Macromedia Photoshop Elements User Guide

Using

ADOBE

PHOTOSHOP

ELEMENTS 8 EDITOR

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Certain Spelling portions of this product is based on Proximity Linguistic Technology. ©Copyright 1990 Merriam-Webster Inc. ©Copyright 1990 All rights reserved. Proximity Technology A Division of Franklin Electronic Publishers, Inc. Burlington, New Jersey USA. ©Copyright 2003 Franklin Electronic Publishers Inc.©Copyright 2003 All rights reserved. Proximity Technology A Division of Franklin Electronic Publishers, Inc. Burlington, New Jersey USA. Legal Supplement ©Copyright 1990/1994 Merriam-Webster Inc./Franklin Electronic Publishers Inc. ©Copyright 1994 All rights reserved. Proximity Technology A Division of Franklin Electronic Publishers, Inc. Burlington, New Jersey USA. ©Copyright 1990/1994 Merriam-Webster Inc./Franklin Electronic Publishers Inc. ©Copyright 1997All rights reserved. Proximity Technology A Division of Franklin Electronic Publishers, Inc. Burlington, New Jersey USA ©Copyright 1990 Merriam-Webster Inc. ©Copyright 1993 All rights reserved. Proximity Technology A Division of Franklin Electronic Publishers, Inc. Burlington, New Jersey USA. ©Copyright 2004 Franklin Electronic Publishers Inc. ©Copyright 2004 All rights reserved. Proximity Technology A Division of Franklin Electronic Publishers, Inc. Burlington, New Jersey USA. ©Copyright 1991 Dr. Lluis de Yzaguirre I Maura ©Copyright 1991 All rights reserved. Proximity Technology A Division of Franklin Electronic Publishers, Inc. Burlington, New Jersey USA. ©Copyright 1990 Munksgaard International Publishers Ltd. ©Copyright 1990 All rights reserved. Proximity Technology A Division of Franklin Electronic Publishers, Inc. Burlington, New Jersey USA. ©Copyright 1990 Van Dale Lexicografie bv ©Copyright 1990 All rights reserved. Proximity Technology A Division of Franklin Electronic Publishers, Inc. Burlington, New Jersey USA. ©Copyright 1995 Van Dale Lexicografie bv ©Copyright 1996 All rights reserved. Proximity Technology A Division of Franklin Electronic Publishers, Inc. Burlington, New Jersey, USA. ©Copyright 1990 IDE a.s. ©Copyright 1990 All rights reserved. Proximity Technology A Division of Franklin Electronic Publishers, Inc. Burlington, New Jersey USA. ©Copyright 1992 Hachette/Franklin Electronic Publishers Inc. ©Copyright 2004 All rights reserved. Proximity Technology A Division of Franklin Electronic Publishers, Inc. Burlington, New Jersey USA. ©Copyright 1991 Text & Satz Datentechnik ©Copyright 1991 All rights reserved. Proximity Technology A Division of Franklin Electronic Publishers, Inc. Burlington, New Jersey USA. ©Copyright 2004 Bertelsmann Lexikon Verlag ©Copyright 2004 All rights reserved. Proximity Technology A Division of Franklin Electronic Publishers, Inc. Burlington, New Jersey USA. ©Copyright 2004 MorphoLogic Inc. ©Copyright 2004 All rights reserved. Proximity Technology A Division of Franklin Electronic Publishers, Inc. Burlington, New Jersey USA. ©Copyright 1990 William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. ©Copyright 1990 All rights reserved. Proximity Technology A Division of Franklin Electronic Publishers, Inc. Burlington, New Jersey USA. ©Copyright 1993-95 Russicon Company Ltd. ©Copyright 1995 All rights reserved. Proximity Technology A Division of Franklin Electronic Publishers, Inc. Burlington, New Jersey USA. ©Copyright 2004 IDE a.s. ©Copyright 2004 All rights reserved. Proximity Technology A Division of Franklin Electronic Publishers, Inc. Burlington, New Jersey USA. The Hyphenation portion of this product is based on Proximity Linguistic Technology. ©Copyright 2003 Franklin Electronic Publishers Inc.©Copyright 2003 All rights reserved. Proximity Technology A Division of Franklin Electronic Publishers, Inc. Burlington, New Jersey USA. ©Copyright 1984 William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. ©Copyright 1988 All rights reserved. Proximity Technology A Division of

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Franklin Electronic Publishers, Inc. Burlington, New Jersey USA. ©Copyright 1990 Munksgaard International Publishers Ltd. ©Copyright 1990 All rights reserved. Proximity Technology A Division of Franklin Electronic Publishers, Inc. Burlington, New Jersey USA. ©Copyright 1997 Van Dale Lexicografie bv ©Copyright 1997 All rights reserved. Proximity Technology A Division of Franklin Electronic Publishers, Inc. Burlington, New Jersey USA. ©Copyright 1984 Updated 12 June 2009 Editions Fernand Nathan ©Copyright 1989 All rights reserved. Proximity Technology A Division of Franklin Electronic Publishers, Inc. Burlington, New Jersey USA. © Copyright 1983 S Fischer Verlag ©Copyright 1997 All rights reserved. Proximity Technology A Division of Franklin Electronic Publishers, Inc. Burlington, New Jersey USA. ©Copyright 1989 Zanichelli ©Copyright 1989 All rights reserved. Proximity Technology A Division of Franklin Electronic Publishers, Inc. Burlington, New Jersey USA. ©Copyright 1989 IDE a.s. ©Copyright 1989 All rights reserved. Proximity Technology A Division of Franklin Electronic Publishers, Inc. Burlington, New Jersey USA. ©Copyright 1990 Espasa-Calpe ©Copyright 1990 All rights reserved. Proximity Technology A Division of Franklin Electronic Publishers, Inc. Burlington, New Jersey USA. ©Copyright 1989 C.A. Stromberg AB. ©Copyright 1989 All rights reserved. Proximity Technology A Division of Franklin Electronic Publishers, Inc. Burlington, New Jersey USA.

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Last updated 7/26/2011

Chapter 1: Getting started with Adobe Photoshop Elements

What to do first . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Using Help and getting support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Converting a catalog from a previous version . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

About backing up/synchronizing files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Working in Elements Organizer and Photoshop Elements Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Importing and organizing photos and video . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Creating photo projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Printing and sharing photos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Fixing (editing) photos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Troubleshooting tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Chapter 2: Photoshop Elements workspace

About workspaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Panels and bins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Undo, redo, and cancel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Scratch disks and plug-ins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Chapter 3: Working in the Editor

Opening files in the Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

File information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Viewing images in the Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Guides, grids, and rulers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Saving and exporting images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Guided Edit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Chapter 4: Using layers

Creating layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Editing layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Copying and arranging layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Opacity and blending modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Adjustment and fill layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

Layer masks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

Layer styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Chapter 5: Camera raw files

Processing camera raw image files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

Settings and controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

Color and camera raw . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Chapter 6: Selecting parts of an image

Making selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

Modifying selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

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USING PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS 8 EDITOR

Contents

Smoothing selection edges with anti-aliasing and feathering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

Moving and copying selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

Saving selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

Chapter 7: Color and tonal correction

Color and tonal correction basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

Adjusting shadows and light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

Correcting color casts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116

Adjusting color saturation and hue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120

Adjustment filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126

Chapter 8: Cropping, resizing, retouching, and transforming photos

Cropping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

Image size and resolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136

Retouching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

Sharpening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152

Transforming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155

Recomposing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160

Stitching together panoramas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163

Chapter 9: Understanding color

Understanding color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168

Using image modes and color tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170

Setting up color management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175

Chapter 10: Filters, effects, styles, and artwork

Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178

Filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182

Artistic filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187

Blur filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189

Brush Stroke filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191

Distort filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192

Noise filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196

Pixelate filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197

Render filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198

Sketch filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201

Stylize filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203

Texture filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204

Video filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205

Other filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205

Chapter 11: Painting

Painting overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208

Choosing colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212

Painting tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216

Setting up brushes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223

Fills and strokes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227

Patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228

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Gradients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230

Presets and libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234

Chapter 12: Adding text and shapes

Add and edit text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238

Work with Asian type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244

Creating shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246

Editing shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249

Chapter 13: Creating projects in the Editor

Editor projects overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251

Making photo projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251

Create a photo book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256

Create a greeting card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259

Create photo calendars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261

Create a DVD with a menu of slide shows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261

Editing photo projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262

Chapter 14: Optimizing for the web

Optimizing images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266

Using transparency and mattes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274

Dithering in web images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276

Previewing web images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278

Chapter 15: Printing and sharing photos

Printing photos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280

Print options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285

Send photos to online sharing services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285

Sharing photos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285

Chapter 16: Photoshop Elements Editor keyboard shortcuts

Keys for viewing images (Full Edit) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286

Keys for selecting tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286

Keys for selecting and moving objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288

Keys for the Magic Extractor dialog box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289

Keys for transforming selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289

Keys for painting and brushes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290

Keys for using text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290

Keys for the Layers panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291

Keys for using blending modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292

Keys for the Info panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292

Keys for the Color Swatches panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293

Keys for showing or hiding panels (Full Edit) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293

Keys for the Filter Gallery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293

Keys for the Liquify filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294

Keys for using Photomerge Panorama . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294

Keys for the Camera Raw dialog box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295

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Chapter 17: Glossary

Find definitions for terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296

Digital imaging terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296

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Chapter 1: Getting started with Adobe Photoshop Elements

Adobe® Photoshop® Elements 8 software combines power and simplicity so you can easily make your photos look their best. You can also share them in imaginative ways, and easily find and view all your photos and video clips.

What to do first

Check the system requirements

If you’re not sure if Adobe Photoshop Elements can run on your computer, review the complete system requirements and recommendations for your Adobe® software. See the ReadMe file included on your software installation disc.

Install the software

1 Close any other Adobe applications open on your computer.

2 Insert the installation disc into your disc drive, and follow the onscreen instructions.

Note: You can specify the language and select the country while installing the application. If you want to change these settings after installing the application, you need to uninstall the application and then re-install it.

Should I uninstall my previous version of Adobe Photoshop Elements? If you’ve installed a trial version of

Photoshop Elements, it’s a good idea to uninstall it first. However, it’s not necessary to uninstall a previous

Adobe version of Adobe Photoshop

How do I uninstall a version of Adobe Photoshop Elements? In the Windows® OS, click the Start menu, and then select

Control Panel. Double-click Add Or Remove Programs. Select the version of Adobe Photoshop want to uninstall, and click Remove. Confirm the uninstallation when prompted.

Elements. But, you can uninstall a previous version if you want to.

Elements that you

Register

After installing Adobe Photoshop Elements, register your software to receive complimentary installation support, notifications of updates, and other services.

Note: Users in non-US locations, can register at any time by choosing Help > Registration.

ReadMe file

The installation disc contains the ReadMe file for your software. (This file is also copied to the application folder during product installation.) Open the file to read important information.

Sign up with your Adobe ID

Important: Adobe Photoshop Elements free online benefits and Photoshop Elements Plus are available in the United States only. Internet access required.

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Getting started with Adobe Photoshop Elements

Sign up with your Adobe ID to receive free online benefits, such as 2 GB of free storage, automatic online backup, automatic syncing of your photos and video clips on multiple computers, tutorials that appear when you need them, access to your photos and videos at Photoshop.com, and a personal URL for sharing your photo/video albums. If you purchased Adobe Photoshop Elements 8 Plus, sign up with your Adobe ID to receive all the above plus additional storage space, artwork, and tutorials. For more information, see

How do I sign up? Click the link in the Welcome screen or in the menu bar to sign up with your Adobe ID. You can

sign up at any time from the Welcome screen. To display the Welcome screen, click the Welcome screen icon in the menu bar. If you don't have an Adobe ID, click the link in the Welcome screen or in the menu bar to create one.

www.adobe.com/go/learn_pse_membership_en.

New and enhanced features

Visit www.adobe.com/go/learn_pse_features_en to learn about new and enhanced features. Improving your photos and doing more with them is easier than ever.

Using Help and getting support

Learning Adobe Photoshop Elements

The Photoshop Elements Help and Support page on the web provides links to articles and video tutorials to help you get started with Adobe Photoshop Elements. The Help and Support page also includes top troubleshooting tips, advanced articles, and links to help and forums. Go to

www.adobe.com/support/photoshopelements.

How do I ask a question You can also ask questions and get advice from other Adobe Photoshop Elements and

Premiere Elements users at www.adobe.com/go/forums.

Adobe

Using Photoshop Elements Help

Photoshop Elements Help is available several ways. To access Help, select Help > Photoshop Elements Help (or press the F1 key on your keyboard). If your computer is connected to the Internet, Adobe Photoshop automatically launches Help on the web.

To see the complete Help for Adobe Photoshop Elements, see Elements Organizer and the Photoshop Elements Editor Help.

Help on the web Help on the web is the most comprehensive and up-to-date version of Adobe Photoshop Elements

Help. To view Help on the web, see Internet to access Help on the web. Use the Search field to search within Photoshop Elements Help.

Help in the application Help in the application provides access to key tasks and concepts. If you aren’t connected to

the Internet, Photoshop complete Help available on the web.

Help PDF Help is also available as a PDF that is optimized for printing. For more information, see

www.adobe.com/go/learn_pse8_printpdf_en, or click the Help PDF link at the top of each Help page. The Help PDF

is the best way to access the most comprehensive Help when you don’t have an Internet connection.

Links in the application Some Help links are within Photoshop Elements. Clicking these links takes you to the

corresponding topic in either Help on the web or Help in the application.

Note: If you try to access a Help topic that only exists in Help on the web, Photoshop Elements displays a message with a URL and a link to the complete Help on the web.

Elements launches Help in the application. Help in the application is a small subset of the

www.adobe.com/go/learn_pse8_en. Your computer must be connected to the

Elements

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Getting started with Adobe Photoshop Elements

Tips for searching Help

• If you search using a phrase, such as “shape tool,” place quotation marks around the phrase. The search returns only

those topics containing all the words in the phrase.

• Make sure that the search terms are spelled correctly.

• If a search term doesn’t yield results, try using a synonym, such as “web” instead of “Internet.”

• If you find a topic you want to view again, bookmark it for easy access later.

Print a Help topic To print a topic from Help, use the Print command in the browser.

How to search for troubleshooting topics You can view top issues and search for common problems and error

messages by going to Adobe Photoshop Elements users at www.adobe.com/go/forums.

Forum You can access the Elements user community forum through the application. To access the forum page from

Photoshop Elements, select Help > Forum. To access the forum page from Elements Organizer, select Help > Forum > Photoshop Elements. If your computer is connected to the Internet, Photoshop The forum is used to ask other Photoshop Elements users for suggestions on your designs and also to post useful tips and tricks that help other users.

Look for Photoshop Elements updates If your computer is connected to the Internet, you’ll receive notifications

whenever Photoshop

www.adobe.com/downloads/updates.

www.adobe.com/support/photoshopelements. You can also ask questions to other

Elements launches the forum page.

Elements is updated. You can also find out about the latest updates by going to

How do I get customer support?

You can get support by contacting Adobe directly or submitting a web case. Visit www.adobe.com/support/contact for contact information. Visit the Adobe Support website at www.adobe.com/go/support. Adobe Support has troubleshooting information and also information about free and paid technical support options.

Converting a catalog from a previous version

When you open Elements Organizer in Adobe Photoshop Elements 8, you could experience difficulties opening a catalog you used in an earlier version of Adobe Photoshop Elements. Convert the catalog to view the photos.

1 Select File > Catalog.

2 Click Convert in the Catalog Manager.

3 In the Convert Catalog window, select the catalog you want to convert.

Note: Catalogs saved to a folder in a location other than the default location do not appear in the Convert Catalog window automatically. Click Find More Catalogs, and then select the folder where your catalog is located. Catalogs located in that folder are added to the list of catalogs that can be converted.

4 Click Convert.

Show Previously Converted Catalogs

You can view the catalogs that have previously been converted or that were backed up by an earlier version. The Convert Catalog window does not display these catalogs by default. Select Show Previously Converted Catalogs to view a list of the previously converted catalogs.

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Getting started with Adobe Photoshop Elements

Note: You cannot use the converted catalog with earlier versions. However, when the catalog is converted, it copies the data into a new catalog file, and the original catalog file remains unchanged. You can continue to use the original catalog in the earlier versions.

About backing up/synchronizing files

Back up/Synchronize files

Note: Adobe Photoshop Elements free online benefits and Photoshop Elements Plus are available in the United States only. Internet access required.

When you sign in with your Adobe ID, you can back up your albums and catalogs to Photoshop.com servers. Backing up and synchronizing your albums and catalogs are essential for protecting your photos and media files. For example, if you add keyword tags to media files on your computer, the corresponding photos on Photoshop.com are updated with the tags. The albums and catalogs must be marked for Backup/Synchronization on each computer.

Important: All images within a stack are automatically backed up/synchronized across all machines. However, you must manually re-create the stack on each machine.

The Backup/Synchronization wizard is automatically launched when the user activates Backup/Synchronization for the first time.

Backup/Synchronization window

1 Start Elements Organizer, and then sign in with your Adobe ID.

2 Choose an option from the Backup/Synchronization dialog box.

Yes - Turn It On For Me Enables you to set your entire catalog for Backup/Synchronization. All your videos and photos

securely get uploaded to your online account.

Yes - But Show Me The Advanced Settings Enables you to set advanced Backup/Synchronization settings in the

Preferences dialog box.

No - Leave It OFF. I Don’t Want To Protect My Photos And Videos Your videos and photos don’t get backed up and

synchronized online.

3 Select the required option, and then follow the onscreen instructions to enable Back up/Synchronization.

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View Backup/Synchronization activity status

❖ Do one of the following:

• Right-click the Elements Backup/Synchronization Agent icon in the system tray and select View

Backup/Synchronization Status.

• Double-click the Elements Backup/Synchronization Agent icon in the system tray.

• Click the Elements Backup/Synchronization Agent icon in the status bar of Elements Organizer, and then select

View Backup/Synchronization Status.

The Elements Backup/Synchronization Status dialog box is displayed. The dialog box displays the following information:

• The total number of assets that are being synchronized

• The overall progress of the synchronization activity

• The online storage capacity being used

• The asset that is being synchronized

The dialog box also allows you to pause and resume the Backup/Synchronization activity.

View Backup/Sync activity status

Start backup and synchronization activity manually

Backup/Synchronization is a scheduled activity. The Elements Backup/Synchronization Agent checks for assets to synchronize at regular intervals. Between these periods of activity, the Elements Backup/Synchronization Agent is idle. To synchronize right away instead of waiting for the next scheduled synchronization, click Backup/Sync Now in the system tray. The Backup/Synchronization process starts, and any changes that you have made are synced to Photoshop.com immediately.

Working in Elements Organizer and Photoshop

Adobe Photoshop Elements has two basic workspaces— Elements Organizer and the Photoshop Elements Editor that you switch between, depending on the task you’re performing. You start by importing photos into Elements fixes in Elements Organizer.

In the Editor workspace, you can refine your photos more fully, make basic edits, follow step-by-step guided editing tasks, or use advanced editing tools.

Elements Editor

For a video overview, see www.adobe.com/go/lrvid2309_pse8_en and www.adobe.com/go/lrvid2301_pse8_en.

Organizer, where you view, manage, and find all of your photos and video clips. You can also make quick

After working with your photos in either Elements Organizer or the Photoshop Elements Editor, you can create photo projects, such as scrapbook pages, slide shows, photo books, and online albums. You can easily share these projects with family and friends.

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Getting started with Adobe Photoshop Elements

To access Elements Organizer from the Photoshop Elements Editor, click the icon .

Importing and organizing photos and video

As you work in Adobe Photoshop Elements, you start by importing photos into Elements Organizer. In

Organizer, you can view, manage, and find all your photos and video clips.

Elements

Use the Photo Downloader to download files

1 Connect your camera or card reader to your computer. (See the documentation that came with your device, if

necessary.)

The Windows AutoPlay dialog box opens with a list of options for getting the photos.

In the Windows AutoPlay dialog box, select Organize, and Edit using Adobe Elements Organizer 8, and then click OK.

If Elements Organizer is not already open, the Photo Downloader dialog box opens. Click Get Photos. Elements Organizer opens and imports the media files. If Elements Organizer is already running, choose File And Videos > From Camera Or Card Reader to open the Photo Downloader.

3 In the Photo Downloader dialog box under Source, choose from the Get Photos From menu to specify where to

copy/import the photos from.

4 In the Import Settings area, set the following options:

Location Specifies the folder to which images are downloaded. To change the default folder location, click Browse, and

then specify a new location.

> Get Photos

Create Subfolder(s) Creates a subfolder using the naming scheme chosen from the pop-up menu. If you choose

Custom Name, type a subfolder name in the box.

Rename Files Changes the filenames using the naming scheme selected from the pop-up menu. If you choose Custom

Name, type a base filename and a starting number for assigning sequentially numbered filenames to the photos.

Note: If the name you entered exists, the copied image filename is appended with “-1” or another appropriately numbered designator.

Preserve Current Filename In XMP Select this option to use the current filename as the filename stored in the metadata

of the photo.

Delete Options Specifies whether to leave the photos on your camera or card, verify and delete the files, or delete the

files after they are copied. Photos that you do not import into Adobe Photoshop

Elements are not deleted from the

camera or card.

5 (Optional) To automatically download photos to Photoshop Elements after a device is connected, select Automatic

Download. Automatic download options are set in the Camera Or Card Reader preferences.

6 (Optional) For more download options, click the Advanced Dialog button. See

www.adobe.com/go/learn_org_advanceddownload_en.

7 Click Get Photos.

The photos are copied to your hard drive.

8 Click OK in the Files Successfully Copied dialog box.

Note: If Elements Organizer is launched while copying the photos, click Yes in the Files Successfully Copied box.

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Organizing your photos and video clips

Use Elements Organizer to manage your files. Elements Organizer enables you to find photos, video files, audio clips, and Adobe PDF documents, even if they’re stored in different locations on your computer.

Adobe Photoshop Elements automatically organizes photos by date as they download. Elements Organizer has a Timeline (choose Window > Timeline) and Date View for finding photos by date. It’s a good idea to put related photos into an album. Albums are great for sharing photos in projects, creations, online albums, and they also make it easy to find related photos.

You can further sort and categorize photos by adding star ratings, by stacking photos, and by assigning keyword

. For more information on using keyword tags, see www.adobe.com/go/learn_org_photos_tag_en.

Create an album

1 Click the Create New Album Or Album Category button in the Albums panel of the Organize tab, and then

choose New Album.

2 (Optional) From the Albums Category menu, choose a category into which to place the album.

Albums Category menu

3 In the Album Name box, type a name for the album.

4 Drag photos into the Items area.

The album appears in the Albums panel under the album category you specified. For more information about creating an album, see

www.adobe.com/go/learn_org_albums_create_en .

Finding photos and video clips

You can find photos and video files by date, star rating, album, folder location, filename, media type, keyword tag, text, or other criteria. For more information, see

Here are a few of the features in Elements Organizer to find photos:

Timeline Click a month or set a range to find photos and media files chronologically by date, import batch, or folder

location.

www.adobe.com/go/learn_org_photos_find_en.

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Find bar Drag a photo, keyword tag, project, or album onto the Find bar to find matching or similar photos and media

files.

Albums panel Select an album to view only the media files in it.

Keyword Tags panel Select a keyword tag to see only the files with that tag.

Text box Type text in the Search box to find files with matching text. Matches can include items such as filenames,

metadata, keyword tags, captions, notes, album names, album groups, camera information, dates, folders, and formats.

Elements Organizer has many tools and features for finding photos. A. Find bar B. Text box C. Timeline D. Albums panel E. Keyword Tags panel

Find the actual file of a photo or media clip

1 In Elements Organizer, select the photo or media clip whose file you want to find.

2 Press Alt + Enter to open the Properties-General window.

3 Click the Reveal In Explorer icon .

Creating photo projects

You can use your photos in various fun projects that you can share with family and friends. For example, you can create photo projects, such as albums, scrapbook pages, greeting cards, CD/DVD labels and jackets, and photo collages. You can print these photo projects at home, or you can upload them to an online printing service. You can also use your photos in online photo galleries, photo slide shows, and flipbooks. For more information, see

www.adobe.com/go/learn_org_projects_en.

Give your projects a personal look by customizing the project templates. Adjust layout colors to better complement your photos, and add new graphical elements, text, and effects, such as drop shadows and glows. Use the Contents panel to quickly browse hundreds of frames, themes, backgrounds, clip art, and effects to apply to your photos and photo projects.

Create and share a slide show

1 In Elements Organizer, select the photos you want in the slide show.

2 In the Create tab , clickSlide Show to show the Slide Show Preferences.

3 Change any of these options, or click OK to use the default options.

All the tools for creating your slide show are in the Slide Show dialog box. The photos you chose to use in the slide show appear at the bottom of the screen.

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Getting started with Adobe Photoshop Elements

4 In the Slide Show Editor, have fun adding effects, text, small graphics, music, or your own narration. The Slide Show

Editor provides lots of possibilities for creativity.

5 If you want to reorder your slides, drag the slide’s thumbnail image to a new location. The image thumbnails are at

the bottom of the Slide Show Editor. Drag one forward or back until you see the blue bar, and then release the mouse button.

6 To preview your slide show with all its effects, use the VCR-style buttons under the slide preview. You can return

to editing slides at any time by pressing the VCR-style button.

Note: You can also preview your slide show with all its effects using the Full Screen Preview icon. You can return to editing slides from the Full screen preview by pressing the Esc key.

Click Save Project (in the upper left of the Slide Show Editor). It’s a good idea to save the slide show regularly as you work.

8 To output your slide show for viewing or sharing, click Output (in the upper left of the Slide Show Editor). Choose

how you want to share your slide show. You can save it as a movie file or a PDF file. You can also burn it to a disc so you can play it on a TV or computer.

Printing and sharing photos

Photoshop Elements offers many ways to quickly share your photos. You can let people view your photos through an interactive online album. You can send photos to people via e-mail. You can print photos to your home printer or order professionally printed photos. Or, you can put your files or albums on CDs/DVDs.

In Elements Organizer, you first select photos you want to share. Click the Share tab, and then select the way you want to share photos. For more information, see

www.adobe.com/go/learn_org_share_en.

Print from Elements Organizer

1 Select photos or video clips in the Photo Browser. If you select a video clip, only the first frame of the clip is printed.

2 Choose File > Print.

3 Specify printing options in the Prints dialog box, and then click Print.

Print online

1 In Elements Organizer, select the photos you want to print.

2 Do one of the following and follow the instructions in the Order Prints dialog box that opens.

• Click File > Order Prints > Order Shutterfly Prints.

Note: Sign up for Shutterfly to use their services.

• Click File > Order Prints > Order Kodak Prints.

Note: Sign up for Kodak membership to use their services.

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Share photos using e-mail

Photoshop Elements streamlines sharing photos by e-mail. You can either attach photos to an e-mail or embed a photo in an e-mail using Photo Mail.

1 Make sure your e-mail client is specified in Preferences. In Elements Organizer, choose Edit > Preferences >

Sharing. In Editor, choose Edit > Preferences > Organize & Share, and then select Sharing. Choose Microsoft

Note: In Windows Vista®, choose Microsoft Outlook®, Windows mail, or Adobe E-mail Service.

2 Select a photo in the Photo Browser or Date view, and then click Share and Photo Mail.

3 The first time you e-mail a photo, you are prompted to confirm the e-mail service you want to use. Confirm your

choice, and then click OK.

The Photo Mail panel appears displaying the photos you chose to e-mail.

4 Select recipients of the e-mail by doing one of the following:

• Select a name from the Select Recipients list (the names you see are from your contact book).

• If you want, add the recipient to your contact book by selecting New Contact in the Contact Book dialog. Click OK;

the recipient appears selected in the Select Recipients list.

5 In the Stationery & Layouts wizard, choose a stationery style and background. Then click Next Step, and customize

the layout.

6 Click Next.

Photoshop Elements opens your default e-mail application.

Outlook®, Outlook Express, or Adobe E-mail Service.

What if I use a web-based e-mail service? If you use a web-based e-mail service such as Gmail™ or Yahoo® Mail, you

can export your photos and attach them to e-mail messages. Click the Share tab, and select E-mail Attachments. The E-mail Attachments wizard leads you through the steps for creating versions of your photos that are suitable for e-mail.

Fixing (editing) photos

Adobe Photoshop Elements offers several levels of editing, from simple one-click fixes in Elements Organizer to advanced color correction and composition in the Photoshop Elements Editor.

Fix photos in Elements Organizer

In Elements Organizer, you can perform various basic image adjustments: Auto Smart Fix, Auto Color, Auto Contrast, Auto Red Eye, and Auto Sharpen, for example. For more information, see

www.adobe.com/go/learn_org_fix_organizer_en.

1 In Elements Organizer, select the photos you want to fix.

2 Click the Fix tab, and select Edit Photos. Make the required adjustments.

If you don’t like the results, click Undo , or press Ctrl-Z.

Crop a photo in Elements Organizer

Cropping removes unwanted areas from a photo.

1 In Elements Organizer, select the photo you want to crop.

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Getting started with Adobe Photoshop Elements

2 Click the Fix tab, select Crop, and then follow the instructions in the Crop dialog box.

Fix photos in the Photoshop Elements Editor

The Photoshop Elements Editor provides additional editing modes: Quick Fix, Guided Edit, and Full Edit. The level of your editing expertise and complexity of the image editing determine which mode is appropriate for your task. For more information, see

1 In Elements Organizer, select the photos you want to work with in the Editor.

2 Click the triangle beside the Fix tab, and then select one of the following: Full Photo Edit, Quick Photo Edit, or

Guided Photo Edit.

Organizer bar

In the Photoshop Elements Editor, photos appear in the Project Bin at the bottom of the Editor workspace. You can move between the photos you want to fix by double-clicking them in the Project Bin.

www.adobe.com/go/learn_pse8_photos_fix_en.

Do I have to use Elements Organizer to open images in the Editor? No. You can open photos from the Editor too.

Choose File > Open and navigate to the photos you want to open.

What if I switch to Elements Organizer while fixing photos in the Photoshop Elements Editor? If you switch to

Elements Organizer while files are open in the Editor, you’ll see a banner over the thumbnails of the opened files. The files cannot be changed in Elements Organizer until they are closed in the Editor.

More Help topics

“Color and tonal correction basics” on page 100

“Guided Edit” on page 46

Saving your edits

After you edit an image in the Photoshop Elements Editor, save it, or you’ll lose your work. Fixes you make in

Organizer are saved automatically.

Elements

❖ In the Photoshop Elements Editor, choose File > Save.

Photos saved to the Editor are saved as a version and grouped with other saved versions and the original photo. These version sets are stacked together in Elements Organizer with the latest saved version at the top of the stack.

What if I don’t want to save versions of a photo? It’s recommended that you save versions of a photo to preserve the

original file. If for some reason, you don’t want to save a version of a photo, choose File > Save after you’ve finished editing a photo. Under Save Options in the Save As dialog box, deselect the Save In Version Set With Original option. By default, Photoshop Elements Editor saves the file in PSD format without a version number appended to the filename.

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Getting started with Adobe Photoshop Elements

Troubleshooting tips

Here are some things to consider when troubleshooting Photoshop Elements. For more tips, visit

www.adobe.com/go/forums.

• Restart Photoshop Elements, or restart your computer.

• Reset the Photoshop Elements preferences. Hold down the Ctrl + Alt + Shift keys immediately after starting

Photoshop

• Turn off other programs, including anti-virus, firewall, and CD/DVD burning applications that run in the

background.

• Make sure that the computer operating system is up-to-date. Install the latest drivers for your video card, sound

card, printer, and other devices.

• Remove any recent additions to your computer. What was the last thing you changed on your computer before the

problem began? Did you install a new printer, font, or other software?

• If something in Photoshop Elements doesn’t seem to work properly, check Photoshop Elements Help.

• If a problem occurs when you open or edit a photo, does the problem occur with all photos? Does it occur with

photos from different cameras or sources?

Elements. Then, choose a task on the Welcome screen.

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Chapter 2: Photoshop Elements workspace

Adobe® Photoshop® Elements 8 has two main workspaces: the Elements Organizer and the Editor. Use the Elements Organizer for finding, organizing, and sharing your photos and media files. Use the Editor for creating, editing, and fixing your images. You can also add functionality with plug-in modules and expand system memory by using scratch disks.

To open a photo in the Editor workspace, select the photo in Elements Organizer. Click the triangle beside the Fix tab, and then choose Full Photo Edit, Quick Photo Edit, or Guided Photo Edit. When you are working in the Editor workspace, click the Organizer button

If both the Elements Organizer and the Photoshop Elements Editor are open, you can move between the two workspaces by clicking the corresponding button in the Windows® OS task bar.

About workspaces

to open the Elements Organizer workspace.

The Welcome screen

When you start Photoshop Elements, the Welcome screen opens by default. The Welcome screen is a convenient starting place, or hub, for major tasks.

Note: The Photoshop Elements free online benefits and Photoshop Elements Plus are available in the United States only. Internet access required.

Click Organize to open Elements Organizer and import, tag, or organize your photos. Click Edit to open the Editor and enhance your images or add special effects.

You can close or reopen the Welcome screen at any time by clicking the Welcome Screen button . It’s not necessary to return to the Welcome screen to open other workspaces—you can open different workspaces from within any other workspace.

When you click the settings icon , the Adobe Photoshop Elements 8.0 dialog is displayed with the following options. Specifying the settings here determine the Adobe Photoshop Elements launch behavior. Select one of the options and click OK:

• Just Show The Welcome Screen

• Always Launch Elements Organizer Behind The Welcome Screen

• Always Launch Photoshop Elements Editor Behind The Welcome Screen.

More Help topics

“Sign up with your Adobe ID” on page 1

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Photoshop Elements workspace

Disable tracking of information

The Welcome screen by default records and relays some usage information to Adobe to assist in the improvement of the Welcome screen experience. The Welcome screen usage data is anonymous and does not link the information to your personal data or your Adobe ID account information. Usage information from Photoshop Elements Editor or Elements Organizer is not tracked. To disable the tracking of information in the Welcome screen:

1 In Windows XP, click start > Run (or in Windows Vista choose Start), and type regedit.exe, and click OK.

The Windows Registry Editor opens. Using the tree navigator on the left, navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Adobe\Elements Organizer\8.0\Organizer.

2 Right-click anywhere on the right panel, and select New > DWORD Value.

A new DWORD Value with the name New Value #1 is created.

3 Rename New Value #1 to DisableTracking.

4 Double-click DisableTracking.

The Edit DWORD Value dialog opens.

5 Enter 1 in the Value Data field, click OK, and close the Registry Editor.

The Editor workspace

For videos about the Full Edit and Guided Edit modes, see www.adobe.com/go/lrvid2319_pse8_en and

www.adobe.com/go/lrvid2318_pse8_en.

The Editor workspace provides modes to create and edit images. Click the triangle beside Edit Full and select one of the following options:

Edit Full Enables you to edit photos in the Full Edit mode.

Edit Quick Enables you to edit photos in the Quick Fix mode.

Edit Guided Enables you to edit photos in the Guided Edit mode.

The Full Edit workspace has tools to correct color problems, create special effects, and enhance photos. The Quick Fix

contains simple tools for correcting color and lighting, and commands to quickly fix common problems

workspace like red eye. The Guided Edit workspace contains tools for basic photo edits, guided activities, and photographic effects. If you are new to digital imaging, Quick Fix or Guided Edit is a good place to start fixing photos.

If you’ve worked with image-editing applications before, you’ll find that the Full Edit workspace provides a flexible and powerful image-correction environment. It has lighting and color-correction commands, along with tools for fixing image defects, making selections, adding text, and painting on your images. You can rearrange the Full Edit workspace to best suit your needs. You can move, hide, and show panels, and arrange panels in the Panel Bin. You can also zoom in or out of the photo, scroll to a different area of the document window, and create multiple windows and views.

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Photoshop Elements workspace

Full Edit workspace

A. Inactive tab B. Active tab C. Active image area D Menu bar E Tool box F. Organizer button G. Options bar H. Panels I. Projects bin J. Panels bin

Menu bar Contains menus for performing tasks. The menus are organized by topic. For example, the Enhance menu

contains commands for applying adjustments to an image.

Toolbox Holds tools for editing images.

Options bar Provides options for the tool you select.

Project Bin Displays thumbnails of opened images, and lets you easily manage them.

Panels Help you monitor and modify images.

Panel Bin Helps you organize the panels in your work area.

Status bar In the Editor, the Status bar has buttons for showing or hiding the Project Bin.

Note: Photoshop Elements users in the United States can also access special services in the Status bar.

More Help topics

“Correct color in Quick Fix” on page 100

“Sign up with your Adobe ID” on page 1

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Photoshop Elements workspace

Launch the Elements Inspiration Browser

The Inspiration Browser lets you access and organize tutorials that contain ideas and ways to do more with your media files.

❖ To launch the Inspiration Browser, select Help > Elements Inspiration Browser.

If you are not signed in with your Adobe ID, a dialog box opens up enabling you to sign in.

Use context menus

You can use context menus in both the Editor and Elements Organizer workspaces. Context-sensitive menus display commands that are relevant to the active tool, selection, or panel. These menus are often another way to access the commands in the window menus.

Right-click to open a context menu. This menu appears in the Project Bin in Full Edit.

1 Position the pointer over an image or panel item.

Note: Not all panels offer context menus.

2 Right-click and choose a command from the menu.

Using keyboard commands and modifier keys

You can use keyboard shortcuts in both the Editor and Elements Organizer workspaces. Keyboard commands let you quickly execute commands without using a menu; modifier keys let you alter how a tool operates. When available, the keyboard command appears to the right of the command name in the menu.

More Help topics

“Photoshop Elements Editor keyboard shortcuts” on page 286

“Keys for selecting tools” on page 286

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Photoshop Elements workspace

Exit Photoshop Elements

To exit Photoshop Elements, you need to close both the Editor and the Elements Organizer workspace—closing one does not automatically close the other.

1 In the Editor, the Elements Organizer, or both workspaces, do one of the following:

• Choose File > Exit.

• Click the Close button (X) in the upper-right corner of the workspace.

2 When closing the Editor, choose whether to save any open files.

More Help topics

“Save changes in different file formats” on page 41

Tools

About the toolbox

You can access tools in the Editor workspace. You use tools in the toolbox to select, edit, and view images; some tools let you paint, draw, and type. The toolbox appears on the left side of the Full Edit and Quick Fix workspaces. In the Full Edit workspace, you can move the toolbox by dragging the gripper bar at the top of the box.

Select a tool in the toolbox to use it. Once selected, the tool is highlighted in the toolbox. Optional settings for the tool appear in the options bar, which is located below the shortcuts bar at the top of the Editor workspace. Some tools in the toolbox have additional tools beneath them. These tools are called hidden tools. A small triangle at the lower right of the tool icon indicates the presence of hidden tools. When you select a tool, any additional hidden tools appear in the options bar.

Note: You cannot deselect a tool—once you select a tool, it remains selected until you select a different tool. For example, if you’ve selected the Lasso tool, and you want to click your image without selecting anything, select the Hand tool.

You can view information about any tool in the toolbox by positioning the pointer over it. The name of the tool appears below the pointer—this name is called the tool tip. You can click a link in some tool tips to see additional information about the tool.

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Toolbox overview

A D F

Navigation and measuring tools

Move (V)

Zoom (Z)

Hand (H)

Eyedropper (I)

Selection tools

Rectangular Marquee (M)

Elliptical Marquee (M)

Lasso (L)

Magnetic Lasso (L) Polygonal Lasso (L)

Magic Wand (W)

Quick Selection (A)

Selection Brush (A)

Type tools

Horizontal Type (T)

Vertical Type (T ) Horizontal Type

Mask (T) Vertical Type

Mask (T)

Crop tools

Crop (C)

Cookie Cutter (Q)

Straighten (P) Recompose (C+C)

Retouching tools

Red Eye Removal (Y)

Spot Healing Brush (J)

Healing Brush (J)

Clone Stamp (S)

Pattern Stamp (S)

Eraser (E)

Background Eraser (E) Magic Eraser (E)

Blur (R)

Sharpen (R) Smudge (R)

Sponge (O)

Dodge (O) Burn (O)

Painting and drawing tools

Brush (B)

Pencil (N) Impressionist

Brush (B) Color Replacement (B)

Smart Brush (F)

Detail Smart Brush (F)

Paint Bucket (K)

Gradient (G)

Shape tools

Rectangle (U)

Rounded Rectangle (U)

Ellipse (U) Polygon (U) Line (U) Custom Shape (U) Shape Selection (U)

Indicates default tool * Keyboard shortcuts appear in parenthesis

Toolbox Overview

Select a tool

For a video about tools, see www.adobe.com/go/lrvid2320_pse8_en.

❖ Do one of the following:

• Click a tool in the toolbox. If there is a small triangle in a tool’s lower-right corner, hold down the mouse button to

view the hidden tools nested with the tool. Then, click the tool you want to select.

• Press the tool’s keyboard shortcut. The keyboard shortcut is displayed in its tool tip. For example, you can select

the Move tool by pressing the V key.

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Photoshop Elements workspace

D E

Using tools A. Toolbox B. Active tool C. Hidden tools D. Tool name E. Tool shortcut F. Hidden tool triangle

More Help topics

“Keys for selecting tools” on page 286

Set tool preferences

1 In the Editor, choose Edit > Preferences > General.

2 Set one or more of the following options, and click OK.

• Select Show Tool Tips to show or hide tool tips.

• Select Use Shift Key For Tool Switch to cycle through a set of hidden tools by holding down the Shift key. When

this option is deselected, you can cycle through a set of hidden tools by pressing the shortcut key (without holding down Shift).

Set the appearance of a tool pointer

1 In the Editor, choose Edit > Preferences > Display & Cursors.

2 Select a setting for the Painting Cursors:

Standard Displays pointers as tool icons.

Precise Displays pointers as cross-hairs.

Normal Brush Tip Displays pointers as circles at 50% of the size you specify for the brush.

Full Size Brush Tip Displays pointers as circles at the full size you specify for the brush.

Show Crosshair In Brush Tip Displays cross-hairs in the circles when you choose either Normal Brush Tip or Full Size

Brush Tip.

3 Select a setting for Other Cursors:

Standard Displays pointers as tool icons.

Precise Displays pointers as cross-hairs.

Set tool options

The options bar appears below the shortcuts bar at the top of the Editor workspace. The options bar is context sensitive—it changes as you select different tools. Some settings in the options bar are common to several tools, and some are specific to one tool.

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Photoshop Elements workspace

Lasso options bar A. Tool icon B. Active tool C. Hidden tools D. Tool options

1 Select a tool.

2 Look in the options bar to see the available options. For more information on setting options for a specific tool,

search for the tool’s name in Photoshop

Elements Help.

Note: To return a tool or all tools to their default settings, click the tool icon, and then click the triangle in the options bar, then choose Reset Tool or Reset All Tools from the context menu.

More Help topics

“Keys for selecting tools” on page 286

Set a completed operations alert

1 In the Editor, choose Edit > Preferences > General.

2 Select Beep When Done, and click OK.

Panels and bins

About panels

Panels are available in both the Editor and Elements Organizer workspaces; however, they behave a little differently in each. Panels help you manage, monitor, and modify images. Some panels have menus that provide additional commands and options. You can organize panels in the workspace in many different ways. You can store panels in the Panel Bin to keep them out of your way, but easily accessible, or you can keep frequently used panels open in the workspace. Another option is to group panels together or dock one panel at the bottom of another panel.

Note: Drag a panel out of the Panel Bin if you want to remove it from the Panel Bin and keep it open.

Dragging a panel.

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Photoshop Elements workspace

Panel menus

Some commands appear in both the panel menu and the menu bar. Other commands are exclusive to panel menus. Click panel menu to view the different commands in each panel.

Pop-up sliders within panels

Some panels and dialog boxes contain settings that use pop-up sliders (for example, the Opacity option in the Layers panel). If there is a triangle next to the text box, you can activate the pop-up slider by clicking the triangle. Position the pointer over the triangle next to the setting, hold down the mouse button, and drag the slider or angle radius to the desired value. Click outside the slider box or press Enter to close the slider box. To cancel changes, press Esc.

To increase or decrease values in 10% increments when the pop-up slider box is open, hold down Shift and press the Up Arrow or Down Arrow key.

F G H

Different ways to enter values A. Dial B. Click to open window C. Text box D. Menu arrow E. Scrubby slider F. Check box G. Slider H Pop-up slider triangle

Work with panels in the Editor

The Panel Bin in the Editor lets you store multiple panels in a single area. You can easily configure, close, or keep open the Panel Bin for easy and fast access. By default, the Panel Bin appears on the right side of the workspace. When you adjust panels, they remain as you leave them until you reset or change them.

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B C

The Panel Bin A. Change panel tools B. Adjust panel height C. Panel menu D. Scroll to view rest of panel

1 To show or hide the Panel Bin, Choose Window > Panel Bin.

2 To adjust the height of a panel, select the panel and a handle bar appears at the bottom of the panel. Drag the

panel using the handle bar.

3 To use panels in the Panel Bin, do any of the following:

• To remove a panel from the Panel Bin, drag the title bar of the panel out of the Panel Bin.

• To add a panel to the Panel Bin, drag the title bar of the panel into the Panel Bin.

• To rearrange panels in the Panel Bin, drag the title bar of the panel to a new location.

• To expand or collapse panels in the Panel Bin, double-click the name of the panel.

4 To use panels outside the Panel Bin, do any of the following:

• To open a panel, choose the name of the panel from the Window menu.

• To close a panel, choose the name of the panel from the Window menu. Or click the Close button in the title

bar of the panel.

• To change the size of a panel, drag any corner of the panel.

• To group panels (one panel with multiple tabs), drag the panel onto the body of the target panel. A thick line

appears around the body of the target panel when the pointer is over the correct area for grouping to occur. If you want to move a panel to another group, drag the tab of the panel to that group. To separate a panel from a group, drag the tab of the panel outside the group.

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• To move a panel group, drag the title bar.

• To expand or collapse a panel or panel group, double-click the tab of the panel or title bar.

• To dock panels together (stacked panels), drag a tab of the panel or the title bar to the bottom of another panel. A

double line appears at the bottom of the target panel when the pointer is over the correct area. You cannot dock entire panel groups.

• To reset panels to their default positions, choose Window > Reset Panel.

Note: If you want panels to always open in their default positions in the Editor, choose Edit > Preferences > General, and then deselect Save Panel Locations. The change takes effect the next time you start the application.

Use the Project Bin in the Editor

Located at the bottom of the Full Edit and Quick Fix workspaces, the Project Bin displays thumbnails of open photos. It’s useful for switching between multiple open photos in your workspace. The Project Bin has controls that let you open or close images, hide images, navigate through open images, make a specific image the frontmost image, duplicate an image, rotate an image, or view file information. Because the Project Bin appears in both Full Edit and Quick Fix, you can easily bring open images into Quick Fix for editing. Multiple-page projects are highlighted by a gray frame around the page thumbnails. To show or hide the individual pages, click the right edge of the frame.

The Project Bin A. Collapsed photo creation (selected) B. Click to expand photo creation C. Project Bin drop-down menu

❖ Do any of the following:

• To open an image, drag a file from any location on your computer (including the Photo Browser) or from any

storage device connected to your computer into the Project Bin.

• To bring an opened image forward as the frontmost image, double-click a thumbnail.

• To rearrange photos, drag thumbnails in the Project Bin. The order here does not impact the photo’s order in the

Elements Organizer.

• To close an image, right-click a thumbnail in the Project Bin and choose Close.

• To hide an image, right-click the thumbnail and choose Minimize from the context menu.

Note: To show an image after hiding it, double-click its thumbnail in the Project Bin, or right-click the thumbnail and choose Restore from the context menu.

• To view a photo’s file information, right-click a thumbnail and choose File Info from the context menu.

• To duplicate an image, right-click a thumbnail, choose Duplicate from the context menu, and name the file.

• To rotate an image, right-click a thumbnail and choose Rotate 90° Left or Rotate 90° Right from the context menu.

• To show filenames, right-click in the Project Bin and choose Show Filenames from the context menu.

• To open or close the Project Bin, choose Window > Project Bin.

• To manually show or hide the Project Bin, click the title bar of the Project Bin.

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Undo, redo, and cancel

Undo, redo, or cancel operations

Many operations in both the Elements Organizer and the Editor can be undone or redone. For instance, you can restore all or part of an image to its last saved version. Available memory may limit your ability to use these options.

1 To undo or redo an operation, Choose Edit > Undo or choose Edit > Redo.

2 To cancel an operation, hold down the Esc key until the operation in progress has stopped.

Using the Undo History panel (Editor only)

The Undo History panel (Window > Undo History) lets you jump to any recent state of the image created during the current work session. Each time you apply a change to pixels in an image, the new state of that image is added to the Undo History panel. You don’t need to save a change in order for the change to appear in the History.

For example, if you select, paint, and rotate part of an image, each of those states is listed separately in the panel. You can then select any of the states, and the image reverts to how it looked when that change was first applied. You can then work from that state.

Actions, such as zooming and scrolling, do not affect pixels in the image and do not appear in the Undo History panel. Nor do program-wide changes, such as changes to panels, color settings, and preferences.

The Undo History panel A. Original state B. State C. Selected state and state slider

Note the following guidelines when using the Undo History panel:

• By default, the Undo History panel lists 50 previous states. Older states are automatically deleted to free more

memory for Photoshop Performance Preferences (Edit

Elements. You can change the number of states displayed in the Undo History panel in

> Preferences > Performance). The maximum number of states is 1000.

• The original state of the photo is always displayed at the top of the Undo History panel. You can always revert an

image to its original state by clicking this top state. Clicking the original state is also handy for comparing before and after versions of your editing.

• When you close and reopen the document, all states from the last working session are cleared from the panel.

• States are added to the bottom of the list. That is, the oldest state is at the top of the list, the most recent one is at

the bottom.

• Each state is listed with the name of the tool or command used to change the image.

• Selecting a state dims those below. This way you can easily see which changes will be discarded if you continue

working from the selected state.

• Selecting a state and then changing the image eliminates all states that came after it. Likewise, deleting a state deletes

that state and those that came after it.

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Revert to the last saved version

When editing a photo in Full Edit or Quick Fix, you can revert to the last saved version.

❖ Choose Edit > Revert.

Note: Revert is added as a history state in the Undo History panel and can be undone.

Revert to a previous state of an image

❖ In Full Edit or Quick Fix, do any of the following:

• Click the name of the state in the Undo History panel.

• Drag the slider at the left of the state up or down to a different state in the Undo History panel.

• Click the Undo or Redo buttons on the shortcuts bar.

• Choose Undo or Redo from the Undo History panel menu or the Edit menu.

To set the keyboard command for Step Forward and Step Backward, choose Edit > Preferences > General, and choose from the Step Back/Fwd menu.

Delete one or more states from the Undo History panel

❖ Do one of the following:

• To delete a state, click the name of the state, and choose Delete from the Undo History panel menu. States following

the one you selected are also deleted.

• To delete the list of states from the Undo History panel, without changing the image, choose Clear Undo History

from the panel menu or choose Edit if you get an alert that Photoshop

Note: Clearing the Undo History panel cannot be undone.

> Clear > Undo History. Clearing is useful for freeing up memory, especially

Elements is low on memory.

Clear memory used by the clipboard and the Undo History panel

You can delete items copied to the clipboard or states in the Undo History panel to free up memory.

❖ In Full Edit, do one of the following:

• To clear memory used by the clipboard, choose Edit > Clear > Clipboard Contents.

• To clear memory used by the Undo History panel, choose Edit > Clear > Undo History or choose Clear Undo

History from the Undo History panel menu.

•

To clear the memory used in both the clipboard and the Undo History panel simultaneously, choose Edit > Clear > All.

Note: Clearing the Undo History panel or clipboard cannot be undone.

Restore default preferences

Preference settings control how Photoshop Elements displays images, cursors, and transparencies, saves files, uses plug-ins and scratch disks, and so on. If the application exhibits unexpected behavior, the preferences file may be damaged. You can restore all preferences to their defaults.

❖ Press and hold Alt+Control+Shift immediately after Photoshop Elements begins launching. Click Yes to delete the

Adobe Photoshop Elements settings file.

A new preferences file is created the next time you start Photoshop Elements. For information on a specific preference option, search for the preference name in Help.

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Redisplay disabled warning messages

In certain situations, messages containing warnings or prompts are displayed. You can disable the display of these messages by selecting the Don’t Show Again option in the message, and reset the messages you’ve disabled at a later time.

1 In the Editor, choose Edit > Preferences > General.

2 Click Reset All Warning Dialogs, and click OK.

Scratch disks and plug-ins

About scratch disks

When your system does not have enough RAM to perform an operation, Photoshop Elements uses scratch disks. A scratch disk is any drive or partition of a drive with free memory. By default, Photoshop on which the operating system is installed as its primary scratch disk.

You can change the primary scratch disk or designate a second, third, or fourth scratch disk to be used when the primary disk is full. Your primary scratch disk should be your fastest hard disk and have plenty of defragmented space available.

Elements uses the hard drive

For best performance, use the following guidelines when assigning scratch disks:

• Scratch disks should not be on the same physical drive as Photoshop Elements or any large files you are editing.

• Scratch disks should not be on the same physical drive as the one used for the operating system’s virtual memory.

• Scratch disks should be on a local drive. That is, they should not be accessed over a network.

• Scratch disks should be conventional (non-removable) media.

• RAID disks/disk arrays are good choices for dedicated scratch disk volumes.

• Drives with scratch disks should be defragmented regularly. Or better yet, use an empty drive or a drive with plenty

of unused space to avoid fragmentation issues.

Change scratch disks

Photoshop Elements needs contiguous hard drive space to create a scratch disk. For this reason you should frequently defragment your hard drive. Adobe recommends that you use a disk tool utility, such as Windows Disk Defragmenter, to defragment your hard drive on a regular basis. See your Windows documentation for information on defragmentation utilities.

1 In the Editor, choose Edit > Preferences > Performance.

2 Select the desired disks from the Scratch Disks menu (you can assign up to four scratch disks), and click OK.

3 Restart Photoshop Elements for the change to take effect.

About plug-in modules

Plug-in modules are software programs developed by Adobe Systems and other software developers to add functionality to Photoshop program; they are inside the Photoshop to load compatible plug-ins stored with another application. You can also create a shortcut for a plug-in stored in another folder on your system. You can then add the shortcut or alias to the Plug-ins folder to use that plug-in with

Elements. A number of importing, exporting, and special-effects plug-ins come with your

Elements Plug-ins folder. You can select an additional plug-ins folder in which

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Photoshop Elements. Once installed, plug-in modules appear as options added to the Import or Export menu, as filters added to the Filter menu, or as file formats in the Open and Save As dialog boxes. If you install a large number of plug-ins, Photoshop appear in the Filter (~) at the beginning of the plug-in name, folder, or directory. That file (or all files in the folder) is ignored by the application when you restart it. To view information about installed plug-ins, choose Help a plug-in from the submenu.

Elements may not be able to list them all in their appropriate menus. If so, newly installed plug-ins

> Other submenu. To prevent a plug-in or folder of plug-ins from loading, add a tilde character

> About Plug-In and select

More Help topics

“Plug-in filters” on page 207

Install plug-in modules

❖ Do one of the following:

• Use the plug-in installer, if provided.

• Follow the installation instructions that came with the plug-in module.

• Make sure the plug-in files are uncompressed, and then copy them to the appropriate Plug-ins folder in the

Photoshop

Elements folder.

Select an additional plug-ins folder

You can select an additional plug-ins folder in which to load compatible plug-ins stored with another application.

1 In the Editor, choose Edit > Preferences > Plug-Ins

2 In the Preferences dialog, select Additional Plug-ins Folder, select a folder from the list, and click Choose.

3 To display the contents of a folder, double-click the directory. The path to the folder appears in the preferences

window.

Note: Do not select a location inside the Plug-ins folder for Photoshop Elements.

4 Restart Photoshop Elements to load the plug-ins.

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Chapter 3: Working in the Editor

Working in the Editor gives you choices about working with your files. You can set options for opening, saving, and exporting files by type, by file size, and resolution. You can also process and save camera raw files. These tools make it easy to combine files of different types and optimize them in Adobe®

In the Editor, you can create a blank file, open a recently used file, specify which files types to open in Photoshop

An additional option for working in the Editor is to use the Guided Edit feature. Guided Edits help you when you’re unsure of a workflow or how to accomplish a task.

Elements, and more.

Opening files in the Editor

Create a new blank file

You may want to create a web graphic, banner, or company logo and letterhead, in which case you need to start from a new blank file.

Photoshop® Elements 8.

1 In the Editor, choose File > New > Blank File.

2 Enter options for the new image and click OK.

Name Names the new image file.

Preset Provides options for setting the width, height, and resolution of images that you intend to print or to view

on-screen. Select Clipboard to use the size and resolution of data that you copied to the clipboard. You can also base a new image on the size and resolution of any open image by choosing its name from the bottom of the Preset menu.

Width, Height, and Resolution Sets these options individually. The default values are based on the last image you

created, unless you’ve copied data to the clipboard.

Color Mode Sets an image to RGB color, grayscale, or bitmap (1-bit mode).

Background Contents Sets the color of the image Background layer. White is the default. Select Background Color to

use the current background color (shown in the toolbox). Select Transparent to make the default layer transparent, with no color values—the new image will have a Layer 1 instead of a Background layer.

You can also right-click the background of an image to choose a background color (gray, black, or a custom color).

Open a file

In the Editor, you can open and import images in various file formats. The available formats appear in the Open dialog box, the Open As dialog box, and the Import submenu.

To open a file from the Media Browser in Elements Organizer, select it, click the triangle beside the Fix tab and select Full Photo Edit .

1 In the Editor, choose File > Open.

Locate and select the file you want to open. If the file does not appear, choose All Formats from the Files Of Type menu.

3 Click Open. In some cases, a dialog box appears, letting you set format-specific options.

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There may be instances when Photoshop Elements cannot determine the correct format of a file. For example, transferring a file between Mac OS® and Windows can cause the format to be mislabeled.

In such cases, you must

specify the correct format in which to open the file.

More Help topics

“Save changes in different file formats” on page 41

Open a recently used file

❖ In the Editor, choose File > Open Recently Edited File, and select a file from the submenu.

Note: To specify the number of files that are available in the Open Recently Edited File submenu, choose Edit > Preferences

> Saving Files, and enter a number in the Recent File List Contains text box.

Specify the file format in which to open a file

❖ Choose File > Open As, and select the file you want to open. Then choose the desired format from the Open As

menu, and click Open.

Important: If the file does not open, then the chosen format may not match the file’s true format, or the file may be damaged.

Open a PDF file

Portable Document Format (PDF) is a versatile file format that can represent both vector and bitmap data and can contain electronic document search and navigation features. PDF is the primary format for Adobe® Acrobat®.

With the Import PDF dialog box, you can preview the pages and images in a multipage PDF file, then decide if you want to open them in the Editor. You can choose to import full pages (including text and graphics), or you can import just the images from a PDF file. If you import only the images, the resolution, size, and color mode of the images remains unchanged. If you import pages, you can change the resolution and color mode.

Each page is shown as a thumbnail. To increase the size, choose an option from the Thumbnail Size menu.

Importing pages from a PDF file.

1 In the Editor, choose File > Open.

2 Select the name of the file, and click Open. You can change which types of files are shown by selecting an option

from the Files Of Type menu.

3 To import just the images from a PDF file, choose Image from the Select menu in the Import PDF dialog box. Select

the image or images you want to open. (To select multiple images, Ctrl-click each image.)

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4 To import pages from a PDF file, choose Page from the Select menu, and then do any of the following:

• If the file contains multiple pages, select the page or pages you want to open, and click OK. (To select multiple pages,

Ctrl-click each page.)

• Under Page Options, accept the existing name, or type a new filename in the Name box.

• Choose an option from the Mode menu (RGB to keep the photos in color, or Grayscale to automatically make them

black and white). If the file has an embedded ICC (International Color Consortium) profile, you can choose the profile from the menu.

• For Resolution, accept the default (300 ppi) or type a new value. A higher resolution increases the file size.

• Select Anti-aliased to minimize the jagged edges as the image is rasterized (bitmapped).

5 Select Suppress Warnings to hide any error messages during the import process.

6 Click OK to open the file.

Open an EPS file

Encapsulated PostScript® (EPS) can represent both vector and bitmap data and is supported by virtually all graphics, illustration, and page-layout programs. Adobe applications that produce PostScript artwork include Adobe Illustrator®. When lines and curves of the vector artwork are converted into the pixels or bits of a bitmap image. The Elements Organizer does not support EPS files.

you open an EPS file containing vector art in the Editor, it is rasterized—the mathematically defined

1 In the Editor, choose File > Open.

2 Select the file you want to open, and click Open.

3 Indicate the desired dimensions, resolution, and mode. To maintain the same height-to-width ratio, select

Constrain Proportions.

4 Select Anti-aliased to minimize the jagged appearance of edges, and then click OK.

Anti-aliasing lets you produce smooth-edged objects by blending the edges of the objects into the background.

You can also bring PostScript artwork into Photoshop Elements using the Place command and the Paste command.

Place a PDF, Adobe Illustrator, or EPS file in a new layer

You can place PDF, Adobe® Illustrator®, or EPS files into a new layer in an image. Because the placed artwork is rasterized (bitmapped), you cannot edit text or vector data in placed artwork. The artwork is rasterized at the resolution of the file into which it is placed.

1 In the Editor, open the image into which you want to place the artwork.

2 Choose File > Place, select the file you want to place, and click Place.

3 If you are placing a PDF file that contains multiple pages, select the page you want to place from the provided dialog

box, and click OK.

The placed artwork appears inside a bounding box at the center of the Photoshop Elements image. The artwork maintains its original aspect ratio; however, if the artwork is larger than the Photoshop

Elements image, it is resized to fit.

4 (Optional) Reposition the placed artwork by positioning the pointer inside the bounding box of the placed artwork

and dragging.

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5 (Optional) Scale the placed artwork by doing one or more of the following:

• Drag one of the handles at the corners or sides of the bounding box. Hold down Shift as you drag a corner handle

to constrain the proportions.

• In the options bar, enter values for W and H to specify the width and height of the artwork. By default, these options

represent scale as a percentage. However, you can enter a different unit of measurement—in (inches), cm (centimeters), or px (pixels). To constrain the proportions of the artwork, click the Constrain Proportions box. This option is on when the icon has a white background.

6 (Optional) Rotate the placed artwork by doing one or more of the following:

• Position the pointer outside the bounding box of the placed artwork (the pointer turns into a curved arrow), and

drag.

• In the options bar, enter a value (in degrees) for the Rotation option .

7 (Optional) Skew the placed artwork by holding down Ctrl and dragging a side handle of the bounding box.

8 Set the Anti-alias option in the options bar. To blend edge pixels during rasterization, select the Anti-alias option.

To produce a hard-edged transition between edge pixels during rasterization, deselect the Anti-alias option.

9 To commit the placed artwork to a new layer, do one of the following:

• Click the Commit button .

• Press Enter.

To cancel the placement, click the Cancel button , or press Esc.

Process multiple files

The Process Multiple Files command applies settings to a folder of files. If you have a digital camera or a scanner with a document feeder, you can also import and process multiple images. (Your scanner or digital camera may need an acquire plug-in module that supports these actions.)

When processing files, you can leave all the files open, close and save the changes to the original files, or save modified versions of the files to a new location (leaving the originals unchanged). If you are saving the processed files to a new location, you may want to create a new folder for the processed files before starting the

Note: The Process Multiple Files command does not work on multiple page files.

1 Choose File > Process Multiple Files.

2 Choose the files to process from the Process Files From pop-up menu:

Folder Processes files in a folder you specify. Click Browse to locate and select the folder.

Import Processes images from a digital camera or scanner.

Opened Files Processes all open files.

3 Select Include All Subfolders if you want to process files in subdirectories of the specified folder.

4 For Destination, click Browse and select a folder location for the processed files.

batch.

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5 If you chose Folder as the destination, specify a file-naming convention and select file compatibility options for the

processed files:

• For Rename Files, select elements from the pop-up menus or enter text into the fields to be combined into the

default names for all files. The fields let you change the order and formatting of the components of the filename. You must include at least one field that is unique for every file (for example, filename, serial number, or serial letter) to prevent files from overwriting each other. Starting Serial Number specifies the starting number for any serial number fields. If you select Serial Letter from the pop-up menu, serial letter fields always start with the letter “A” for the first file.

• For Compatibility, choose Windows, Mac OS, and UNIX® to make filenames compatible with the Windows,

OS, and UNIX operating systems.

Mac

6 Under Image Size, select Resize Images if you want each processed file resized to a uniform size. Then type in a

width and height for the photos, and choose an option from the Resolution menu. Select Constrain Proportions to keep the width and height proportional.

7 To apply an automatic adjustment to the images, select an option from the Quick Fix panel.

8 To attach a label to the images, choose an option from the Labels menu, then customize the text, text position, font,

size, opacity, and color. (To change the text color, click the color swatch and choose a new color from the Color Picker.)

9 Select Log Errors That Result From Processing Files to record each error in a file without stopping the process. If

errors are logged to a file, a message appears after processing. To the Batch command has run.

10 Click OK to process and save the files.

review the error file, open with a text editor after

Close a file

1 Do one of the following in the Editor:

• Choose File > Close.

• Choose File > Close All.

2 Choose whether or not to save the file:

• Click Yes to save the file.

• Click No to close the file without saving it.

File information

About file information (metadata)

When you take a photo with your digital camera, each image file includes information such as the date and time the photo was taken, the shutter speed and aperture, the specific camera model, and so on. When you import a video clip or audio clip, the files contain important media file information. All of this information is called metadata, and you can view it and add to it in the Properties panel of the Elements Organizer and the File Info dialog box in the Editor.

You can add file information, such as a title, keyword tags, and descriptions, to help identify your images as you manage and organize your collection. As you edit your images, Photoshop file’s edit history and adds this information to the file’s metadata.

Elements automatically keeps track of the

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In addition, opened images are automatically scanned for Digimarc watermarks. If a watermark is detected, Photoshop

Elements displays a copyright symbol in the image window’s title bar and includes the information in the

View or add file information in the Editor

In the Editor, the File Info dialog box displays camera data, caption, and copyright and authorship information that has been added to the file. Using this dialog box, you can modify or add information to files saved in Photoshop XMP provides Adobe applications and workflow partners with a common XML framework that standardizes the creation, processing, and interchange of document metadata across publishing workflows. If you have metadata that you repeatedly enter for different files, you can create metadata templates to expedite the adding of information to files.

You cannot edit the information displayed for the Keywords, Camera Data 1, and Camera Data 2 metadata categories.

Important: Tags added to a file in the Media Browser appear as keywords in the File Info dialog box. Some file formats, such as PDF and BMP, do not support tags as keywords.

1 With an image open, choose File > File Info. (You can also right-click a thumbnail in the Photo Bin and choose File

2 Click the Description attribute on the left of the dialog box to display specific information. In Description, you can

Elements. The information you add is embedded in the file using XMP (Extensible Metadata Platform).

Info.)

add or modify the document title, file authorship, caption, caption authorship, and copyright information. Type in the appropriate text boxes and click OK to embed the information. For copyright status, choose from the Copyright Status menu.

Use the Info panel in the Editor

In the Full Edit workspace, the Info panel displays file information about an image and also provides feedback as you use a tool. Make sure the Info panel is visible in your work area if you want to view information while dragging in the image.

1 Display the Info panel by clicking its triangle if it’s in the Panel Bin. If the Info panel isn’t visible in the Panel Bin

or the work area, choose Window > Info to display the panel.

2 Select a tool.

3 Move the pointer into the image, or drag within the image to use the tool. The following information may appear,

depending on which tool you’re using:

The numeric values for the color beneath the pointer.

The x- and y-coordinates of the pointer.

The width (W) and height (H) of a marquee or shape as you drag, or the width and height of an active selection.

The x- and y-coordinates of your starting position (when you click in the image).

The change in position along the x-coordinate, , and y-coordinate, , as you move a selection, layer, or

shape.

The angle (A) of a line or gradient, the change in angle as you move a selection, layer, or shape, or the angle of

rotation during a transformation. The change in distance (D) as you move a selection, layer, or shape.

The percentage of change in width (W) and height (H) as you scale a selection, layer, or shape.

The angle of horizontal skew (H) or vertical skew (V) as you skew a selection, layer, or shape.

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More Help topics

“About color” on page 168

“About image modes” on page 170

Set color modes and units of measurement in the Info panel

❖ Do one of the following:

• To change the mode of color values displayed, click an eyedropper icon in the Info panel, and choose a color

mode from the pop-up menu. You can also choose Panel Options from the More menu in the Info panel, then choose a color mode for First Color Readout and/or Second Color Readout:

Grayscale Displays the grayscale values beneath the pointer.

RGB Color Displays the RGB (red, green, blue) values beneath the pointer.

Web Color Displays the hexadecimal code for the RGB values beneath the pointer.

HSB Color Displays the HSB (hue, saturation, brightness) values beneath the pointer.

• To change the unit of measurement displayed, click the cross hair in the Info panel, and choose a unit of

measurement from the pop-up menu. You can also choose Panel Options from the More menu in the Info panel. Choose a unit of measurement from the Ruler Units menu, and click

OK.

Display file information in the Info panel or status bar

In the Editor, you can change the information displayed in the Info panel or the status bar. (The leftmost section of the status bar, which is located at the bottom of the document window, displays the current magnification. The section next to the leftmost one displays information about the current file.)

1 Do one of the following:

• In the Info panel, choose Panel Options from the More menu.

• In the status bar, click the black triangle.

2 Select a view option:

Document Sizes Displays information on the amount of data in the image. The number on the left represents the

printing size of the image—approximately the size of the saved, flattened file in PSD format. The number on the right indicates the file’s approximate size, including layers.

Document Profile Displays the name of the color profile used by the image.

Document Dimensions Displays the size of the image in the currently selected units.

Scratch Sizes Displays RAM and scratch disk usage and allocation. The number on the left indicates the RAM used

and scratch disk space allocated to Photoshop Photoshop

Efficiency Displays the percentage of time actually spent performing an operation instead of reading from or writing

Elements can use for image storage or the scratch disk.

to the scratch disk. If the value is below 100%, Photoshop more slowly.

Elements. The number on the right indicates the amount of RAM that

Elements is using the scratch disk and, therefore, is operating

Timing Shows how long it took to complete the last operation.

Current Tool Shows the name of the active tool.

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More Help topics

“About color” on page 168

“About scratch disks” on page 26

“About rulers, grids, and guides” on page 38

Save or delete metadata templates in the Editor

If you have metadata that you repeatedly enter, you can save the metadata entries in metadata templates. The templates can be used for entering information, and they save you the effort of retyping metadata in the File Info dialog box. In the Media Browser, you can search for metadata to locate files and photos.

❖ In the Editor, open the File Info dialog box and do one of the following:

• To save metadata as a template, click the triangle at the top right of the File Info dialog box, and choose Save

Metadata Template. Enter a template name, and click Save.

• To delete a metadata template, click the triangle at the top right of the File Info dialog box, and choose Delete

Metadata Template. Select the name of the template you want to delete, and click Delete.

Note: To open the file location of your metadata templates, click the triangle icon at the top right of the File Info dialog box, and choose Show Templates.

Use a saved metadata template in the Editor

❖ In the Editor, choose File > File Info, click the triangle at the top of the File Info dialog box, and choose a template

name from the top section of the menu. The metadata from the template will replace the current metadata.

Note: You must save a metadata template before you can import metadata from a template.

Viewing images in the Editor

Viewing images in Full Edit or Quick Fix

In Full Edit or Quick Fix, the Hand tool , the Zoom tools , the Zoom commands, and the Navigator panel let you view different areas of an image at different magnifications. The document window is where your image appears. You can open additional windows to display several views of an image at once (such as different magnifications).

You can magnify or reduce your view using various methods. The window’s title bar displays the zoom percentage (unless the window is too small for the display to fit).

If you want to view another area of an image, either use the window scroll bars or select the Hand tool and drag to pan

image. You can also use the Navigator panel.

over the

To use the Hand tool while another tool is selected, hold down the spacebar as you drag within the image.

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Dragging the Hand tool to view another area of an image.

Zoom in or out

❖ In Full Edit or Quick Fix, do one of the following:

• Select the Zoom tool , and click either the Zoom In or Zoom Out button in the options bar. Click the

area you want to magnify. Each click magnifies or reduces the image to the next preset percentage, and centers the display around the point you click. When the image has reached its maximum magnification level of 3200% or minimum reduction level of 1 pixel, the magnifying glass appears empty.

Note: You can drag a Zoom tool over the part of an image you want to magnify. Make sure that the Zoom In button is selected in the options bar. To move the zoom marquee around the image, begin dragging a marquee, and then hold down the spacebar while dragging the marquee to a new location.

Dragging the Zoom tool to magnify the view of an image.

• Click the Zoom In or Zoom Out button in the Navigator panel.

• Choose View > Zoom In or View > Zoom Out.

• Enter the desired magnification level in the Zoom text box, either in the status bar or in the Navigator panel.

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When using a Zoom tool, hold down Alt to switch between zooming in and zooming out.

Display an image at 100%

❖ In Full Edit or Quick Fix, do one of the following:

• Double-click the Zoom tool in the toolbox.

• Select a Zoom tool or the Hand tool, and click the 1:1 button in the options bar.

• Choose View > Actual Pixels, or right-click the image and choose Actual Pixels.

• Enter 100% in the status bar and press Enter.

Fit an image to the screen

❖ In Full Edit or Quick Fix, do one of the following:

• Double-click the Hand tool in the toolbox.

• Select a Zoom tool or the Hand tool, and then click the Fit Screen button in the options bar. Or, right-click the

image and choose Fit On Screen.

• Choose View > Fit On Screen.

These options scale both the zoom level and the window size to fit the available screen space.

Resize the window while zooming

❖ With a Zoom tool active, select Resize Windows To Fit in the options bar. The window changes size as you magnify

or reduce the view of the image.

When Resize Windows To Fit is deselected, the window maintains a constant size regardless of the image’s magnification. This can be helpful when you are using smaller monitors or working with tiled images.

Note: To automatically resize the window when using keyboard shortcuts to reduce or magnify an image view, in the Editor, choose Edit

> Preferences > General, and then select the Zoom Resizes Windows preference and click OK.

Using the Navigator panel

The Navigator panel lets you adjust the image’s magnification and area of view. Typing a value in the text box, clicking the Zoom Out or Zoom In button, or dragging the zoom slider changes the magnification. Drag the view box in the image thumbnail to move the view of an image. The view box represents the boundaries of the image window. You can also click in the thumbnail of the image to designate the area of view.

Note: To change the color of the view box, choose Panel Options from the Navigator panel menu. Choose a color from the Color menu or click the color swatch to open the Color Picker and select a custom color. Click

A BCD E

OK.

The Navigator panel A. Zoom text box B. Zoom Out C. Drag the view box to move the view D. Zoom slider E. Zoom In

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More Help topics

“Fit an image to the screen” on page 37

Open multiple windows of the same image

In Full Edit, you can open multiple windows to display different views of the same file. A list of open windows appears in the Window menu, and thumbnails of each open image appear in the Photo Bin. Available memory may limit the number of windows per

❖ Choose View > New Window For [image filename]. Depending on the position of the first window, you may have

to move the second window to view both simultaneously.

You can use the New Window command when you’re working with a zoomed image to see what the image will look like at 100% size in a separate window.

image.

View and arrange multiple windows

❖ In Full Edit, do one of the following:

• To display windows stacked and cascading from the upper left to the lower right of the screen, choose Window >

> Cascade.

Images

• To display windows edge-to-edge, choose Window > Images > Tile. As you close images, the open windows are

resized to fill the available space.

• To view all open images at the same magnification as the active image, choose Window > Images > Match Zoom.

• To view the same section (upper-left corner, center, lower-right corner, and so on) of all open photos, choose

> Images > Match Location. The view in all windows shifts to match the active (frontmost) image. The

Window zoom level does not change.

Close windows

❖ In Full Edit, do one of the following:

• Choose File > Close to close the active window.

• Click the Close button on the title bar of the active window.

• Right-click a thumbnail in the Photo Bin and choose Close.

• Choose File > Close All to close all open windows.

Guides, grids, and rulers

About rulers, grids, and guides

In Full Edit, rulers, grids, and guides help you position items (such as selections, layers, and shapes) precisely across the width or length of an image. In Quick Fix, only guides and grids are available.

When visible, rulers appear along the top and left side of the active window. Markers in the ruler display the pointer’s position when you move it. Changing the ruler origin (the 0, 0 mark on the top and left rulers) lets you measure from a specific point on the image. The ruler origin also determines the grid’s point of origin.

Use the View menu to show or hide the rulers (Full Edit only), the grid or guide. The View menu also helps you to enable or disable the snapping of items to the grid or guide.

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Change the rulers’ zero origin and settings

❖ In Full Edit, do one of the following:

• To change the rulers’ zero origin, position the pointer over the intersection of the rulers in the upper-left corner of

the window, and drag diagonally down onto the image. A set of cross hairs appears, marking the new origin on the rulers. The new zero origin will be set where you release the mouse button.

Note: To reset the ruler origin to its default value, double-click the upper-left corner of the rulers.

Dragging to create a new ruler origin.

• To change the rulers’ settings, double-click a ruler, or choose Edit > Preferences > Units & Rulers. For Rulers,

choose a unit of measurement. For Column size, enter values for Width and Gutter. Click

Some layout programs use the column width setting to specify the display of an image across columns. The Image Size and Canvas Size commands also use this setting.

Note: Changing the units on the Info panel automatically changes the units on the rulers.

OK.

More Help topics

“Use the Info panel in the Editor” on page 33

“Change the size of the canvas” on page 133

“Change print dimensions and resolution without resampling” on page 137

Change the grid settings

1 In Full Edit or Quick Fix, choose Edit > Preferences > Guides & Grid.

2 For Color, choose a preset color, or click the color swatch to choose a custom color.

3 For Style, choose the line style for the grid. Choose Lines for solid lines, or choose Dashed lines or Dots for broken

lines.

4 For Gridline Every, enter a number value, and then choose the unit of measurement to define the spacing of major

grid lines.

5 For Subdivisions, enter a number value to define the frequency of minor grid lines, and click OK.

Change the guide settings

1 In Full Edit or Quick Fix, choose Edit > Preferences > Guides & Grid.

2 For Color, choose a preset color, or click the color swatch to choose a custom color.

3 For Style, choose the line style for the grid. Choose Lines for solid lines, and Dashed Lines or Dots for broken lines.

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Saving and exporting images

About saving images and file formats

For a video about this process, see www.adobe.com/go/lrvid2321_pse8_en.

After you edit an image in the Editor, ensure that you save it. To ensure that all the image data is preserved, save regular images in Photoshop (PSD) format. Multiple-page creations are always saved in Photo Creations (PSE) format. These formats don’t compress your image data.

Save your photos in PSD format (instead of JPEG), unless you plan to share your photos or use them in a web page. Each time you save in JPEG format, the image data is compressed, potentially causing some data to be lost. You may start to notice reduced image quality after saving the file as a JPEG 2-3 times. The disadvantage of saving in PSD format is that the file size increases significantly because the file is not compressed.

Photoshop Elements can save images in several file formats, depending on how you plan to use them. If you are working with web images, the Save For Web command provides many options for optimizing images. To convert several images to the same file format, or the same size and resolution, use the Process Multiple Files command.

More Help topics

“Using the Save For Web dialog box” on page 266

“Process multiple files” on page 31

File formats for saving

Photoshop Elements can save images in the following file formats:

BMP A standard Windows image format. You can specify either Windows or OS/2 format and a bit depth for the

image. For 4-bit and 8-bit images using Windows format, you can also specify RLE compression.

CompuServe GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) Commonly used to display graphics and small animations in web

pages. GIF is a compressed format designed to minimize file size and transfer time. GIF supports only 8-bit color images (256 or fewer colors). You can also save an image as a GIF file using the Save For Web command.

JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) Used to save photographs, JPEG format retains all color information in an

image but compresses file size by selectively discarding data. You can choose the level of compression. Higher compression results in lower image quality and a smaller file size; lower compression results in better image quality and a larger file size. JPEG is a standard format for displaying images over the web.

PCX A bitmap format widely supported on a variety of platforms.

Photoshop (PSD) The standard Photoshop Elements format for images. You should generally use this format for

edited images to save your work and preserve all your image data and layers in a single page file.

Photo Creations Format (PSE) The standard Photoshop Elements format for multiple page creations. You should

generally use this format for photo creations to save your work and preserve all your image data and layers in a multiple page file.

Photoshop PDF (Portable Document Format) A cross-platform and cross-application file format. PDF files accurately

display and preserve fonts, page layouts, and both vector and bitmap graphics.

Note: PDF and PDP are the same except that PDPs are opened in Adobe Photoshop® and PDFs are opened in Acrobat.

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Photoshop EPS (Encapsulated PostScript) Used to share Photoshop files with many illustration and page-layout

programs. For best results, print documents with EPS images to PostScript-enabled printers.

PICT Used with Mac OS graphics and page-layout applications to transfer images between applications. PICT is

especially effective at compressing images with large areas of solid color.

When saving an RGB image in PICT format, you can choose either 16-bit or 32-bit pixel resolution. For a grayscale image, you can choose from 2, 4, or 8 bits per pixel.

Pixar Used for exchanging files with Pixar image computers. Pixar workstations are designed for high-end graphics

applications, such as those used for three-dimensional images and animation. Pixar format supports RGB and grayscale images.

PNG (Portable Network Graphics) Used for lossless compression and for displaying images on the web. Unlike GIF,

PNG supports 24-bit images and produces background transparency without jagged edges; however, some web browsers do not support PNG images. PNG preserves transparency in grayscale and RGB images.

Photoshop Raw Used for transferring images between applications and computer platforms when other formats don’t

work.

Scitex CT Used in the prepress industry.

TGA (Targa) Designed for systems using the Truevision video board. When saving an RGB image in this format, you

can choose a pixel depth of 16, 24, or 32 bits per pixel and RLE compression.

TIFF (Tagged-Image File Format) Used to exchange files between applications and computer platforms. TIFF is a

flexible bitmap image format supported by most paint, image-editing, and page-layout applications. Most desktop scanners can produce TIFF files.

In addition, Photoshop Elements can open files in several other older formats: PS 2.0, Pixel Paint, Alias Pix, IFF format, Portable Bit Map, SGI RGB, Soft Image, Wavefront RLA, and ElectricImage.

More Help topics

“Optimized file formats for the web” on page 267

Save changes in different file formats

You can set options for saving image files, such as the format, and whether to include the saved file in the Photo Browser catalog or to preserve layers in an image. Depending on the format you select, other options may be available to set.

More Help topics

“Set file-saving preferences” on page 45

“About transparent and matted web images” on page 274

“About the JPEG format” on page 268

“Optimized file formats for the web” on page 267

“About the GIF format” on page 269

“Convert an image to indexed color” on page 172

“About the PNG-8 format” on page 269

“About the PNG-24 format” on page 270

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Change file-saving options

1 In the Editor, choose File > Save.

2 To change file-saving options, such as the filename or format, choose File > Save As, set any of the following file-

saving options, and then click Save.

Note: Some file formats open another dialog box with additional options.

File Name Specifies the filename for the saved image.

Format Specifies the file format for the saved image.

Include In The Elements Organizer Includes the saved file in your catalog so that it displays in the Photo Browser. Note

that some file formats supported in the Editor are not supported in the Elements Organizer. If you save a file in one of these formats, like EPS, this option is unavailable.

Save In Version Set With Original Saves the file, then adds it to a version set in the Photo Browser to keep the different

versions of the image organized. This option is unavailable unless Include In The Organizer is selected.

Layers Preserves all layers in the image. If this option is disabled or unavailable, there are no layers in the image. A

warning icon selected format. In some formats, all layers are merged. To preserve layers, select another format.

As a Copy Saves a copy of the file while keeping the current file open. The copy is saved to the folder containing the

currently open file.

at the Layers check box indicates that the layers in your image will be flattened or merged for the

ICC Profile Embed a color profile in the image for certain formats.

Thumbnail Saves thumbnail data for the file. This option is available when the Ask When Saving option for Image

Previews is set in the Preferences dialog box.

Use Lower Case Extension Makes the file extension lowercase.

Note: UNIX file servers are often used to help send information over networks and the Internet. Some of these servers do not recognize uppercase extensions. To make sure your images arrive at their destinations, use lowercase extensions.

Save a file in GIF format

1 In the Editor , choose File > Save As.

2 Specify a filename and location, and choose CompuServe GIF Format from the format list.

Your image is saved as a copy in the specified directory (unless it's already in indexed-color mode).

3 If you are creating an animated GIF, select the Layers As Frames option. Each layer in the final file will play as a

single frame in the animated GIF.

4 Click Save. If your original image is RGB, the Indexed Color dialog box appears.

5 If necessary, specify indexed color options in the Indexed Color dialog box and click OK.

6 In the GIF Options dialog box, select a row order for the GIF file and click OK:

Normal Displays the image in a browser only when the image is fully downloaded.

Interlaced Displays a series of low-resolution versions of the image while the full image file is downloaded to the

browser. Interlacing can make downloading time seem shorter and assures viewers that downloading is in progress. However, interlacing also increases file size.

Save a file in JPEG format

1 In the Editor , choose File > Save As, and choose JPEG from the format list.

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Note: You cannot save indexed-color and bitmap mode images in JPEG format.

2 Specify a filename and location, select file-saving options, and click Save.

The JPEG Options dialog box opens.

3 If the image contains transparency, select a Matte color to simulate the appearance of background transparency.

4 Specify image compression and quality by choosing an option from the Quality menu, dragging the Quality slider,

or entering a value between 1 and 12.

5 Select a format option:

Baseline (“Standard”) Uses a format that is recognizable to most web browsers.

Baseline Optimized Optimizes the color quality of the image and produces a slightly smaller file size. This option is

not supported by all web browsers.

Progressive Creates an image that is gradually displayed as it is downloaded to a web browser. Progressive JPEG files

are slightly larger in size, require more RAM for viewing, and are not supported by all applications and web browsers.

6 To view the estimated download time of the image, select a modem speed from the Size pop-up menu. (The Size

preview is available only when Preview is selected.)

Note: If a Java application cannot read your JPEG file, try saving the file without a thumbnail preview.

7 Click OK.

Save a file in Photoshop EPS format

1 In the Editor , choose File > Save As, and choose Photoshop EPS from the format list.

2 Specify a filename and location, select file-saving options, and click Save.

3 In the EPS Options dialog box, set the following options:

• For Preview, choose TIFF (8 bits/pixel) for better display quality, or choose TIFF 1-bit/pixel for a smaller file size.

• For Encoding, choose an encoding method from the following options:

• ASCII

• ASCII85

• JPEG(Low Quality)

• JPEG(Medium Quality)

• JPEG(High Quality)

• JPEG(Maximum Quality)

4 To display white areas in the image as transparent, select Transparent Whites. This option is available only for

images in bitmap mode.

5 If you want to apply anti-aliasing to a printed low-resolution image, select Image Interpolation.

6 Click OK.

Save a file in Photoshop PDF format

1 In the Editor , choose File > Save As, and choose Photoshop PDF from the format list.

2 Specify a filename and location, select file-saving options, and click Save.

3 In the Save Adobe PDF dialog box, select a compression method. (See “Understanding file compression” on

page 44.)

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4 Choose an option from the Image Quality menu.

5 To view the PDF file, select View PDF After Saving to launch Adobe Acrobat or Adobe® Reader (depending on

which application is installed on your computer).

6 Click Save PDF.

If you've made changes to an Acrobat Touchup file, but the changes are not reflected when you open the file, check the Saving File preferences dialog box. Choose Edit > Preferences > Saving Files, and then choose Save Over Current File

from the On First Save menu.

Save a file in PNG format

1 In the Editor , choose File > Save As, and choose PNG from the format list.

2 Specify a filename and location, select file-saving options, and click Save.

3 In the PNG Options dialog box, select an Interlace option and click OK.

None Displays the image in a web browser only after it is completely downloaded.

Interlaced Displays low-resolution versions of the image while the full image file is downloading to the browser.

Interlacing can make downloading time seem shorter and assures viewers that downloading is in progress. However, interlacing also increases file size.

Save a file in TIFF format

1 In the Editor , choose File > Save As, and choose TIFF from the format list.

2 Specify a filename and location, select file-saving options, and click Save.

3 In the TIFF Options dialog box, select options:

Image Compression Specifies a method for compressing the composite image data.

Pixel Order Choose Interleaved to be able to add the photo to the Elements Organizer.

Byte Order Most recent applications can read files using Mac or Windows byte order. However, if you don’t know

what kind of program the file may be opened in, select the platform on which the file will be read.

Save Image Pyramid Preserves multiresolution information. Photoshop Elements does not provide options for

opening multiresolution files; the image opens at the highest resolution within the file. However, Adobe InDesign® and some image servers provide support for opening multiresolution formats.

Save Transparency Preserves transparency as an additional alpha channel when the file is opened in another

application. (Transparency is always preserved when the file is reopened in Photoshop

Layer Compression Specifies a method for compressing data for pixels in layers (as opposed to composite data).

Elements.)

Many applications cannot read layer data and skip it when opening a TIFF file. Photoshop Elements can read layer data in TIFF files. Although files that include layer data are larger than those that don’t, saving layer data eliminates the need to save and manage a separate PSD file to hold the layer data.

Understanding file compression

Many image file formats compress image data to reduce file size. Lossless compression preserves all image data without removing detail; lossy compression removes image data and loses some detail.

The following are commonly used compression techniques:

RLE (Run Length Encoding) Lossless compression technique that compresses the transparent portions of each layer in

images with multiple layers containing transparency.

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LZW (Lemple-Zif-Welch) Lossless compression that provides the best results in compressing images that contain large

areas of a single color.

JPEG Lossy compression that provides the best results with photographs.

CCITT A family of lossless compression techniques for black-and-white images.

ZIP Lossless compression technique that is most effective for images that contain large areas of a single color.

Set file-saving preferences

❖ In the Editor , choose Edit > Preferences > Saving Files, and set the following options:

On First Save Gives you the ability to control how files are saved:

• Ask If Original (default) opens the Save As dialog box the first time you edit and save the original file. All

subsequent saves overwrite the previous version. If you open the edited copy in the Editor (from Elements Organizer), the first save, as well as all subsequent saves, overwrites the previous version.

• Always Ask opens the Save As dialog box the first time you edit and save the original file. All subsequent saves

overwrite the previous version. If you open the edited copy in the Editor (from Elements Organizer), the first save opens the Save As dialog box.

• Save Over Current File does not open the Save As dialog box. The first save overwrites the original.

Image Previews Saves a preview image with the file. Select Never Save to save files without previews, Always Save to

save files with specified previews, or Ask When Saving to assign previews on a file-by-file basis.

File Extension Specifies an option for the three-character file extensions that indicate a file’s format: Select Use Upper

Case to append file extensions using uppercase characters, or Use Lower Case to append file extensions using lowercase characters. Generally it’s a good idea to keep this option set to Use Lower Case.

Prefer Adobe Camera Raw Files For Supported Raw Files Ensures that all the supported raw files are opened with

Adobe Camera Raw instead of other software. Select this option if you have added other plug-ins to Plug-Ins folder.

Ignore Camera Data (EXIF) Profiles Select this option to automatically discard any color profiles used by your digital

camera. The color profile you use in Photoshop

Maximize PSD File Compatibility Saves a composite image in a layered Photoshop file so that it can be imported or

Elements is saved with the image.

opened by a wider range of applications. Do one of the following:

• Select Never to skip this step

• Select Always to automatically save the composite

• Select Ask if you’d like to be prompted each time you save a file

Recent File List Contains: _ Files Specifies how many files are available in the File > Open Recently Edited File

submenu. Enter a value from 0 to 30. The default value is 10.

More Help topics

“Save changes in different file formats” on page 41

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Guided Edit

The Guided Edit mode provides more structure around specific tasks, helping you accomplish those tasks more easily, and with explanations throughout the process. The Guided Edit tab is located in the Edit tab of the Panel Bin in the Editor.

With Guided Edit, you can complete these tasks:

Basic Photo Edits Crop, recompose, rotate and straighten or both, and sharpen photos.

Lighting And Exposure Lighten or darken, adjust brightness and contrast, and adjust levels.

Color Correction Enhance colors, remove a color cast, and correct skin tone.

Guided Activities Touch up scratches, blemishes or tear marks, guide for editing a photo, and fix keystone distortion.

Photomerge Intelligently merge multiple images of group shots or faces, or use the scene cleaner to remove unwanted

elements in a photo.

Note: The Guided Edits available may vary in your version of Photoshop Elements.

Automated Actions Lets you perform a series of tasks on a photo. Photoshop Elements comes with a set of actions.

You can also play actions created in Adobe Photoshop CS3. Keep in mind that the custom actions can only perform tasks that use features supported in Photoshop

Elements, and may not work on all file types or layers.

Photographic Effects Lets you apply effects to create a line drawing, create an old-fashioned photo look, and make a

photo look saturated like slide film images.

Use the Guided Edit options

1 On the Edit tab in the Editor, click the Edit Guided button.

2 Choose from the list of Guided Edits.

3 Do one of the following:

• Follow the steps that appear and click Done.

• Click Cancel to choose a different Guided Edit, or go back to the Editor.

Note: If you enter a Guided Edit, then click on the “After Only” button at the bottom of the Guided Edit panel to see the Before and After view of your photo, when you exit the Guided Edit, that view will remain. To reset the view back to After only (the default), click on the window mode button again until the After only view is restored, or simply click on either Full or Quick modes to reset to a single view.

The Crop Photo Guided Edit

Use the Crop Photo Guided Edit to crop an image.

You can view the after image only, or view both the before and after images either vertically or horizontally.

Note: You can also use the Cookie Cutter tool to crop an image. For more on the Cookie Cutter tool, see “Use the Cookie

Cutter tool” on page 133.

For more information on cropping, see “Cropping” on page 131.

The Recompose Photo Guided Edit

For more information on the features used in the Recompose Photo Guided Edit, see “Recomposing” on page 160.

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The Rotate And/Or Straighten Guided Edit

Use the Rotate and/or Straighten Guided Edit to rotate a picture in 90-degree increments or draw a line through an image to realign it.

You can view the after image only, or view both the before and after images either vertically or horizontally.

For more on rotating an image, see “Rotate or flip an item” on page 155.

For more on straightening an image, see “Straighten an image” on page 134.

The Sharpen Photo Guided Edit

Use the Sharpen Photo Guided Edit to sharpen an image.

You can view the after image only, or view both the before and after images either vertically or horizontally.

For more on sharpening images, see “Sharpening overview” on page 152 or “Sharpen an image” on page 153.

The Lighten Or Darken Guided Edit

Use the Lighten or Darken Guided Edit to lighten or darken an image.

You can view the after image only, or view both the before and after images either vertically or horizontally.

For more on lightening or darkening an image, see “Adjusting shadows and light” on page 109.

The Brightness And Contrast Guided Edit

Use the Brightness And Contrast Guided Edit to adjust brightness or contrast in an image.

You can view the after image only, or view both the before and after images either vertically or horizontally.

For more on adjusting brightness and contrast, see “Adjusting shadows and light” on page 109.

The Adjust Levels Guided Edit

For more information on using Levels, see “About Levels adjustments” on page 112.

The Enhance Colors Guided Edit

Use the Enhance Colors Guided Edit to enhance the hue, saturation, and lightness in an image.

You can view the after image only, or view both the before and after images either vertically or horizontally.

For more on enhancing colors, see “Adjusting color saturation and hue” on page 120.

The Remove A Color Cast Guided Edit

Use the Remove a Color Cast Guided Edit to correct color casts in an image.

You can view the after image only, or view both the before and after images either vertically or horizontally.

For more on correcting color casts, see “Correcting color casts” on page 116.

The Correct Skin Tone Guided Edit

Use the Correct Skin Tone Guided Edit to correct skin tones (tan, blush, and ambient light) in an image.

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You can view the after image only, or view both the before and after images either vertically or horizontally.

For more on correcting color casts, see “Adjust the color of skin tone” on page 122.

The Touch Up Photo Guided Edit

Use the Touch Up Photo Guided Edit to fix (large or small) flaws in an image (using the Healing Brush or the Spot Healing Brush).

You can view the after image only, or view both the before and after images either vertically or horizontally.

For more on correcting color casts, see “Fix large imperfections” on page 141 or “Remove spots and small

imperfections” on page 140.

The “Guide For Editing A Photo” Guided Edit

Use the “Guide for Editing a Photo” Guided Edit to follow the recommended sequence of applying common editing steps to your photos. This sequence is how Adobe recommends you make your various edits, and the order in which you should do them. This will help you get the best results for all your basic photo retouching tasks.

The Fix Keystone Distortion Guided Edit

For more information on the features used in this Guided Edit, see “Correct camera distortion” on page 144 and “Freely transform an item” on page 159.

The Photomerge Group Shot Guided Edit

For more information on Photomerge Group Shot, see “Use Photomerge Group Shot” on page 146.

The Photomerge Faces Guided Edit

For more information on Photomerge Faces, see “Use Photomerge Faces” on page 147.

The Photomerge Scene Cleaner Guided Edit

For more information on Photomerge Scene Cleaner, see “Use Photomerge Scene Cleaner” on page 148.

The Photomerge Exposure Guided Edit

For more information on Photomerge Exposure, see “Photomerge Exposure” on page 150.

The Automated Action Player Guided Edit

An action is a series of tasks that Photoshop Elements performs with a click of a button. Photoshop Elements comes with a set of actions. You can also play actions that are created in Photoshop as long as the actions use features supported by Photoshop

1 In the Editor with the Edit Guided tab selected, make sure that Automated Actions is expanded and then click

Action Player.

2 Follow the instructions and choose an action from the menu.

3 Click Play Action.

Elements. Keep in mind that the Automated Actions may not work on all file types or layers.

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Install actions created in Photoshop

The Action Player in the Automated Actions guided edit can play actions created in Photoshop. Keep in mind that you can only play actions that use features supported in Photoshop

❖ Copy the .atn file to the one of the following locations:

Windows XP C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Adobe\Photoshop

Elements\8.0\Locale\en_US\Workflow Panels\actions

Vista C:\ProgramData\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\8.0\Locale\en_US\Workflow Panels\actions

The next time you start Photoshop Elements, the action will appear in the Automated Actions guided edit menu.

Elements.

The Line Drawing Guided Edit

For more information on the features used in this Guided Edit. See “Precisely convert to black and white” on page 124, “About Levels adjustments” on page 112, “Add Noise” on page 196, and “Adjust saturation and hue” on page 120.

The Old Fashioned Photo Guided Edit

For more information on the features used in this Guided Edit, see “Using the Effects panel” on page 178, “Specify the

opacity of a layer” on page 62, and “About Levels adjustments” on page 112.

The Saturated Slide Film Effect Guided Edit

For more information on saturation adjustment, see “Adjust saturation and hue” on page 120.

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Chapter 4: Using layers

Layers are useful because they let you add components to an image and work on them one at a time, without permanently changing your original image. For each layer, you can adjust color and brightness, apply special effects, reposition layer content, specify opacity and blending values, and so on. You can also rearrange the stacking order, link layers to work on them simultaneously, and create web animations with layers.

Creating layers

Understanding layers

Layers are like stacked, transparent sheets of glass on which you can paint images. You can see through the transparent areas of a layer to the layers below. You can work on each layer independently, experimenting to create the effect you want. Each layer remains independent until you combine (merge) the layers. The bottommost layer in the Layers panel, the Background layer, is always locked (protected), meaning you cannot change its stacking order, blending mode, or opacity (unless you convert it into a regular layer).

Transparent areas on a layer let you see through to the layers below.

Layers are organized in the Layers panel. It’s a good idea to keep this panel visible whenever you’re working in

Photoshop® Elements 8. With one glance, you can see the active layer (the selected layer that you are editing).

Adobe® You can link layers, so they move as a unit, helping you manage layers. Because multiple layers in an image increase the file size, you can reduce the file size by merging layers that you’re done editing. The Layers panel is an important source of information as you edit photos. You can also use the Layer menu to work with layers.

Ordinary layers are pixel-based (image) layers. There are several other layer types you can use to create special effects:

Fill layers Contain a color gradient, solid color, or pattern.

Adjustment layers Enable you to fine-tune color, brightness, and saturation without making permanent changes to

your image (until you flatten, or collapse, the adjustment layer).

Type layers and shape layers Let you create vector-based text and shapes.

You can’t paint on an adjustment layer, although you can paint on its mask. To paint on fill or type layers, you first convert them into regular image layers.

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More Help topics

“About adjustment and fill layers” on page 64

“About layer clipping masks” on page 68

“Lock or unlock a layer” on page 55

“About opacity and blending options in layers” on page 61

About the Layers panel

The Layers panel in the Editor (Window > Layers) lists all layers in an image, from the top layer to the Background layer at the bottom. You can drag the panel by its title out of the Panel Bin to keep it visible as you work with it.

The active layer, or the layer that you are working on, is highlighted for easy identification. As you work in an image, it’s a good idea to check which layer is active to make sure that the adjustments and edits you perform affect the correct layer. For example, if you choose a command and nothing seems to happen, check to make sure that you’re looking at the active layer.

Using the icons in the panel, you can accomplish many tasks—such as creating, hiding, linking, locking, and deleting layers. With some exceptions, your changes affect only the selected, or active, layer, which is highlighted.

BAC D FE G

Layers panel A. Blending mode menu B. Show/Hide layer C. Layer thumbnail D. Highlighted layer is active layer E. Locked layer F. Layer is linked to another layer G. Layer has style applied

In the list of layers, the panel shows a thumbnail, a title, and one or more icons that give information about each layer:

The layer is visible. Click the eye to show or hide a layer. (Hidden layers are not printed.)

The layer is linked to the active layer.

The layer has a style applied to it. Click to edit the layer style in the Style Settings dialog box.

The layer is locked.

The image contains layer groups and was imported from Adobe Photoshop. Photoshop Elements doesn’t support

layer groups and displays them in their collapsed state. You must simplify them to create an editable image.

You use the buttons at the bottom of the panel to perform actions:

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Create a new layer.

Create a new fill or adjustment layer.

Delete a layer.

The layer is linked to another layer.

Lock transparent pixels.

Lock all layers.

Also at the top are the panel Blending Mode menu (Normal, Dissolve, Darken, and so on), an Opacity text box, and a More button displaying a menu of layer commands and panel options.

More Help topics

“About adjustment and fill layers” on page 64

“About opacity and blending options in layers” on page 61

“Simplify a layer” on page 56

Adding layers

Newly added layers appear above the selected layer in the Layers panel. You can add layers to an image by using any of the following methods:

• Create new, blank layers or turn selections into layers.

• Convert a background into a regular layer or vice versa.

• Paste selections into the image.

• Use the Type tool or a shape tool.

• Duplicate an existing layer.

You can create up to 8000 layers in an image, each with its own blending mode and opacity. However, memory constraints may lower this limit.

More Help topics

“About text” on page 238

“About shapes” on page 246

“Delete a layer” on page 56

Create and name a new blank layer

❖ Do one of the following in the Editor:

• To create a layer with default name and settings, click the New Layer button at the bottom of the Layers panel.

The resulting layer uses Normal mode with 100% opacity, and is named according to its creation order. (To rename the new layer, double-click it and type a new name.)

• To create a layer and specify a name and options, choose Layer > New > Layer, or choose New Layer from the

Layers panel menu. Specify a name and other options, and then click OK.

The new layer is automatically selected and appears in the panel above the layer that was last selected.

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More Help topics

“Copy a layer from one image to another” on page 57

“Delete a layer” on page 56

“Duplicate a layer within an image” on page 57

“Specify a blending mode for a layer” on page 62

“Specify the opacity of a layer” on page 62

Create a new layer from part of another layer

You can move part of an image from one layer to a newly created one, leaving the original intact.

1 In the Editor, select an existing layer, and make a selection.

2 Choose one of the following:

• Layer > New > Layer Via Copy to copy the selection into a new layer.

• Layer > New > Layer Via Cut to cut the selection and paste it into a new layer.

The selected area appears in a new layer in the same position relative to the image boundaries.

Creating a new layer by copying part of another layer and pasting it into a new layer

More Help topics

“Duplicate a layer within an image” on page 57

“About selections” on page 81

Convert the Background layer into a regular layer

The Background layer is the bottom layer in an image. Other layers stack on top of the Background layer, which usually (but not always) contains the actual image data of a photo. To protect the image, the Background layer is always locked. If you want to change its stacking order, blending mode, or opacity, you must first convert it into a regular layer.

1 In the Editor, do one of the following:

• Double-click the Background layer in the Layers panel.

• Choose Layer > New > Layer From Background.

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• Select the Background layer, and choose Duplicate Layer from the More menu in the Layers panel to leave the

Background layer intact and create a copy of it as a new layer.

You can create a duplicate layer of the converted Background layer no matter how you convert the layer; simply select the converted Background layer and choose Duplicate Layer from the More menu.

2 Name the new layer.

If you drag the Background Eraser tool onto the Background layer, it is automatically converted into a regular layer, and erased areas become transparent.

Make a layer the Background layer

You can’t convert a layer into the Background layer if the image already has a Background layer. In this case, you must first convert the existing Background layer into a regular layer.

1 In the Editor, select a layer in the Layers panel.

2 Choose Layer > New > Background From Layer.

Any transparent areas in the original layer are filled with the background color.

Editing layers

Select a layer

Any change you make to an image only affects the active layer. If you don’t see the desired results when you manipulate an image, make sure that the correct layer is selected.

❖ In the Editor, do one of the following:

• In the Layers panel, select a layer’s thumbnail or name.

• To select more than one layer, hold down Ctrl and click each layer.

To select layers interactively as you use the Move tool, select Auto Select Layer in the options bar. To see which layer will be highlighted, select Show Highlight On Rollover. Drag to select multiple layers at a time.

More Help topics

“Understanding layers” on page 50

“Select all opaque areas in a layer” on page 63

“Copy selections with the Move tool” on page 96

Show or hide a layer

In the Layers panel, the eye icon in the leftmost column next to a layer means that the layer is visible.

1 In the Editor, choose Window > Layers if the Layers panel is not already open.

2 Do one of the following:

• To hide a layer, click its eye icon. Click in the eye column again to show the layer.

• Drag through the eye column to show or hide more than one layer.

• To display just one layer, Alt-click the eye icon for that layer. Alt-click in the eye column again to show all the layers.

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More Help topics

“About the Layers panel” on page 51

Resize or hide layer thumbnails

1 In the Editor, choose Panel Options from the More menu in the Layers panel.

2 Select a new size, or select None to hide the thumbnails. Then click OK.

More Help topics

“About the Layers panel” on page 51

Lock or unlock a layer

You can fully or partially lock layers to protect their contents. When a layer is locked, a lock icon appears to the right of the layer name, and the layer cannot be deleted. Except for the Background layer, you can move locked layers to different locations in the stacking order of the Layers panel.

❖ In the Editor, select the layer in the Layers panel, and do one of the following:

• Click the Lock All icon at the bottom of the Layers panel to lock all layer properties. Click the icon again to

unlock them.

• Click the Lock Transparency icon at the bottom of the Layers panel to lock the transparent areas of the layer, so

that no painting occurs in them. Click the icon again to unlock.

Note: For type and shape layers, transparency is locked by default and cannot be unlocked without first simplifying the layer.

More Help topics

“About the Layers panel” on page 51

Rename a layer

As you add layers to an image, it’s helpful to rename layers according to their content. Use descriptive layer names so that you can easily identify layers in the Layers panel.

Note: You can’t rename the Background layer unless you change it into a normal layer.

❖ In the Editor, do one of the following:

• Double-click the layer’s name in the Layers panel, and enter a new name.

• Right-click the layer and choose Rename Layer from the context menu.

More Help topics

“Understanding layers” on page 50

“About the Layers panel” on page 51

“Convert the Background layer into a regular layer” on page 53

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Simplify a layer

You simplify a smart object, frame layer, type layer, shape layer, solid color layer, gradient layer, or pattern fill layer (or a layer group imported from Photoshop) by converting it into an image layer. You need to simplify these layers before you can apply filters to them or edit them with the painting tools. However, you can no longer use the type- and shape-editing options on simplified layers.

1 In the Editor, select a type layer, shape layer, fill layer, or a Photoshop layer group in the Layers panel.

2 Simplify the layer or imported layer group:

• If you selected a shape layer, click Simplify in the options bar.

• If you selected a type, shape, or fill layer, or a Photoshop layer group, choose Simplify Layer from either the Layer

menu or the Layers panel More menu.

More Help topics

“About adjustment and fill layers” on page 64

“Understanding layers” on page 50

Delete a layer

Deleting layers that you no longer need reduces the size of your image file.

1 In the Editor, select the layer in the Layers panel.

2 Do one of the following:

• Drag the layer to the Delete Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers panel.

• Click the Delete Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers panel, and click Yes in the delete confirmation dialog box.

To bypass this dialog box, press Alt as you click the Delete icon.

• Choose Delete Layer from either the Layer menu or the Layers panel More menu, and click Yes.

More Help topics

“Understanding layers” on page 50

“Create and name a new blank layer” on page 52

Sample color from all visible layers

By default, when you work with certain tools, the color you apply is sampled only from the active layer. With this default behavior, you can smudge or sample in a single layer even when other layers are visible, and you can sample from one layer and paint in another one.

If you want to paint using sampled data from all visible layers, do the following:

In the Editor, select the Magic Wand tool, Paint Bucket tool, Smudge tool, Blur tool, Sharpen tool, or Clone Stamp tool.

2 In the options bar, select All Layers.

More Help topics

“Understanding layers” on page 50

“About painting tools” on page 208

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Copying and arranging layers

Duplicate a layer within an image

You can duplicate any layer, including the Background layer, within an image.

❖ In the Editor, select one or more layers in the Layers panel, and do one of the following to duplicate it:

• To duplicate and rename the layer, choose Layer > Duplicate Layer, or choose Duplicate Layer from the Layers

panel More menu. Name the duplicate layer, and click OK.

• To duplicate without naming, select the layer and drag it to the New Layer button at the bottom of the Layers

panel.

• Right-click the layer name or thumbnail, and choose Duplicate Layer.

More Help topics

“Understanding layers” on page 50

Duplicate one or more layers in another image

You can take any layer, including the Background layer, from one image and duplicate it in another. Keep in mind that the pixel dimensions of the destination image determine how large the printed copy of the duplicated layer can be. Also, if the pixel dimensions of the two images are not the same, the duplicated layer may appear smaller or larger than you’d expect.

1 In the Editor, open the source image. If you plan to copy a layer to an existing image rather than a new one, open

the destination image as well.

2 In the source document’s Layers panel, select the name of the layer or layers you want to duplicate. To select more

than one layer, hold down the Ctrl key and click each layer’s name.

3 Choose Layer > Duplicate Layer, or choose Duplicate Layer from the More menu in the Layers panel.

4 Type a name for the duplicate layer in the Duplicate Layer dialog box, and choose a destination document for the

layer, and then click OK:

• To duplicate the layer in an existing image, choose a filename from the Document pop-up menu.

• To create a new document for the layer, choose New from the Document menu, and enter a name for the new file.

An image created by duplicating a layer has no background.

More Help topics

“Understanding layers” on page 50

“About image size and resolution” on page 136

Copy a layer from one image to another

You can copy any layer, including the Background layer, from one image to another. Keep in mind that the resolution of the destination image determines how large the printed copy of the layer can be. Also, if the pixel dimensions of the two images are not the same, the copied layer may appear smaller or larger than you’d expect.

1 In the Editor, open the two images you want to use.

2 In the Layers panel of the source image, select the layer that you want to copy.

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3 Do one of the following:

• Choose Select > All to select all of the pixels in the layer, and choose Edit > Copy. Then make the destination image

active, and choose Edit

> Paste.

• Drag the layer’s name from the Layers panel of the source image into the destination image.

• Use the Move tool to drag the layer from the source image to the destination image.

The copied layer appears in the destination image, above the active layer in the Layers panel. If the layer you’re dragging is larger than the destination image, only part of the layer is visible. You can use the Move tool to drag other sections of the layer into view.

Hold down Shift as you drag a layer to copy it to the same position it occupied in the source image (if the source and destination images have the same pixel dimensions) or to the center of the destination image (if the source and

destination images have different pixel dimensions).

Dragging the bamboo layer to another image

More Help topics

“Understanding layers” on page 50

“About image size and resolution” on page 136

Move the content in a layer

Layers are like stacked images on panes of glass. You can “slide” a layer in a stack to change what portion of its content is visible in relation to the layers above and below.

1 In the Editor, select a layer in the Layers panel. To move multiple layers at the same time, link the layers together

in the Layers panel by selecting the layers and then clicking the Link Layers icon

2 Select the Move tool .

3 Do one of the following:

• Drag within the image to slide the selected layer or layers to the desired position.

• Press the arrow keys on your keyboard to move the layer or layers in 1-pixel increments, or press Shift and an arrow

key to move the layer in 10-pixel increments.

• Hold down Shift as you drag to move the layer or layers directly up or down, directly to either side, or on a 45°

diagonal.

More Help topics

“Understanding layers” on page 50

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Change the stacking order of layers

The stacking order determines whether a layer appears in front of or behind other layers.

By default, the Background layer must remain at the bottom of the stack. To move the Background layer, you need to convert it into a regular layer first.

Dragging a layer below another layer changes the stacking order

1 In the Layers panel, select one or more layers. To select more than one layer, hold down the Ctrl key and click each

layer.

2 To change the stacking order, do one of the following:

• Drag the layer or layers up or down the Layers panel to the new position.

• Choose Layer > Arrange, and then choose Bring To Front, Bring Forward, Send Backward, or Send To Back.

More Help topics

“Understanding layers” on page 50

“Convert the Background layer into a regular layer” on page 53

Link and unlink layers

When layers are linked, you can move their contents together. You can also copy, paste, merge, and apply transformations to all linked layers simultaneously. At some point, you may want to edit or move one linked layer. You can simply unlink the layers to work on one layer at a time

1 In the Editor, select the layers you’d like to link in the Layers panel. To select more than one layer, hold down Ctrl

and click each layer.

2 Click the Link Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers panel. A linked icon appears in the linked layers.

3 To unlink layers, select a linked layer in the Layers panel and click the Link Layers icon at the bottom of the Layers

panel.

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More Help topics

“Understanding layers” on page 50

“About layer clipping masks” on page 68

Merge layers

Layers can greatly increase the file size of an image. Merging layers in an image reduces file size. You should merge layers only after you have finished manipulating them to create the image you want.

Example of merging

You can choose to merge only the linked layers, only the visible layers, only a layer with the layer below it, or only selected layers. You can also merge the contents of all visible layers into a selected layer, yet not delete the other visible layers (in this case, there is no reduction in file size).

When you complete work on an image, you can flatten it. Flattening merges all visible layers, discards all hidden layers, and fills transparent areas with white.

1 In the Editor, go to the Layers panel and make sure that an eye icon appears next to each of the layers you want

to merge.

2 Do one of the following:

• To merge selected layers, select more than one layer by holding down the Ctrl key and clicking each layer. Then

choose Merge Layers from the Layers panel More menu.

• To merge a layer with the one below, select the top layer of the pair and choose Merge Down from either the Layer

menu or the Layers panel More menu.

Note: If the bottom layer in the pair is a shape, type, or fill layer, you must simplify the layer. If the bottom layer in the pair is linked to another layer or is an adjustment layer, you can’t choose Merge Down.

• To merge all visible layers, hide any layers you don’t want to merge and choose Merge Visible from the Layer menu

or Layers panel More menu.

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• To merge all visible linked layers, select one of the linked layers and choose Merge Linked from the Layer menu or

Layers panel More menu.

Note: If the bottom-most merged layer is a type, shape, solid color fill, gradient fill, or pattern fill layer, you must first simplify the layer.

More Help topics

“Merging adjustment layers” on page 66

“Simplify a layer” on page 56

Merge layers into another layer

Use this procedure when you want to keep the layers you are merging intact. The result is a new merged layer plus all the original layers.

1 In the Editor, click the eye icon next to layers you don’t want to merge, and make sure that the eye icon is visible

for the layers you do want to merge.

2 Specify a layer in which to merge all visible layers. You can either create a new layer in which to merge or select an

existing layer in the Layers panel.

3 Hold down Alt, and choose Merge Visible from either the Layers menu or the Layers panel More menu. Photoshop

Elements merges a copy of all visible layers into the selected layer.

More Help topics

“Understanding layers” on page 50

“Merging adjustment layers” on page 66

Flatten an image

When you flatten an image, Photoshop Elements merges all visible layers into the background, greatly reducing the file size. Flattening an image discards all hidden layers, and fills any transparent areas with white. In most cases, you won’t want to flatten a file until you’ve finished editing individual layers.

1 Make sure that the layers you want to keep in your image are visible.

2 Choose Flatten Image from either the Layer menu or the Layers panel More menu.

You can see the difference between your image’s layered file size and its flattened file size by choosing Document Sizes from the status bar pop-up menu at the bottom of the image window.

More Help topics

“Understanding layers” on page 50

Opacity and blending modes

About opacity and blending options in layers

For a video about this process, see www.adobe.com/go/lrvid2306_pse8_en.

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A layer’s opacity determines the degree to which it obscures or reveals the layer beneath it. A layer with 1% opacity is nearly transparent, while a layer with 100% opacity is opaque. Transparent areas remain transparent regardless of the opacity setting.

You use layer blending modes to determine how a layer blends with the pixels in layers beneath it. Using blending modes, you can create various special effects.

A layer’s opacity and blending mode interact with the opacity and blending mode of painting tools. For example, a layer uses Dissolve mode at 50% opacity. You paint on this layer with the Paintbrush tool set to Normal mode at 100% opacity. The paint appears in Dissolve mode at 50% opacity. Similarly, if a layer uses Normal mode at 100% opacity, and you use the Eraser tool at 50% opacity, only 50% of the paint disappears from the layer as you erase.

Blending layers. A. Bamboo layer and Borders layer B. Bamboo layer with 100% opacity and Color Burn mode C. Bamboo layer with 50% opacity and Color Burn mode

More Help topics

“Understanding layers” on page 50

“About blending modes” on page 209

“About painting tools” on page 208

Specify the opacity of a layer

1 In the Editor, select the layer in the Layers panel.

2 In the Layers panel, enter a value between 0 and 100 for Opacity, or click the arrow at the right of the Opacity box

and drag the Opacity slider that appears.

More Help topics

“Understanding layers” on page 50

Specify a blending mode for a layer

1 In the Editor, select the layer in the Layers panel.

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2 Choose an option from the Blending Mode menu.

Immediately after you choose a blending mode, you can press the up or down arrows on your keyboard to try other blending mode options in the menu.

More Help topics

“Understanding layers” on page 50

“About blending modes” on page 209

Select all opaque areas in a layer

You can quickly select all the opaque areas in a layer. This procedure is useful when you want to exclude transparent areas from a selection.

1 In the Layers panel, Ctrl-click the layer thumbnail:

2 To add the pixels to an existing selection, press Ctrl+Shift and click the layer thumbnail in the Layers panel.

3 To remove the pixels from an existing selection, press Ctrl+Alt and click the layer thumbnail in the Layers panel.

4 To load the intersection of the pixels and an existing selection, press Ctrl+Alt+Shift and click the layer thumbnail

in the Layers panel.

More Help topics

“Understanding layers” on page 50

“About selections” on page 81

Customize the transparency grid

The checkerboard grid identifies transparency in a layer. You can change the appearance of this grid; however, do not change it to solid white because you’ll eliminate the visual distinction between opaque (white) and transparent (checkerboard).

1 In the Editor, choose Edit > Preferences > Transparency.

2 Choose a pattern size from the Grid Size menu.

3 Choose a pattern color from the Grid Colors menu. To choose a custom color instead, click one of the two boxes

below the Grid Colors menu and select a color from the Color Picker.

More Help topics

“About the Layers panel” on page 51

“Use the Adobe Color Picker” on page 215

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Adjustment and fill layers

About adjustment and fill layers

Adjustment layers let you experiment with color and make tonal adjustments without permanently modifying the pixels in an image. You can think of an adjustment layer as a veil coloring the underlying layers. By default, an adjustment layer affects all layers below it, although you can change this behavior. When you create an adjustment layer, the Layers panel displays a white box representing the adjustment for that layer.

Fill layers let you fill a layer with a solid color, gradient, or pattern. Unlike adjustment layers, fill layers do not affect the layers below them. To paint on a fill layer, you must first convert it (simplify it) into a regular layer.

Adjustment and fill layers have the same opacity and blending mode options as image layers, and you can move and reposition them just as you do image layers. By default, adjustment and fill layers are named for their type (for example, Solid Color fill layer and Invert adjustment layer).

Create Adjustment Layer menu A. Fill layers B. Adjustment layers

More Help topics

“Edit the layer masks” on page 67

“About opacity and blending options in layers” on page 61

“Apply the Smart Brush tools” on page 110

“Simplify a layer” on page 56

Create adjustment layers

1 In the Layers panel, select the topmost layer you want to affect.

2 To confine the effects of the adjustment layer to a selected area in that layer, make a selection.

3 Do one of the following:

• To affect all the layers below the adjustment layer, click the Create New Fill or Adjustment Layer button at the

bottom of the Layers panel. Then, choose one of the following adjustment types. (The first three options in the menu are fill layers, not adjustment layers.)

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Original image, and image with Hue/Saturation adjustment applied. Only the layers under the adjustment layer are affected.

• To affect only one layer or several successive layers below the adjustment layer, choose Layer > New Adjustment

> [adjustment type]. In the New Layer dialog box, select Use Previous Layer to Create Clipping Mask, and

Layer then click OK.

Levels Corrects tonal values in the image.

Brightness/Contrast Lightens or darkens the image.

Hue/Saturation Adjusts colors in the image.

Gradient Map Maps pixels to the color in the selected gradient.

Photo Filter Adjusts the color balance and color temperature of the image.

Invert Produces a photo negative effect by creating a negative based on the brightness values of the image.

Threshold Renders the image in monochrome with no gray, so that you can locate the lightest and darkest areas.

Posterize Gives a flat, poster-like appearance to a photo by reducing the number of brightness values (levels) in the

image, thus reducing the number of colors.

4 In the dialog box, specify options and click OK. (Invert has no options.)

Selecting Use Previous Layer to Create Clipping Mask in step 3, groups the adjustment layer with the layer immediately below it and the effect is confined to the group.

5 To add more layers to the group, press Alt and position the pointer over the line dividing the bottom most layer in

the group from the layer below it. Click when the pointer changes to two overlapping circles

Applying a correction using the Smart Brush tool or the Detail Smart Brush tool automatically creates an adjustment layer.

More Help topics

“Apply the Smart Brush tools” on page 110

“About histograms” on page 107

Create fill layers

1 In the Layers panel, select the layer above which the fill layer should be.

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2 To confine the effects of the fill layer to a selected area, make a selection.

3 Do one of the following:

• Click the New Fill or Adjustment Layer button at the top of the Layers panel, and choose the fill type you want

to create. (The first three options listed in the panel are fill layers, the others are adjustment layers.)

• Choose Layer > New Fill Layer > [fill type]. In the New Layer dialog box that appears, click OK.

Solid Color Creates a layer filled with a solid color chosen from the Color Picker.

Gradient Creates a layer filled with a gradient. You can choose a predefined gradient from the Gradient menu. To edit

the gradient in the Gradient Editor, click the color gradient. You can drag within the image window to move the center of the gradient.

You can also specify the shape of the gradient (Style) and the angle at which it is applied (Angle). Select Reverse to flip its orientation, Dither to reduce banding, and Align With Layer to use the layer’s bounding box to calculate the gradient fill.

Pattern Creates a layer filled with a pattern. Click the pattern, and choose a pattern from the pop-up panel. You can

scale the pattern and choose Snap To Origin to position the origin of the pattern with that of the document window. To specify that the pattern moves with the Fill layer as it is relocated, select Link With Layer. When this option is selected, you can drag within the image to position the pattern while the Pattern Fill dialog box is open. To create a new preset pattern after editing pattern settings, click the New Preset button

Edit an adjustment or fill layer

1 In the Editor, open the adjustment or fill options dialog box by doing one of the following:

• Double-click the adjustment or fill layer’s leftmost thumbnail in the Layers panel.

• Select the layer in the panel and choose Layer > Layer Content Options.

2 Make your changes, and click OK.

Merging adjustment layers

You can merge an adjustment or fill layer in several ways: with the layer below it, with other selected layers, with the layers in its own group, with the layers it’s linked to, and with all other visible layers. You cannot, however, use an adjustment layer or fill layer as the base or target layer for a merge.

When you merge an adjustment layer or fill layer with the layer below it, the adjustments are simplified and permanently applied to the merged layer. The adjustment no longer affects other layers below the merged adjustment layer. You can also convert (simplify) a fill layer into an image layer without merging it.

Adjustment layers and fill layers with masks (the layer’s rightmost thumbnail in the Layers panel) that contain only white values do not add significantly to the file size, so you don’t need to merge these adjustment layers to conserve file space.

More Help topics

“Merge layers” on page 60

“Simplify a layer” on page 56

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Edit the layer masks

A layer mask prevents sections of a layer, or an entire layer, from being visible. You use the mask to show or hide sections of an image or an effect. When the layer mask (right thumbnail) attached to an adjustment layer is completely white, the adjustment effect is applied to all underlying layers. If you don’t want to apply the effect to certain portions of the underlying layers, paint the corresponding area of the mask with black. When attached to a fill layer, the mask defines the filled-in area in the fill layer.

Painting a mask with black increases the area protected.

1 In the Editor, select the adjustment or fill layer in the Layers panel.

2 Select the Paintbrush tool, or any painting or editing tool.

3 Use the following methods to view the layer mask:

• To view only the mask, Alt-click the Layer Mask’s thumbnail (the rightmost thumbnail). Alt-click the thumbnail

again to redisplay the other layers.

• To view the mask in a red masking color, hold down Alt+Shift and click the Layer Mask’s thumbnail (the rightmost

thumbnail). Hold down Alt+Shift and click the thumbnail again to turn off the red display.

• To constrain editing to part of the mask, select the corresponding pixels.

4 Edit the layer mask:

• To remove areas of the adjustment effect or fill, paint the layer mask with black.

• To add areas to the adjustment effect or fill, paint the layer mask with white.

• To partially remove the adjustment effect or fill so that it shows in various levels of transparency, paint the layer

mask with gray. (Single-click the foreground color swatch in the toolbox to choose a gray shade from the Swatches panel.) The extent to which the effect or fill is removed depends on the tones of gray you use to paint. Darker shades result in more transparency; lighter shades in more opacity.

Shift-click the mask thumbnail (the layer’s rightmost thumbnail) in the Layers panel to turn off the mask; click the thumbnail again to turn on the mask.

More Help topics

“About selections” on page 81

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Layer masks

About layer clipping masks

A clipping mask is a group of layers to which a mask is applied. The bottommost layer, or base layer, defines the visible boundaries of the entire group. For example, suppose you have a shape in the base layer, a photograph in the layer above it, and text in the topmost layer. If the photograph and text appear only through the shape outline in the base layer, they also take on the opacity of the base layer.

You can group only successive layers. The name of the base layer in the group is underlined, and the thumbnails for the overlying layers are indented. Additionally, the overlying layers display the clipping mask icon

You can link the layers in a clipping mask so that they move together.

The shape in the bottom layer of the clipping mask determines what area of the photo layer above shows through.

More Help topics

“Understanding layers” on page 50

“Link and unlink layers” on page 59

Create a clipping mask

1 In the Editor, do one of the following:

• Hold down Alt, position the pointer over the line dividing two layers in the Layers panel (the pointer changes to

two overlapping circles

•

In the Layers panel, select the top layer of a pair of layers you want to group, and choose Layer > Create Clipping Mask.

2 When making a clipping mask from an existing layer and one you are about to create, first select the existing layer

in the Layers panel. Then choose New Layer from the Layer menu or the Layers panel More menu. In the New Layer dialog box, select Use Previous Layer To Create Clipping Mask, and click OK.

The layers in the clipping mask have the opacity and mode attributes of the bottommost base layer in the group.

To change the stacking order of the clipping mask relative to other layers in the image, select all layers in the group. Then drag the group’s base layer up or down in the Layers panel. (Dragging a layer without selecting all the layers in

the group removes that layer from the group.)

More Help topics

“Link and unlink layers” on page 59

), and then click.

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Remove a layer from a clipping mask

Ungrouping the base layer from the layer above it ungroups all layers in the clipping mask.

❖ In the Editor, do one of the following:

• Hold down Alt, position the pointer over the line separating two grouped layers in the Layers panel (the pointer

changes to two overlapping circles

), and click.

• In the Layers panel, select a layer in the clipping mask, and choose Layer > Release Clipping Mask. This command

removes the selected layer and any layers above it from the clipping mask.

• In the Layers panel, select any layer in the group except the base layer. Either drag the layer below the base layer, or

drag it between two ungrouped layers in the image.

Release clipping mask

1 In the Layers panel, select any layer other than the base layer in the clipping mask.

2 Choose Layer > Release Clipping Mask.

Layer styles

About layer styles

Layer styles let you quickly apply effects to an entire layer. In the Effects panel, you can view a variety of predefined layer styles and apply a style with just a click of the mouse.

Three different layer styles applied to text

The boundaries of the effect are automatically updated when you edit that layer. For example, if you apply a drop shadow style to a text layer, the shadow changes automatically when you edit the text.

Layer styles are cumulative, which means that you can create a complex effect by applying multiple styles to a layer. You can apply one style from each style library per layer. You can also change a layer’s style settings to adjust the final result.

When you apply a style to a layer, a style icon appears to the right of the layer’s name in the Layers panel. Layer styles are linked to the layer contents. When you move or edit the contents of the layer, the effects are modified correspondingly.

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Once you choose Layer > Layer Style > Style Settings, you can edit the settings of a layer’s style or apply other style settings or attributes available in the dialog box.

Lighting Angle Specifies the lighting angle at which the effect is applied to the layer.

Drop Shadow Specifies the distance of a drop shadow from the layer’s content. You can also set the size and opacity

with the sliders.

Outer Glow Size Specifies the size of a glow that emanates from the outside edges of the layer’s content. You can also

set the opacity with the slider.

Inner Glow Size Specifies the size of a glow that emanates from the inside edges of the layer’s content. You can also set

the opacity with the slider.

Bevel Size Specifies the size of beveling along the inside edges of the layer’s content.

Bevel Direction Specifies the direction of the bevel, either up or down.

Stroke Size Specifies the size of the stroke.

Stroke Opacity Specifies the opacity of the stroke.

More Help topics

“Using the Effects panel” on page 178

Work with layer styles

You can apply special effects to a layer, hide or show the styles in a layer, and even change the scale of a layer style (for example, decrease or increase the size of a glow effect). It’s easy to copy a style from one layer to another.

Apply a layer style

1 Select a layer in the Layers panel.

2 In the Effects panel, choose Layer Styles from the category menu.

3 Do any of the following:

• Select a style, and click Apply.

• Double-click a style.

• Drag a style onto a layer.

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A style icon indicates a layer style is applied to the layer.

If you don’t like the result, press Ctrl+Z to remove the style, or choose Edit > Undo.

You can also drag the style to the image, where it is applied to the selected layer.

Hide or show all layer styles in an image

❖ Choose one of the following:

• Layer > Layer Style > Hide All Effects.

• Layer > Layer Style > Show All Effects.

Edit a layer’s style settings

You can edit a layer’s style settings to adjust the effect. You can also copy style settings between layers and remove a style from a layer.

1 Do one of the following:

• Double-click the style icon in the Layers panel.

• Choose Layer > Layer Style > Style Settings.

2 To preview the changes in your image, select Preview.

3 Adjust one or more of the layer style settings or add new ones, and click OK.

Change the scale of a layer style

1 In the Layers panel, select the layer containing style effects you want to scale.

2 Choose Layer > Layer Style > Scale Effect.

3 To preview the changes in your image, select Preview.

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4 Specify how much you want to scale the effects. For example, if you are increasing the size of an outer glow, 100%

is the current scale; 200% doubles the glow size. Then click OK.

Copy style settings between layers

1 In the Layers panel, select the layer containing the style settings you want to copy.

2 Choose Layer > Layer Style > Copy Layer Style.

3 Select the destination layer in the Layers panel, and choose Layer > Layer Style > Paste Layer Style.

Remove a layer style

1 In the Layers panel, select the layer containing the style you want to remove.

2 Choose Layer > Layer Style > Clear Layer Style.

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Chapter 5: Camera raw files

You can process camera raw files with the help of preset camera profiles supported by Adobe® Photoshop® Elements 8 and set certain values that are common to all image file formats (such as contrast, tonal range, and sharpness). After you process the raw image files, you can open the file, edit it, and then save it in any format supported by Photoshop Photoshop

Processing camera raw image files

About camera raw image files

A camera raw file contains unprocessed picture data from a camera’s image sensor. Think of camera raw files as photo negatives. Many digital cameras can save raw format files. You can open a raw file in Photoshop and save it, rather than relying on the camera to process the file. Working with camera raw files lets you set the proper white balance, tonal range, contrast, color saturation, and sharpness.

Elements. By processing the raw files, which are like digital negatives, and then working on them in Elements, you can experiment with your images while keeping the original “raw” files.

Elements, process it,

You can reprocess the file repeatedly to achieve the results you want. Photoshop Elements doesn’t save your changes to the original raw file; it saves the last settings you specified before importing the file from your camera to your computer.

After processing the raw image file using the features of the Camera Raw dialog box, you open the image in Photoshop color adjustments. Then, you can save the file in any format supported by Photoshop

To use raw files, you need to set your camera to save files in its own raw file format. When you download the files from the camera, they have file extensions like NEF, CRW, and so on. Photoshop Elements can open raw files only from supported cameras. Visit the Adobe website to view a list of supported cameras.

Elements, where you can edit it in the same way that you edit any photo, such as fixing red eye or making

Elements. It’s best to use PSD.

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A D

Camera Raw dialog box

A. View options B. Click the Basic or Detail tab to access different controls C. RGB values D. Histogram E. Image settings F. More menu G. Camera and some EXIF information H. Tools I. Rotate buttons J. Zoom levels K. Bit depth options

CFB

Open and process camera raw files

1 In the Editor, choose File > Open.

2 Browse to select one or more camera raw files, and click Open.

The histogram in the Camera Raw dialog box shows the tonal range of the image at the current settings. As you make settings adjustments, the histogram automatically updates.

3 (Optional) Adjust the image view using the controls, such as the Zoom tool, and options, such as Shadows and

Highlights, which reveal clipping in the preview area. (See

Note: Selecting Preview displays a preview of the image with the settings changes you make. Deselecting Preview displays the camera raw image at the original settings of the current tab combined with the settings in the hidden tabs.

4 To rotate the image 90° counterclockwise or 90° clockwise, click the Rotate Image buttons .

5 To apply the settings used in the previous camera raw image or the default settings for your camera, choose an

option from the Settings menu. Using the same options is useful, for example, if you want to quickly process images with similar lighting conditions. (See

“Set custom camera settings” on page 77.)

6 (Optional) Set options to adjust the white balance. (See “White balance controls for camera raw” on page 78.)

You can monitor the RGB values of pixels in your image as you adjust them in the Camera Raw dialog box. Position the Zoom tool, Hand tool, White Balance tool, or Crop tool over the preview image to display the RGB values directly

beneath the pointer.

7 Make tonal adjustments using the Exposure, Brightness, Contrast, and Saturation sliders. (See “Tonal and image

adjustments in camera raw files” on page 79.)

To undo your manual adjustments and make the adjustments automatically, select Auto. To restore all options to their initial settings, press Alt and click Reset.

“Camera raw controls” on page 76.)

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8 Do one of the following:

• To open a copy of the camera raw image file (with the camera raw settings applied) in Photoshop Elements, click

Open. You can edit the image and save it in a Photoshop Elements-supported format. The original camera raw file remains unaltered.

• To save the adjustments to a DNG file, click Save Image. (See “Save changes to camera raw images” on page 76.)

• To cancel the adjustments and close the dialog box, click Cancel.

Note: The Digital Negative (DNG) format is Adobe’s proposed standard format for camera raw files. DNG files are useful for archiving camera raw images because they contain the raw camera sensor data and data specifying how the image should look. Camera raw image settings can be stored in DNG files instead of in sidecar XMP files or the camera raw database.

Adjust sharpness in camera raw files

The Sharpness slider adjusts the image sharpness to provide the edge definition you want. The Sharpness adjustment is a variation of the Adobe Photoshop Unsharp Mask filter, which locates pixels that differ from surrounding pixels based on the threshold you specify and increases the pixels’ contrast by the amount you specify. When opening a camera raw file, the Camera Raw plug-in calculates the threshold to use based on the camera model, ISO, and exposure compensation. You can choose whether sharpening is applied to all images or just to previews.

1 Zoom the preview image to at least 100%.

2 Click the Detail tab.

3 Move the Sharpness slider to the right to increase sharpening and to the left to decrease it. A value of zero turns off

sharpening. In general, set the Sharpness slider to a lower value for cleaner images.

If you don’t plan to edit the image extensively in Photoshop Elements, use the camera raw Sharpness slider. If you do plan to edit the image extensively in Photoshop Elements, turn off camera raw sharpening. Then use the sharpening

filters in Photoshop Elements as the last step after all other editing and resizing are complete.

Reducing noise in camera raw images

The Detail tab in the Camera Raw dialog box contains controls for reducing image noise—the extraneous visible artifacts that degrade image quality. Image noise includes luminance (grayscale) noise, which makes an image look grainy, and chroma (color) noise, which is usually visible as colored artifacts in the image. Photos taken at high ISO speeds or with less sophisticated digital cameras can have noticeable noise.

Moving the Luminance Smoothing slider to the right reduces grayscale noise, and moving the Color Noise Reduction slider to the right reduces chroma noise.

When making Luminance Smoothing or Color Noise Reduction adjustments, it’s a good idea to preview images at 100% for a better view.

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Moving the Luminance Smoothing slider to the right reduces grayscale noise.

Save changes to camera raw images

You can save changes you’ve made to a camera raw file. The Camera Raw dialog box saves the camera raw image with your changes in a .dng file. Be aware that saving the file does not open it in Photoshop Elements. (To open a camera raw file, just use the Open command, like you would with any other file. Then you can edit and save the file like any other image.)

1 In the Camera Raw dialog box, apply adjustments to one or more camera raw images.

2 Click the Save Image button.

3 In the Save Options dialog box, specify where to save the file and how to name the file if you're saving more than

one camera raw file.

4 Click Save.

Open a camera raw image in the Editor

After you process a camera raw image in the Camera Raw dialog box, you can open the image and edit it using the Editor.

1 In the Camera Raw dialog box, apply adjustments to one or more camera raw images.

2 Click the Open Image button. The Camera Raw dialog box closes, and the photo opens in the Editor.

Settings and controls

Camera raw controls

Zoom tool Sets the preview zoom to the next preset zoom value when you click within the preview image. Alt-click

to zoom out. Drag the Zoom tool in the preview image to zoom in on a selected area. To return to 100%, double-click the Zoom tool.

Hand tool Moves the image in the preview window if the preview image is set at a zoom level higher than 100%.

Hold down the spacebar to access the Hand tool while using another tool. Double-click the Hand tool to fit the preview image in the window.

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White Balance tool Sets the area you click to a neutral gray tone to remove color casts and adjust the color of the

entire image. The Temperature and Tint values change to reflect the color adjustment.

Crop tool Removes part of an image. Drag the tool within the preview image to select the portion you want to

keep, and then press Enter.

Straighten tool You can use the Straighten tool to realign an image vertically or horizontally. This tool also resizes

or crops the canvas to accommodate straightening the image.

Red Eye Removal Removes red eye in flash photos of people and green or white eye in pets.

Open Preferences Dialog Opens the Camera Raw Preferences dialog.

Rotate buttons Rotates the photo either counterclockwise or clockwise.

Set custom camera settings

When you open a camera raw file, Photoshop Elements reads information in the file to see which model of camera created it, and then applies the appropriate camera settings to the image. If you are always making similar adjustments, you can change the default settings of your camera. You can also change settings for each model of camera you own, but not for multiple cameras of the same model.

1 In the Editor, open a camera raw file and adjust the image.

2 To save the current settings as the default for the camera that created the image, click the triangle next to the

Settings menu and choose Save New Camera Raw Default.

3 To use the Photoshop Elements default settings for your camera, click the triangle next to the Settings menu and

choose Reset Camera Raw Default.

Color and camera raw

Using the histogram and RGB values in camera raw

The Camera Raw histogram shows all three channels (red, green, and blue) of the image simultaneously. The histogram changes automatically as you adjust the settings in the Camera Raw dialog box.

As you move the Zoom tool, Hand tool, or White Balance tool over the preview image, you see the RGB values in the upper-right corner of the dialog box.

RGB values of an image

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White balance controls for camera raw

A digital camera records the white balance at the time of exposure as metadata, which you can see when you open the file in the Camera Raw dialog box. This setting usually yields the correct color temperature. You can adjust it if the white balance is not quite right.

The Adjust tab in the Photoshop Camera Raw dialog box includes the following three controls for correcting a color cast in your image:

White Balance Sets the color balance of the image to reflect the lighting conditions under which the photo was taken.

In some cases, choosing a white balance from the White Balance menu provides satisfactory results. In many cases, you may want to customize the white balance using the Temperature and Tint adjustments.

Note: The Camera Raw plug-in can read the white balance settings of some cameras. Leave White Balance set to As Shot to use the camera’s white balance settings. For cameras whose white balance settings are not recognized, selecting As Shot is the same as choosing Auto: the Camera Raw plug-in reads the image data and automatically adjusts the white balance.

Temperature Fine-tunes the white balance to a custom color temperature. Set the color temperature using the Kelvin

color temperature scale. Move the slider to the left to correct a photo taken at a lower color temperature of light: the plug-in makes the image colors cooler (bluish) to compensate for the lower color temperature (yellowish) of the ambient light. Conversely, move the slider to the right to correct a photo taken at a higher color temperature of light:

plug-in makes the image colors warmer (yellowish) to compensate for the higher color temperature (bluish) of the

the ambient light.

Correcting the white balance A. Moving the Temperature slider to the right corrects a photo taken at a higher color temperature of light. B. Moving the Temperature slider to the left corrects a photo taken at a lower color temperature of light. C. Photo after the color temperature has been adjusted.

Tint Fine-tunes the white balance to compensate for a green or magenta tint. Move the slider to the left (negative

values) to add green to the photo; move it to the right (positive values) to add magenta.

To adjust the white balance quickly, select the White Balance tool, and then click an area in the preview image that should be a neutral gray or white. The Temperature and Tint sliders automatically adjust to make the selected color

exactly neutral (if possible). If

you’re clicking whites, choose a highlight area that contains significant white detail rather

than a specular highlight.

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Using White Balance to click a neutral white area, and resulting correction

Tonal and image adjustments in camera raw files

Exposure Adjusts the brightness or darkness of an image. Move the slider to the left to darken the image; move it to

the right to brighten the image. The values are in increments equivalent to f-stops. An adjustment of +1.50 is similar to widening the aperture one and one-half stops. Likewise, an adjustment of -1.50 is similar to reducing the aperture one and one-half stops.

Hold down Alt while moving the Exposure slider to preview where the highlights are clipped. (Clipping is the shifting

of pixel values to either the highest highlight value or the lowest shadow value. Clipped areas are either completely white or completely black and have no image detail.) Move the slider until the highlights (not specular highlights) are completely clipped, and then reverse the adjustment slightly. Black indicates unclipped areas, and color indicates areas clipped in only one or two channels.

Hold down Alt while moving the Exposure slider to show clipped highlights.

Recovery Attempts to recover details from highlights. Camera Raw can reconstruct some details from areas in which

one or two color channels are clipped to white.

Fill Light Attempts to recover details from shadows, without brightening blacks. Camera Raw can reconstruct some

details from areas in which one or two color channels are clipped to black. Using Fill Light is similar to using the shadows portion of the Photoshop Shadow/Highlight filter or the After Effects Shadow/Highlight effect.

Blacks Specifies which input levels are mapped to black in the final image. Increasing Blacks expands the areas that

are mapped to black. This sometimes creates the appearance of increased contrast in the image. The greatest change is in the shadows, with less change in the midtones and highlights. Using the Blacks slider is similar to using the black point slider for input levels when using the Photoshop Levels command or the After Effects Levels effect.

Brightness Adjusts the brightness of the image, much as the Exposure slider does. However, instead of clipping the

image in the highlights (areas that are completely white, with no detail) or shadows (areas that are completely black,

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with no detail), Brightness compresses the highlights and expands the shadows when you move the slider to the right. In general, use the Brightness slider to adjust the overall brightness after you set the white and black clipping points with the Exposure and Shadow sliders.

Contrast Adjusts the midtones in an image. Higher values increase the midtone contrast, and lower values produce an

image with less contrast. Generally, use the Contrast slider to adjust the contrast of the midtones after setting the Exposure, Shadow, and Brightness values.

Clarity Sharpens the clarity of edges in the image. This process helps restore detail and sharpness that tonal

adjustments may reduce.

Vibrance Adjusts the saturation so that clipping is minimized as colors approach full saturation, changing the

saturation of all lower-saturated colors with less impact on the higher-saturated colors. Vibrance also prevents skin tones from becoming oversaturated.

Saturation Adjusts the color saturation of the image from –100 (pure monochrome) to +100 (double the saturation).

Sharpening Sharpening enhances the definition of edges in an image. Additional controls are available in the Detail

panel. The zoom level must be set to 100% or greater in order to view the effects of these controls.

• Amount: Adjusts edge definition. Increase the Amount value to increase sharpening. A value of zero turns off

sharpening. In general, set Amount to a lower value for cleaner images. The adjustment locates pixels that differ from surrounding pixels based on the threshold you specify and increases the pixels’ contrast by the amount you specify.

• Radius: Adjusts the size of the details that sharpening is applied to. Photos with very fine details may need a lower

radius setting. Photos with larger details may be able to use a larger radius. Using too large a radius generally results in unnatural results.

• Detail: Adjusts how much high-frequency information is sharpened in the image and how much the sharpening

process emphasizes edges. Lower settings primarily sharpen edges to remove blur. Higher values are useful for making the textures in the image more pronounced.

• Masking: Controls an edge mask. At a setting of zero, everything in the image receives the same amount of

sharpening. At a setting of 100, sharpening is mostly restricted to areas near the strongest edges.

Noise Reduction Adjusts the color saturation of the image from –100 (pure monochrome) to +100 (double the

saturation).

• Luminance: Adjusts grayscale noise.

• Color: Adjusts chroma noise.

Camera Profile Chooses the Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) profile. For each camera model it supports, Camera Raw uses

profiles to process raw images. To choose from the various camera profiles present in Camera Calibration tab, choose either ACR 4.4, ACR 2.4,or Adobe Standard. The higher version number represents the newer and improved camera profile for some cameras. You may want to choose the lower version number for consistent behavior with legacy images.

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Chapter 6: Selecting parts of an image

A selection defines the editable area in a photo (for example, you might want to lighten one part of a photo without affecting the rest). You can make a selection with either a selection tool or a selection command. A selection border, which you can hide, surrounds the selection. You can change, copy, or delete pixels inside the selection border, but you can’t touch areas outside the selection border until you deselect the selection.

Making selections

About selections

For a videos about selection, see www.adobe.com/go/lrvid2322_pse8_en and www.adobe.com/go/lrvid2323_pse8_en.

Adobe® Photoshop® Elements 8 contains several selection tools that suit different kinds of selections. For example, the Elliptical Marquee tool selects circular and elliptical areas, and the Magic Wand tool can select an area of similar colors with one click. More complex selections can be made with one of the Lasso tools. You can even smooth the edges of a selection with feathering and anti-aliasing.

Note: Selections are limited to the active layer—to make changes to all layers at once, you first need to flatten the image.

Selection made with Elliptical Marquee tool, color adjusted in selected area

More Help topics

“Flatten an image” on page 61

“Define a feathered edge for a selection tool” on page 94

“Smooth the edges of a selection by anti-aliasing” on page 94

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About the selection tools

The selection tools are located in the Tools panel, which is located, by default, on the left side of your screen.

Rectangular Marquee tool Draws

square or rectangular selection borders.

Polygonal Lasso tool Draws multiple

straight-edged segments of a selection border.

Quick Selection tool Quickly and

automatically makes selection based on color and texture when you click or clickdrag an area.

Elliptical Marquee tool Draws round or

elliptical selection borders.

Magnetic Lasso tool Draws a selection

border that automatically snaps to edges you drag over in the photo.

Selection Brush tool Automatically

selects or deselects the area you paint, depending on whether you’re in selection or mask mode.

Lasso tool Draws freehand selection

borders. This tool is great for making very precise selections.

Magic Wand tool Selects pixels of

similar color with one click.

Smart Brush tool Applies color and

tonal adjustments and effects to a selection. The tool automatically creates an adjustment layer for non-destructive editing.

Use the Rectangular and Elliptical Marquee tools

The Rectangular Marquee tool draws square or rectangular selection borders, and the Elliptical Marquee tool draws round or elliptical selection borders.

E F

Rectangular and Elliptical Marquee tool options A. Rectangular Marquee tool B. Elliptical Marquee tool C. New selection D. Add to selection E. Subtract from a selection F. Intersect with a selection

1 In the Editor, select the Rectangular Marquee tool or the Elliptical Marquee tool in the toolbox.

2 (Optional) Set marquee tool options in the options bar located above your image:

• Specify whether to create a new selection, add to a selection, subtract from a selection, or select an area intersected

by other selections.

• To soften the selection border so that it blends into the area outside the selection, enter a Feather value.

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• To smooth the edges of your selection, select Anti-aliased (Elliptical Marquee tool only).

• From the Mode pop-up menu, choose Normal to visually set the size and proportions of the selection border; Fixed

Ratio to set a width-to-height ratio for the selection border; or Fixed Size to specify the marquee’s height and width.

3 Drag over the area you want to select. Hold down the Shift key as you drag to constrain the selection marquee to a

square or circle.

To reposition a marquee tool selection border, hold down the spacebar as you drag with the selection tool. Release the

spacebar once the selection border is in the correct area.

Use the Lasso tool

The Lasso tool draws freehand selection borders. This tool lets you make very precise selections.

A B D

Lasso tool options A. Lasso tool B. Polygonal Lasso tool C. Magnetic Lasso tool D. New selection E. Add to selection F. Subtract from selection G. Intersect with selection

1 In the Editor, select the Lasso tool from the toolbox.

2 (Optional) Set Lasso tool options in the options bar located above your image:

E F G

• Specify whether to create a new selection, add to an existing selection, subtract from a selection, or select an area

intersected by other selections.

• To soften the selection border so that it blends into the area outside the selection, enter a Feather value.

• To smooth the edges of your selection, select Anti-aliased.

3 Drag to draw a freehand selection border:

• To add to the selection, release the mouse button; then press Shift and, when the pointer changes to , drag.

• To subtract from the selection, release the mouse button; then press Alt and when the pointer changes to , drag.

• To add straight-edge segments, press Alt (while pressing the mouse); then release the mouse button and, when the

pointer changes to

4 To close the selection border, release the mouse button. A straight selection segment is drawn from where you

, click where you want to position the end of the segment.

released the mouse button to the starting point of your selection.

Use the Polygonal Lasso tool

The Polygonal Lasso tool draws straight-edged segments of a selection border. You can create as many segments as you need to draw a selection border.

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A B D

Polygonal Lasso tool options A. Lasso tool B. Polygonal Lasso tool C. Magnetic Lasso tool D. New selection E. Add to selection F. Subtract from selection G. Intersect with selection

E F G

1 In the Editor, select the Polygonal Lasso tool from the toolbox.

2 (Optional) Set Polygonal Lasso tool options in the options bar located above your image:

• Specify whether to create a new selection, add to an existing selection, subtract from a selection, or select an area

intersected by other selections.

• To soften the selection border so that it blends into the area outside the selection, enter a Feather value.

• To smooth the edges of your selection, select Anti-aliased.

3 Click where you want the first straight segment to begin, and click a second time where you want the segment to

end and the next one to begin. Continue clicking to create segments.

If you make a mistake, press the Delete key to erase segments. You can switch from creating straight-edge segments to drawing freehand by pressing Alt.

4 Close the selection border by doing one of the following:

• Position the pointer over the starting point and click. A closed circle appears next to the pointer when you are over

the starting point.

• If the pointer is not over the starting point, double-click, or Ctrl-click. A straight selection segment is drawn from

your pointer to the starting point of your selection.

Use the Magnetic Lasso tool

The Magnetic Lasso tool draws a selection border that automatically snaps to the edges of objects you drag over in the photo. This makes it easy to draw precise selection borders. The Magnetic Lasso tool objects with complex edges set against high-contrast backgrounds.

A B D

Magnetic Lasso tool options A. Lasso tool B. Polygonal Lasso tool C. Magnetic Lasso tool D. New selection E. Add to selection F. Subtract from selection G. Intersect with selection

E F G

1 In the Editor, select the Magnetic Lasso tool from the toolbox.

To switch between the Magnetic Lasso and other lasso tools when the Magnetic Lasso tool is selected, do one of the following:

• To activate the Lasso tool, Alt-drag.

• To activate the Polygonal Lasso tool, Alt-click.

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Selecting parts of an image

2 (Optional) Set Magnetic Lasso tool options in the options bar located above your image:

• Specify whether to create a new selection, add to an existing selection, subtract from a selection, or select an area

intersected by other selections.

• To soften the selection border so that it blends into the area outside the selection, enter a Feather value.

• To smooth the edges of your selection, select Anti-aliased.

• To specify the area of edge detection, enter a pixel value between 1 and 256 for Width. The tool detects edges only

within the specified distance from the pointer.

To change the Magnetic Lasso pointer so that it indicates the area of edge detection (the Width value), press the Caps

Lock key.

• To specify the Magnetic Lasso tool’s sensitivity to edges in the photo, enter a value between 1% and 100% for Edge

Contrast. A higher value detects only edges that contrast sharply with their surroundings; a lower value detects lower-contrast edges.

• To specify the rate at which the Magnetic Lasso tool sets fastening points, enter a value between 0 and 100 for

Frequency. A higher value anchors the selection border in place more quickly.

3 Add segments of a selection border by doing one of the following:

• Click points along the edge.

• Drag along the edge while pressing the mouse button.

The selection border snaps to the edge in the photo. If the border doesn’t snap to the desired edge, click once to add a point manually; then continue tracing the border and clicking points as needed. If you make a mistake, press the Delete key to erase points along the border.

4 Close the selection border by doing one of the following:

• To close the border manually, drag back over the starting point and click. A closed circle appears next to the pointer

when you are over the starting point.

• To close the border with a freehand magnetic segment, double-click or press Enter.

• To close the border with a straight segment, double-click while pressing Alt.

Use the Magic Wand tool

The Magic Wand tool selects pixels within a similar color range with one click. You specify the color range, or tolerance, for the Magic Wand tool’s selection. Use the Magic Wand tool when you have an area of similar colors, like a blue sky.

B CAD E

Magic Wand tool options A. Magic Wand tool B. New selection C. Add to selection D. Subtract from selection E. Intersect with selection

1 In the Editor, select the Magic Wand tool .

2 (Optional) Set Magic Wand tool options in the options bar located above your image:

• For Tolerance, enter a value between 0 to 255. Enter a low value to select colors very similar to the pixel you click,

or enter a higher value to select a broader range of colors.

• To define a smooth selection edge, select Anti-aliased.

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• To select only adjacent areas using the same colors, select Contiguous. When this option is deselected, pixels using

the same colors are selected throughout the entire photo.

• To select colors using data from all the visible layers, select Sample All Layers. When this option is deselected, the

Magic Wand tool selects colors from only the active layer.

3 In the photo, click the color you want to select.

4 To add to the selection, Shift+click unselected areas. To remove an area from the selection, Alt+click the area you

want to remove.

Use the Quick Selection tool

The Quick Selection tool makes a selection based on color and texture similarity when you click or click-drag the area you want to select. The mark you make doesn’t need to be precise, because the Quick Selection tool automatically and intuitively creates a border.

Note: The Smart Brush tool makes selections like the Quick Selection tool and simultaneously applies a color or tonal adjustment. See

“Apply the Smart Brush tools” on page 110.

A B

Quick Selection Brush tool and Selection Brush tool options A. Quick Selection tool B. Selection Brush tool C. New selection D. Add to selection E. Subtract from selection

1 In the Editor, select the Quick Selection Brush tool .

2 In the options bar, choose one of the following:

New Selection Lets you draw a new selection. This option is selected by default.

Add To Selection Lets you add to an existing selection.

Subtract From Selection Lets you subtract from an existing selection. This option is only available after you make a

selection.

3 Choose a brush from the Brush Picker in the options bar. If you want to select a large area, you can use a larger

brush. For more precise selections, choose a smaller brush size.

4 Click or click-drag over the area that covers the range of colors in the object you want to select, and then release the

mouse button.

The selection border appears.

5 Do any of the following to refine the selection:

• To add to the selection, click the Add To Selection button in the options bar, and click or click-drag across the

area you want to add.

• To remove an area from the selection, click the Subtract From Selection button in the options bar, and click or

click-drag across the area you want to subtract from the selection.

• To start a new selection, click the New Selection brush in the options bar, and click or draw to specify the new

selection area.

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Use the Selection Brush tool

The Selection Brush tool makes selections two ways: you can paint over the area you want to select in Selection mode, or you can paint over areas you don’t want to select using a semiopaque overlay in Mask mode.

You can first make a rough selection with a marquee tool, Quick Selection tool, or other selection tool, and then finetune your selection with the Selection Brush tool. You can add to the selection using the Selection Brush tool in Selection mode, or subtract from it in Mask mode.

A DDB C

Selection Brush tool options A. Add to selection B. Subtract from selection C. Brush pop-up panel D. Brush size E. Mode F. Hardness G. Selection Brush tool

1 In the Editor, select the Selection Brush tool from the toolbox. You may need to click the Quick Selection tool

E F

in the toolbox and select the Selection Brush from the list of hidden tools that appears.

2 By default, the tool is set to Add To Selection . To subtract from the selection, click Subtract From Selection

in the options bar.

3 (Optional) Set Selection Brush tool options in the options bar located above your image:

• Choose a brush from the brush presets pop-up panel.

• Specify the brush size.

• Choose Selection (to add to the selection) or Mask (to subtract from the selection) from the Mode menu.

• Set the brush tip’s hardness to a value between 1% and 100%.

If you use a soft-edged brush with the Selection Brush tool, changing the Mode option to Mask can help you see the

soft edges of the selection.

• When using Mask mode, specify an Overlay Opacity between 1% and 100%.

• When using Mask mode, click the Overlay Color swatch and select a color in the Color Picker to set the mask color.

This is useful when the mask color (Overlay Color) is too similar to the colors in the photo.

4 Draw in your photo to select or deselect areas.

Adding to a selection while in Selection mode (left) and subtracting from a selection while in Mask mode (right)

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Use the Magic Extractor

Use the Magic Extractor to make accurate selections based on the appearance of foreground and background areas that you specify. You can specify these areas by placing colored marks in the areas you want to select. After you mark the areas and close the dialog box, only the foreground area appears in the photo in the Editor.

The Magic Extractor makes it easy to select people or objects so that you can superimpose them on other backgrounds. For example, you can remove yourself from a photo of you on your bicycle at home, and superimpose it on a photo of cyclists in the Tour de France. You can save the extracted image as a file that you can use again and again.

Using the Magic Extractor A. Area you want to extract marked with red dots B. Background marked with blue dots C. Extracted image

1 In the Editor, open the photo containing the object you want to extract.

2 To limit what appears in the Magic Extractor dialog box, make a preliminary selection using the Oval or

Rectangular selection tool.

3 Choose Image > Magic Extractor.

The Magic Extractor dialog box opens with the Foreground Brush tool selected by default.

4 Click multiple times or draw lines to mark the area you want to extract.

5 Click the Background Brush tool and click multiple times or draw lines to mark the area that you do not want

included in your selection.

When selecting objects with varied colors and textures, drag across all the colors and textures to ensure a more

accurate selection.

6 To help mark your selection, use the Zoom tool or the Hand tool to magnify and navigate around the photo.

Press Alt as you use the Zoom tool to zoom out.

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7 To specify a different brush size or color, do one of the following:

• Choose a new size from the Brush Size menu.

•

Click the Foreground Color or Background Color swatch, choose a new color in the Color Picker, and then click OK.

8 Click Preview to see the current selection.

9 To specify preview settings, do one of the following:

• To change what is displayed in the preview area, choose either Selection Area or Original Photo from the Display

menu. Or press the X key on your keyboard to switch between the two views.

• To specify a different background, choose an option from the Background menu.

10 Do any of the following to fine-tune the selection, and then preview the results again:

• To add to or subtract from the selection, draw more dots or lines using either the Foreground or Background Brush

tool.

Note: When you change the foreground or background color, the related brush tool becomes active.

• To erase foreground or background dots, select the Point Eraser tool and click or drag over the marks you want

to remove.

• To add areas to a selection, select the Add To Selection tool , and click or drag over the area you want to add.

• To remove areas from the selection, select the Remove From Selection tool and drag over the areas you want

to remove.

• To smooth the edges of your foreground selection, select the Smoothing Brush tool and drag over the areas you

want to smooth.

• To soften the edges of your selection, specify a higher value in the Feather box.

• To fill remaining holes in the main selection, click Fill Holes.

• To separate and remove an area from the main selection, select the Remove From Selection Tool and drag a

line between the main selection and the area you want to remove. Then click Fill Holes.

• To remove fringe colors left between the foreground and background, click Defringe. To increase or decrease the

amount of fringe removed, specify a value from the Defringe Width menu.

11 Click OK to extract the selected areas. If you want to start over, click Reset to remove all marks.

Delete a selected area

If you delete a selection on a Background layer or a layer that uses the Lock Transparency option, the selected area is replaced with the background color or checkerboard background pattern.

❖ In the Editor, do any of the following:

• Choose Edit > Delete to remove the selection. (If you delete a selection by mistake, you can choose Edit > Undo to

get it back.)

• Press the Backspace or Delete key to remove the selection.

• Choose Edit > Cut to cut the selection to the Clipboard. You can then paste it elsewhere.

More Help topics

“Understanding layers” on page 50

“Lock or unlock a layer” on page 55

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Select and deselect areas using commands

1 Do any of the following in the Editor window:

• To select all pixels in a layer, select the layer in the Layers panel and choose Select > All.

• To deselect selections, choose Select > Deselect. This is the safest way to deselect the area.

• To reselect the most recent selection, choose Select > Reselect.

2 To show or hide selection borders, choose View > Selection.

Note: You can also deselect by clicking anywhere in the photo outside the selected area. However, you might accidentally make further selections if you’re using a selection tool that selects based on clicking, such as the Magic Wand tool.

Modifying selections

Move a selection border

Moving a selection border repositions just the border without altering the photo.

1 Using any selection tool in the Editor, click New Selection in the options bar, and position the pointer inside an

existing selection border. The pointer changes to indicate that you can move the selection .

Note: The New Selection option appears in the options bar when any selection tool is selected—except the Selection Brush tool. Switch to another selection tool temporarily, if necessary, to select this option.

2 Do one of the following:

• Drag the border to enclose a different area of the photo. You can drag a selection border beyond the canvas

boundaries; however, this makes it hard to get back. You can also drag the selection border to another image window.

• To move the selection in 1-pixel increments, use an arrow key.

• To move the selection in 10-pixel increments, hold down Shift, and use an arrow key.

• To constrain the direction to multiples of 45°, begin dragging, and then hold down Shift as you continue to drag.

More Help topics

“Move a selection” on page 95

Invert a selection

Inverting a selection changes the unselected areas into selected areas, protecting the area you previously selected.

❖ In a photo with an existing selection border, choose Select > Inverse.

You can use this command to easily select an object that appears against a solid-colored area. Select the solid color

using the Magic Wand tool, and then choose Select > Inverse.

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Add to or subtract from a selection

You can add to or subtract from an existing selection to fine-tune selection borders. For example, you could make a donut-shaped selection by first making a circular selection and then subtracting a circular selection within it.

❖ In the Editor, select a selection tool, and do one of the following:

• Hold down Shift (a plus sign appears next to the pointer) to add to the selection, or hold down Alt to subtract (a

minus sign appears next to the pointer) from a selection. Then select the area to add or subtract and make another selection.

• Click Add To Selection or Subtract From Selection in the options bar, and make another selection. (The Add

To Selection and Subtract From Selection options appear in the options bar when any selection tool is selected.)

Select an area that intersects an existing selection

You can limit the area a selection affects. For example, in a picture of snow-capped mountains, you can select white clouds in the sky without selecting parts of the white mountain below them by selecting the entire sky, and then using the Magic Wand tool with Intersect With Selection selected and Contiguous deselected to select only the white areas included within the existing sky selection.

Selecting the sky and top of mountains with the Rectangular Marquee tool (top). Selecting the Intersect With Selection option and using the Magic Wand tool to select the clouds (middle). Resulting image after increasing the brightness of the clouds (bottom).

❖ In the Editor, select a selection tool, and do one of the following:

• Select Intersect With Selection in the options bar, and select an area that intersects the existing selection.

• Hold down Alt+Shift so that cross-hairs appear next to the pointer, and select an area that intersects the existing

selection.

Expand or contract a selection by a specific number of pixels

You can use commands in the Select menu to increase or decrease the size of an existing selection and to clean up stray pixels left inside or outside a color-based selection.

1 In the Editor, use a selection tool to make a selection.

2 Choose Select > Modify > Expand or Contract.

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3 For Expand By or Contract By, enter a pixel value between 1 and 100, and click OK.

The selection border is moved outward or inward by the specified number of pixels. Any portion of the selection border that runs along the canvas edge is unaffected.

Frame an existing selection with a new selection border

The Border command creates a soft-edged, anti-aliased selection border. When you add the new selection border, only pixels between the two selection borders are selected.

Using the Border command to create a 4-pixel border selection (top). Copying the selection to a new layer and filling to make an outline of the image (center). Filling the selection into the original image to create an outline around the image (bottom).

1 In the Editor, use a selection tool to make a selection.

2 Choose Select > Modify > Border.

3 Enter a value between 1 and 200 pixels in the Width text box, and click OK.

More Help topics

“Blur the edges of a selection by feathering” on page 94

Include areas of similar color in a selection

1 In the Editor, make a selection with a selection tool and do one of the following:

• Choose Select > Grow to include all adjacent pixels falling within the tolerance range specified in the options bar.

(You may have to switch to a selection tool that includes a tolerance range, such as the Magic Wand tool.) A higher Tolerance value adds a broader range of colors.

• Choose Select > Similar to include pixels throughout the photo, not just adjacent ones, that fall within the tolerance

range.

2 To increase the selection incrementally, choose either command multiple times.

Note: You cannot use the Grow and Similar commands on photos in bitmap mode.

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Remove stray pixels from a color-based selection

The Smooth command searches around each selected pixel for other pixels within the specified color range and selects them.

1 In the Editor, make a selection with a selection tool and choose Select > Modify > Smooth.

2 For Sample Radius, enter a pixel value between 1 and 100, and click OK.

Defringe a selection

When you move or paste a selection, some of the pixels surrounding the selection border are included with the selection. These extra pixels can result in a fringe or halo around the edges of the selection. The Defringe Layer command replaces the color of any fringe pixels with the colors of nearby pixels containing pure colors (those without background color). For example, if you select a yellow object on a blue background and then move the selection, some of the blue background is moved with the object. Defringe Layer replaces the blue pixels with yellow pixels.

Dog selected and copied to a new image where artifacts from the dark background are visible (top). Image after using the Defringe Layer command (bottom).

1 Copy and paste a selection into a new or existing layer.

2 Choose Enhance > Adjust Color > Defringe Layer.

3 In the Defringe dialog box, type the number of pixels you’d like to replace around the object. A value of 1 or 2 should

be sufficient.

4 Click OK.

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Macromedia Photoshop Elements User Guide

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual

Contents

Chapter 1: Getting started with Adobe Photoshop Elements

What to do first

Check the system requirements

Install the software

Register

ReadMe file

Sign up with your Adobe ID

New and enhanced features

Using Help and getting support

Learning Adobe Photoshop Elements

Using Photoshop Elements Help

How do I get customer support?

Converting a catalog from a previous version

Show Previously Converted Catalogs

About backing up/synchronizing files

Back up/Synchronize files

View Backup/Synchronization activity status

Start backup and synchronization activity manually

Importing and organizing photos and video

Use the Photo Downloader to download files

Organizing your photos and video clips

Create an album

Finding photos and video clips

Find the actual file of a photo or media clip

Creating photo projects

Create and share a slide show

Printing and sharing photos

Print from Elements Organizer

Print online

Share photos using e-mail

Fixing (editing) photos

Fix photos in Elements Organizer

Crop a photo in Elements Organizer

Fix photos in the Photoshop Elements Editor

Saving your edits

Troubleshooting tips

Chapter 2: Photoshop Elements workspace

About workspaces

The Welcome screen

Disable tracking of information

The Editor workspace

Launch the Elements Inspiration Browser

Use context menus

Using keyboard commands and modifier keys

Exit Photoshop Elements

Tools

About the toolbox

Select a tool

Set tool preferences

Set the appearance of a tool pointer

Set tool options

Set a completed operations alert

Panels and bins

About panels

Work with panels in the Editor

Use the Project Bin in the Editor

Undo, redo, and cancel

Undo, redo, or cancel operations

Using the Undo History panel (Editor only)

Revert to the last saved version

Revert to a previous state of an image

Delete one or more states from the Undo History panel

Clear memory used by the clipboard and the Undo History panel

Restore default preferences

Redisplay disabled warning messages

Scratch disks and plug-ins

About scratch disks

Change scratch disks

About plug-in modules

Install plug-in modules

Select an additional plug-ins folder

Chapter 3: Working in the Editor

Opening files in the Editor

Create a new blank file

Open a file