Adobe Photoshop CS2

Basics for Working with Image Files

Photoshop is a program used for editing images and graphics. This document will get you started by providing instructions for basic tasks including:

Opening Images
Creating New Images
Saving Images
Printing Files

Opening Images

Follow these instructions to open an image in Photoshop.

From the File menu, select Open...
The Open dialog box appears.
Using the Look in pull-down list, navigate to the desired image
Select the image
Click OPEN
The image appears.

Creating New Images

You can create a new image by using the New dialog box. The New dialog box allows you to specify the name, width, height, resolution, and mode of your new image.

From the File menu, select New...
OR
Press [Ctrl] + [N]
The New dialog box appears.
In the Name text box, type a name for your image
Under the Preset section, in the Width text box, type a value for the width of your image
From the Width pull-down list, select a unit of measurement
NOTE: You have several unit choices: pixels, inches, centimeters (cm), millimeters (mm), points, picas, and columns.
In the Height text box, type a value for the height of your image
From the Height pull-down list, select a unit of measurement
NOTE: You have several unit choices: pixels, inches, centimeters (cm), millimeters (mm), points, and picas.
In the Resolution text box, type a value for the resolution of your image
NOTES:
Resolution should be determined according to how the image will be used.
You have two unit choices: pixels/inch and pixels/cm.
HINT: In the lower right corner of the dialog box is the Image Size; it adjusts according to the image specifications.
From the Color Mode pull-down list, select an image mode
NOTES:
For more information on image modes in Photoshop, see Image Modes.
You have two choices: 8 bit or 16 bit.
From the Background Contents pull-down list, select the image background
NOTE: You have three choices: White, Background Color or Transparent.
Click OK
A new Photoshop image is created.

Saving Images

The Save and Save As commands are located under the File menu. If you are saving a document for the first time, either selection will take you to the Save As dialog box.

NOTE: Different image file types allow you to save an image with a variety of options. This section provides instructions for saving an image that has a good balance of image quality and file size.

Saving a New Image

Layers allow for flexibility and creativity when working with an image, however, few other software programs can read the layers in a Photoshop image file.
RECOMMENDATION: Save the file as a PSD, so that you can make changes to the file in the future.

From the File menu, select Save
The Save As dialog box appears.
Using the Save in pull-down list, select the location for saving the image
In the File name text box, type a name for the file
Continue with the appropriate section according to the file type you are creating:
To save as a .PSD
To save as a .GIF
To save as a .JPEG
To save as a .TIFF

To save as a PSD:

PSD is a Photoshop file. It has a large file size and it allows you to make changes to your graphic. With this file type no information is lost, thus it is the highest image quality.

From the Format pull-down list, select Photoshop (*.PSD; *.PDD)
Click SAVE
The image is saved.

To save as a GIF:

GIF has a small file size and low image quality.

From the Format pull-down list, select CompuServe GIF (*.GIF)
Click SAVE
A dialog box appears asking you to flatten layers.
Click OK
The Indexed Color dialog box appears.
In the Options section, from the Dither pull-down list, select None
Click OK
The GIF Options dialog box appears.
If you want the image to load section by section, select Normal
If you want the image to load by fading in, select Interlaced
Click OK
The image is saved.

To save as a JPEG:

JPEG has a good balance between file size and image quality.

From the Format pull-down list, select JPEG (*.JPG; *.JPEG; *.JPE)
Click SAVE
The JPEG Options dialog box appears.
In the Image Options section, move the slider to adjust the image quality and file size
HINT: A quality rating of 8 results in a good balance between image quality and file size.
Under Format Options, select Baseline ("Standard")
Click OK
The image is saved.

To save as a TIFF:

TIFF has a large file size and high image quality.

From the Format pull-down list, select TIFF (*.TIF; *.TIFF)
Click SAVE
The TIFF Options dialog box appears.
HINT: The default settings provide a good balance between image quality and file size.
Click OK
NOTE: If you did not select Discard Layers and Save a Copy, an alert regarding layers and file size appears, click OK.

Saving an Existing Image

From the File menu, select Save
The image is saved to its original location.

Using Save As

Using Save As allows you to save variations of an image or the same file in a different location.

From the File menu, select Save As...
The Save As dialog box appears.
Using the Save in pull-down list, select the location for saving the image
In the File name text box, type a name for the file
From the Format pull-down list, select a file type
For more information regarding the options pertaining to the format you selected, review the options for each file format under Saving a New Image.
Click SAVE
The image is saved to the selected location.

Printing Files

Printing files in Photoshop is easily done through the Print dialog box.

From the File menu, select Print...
The Print dialog box appears.
From the Name pull-down list, select your printer
Under the Copies section, in the Number of copies text box, type or use the nudge buttons to specify the number of copies
Click OK