When working with drop shadows, Photoshop uses global lighting by default to make sure every drop shadow you apply in one document is placed at the same angle. Of course, you may not always want every shadow in an image to come from a sinlge light source. To turn off global lighting so you can specify multiple light sources, deselect the Use Global Light check box on the Drop Shadow pane in the Layer Style dialog box.

When faced with the challenge of lightening an overly dark image in Photoshop, there are numerous techniques you can use. However, for those instances when you have no time, we have the perfect technique for you. Just open the image in Photoshop and make a copy of it in the Layers palette. Then, change the copied layer's blending mode to Screen. This significantly improves the colors within your image. If necessary, adjust the opacity of the layer until you're satisfied with the results.

To align an image in the center of the canvas, select the layer, press [command]A ([Ctrl]A in Windows) to select the image on that layer or linked layers and then choose from among the Align buttons in the tool options bar or the Align To Selection submenu.

To move something from one Photoshop document to another, you can copy and paste the selection. However, this copies the selection to the clipboard, which uses up a lot of RAM. Alternatively, you can drag an image, selection, or layer from one window to another using the Move tool. To center an image, selection, or layer, press the [shift] key as you drag it into the new document.

Most Photoshop documents are made up of many layers. Wouldn't it be nice if there was an easy way you could save the individual layers for use elsewhere? Well, there is! Simply choose File > Scripts > Export Layers To Files in your Photoshop document. In the resulting dialog box, enter a destination or click Browse to choose one. Next, specify your choice for a filename prefix and select the Visible Layers Only check box if you wish to only export the visible layers in your document. Now, select a format in the File Type pane. The format you choose depends on how you intend to use the files. Also, select the Include ICC profile check box if you want to embed a color profile in the files. Depending on your chosen file format, you may need to set additional options. For example, if you select the TIFF option button, the TIFF Options pane displays and allows you to select an image compression setting. After you make your selection, click Run to export the layers in your document. Depending on how many layers there are, the script may take awhile to run. When it's done, click OK in the resulting dialog box. Each layer in your document is now saved in a separate file.

Do you ever wish you could print just a portion of an image? It's easy to do in Photoshop. Simply make a selection around the area you want to print. Then, choose File > Print With Preview. In the Scaled Print Size pane, select the Print Selected Area check box. Set the remaining Print options accordingly and then click Print One.

Photoshop has become a lot more adept at handling text, so it's conceivable that you may actually set a few columns of text in Photoshop. So how do you create consistently sized columns? The answer is simple; just select the Horizontal Type tool (Type tool in version 6) and hold down the [option] key ([Alt] key in Windows) while dragging the mouse pointer to make a text box. Upon doing so, the Paragraph Text Size dialog box opens and you can enter the exact size you want the column to be.

Although you can set a preference in Photoshop to maximize compatibility, unsupported features are discarded when you edit or save an image using an earlier version of Photoshop. For this reason, it's best to work and output your documents in the same version. Before you create a new document that will be viewed and/or printed by someone else, make sure you're working in the same version of Photoshop.

If you want to adjust the letter tracking, or spacing, across a range of letters, you don't have to mess around with entering specific values in the Tracking text box in the Character palette. Instead, you can use key commands.

To tighten the spacing between letters, highlight your text with the Horizontal Type tool (Type tool in versions 6) and then press [option][left arrow] ([Alt][Left Arrow] in Windows); and to add more space, press [option][right arrow] ([Alt][Right Arrow] in Windows).

You may have noticed that Adobe Photoshop CS for Windows doesn't create thumbnail previews for images. It isn't because you installed the software wrong--previous versions of Photoshop were able to display thumbnail previews using a file named psicon.dll. Unfortunately, this file doesn't install with Photoshop CS. A workaround solution for this limitation is to use Windows Explorer and Photoshop's File Browser. You can display thumbnail previews for some file formats, such as JPEG files, in Windows Explorer; you can display thumbnail previews for all formats using Photoshop's File Browser (File > Browse).

Photoshop inherently deals with raster images, which have a tendency to produce jagged edges. However, text starts out as vector shapes and you can preserve the crisp, resolution-independent nature of these lines. To do so, first forgo rasterizing the text in your documents. Second, print to a PostScript printer, which can preserve vector data. Third, save the document as an EPS file if you intend to place it in another application, such as Adobe InDesign. In the EPS Options dialog box, select the Include Vector Data check box.

In Photoshop, you can set a preference to maximize file compatibility between versions. In earlier versions of Photoshop, this preference is on by default, so you probably never even noticed it. In Photoshop CS, however, the preference is set to always ask if you want to maximize compatibility. Are you tired of seeing the Maximize PSD File Compatibility dialog box every time you save a document? Then, the answer is to change the preference setting.

To do this, choose Photoshop (Edit in Windows) > Preferences > File Handling. In the File Compatibility pane, choose Always from the Maximize PSD File Compatibility pop-up menu if you intend to edit your documents in an earlier version of Photoshop. This saves a composite image along with the layers of your documents. It also increases file size considerably. If you don't intend to edit your Photoshop documents in an earlier version, you're better off choosing Never.

The Pen tool has an Auto Add/Delete option located on the Pen tool options bar. When active, the Pen tool automatically changes to the Add Anchor Point tool when you hover over a line segment. Then, when the Pen tool is directly over a point, it changes to the Delete Anchor Point tool. This is one option you should leave on; it's convenient and saves time.

If the Magic Wand tool never seems to select all the pixels that you want it to, don't try to add the missing pixels to the selection a chunk at a time. Instead, choose Select > Modify > Smooth. In the resulting dialog box, enter 1 in the Sample Radius text box and click OK. This adds the missing pixels to your selection quickly.

When filling an object with color, you can select the object and then choose Edit > Fill, or you can simply use a key command. First, with the object selected, set your foreground color to the desired fill color. Now, press [shift][option][delete] ([Shift][Alt][Backspace] in Windows) and Photoshop instantly fills your object. This action turns on the Lock Transparent Pixels option and then fills the unlocked areas.

A precautionary step you can take to avoid significant color shifts when converting images from RGB to CMYK is, while working in RGB mode, to set your Proof Setup to Working CMYK. You can do so by choosing View > Proof Setup > Working CMYK. This allows you to work in RGB mode, while seeing the CMYK interpretation of your document onscreen.

You can resize your selections to an exact measurement using the Free Transform function. Just select the area you want resized. Then, press [command]T ([Ctrl]T in Windows) to access the Free Transform function. Next, go to the tool options bar and enter the appropriate measurements in the W (width) and H (height) text boxes, making sure to follow up the value with inches, pixels, etc. Then, press [enter] to apply your changes.

Select the Measure tool from the Eyedropper tool's flyout menu in the Toolbox. Click and drag along an image line that should be horizontal or vertical. Choose Image > Rotate Canvas > Arbitrary, and the correct angle and direction to make that line match the edge of the image frame is displayed. Click OK and Photoshop straightens the image.

Photoshop automatically fills a shape layer, which you can make with any Shape, Line, or Pen tool, with the foreground color. However, you can change it to a different color, gradient, or pattern. Be sure to click the Create New Shape Layer button on the tool options bar. Photoshop stores the shape outline in a layer clipping path that appears in the Paths palette.

If you want to align or distribute images on separate but linked layers, you can use either the image frame as a reference point or a selection marquee. Make a selection marquee. Then, switch to the Move tool and click the Align or Distribute button on the tool options bar. The linked images align or distribute as if the selection were the image frame. You can also select Layer > Align To Selection.

You can sample pixels from layers other than the active one. To do so, select the Magic Wand, Smudge, Blur, Sharpen, Paint Bucket, or Clone Stamp tool from the Toolbox. Then, select the Use All Layers check box on the tool options bar. The tool you chose samples pixels from all visible layers, not just the active layer.

If you try to use a keyboard shortcut and Photoshop ignores it or delivers an alert message when you know the command should work, you probably have a palette option or a field active. Instead of trying to track down the interference, simply press the [esc] key and try your shortcut again. With any luck, your command will execute as expected.

When retouching a photograph, it's usually a good idea to keep one view of the image at its actual size while you work on a second view of it at an enlarged size. The changes you make in the zoomed window will appear in the normal-size window. To do so, choose Window > Arrange > New Window [filename] (Window > Documents > New Window in version 7).

If you start with a JPEG image, perhaps from a digital camera, and alter it, don't save it again as a JPEG; you'll lose image quality every time you re-save an image in JPEG format. Instead, save the altered image as a PSD file and make a JPEG copy if you need to post the image to the web, for example. In the meantime, you'll have a good copy of your altered image in PSD format for use in other applications, such as for printing photos or using them a printed brochure.

New to Photoshop CS is the ability to export layers of a file to individual files by way of the Scripts command in the File menu. In the same menu, you can export layer comps (as flattened images) to flat files in any of six file formats, PDFs, or even images as a Web Photo Gallery for conversion to web pages.

Hold down the [spacebar] key and the current tool changes to the Hand tool. Double-click on the Hand tool and the image fills your screen. Double-click on the Zoom tool and the image displays at 100% of its size and resolution on your screen. Press [command][+] or [-] on the keypad ([Ctrl][+] or [-] in Windows) to enlarge or reduce the image and frame by preset percentages: 25%, 33.3%, 50%, 66%, etc.

When you want to open a layered file as a flat composite instead, hold down [shift][option] ([Shift][Alt] in Windows) as you open the selected file. Photoshop displays an Adobe Photoshop dialog box that asks, "Read the composite data instead?" Just click OK and your file appears as a flattened version of the layered file.

As you apply a drop shadow layer style, you can use the mouse pointer and drag the position of the shadow to change its angle and distance. You can do this rather than entering number values in the Layer Style dialog box.

With the Brush tool active, you can press a number on the number pad to change the brush's opacity--0 equals 100%, 1 equals 10%, and so on. And, regardless of the tool selected, pressing V before the keypad number affects the layer's opacity value.

You can open the Fill dialog box anytime by pressing [shift][delete] ([Shift][Backspace] in Windows). Pressing [option][delete] ([Alt][Backspace] in Windows) fills the layer or selection with the foreground color. Pressing [command][delete] ([Ctrl][Backspace] in Windows) fills the layer or selection with the background color.

You can combine all of your layers into one new layer without losing the individual layers. To do so, create a new layer and then press [command][shift][option]E ([Ctrl][Shift][Alt]E in Windows). The new layer then contains a composite of all visible layers.

When you apply a filter in Photoshop and decide that it didn't produce enough of the effect you were after, you can either undo that filter effect and return to the filter's dialog box to reset the values or you can apply the filter again by pressing [command]F ([CtrlF in Windows), which reapplies the filter with the same settings. Better yet, press [command][option]F ([Ctrl][Alt]F in Windows) and the last-run filter's dialog box appears so you can fine-tune the settings before you run it again.

Drawing paths in Photoshop is simplified by the fact that the Pen tool can delete and add anchor points all by itself. Depending on how you work, you don't need to select the Add Anchor Point or Delete Anchor Point tool, or even use modifier keys with the Pen tool. With a path selected and the anchor points showing, select the Pen tool and click on an existing anchor point to delete it; use the same Pen tool to click anywhere on a path to add an anchor point.

You can switch between blending modes in the Layers palette by pressing [shift][option] and a letter ([Shift][Alt] and a letter in Windows) that represents a blending mode. You must select the Move tool for this feature to work. For example, pressing the key combination with the letter H activates the Hard Light blending mode.

Here's a super-quick way to change the opacity of any layer you're working on without going to the Opacity slider in the Layers palette. With the Move tool selected, simply type a number on the keyboard--1 equals 10% opacity, 5 equals 50%, etc. For intermediate values, such as 74%, just type the two numbers in quick succession.

You can easily remove the black background from an image--for example, if you want the image to appear as brilliant but over a different background--using settings in the Advanced Blending section of the Layer Style dialog box. Select Gray from the Blend If pop-up menu and move the left sliders individually ([option]-drag to separate them ([Alt]-drag in Windows)) until the darks of the image disappear and the bright colors remain.

When copying a layer into a new alpha channel, make sure the copied version occupies the exact position of the original. To do this, [command]-click ([Ctrl]-click in Windows) on the layer name to select its outlines. Then, copy and paste into a new channel, which ensures the correct position.

A layer mask starts out with black as the color that hides and white as the color that reveals. You can quickly switch these settings by simply pressing the X key on the keyboard without having to go to the Toolbox to set either white or black as your foreground color. Pressing the X key toggles the painting color between black and white.

If you're working with letterforms in Photoshop, you are, of course, limited to some degree by the fonts you own. However, Photoshop offers two ways to at least simulate additional font weights. The first is located on the Character palette. Open the Character palette, highlight a character you've typed, and click the Faux Bold button at the bottom of the palette. This adds a predetermined extra weight to the selected font.

On the other hand, if you want a little more control and you can afford to rasterize your letterforms, Photoshop's filters provide the option to add or subtract weight from a character. Select the character(s) you want to change the weight of, and choose Layer > Rasterize > Type. Now, select Filter > Other > Maximum and adjust the Radius slider to 1 or more pixels. This control does the opposite of what you'd expect: It minimizes the letterform, making it appear thinner. Be careful, though, as there's a limit to how far you can go before the character becomes distorted. Choosing the Minimize filter adds to the weight. You can use these light and heavy weight versions individually or in combination with other artistic or distortion tools.

The Unsharp Mask filter is a wonderful tool if you don't mind increasing the sharpness of everything, including textures. On the other hand, if you want the edges of objects to appear snappier, use the High Pass filter in combination with Unsharp Mask. To do so, duplicate your image and select Filter > Other > High Pass. In the resulting dialog box, adjust the Radius slider to accentuate the edges. Try the lower values first--the image takes on a gray appearance--and work up from there. Click OK. Then, change the Mode pop-up menu in the Layes palette to Overlay and observe the amount of edge sharpening that takes place without affecting the flat or textured areas. If the effect is too strong, try the Soft Light blending mode and/or use the Opacity slider in the Layers palette to reduce the intensity of edge sharpening.

You can clean up dirty or speckled areas of an image, particularly the sky or pavement portions of vintage photos, without affecting the parts of the photo that contain people or buildings. Recall the blending modes in the Layers palette: Lighten makes dark spots of the top layer transparent to the lower layer, and Darken makes the light spots of the top layer transparent. Katrin Eisman made good use of this effect in her book "Photoshop Restoration and Retouching".

Using the Lasso tool, capture a segment of a flat, speckled area, feather the edges, and paste it as a new layer on top of the original. If the spots are dark, select Lighten from the Mode pop-up menu in the Layers palette. Using the keyboard arrow keys, shift this image a few pixels to the right and a few down until you notice the spots disappear. You can use the same technique when the spots are a light tone, except choose Darken from the Mode pop-up menu. You can accomplish most of the retouching by using this single technique. It may be necessary to touch up with the Clone Stamp tool to finish the job.

If you're looking for the maximum range of control and the ability to create unique special effects when using the Pattern Stamp tool (located on the Clone Stamp tool's flyout menu), don't forget about selecting a blending mode. The Pattern Stamp tool lends itself to a certain strictness--that is, you're more likely to select a pre-existing pattern and start methodically filling in your target areas. By adding a blending mode to the mix, you'll find that you can create more interesting interactions with the other elements of your design. To select a blending mode for the Pattern Stamp tool, first select the tool and then choose a blending mode from the Mode pop-up menu on the tool options bar.

Now that real-time histograms are beginning to show up on digital camera displays, you need to know how to read them at a glance. Even if you don't have the benefit of a histogram that displays each channel in a different color, the overall range presented as a black graphic will still give you important information about your picture.

The left side of the histogram represents dark tones. When the vertical bars are clumped toward that end, your image is a low-key photo because most of the information (and pixels) are located in the darker tones. Conversely, when the indicators are clumped to the right end, your image is considered high-key and most of the information is contained in the lighter tones of the photo. A photo with full tonal range shows a distribution of pixels where the middle has a hump and both ends slope down to a decreasing population of pixels. A spike of pixels at the farthest extremes of either end indicates "clipping," which means that a good number of pixels are either too white or too black to have any usable information. Thus, the shadow or highlight information has been lost, or "clipped," from the image. Aside from clipping, or losing good image data, there really is no such thing as an ideal histogram. High-key, low-key, and full-tone are all legitimate methods of image presentation.

Have you ever had to place a series of objects, such as snowflakes or popcorn, into one document? Well, rather than copying and pasting them over and over again, you can turn the shape into a custom brush. To do so, select the object that you want to use as a brush. Then, press [command]C ([Ctrl]C in Windows) to copy the selection. Open a new document and press [command]V ([Ctrl]V in Windows) to paste the image into the new document. Now, choose Edit > Define Brush. In the resulting dialog box, name your brush and click OK. Your custom shape brush now appears in the Brushes palette.

Here's a useful trick to help you fill all the pixels with the foreground color without eliminating transparent areas on the same layer. First, change the Set Foreground Color swatch to your color of choice. Then, press [option][shift][delete] ([Alt][Shift][Backspace] in Windows) and the non-transparent areas are filled with your foreground color, while the transparency is untouched. To fill with the background color instead, select [command][shift][delete] ([Ctrl][Shift][Backspace] in Windows).

Did you know that you can change the pressure, opacity and/or exposure of the Paintbrush, Airbrush, Pencil, Blur, Sharpen, Smudge, Dodge, Burn and Sponge tools in 10 percent increments by pressing a number on the keyboard or keypad? Well, you can. Just press 1 to change the setting to 10 percent, 2 for 20 percent and so on until you get to 0 for 100.

How often do you find yourself scrolling through 10 or 20 open Photoshop files when working on a project? Normally when you want to access one document or another, you have to click on it to bring it to the foreground. However, an easier and much faster way to do so is by pressing [Control][Tab]. Now, you can go from one document to another in the blink of an eye.

If you're familiar with the Clouds filter in Photoshop, then you know that the clouds tend to look more like parchment paper (which is a good thing sometimes). You can navigate to the filter by choosing Filter > Render > Clouds from the menu bar. However, if you want to intensify the effect a bit by adding more contrast, then hold down the [option] key ([Alt] key in Windows) as you select the filter.

Admit it; you're not always perfect. When scanning images, undoubtedly you've gotten that one scan that was a bit askew when you placed it on the scanner bed. It happens to us all. So, how do you straighten it out? It's easy; simply use the Measure tool. Just drag the tool's pointer along the top edge of your image, then choose Image > Rotate Canvas > Arbitrary. Click OK and Photoshop applies the information from your measurement and straightens things out for you. Now that's perfect.

When feathering a selection using the Feather command, there's no way to tell how your final results will appear until you actually apply the feather. So, if you want to preview your effect, you can use a quick mask. To see how it works, open an image in Photoshop. Then, make a selection of the area in your image that you want feathered. Next, press Q to enter Quick Mask mode. Upon doing so, your selection appears red. Now, choose Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur. In the resulting Gaussian Blur dialog box, you'll be able to preview the effect. So, adjust the blur until you're satisfied with the amount of feathering being applied to your selection and click OK. Press Q again to get your selection back, and then choose Select > Inverse to select the area of your image that you want to delete. Finally, press [delete] and deselect your image for a perfect feather.

Have you ever tried to merge a layer with the layer below it and lost all of the effects applied to that upper layer? This is because when you choose Merge Down from the Layers palette's pop-up menu, Photoshop only applies the blending mode of the bottom layer to the merged version. However, if you select Merge Visible, and hide any layers that you don't want combined, all of your blending modes are preserved and your merged layer will look exactly as is does onscreen.

Have you ever adjusted the Curves of an image or tweaked the Levels and found the results less than appealing? Or maybe you just wanted to experiment with a few different adjustments without actually applying them to your image. Well, you can do this quite easily using adjustment layers. Just open the Layers palette and click the Create New Fill Or Adjustment Layer button at the base of the palette. Then, select an option from the resulting pop-up menu. Upon doing so Photoshop creates an adjustment layer in the Layers palette, where you can make changes without actually affecting your original image.

For whatever reason, Adobe didn't include the 3D Transform filter in Photoshop CS. However, you can add it to CS. All you have to do is add the plug-in to the Filters folder. If you still have Photoshop 7's application folder on your hard drive, navigate to the Plug-Ins folder. Open the Plug-Ins folder and then open the Filters folder. Select the 3D Transform filter plug-in and drag and drop it into Photoshop CS's Filters folder (PSCS > Plug-Ins > Filters). Restart Photoshop and choose Filter > Render. The 3D Transform filter is now there for you to use.

If you deleted the old version completely from your hard drive, get the Extras disk that came with the application. Then, navigate to the Optional Plug-Ins folder for Photoshop CS. Next, open the Filters folder and there you'll find the 3D Transform plug-in. Drag and drop it into the Filters folder as we just explained and you're good to go.

After creating a path in Photoshop, you can easily resize the path if needed. To do so, select your path with the Path Selection tool, located in the Toolbox. Then, on the tool options bar, select the Show Bounding Box check box. Doing so places a transform bounding box around your image, which you can then use to adjust the size of your path.

The next time you have to increase the size of your canvas, check out Photoshop's Relative option. Just choose Image > Canvas Size. Then, in the resulting Canvas Size dialog box, select the Relative check box. Now, just enter the how much space you want added to the Width and Height text boxes. It's much easier than trying to add 1.57 inches to 22.35 inches (not that you should create documents with such random sizes, but you never know).

Oftentimes, when making a selection using any of the selection tools, you may find that you have to add or subtract a portion of the selected area. You can do this easily using key commands. To add to a selection, hold down the [shift] key while making the additional selection. To subtract from it, hold down the [option] key ([Alt] key in Windows).

Did you know that when typesetting in Photoshop you can fine-tune the spacing between letters or words in your document? Well, you can. To do so, after setting your text, open the Character palette by clicking the Toggle The Character And Paragraph Palettes button on the tool options bar or by choosing Window > Character. In the Character palette, go to the Set The Tracking For The Selected Characters text box and either click on the arrow icon to the right of the text box to assign a preset number or enter a number of your choice. If you want to adjust the spacing between each word, highlight all of your text before making any adjustments. If you want to adjust the spacing between specific letters, just select those letters. Then, adjust the tracking. Now, if you don't want to be bothered with actual numeric values, adjust the tracking space by space using key commands. Just highlight the text you want to modify, and then press [option][left arrow] ([Alt][Left Arrow] in Windows) to make the spacing tighter or [option][right arrow] ([Alt][Right Arrow] in Windows) to space out the text more.

How many times have you been asked to change the color of an element within an image? The next time this happens, we've the the perfect technique for you. Just select the area of the image that you need to change. Then, choose Image > Adjustments (Adjust in version 6) > Hue/Saturation. In the resulting dialog box, select the Colorize check box, and then drag the Hue slider back and forth until you get the color you want. It's that easy!

The Eyedropper tool is great to use when you want to take a color from one part of an image and use it somewhere else. With that said, when sampling colors, for the best result, set the Sample Size pop-up menu to 3 By 3 Average on the tool options bar. This will give you a nice color representation.

Did you know that you can attach notes to your Photoshop files without exiting the application? Well, you can. The next time you have a file that's going to be modified by another designer or reviewed by someone else, and you want to include a note, just attach a digital annotation to it. To do so, select the Notes tool from the Toolbox and click on your document where you want the note to appear. It's that easy! Also, keep in mind that these notes are compatible with Adobe Acrobat.

Filters take up a lot of memory, especially when you apply them to large files. If you've found that Photoshop gets a bit choked up when you apply filters, there are a couple of ways to help things run more smoothly. First, try to apply the Purge command by choosing Edit > Purge > All. If that doesn't help, try just applying the filter to a small selected portion of your image to preview the results before actually applying it to the entire image. Finally, as a last resort, try applying the filter to individual channels, rather than the composite channel.

When photo retouching, you should always keep a copy of the original image, just in case you have to go back to it for any reason. With that said, a fast and easy way to duplicate an image that you want to adjust is to simply choose Image > Duplicate. In the resulting Duplicate Image dialog box, name the duplicate image and click OK. Upon doing so, Photoshop opens the new document and you can retouch it without worrying about altering the original image.

Do you have a lot of images stored on your computer or CDs that you're constantly sifting through to find what you want? If so, you should take advantage of Photoshop's ability to create contact sheets. Basically, this feature allows you to print out thumbnails of all your image files stored in a folder, including images in subfolders. Even more importantly, you can print the filename along with the thumbnail. Then, when you want a certain image, just glance through your thumbnail printouts, find the image you want, and then access it on your computer.

To make a contact sheet, choose File > Automate > Contact Sheet II. In the Contact Sheet II dialog box, select the folder containing your images from the Source Images section. Then, adjust the document settings for your needs and enter how you want your thumbnails to be laid out. Finally, select the Use Filename As Caption check box and choose a Font and Font Size. Click OK and let Photoshop go to work creating your contact sheet.

Every once in a while you may find that you have to add a 1-point border around your Photoshop files. There are a couple of different ways you can do this. The quickest way is to select the entire document and add a stroke around it. To do so, open the Layers palette, and if your image is on the Background layer, convert it to a working layer by double-clicking on it. Then, click the Add A Layer Style button and choose Stroke from its pop-up menu. In the resulting Layer Style dialog box, set the Size slider to 1 and the Position pop-up menu to Inside. Then, in the Fill Type section, choose the color you want your stroke to be. Click OK and you'll have an instant frame.

If you don't want to cover up any part of your image, you can add an outer frame to your image by making the canvas larger. First, set your background color to whatever color you want the stroke to be. Also, for this technique, make sure your image is on the Background layer. Then, choose Image > Canvas Size. In the resulting Canvas Size dialog box, change the Width and Height measurement increments to pixels. Then, increase both the Width and Height by 1 pixel. Leave the remaining settings as they are and click OK. Photoshop automatically fills the outer pixels of your canvas with your background color.

There are a number of shortcut key commands you can use to fill your documents. They are as follows:

* If you want to fill a layer with your foreground color, press [option][delete] ([Alt][Backspace] in Windows).

* To fill a layer with your background color, press [command][delete] ([Ctrl][Backspace] in Windows).

* To fill a layer with black, press the D key followed by [option][delete] ([Alt][Backspace] in Windows).

* To fill a layer with white, press the letter D followed by the letter X and then [option][delete] ([Alt][Backspace] in Windows).

Working with an image on a transparent background can be rather frustrating because of the annoying checkerboard pattern that signifies transparency. This is especially true if the image is grayscale and you're trying to do detail work. To hide the checkerboard, press [command]K ([Ctrl]K in Windows) to display the Preferences dialog box. Then, select Transparency & Gamut from the main pop-up menu that's set at the default of General. In the Transparency Settings section, select None from the Grid Size pop-up menu and click OK.

Have you ever created a selection and deselected it only to discover you need the selection again? Well, rather than wasting time reselecting it all over again, just save your selection. To do so, make your selection, and then while it's still active, choose Select > Save Selection. In the resulting Save Selection dialog box, name the selection and click OK. Now, when you need to access that selection, choose Select > Load Selection. In the resulting dialog box, choose your saved selection from the Channel pop-up menu and click OK.

The latest and greatest version of Photoshop has added a new tool for you to abuse--the Color Replacement tool. Using this tool you can make quick color changes in seconds. To see it in action, open a document to experiment on. Then, choose the Color Replacement tool from the Toolbox (it's hidden on the Healing Brush tool's flyout menu). Then, go to the tool options bar and set the Mode pop-up menu to Color, the Sampling pop-up menu to Once, and the Limits pop-up menu to Find Edges. Also, adjust your brush settings if necessary. Next, [option]-click ([Alt]-click in Windows) on the color you want to replace. Now, click on the Set Foreground Color swatch in the Toolbox and choose a new color to use in your image. Finally, just paint away the old color with the new. It's that easy!

Have you ever needed to add smoke to an image and struggled to come with an easy way to do so? Well, now you don't have to even think about it. To make instant smoke in Photoshop, first open a new document and fill the Background layer with black. Next, create a new layer to work on in the Layers palette and name the layer Smoke. Using a small, round brush tip, paint a white vertical strip in the center of your document. Then, use the Smudge tool to push and pull your line around until it looks like smoke. The more you smudge, the better your smoke will look.

When using the Save For Web command, you can preview how your images will appear on both a PC and a Mac. To do so, select File > Save For Web. In the resulting Save For Web dialog box, click on the arrow icon located in the top-right corner of the preview area. Then, select the platform in which you want to see your image.

When you're working on an extensive project in Photoshop, it's always a good idea to take a few snapshots as you go. That way, if you want to backtrack or something goes awry, you can click on a snapshot and get to work again. To create a snapshot, open the History palette and click the Create New Snapshot button at the base of the palette (it's the little camera icon). Upon doing so, Photoshop places a saved version of your file in the History palette. Then, if you need to access that image, just click on it.

If you have multiple layers of text that all has to be rasterized, you can do it in one fell swoop. Just choose Layer > Rasterize > All Layers. That's all there is to it!

The Background Eraser tool is great for removing unwanted backgrounds in an image. However, at times it can be trying to keep the tool where you want it as you erase. So, to make things much easier and more efficient, create a path around the object. First, select a large hard-edged brush from the Brush pop-up window on the tool options bar. Then, select the Pen tool and outline the object; make sure the path falls just outside of the object's edges. Next, choose Stroke Path from the Paths palette's pop-up menu. In the resulting dialog box, choose Background Eraser from the Tool pop-up menu and click OK. Photoshop automatically removes the edges around your image so you can go ahead and quickly erase the remaining background with ease.

When selecting a color for your designs, you don't have to use the Color Picker at all; instead, you can use the Color palette. To access the palette, choose Window > Color. Then, if you want to select colors in Grayscale, RGB, or CMYK, [shift]-click on the color bar at the base of the palette until you get the one you want and select a color. You can also select a different color mode from the Color palette's pop-up menu.

Typically, when using the Elliptical Marquee tool, Photoshop draws your selection from wherever you click the mouse initially. However, if you want to create a selection going from the center out, you can do so by holding down [shift][option] ([Shift][Alt] in Windows) in Photoshop 7.x and CS, or hold down just the [shift] key in version 6.x.

To add a stroke to a path, all you have to do is create your path. Then, select the brush you want to use for your stroke and press [enter]. Photoshop automatically strokes your path using the brush you selected.

Did you know that Photoshop CS allows you to run text along a path? Well, it does! Just create a path using the Pen tool. Then, select the Horizontal Type tool and click the insertion point on the path where you want your text to start. Finally, just type away.

A great way to draw attention to one portion of an image is to make it the only color object surrounded by gray imagery. A quick way to achieve this effect is to open a color image. Then, set your foreground color to black. Next, select the Brush tool (Paintbrush tool in version 6.x) and change the Mode pop-up menu from Normal to Color on the tool options bar. Now, using a soft, round brush, paint over the portion of your image you want to make grayscale. That's all there is to it!

When up close and personal with an image, zoomed in at around 300% or closer, it's rather easy to lose track of where you are. To avoid getting lost in enlarged pixels or having to reduce the image size and then zoom in again, use the Navigator palette instead. You can display the palette by choosing Window > Navigator. A thumbnail of your entire image will appear within the palette along with a red border that frames in the area you're working on. If you want to move from one area to another in your image, just click inside the red frame and drag where you want to go. As you do this your image moves in the same direction.

Every once in a while you may have to straighten out an image that's a bit skewed. There are a number of ways you can do this. For example, you could use the Crop tool or the Rotate tool. However, the fastest and most accurate method to use when straightening an image involves using the Measure tool. To see how it works, select the Measure tool from the Toolbox. Then, within your image, drag the pointer along a horizontal line that you want to be straight. Next, choose Image > Rotate Canvas > Arbitrary. In the resulting dialog box, leave the settings as they are and click OK. Photoshop automatically rotates the canvas for you, aligning your image with the line you drew using the Measure tool.

Have you ever wanted to incorporate more than one layer mask on a layer? Well, you can! Just add your first layer mask in the Layers palette as you normally would. Then, place that layer into a layer set and create a mask for the layer set. It's that easy!

Have you ever tried to apply a layer style to a Background layer? If so, then you know it isn't possible. However, you can make the Background layer an actual working layer by simply double-clicking on it in the Layers palette. When you do, the New Layer dialog box displays. Name the layer and click OK. You'll now be able to apply any layer style that you want.

When working on a document with multiple type layers, you can rasterize all of those layers at once when the time comes. Just choose Layer > Rasterize > All Layers. It's that easy.

Have you ever flattened and saved a document and then wanted to go back and make a change? If so, you can undo that save using a keyboard shortcut. Just press [option][command]Z ([Alt][Ctrl]Z in Windows) a few times until your file is back the way you want it.

When copying and pasting images from one document to another, Photoshop places them in the center of the new file by default. However, if you make a selection on the new document where you want the image to go, Photoshop centers the pasted image within that selection.

After creating a path, you can easily resize it if needed. To do so, select your path with the Path Component Selection tool. Then, select the Show Bounding Box check box on the tool options bar. This places a transform bounding box around your image, which you can then use to adjust the size of your path.

Typically when you want to fill an image you have to choose Edit > Fill to access the Fill dialog box. However, did you know that you can display this command using a key command? Just press [shift][delete] ([Shift][Backspace] in Windows).

Have you ever wanted to place a new layer below the one that's currently selected in the Layers palette? If you have, then you know that by default Photoshop 7.x always places new layers above the active layer. If you hold down the [command] key ([Ctrl] key in Windows) while clicking the Create A New Layer button at the base of the Layers palette, the new layer is placed below your active layer.

Have you ever wanted to make a red flower pink? Well, it's easier than you might think with Photoshop. Simply select an area of your image that you want to modify. Then, choose Image > Adjustment (Adjust in version 6.x) > Hue/Saturation. Next, select the Colorize check box and drag the hue slider back and forth until you locate the new color you want the area to be. Then, just click OK.

Have you ever opened a dialog box only to discover that it's the wrong filter or you didn't select the right area in your image to apply the effect to? Well, you can quickly close the dialog box without applying any effects to your image by pressing the [esc] key.

When using one of Photoshop's Shape tools, you'll find that once you click on your document and start drawing the shape you can't reposition it. Or can you? Of course you can! To do so, begin drawing your shape. When you need to reposition it, hold down the [spacebar] key and move your shape with the mouse. Then, release the [spacebar] key and continue drawing your shape.

Years ago, Photoshop had this great keyboard shortcut to access the Brushes palette. But, with the release of version 6.x, this shortcut disappeared. However, all is back to normal in version 7. To open the Brushes palette in the blink of an eye, simply press [F5].