Do you like getting secret tips that can help you improve your workflow or
save time? If so check out these top secret tips for Photoshop or Photoshop Elements. This tip can help save time or improve your performance in digital scrapbooking or photo editing projects.
At Digital Scrapbooks and More Readers Ask Ms. Digi Know Questions about Digital Scrapbooking and MORE!
Want to know something about digital scrapbooking, photo editing or even questions about Photoshop or Photoshop Elements? Then ask Ms Digi Know at Digital Scrapbooks and More. She is our sassy expert that knows a thing or two about Digital Scrapbooking, Photo Editing, and MORE!
Check out her FREE Advice and Tips:
Question: Dear Ms. Digi Know, recently when I was digital scrapbooking in
Photoshop Elements I noticed at the bottom of the layers panel several icons. Can you tell me what they are?
Thanks, Want to Know More
Answer: Hello Want to Know More, You are right in Photoshop Elements 8 there are some icons at the bottom of the layers panel (earlier versions the icons are at the top).
These icons give you more controls in layers panel.
Let me explain what these icons are:
Add a new layer: clicking this icon gives you a new layer in the layer panel
Add a new fill or adjustment layer: these layers are special types of layers. Adjustment layers let you manipulate the lighting, color or exposure of the layers beneath them. Fill layers, fill a layer with color, pattern or a gradient. Once you click on the icon you can make you choice of what type of fill or adjustment layer you want.
Link Layers: You can link two or more layers together so they travel as a single unit. This feature is very helpful in digital scrapbooking, for example you have a digital tag (one layer) and text for the tag (on second layer) and now you want to move them to a different location on your digital scrapbooking page. If they are linked then you can move them together and even resize them together!
In the image above we locked the text and tag together, so we can move them together as a unit on our digital scrapbooking page!
Lock layer: you can protect your image by locking the layer. Locking keeps you from changing the layer’s content. This is helpful in digital scrapbooking when you don’t want a layer to move, or change somehow. Locking it keeps the layer safe from changes
Lock layer transparency: You can lock just the transparent parts of the layer. So in the image below, there is a tag with transparent areas. If I take the paint brush and draw on that layer it will paint on both the transparent and non-transparent areas.
But if I select the Lock layer transparency icon first, then choose the paint tool then when when you paint, it will only paint on the tag, and not the protected transparency areas! See the image below
Delete a layer: if you decide you don’t want a layer any more you can drag it to the trash can icon to delete it in the layers panel
I might mention that if you are working in Photoshop it has these same layer controls, plus a few extra!
In the image above you can see at the top of Photoshop’s Layer Panel here is one of the same controls found in Elements (the Lock the transparent pixels button), plus in Photoshop you can see by the image above there are a few extra too features too!
Here is what the bottom of the Layer Panel looks like in Photoshop (see image below), Photoshop includes some of the same items found in Elements, but has additional features as well!
Photoshop has all of the the same controls as Elements, and then a few extra ones – for example one of the extra items that Photoshop has in it’s Layer control menu is to add a layer style – to add a drop shadow or bevel. Another one is to add a Layer Mask, see below where that item is located in Photoshop.
Well, Hopeful, try these extra icons in the layers panel when you work on your digital scrapbooking or photo editing projects, in either Elements or Photoshop.
Check back soon for more Helpful Tips and Hints,
Hugs, Ms Digi Know
Have a Digital Scrapbooking or Photo Editing Question? Need something answered?
To ask Ms. Digi Know a question (that she may answer in our News or Blog) email her at: MsDigiKnow@DigitalScrapbooks.com
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