Photoshop I-1b Menus and Panels

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

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Medusa

In the previous lesson, you learned all about the Photoshop workspace: what the major workspace areas are called, how to get around, and how to rearrange the workspace. Today we’ll look at a few of the most used menu items and panels, and do some cool tricks along the way. At the end of this lesson, you should be more comfortable with using Photoshop menus and panels. Don’t be afraid to experiment on your own!

This lesson is based on Adobe Photoshop CS4 Extended, but you should be able to follow along with CS3 (and some earlier versions.)

Learning Goals

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to:

open and save files using the File Menu
use Image Menu commands to recolor, resize, and transform an image
work with the Filter Gallery
perform some cool effects with the Actions panel
move back and forth in time with the History panel
do basic tasks with the Layers panel
add some text and format it with the Control panel

Source File

You can complete this tutorial with any good-sized digital photograph. If you want to use this one that I took at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, click on the image below to view and download the full-sized file.

Jellyfish - click for a larger image

Using the File Menu

Start by opening a colorful photograph to work with.
Click on the File menu button to open the File Menu. Select Open…. If a menu command has a … after it, then it will offer you some options before it finishes the command. Menu items without the … just do their thing immediately. Navigate to an image file, and click OK.	The File Menu
In future instructions, I will be using this format to indicate menu commands: File > Open… To protect your original image, it pays to save it under a new name, thereby creating a duplicate file.
File > Save As… Navigate to wherever you want to save the duplicate file. In the File name text field, change the file name. Don’t change the file extension (e.g. keep it .jpg if it’s .jpg.) Click OK. If you are saving a .jpg file, you will be asked what quality to use for compression. Set the Quality to 9 or higher.	Save As dialog box
You will now have the duplicate file ready to experiment with, leaving the original untouched.

Using the Image Menu

Let’s have some fun with the color of our photo.

Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation	Hue/Saturation Command
The Hue/Saturation command allows you to change all the colors in an image at once. First, try sliding the Hue slider to the left or right. Hue refers to the named color, such as “red”, “yellow”, or “violet”. When you move the Hue slider, every color in the image spins around on the color wheel independently. We’ll look at color in more depth later.	The Hue Slider
Now try sliding around the Saturation and Lightness sliders. Saturation means how vivid the colors are. Lightness means how close to white the colors are. Click OK when you get something you like.	Saturation and Lightness sliders
Next, we’ll change the image size.
Image > Image Size… Make sure that the Constrain Proportions checkbox is checked. This will keep your image dimensions in scale; that is, when you change the width, the height will automatically adjust in proportion. In the Pixel Dimensions section, reduce the Width a bit. You will see the Height adjust as you type. You will also see the dimensions change in the Document Size section. Click OK to save the change.	Image Size
Save your file: open the File menu and notice the keyboard shortcut listed next to the word Save (Ctrl+S, or Cmd+S on the Mac). Select Save. Next time, we’ll use the keyboard shortcut.

Using the Filter Menu

You can get some really groovy and artistic effects from Photoshop’s filters.

Filter > Artistic > Paint Daubs… This opens the Filter Gallery, which allows you to quickly try out a large variety of image filters. Filters apply artistic and other transformations to your image, and each one has a unique set of adjustments you can make. Paint Daubs is the filter that is currently selected. If you had selected any filter from the filter sets listed there in the center column, it would have opened to the Filter Gallery with that particular filter in preview.	Filter Gallery - Paint Daubs
Click-and-drag inside the image preview window on the left side of the Filter Gallery to reposition the preview. You can also change the zoom ratio by clicking on the + or - button in the bottom-left corner.	Reposition and Change Zoom
Click on some of the other Artistic filter thumbnails (square preview images) in the center. Try also clicking on the other categories listed below these thumbnails, and selecting the options which appear. Find one you especially like, play with the settings on the right, and click OK.	Watercolor Filter
Save your file: press Ctrl+S (Mac: Cmd+S).	Jellyfish with Watercolor Filter

Next: Using the Actions Panel

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4 Comments

neomi
September 2, 2009 • 8:36 pm

Thank you, thank you , thank you for all your tutorials! I certainly refresh my knowledge- keep up the good work!Its great to know I can always get in the site and read again and again.
Best Wishes
Neomi
Jack
September 26, 2009 • 5:49 am

Amazing lesson, as with your first one in this series. Thank you so much for taking the time to help others!
nOmi
October 18, 2009 • 7:38 am

this site is my teacher

thx!
cazzy
January 1, 2010 • 9:18 am

Thank you so much for the time you spend on creating these tutorials for we beginners. You’ve just blown my mind with the basics.