Getting started: Touring the Full Edit interface

You can use this tutorial with Adobe® Photoshop® Elements versions 7 and 8.

Take a tour of the Full Edit interface in Adobe® Photoshop® Elements. This workspace gives you full control over editing and manipulating your photos.

This content requires Flash

Download the free Flash Player now!

• More full-sized videos like this one
• Photoshop Elements 7 videos
• Photoshop Elements 8 videos

Requirements

To complete this tutorial, install the following software:

Adobe Photoshop Elements 7 or later

• Try
• Buy

Viewing the Full Edit workspace

The first step to exploring the Full Edit workspace is to start Photoshop Elements and change to the Editor workspace.

1. Start Photoshop Elements.
2. From the Organizer workspace, select a photo in the Photo Browser.
3. Click the Editor button and choose Full Edit.

   Note: From the Photoshop Elements Welcome Screen, click Edit to open the Editor workspace. Then, open the file to edit by using the Open command on the File menu.

   The Editor workspace, shown in Figure 1, includes the menu bar at the top of the screen. The menu bar has drop-down lists, each of which contains a list of commands.

   

   (View full size +)

   Figure 1: A. Tools, B. Menu bar, C. Options bar, D. Project bin, E. Palette bin

4. Click to open the File menu.

   Notice that some of the commands have keyboard shortcuts. For example, the File > Open command has the keyboard shortcut, Ctrl+O. As you get more familiar with Photoshop Elements, use the keyboard shortcuts for things that you do most often, like saving files or using the Undo command.

   The tools, shown in Figure 2, are on the left of the workspace. The Options bar, above the toolbox, shows options for modifying the selected tool.

5. Click to select a different tool, such as the zoom tool.

   The Options bar changes to show options related to the tool you select. The Palette bin is located on the right, as shown in Figure 2.

   

   Figure 2: Palette bin

   The palettes are docked inside the Palette bin.

6. Position the pointer on top of the border between the Palette bin and the rest of the interface and click.

   The entire bin and all of its palettes collapse, giving you more space to work. Notice, the border of the Palette bin is now positioned along the far right edge of the window.

7. To bring back the palette bin, click the border again, or select Window > Palette Bin.

   You can open a different palette from the Window menu in the menu bar at the top of the screen.

8. Select Window > Histogram.

   The Histogram palette opens. Notice that when a palette opens from the Window menu, it is not docked in the palette bin. It is free floating, as shown in Figure 3. If you click its title bar and drag, you can put it anywhere on your screen. If it is a palette you use often, you might want to dock it with the other palettes.

   

   Figure 3: Undocked Histogram palette

9. To dock the Histogram palette, click More (at the top of the palette) and choose Place In Palette Bin When Closed.
10. Click the X on the upper right of the palette to close it.

    The Histogram palette is now docked in the palette bin.

11. Move the Histogram palette out of the bin again by dragging its title bar.
12. Click More, and deselect Place In Palette Bin When Closed.
13. Close the Histogram palette.

    This time when you close it, it disappears from the screen. Notice the double-pointed arrow on the upper right of each palette’s title bar.

14. Click the double-pointed arrow for the Layers palette.
15. It includes important commands related to the palette, as shown in Figure 4.

    

    Figure 4: Layers palette drop-down list

    The Project bin is located at the bottom of the Editor workspace, as shown in figure 5. The Project bin displays thumbnail versions of all of the photos that are currently opened in the Editor.

    

    Figure 5: Project bin

    If the Project bin is not open, click Show Project Bin.

16. To see the filenames of those thumbnails, right-click any of the thumbnails and choose Show File Names.
17. If you have more than one photo open in the Editor, double-click a different thumbnail to bring it to the foreground.
18. To close an image, right-click on its thumbnail in the Project bin, and choose Close.
19. To hide the entire Project bin, click Hide Project bin.
20. To bring it back, click Show Project bin.

    The Full Edit interface packs lots of commands and controls into an efficient arrangement. It is designed to help you make the best use of the Full Edit workspace.

Where to go from here

If you enjoyed this tutorial, check out these other resources to help get you started using Photoshop Elements.

• Photoshop Elements Essentials for Windows tutorials on lynda.com
• Photoshop Elements shows on Adobe TV
• Photoshop Elements Help and Support
• Using tools
• Saving files
• Manual selection tools
• Automatic selection tools

About the authors