
Act: 1
Type of activity: HANDS ON ACTIVITY
Activity title: Photoshop tools
Learning target/competency: Identify the parts of the photoshop
Values/Graduate attributes: To become steward of creativity
The Tools Layout
• Let's look at how the Toolbar in Photoshop is organized. While it
may seem like the tools are listed randomly, there's actually a
logical order to it, with related tools grouped together. At the top,
we have Photoshop's Move and Selection tools. Directly below
them are the Crop and Slice tools. Below that are
the Measurement tools, followed by Photoshop's
many Retouching and Painting tools. Next are the Drawing and
Type tools. And finally, near the bottom of the Toolbar, we find
Photoshop's Navigation tools:
Activity
Use the following tools and in your own opinion which 5 tools are most
useful if you are going to create a poster? Explain each 5 tools why is it
useful than the other tools?