Macromedia Photoshop Elements - 13.0 User Guide

ADOBE® PHOTOSHOP® ELEMENTS HELP

Legal notices

For legal notices, see http://help.adobe.com/en_US/legalnotices/index.html.

Last updated 9/23/2014

Chapter 1: What's new

What's new in Photoshop Elements 13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

What's new in Elements Organizer 13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

Chapter 2: Workspace and workflows

Workspace basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Panels and bins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

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

Rulers, grids, and guides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Undo, redo, and cancel actions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Scratch disks, plug-ins, and application updates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Enhanced Quick Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Viewing images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Using Windows 7 features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Presets and libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Multitouch support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

iii

Chapter 3: Importing

Importing files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Chapter 4: File management

Opening files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

File information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Chapter 5: Editing photos

Adjusting color, saturation, and hue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Retouching and correcting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Enhancing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Adjusting shadows and light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Transfor ming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

Cropping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

Auto Smart Tone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

Photomerge Compose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

Processing camera raw image files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

Correcting color casts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

Using actions to process photos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

Painting overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

Painting tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

Adjustment filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

Sharpening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108

Stitching together panoramas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

Recomposing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

Resizing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

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Content s

Chapter 6: Selecting

Using tools to make selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122

Moving and copying selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134

Modifying selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

Smoothing selection edges withanti-aliasing and feathering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140

Saving selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142

Chapter 7: Color

Understanding color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144

Color and tonal correction basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145

Color and camera raw . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153

Setting up color management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157

Using image modes and color tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159

Chapter 8: Drawing and painting

Choosing colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165

Setting up brushes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168

Fills and strokes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172

Creating shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174

Gradients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178

Editing shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181

Patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183

Chapter 9: Effects and filters

Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185

Guided mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188

Filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198

Distort filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202

New Guided Edits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207

Render filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212

Other filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213

Sketch filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215

Noise filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217

Blur filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218

Artistic filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220

Brush Stroke filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222

Stylize filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223

Texture filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224

Chapter 10: Text and shapes

Add text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226

Edit text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230

Work with Asian type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233

Chapter 11: Layers

Creating layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236

Copying and arranging layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240

Editing layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245

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Adjustment and fill layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247

Layer masks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251

Clipping masks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251

Opacity and blending modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253

Layer styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254

Chapter 12: Printing, sharing, and exporting

Print or share photos online . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258

Create Photo Prints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262

Printing photos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264

Saving and exporting images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268

Chapter 13: Photo projects

Project basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274

Making photo projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274

Create a greeting card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278

Create a photo book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279

Editing photo projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279

Create photo calendars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282

Create a Facebook Cover picture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282

Chapter 14: Web graphics

Optimizing images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285

Dithering in web images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287

Optimizing images for the PNG-24 format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289

Optimizing images for the GIF or PNG-8 format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290

Using transparency and mattes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292

Optimizing images for the JPEG format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295

Previewing web images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296

Chapter 15: Keyboard shortcuts

Keys for the Magic Extractor dialogbox | Photoshop Elements 10, 11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298

Windows 7 keyboard shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298

Keys for selecting tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299

Keys for painting and brushes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300

Keys for transforming selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301

Keys for the Liquify filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301

Keys for the Filter Gallery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302

Keys for the Color Swatches panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302

Keys for using blending modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303

Keys for showing or hiding panels(expert mode) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303

Keys for the Camera Raw dialogbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304

Keys for using text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304

Keys for selecting and moving objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305

Keys for the Layers panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306

Keys for viewing images (expertmode) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307

Keys for using Photomerge Panorama | Photoshop Elements 10, 11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307

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Chapter 1: What's new

What's new in Photoshop Elements 13

• Photomerge Compose

• Autocrop suggestions

• eLive

• Facebook cover photos

• New Guided Edits

• Edit and refine selections

• HiDPI display support

• Content-aware fill

• Refine edge

• Adobe Camera Raw 8.6

• Quick Edit effects

• Expert mode effects

• Enhancements:

• Scrapbooking preset

• Layer styles

• Type tool - S c rubby slid e r

• Recently-opened files

Photomerge Compose

Create all-new scenes by pulling elements from one photo and placing them in another. Got a group photo with someone missing? Get a picture of the missing person from another picture and insert it into the the group photo. Watch the Photomerge Compose feature automatically adjust the color and lighting to create a scene that looks realistic and believable. Create great looking photo remixes and mash-ups!

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What's new

For more information on the Photomerge Compose feature that enables you to extract an object from one image and add it into another image, see the topic

Photomerge Compose (Extract an object) .

Autocrop suggestions

Cropping a photo can be straightforward. But for times when you're not so sure, Photoshop Elements 13 can now present you with four crop options. Quickly get a great composition by selecting from one of the four options!

For more information on the feature, see the topic Automatic cropping suggestions.

eLive

Elements Live view (eLive) is a concept to make content and resources available to users, visually pleasing and integrated right into Photoshop Elements Editor and Organizer. The new eLive view displays articles, videos, tutorials, and more - categorized into channels such as Learn, Inspire, and News. As a user, you can now access various tutorials and articles from the application itself.

Facebook cover photos

Post a Facebook cover photo that sets you apart from the rest. Use the Facebook Cover feature in Photoshop Elements 13 to create a fun picture that blends your Facebook profile and cover pictures together.

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What's new

For more information on the Facebook Cover feature, see the topic Create a Facebook Cover picture.

New Guided Edits

Go retro and reimagine the world in black and white. Or, retain one dominant, eye-popping color, and turn the rest of the photograph black and white. The new Guided Edits in Photoshop Elements 13 help you transform the mundane into works of art with as few clicks and adjustments as possible.

For more information on the new Guided Edits in Photoshop Elements 13, see the topic New Guided Edits.

Edit and refine selections

Sel ectio ns c an be tr ick y - es pecia lly m akin g extr eme ly fi ne on es. F rom Pho tos hop El eme nts 13, i f you make an i ncor rect selection, instead of starting afresh, you can make fine adjustments to the boundaries of your current selection. Nudge the selection boundary to get perfection!

For more information on this feature, see the topic Edit and refine selections .

HiDPI display support

Photoshop Elements 13 now has native support for high-resolution display devices for the Windows (HiDPI monitors) and Mac (Retina displays). Work on your pictures in the best possible clean and crisp resolution, with sharp and clear icons, thumbnails, and text in the user interface.

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What's new

Content-aware fill

Sometimes unwanted or unnecessary objects are captured in your photographs. You can now remove such elements and Photohshop Elements 13 will intelligently fill the chosen areas of your photograph with content based on the surrrounding parts of the photograph.

For more information on how to intelligently fill selected portions of your photograph, see the topic Content-aware Fill .

Refine edge

The options to refine the edges of a selection are more accessible through the Tool Options bar.

In Expert mode, when you choose the Selection Brush tool (A) or the Refine Selection Brush tool (A), the options to refine selection edges are available through the conveniently placed Refine Edge button in the Tool Options bar.

Adobe Camera Raw 8.6

The latest version of Adobe Camera Raw (ACR 8.6) is integrated into Photoshop Elements 13.

Quick Edit effects

The effects in the Quick mode have been reimagined. Each effect now displays five possible variations so that you can choose one that is best for you.

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What's new

For more information on the Quick mode that enables you to add Effects, Textures, and Frames, see the topic Enhanced

Quick Mode .

Expert mode effects

Spruce up your pictures with the newly categorized and revised effects in the Effect panel (Expert mode). 19 new effects have been added, and all thumbnails have been improved to display the Effect more clearly.

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What's new

Enhancements

Scrapbooking preset

The preset for scrapbooking is now available for all locales and countries.

To use the preset:

1 In Photoshop Elements 13, click File > New > Blank File.

2 In the New dialog box, from the Preset drop-down, choose Scrapbooking.

Layer styles

In the Style Settings dialog for Layers, a new drop-down has been added for the position of the stroke. The drop-down has values: Outside, Inside, and Center.

To use the new drop-down:

1 In Photoshop Elements 13, select a layer, and in the Layer menu, click Layer Style > Style Settings.

2 In the Style Settings dialog box, select Stroke, and then use the Position drop-down.

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What's new

Type tool - Scrubby slider

The font size now has a scrubby slider functionality. This enables you to change the font size quickly and conveniently.

To use the font size scrubby slider:

1 Select the Type tool (T).

2 In the Tool Options area, hover the mouse pointer over the text label Size.

3 When mouse pointer changes shape, left-click and drag to the left (decrease font size) or to the right (increase font

size).

Recently-opened files

• Recently-opened files are displayed in the Open drop-down and in the Files > Open Recently Edited File menu. Both

lists now display just the name of the file, instead of showing the entire folder and file name.

Removed from Photoshop Elements 13

• Edit > Remote Connection

• Enhance > Photomerge Style Match

• TWAIN plug-in: The plug-in is no longer available on 64-bit Windows computers.

• Crop tool: The Golden Ratio option is no longer available.

• Single core platforms are no longer supported

• Operating Systems support:

• Microsoft Windows XP

• Microsoft Windows Vista

• Mac OSX 10.7

What's new in Elements Organizer 13

Elements Organizer 13 ships with new features and enhancements that make it easier for you to work with digital media. Read on for a quick introduction to new features and links to resources offering more information.

Elements Organizer is available with Adobe Photoshop Elements and Adobe Premiere Elements. For information on new features in these products, see:

• What's new in Photoshop Elements 13

New slideshow creation workflow

Enhanced in Elements Organizer

With Elements Organizer 13, you can easily create slideshows and customize them with themes, music, text, captions, and more. After you finish putting together a slideshow, you can choose to save it as an MP4 video or share it out.

Slideshow creation in Elements 13 is available to users on both supported platforms—Mac and Windows. When you open slideshows created in earlier versions of Elements in Elements 13, you are prompted to upgrade them.

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What's new

For details, see .

Enhanced email functionality

New in Elements Organizer

Using Elements Organizer 13, you can share files through email on all three supported platforms—32-bit Windows, 64bit Windows, and Macintosh. You can use your Gmail, Yahoo!, AOL, or Microsoft email account, or any other email account, to share files.

For details, see Share files and slideshows by email .

Adaptive Grid

New in Elements Organizer

Elements Organizer 13 features a brand new representation of the media grid—Adaptive Grid. Adaptive Grid aligns media edge to edge and fills the entire grid space seamlessly. Media aspect ratios are maintained at all times while avoiding distracting gaps.

Adaptive Grid displays more media in the available grid space when compared to the normal grid. File details—such as filename, tags, date/time, album associations, etc—are not displayed in the Adaptive Grid view.

To switch to the Adaptive Grid view, press Ctrl+D (Windows) or Cmd+D (Mac).

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What's new

Other enhancements

• HiDPI and Retina display support

• Support for 64-bit Windows

• Folder view improvements

• Tag panel additions

Deprecated features

• Advanced Search widget

• Photomail service

• Smart Tags

• Some functionality related to Canon/Epson/PIM printers

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Chapter 2: Workspace and workflows

Workspace basics

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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Workspace and workflows

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.

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.

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Workspace and workflows

A Active tab B Inac tive tab C Active image area D Options bar E Toolbox F Tool Options bar / Photo bin G Taskb ar H Panel bar

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.

Mode selector Contains buttons to enter the three available editing modes. Also, contains the Open (recently used

files) drop-down and the Create (photo projects) drop-down.

Toolbox Holds tools for editing images.

Panel bin Logically grouped features, actions, or controls.

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

Tools Options (displays and sets options for the currently selected tool)

Tas k ba r Displays the most frequently used actions as buttons, for quick and easy access.

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.

Note: Not all panels offer context menus.

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

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Workspace and workflows

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.

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.

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

Panels and bins

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.

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

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Workspace and workflows

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.

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

most frequently used panels 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 panels in a tabbed layout in the Panel Bin, click the arrow next to More, and select Custom

Workspace. Click More 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.

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

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Workspace and workflows

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

2 In the Panel Bin (Custom Workspace),

• 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.

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

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.

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Workspace and workflows

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, dupl icat e an image, rotate an image, or v iew file i nfor mation. You can easily b ring ope n images into Quick mode for editing. Multipage projects created using the Create tab open in the Create panel.

❖ Do any of the following:

• (Window s on ly) To open an i mage , dra g a f il e fr om a ny l oc ati on o n yo ur c omp ute r (in clu ding the P hot o Brows er )

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.

• To hide an image that is in a floating window, 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 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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Workspace and workflows

To ol s

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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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.

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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 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.

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.

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

1 Select a tool.

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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.

Rulers, grids, and guides

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.

• 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.

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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.

Undo, redo, and cancel actions

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.

A Original state B State C Selected state

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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.

Note: Clearing the History panel cannot be undone.

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.

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Scratch disks, plug-ins, and application updates

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.

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.

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

Note: 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 pluginsfolders, 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.

Application Updates

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Workspace and workflows

Enhanced Quick Mode

The Quick mode groups basic photo-fixing tools in one place, to quickly fix the exposure, color, sharpness, and other aspects of an image. From Photoshop Elements 12, in addition to correcting your photos, you can also transform your photos into professional-looking objects of art. Three new panels - Effects, Textures, and Frames - are now available.

These panels are placed next to the Adjustments panel. Each panel has ten thumbnails. Each thumbnail is a live preview. Clicking a thumbnail applies the effect, texture, or frame, to your image. Names for these effects, textures, and frames is displayed when you hover the mouse pointer on the thumbnail.

Effects

Ten available effects each have five variations. Transform your photo by applying an effect. The clickable thumbnails for available Effects are live previews, to understand how the effect looks on the image before applying it. Effects range from Black & White effect to Vintage looks to Cross-process presets.

Effects are applied as a new layer with layer mask. You can edit the layer mask in Expert mode to remove/reduce effect from certain areas.

Te xt u re s

Use the Textures panel to choose from ten textures you can apply to your photo. Textures simulate various surfaces or backgrounds that the photo could be printed on. For example, old paper look, cracked paint texture, rough blue grid, chrome feel.

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