Macromedia Photoshop Elements - 11.0 User Guide

ADOBE® PHOTOSHOP® ELEMENTS

Help and tutorials

Getting started tutorials

Getting started tutorials

Knowing your devices

You can take photos or videos with a variety of devices and bring them into Elements. Here are some guidelines that are good to follow:

Read the documentation that came with your device.
Switch on the camera.
Follow any instructions that appear on the computer to install drivers and other software.
If your camera or computer is not responding, try using a card reader instead.

Installing Photoshop Elements

How do I install Photoshop Elements ?
How do I convert a trial version into a full version?

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Importing and organizing

How do I import photos from my camera?
I have imported thousands of photos. How can I organize them?

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Is there a way I can mark or tag people in photos?

How can I add information about places in my photos?
In photos of birthdays and other events, can I add event information?

Editing and compositing

Can I make quick fixes in the Organizer workspace?
How can I open Photoshop Elements Editor from the Organizer workspace and work on my photo?
What are Guided Edits?
How do I crop a photo?
How do I resize a photo?
How can I fix an overexposed photo?
How do I select an area of a photo with precision?
Can I merge multiple photos into a panorama?
How do I add a watermark to my photos?
What are photo projects? How do I create a greeting card?

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Saving and sharing

Can I optimize a photo for uploading on the web?
How do I print my photos? Can I order prints from an online service provider?
How do I upload photos on facebook?
Can I maintain my contact list in Photoshop Elements and email photos?

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What's new

What's new

Guided Edits
Filters
Exposure and Vibrance (Quick edit mode)
Usability Enhancements
Actions Panel
Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) 7.1
Photo service provider for users in Europe - CEWE Color
Tool enhancements
Online Content
Effects and Styles
Preferences

Guided Edits

Adobe Photoshop Elements Editor 11 includes four new guided edits, to quickly enhance your images with special effects. You can apply effects
that generally take many complex steps to obtain. Use the step-by-step instructions on the guided edits panel to get the exact effect you want to
obtain. For more information, see the video on the new guided edits.

High key

moment, with the professional-looking high key effect (Elements Editor > Guided mode > High Key). For more information, see Add high key

effect.

For a quick tutorial, watch this video on working with the high key guided edit.

Picture before applying the high key effect (left), and after (right)

Low key

dominant aspects of your photo, with the low-key effect (Elements Editor > Guided mode > Low Key). For more information, see Add low key

effect.

For a quick tutorial, watch this video on creating dynamic effects with the low key guided edit.

Pictures with high key lighting convey a positive vibe. Negate shadows and transform a portrait or family picture into a memorable

Photographs with low key lighting portray a darker edge in the theme of the photo. Accentuate shadows and create dramatic play with

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Picture before applying the low key effect (left), and after (right)

Tilt-shift

blurring the rest, using the tilt-shift effect (Elements Editor > Guided mode > Tilt-Shift). Obtain the miniature effect that would normally need a tilt­shift lens, with just a few clicks of the mouse. For more information, see Add tilt-shift effect.

For a quick tutorial, watch a video on the new tilt-shift guided edit.

Photographs treated with the tilt-shift effect focus on specific portions of a picture. Keep certain areas of your picture sharp, while

Picture before applying the tilt- shift effect (left), and after (right)

Vignette

areas, and automatically drawing attention to the center of the photo. Use the option to create a white vignette and explore the results that the
vignette effect (Elements Editor > Guided mode > Vignette Effect) can produce. For more information, see Add vignette effect.

For a quick tutorial, watch a video on applying a vignette effect.

Picture before applying the vignette effect (left), and after (right)

Filters

Comic Filter

Sketch > Comic), converts your photo into seemingly hand-sketched artwork. A variety of controls enable you to attain granular control over the
final result.

Pictures that have vignetting tend to have a brighter central region, and a dark periphery. Enhance a portrait by darkening the peripheral

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Add an element of fun to your favorite portrait by making it look like a panel from a comic strip. Applying the new Comic filter (Filter >

Original image (left), and image after applying the Comic filter (right)

Pen and Ink filter

Pen and Ink) creates the effect of artistic sketching, with options to control pen and ink attributes.

Original image (left), and image after applying the Pen and Ink filter (right)

Graphic Novel Filter

photo, unique to the world of graphic novels. Select from the presets, or customize the effect with the available controls.

Convert your photograph into a work of art, making it appear hand -sketched. Applying the Pen and Ink filter (Filter > Sketch >

Apply the new Graphic Novel filter (Filter > Editor > Graphic Novel) to your picture, to obtain a dark, yet distinct and vivid

Original image (left), and image after applying the Graphic Novel filter (right)

Lens Blur filter

the lens blur filter (Filter > Blur > Lens Blur) creates an effect similar to applying a narrow depth of field while taking a picture. For more information
and a quick tutorial, watch the video on blur filter effect.

Original image (left), and image after applying the Lens Blur filter (right)

Exposure and Vibrance (Quick edit mode)

The new Exposure and Vibrance options allow you to preview various settings, manipulate settings manually, and then commit the effect to the
photograph.

Exposure

Simulate the blur created by a camera lens, by blurring certain objects in an image, while retaining the clarity of the rest. Applying

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The Exposure setting (Quick mode > Exposure) adjusts the brightness and darkness of your photograph.

Original image (left), and image after enhancing exposure (right)

Vibrance

clipping.

Original image (left), and image after increasing vibrance (right)

Usability Enhancements

Adobe Photoshop Elements 11 has numerous advancements and new features. However, much effort has been invested in ensuring that working
in Elements Editor is easier and faster than ever before. For more information, see the video on the new Photoshop Elements 11 user interface.

The Vibrance setting (Quick mode > Color > Vibrance) adjusts the tone of colors as it approaches saturation, and helps prevent

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Photoshop Elements in Expert mode
A. Inactive tab B. Active tab C. Active image area D. Menu bar E. Options bar F. Toolbox G. Tool Options bar / Photo bin H. Taskbar I. Panel bar

User interface

The user interface is simpler to navigate, more intuitive, and ensures that learning is a natural outcome of working Photoshop Elements.
Enhancements to the user interface include:

Taskbar The taskbar contains buttons to important shortcuts to aspects of Photoshop Elements, and important tasks.
Photo bin The Photo bin displays open images that you are currently working on in Photoshop Elements, or photos or albums

selected in Photoshop Elements Organizer.

Tools bar The Tools bar contains all the available tools in a particular mode. Tools are grouped logically.
Tool Options bar The Tool Options bar displays all the options of the currently selected tool, below an open image.
Panels By default, Photoshop Elements opens in the Basic panel view, that displays the Layers, Effects, Graphics, and

Favorites panels. Thus, novice users always have a consistent view of the most important panels. Advanced users can open
the Custom view to view or dock additional panels into the interface.

Guided edits

Guided edits have an icon associated with them, enabling users to quickly understand what that particular edit does.
Step numbers enable the user to always have context of the actions being performed.
Guided edits are better categorized, and step-wise descriptions for each edit have been simplified.

Panel shortcuts
Quick mode toolbar
Create menu

project, in any mode that you are in.

Panels

Basic To enable novice users to have a consistent view in Photoshop Elements, this mode displays the most important panels

- Layers, Effects, Graphics, and Favorites.
Custom To enable advanced users to choose the panels that they need, the Custom mode displays panels in floating or

tabbed mode. In this mode, users can open a panel, and dock it in the Panel bin.

Photoshop Elements has been reworked to present the working spaces, tools, modes, and panels in neat and efficient layouts.

Guided edits are available in the Guided mode. Some enhancements include:

Important panels now have keyboard shortcuts associated with them. For example, you can press F11 to view the Layers panel.

The Text tool and the Spot Healing Brush tools are now available in Quick mode.

The Create drop-down, above the Panel bin, lists all the projects that you can start with your photographs. You can easily start a

Panels can be viewed in two modes, Basic and Custom.

Actions Panel

An action is a series of tasks that Photoshop Elements performs with a click of a button. Actions are now available in the Actions panel (Window >
Actions). Use the Actions panel menu to load, play, delete, or reset actions.

For more information on the Actions panel and how to use it, see Using actions to process photos.
Also, watch this video on adding actions to speed up editing tasks.

Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) 7.1

Photoshop Elements 11 uses the newest algorithms and technology to process raw file formats. Enhancements include:

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Process Version 2012

Effects and Styles

the raw file format. The ACR 7.1 dialog allows you to choose the latest process version (2012), or any of the older versions - 2010 or

2003.

The Adobe Camera Raw 7.1 (ACR 7.1) converter introduces Process Version 2012, a newer form of deciphering

Additional control

For more information, see Process Versions.

Photo service provider for users in Europe - CEWE Color

For Photoshop Elements users in Europe, Adobe has partnered with CEWE Color, an online photo service company. CEWE Color services are
available in 24 European countries. You can place orders for photos, photo books, calendars, and other projects with CEWE Color, from within
Photoshop Elements.

Tool enhancements

Tools have been refined to obtain optimal results. Additional features have been added to existing tools:

Sharpen tool

details.

Move tool

Choosing a layer this way automatically selects the layer in the Layers panel.

Color Picker

a selected layer, or all available layers.

Color Replacement tool

choose to control how the color is replaced using the Continuous, Once, or Background Swatch settings.

Refine edges tool

from an image.

The Sharpen tool now has a Protect Detail option, that ensures minimized pixelated artifacts while enhancing and sharpening

The Move tool now has a layer selection option, that enables you to right-click a multi-layered image and select a specific layer.

The Color Picker tool has been equipped with additional settings in the Tool Options bar. You can now choose to sample color from

Refine Edges tool The Refine Edges tool has been enhanced to provide the ability to select the more granular and finer details

Process Version 2012 exposes three new sliders - Luminance Detail, Luminance Contrast, and Color Detail.

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The Color Replacement tool now has a sampling option to choose how a color is picked for replacement. You can

Online Content

Most sample and collateral graphics, backgrounds, frames, and themes have been moved online. Storing files online saves a large amount of disk
space on the computer where you have Photoshop Elements 11 installed.

When you install Photoshop Elements 11, these files are downloaded as thumbnails. Files that have not been downloaded have a small blue band
that runs diagonally across the upper-right corner of the thumbnail (similar to a blue photo-corner).

Thumbnails in the Graphics panel, with a blue photo corner to indicate if graphic is available for download

A. Blue photo corner B. Graphic not downloaded, but available online C. Graphic downloaded to computer, available for use

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When you choose to use the file in a project (for example, a background in a photo book project), these files are downloaded in their full size.
Double-click a graphic to download it from the online repository in its full size.

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Photoshop Elements 11 enables you to import your favorite effects and styles. Use the preset manager (Edit > Preset Manager), or the panel
menu in the Effects panel, to load, use, or delete effect (.atn) or style (.asl) files.

For more information, see Use the Preset Manager.

Preferences

Preferences have been added or modified to ensure that working in Photoshop Elements 11 is a pleasing and consistent experience.

Reset Preferences on next launch

Editor is restarted next. Available at Preferences > General.

Save As to Original Folder

Specifies the folder location that is opened by default in the Save As dialog. When this option is cleared, the
Save As dialog always opens the folder where you last saved a file. When selected, the Save As dialog always opens the folder from
where you last opened a file. Available at Preferences > Saving Files.

Maximize PSD File Compatibility

Never Compatibility settings are never applied
Always Compatibility settings are always applied
Ask While saving to PSD format, a Photoshop Elements Format Options dialog is displayed. You can now select the

Don't show again option.

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Click this button to ensure that all product preferences are reset to default settings when Elements

Specifies if compatibility settings must be enforced when you save a photograph to PSD file format.

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Workspace and workflows

Workspace basics

The Welcome screen
Photoshop Elements window
Use context menus
Using keyboard commands and modifier keys
Exit Photoshop Elements

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.

Click Organizer to import, tag, or organize your photos. Click Photo Editor to enhance your images or add special effects.
Click the Close button (X) in the upper -right corner of the Welcome screen to close the Welcome screen. It’s not necessary to return to the

Welcome screen to open other workspaces—you can open different workspaces from within any other workspace.
Click the settings icon (adjacent to the Close button) to choose what application is started when you start. Select one of these options from the On

Start Always Launch drop down, and then click Done:

Welcome Screen
Organizer
Photo Editor

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Photoshop Elements 11 welcome screen

Photoshop Elements window

The Photoshop Elements window provides modes to create and edit images. Select one of the following options:

Quick

Enables you to edit photos in the Quick mode.

Guided

Enables you to edit photos in the Guided Edit mode.

Expert

Enables you to edit photos in the Expert mode.
The Expert mode has tools to correct color problems, create special effects, and enhance photos. The Quick mode contains simple tools for

correcting color and lighting, and commands to quickly fix common problems, such as red eye. The Guided mode contains tools for basic photo
edits, guided activities, and photographic effects. If you are new to digital imaging, Quick or Guided modes are a good place to start fixing photos.

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If you’ve worked with image-editing applications before, you’ll find that the Expert mode 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 Expert 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.

Photoshop Elements in Expert mode

A. Inactive tab B. Active tab C. Active image area D. Menu bar E. Options bar F. Toolbox G. Tool Options bar / Photo bin H. Taskbar I. Panel bar

Menu bar

applying adjustments to an image.

Mode selector

Create (photo projects) drop-down.

Toolbox
Panel bin
Photo Bin / Tools Options

and sets options for the currently selected tool)

Taskbar

Use context menus

You can use context menus in both the Photo Editor and 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 main menus.

1. Position the pointer over an image or panel item.

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

Using keyboard commands and modifier keys

You can use keyboard shortcuts in both the Photo Editor and 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.

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

Contains buttons to enter the three available editing modes. Also, contains the Open (recently used files) drop-down and the

Holds tools for editing images.

Logically grouped features, actions, or controls.

Toggles between Photo Bin (display and manage thumbnails of currently used photos) and Tools Options (displays

Displays the most frequently used actions as buttons, for quick and easy access.

Note:

Not all panels offer context menus.

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Exit Photoshop Elements

To exit Photoshop Elements, close both the Photo Editor and Organizer workspaces—closing one does not automatically close the other.

1. From any workspace, do one of the following:
In Windows, choose File > Exit. In Mac, choose Photoshop Elements > Quit Photoshop Elements.

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

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2. When closing Photoshop Elements, choose whether to save any open files.

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Panels and bins

About panels
Work with panels
Panels in the Expert mode
Use the taskbar
Use the Photo Bin

About panels

Panels are available in both Photoshop Elements and Elements Organizer; 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
basic and custom workspaces in Expert mode. You can store panels in the Panel Bin to keep them out of your way, but easily accessible.

Dragging a panel.

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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 or Down Arrow keys.

Different ways to enter values

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

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

Work with panels

Panels contain features, information, or functionality, in logical groups, for fast and easy access. The Panel Bin is on the right side of Photoshop
Elements. It displays tabs and panels, depending on the mode you are in, or the kind of elements you want to work with. The Panel Bin displays:

Quick mode: lists the quick-mode effects that can be applied to a photo
Guided mode: lists all the guided-mode edits that you can apply to a photo
Expert mode: lists the options for a selected panel (Layers, Effects, Graphics, or Favorites)

Panels in the Expert mode

In the Expert mode, panels can be displayed in two ways - Basic Workspace, and Custom Workspace.

Basic Workspace

are placed in the taskbar. The buttons in this workspace are Layers, Effects, Graphics, and Favorites. For example, clicking the Layers button
displays all the layers-related options. To view all the other available tabs, or close open tabs, click More.

Custom Workspace

to view a list of all the available tabs, and select one from the pop- up list. The selected tab is displayed. You can keep the frequently used panels
open in the custom workspace. Group panels together or dock one panel at the bottom of another panel. You can drag title bar of the tab and drop
it in the tabbed layout, or drag and drop the tabs dialog into the tabbed layout.

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

Note:

By default, the available workspace displayed is the Basic Workspace. In this view, buttons for the most frequently used panels

To view panels in a tabbed layout in the Panel Bin, click the arrow next to More, and select Custom Workspace. Click More

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The Panel Bin

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

2. In the Panel Bin (Custom Workspace),

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.

3. To use panels outside the Panel Bin, in Custom Workspace view, do any of the following:
To open a panel, choose the name of the panel from the Window menu, or click the arrow next to the More button in the

taskbar and select a panel.
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.

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

Use the taskbar

Taskbar

At the bottom of the Photoshop Elements, the taskbar displays buttons for the most frequently used panels and operations performed while editing
and modifying images. You can use the Photo Bin and Tool Options buttons to toggle between displaying thumbnails and tool options. You can
quickly undo and redo operations, or rotate images using the options available taskbar, or Organizer to start Photoshop Elements Organizer. In the
Expert mode, click the arrow beside the More button, to see the option to toggle between Basic and Custom workspaces.

Use the Photo Bin

Located toward the bottom of the Photoshop Elements window, above the taskbar, the Photo Bin displays thumbnails of open photos. It’s useful for
switching between multiple open photos in your workspace. The Photo 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. You can easily
bring open images into Quick mode for editing. Multipage projects created using the Create tab open in the Create panel.

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The Photo Bin

Do any of the following:

(Windows only) 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 Photo Bin.

To bring an opened image forward as the frontmost image, double-click a thumbnail.
To rearrange photos, drag thumbnails in the Photo 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 Photo Bin and choose Close.

Note:

To hide an image that is in a floating window, right -click the thumbnail and choose Minimize from the context menu.

To show an image after hiding it, double -click its thumbnail in the Photo 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 Photo Bin and choose Show Filenames from the context menu.
To manually show or hide the bin, click the Photo Bin taskbar icon.
The flyout menu of the Photo Bin contains additional options to work with the images that are available in the Photo Bin:

Print Bin Files. Opens the Photoshop Elements Print dialog box, with options to print the photos currently selected in
the Photo Bin.

Save Bin as an Album. Enables you to name and save an album containing the images in the Photo Bin. The new
album is available in Organizer.

Reset Style Bin. Resets the Style bin images, while performing a photomerge style match (Enhance > Photomerge >
Photomerge Style Match) .

Show Grid. Displays a grid around images in the Photo bin.

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Tools

About the toolbox
Select a tool
Set Edit preferences
Set the appearance of a tool pointer
Resize or change the hardness of painting cursors by dragging
Set tool options

About the toolbox

You use tools in the Photoshop Elements toolbox to select, edit, and view images; some tools let you paint, draw, and type. The toolbox appears
on the left side in the Quick and Expert modes.

Tools in the toolbox are grouped logically, in the Quick and Expert modes. For example, in the Expert view, the Move, Rectangular Marquee,
Lasso, and Quick Selection tools are placed together in the Select group.

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 Tool Options
bar, towards the bottom of the Photoshop Elements window.

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.

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Toolbox overview

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Select a tool

Do one of the following:

Click a tool in the toolbox. If there are additional tool options, they are displayed in the Tool Options bar. 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 Brush
tool by pressing the B key.

Set Edit preferences

1. In Windows, choose Edit > Preferences > General. In Mac, choose Photoshop Elements > 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 tool options by pressing the shortcut key (without holding down Shift).
For example, pressing B on your keyboard repeatedly, cycles through all the Brush tool options (Brush, Impressionist
Brush, and Color Replacement tools)

Set the appearance of a tool pointer

1. In Windows, choose Edit > Preferences > Display & Cursors. In Mac, choose Photoshop Elements > Preferences > Display &

Cursors.

2. Select a setting for the Painting Cursors:

Standard

Precise

Normal Brush Tip

Full Size Brush Tip

Show Crosshair In Brush Tip

Brush Tip.

3. Select a setting for Other Cursors:

Standard

Displays pointers as tool icons.

Displays pointers as cross-hairs.

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

Displays pointers as circles at the full size you specify for the brush.

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

Displays pointers as tool icons.

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Precise

Resize or change the hardness of painting cursors by dragging

You can resize or change the hardness of a painting cursor by dragging in the image. As you drag, you preview both the size and hardness of the
painting tool.

To resize a cursor, right-click + press Alt (Windows only), and drag to the left or right.
To change the hardness of a cursor, right-click + press Alt (Windows only), and drag up or down.

Set tool options

The Tool Options bar appears above the taskbar at the bottom of the Photoshop Elements window. The Tool Options bar displays different options
when you select different tools.

Displays pointers as cross-hairs.

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A. Tool icon B. Active tool in the Tool Options bar C. Hidden tools D. Tool options

1. Select a tool.

2. Look in the Tool 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, select the flyout menu from the Tool Options bar,

and then choose Reset Tool or Reset All Tools.

3. To close the Tool Options bar, click Tool Options in the task bar. To reopen the bar, click Tool Options from the task bar.

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Rulers, grids, and guides

About rulers, grids, and guides
Change the rulers’ zero origin and settings
Change the guides and grid settings

About rulers, grids, and guides

In Expert mode, 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 mode, only 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 (Expert mode only), the grid, or the guide. The View menu also helps you to enable or disable the
snapping of items to the grid or guide.

Change the rulers’ zero origin and settings

In Expert mode, 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.

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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. Click OK.

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

Change the guides and grid settings

1. Choose Edit > Preferences > Guides & Grid.

2. Under the Guides or Grids area:
Choose a preset color, or click the color swatch to choose a custom color.
Choose the line style for the grid. Choose Lines for solid lines, or choose Dashed lines or Dots for broken lines.

3. For Gridline Every, enter a number value, and then choose the unit of measurement to define the spacing of major grid lines.

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

More Help topics

Change the size of the canvas
Change print dimensions and resolution without resampling

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Undo, redo, and cancel actions

Undo, redo, or cancel actions
Using the History panel while editing
Clear memory used by the clipboard and the History panel
Restore default preferences
Redisplay disabled warning messages

Undo, redo, or cancel actions

Many operations in both the Elements Organizer and Photoshop Elements can be undone or redone. For example, you can restore all or part of
an image to its last saved version. Low amounts of available memory 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 History panel while editing

The History panel (F10 or Window > 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 History panel.

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 History panel. Nor do program-wide changes,
such as changes to panels, color settings, and preferences.

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A. Original state B. State C. Selected state

Note the following guidelines when using the History panel:

By default, the History panel lists 50 previous states. Older states are automatically deleted to free more memory for
Photoshop Elements. You can set the number of states in the application settings (Preferences > Performance > History
States). The maximum number of states is 1000.

The original state of the photo is always displayed at the top of the 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 the subsequent states (steps that were performed after the selected step). 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 all states (edits) after it.

Revert to a previous state of an image

In Quick and Expert modes, do any of the following:

Click the name of the state in the History panel.
Click the Undo or Redo buttons in the taskbar.
Choose Undo or Redo from the History panel menu or the Edit menu.

To set the keyboard command for Step Forward and Step Backward, choose Edit > Preferences > Generalin Windows
(Photoshop Elements > Preferences > General in Mac), 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 History panel menu. States following the one
you selected are also deleted.

To delete the list of states from the History panel, without changing the image, choose Clear History from the panel menu
or choose Edit > Clear > Clear History. Clearing is useful for freeing up memory, especially if you get an alert that
Photoshop Elements is low on memory.

Clearing the History panel cannot be undone.

Note:

Clear memory used by the clipboard and the History panel

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

In Expert mode, 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 > Clear History or choose Clear History from the

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

Note:

Clearing the 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.

Note:

Deleting the preferences file is an action that cannot be undone.

Do one of the following:

Press and hold Alt+Control+Shift (Mac: Option+Command+Shift) immediately after Photoshop Elements begins launching. Click
Yes to delete the Adobe Photoshop Elements settings file.

Go to Edit > Preferences (Mac: Photoshop Elements > Preferences > General), click the Reset Preferences on next launch
button, and then click OK. When you restart Adobe Photoshop Elements, all preferences are reset to default settings.

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. You can also reset the messages you’ve disabled at a later time.

1. In Windows, choose Edit > Preferences > General. In Mac, choose Photoshop Elements > Preferences > General.

2. Click Reset All Warning Dialogs, and click OK.

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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
Load default plug-ins only

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 Elements uses the hard drive on which the operating system is installed as its primary
scratch disk.

You can change the primary scratch disk, or designate additional scratch disks. When the primary disk is full, additional scratch disks are used. Set
your fastest hard disk as your primary scratch disk. Ensure that the disk has plenty of defragmented space available.

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

Do no create scratch disks on the same physical drive as Photoshop Elements or any large files you are editing.
Do not create scratch disks on the same physical drive as the one used for the operating system’s virtual memory.
Create scratch disks on a local drive, not a network location.
Create scratch disks on conventional (non -removable) media.
RAID disks/disk arrays are good choices for dedicated scratch disk volumes.
Defragment drives with scratch disks 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. Frequently defragmenting your hard drive ensures that there is
contiguous space available, especially the disk containing your scratch disk. 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 Windows, choose Edit > Preferences > Performance. In Mac, choose, Photoshop Elements > Preferences > Performance.

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2. Select the desired disks from the Scratch Disks listing (you can assign up to four scratch disks).

3. Select a scratch disk and use the arrow keys next to the Scratch Disks list to rearrange the order in which scratch disks will be

used.

4. Click OK, and restart Photoshop Elements for the change to take effect.

About plug-in modules

Adobe Systems and other software developers create plug-ins to add functionality to Photoshop Elements. A number of importing, exporting, and
special-effects plug-ins come with your program; they are inside the Photoshop Elements plug-ins and optional plug-ins folders.

Once installed, plug-in modules appear as:

Options added to the Import or Export menu
Filters added to the Filter menu, or,
File formats in the Open and Save As dialog boxes.

If you install a large number of plug-ins, Photoshop Elements may not be able to list them all in their appropriate menus. If so, newly installed
plug-ins appear in the Filter > Other submenu. To prevent a plug-in or folder of plug-ins from loading, add a tilde character (~) at the beginning of
the plug-in name, folder, or directory. The program ignores files marked with a tilde character, while starting. To view information about installed

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Note:

plug-ins, choose Help > About Plug-In and select a plug-in from the submenu.

To use an optional plug-in module, copy the plug-in module from the optional plug-ins folder to the relevant subfolder in the plug-ins folder.

Then, install the plug-in module, and relaunch Photoshop Elements.

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

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 Windows, choose Edit > Preferences > Plug-Ins. In Mac, choose Photoshop Elements > 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.

Load default plug-ins only

When Photoshop Elements starts, all plug-ins that are pre-installed, third-party, or located in additional plugins-folders, are loaded. To load only
the preinstalled plug-ins Photoshop Elements was shipped with, press and hold the Shift key while starting the software. When asked, click yes on
the dialog that requests confirmation to skip loading optional and third-party plug-ins.

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Using Windows 7 features

Photoshop Elements supports the following Windows 7 features:

Live Taskbar

an icon to view images of the open files and applications. To work with an application, point to its icon, move over the images to preview in full
screen, and click the full screen image.

Aero Peek
Aero Shake

other windows, except the selected window. To display the hidden windows, shake the mouse again.

Aero Snap

horizontally.

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Displays icons for all running and pinned applications. The icons for all running applications are highlighted with a border. Point to

Makes all windows transparent, allowing you to view the desktop. To view a hidden window, point to its taskbar icon.

Allows you to focus on a window by hiding all others. To work in an application, click its pane and shake the mouse. This hides all

Allows you to quickly resize and organize windows. To resize a window, drag it to a side of the display and expand vertically or

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