Press Ctrl K (Mac: Command K) to bring up the Preferences panel. Click on Performance, and change the number of History States (number of Undos) up to a maximum of 1,000. Note: A high Undo number may affect the performance of your computer.
The keyboard shortcut to View Actual Pixels (100%) is Ctrl (Mac: Command) 1 and to Fit on Screen press Ctrl (Mac: Command) 0.
One way to paint realistic looking shadows non-destructively is to use the Exposure Adjustment Layer. Start by sliding the Exposure slider to the left, until you get a dark color appropriate for the shadow in your scene. Then click on the Exposure adjustment layer mask and press Ctrl I (Mac: Command I) to invert the mask… [Continue Reading about Use The Exposure Adjustment Layer To Create Shadows]
To duplicate a layer mask to another layer, and invert it at the same time; press-and-hold Alt Shift (Mac: Option Shift), then click-and-drag the layer mask thumbnail to any other layer.
To get an extremely precise rotation while using Free Transform, go up to the Options Bar and click inside the Rotate field. Then use the Up and Down arrow keys on your keyboard to rotate the layer in 0.01 degree increments. Hold shift while pressing the arrow keys to rotate in 0.10 degree increments.
If you are creating vector objects that require straight edges, make sure that your vectors snap to the pixel grid. Otherwise, you could end up with anti-aliased edges. To make sure that your pixels snaps to the pixel grid, go to the Preferences Panel (PC: Ctrl K, Mac: Command K). Under the Tools tab, enable… [Continue Reading about Snap Vectors To The Pixel Grid]
When using the Clone Stamp tool, you can use keyboard shortcuts to nudge, scale, or rotate the sample source to better match the size and orientation of the cloning destination. First, set the sample point by holding Alt (Mac: Option) and clicking on an area to sample from. You will then see an overlay of your… [Continue Reading about Clone Stamp Tool Keyboard Shortcuts to Nudge, Scale or Rotate Sample Source]
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… [Continue Reading about Protect Your Images]
As of Photoshop CS5 you can assign a keyboard shortcut to the Foreground Color Picker. You can do so by opening the “Keyboard Shortcuts and Menus” window. Press Ctrl Alt Shift K (Mac: Command Option Shift K). Then choose “Tools” and under “Shortcuts For” scroll down until you see “Foreground Color Picker.” You can then click on it… [Continue Reading about Assign a Keyboard Shortcut To The Foreground Color Picker]
To quickly scroll through the list of layer Blending Modes in the Layers panel use the keyboard shortcut. First, select the Move Tool (V), then hold down the Shift key and tap the + (plus sign) key to scroll forward through the list, or tap the – (minus sign) key to scroll backward through the list.
