Good Morning, List! I used to try and answer every question I saw on Photoshop but lately have lost the appetite for it. After all�s said and done, there�s only so much you can give without getting something back in return � even receiving the odd thanks off list helps but I�ve been getting fewer and fewer thanks (you know who you are, you meannies!). Listmums permitting, I thought I would try something different to keep the old fire kindled by posting some unsolicited Photoshop CS Tips & Tricks on a weekly basis. To kick off, I thought the New Document dialog might be a good place as any to start the ball rolling (and nothing beats a healthy metaphor to open the proceedings!). On the face of it, the dialog looks pretty straightforward. However, there are a couple of �hidden� features that you might like to know about. You can access them by clicking on the Advanced button towards the bottom of the dialog.
The first feature lets you specify a color profile from the Color Profile popup menu for the new document. You can choose from the list of all available color profiles here but you really should only choose one that describes a working color space, such as Adobe RGB (1998) or sRGB, etc. The second feature lets you choose a pixel aspect ratio. This feature is intended for people creating documents for video output who need to work in different aspect ratios and, therefore, need to preview in Photoshop how their square pixels will look when output to film or a video monitor. For general computer display and image manipulation for print, leave the option set to Square. It�s a good idea to keep the Advanced section of the dialog showing all the time; there�s nothing to be gained by hiding it. Having defined a custom document, you can click on the Save Preset button to include it in the Preset popup menu for easy access. Before the new preset is saved, you are presented with the New Document Preset dialog and given the chance to choose from a list of document properties that you would like to include in the preset; remember to read the little warning at the bottom of this dialog. If you want a new document to have the same dimensions as a document currently open in Photoshop, you can either select that document from the Window menu or the Preset popup menu in the New dialog � the currently open documents are listed at the bottom of the popup menu. When you select a document name, Photoshop will match not only its dimensions but also its resolution, color mode and bit depth. The color profile, however, is not matched! Instead, you have to specify that separately from the Advanced section (one more reason to keep it always in view). One more tip, if you want to rearrange the list in the Preset popup menu, there is no obvious way of doing it. Instead, should that be a concern for you, you can open the Adobe Photoshop CS application �package,� locate and open the �Default New Doc Sizes.txt� file in the Required folder, rearrange the list to your liking and save the changes. This can be useful if, for example, you hardly ever create a document for output to video. In which case, you can move the list of preset video documents to the bottom of the list and the ones you access more frequently to the top of the list. The procedure is not recommended for, shall we say, the non-technically minded user; if you are the type who faints at the sight of a user manual, then it's a good idea not to rummage in the package! And even if you eat manuals for breakfast, make a copy of the text file, so that you can revert back to it should the need arise. OK, that�s about all for now. Have a pleasant Sunday. Shangara Singh. ________________________________________________ :: Adobe Certified Expert (ACE) Photoshop CS :: Photoshop CS Essential Tips || Photoshop Glossary (eBooks) :: Examaids for Adobe & Macromedia Certification :: http://www.examaids.com || http://www.photoshopace.com =============================================================== GO TO http://www.prodig.org for ~ GUIDELINES ~ un/SUBSCRIBING ~ ITEMS for SALE
