5 Tips for Photoshop Efficiency

By Corrie Haffly
2008-03-27


5. Get organized

When you’re working with files that have multiple layers, there’s nothing more frustrating than going back to it later and trying to figure out if that small bullet icon is on Layer 1, Layer 15, or Layer 36. Invest some time in the front end to keep your Photoshop documents organized so that you can save time later on when you open the document for editing. And if you pass your file on to someone else for editing, they’ll thank you profusely as well! Here are the two main ways that you can get organized in Photoshop:

• Name your layers descriptively. Double-click the name of the layer to rename it from “Layer 3” to something more helpful, such as “left column background.”
• Group layers together. Photoshop allows you to group layers together into “folders.” If you’re making a web site comp, you may find it helpful to group together the layers that hold objects related to the top header area, for example. You can also name the groups descriptively. You can even group groups together into subfolders. Click the folder icon in the bottom of the Layers palette to create a new group. (And a keyboard shortcut: Select your layers first, hold Shift, then click the folder icon. This will automatically create a new group with those selected layers so that you don’t have to drag them into the folder later.)

Integrating these skills and tips into your Photoshop workflow will save you time – and we always need more of that!

Tutorial Pages:
» 1. Learn to use keyboard shortcuts for accessing tools
» 2. Learn more keyboard commands to make your life easier
» 3. Create Actions
» 4. Learn non-destructive editing techniques
» 5. Get organized

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