To see the distance of two objects in Photoshop, select one layer, then select the Move tool. Hold Ctrl (Mac: Command) while then hover over the layers to see the Smart Guides that will reveal the distance between the layers.
Photoshop Tip Of The Day
Cycle Through Tabs Keyboard Shortcut
If you have multiple documents open you can cycle through tabs by pressing Ctrl (Mac: Command) Tab. To go in reverse press Shift Ctrl (Mac: Command) Tab.
Scrubby Zoom
A good way to zoom into (or out of) an image is to select the Zoom tool by pressing-and-holding Z on your keyboard, then left-click and drag to the right to zoom in, and drag to the left to zoom out. This works for Photoshop CS5 and newer.
Press Esc When You Make a Mistake to Cancel the Operation
If you accidentally open a panel or activate a tool did you did not intend to use press the Esc key to cancel.
Saving Documents Larger Than 2 GB
PSDs have a file size limit of 2 GB. If you want to save a document that is larger than 2 GB, save it as a PSB (Large Document Format).
Switching Brushes Keyboard Shortcut
To Switch brushes press < or > to move to the previous/next brush on the Brushes Panel. Adding the Shift key goes to the first or last brush.
Precise Lens Flare
When creating a Lens Flare (Filter > Render > Lens Flare) press-and-hold the Alt (Mac: Option) key while clicking on the image preview to bring up the Precise Flare Center dialog box where you can input the X and Y coordinates for your flare. You can use the info panel to see the coordinates of… [Continue Reading about Precise Lens Flare]
Place Command Does Not Create Smart Objects
When you go to File > Place, to bring in an image into your composition, Photoshop turns it into a smart object. If you would like for the image to remain rasterized, bring up the Preferences panel by pressing Ctrl K (Mac: Command K) and under the General tab un-check “Place or Drag Raster Images… [Continue Reading about Place Command Does Not Create Smart Objects]
Use The View Axis To Quickly Select a View
When working with 3D objects, right-click on the View Axis located in the bottom-left corner of the document to quickly select a view. This shortcut comes in handy when you move your camera, and you want to get back to the default view.
Creating New Layers
When creating a new layer using the new layer icon in the layers panel, hold Alt (Mac: Option) and click to get the New Layer dialog box. To Create the new layer below the selected layer hold Ctrl (Mac: Command) and click on the new layer icon.