Scanning and PhotoShop Tricks: Adobe Photoshop Basics

• You can always “undo” your last action by choosing “Edit…Undo.”
• In most of the Photoshop dialogue boxes you can hold down the Option key to turn the “cancel” button into a “reset” button. This allows you to try different settings without leaving the dialogue box.
• If you really mess up, you can choose “File…Revert” which will restore the image to your most recently saved version.
• You can select a “brush size” for many of the toolbox functions. Double click on each tool to see its dialogue box and brushes.
• “File…Preferences…General” lets you change your units to pixels or inches and set desired cursor appearance (Precise or Standard). The “brush size” cursor is a useful way to see what size brush you are using.
• Using the various selecting tools: marquee, lasso, magic wand, etc., allows you to make changes only in the selected areas without affecting the rest of the image.
• Most actions and all of the tools have keyboard shortcuts, and there are often many different ways of performing a single action, such as cropping, within the program. Don’t be afraid to experiment.