Doyle
Meek
The book you need to succeed!
Get the most out of Photoshop
Layers with this in-depth guide
Creative professionals know how to tap Photoshop
CS3’s Layers to achieve spectacular results, and now
you can learn their secrets in this comprehensive book.
How do you combine layers and masks? What’s
the best way to work with Web images? From the
newest CS3 features to successful layering strategies,
you’ll discover the professional techniques and hands-
on examples you need to succeed.
Shelving Category:
COMPUTERS/Computer Graphics/
Design
Reader Level:
Beginning to Advanced
$39.99 USA
$47.99 Canada
ISBN 978-0-470-08211-9
www.wiley.com/compbooks
CD-ROM Included!
• Over ninety stock photos for your use
• Photoshop files and source images from the book
Includes CD-ROM
What’s on
the CD-ROM?
The CD includes over 90 stock
images, plus Photoshop files and
source images for most of the

book’s examples and figures.
See the CD Appendix for details and
complete system requirements.
Matt Doyle
is cofounder of ELATED, a
company dedicated to helping
people build better Web sites. He
has been professionally involved
with system administration,
software development, and Web
site building since 1993.
Simon Meek
is cofounder of ELATED. He has
been a professional designer
since 1996, specializing primarily
in online work.
Spine: 1.584"
Matt Doyle and Simon Meek
S
Photoshop
®

CS3
Lay ers
Photoshop
®


CS3 Layers
Unlock your creativity

with Layer Masks
Composite images
for spectacular results
Create impressive effects
with blend modes
Master photo retouching
using adjustment layers
Create logos using layer
styles and shape layers
Control transparency using
layer masks
• Create composites that make an impact
• Add depth and dimension with layer blend modes
• Retouch with layers and get unlimited Undos
• Work with Smart Objects and organize your workflow
• Create great-looking, quick-loading Web images
Photoshop
®
CS3
Layers Bible
01_082119 ffirs.qxp 9/24/07 9:08 PM Page i
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Photoshop
®
CS3
Layers Bible
Matt Doyle and Simon Meek
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Photoshop
®

CS3 Layers Bible
Published by
Wiley Publishing, Inc.
10475 Crosspoint Boulevard
Indianapolis, IN 46256
www.wiley.com
Copyright © 2008 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana
Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana
Published simultaneously in Canada
ISBN: 978-0-470-08211-9
Manufactured in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means,
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Department, Wiley Publishing, Inc., 10475 Crosspoint Blvd., Indianapolis, IN 46256, (317) 572-3447, fax (317) 572-
4355, or online at />LIMIT OF LIABILITY/DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY: THE PUBLISHER AND THE AUTHOR MAKE NO
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Photoshop is a registered trademark of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries. All other
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Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in
electronic books.
01_082119 ffirs.qxp 9/24/07 9:08 PM Page iv
About the Authors
Matt Doyle. Born and bred in England, Matt discovered the joys of computing from an early age,
thanks to his mom’s prudent decision to invest in a rusty old build-it-yourself computer with a
whopping 4K of RAM. Since then, he’s never looked back, gaining a B.Sc. in Computer Science and
moving into the IT industry.
After working at various companies in such disparate roles as IT manager, C programmer, software
tester, Web designer, and Web developer, Matt decided it was time to start his own business. In
1997 he teamed up with Simon to form ELATED, a company dedicated to building better websites
for people, while also helping them build better websites for themselves.
Although ostensibly a developer for much of his career, Matt finds playing with software to be
much more fun than writing it, and he loves exploring the innermost depths of any application he
can get his mitts on. As such, he has slyly been expanding his Photoshop knowledge over the years
to near-encyclopedic levels.
In 2002, deciding he’d had enough of the freezing English weather, he retreated to the sunny
shores of Sydney’s Northern Beaches in Australia with his wife, Cat, where they now live with their
baby son, Isaac.

Simon Meek. Simon was raised in a tiny village in Bedfordshire, England. Having emerged from
the depths of the countryside, he completed a degree in Agricultural Economics (Matt Doyle typed
his thesis), and then played guitar for most of his early twenties. Obviously this is fertile ground for
a career in the design industry.
In search of an actual income, Simon moved into design work in preference to getting a proper job,
and has been a professional designer since 1996. Mostly specializing in online work, he has been
using Photoshop since version 2.5, and fondly remembers such advances as editable type and, of
course, layers.
He also dabbles in music, photography, and scriptwriting. For the record, he still feels playing gui-
tar is more fun than Photoshop, though it’s a pretty close thing.
He now lives in Brighton, on the south coast of England, with his wife, Mo, two cats (who often
crop up in this book), and his beautiful wee boy, Jack.
01_082119 ffirs.qxp 9/24/07 9:08 PM Page v
Credits
Senior Acquisitions Editor
Kim Spilker
Project Editor
Beth Taylor
Technical Editor
Rob Barnes
Copy Editor
Kim Heusel
Editorial Manager
Robyn Siesky
Business Manager
Amy Knies
Senior Marketing Manager
Sandy Smith
Vice President and Executive Group
Publisher

Richard Swadley
Vice President and Executive Publisher
Bob Ipsen
Vice President and Publisher
Barry Pruett
Project Coordinator
Adrienne Martinez
Graphics and Production Specialists
Brooke Graczyk
Joyce Haughey
Jennifer Mayberry
Ronald Terry
Quality Control Technicians
Laura Albert
John Greenough
Todd Lothery
Media Development Project Manager I
Laura Moss-Hollister
Media Development Assistant Producer
Josh Frank
Proofreading and Indexing
C.M. Jones
Infodex Indexing Services Inc.
To Cat and Mo, for their understanding,
and to Isaac and Jack, for the inspiration.
01_082119 ffirs.qxp 9/24/07 9:08 PM Page vi
W
elcome to the Photoshop CS3 Layers Bible. Since its inception in 1988, Photoshop has
evolved in leaps and bounds to become the king of photo editing applications that it is
today. Each new release has brought with it tons of useful new features, from vector paths

in version 2 through to the wonderful Spot Healing Brush tool and Vanishing Point filter in CS2.
Arguably one of the most important milestones in Photoshop’s history was the addition of layers in
version 3, way back in 1994. For the first time, designers could create and manipulate graphic ele-
ments independently within the same image, opening up a world of creative possibilities.
Since version 3, the reign of Photoshop’s Layers palette has been consolidated through the addition
of a powerful range of layer features. For example, we now have adjustment layers, for applying re-
editable photo adjustments; fill layers, for creating powerful fill effects; layer styles, for adding
dynamic effects to layers; type layers, for adding re-editable text to images; and shape layers, for
creating filled vector shapes. CS3 adds even more layer-based fun in the form of Smart Filters that
let you apply “live” Photoshop filters to your images. In fact, it’s probably safe to say that most of
your work in Photoshop these days revolves around the Layers palette, one way or another.
In this book we’re going to take you on an adventure through the world of Photoshop layers, with
the aim of giving you a thorough grounding in all of Photoshop’s layer features. We’ll also intro-
duce you to a wealth of useful layer-based tips and techniques that we’ve picked up over the years.
Our aim is to make this book useful to you, whether you’re a Photoshop novice or a seasoned vet-
eran of this powerful program.
Layers are a big topic, as you can probably tell just from the weight of this book. To make the book
a little more digestible, and your reading experience more enjoyable, we’ve carved it up into four
distinct parts.
Part I deals with the fundamentals of layers — what they are, how they work, and how you can
work with them. Part II delves into the more specialized layer types that we touched on above; we
take an in-depth look at type layers, shape layers, adjustment layers, and fill layers. Part III looks at
the wonderful features Adobe has embellished layers with over the years, including blending
modes, Smart Objects, masks, layer styles, and layer comps.
Finally, Part IV takes a more practical, hands-on approach to Photoshop layers. In this part, we
look at some useful strategies for working with layered Photoshop documents, and we explore how
Photoshop layers interact with other applications such as the CS3 suite, Lightroom, and
QuarkXpress. We then share a range of useful techniques and workflows for using Photoshop in a
wide range of contexts, from Web designing and making a montage through to photo manipulation
and creating posters and flyers.

vii
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This book wouldn’t have been possible without the help and support of many people at Wiley
Publishing. We’d like to thank Kim Spilker for her help in getting the book off the ground and for
putting her faith in us.
We’d also like to thank Beth Taylor, the project editor, as well as Kim Heusel, the copy editor, and
Rob Barnes, the technical editor, for working so hard to improve the book and keep it on track.
ix
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xi
Part I: Layer Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Chapter 1: Introducing Layers 3
Chapter 2: Managing and Organizing Layers 29
Chapter 3: Resizing and Transforming Layers 77
Part II: Exploring Special Layer Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Chapter 4: Creating Text with Type Layers 109
Chapter 5: Working with Shape Layers 169
Chapter 6: Exploring Adjustment and Fill Layers 203
Part III: Advanced Layer Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
Chapter 7: Combining Layers with Blending Modes 281
Chapter 8: Exploring Smart Objects 329
Chapter 9: Working with Masks 353
Chapter 10: Discovering Layer Styles 393
Chapter 11: Using Layer Comps 429
Part IV: Using Layers in Real-World Situations . . . . . . . . . . . . . 443
Chapter 12: Exploring Layer Strategies 445
Chapter 13: Using Layers in Other Applications 483
Chapter 14: Designing with Layers 533

Chapter 15: Manipulating Photos by Using Layers 591
Chapter 16: Creating Personal Projects with Layers 645
Part V: Appendixes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 685
Appendix A: Using the CD-ROM 687
Appendix B: Shortcuts for Working with Layers 691
Index 719
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About the Authors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v
Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxiii
Part I: Layer Basics 1
Chapter 1: Introducing Layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Understanding the Layers Concept 4
Layers and Photoshop 4
Introducing the Layers Palette 5
Layers in the document window 7
The anatomy of a layer 7
Understanding Layer Transparency 8
Types of Layers 9
The Background layer 10
Normal layers 10
Type layers 11
Shape layers 12
Fill layers 13
Adjustment layers 14
Using Layers in Photoshop 15
New Layer Features in Photoshop CS3 16
The new interface 16

Smart Filters 18
New adjustment layers 19
Auto-Align Layers and Auto-Blend Layers 20
Putting Theory into Practice 21
Creating a new document 22
Adding the photo 22
Creating a box for the text 24
Adding the text 25
Playing with the layers 27
Summary 28
xiii
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Chapter 2: Managing and Organizing Layers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Creating Layers 30
Creating a layer from a selection 31
Other ways to create layers 32
Selecting Layers 32
Selecting a single layer 33
Selecting multiple layers 34
Selecting layers with the Move tool 34
Managing Layers 36
Duplicating layers 36
Merging layers together 39
Converting the Background layer 41
Moving the content of layers 42
Aligning layer content 44
Evenly distributing layer content 46
Changing the order of layers 47
Renaming layers and changing their color 47
Setting a layer’s opacity and fill 48

Locking layers 50
Deleting layers 51
Controlling Layer Positioning 52
Working with rulers 52
Creating and using guides 54
Using Smart Guides 57
Positioning using the grid 58
Snapping 60
Measuring distances and angles with the Ruler tool 62
Organizing Layers 64
Linking layers together 64
Unlinking layers 65
Organizing layers into layer groups 66
Showing and hiding layers and groups 75
Summary 76
Chapter 3: Resizing and Transforming Layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Bitmaps versus Vectors 78
The Transform Commands 79
Moving the reference point 80
Committing or canceling a transformation 81
Repeating a transformation 82
Scaling 82
Rotating 83
Skewing 84
Distorting 85
Applying perspective 87
Warping 88
Rotating by fixed amounts 91
xiv
Contents

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Flipping horizontally and vertically 91
The Free Transform command 91
Measuring Transformations 93
Transforming by Numbers 94
Moving by a precise amount 95
Moving the reference point precisely 95
Scaling by numbers 96
Rotating by numbers 97
Skewing by numbers 97
Transforming Other Content 98
Tutorial: Transforming Type Layers 99
Summary 104
Part II: Exploring Special Layer Types 107
Chapter 4: Creating Text with Type Layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
What is a Type Layer? 110
Adding a Type Layer 111
Selecting Type 113
Working with Point Type and Paragraph Type 114
Creating point type 114
Creating paragraph type 116
Formatting Characters 117
Choosing a font 119
Font styles 122
Setting font sizes 126
Setting line spacing (leading) 126
Adjusting the kerning between letters 128
Setting horizontal spacing (tracking) 129
Stretching and squeezing type 130
Shifting the baseline 131

Choosing a type color 132
Smoothing type with anti-aliasing 132
Controlling fractional widths 133
Using system text handling 134
Preventing unwanted word breaks 134
Rotating letters in vertical type 134
Formatting Paragraphs 136
Aligning type 137
Justifying type 138
Indenting paragraphs 139
Adjusting the space between paragraphs 139
Controlling hyphenation 140
Choosing a composition method 141
Adjusting word and letter spacing 143
Specifying hanging punctuation 144
xv
Contents
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Checking and Correcting Spelling 144
Finding and Replacing Text 145
Creating Warped Type 146
Creating Type on a Path 148
Positioning the type 150
Flipping the type 150
Reshaping the type 151
Creating type inside a closed path 152
Creating Bitmap Type Layers 153
Converting Type Layers to Shape Layers 154
Creating Work Paths from Type Layers 156
Creating Type as a Mask 156

Understanding Type Aesthetics 157
Serif type 158
Sans serif type 159
Display type 160
Tutorial: Bringing It All Together 162
Adding a title 163
Creating the main text 164
Adding the drop capital 167
Summary 168
Chapter 5: Working with Shape Layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Adding a Shape Layer 170
Working with basic shape tools 173
Working with the Custom Shape tool 177
Other ways to create a shape layer 179
Editing Shape Layers 179
Editing a shape layer’s style and content 180
Moving and altering shapes 183
Combining Shapes on a Single Layer 189
Adding shapes together 190
Subtracting shapes from each other 191
Intersecting and excluding overlapping shapes 191
Recombining existing shapes on a layer 192
Aligning and distributing shapes 194
Tutorial: Shape Layers in Practice 194
Adding the first shape 195
Adding the chopsticks 198
Summary 201
Chapter 6: Exploring Adjustment and Fill Layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Introducing Adjustment Layers 204
Creating an Adjustment Layer 206

Setting adjustment layer options 207
Previewing color changes with the Info palette 208
Applying an adjustment to specific layers 209
xvi
Contents
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Editing Adjustment Layers 210
Exploring Adjustment Layer Types 211
Adjusting Levels 211
Fine-tuning contrast with Curves 220
Tweaking colors with Color Balance 229
Altering brightness and contrast 230
Converting an image to black and white 232
Adjusting colors using Hue/Saturation 236
Changing CMYK values with Selective Color 242
Mashing up colors with the Channel Mixer 243
Using Gradient Map to colorize images 246
Simulating lens filters with Photo Filter 248
Making tonal adjustments with Exposure 250
Inverting an image’s colors 253
Applying a threshold 254
Posterizing an image 256
Creating Filled Areas with Fill Layers 259
Adding a fill layer 260
Creating blocks of color with Solid Color fill layers 261
Making gradients with Gradient fill layers 261
Filling with a pattern using Pattern fill layers 273
Masking Adjustment and Fill Layers 274
Using Blending Modes with Adjustment and Fill Layers 276
Summary 278

Part III: Advanced Layer Features 279
Chapter 7: Combining Layers with Blending Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
Choosing a Blending Mode 282
Understanding Blending Modes 283
Exploring the Blending Modes 284
Simple blending modes 284
Darkening modes 287
Lightening modes 292
Light modes 296
Difference modes 302
Component modes 304
Summarizing the blending modes 307
Fine-Tuning a Blend Effect 310
Excluding color channels from the blend 312
Creating knockouts 312
Blending interior effects 318
Controlling the blending of a clipping mask 320
Disabling a layer’s transparency mask 320
xvii
Contents
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Hiding effects with layer and vector masks 322
Blending by color range 323
Applying Blending Modes to Layer Effects 327
Summary 328
Chapter 8: Exploring Smart Objects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329
Creating a Smart Object 330
Creating a Smart Object from one or more layers 331
Creating a Smart Object from Illustrator artwork 332
Creating a Smart Object from an image file 333

Editing Smart Objects 335
Duplicating Smart Objects 337
Nesting Smart Objects 338
Converting and deleting Smart Objects 339
Working with Smart Filters 339
Applying a Smart Filter 340
Editing Smart Filters 340
Masking Smart Filters 342
Setting Smart Filter blending options 345
Exporting and Replacing Smart Objects 346
Tutorial: Using Smart Objects in Practice 347
Summary 352
Chapter 9: Working with Masks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 353
Types of Masks 354
General masks 355
Masks specific to layers 356
Exploring Selection Masks and Alpha Channels 357
Using selection masks and the Quick Mask mode 357
Saving selections as alpha channels 362
Using Layer Masks 368
Creating layer masks 368
Editing layer masks 369
Using Vector Masks 372
Creating vector masks 372
Editing vector masks 374
Managing Layer and Vector Masks 376
Moving a mask to a different layer 376
Loading a mask as a selection 377
Linking and unlinking a mask 377
Disabling a mask 378

Combining Layer and Vector Masks 378
Masking Layers with Clipping Masks 380
Creating a clipping mask 381
Editing clipping masks 382
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Tutorial: A Complete Example 384
Creating the mask for the cell phone 384
Putting the elements together 388
Creating the final header image 389
Summary 391
Chapter 10: Discovering Layer Styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 393
Adding a Layer Style 394
Editing and Managing Layer Styles 396
Disabling, hiding, and deleting effects 397
Moving and duplicating effects and styles 398
Creating and managing preset layer styles 398
Converting a layer style to individual layers 400
Exploring Layer Effects 401
Drop Shadow and Inner Shadow 402
Outer and Inner Glow 405
Bevel and Emboss 408
Satin 412
Color, Gradient, and Pattern Overlay 414
Stroke 416
Using Contours 417
Working with contour presets 417
Creating your own contours 418
Tutorial: Creating a Logo Using Layer Styles 420

Summary 428
Chapter 11: Using Layer Comps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 429
Introducing the Layer Comps Palette 430
Creating and Deleting Layer Comps 431
Flipping Between Layer Comps 433
Updating Layer Comps 434
Changing Layer Comp Options 435
Understanding Layer Comp Warnings 435
Exporting Layer Comps 437
Exporting comps to flat image files 437
Exporting comps to a PDF file 439
Exporting comps as a Web photo gallery 440
Summary 441
Part IV: Using Layers in Real-World Situations 443
Chapter 12: Exploring Layer Strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 445
Organizing Layers for Clarity 445
Naming your layers 446
Grouping layers by content 449
xix
Contents
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Storing Different Versions of Documents 451
Using layer comps 451
Using Version Cue 452
Creating your own versioning system 455
Managing Documents 455
Naming your files 456
Organizing your files 456
Backing up 458
Nondestructive Editing 459

Editing with adjustment layers 459
Using Smart Objects and Smart Filters 461
Using layer masks and clipping masks 462
Copying layers 463
Flattening an Image 463
Working in a Team 465
Creating self-documenting files 465
Making sure your files are accurate 467
Abiding by the rules 468
Getting hired with layers 468
Exploring Common Workflow Scenarios 468
Photography 469
Web design 472
Print design 474
Choosing a Strategy 476
Navigating your document’s layers 477
Knowing your tools 477
Keeping an eye on the final result 478
Three ways to a similar result 478
Summary 482
Chapter 13: Using Layers in Other Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 483
Understanding the PSD Format 484
Setting File Handling Preferences 484
Working with Other Layered File Formats 487
Using TIFF 488
Working with Photoshop PDF 490
Using Layers in Other Applications 491
Using the Adobe Creative Suite 492
Using PSD files with photo editing tools 516
Exploring Photoshop layer support in QuarkXPress 7 524

Other applications 530
Summary 531
xx
Contents
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Chapter 14: Designing with Layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 533
Tweaking Photos in a Design Environment 534
Adding a Levels adjustment layer 535
Making selective adjustments with a layer mask 537
Tidying up the mask 539
Applying adjustments to other photos in a batch 541
Designing a Web Site with Layers 542
Creating a new document 543
Using a design grid 544
Setting up the grid 544
Creating the header image 546
Adding the menu 547
Adding the logo 552
Laying out the rest of the page 554
Organizing the layers 560
Export strategies 562
Creating a Montage 567
Adding the first two photos 569
Using a layer mask to blend the photos 569
Using blending modes to add depth 570
Composition of the montage 571
Adding more images 572
Producing an alternative version 574
Using the montage to create a brochure 577
Creating a Mixed-Media Piece 580

Preparing the scanned media 581
Assembling the illustration 583
Creating the river and sky 584
Adding some handwritten text and doodles 586
Adding some final typography 587
Summary 589
Chapter 15: Manipulating Photos by Using Layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 591
Retouching a Landscape 592
Applying an adjustment to the whole image 593
Creating the mask 594
Making the image “pop” 598
Fixing Color Casts in Photos 600
Correcting the bridge photo 601
Correcting the microphone photo 607
Retouching a Portrait 609
Enhancing the exposure 611
Enhancing the skin tones 613
Finishing touches 618
xxi
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Converting Photos to Black and White 624
Converting the images using Hue/Saturation 625
Converting the images using the Channel Mixer 627
Converting the images using Black & White 630
Comparing the three methods 632
Finishing off a black-and-white image 633
Aligning Two Handheld Photos 634
Creating the document 635
Aligning the layers 636

Creating the final image 637
Summary 642
Chapter 16: Creating Personal Projects with Layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . 645
Creating and Printing Invitations 646
Creating a document for the invitation 646
Laying out the invitation 647
Adding text and graphics 650
Placing multiple copies on a single page 655
Preparing the document for printing 659
Printing the invitations 660
Making a Poster 661
Creating a new document 663
Adding the photo 664
Creating the text and graphic elements 665
Adding filters to the photo 670
Creating a Calendar 673
Creating the basic layout 673
Adding a photo 674
Creating a space for the month view 674
Creating the month view 676
Adding the year, month name, and caption 680
Creating multiple pages 683
Summary 683
Part V: Appendixes 685
Appendix A: Using the CD-ROM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 687
Appendix B: Shortcuts for Working with Layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 691
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 719
xxii
Contents
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H
opefully you’ll find that this book is pretty much self-explanatory. However, just to avoid
any potential confusion, we’ll list a few of the conventions that we’ve used throughout the
text.
Icons used in the book
You’ll find the following icons peppered throughout the book. We’ve used them to highlight points
that you may find particularly interesting, noteworthy or helpful.
When you see a Caution icon, it’s warning you of potential pitfalls that you might
encounter with a particular technique or feature. While there’s a limit to how much
damage you can do with Photoshop — unless you’re writing a nuclear power plant instruction man-
ual with it — it’s probably worth reading these pieces of text to avoid tearing your hair out further
down the line.
Photoshop is a big application with a zillion features, so inevitably there’s some
crossover between topics. We use this icon to highlight other sections or chapters in the
book that are relevant to the topic at hand.
Whenever we introduce a feature that’s new, or significantly changed, in Photoshop
CS3, we’ll highlight it with a New Feature icon and explain a bit about the feature. If
you’ve just moved up from a previous version of Photoshop, these icons are a great way to explore
new CS3 features at a glance.
When we want to explain some small, relatively unimportant, point related to the cur-
rent topic, we’ll highlight the explanation with a Note icon. You’ll find these icons useful
for gaining extra insight into the workings of Photoshop.
A Tip icon provides you with a handy trick or shortcut that you can use to work faster or
more effectively with Photoshop. If you want to impress your friends and colleagues
with your super-human Photoshop skills, these are the icons to read.
This icon indicates that the CD-ROM contains a related file.
ON
the
CD-ROM
ON

the
CD-ROM
TIP
TIP
NOTE
NOTE
NEW FEATURE
NEW FEATURE
CROSS-REF
CROSS-REF
CAUTION
CAUTION
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Terms and phrases
Photoshop isn’t rocket science, and most of the terms associated with the program are fairly easy to
understand, particularly if you’ve used the program a bit already. For example, phrases such as the
Layers palette, the Move tool, and layer groups probably won’t give you too much trouble.
Generally, when we introduce a new term that you may not be familiar with, such as kerning, we
write it in italics — like we just did, in fact — and then explain the term.
Interface items
As a rule, when we describe parts of Photoshop’s user interface, such as menus, palettes, and tools,
we capitalize the first letter of each word: the File menu; the Layers palette; the Type tool; and so
on. (We don’t capitalize articles or prepositions though, such as “an” and “for”.)
We write menu options using an arrow (➪) to separate a menu option or submenu from its parent
menu. For example, “choose File ➪ Open” means “choose the Open option from the File menu”,
while “choose Layer ➪ Layer Style ➪ Drop Shadow” means “choose Layer Style from the Layer
menu, then choose Drop Shadow from the Layer Style submenu”.
Keystrokes
We indicate keys on the keyboard by capitalizing their initial letter, so “Shift” means the Shift key,

while ‘N’ means the letter N (without pressing Shift as well). If you need to press more than one
key at once, we indicate the key combination with + (plus) symbols, as in “Press Control+Shift+E”.
Some keys are different on Windows and Mac OS platforms. For example, Command (Ô) on the
Mac is generally used in place of Control on Windows, while Windows’ Alt key usually maps to
the Mac’s Option key. For key combinations that differ between Windows and Mac OS, we gener-
ally introduce the Windows key combination first, followed by the Mac combination in brackets.
While PCs tend to use the word “Backspace” for the big delete key and “Delete” for the little one,
Macs tend to use “Delete” for both (or “Forward Delete” for the little Delete key). Generally, when
we use the word “Delete” for the Mac, we’re talking about the big (backward) delete key. Similarly,
whereas the big carriage return key on a PC is usually called “Enter”, on a Mac it’s called “Return”.
Finally, many Photoshop menus and features are accessed by right-clicking. Whenever we suggest
right-clicking in the book, you can Control+click on the Mac if you’re using a one-button mouse.
If you use a two (or more) button mouse with your Mac, you can Control+click or you can right-
click — whichever you prefer.
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Introduction
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