Clayton McIlrath » photoshop

Photoshop Shortcuts (PC)

Clay McIlrath — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 18:52:17 +0000

Learning keyboard shortcuts helps you improve efficiency and performance in any almost any program. I find this especially true for Photoshop since much of the design process is done with a mouse, it helps to train the other hand to use shortcuts and type in small amounts. In posting this, I hope to reference it myself to memorize and learn these shortcuts, and hopefully others will bookmark and reference this page as well.

Shortcut / Key Combo	Result	Explained
Alt + Ctrl + A	Select All	Slect All Layers in the Document
Ctrl + Shift + C	Copy Merged	Useful for copying a selected area what you see on screen.
Ctrl + H	Hide/Show Guidelines	Useful to Hide Guidelines while working with lot of layer with many guidelines for alignment.
Ctrl + A + Any arrow key	Selects present Layer	makes selection of present selected layer (except text layer)
Ctrl + Mouse click on Layer (layer palette)	Makes Layer Selection	-
Ctrl + Scroll Mouse (up/down)	Moves document left or right	The shorcut Navigate the document left or right
Ctrl + Shift + > or <	Increase Decrease the font size	Select text, press Ctrl + Shift + > or < to increase / decrease font size.
Ctrl + Alt + Scroll Mouse	Zoom In/Out	Zoom In/Out
Double click Zoom tool	Zoom to 100%	Double click on the Zoom tool will zoom document to 100%.
Tab	Toggle Tools Panel	Press Tab to toggle tools panel
Shift + Tab	Show / Hide Palette Windows	Show / Hide your active Palette Windows
Caps lock	Precise cursor	Caps lock displays tool cursor in precise mode
Ctrl + Tab	Switch between document windows	Switch between document windows
Select Text – Ctrl + Enter + Enter + Move arrow keys	Change font style	Easy to select your desired font style from hundreds of fonts available with just arrow keys
F5	Show/Hide Brushes palette	Press F5 to Show/Hide Brushes palette and Press B to activate the palette
F6	Show/Hide Color palette	Show/Hide Color palette
F7	Show/Hide Layers palette	Show/Hide Layers palette
F8	Show/Hide Actions palette	Show/Hide Actions palette
F12	Revert	Revert to Last Saved
Shift + F5	Fill	Opens the Fill Box
Shift + F6	Feather Selection	Feather Selection
Shift + F7	Inverse Selection	Inverse Selection
B	Brush / Pencil / Color Replacement Tool	To Pick Brush / Pencil / Color Replacement Tool
C	Crop Tool	To Pick Crop Tool
D	Default Color	Set Default Foreground/Background (Black/White) Color
E	Eraser Tool	To Pick Eraser Tool
F	Cycle Screen Modes	Cycle Screen Modes upto full screen
G	Gradient / Paint Bucket Tool	To pick Gradient / Paint Bucket Tool
I	Eyedropper Tool	To pick Eyedropper Tool
L	Lasso Tool	To Pick Lasso Tool
M	Marquee Tool	To Pick Marquee Tool
O	Dodge / Burn / Sponge Tool	To pick Dodge / Burn / Sponge Tool (Use Shift + O to toggle between)
P	Pen / Freeform Pen Tool	To pick Pen / Freeform Pen Tool (Use Shift + P to toggle between)
Q	Standard / Quick Mask Mode	To Activate Standard / Quick Mask Mode
S	Clone / Pattern Stamp Tool	To pick Clone / Pattern Stamp Tool (Use Shift + S to toggle between)
T	Type/Text Tool	To Pick Type/Text Tool
U	Shapes Tool	To pick Shapes Tool
V	Move Tool	To pick Move Tool
W	Magic Wand Tool	To Pick Magic Wand Tool
X	Switch Colors	Switch beween Foreground/Background Color
Ctrl + D	Deselect	Deselect your selection on the document
]	Increase Brush Size	Increase Brush Size
[	Decrease Brush Size	Decrease Brush Size
1 - 0	Tool Opacity	Use numbers from 1 - 0 to set opacity
Hold Space	Hand Tool	Hold Space and use mouse with left click to move around the document
Ctrl + Shift + I	Inverse Selection	Selects opposite of your present seleciton
Alt + Ctrl + D	Feather Selection	Feather Selection
Ctrl + Space + Click	Zoom In	Zoom In Document
Alt + Space + Click	Zoom Out	Zoom Out Document
Shift + A-Z keys	Toggle Between	Toogle Between the hidden tools
Alt + Ctrl + Shift + S	Save for Web	Save Document for Web in your desired selected options (JPG, GIF, PNG, etc.)
Ctrl + T	Free Transform Tool	Free Transform Tool
Alt + Ctrl + T	Duplicate Free Transform	Duplicate Free Transform
Ctrl + Alt + Shift + T	Duplicate Transform Again	Duplicate Transform Again
Alt + Backspace	Fill Foreground Color	Fill Foreground Color
Ctrl + Backspace	Fill Background Color	Fill Background Color
Ctrl + ]	Bring Forward	Bring Forward (Selected Layer)
Ctrl + [	Send Backward	Send Backward (Selected Layer)
Ctrl + Shift + ]	Bring To Front	Bring To Front (Selected Layer)
Ctrl + Shift + [	Send to Back	Send to Back (Selected Layer)
Ctrl + J	Layer via Copy	Layer via Copy
Ctrl + Shift + J	Layer via Cut	Layer via Cut
Ctrl + Shift + N	New Layer	Create New Layer
Ctrl + E	Merge Layers	Merge Layers
Ctrl + Shift + E	Merge visible	Merge visible Layers
Alt + ]	Next Layer	Move to Next Layer
Alt + [	Previous Layer	Move to Previous Layer
Ctrl + W	Close	Close Document
Ctrl + 0	Fit on Screen	Fit on Screen
Alt + Ctrl + 0	Actual Size	Actual Size of Document

Mac Style – Abstract Wallpapers

Clay McIlrath — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 06:03:04 +0000

I’m working on the re-design of this site right now because i want a little of my own special touch to it. Don’t get me wrong, i love the layout and the color scheme, but i want to go for something a little more.. me. I’ve been playing around with some ideas for backgrounds but haven’t made any that i really like, so i figured i may as well share them as wallpapers for my readers. So go ahead and download these cool new, abstract, mac styled wallpapers. If you want the source files shoot me an email through the contact form (at the bottom) and i’ll send them to you.

If you’re interested in making something like this, i would start with PSD Tuts. Specifically for the Vista Style Wallpapers you can go here: http://psdtuts.com/tutorials-effects/design-a-vista-styled-wallpaper/

UPDATE: I’ve created a wallpapers section that you can check out now, far better wallpapers in there, and soon to be more!

Washed Out – Chosen Wallpaper

Clay McIlrath — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 20:27:32 +0000

Another wallpaper I made for Chosen. It was really simple to create this washed out look in photoshop, I’ll briefly outline the process.

Create a Document at the dimensions you want (1024 x 768 is usually minimum standard. If you’re on a laptop 1280 x 800 is a common resolution)
Create a subtle gradient background
Add noise to the gradient
Apply a motion blur
Feather the edges and you’re done with that layer
On a new layer drop in the logo or image
Apply some subtle strokes and drop shadow layer styles

UPDATE: I now have a full page dedicated to wallpapers! Check it out!

Washed Out

Enough wallpapers to cover your room

Clay McIlrath — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 17:44:50 +0000

I decided to do some organization and cleaning of my computer and found some old wallpapers I made. Some are pretty cool, most are pretty basic. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure, they say. Take ‘em or leave ‘em.

Skateboarding Wallpaper

A remix of the apple logo

Luck is what you make it

Chosen Planet Wallpaper

Ubuntu Wallpaper – “mmmbuntu”

Clay McIlrath — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 20:53:42 +0000

I made a wallpaper for all you ubuntu fanatics out there. It’s very delicious.

Update: I have created a page dedicated to more wallpapers.. Check out more desktop wallpapers

Green VS Orange

Clay McIlrath — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 17:41:47 +0000

My logical brain has taken over in the last few months as I’ve been getting heavier into programming. I’m going to try and balance this back out by playing around and doing some more graphic design.

I’ve always really enjoyed abstract design, especially complimentary and contrasting colors and fractal art. This was an attempt to combine color clashing and hard, strong forms with a smoother more soothing flow. It kind of reminds me of Star Wars.

Update: I have created a page dedicated to more wallpapers.. Check out more desktop wallpapers