Photoshop I-1a Rearranging and Saving Workspaces

By Dawn Pedersen · August 30, 2009 · Print This Page Print This Page

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Save a Workspace

  1. Find a panel arrangement that you might use later. Just make one up since you may not quite know what the panels do yet.
I returned to the Typography workspace, then dragged the panel docks off of the sides. I opened the Color panel (Window > Color) and moved it down below the Layers panel, where it “clicked” into place. Then I added the Swatches panel next to it. I I also opened the History and Brushes panels. I clicked the Brushes icon to collapse the Brushes panel. I dragged the Clone Source icon of of the dock and deleted the panel.
My new panel arrangement

My new panel arrangement
Let’s save the new workspace.
  1. Click to open the Workspace Switcher.
  2. Select Save Workspace….
Save Workspace...

Save Workspace...
  1. In the Save Workspace dialog box, type a name for your workspace. In the “Capture” area, leave only “Panels” checked.
Save Workspace dialog box

Save Workspace dialog box
  1. Click Save.
  2. Notice that your workspace name appears in the Workspace Switcher.
New custom workspace is selected

New custom workspace is selected
Note: To delete this workspace, you need to select another workspace first. Then select Delete Workspace… from the Workspace Switcher, select the new workspace in the dialog box, and click Delete.

Arrange Multiple Images

The following steps are for CS4, which introduced the document tabs feature. If you have an earlier version some steps may not work quite the same way, or even be available.

  1. Open another image. Notice that there are now two document tabs. You can click on a document tab to bring that image forward in the image window.
Two document tabs

Two document tabs
  1. Click on the Arrange Documents icon in the Application Bar.
  2. Select the 2 Up icon.
Arrange documents 2 up

Arrange documents 2 up
Your two images will appear one above the other.
Images arranged one above the other

Images arranged one above the other
In the Arrange Documents menu, there are many other options available, depending on how many images you have open. One option is to float the images in individual windows.
  1. Click on the Arrange Documents icon in the Application Bar.
  2. Select Float All In Windows.

The images appear in separate image windows, one laid above the other. The title bars are cascading down from the top left.
Float in windows

Float in windows
  1. Click on the title bar for one of the images and drag it to another location on the screen.
Move an image window

Move an image window
The next three steps are written for Microsoft Windows.
    1. Click on the Minimize icon for one of the image windows. It will collapse into a small title bar on the bottom-left of your screen.
Minimize an image window

Minimize an image window
    1. Click on the Maximize icon for one of the image windows. It will expand to fill your entire screen.
Maximize an image window

Maximize an image window
    1. Click on the Restore Down icon for this expanded image window. It will go back to normal image window size.
Restore Down icon

Restore Down icon
  1. Finally, let’s return to document tabs. Go to the Window menu, hover over Arrange, and select Consolidate All to Tabs (Window > Arrange > Consolidate All to Tabs).
Consolidate All to Tabs

Consolidate All to Tabs

We’re done for today! Exit Photoshop (File > Exit). Do not save your files if Photoshop asks you to.

Lesson Review

  • Photoshop has a number of built-in workspaces which have different panel arrangements.
  • You can hide all of the panels by pressing the Tab key.
  • You can rotate through three screen modes by pressing the F key repeatedly.
  • Panel docks can be collapsed and expanded by clicking on the double triangle icon on the top-right of the panel dock.
  • Collapsed panels can be opened by clicking on the panel icon, and closed by clicking on it again.
  • Panels can be separated from the panel dock and panel groups, resized, regrouped, and deleted.
  • You can save a personalized panel arrangement by selecting Save Workspace… in the Workspace Switcher.
  • Image windows can be arranged into document tabs or floating windows.

Still have questions? Want to give me feedback to improve this lesson? I’ve love to hear from you in the Comments section below.

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2 Comments

  1. Sandra Reider
    March 18, 2010 • 4:06 pm

    This is a wonderful tutorial! I went from knowing absolutely nothing about Photoshop to understanding how to begin using it. I only knew how to open a file before…nothing else.

  2. Marcus Ili
    April 19, 2010 • 10:19 am

    I really love this tutorial. It really helps me a lot because it explains every step as you read along. That is why I enjoy this website.

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