Adobe Education

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Lessons revised for CS

Original lessons

Student working on a computer

Unit 5: Introduction to Graphics

Lesson 5.3: Photoshop Basics

Working with Photoshop Palettes

Opening palettes in Photoshop is similar to opening palettes in other Adobe applications. To open a palette, click the Window menu and select the desired palette's name. The new palette will appear with the other palettes on the right side of the Photoshop window or somewhere within the Document Window. If the newly opened palette needs to be moved, click on its Title Bar and drag it to the desired location.

IMPORTANT

Be aware that many of the palettes are associated with other palettes and are thus available by clicking the desired tab within the palette selections. For example, the Swatches Palette is associated with the Color Palette and is visible, but not typically active, when Photoshop opens.

Each palette has a Palette Menu Button located in the upper right portion of the palette. The Palette Menu button displays a menu unique to that specific palette.

Demonstration or Practice Activity

Open the Palette Menu Button for the History Palette.
Explore the various options available.
Open the Character Palette:
Window > Character
Notice the character options. Do any of them look similar to the ones you have already worked with in InDesign? Which ones?

The Photoshop palettes can be saved in a configuration of your choice by saving the Photoshop Workspace. You were introduced to the concept of saving a workspace in a previous GoLive lesson. Saving a workspace involves saving various windows, palettes, toolbars in the location they are in at the time the workspace is saved. To save a custom workspace layout, use the following sequence of steps:

Window Menu > Workspace > Save Workspace > enter a name for this custom workspace in the Save Workspace Window

The custom layout active at the time Photoshop is closed will be the active workspace when the program is re-opened. To choose a different workspace layout, follow this sequence of steps:

Window Menu > Workspace > select from the custom workspace layouts previously saved or choose the default workspace layout

Demonstration or Practice Activity

Customize the workspace layout by moving the windows and palettes to different locations within the workspace area.
Save the customized workspace under a unique name.
Modify the customized workspace layout and save the new layout under another unique name.
Open each of the customized workspace layouts.
Open the default workspace layout.