Photoshop

Page Size and Orientation

Change the page size by typing in new values for width and height. Page size represents the final size you want after bleeds or trimming other marks outside the page. In the Preset dropdown menu you can find such common sizes as letter, legal, tabloid, etc. Typing in exact values for Height and Width gives you more control over the size and orientation of your page.

Resolution

Resolution is a number of pixels on a printed area of an image. The higher the resolution, the more pixels there are on the page, the better is the quality of the image. However, high resolution increases the size of the file. The standard recommended resolution for printed images is 150-300, for Web images it is 72.

Color Mode

Choose a color mode that will best fit your project. For example, when making a graphic for a web site, choose RGB. When making an image for print, choose CMYK.

Background Contents

Choose the background: white, color, or transparent. When you have entered all of your document settings, click OK.

OPENING AN IMAGE FROM A DISK

If the image you have is saved on a disk, select File > Open, and then navigate to the disk drive where your image is saved. Choose the image file and click Open. At this point, you may want to save your image under a different name so that you can always have the original to fall back on in case of a mistake. To save you r file, select File > Save As and type in the new name of the file in the dialogue box. Now you should be ready to go.

Menu Bar

If you look at the top of the screen you will see the Menu bar which contains all the main functions of Photoshop, such as File, Edit, Image, Layer, Select, Filter, View, Window, and Help.

Tool Bar

Most of the major tools are located in the Tool bar for easy access.
The Image
The image will appear in its own window once you open a file.

Image Name

The name of any image that you open will be at the top of the image window as shown above.

Palettes

Palettes contain functions that help you monitor and modify images. By default, palettes are stacked together in groups. These are the palettes that are usually visible: Color, Adjustments, and Layers. If none of the palettes are visible, go to Window in the Menu bar and choose palettes you need to work with.
Adobe Photoshop CS4 p. 6
Below is the description of the most commonly used palettes in Adobe Photoshop CS4. Palettes used for more advanced image editing will be covered in the Adobe Photoshop CS4 Tutorial -Intermediate.

COLOR, SWATCHES, STYLE

The Color palette (Fig. 2) displays the current foreground and background colors and RGB values for these colors. You can use the sliders to change the foreground and background colors in different color modes. You can also choose a color from the spectrum of colors displayed in the color ramp at the bottom of the palette.

HISTORY

The History palette (Fig. 5) stores and displays each action performed allowing you jump to any recent stage of the image alteration. The alterations should be created during the current working session; after saving or closing the document the History palette clears all the contents. Each time you apply a change to an image, the new state of that image is added to the palette. The History palette can store up to 20 stages. However, you can always go back to the first stage, for example opening the document. It is important to know that once you click on any of the previous stages, all the changes that were made after it will be lost.

ADJUSTMENTS

Adjustment layers give you the ability to apply an effect to a group of layers in Photoshop, and then you can edit that effect later, while preserving the original layers.

LAYERS

Layers let you organize your work into distinct levels that can be edited and viewed as individual units. Every Photoshop CS4 document contains at least one layer. Creating multiple layers lets you easily control how your artwork is printed, displayed, and edited. You will use the Layers palette (Fig. 6) often while creating a document, so it is crucial to understand what it does and how to use it.
A) Layer Visibility - 

       The eye shows that the selected layer is visible. Click on or off to see or to hide a layer.
B) Layer Locking Options - 

      Click the checkered square icon to lock Transparency; click the brush icon to lock the Image; click the arrow icon to lock the Position; click the lock icon to lock all options.
C) Layer Blending Mode - 

      Defines how the layer’s pixels blend with underlying pixels in the image. By choosing a particular blending mode from the dropdown menu you can create a variety of special effects.
D) Fill -

     By typing in a value or dragging the slider you can specify the transparency of the Fig. 6. Layers Palette color of the image or object.
E) Opacity -

       By typing in a value or dragging a slider you can specify the transparency of the entire layer.
F) Layer Lock -

       The icon shows when the layer is locked and disappears when it is unlocked. Double-click the icon to unlock the layer.
G) Layer Options Menu -

Click the black triangle to see the following options: New Layer, Duplicate Layer, Delete Layer, Layer Properties, etc. Some of the options are presented as icons at the bottom of the Layers palette.
H) Link Layers – 

    Can be used to link layers together.
I) Layer Styles -

    If a layer has a style, an “F” icon shows at the bottom of the Layers palette. Click the little black triangle to see style options.
J) Layer Mask -

    A grayscale image, with parts painted in black hidden, parts painted in white showing, and parts painted in gray shades showing in various levels of transparency.
K) Layer Set -

      This option helps to organize images with multiple layers. Click the icon to create a folder for several layers.
L) Create New Fill or Adjustment Layer -

      Have the same opacity and blending mode options as image layers and can be rearranged, deleted, hidden, and duplicated in the same manner as image layers. Click the icon and select an option to create a new fill or adjustment layer.
M) Create New Layer - 

    Click this icon to create a new layer.
N) Delete Layer -

     To delete a layer, select a layer in the Layers palette and drag it to the trash can icon; or, select a layer and click the icon.