Photoshop Basic Tutorials for Web Designers

Canvas Size

HOW TO CHANGE THE CANVAS SIZE IN PHOTOSHOP

Canvas Size command only changes the size of the canvas, or page, on which the image placed. Follow these quick-and-easy steps to change your canvas size.

Choose Image Menu →Canvas Size.

The Canvas Size dialog box appears. The current size of your canvas appears at the top of the dialog box.
Enter new values in the Width and Height text boxes.

You can also change the unit of measurement by using the pop-up menus.Select the Relative check box to be able to specify an amount of space for Photoshop to add or remove around your image. This feature is handy when you’re adding or removing equal amounts of canvas around images with fractional measurements.
Specify your desired anchor placement.

The anchor shows how the image sits inside the canvas. By default, Photoshop centers the image and adds or removes the canvas around it. Click any of the other eight squares to have Photoshop add or remove the canvas asymmetrically around the image.

If you reduce either the Width or Height value and then click OK, an alert box appears asking if you really want to proceed because you’ll be clipping the image. This is actually another way of cropping an image, albeit not one you’ll use every day.
Select your canvas color from the Canvas extension color pop-up menu and click OK.

Choose from Foreground, Background, White, Black, Gray, or Other. If you select Other, Photoshop transports you to the Color Picker, where you can select any color you desire. The small swatch to the right of the pop-up menu displays the current background color. You can also click this swatch to access the Color Picker.

Croping Image

Photoshop Crop Tool

Photoshop Crop Tool The Crop tool allows you to select an area of an image and remove everything outside this area. You can find crop tool on third position from the top in the Photoshop Toolbox, on the left side.

Although cropping reduces the size of an image, it is not the same as resizing. Whereas resizing reduces or enlarges the entire image and everything in it, cropping does not chnage the size of the image content at all.

Using the Crop Tool

Select the crop tool from the toolbox.
Select an area of the image to retain (just the same as making a normal selection). or give the size on top bar - width, height, resolution.
When you release the mouse button, the area to be retained is highlighted. This is what the new image will look like.
You can move or transform the crop area by dragging the selection or the selection handles.
Hit your Enter key to finalize the crop.

The result of the example above looks like this: Cropped Photo

Notes:

You can combine cropping and resizing in the same operation, using the options in the options bar.
Instead of using the crop tool, you can use the marquee tool to make a selection, then choose Image > Crop from the Photoshop menu.

Source

Photoshop Measurement

In photoshop Rulers, the measure tool, guides, and grids help you position images or elements precisely across the width or length of an image.

Photoshop Rulers: To display or hide rulers, Choose View > Show Rulers or Hide Rulers. When visible, rulers appear along the top and left side of the active window.

You can change the rulers’ zero origin by dragging diagonally down onto the image. The ruler origin also determines the grid’s point of origin. To snap the ruler origin to guidelines or gridlines, choose View > Snap to Guides or View > Snap to Grid, before dragging.

To reset the ruler origin to its default value, double-click the upper left corner (origin) of the rulers.

Changing the rulers’ settings:

• Choose File > Preferences > Units & Rulers to open preference window.
• In the preference window, choose a unit of measurement.
• For Width and Gutter, enter values for the column size. You also can change the units.
• For Point/Pica Size, choose PostScript (72 points per inch) if you are printing to a PostScript device OR Traditional to use printer’s 72.27 points per inch.

The measure tool

The measure tool calculates the distance between any two points in the work area. When you measure from one point to another, a non-printing line is drawn and the Info palette shows the following information:

• The starting location (X and Y).
• The horizontal (W) and vertical (H) distances traveled from the x and y axes.
• The total distance traveled (D) & the angle measured relative to the axis (A).

All measurements except the angle are calculated in the unit of measure currently set in the Units & Rulers preference dialog box. You can measure between two points by Dragging from the starting point to the ending point.

To edit a measuring line, select the tool and do one of the following:

• To resize the line, drag one end of an existing measuring line.
• To move the line, place the pointer on the line away from either endpoint and drag the line.
• To remove the line, place the pointer on the line away from either endpoint and drag the line out of the image.

Guides and the Grid

Guides appear as lines that float over the entire image and do not print. You can move, remove, or lock a guide to avoid accidentally moving it. The grid appears by default as nonprinting lines but can also be displayed as dots. The grid is useful for laying out elements symmetrically.

To show or hide guides:Choose View > Show/Hide Guides .
To show or hide the grid:Choose View > Show/Hide Grid.