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Many people want to just jump right in and begin using Photoshop, assuming that the way it's configured by default will be good enough for them. The truth is that Photoshop is intended for use by so many different types of users from graphic artists to digital photographers that the default configuration represents a compromise. Taking the time to customize the preferences for your own needs will ultimately save time and make your work easier on Photoshop. On a PC, to access the Preferences, you'll come up to the Edit Menu. But on a Mac you'll go to Photoshop, Preferences and we'll begin with the General Tab. I'm not going to cover each and every option in depth. Instead I'll concentrate on those options that you may want to modify and why. Ultimately you should set preferences in a way that works for you. After all, that's why they're called Preferences. Image Interpolation I leave bicubic because this is the instruction that Photoshop will use for resizing images using the Transformation Tool and the Crop Tool when resolution and size are also set. Since I don't know ahead of time whether I'll be enlarging or reducing something, but it's often reducing and I don't want sharpening added to just that part of the image, usually bicubic is my best choice. Bicubic Smoother is great for enlargement and as I just indicated, bicubic sharper can be used for reduction but it applies sharpening and that may not be helpful when we're using the Transformation Tool and or the Crop Tool. So we'll leave this set as Bicubic knowing that when we use the Image Resize Command, we can specify Bicubic Smoother or Sharper in that particular dialog if we want to. Auto Update is useful is you're working on the same documents in other Creative Suite programs but since I'm not, I leave it off. Beep When Done is a personal choice. Some like it but it annoys me so I leave it off. Notice that hovering your cursor over the different options makes a tool tip visible that explains what each one does. Dynamic Color Sliders I leave on, Export Clipboard I leave on. I particularly recommend using the Shift Key for Tool Switch because otherwise you may inadvertently change tools. Zoom Resizes Windows is definitely a personal preference that I like to use but some people don't. Zooming with a Scroll Wheel is very handy as is centering the view on the clicked location when you zoom. Normally I leave the History Log unchecked; however, if I'm experimenting with some techniques and want to make sure I can retrace my steps after I close and reopen the file, then I may turn on the History Log. In that case I prefer to save the log items through the metadata and I choose Detailed. Choosing Sessions Only will only record when you began to work on the file and when you stopped working on the file. Concise as an Overview doesn't give you specific details. So if you're going to use the History Log, then use the Detailed function. Click on the Interface Option to see the Interface Preferences. I leave the General Interface Settings at their default settings although note that you can cause a line or a drop shadow to appear around your images or change the background colors. Some people like the contrast of their image against black, thinking it makes it pop more. The thing is that the added contrast can mislead your eyes about the actual contrast within the image and make it harder to adjust your image properly so gray is actually a better choice. With Full Screen Mode, you might leave it at black because you can use this mode to present your images to others and having the black background can make them pop. The Panels and Documents Options are very much personal preferences. If you decide that the way Photoshop is displaying your images as tabs or as floating documents is not convenient, come back here to Preferences and reestablish what you like. Right now when I open a document, a file, it will be a floating file. If I check Open Document as Tabs, then they'll be as tabs and you'll see more about this when we discuss the interface. Note that you can also change the font size and language. This can be helpful in very high-res monitors where the font can appear so tiny that it's hard to read. In this series of movies, I'm using the lower resolution so the fonts appear larger. But on your computer monitor, you may prefer a different font size.
| Course: | Adobe Photoshop CS4 for Photographers |
| Author: | Ellen Anon |
| SKU: | 34036 |
| ISBN: | 1-935320-74-2 |
| Release Date: | 2009-09-23 |
| Duration: | 8.5 hrs / 112 lessons |
| Work Files: |
Yes |
| Captions: | No |
| Compatibility: |
Vista/XP/2000, OS X, Linux QuickTime 7, Flash 8 |