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PHOTOSHOP
FAST–PACEDDIGITAL TELEPATHY
curated by
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HELLOAre you a designer on a deadline? If you are, chances are that you can
probably recall the last time you thought to yourself, “if only I had a little
more time, I could...” what? Polish that CTA button? Find a better hero
image? Re-evaluate that color palette?
The truth is, however, that as designers we will always be looking for
more time to polish the one pixel that got away . But rather than begging
our project managers for more time on our projects, it’s important that
we look at our own workflows to see if there are other ways for us to gain
just a little more time.
So without further ado, we thought we’d share with you our best
Photoshop tricks and shortcuts that we constantly use in the office to
help trim some of that excess time spent pushing pixels around.
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TRICK INDEX
THE USUAL KEYBOARD SHORTCUT SUSPECTS
CUSTOM MUST HAVE SHORTCUTS
LET’S MAKE PHOTOSHOP MORE LIKE A WORD PROCESSOR
LAYERS, MASKS & STYLES
SEEING THE BIGGER PICTURE
OPTIMIZING THE OPTION KEY
THINGS YOU SHOULD BE DOING MORE
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USUAL
SUSPECTS
the
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Tapping 1 through 0 will give you opacities
between 10% to 100%. Tapping multiple numbers
in quick succession, however, will give you that
specific opacity percentage (i.e., tapping 5 and 6
quickly will get you a 56% opacity level).
Normal (Shift + Option + N), Multiply (Shift + Option + M), Screen (Shift + Option + S), Overlay (Shift +
Option + O), Soft Light (Shift + Option + F), Saturation (Shift + Option + v), Color (Shift + Option + C),
and Luminosity (Shift + Option + Y).
Holding down shift and tapping 1 through 0 will
give you fill levels between 10% to 100%. The same
applies here where tapping multiple numbers
in quick succession of one another will give you
specific fill percentages.
If you like cycling through various blending modes for quick experimenting, this shortcut allows for you
to move up and down your current layer’s blending mode. Note that if you’re in any of the retouching/
painting tools, it will cycle through the blending properties of that retouching/painting tool.
Opacity shortcuts
Layer Blend Mode Shortcuts
Fill opacity shortcuts
Cycle through Blend Modes Shortcut
The Usual Keyboard Shortcut Suspects 5
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Flipping Foreground& Background
Setting DefaultWhite Foreground &
Black Background
Adjusting Sizeand Hardness of
Brush Tools
Quickly accessing black or white will be necessary for many
occasions, including a quick layer masking, or brushing highlights
and shadows onto objects. This shortcut defaults your current
foreground to black and background to white.
Brush tool shortcuts for adjusting the size and hardness of
brush tools: Hit the bracket keys, [ or ], to change the size of
your brush. Hold down shift when using the bracket keys to
adjust the hardness of your brush in 25% intervals.
The Usual Keyboard Shortcut Suspects 6
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Hiding and showingrules and grids
Fast Editing with
Hue/Saturation
Shift + Anything forIncremental Nudging
Fast editing with Hue/Saturation (Option + Command + U),
Levels (Option + Command + L), and Curves (Option + Command
+ M): Quick pixel editing is sometimes a necessary thing to
do in a PSD. Even if you’re just trying to experiment or see
how certain pixels can be manipulated, try utilizing these fast
shortcuts to adjust hue, saturation, lightness, levels, and curves
on the fly!
While you may already know that Shift + any Arrow Key
incrementally nudges an object by 10 pixels, did you know
that holding down Shift + Arrow Key in certain windows in
Photoshop can also allow for 10% nudges? Try holding Shift + Up
or Down Arrow on any number input field in Photoshop (like the
font size input field or any number input field in a layer styles
panel).
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CUSTOM
SHORTCUTS
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Flip Horizontallyand Flip Vertically
Convert Point Tool
Edit > Crop
This is a powerful and useful tool when dealing with any sort
of paths/shape layers in Photoshop. It also shares similar
functionality to its sister tool in Illustrator so if you want to
maintain a little more consistency between the two programs,
consider binding this tool to C (which is currently the crop tool
but we’ll get to that in our next point).
Try custom binding Flip Horizontally to Shift + Command + H (for
horizontal!) and Shift + Command + J (since V is so commonly
used for pasting) for Flip Vertically.
Think about how useful it would be to simply make a selection
and crop with that selection instead. Utilizing the general crop
function can be a valuable asset to have. Consider assigning
a shortcut to this editing function such as Shift + Option +
Command + C.
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PHOTOSHOP WORD PROCESSOR
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All Caps Aside from using Underline (command+shift+U), this will be
your go to for making certain parts of your typography allcaps.
If you’re a typography machine, these shortcuts will turn
your bland paragraphs into beautiful print-quality works
of art!
Leading, Tracking,& Kerning
Faux Bold & Faux Italic If your font has a bold or italic weight, this shortcut will toggle
between the font family’s weight. Otherwise, it’ll simply add a
faux weight style to your font selection.
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Under the paragraph window, you can designate how much
spacing a paragraph has after the paragraph is completed. No
more double indenting to get the pseudo content separation
you’re looking for.
Trying to see which font would work best for that header copy?
Select the text layer you’d like to adjust, make sure the text
tool is active, and simply click on the font name’s input field.
Once this field is highlighted, you can simply hit the Up and
Down Arrow to cycle through your various fonts. You can also
hit certain letters to jump through to various parts of your font
library.
Instead of hitting that annoying little check box on the top
menu bar, if you use this shortcut, you’ll be able to exit out of
Type Tool editing mode. As a bonus, this shortcut also works for
committing Transform edits as well!
Command + Enter =Commit… Anything
Add Space After
(or Before) Paragraph
Fast Cycling
Through Fonts
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LAYERS,MASKS,
& STYLES
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Merge One orMore Layers
Create a Non-
DestructiveFlattened Image
Group layers
An absolute favorite go-to. Rather than simply merging all of
your PSD’s layers with Shift + Command + E, you can create a
flattened image of your entire PSD on top of your existing layers.
Sure your fingers will be doing quite a curl, but it’s well worth it!
For a quick merging of one or more selected layers (and they
don’t have to be adjacent to one another), hit Command + E to
merge them up. All of the merged items will merge upward and
assume the layer name of the top-most selected layer.
Groups are a must for layer organization and any sort of
collaborative work with other people. Select multiple layers and
use this shortcut to group like items together. It reduces the
scrolling work you’ll have to do in your layers panel and might
aid in moving around, applying masks to, and correctly utilizing
multiple layers at one time.
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Layer linking
Select Multiple Layersvia Selection
Easy Hiding& Showing ofMultiple Layers
If you’re trying to move multiple layers within a given selection
on your canvas, activate the Move tool and then hold down
Shift + Option + Command and drag your cursor (it will create a
rectangular selection marquee) over the area you wish to select
multiple layers of.
Just right click on the selected layers you’d like to link and
choose Link Layers. Linked layers don’t have to be next to each
other. Linked layers will always move together if one of the
linked layers is being moved. Similarly, linked layers will maintain
the move-centric lock attributes (Lock Position and Lock All) that
any of its other linked layers may have.
If you have a section of layers you wish to show or hide quickly,you can click and hold down on a visibility symbol (the eye), and
drag your mouse across the layers you wish to quickly toggle on
or off. With this trick, you can either drag straight up or down
the visibility symbols OR you can even weave around some
visibility symbols that you don’t want to toggle so long as you’re
still holding down and dragging!
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See All CorrespondingLayers at Given Pixel
Selects All VisiblePixels On Any Layer,
Path, or Mask
Temporarily hide theeffects of the layeror vector mask
To select all visible pixels in any given layer, path, or mask
(layer or vector based), hold down Command and click on the
thumbnail in the layers panel to create your selection. For
example, selecting a vector mask will select all path shapes
within the mask, and selecting a layer with some brushed
elements will select all of the brushed pixels on that particular
layer. If you wish to make multiple selections, simply hold down
Shift and click on any additional thumbnails.
Although Shift + Option + Command + dragging to select is a
great way of selecting multiple layers at once via a selection; if
you right click on the canvas and you will be given a menu list
of all of the layers that have a visible pixel in that exact pixel
location.
Temporarily hide the effects of the layer or vector mask: To
temporarily disable a layer or vector mask, Shift + click on the
mask’s thumbnail to toggle the mask on and off.
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Shift + dragging withdirect select tool
Keyboard Shortcutfor Moving
Between Layers
Keyboard Shortcut
for Moving Layers
If you’re working in the same layers, why not utilize a keyboard
shortcut to quickly maneuver to the layer you need to be on
rather than moving over to the Layers Panel and individually
clicking each layer?
This enables you to create selection boxes which allows for
easier selection of bezier points (rather than having to click on
them individually!). Remember you can hold down shift to click +
drag multiple points.
You can also quickly move a selected layer up or down the
layers panel. And if you need to simply move a layer to the topor bottom of your layers panel, hold down Shift + Command + [
(move to bottom) or ] (move to top).
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BIGGER
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Toggle Between Screen Modes Using F
View Actual Pixels Fit on Screen
Tap F once to toggle to Full Screen Mode with a Menu Bar. Tap F again to toggle to Full Screen
Mode (automatically turns your gray artboard area black). And Tap F one last time to bring you
back to your working Standard Screen Mode.
Quick & Easy
Zoom in and out using option
+ mouse wheel/scroll
Spacebar + Click to Pan
An easy way of panning up, down, left, or right.
Don’t forget to take advantage of the auto-easingeffect Photoshop has upon mouse click release!
View PSD in Two WindowsSimultaneously
Seeing two views of the same PSD simultaneouslycomes in very handy. For example, you could be
working on a homepage at 100% zoom on your
main screen but have a full-window and zoomed
out view of the entire homepage on another
screen. It helps let you see the forest through the
trees, especially when your head’s staring down at
individual pixels of a design.
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OPTIMIZING
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Easy Clipping Masks
Copying Layer Stylesand Effects
If Hold down Option and drag the fx symbol with the effects
you want to copy over to the layer you wish to copy the layer
effects to. It will duplicate all of the layer styles of the first layer
over to the different layer. Additionally, if you only want to copy
one particular style (such as a Drop Shadow) from one layer to
another, simply click the actual name of the effect itself (in this
case Drop Shadow) and Option + drag that effect over to the
layer of your choice.
If you want to quickly clip two adjacent layers together, hold
down Option and hover your pointer between two layers. It will
clip the upper layer to the lower layer.
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Copy Layer Masks andVector Masks to other
layers and groups
Unlock a LockedBackground Property
Fast Eyedropper
Did you know that you can also Option + drag Layer Masks and
Vector Masks onto other layers and groups? Simply select the
actual thumbnail of the Layer or Vector Mask and Option + Drag
it over to the desired layer or group.
Option + double clicking on a background lock unlocks the
background property.
In addition to its normal useful shortcut (I), if you’re in any of the
retouching/painting tools (such as the brush tool) you can easily
switch your cursor’s tool function into a quick eyedropper by
simply holding Option.
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THINGS
DOING MORE
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Save for Web & Devices
Close an IndividualPSD Window
Adding or subtractingfrom selections
As cramped as your hand might get from reaching to hit all of
the keys for this shortcut, the price is worth the time saved since
you’ll often be utilizing this when saving out your PSD.
If you’ve got multiple PSD windows open that you’re jumping
between and you need to quickly close one the PSDs, instead
of aiming for that ridiculously small close button, try using
Command + W to close that individual PSD instead. And if you
get that annoying little fail-safe window for when you’re closing
an unsaved PSD, why not save a click by hitting S (for Save), C
(for Cancel) or D (for Don’t Save)?
If you want to do more than one marquee selection at one time,
hold down Shift to add more selections or Option to subtract
from your existing selections.
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HUD Color Picker viaMouse instead of Color
Picker via toolbar
Use Smart Objects
A nice new feature of CS5 has been the convenient
implementation of being able to access the color picker without
breaking a workflow (via the normal Color Picker window that
you have to click to open). Simply hold down Control + Option
+ Command and click while using a tool from the retouching/
painting section of the toolbar to activate the new Color Picker.
You can also customize the view of this Color Picker in the
General tab of the Photoshop Preferences Panel.
Smart objects are great in that they preserve the original state of
an object before being converted to a smart object. They’re also
useful in that you can create duplicates of a single smart object
(like a button), make a change within the original smart object’s
PSB file, and then have that change affect all of the duplicate
instances of the smart object. To create a smart object, simply
select the layer(s) you wish to combine into a single object, right
click in the layers panel, and select Convert to Smart Object.
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Use Smart Filters
Save Layer Stylesand Patterns
If you love using filters, you will love using smart filters. Not only
are smart filters non-destructive, but the smart filter gallery
view allows you to see what a layer would look like with multiple
filters stacked together, and once you’re done saving the filters,
you can turn them off easily by accessing their visibility in the
layers panel. Lastly, one of the greatest things about smart filtersis that they come with Filter Masks which act just like Layer
Masks, so you can mask away parts of the filter if you so choose!
You’ve probably made that same button style over a dozen
times now, so why not simply save that layer style setting and
apply it whenever you need to? The “New Styles…” button is
placed right below the OK and Cancel buttons in the Layer Styles
panel but it’s often overlooked. Simply craft your layer styles,
hit the New Styles button and save your layer style into your
presets. If you want to apply that layer style again in the future,
simply go back to the layer styles panel, click Styles on the top
of the left navigation bar, click on the style you created, and hit
OK! You can also manage your styles as well as other presets
through the Preset Manager via Edit > Preset Manager…
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Snapshots andLayer Comps
Snap to Pixels
Stop turning groups and layers on and off to see what your
design would look like with different changes and compositions.
Utilize Snapshots to take a temporarily saved history instances
of your PSD’s state; or, consider using layer comps to save
specific states of visibility, position, and layer styles that you can
go back to at any time in the PSD.
Last but one of the most important, whenever using paths or
shape layers, be sure to enable this option to ensure pixel-perfect
designs. And when you do decide to move around those shapes,
avoid Transform + moving these elements as different zoom
levels make them susceptible to being placed in between pixels
(rather than being locked in line with the next available pixel)!
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THANKSWe hope you enjoyed reading “A Collection of Photoshop Tricks for a Fast-
Paced Work Environment”. The contents of this eBook can also be found
on our blog, where we strive to publish and promote betterment through
all things design and web centered. Everything you read in this book and
on our blog is based on our own knowledge and experience. We like toprovide practical insights that help our audience improve their design skills
and consider the world through a lens of design.
Digital-telepathy is comprised of a bunch of designers, developers,
strategists, and entrepreneurs who love creating products and designing
websites. We’re headquartered in sunny San Diego. Learn more about
what we do by visiting our website.
Also, be sure to watch your DT Labs Account for new products, more
awesome freebies and exclusive content!
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