Photoshop Tutorials: 17 Photoshop Tips from Actual Advice Mallard

17 Photoshop Tips from Actual Advice Mallard

Posted: 20 Feb 2013 01:23 PM PST

Need to move a layer? Ctrl+[ to move layer down; Ctrl+] to move layer up.
Instead of Ctrl, hold Alt/Option to select upper/lower layer.

Not enough undos? Edit > Preferences > Performance. Set history states to 1000.

Change interface color. Press Shift+F1/F2.

Access Photoshop menus quickly in Windows. Hold Alt then press the underlined letter (ex. Alt+T for Filter menu)
This also works for almost every other program in Windows.

Thinking of paying for a beginners Photoshop class? Watch online video courses for free.
Free Photoshop course: http://tv.adobe.com/show/learn-photoshop-cs6/

Want to reset everything in Photoshop? Hold Alt+Shift+Ctrl while starting Photoshop.
This will delete all your brushes/preferences/etc!

Photoshop loading slower than before? Delete large files in your Photoshop preferences folder.
• Mac OS X Lion: Hold down the Alt (Option) key when using the Go menu. The user library folder is listed below the current users home directory.
• Mac OS: Users/[user name]/Library/Preferences/Adobe Photoshop CS6 Settings
• Windows Vista, 7, and 8: Users/[user name]/AppData/Roaming/Adobe/Adobe Photoshop CS6/Adobe Photoshop CS6 Settings
• Windows XP: Documents and Settings/[user name]/Application Data/Adobe/Adobe Photoshop CS6/Adobe Photoshop CS6 Settings

Split toning? Use the photographic toning gradient presets.
See tutorial here

Adjusting vibrance/saturation? Protect your tonal information by changing your adjustment layers blending mode to color
This is especially useful if you're increasing the saturation to unrealistic settings

Photoshop out of memory? Edit > Purge > All to free memory

Want to make your photos look retro? Create new layer. Fill it with blue/cyan. Set opacity to 25% and blending to exclusion.
Here's another one: Retroize your photos in seconds

Want to open two window of the same document? Go to window > arrange > New window for _____ then Window > Arrange > 2-Up Horizontally/vertically
Similar to the "Compare View" mode in Adobe Lightroom

Opacity? Type it out. 51 for 51%, 00 for 0%, and 0 for 100%.

Want to Enlarge/Shrink all your layer styles? Layer > Layer Style > Scale Effects.
This is also useful when you resize your document and the layer styles messes up.

Use the transform tool nondestructively. Convert layer to Smart Object first (Right-click layer > Convert to Smart Object).
This lets you enlarge/shrink your layer as many times without losing quality.