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Home » Photoshop Tutorials » Technical & Workflow » 5 Photoshop Tricks & Tips That You Don’t Know (Probably) – Part 3

5 Photoshop Tricks & Tips That You Don’t Know (Probably) – Part 3

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Posted In: Photoshop Tools & Techniques | Watch on YouTube

In this video, I will go through five Photoshop tricks and tips that you probably don’t know.

This is part three of my Photoshop tricks series if you have not seen part 1 or part 2 then check them out now!

Here’s a quick overview of the Photoshop tricks and techniques shown in this video.

Table of contents

  • Photoshop Trick 01 – Bring Back Select and Mask in Photoshop CC
  • Photoshop Trick 02 – Keep a Text Record of Every Step With Photoshop’s History Log
  • Photoshop Trick 03 – Open a Flattened Version of a Layered PSD
  • Photoshop Trick 04 – Protect Your Images
  • Photoshop Trick 05 – Select Any Color From Outside of Photoshop

Photoshop Trick 01 – Bring Back Select and Mask in Photoshop CC

Photoshop CC 2015.5 introduced the Select and Mask Workspace and removed the old Refine Edge (Refine Mask) dialog box. If you prefer to use the old dialog box when working with selections, then use this little-known shortcut in Photoshop CC 2017 and newer to bring back the Refine Edge dialog box.

With a selection or mask active, press-and-hold Shift, and go to Select > Select and Mask. This will open the Refine Edge window instead of the Select and Mask Workspace!

Photoshop Tip - Refine Mask

Photoshop Trick 02 – Keep a Text Record of Every Step With Photoshop’s History Log

To keep text record of every single step that you have done to an image, turn on Photoshop’s History Log.

Press Ctrl K (Mac: Command K) to bring up the Preferences panel. In the History Log tab, click on the History Log check box. Then click Text File, and choose a location to save the file and give it a name.

You can now start working on your image and Photoshop will record every step you take. To review the steps, find the text file and double click on it.

Photoshop Trick - History Log

Photoshop Trick 03 – Open a Flattened Version of a Layered PSD

To open a flattened version of a layered PSD file, go to File > Open and find the PSD file you would like to open and click on it once to select it. Then hold down Shift Alt (Mac: Shift Option) and click Open. Photoshop will then ask you if you want to “Read the composite data instead.” Press OK, and a flattened version of that file will open up.

This is an excellent way to open a large file that usually takes a long time to open. In case you only want to show it to someone or share it in an email or social media.

Remember always to do a “Save As.” Saving the document will override the original file, and you will lose all your layers.

Note:
This is my Adobe Max interview mentioned in this tutorial.

https://www.facebook.com/PhotoshopTrainingChannel/videos/1189169477863079/

Photoshop Trick 04 – Protect Your Images

When sending a copy of a project to a client, you may want to protect the file, so that it requires a password to print or edit. This will prevent your client from using it before you get paid!

To protect your file save it as a PDF (File > Save As… and choose Photoshop PDF). In the Save PDF dialog box, Click “Security” and under “Permissions“, you can enter a password to prevent printing and editing.

You can view the files in Acrobat, but you won’t be able to print it or copy it.

Photoshop Trick 05 – Select Any Color From Outside of Photoshop

To select any color from outside of Photoshop first activate the Eyedropper tool (I on the keyboard). Then left-click-and-hold inside of your image in Photoshop, and drag the cursor outside of Photoshop to any other window or application. Sample the color that you like, then release your mouse button, and the sampled color will appear as your new Foreground color.

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About Jesus Ramirez

Jesús Ramirez is a digital graphics expert, speaker, and educator specializing in Adobe Photoshop. Jesús is best known as the founder of the Photoshop Training Channel, one of the most popular Photoshop YouTube channels in the world. More.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Vince says

    January 21, 2017 at 11:52 am

    Nice tips except for #4, protecting your work. Someone could still get the image using a screenshot or screen grab app or program.

    Reply
    • Photoshop Training Channel says

      January 21, 2017 at 11:58 am

      Vince,
      They could. But what good would that be? It would be a low-res screen capture. If you are designing a flyer for someone for example, a screen capture won’t be good enough to print.

      Reply
      • Vince says

        January 21, 2017 at 3:52 pm

        I was just pointing it out. Sorry to bother you.

        Reply
    • saad asif says

      March 8, 2017 at 1:22 pm

      very nice and great information

      Reply
      • Photoshop Training Channel says

        March 9, 2017 at 11:36 am

        Thank you!

        Reply
  2. chris says

    June 20, 2017 at 2:00 am

    trick 5 saved my life.

    Reply
    • Photoshop Training Channel says

      September 16, 2017 at 4:06 pm

      Awesome! I’m glad you found it useful!

      Reply
  3. sandra says

    October 11, 2017 at 9:53 pm

    LOVE IT!!! Thank you

    Reply
    • Photoshop Training Channel says

      November 16, 2017 at 1:50 am

      You’re welcome, Sandra!

      Reply
  4. Binwatson says

    August 22, 2018 at 7:33 pm

    Loved it and saved it. THANK YOU so much.

    Reply
  5. AFFRY DALY says

    October 17, 2018 at 1:22 am

    good ! Thks

    Reply

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Photoshop Tip Of The Day:

August 7, 2018

To activate multiple layers using your keyboard, press Shift Alt [ (Mac: Shift Option [) to activate the layer below the currently selected layer (or the ] key to activate the layer above).

You can keep adding to the selection one layer at a time by tapping on either of the bracket keys while holding down Shift and Alt (Mac: Option).

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